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Gillespie an Inspiration

Heather Gillespie has been making an impact in disability advocacy in the Ohio Valley for a long time. Now she’s making history. Gillespie, a Moundsville resident, recently was named Ms. Wheelchair West Virginia. With that honor, she is the first West Virginian to be so recognized by Ms. Wheelchair America. A 1999 car crash left Gillespie paralyzed at just age 19. Doctors after the crash told her she had just 24 hours to live. She showed them she had so much more to live for and made the most of it every day. Just living her life day to day is an inspiration to others, as she ...

‘Gateway to the West’ Another Big Success

The Highlands Sports Complex was packed once again this past weekend, with the whirring and buzzing of hordes of robots filling the air. The VEX Robotics “Gateway to the West” returned to the facility, bringing dozens of middle school and high school teams from California to Canada and elsewhere to Ohio County to show off their expertise. Even a massive snowstorm couldn’t keep the tournaments from running. The storm did keep some middle school teams home, but there was a full slate of high school teams going head to head at The Highlands. That not only speaks to the devotion ...

Lifesavers Earn Recognition

When Bob Montgomery walked through the entrance of the Shadyside High School gymnasium Saturday, he got a well-deserved round of applause. There were several other people in that gym who earned applause as well. If not for them, Montgomery might not have been able to walk through that door. Montgomery was officiating a Shadyside-Caldwell boys basketball game on Dec. 12, when he collapsed on the court and went into full cardiac arrest. As shocking as the scene was, several people jumped right into action. Fellow official E.J. Schodzinski started CPR. One nurse, Koty Jennewein, was at ...

Income Tax Cuts Must Be Sensible

Though Gov. Patrick Morrisey may have had the weight of Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist behind him on his recent visit to Parkersburg, the reality is unchanged: Lawmakers have already put in place a mechanism to reduce what West Virginians pay in income tax, and the state did not meet markers to trigger another cut as recently as August. Despite that, Morrisey has gone from pitching a 5% to 10% income tax cut to going all-in at 10%. “West Virginians deserve to keep more of what they earn,” Morrisey said. “We tightened the budget, made tough choices, and put ...

Stop Silly Debates and Get to Work

This weekend puts the West Virginia Legislature nearly three weeks into its 2026 session. Both the House of Delegates and Senate have brought several bills to the floor of their respective chambers. The House has already passed multiple bills in the “Jobs First — Opportunity Everywhere” platform it touted before the session even began. One updated the state’s financial support for industrial access roads, doubling it from $3 million to $6 million. Another increased the caps on microgrants for the West Virginia Business Ready Sites program. Were those earth-shaking advances? ...

Pats on the Back

- To everyone involved with the VEX Robotics Gateway to the West tournament that filled the Highlands Sports Complex this weekend. In a short period of time, this has turned into one of the marquee robotics events in the region, if not the nation. It’s a wonderful showcase of what Ohio County can do. - To all the city, county and state employees who have spent days clearing the roads around the Ohio Valley after last weekend’s storm dumped inches of snow on us and left sub-zero temperatures in its wake. Thank you for all that you do. - To all the WVU Medicine nurses who were ...