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History in the Hills: Union Cemetery talk

This Saturday, I am excited to take part in the annual tour of Union Cemetery in Steubenville as hosted by the Friends of Beatty Park. The event begins at 10 a.m. and will feature many speakers including historians Jeff Evans and Flora VerStraten-Merrin. There will be musical selections and lots of great history to be shared. Flora did a wonderful job planning the event and putting it all together. During the last few years I have participated, attendees went from grave to grave learning about the many notable people that are interred there. This year, however, we are just going to ...

Age may be just a number, but 32 is pretty good

Well ... I blinked. And my first-born son turned 32 on Wednesday. *Sigh* Wasn’t I just 32 the other day? I could almost swear I was. At 32, I was taking care of a 12-year-old, a 7-year-old and a 5-year old. Thirty-two and going back to college. Being a member of college clubs like Phi Theta Kappa and Fine Arts. Cooking, baking cakes to sell, cleaning, studying. Being a mom. Where did all that time go? I miss being 32. That’s a pretty good number in my opinion. No part of my body was broken. It didn’t hurt when I would bend over. I was able to accomplish so much on ...

West Virginia’s elections are up for debate

I’m writing this on Friday, but by the time you read this I will be on vacation at Disney World with my wife, mother-in-law, my best friend, his wife and their three young daughters. This will be my friend’s family’s first time at Disney, so I’m looking forward to being part of those memories. Let’s get to the column then. •••••• Don’t expect a debate between Republican Gov. Jim Justice and Democratic former Wheeling mayor Glenn Elliott for their U.S. Senate race. My friend and colleague Brad McElhinny with WV MetroNews posed the question about the ...

Mayoral forum an informative showing

For two hours Wednesday evening, an estimated 60 to 70 residents gathered in the Weirton Room of the Millsop Community Center to hear from those individuals hoping to be Weirton’s next mayor. All four candidates were invited to the forum, organized by the Weirton Area Chamber of Commerce, with three taking part. A decision to livestream the event through the Chamber’s Facebook page was made and arranged the day of the event, so those unable to make it have a chance to watch for themselves, listening to the questions submitted as well as the answers provided. As mentioned, all ...

Meet the Transportation Division

The Public Service Commission’s Transportation Division is staffed by state-certified police officers, experienced railroad inspectors, and other transportation professionals. Our officers patrol the highways for unsafe semi-trucks, buses, and coal trucks. The majority of big trucks on the road are safe, but when they are not, our officers try to find them. The Transportation Division is run by former State Trooper Jeff Schoolcraft. Transportation Safety Enforcement’s 48 officers patrolled the state’s 36,000 miles of highways last year. We even have four officers who are ...

To cut or not to cut, that is the question

We now have nearly two weeks until lawmakers gather for the Sept. 30 special session to pass Gov. Jim Justice’s 5% cut in personal income tax rates, and at this point I’m just not sure it can pass. That doesn’t mean it won’t pass. There is certainly time for the governor’s advisors (Chief of Staff Brian Abraham and Department of Revenue Secretary Larry Pack) and legislative leaders to come to some form of agreement on bill language to make such a cut happen. The hang up on the state Senate side appears to be how to pay for the 5% personal income tax cut, which would return ...