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History in the Hills: Measuring our past

When someone comes to Historic Fort Steuben, they will have a lot to see. Their first stop will be the Visitor Center where one could visit our display area to see many historical collections, in addition to a model of the fort. Visitors also can stop at our museum shop as well, to browse local books, gifts and souvenirs. When entering the fort, one can visit nine buildings that are set up to show what life was like for the soldiers and surveyors who occupied it in the 1780s. Some of the buildings historically were used for the same use, such as the fact that there were two buildings ...

A government about laws, not men

I have no blood connection with John Adams, one of our nation’s founding fathers and the second president of the United States. But I’ve read enough of his letters to find a real kinship with the underappreciated man. One of his famous quotes is often paraphrased, but below is a direct quote from an Adams letter to fellow Continental Congress delegate John Penn. “…The true Idea of a Republic, is ‘An Empire of Laws and not of Men’: and therefore as a Republic is the best of Governments so, that particular Combination of Power, which is best contrived for a faithfull ...

Stay informed of your government’s actions

All too often, people take an interest in the dealings of their local governments only when they feel it affects them directly. A handful of residents have been consistently attending Weirton Council meetings this year, speaking about the water issue. In the last month, between 20 and 25 residents took part in meetings held by the Weirton Zoning Board of Appeals over a proposed timbering project located on the hillside between Marland Heights and Freedom Way. The Hancock County Commission meetings were packed a few months back when it was announced there would be budgetary cuts to ...

Building a future for West Virginia

Hello, West Virginia, If we haven’t met, I would like to introduce myself. I am Michael T. Benson — you can call me “Mike” — president of West Virginia University. I officially started July 15 and I am amazed at how three decades of work in higher education across the United States have brought me, step by step, to the place I belong — the beautiful state of West Virginia in a position to lead its flagship, land-grant institution into a new era. My wife, Debi, is especially looking forward to experiencing the four seasons the Mountain State offers after our time under the ...

Artificial intelligence is upending the job market, but this industry is hiring

Today’s college graduates face a startling reality. Many of the jobs they were hoping for are rapidly disappearing because of AI (artificial intelligence). As Mike Rowe of “Dirty Jobs” fame recently observed, “We’ve been telling kids for 15 years to learn to code. Well, AI is coming for the coders.” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg agrees. He predicts that most Meta code will be written by AI in the next 12-18 months. The great disruption is here. Many entry-level office jobs—from coders and analysts to researchers and writers—are being eaten by AI. The unemployment rate ...

A letter to my grandson, please remember …

Dear Layne: There is something I would like for you to know, something no one else may ever say that I believe you should hear at least once in your life. As your grandma, I feel it is my responsibility to let you in on a secret. And no, I am not trying to persuade you into changing who you are or who you will one day become. That wouldn’t be fair. Just please know this … in case no one else ever tells you. You are growing up in a completely different society than the one I grew up in, different than the ones your grandparents and great-grandparents lived through, ...