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Riding the special session rollercoaster

My wife and I somehow survived Disney World last week with two parents who haven’t been there in decades and their three daughters ages 12, 7, and 5. All while dodging a hurricane at the end of the week. Now I’m flying into the hurricane that is Monday’s special session of the West Virginia Legislature. This could all change by the time you read this, but as I write this Sunday afternoon, I’m hearing that the Legislature could very well gavel in at 11 a.m., quickly pass some of the 19 supplemental appropriations bills on the special session proclamation, and adjourn until ...

Hoping to expand on the local voices

You may notice a few more local voices on the Opinion/Editorial pages this week. Between three letters to the editor and two longer-form column contributions, it’s always good to see the thoughts of our own neighbors being published in our newspaper. My hope is that will continue in the coming weeks, especially as we are a little more than a month away from the general election and I’m certain there are residents who have thoughts on the various candidates and issues set to appear on their ballots. We do have some policies for our letters to the editor submissions, which can be ...

Tales of ghosts, the vampire craze and witches

The new, multi-million-dollar Brooke County Judicial Center in Wellsburg was built on disturbed ground to hide the deep haunted history of the witch trials that took place at the old courthouse, by those black-robed justices who fear the spirit images of the secret truth that has been purged from the court records. The former museum was a spooky land, the site where people gathered during these times torn down in hopes that people would forget and discourage visitors to the troubled patch of sod. It is said, that parallel time is known to exist where you can see the vapor of the ...

Us versus them: Show support for Amendment One

There are states where it is acceptable for a family to discuss whether one of their members should kill themselves, and there are states where it is not. There are states — like Oregon, California, Vermont, Washington and many others now — where insurance companies can deny people end-of-life care — but offer to cover the cost of their suicide. And there are states—like West Virginia—where they cannot. I am proud to be a son of West Virginia, where suicide is known as a problem and not pushed as a solution. But well-funded liberal interest groups—like Portland, Ore.’s ...

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 ...