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Guest column: Fix the GOP tax bill before it hurts West Virginian families

In my work across West Virginia as a deacon and nonprofit director, I meet families every day who are doing everything right—raising kids, working long hours, pinching pennies—yet they still struggle to put food on the table. That’s why I’m so troubled by proposals in the tax bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives that would cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid in our state. For thousands of families in West Virginia, SNAP is the difference between a parent putting food on the table and an entire household going to bed hungry. But ...

To Whom it May Concern … Happy Father’s Day

To Whom it May Concern … I would like to wish you a Happy Father’s Day. I want to thank you for all of the years you awoke before dawn — before the sun even thought about rising in the morning sky … if only for the sake of your family. For the years that somehow became decades doing a job you didn’t much care for. One that was not only physically tolling — but mentally exhausting. Yet, you never complained. Never thought about quitting, despite the fact it took you away from the people you loved the most in this world. I thank you for being the kind of father who ...

Reporter’s Notebook: Tackling CON, by appointment only?

Continuing on from last week’s column on the certificate of need repeal drum beats, Gov. Patrick Morrisey added new appointees to a board that makes decisions regarding certificate of need applications submitted by current and potential health care providers for new services. Last Tuesday, Morrisey appointed former lawmaker Heather Glasko-Tully, former West Virginia Republican Party chairman Doug McKinney, and former Attorney General staffer Robert Cheren to the state Health Care Authority. According to State Code, the Health Care Authority – created by the Legislature in 1983 - ...

Trail paving a step in the right direction

A promise years in the making has been completed with the final stretch of paving to the Panhandle Recreation Trail. Managed under the auspices of the Weirton Board of Parks and Recreation, with support for many years from a group of dedicated volunteers who have provided much of the labor and maintenance, the trail was established on a former rail line (something which has been done in many communities across the nation over the last 30 years or so). I grew up, and still reside, near the trail, and can still recall seeing the train traveling along that particular corridor in my ...

Sometimes we need to do more than donate

There aren’t too many things that make my heart happy. And no, I’m really not that hard of a person to please. Too much sadness in the world, I suppose. However, something that I absolutely love to do, whenever the opportunity arises, is to write an article about the Jefferson County Humane Society. Especially the stories that revolve around donations. As was the case this week. I love the fact that some people in this area still possess such compassion toward animals that they want to contribute some of their hard-earned money just to help keep this nonprofit agency ...

History in the Hills: Weirton’s lost treasure revisited

I have been doing these articles for a while now — almost six years to be exact — and I have really enjoyed it. Spending time researching stories in our area and finding out little-known facts has been a blast. This article this weekend will be the 150th article in my little series, and I thought it would be fun to reprise an article that so many have complimented over the years. It is one of my favorites. Most children are excited by buried treasure, and my son, Paulie, is no exception. There is something exciting about hearing a story, finding a treasure map and following it to ...