Breaking News

Opinion

Guest column: Real West Virginia men do mental health check‑ins

Local Columns

We’ve all heard it: “Real men don’t cry.” It’s become a badge of toughness but it’s also a barrier. Too many men learn to internalize pain and stay silent. At the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) in West Virginia, we say something different: real men check in. They check their blood pressure. They check on their families. And they check in on their mental health. June is Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month and West Virginia needs us to talk. Our state’s adjusted suicide rate is 18.3 per 100,000, above the national average of 14.3, and men make up nearly ...

History in the Hills: The power of objects

Local Columns

I love how these articles develop. Sometimes I think about a topic for days and nothing comes together and finally in the course of a conversation, a word or phrase will hit me, and I have a topic just like that. For instance, this week’s piece came together in a similar way. I spoke to someone about something and wham — topic. In this case, the topic was discovered while talking about one of my favorite things — antiques. I love antiques, and the more the merrier, as far as I am concerned. Sometimes though, practicality and space is a concern, not to mention money. With that ...

Guest column: Beware — scammers are on the prowl

Local Columns

We have all heard that there are plenty of scammers out there, but we don’t usually know when they are zeroing in on us. Alice was in the midst of selling vintage family clothing on a free website that listed items for sale. It was easy to use, and she was happy to think of making some money. One morning she got a response about selling a lightweight lady’s jacket. A person named Paul Harton said it was a very good price, and he wanted to buy it. She wondered why a man would want the jacket, but didn’t ask him. When Alice replied that she could meet in a public ...

Helping others: The best dollar I have ever spent

Local Columns

It isn’t often I feel as if I have made any real difference in this world. In other words, no real contribution of which to speak. If you think about it, there have been so many people who have made some kind of a change in another person’s life. Think of all of the inventions there have been — the everyday things we use which assist us in some small way. Yeah, somebody created that. It’s amazing. Think about all of the people who have made a difference. The ones who have done a good deed for another and never asking for anything in return. The volunteers who have ...

Utilities are getting the math wrong

Editorials

It’s always jarring when those representing corporations on which so many of us depend display their total disconnect from the real world most of us must navigate. Those of us who have to budget for utility payments — whether it be for a household or an industrial facility — could only laugh at Appalachian Power President and CEO Aaron Walker’s assessment of a 72% increase in residential customers’ rates since 2018. “I don’t think I’d say substantial. I don’t know what you mean by substantial,” he said during a West Virginia Public Service Commission hearing this ...

Remember what makes West Virginia grand

Local Columns

Friday was West Virginia Day – the observance of the anniversary of West Virginia’s statehood on June 20, 1863. West Virginia is a special place. Born of rebellion in the midst of the American Civil War, made of a proud people who were known to live for themselves and their communities, fighting for their rights and freedoms and not falling down before authorities. We are a hard-working people who cherish the beauty of our state and the traditions of our history. In a time when so much about society has been built to divide us, let us take some time to think about some of the ...