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Those hills remain majestic and grand

Editorials

It was 162 years ago today when the nation first learned that “Mountaineers are Always Free.” Since then, we West Virginians have worked hard to make our mark on bettering not only ourselves and our beloved Mountain State but also this great land in which we are so privileged to live. June 20, 1863 saw West Virginia born from the Civil War as the 35th state. Since then, our natural resources — coal, natural gas and timber — have helped to power a growing nation. Our natural beauty and wild and wonderful landscape are a playground for many seeking to connect with the ...

Juneteenth celebrates our past and future

Editorials

Residents from across the Tri-State Area will be joining with those from across the country during the next several days to commemorate Juneteenth. There will be fun activities and games for children, vendors offering a wide variety of items and information, and there will be food — lots of it — including some of the best homemade dishes you can find in the region. But the annual celebration is about more than being able to enjoy a few days of entertainment and fun — it is a recognition, a chance to reflect on the significance of the Juneteenth holiday. The holiday remembers ...

Common sense and decency needed in debate

Editorials

West Virginia’s Prosecuting Attorneys Association injected a little common sense and decency into a conversation that reached intrusive absurdity after Raleigh County Prosecuting Attorney Tom Truman earlier this month made the chilling claim that women could face potential criminal charges if they do not inform law enforcement of miscarriages. “Call your doctor. Call law enforcement, or 911, and just say, ‘I miscarried. I want you to know,’” Truman said to WVNS-TV in a June 2 interview. Ludicrous, isn’t it? To be sure Truman’s claim didn’t do any more damage than it ...

Invest your time to help others

Editorials

Area residents will have an opportunity to perform a simple and selfless act Wednesday. That’s when this year’s Jefferson County Media Day Blood Drive is scheduled to be held at the St. Florian Event Center in Wintersville. The doors will be open from noon to 5:30 p.m., and we hope that everyone who is eligible will participate in the annual event. Late spring and early summer often bring a need for blood that sometimes isn’t met. Regular donors might be on vacation or involved with other activities that keep them away from donation centers. That said, the need for blood does ...

A requiem for Doug Skaff, a complicated man

Local Columns

I really wasn’t expecting to have to write, in essence, an obituary for former lawmaker and politician Doug Skaff last Tuesday. The accident that killed him remains under investigation, but by all reports it was a freak accident on I-79 near Weston. Skaff’s SUV went into the back of a semi-truck and despite trying to brake in time, it was too late. Skaff was only five years older than me at 48. I had known him since his first stint in the House of Delegates in what was once the largest of the multi-member districts covering Kanawha County. He was a rising star in Democratic ...

To Whom it May Concern ... Happy Father’s Day

Local Columns

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 ...