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History in the Hills: Five years on

I am proud to say that this month marks five years of History in the Hills columns for our newspaper. It is hard to believe it has been that long, actually. I have enjoyed each and every one that I have written, and by my count, I have 131 separate works to my credit. Writing these articles has made it possible to explore our area’s history in a way that I wouldn’t have otherwise. There are so many interesting stories I have been able to investigate and that is what I love about our area. All in all, the story of our past will never be fully written completely, though, because ...

Political potpourri on Justice and taxes

With all of the headlines about Gov. Jim Justice’s many business debts coming due and the near-auction of the historic Greenbrier Resort, you’d think this would affect Justice’s popularity going into the final two months of the general election for U.S. Senate. Yet, as it turns out, no one is paying attention. And even for those paying attention, Justice’s issues are not nearly as important as electing a Republican to the U.S. Senate. According to the results of the WVMetroNews West Virginia Poll last week, only 38% of the 400 likely voters polled said they had heard a lot ...

The highs and lows of election events

A few weeks back, I mentioned how we would be seeing the start of major campaigning as we inch closer to the Nov. 5 general elections. The first big event took place a little over a week ago with a “Meet the Candidates” event hosted by the Hancock and Brooke County Democratic executive committees and the Democratic Women organizations from both counties. The event at the T. Kosciusko Hall in Weirton included candidates running for U.S. Senate, as well as a couple of statewide offices and one Hancock County office, among others. In an effort to be transparent, some contacts of ...

Parents on front lines in flight against online threats

A new school year is underway for children in West Virginia, many of whom have their own smartphone. By age 11, about half of the kids in America have one of these powerful devices so that they may stay connected with friends and family. However, smartphones also create the opportunity for connections to be made by people who could harm them, and thus parents must be vigilant. According to the F.B.I., more than 500,000 online predators are active daily and many are engaging with youngsters via Instagram, Snapchat, and gaming platforms. Parents are the first line of defense and need to ...

Time. It is a gift from God. A gift that no one really understands. Why are some people blessed with many, many years? And some, all too few? Why do our teenage years seem to be never-ending? We are always waiting for the day when we will become an adult. That 21st birthday? Or that 18th birthday? It couldn’t get here soon enough. We waited. And waited. And time passed by ever-so-slowly. But the older we became, the faster the hands on the clock seemed to tick. Physically impossible, I know. But it appeared as if those hands had been wound too ...

Dispatches from the Greenbrier Resort

I’m writing this week’s column sitting at a fancy writing desk off of the lobby of the historic Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs. No, I am not staying at the Greenbrier. I’m just a humble newspaper reporter who is staying at a nearby Super 8 Hotel. But I have been attending the 88th West Virginia Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting and Business Summit. The Business Summit is probably one of my favorite events to cover. My beat is covering state government, but my beat often intersects with business, whether that means lawmakers crafting bills to draw more businesses ...