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Remembering Those Lost

Though it happened decades ago, the United Mine Workers of America Local 1304 won’t let the memories fade — nor should they. In 1940, Belmont County saw a devastating explosion at the Willow Grove Mine, where 72 miners were killed. “They left the house in the morning to go to the job site. They kissed their wives goodbye, and within a blink of an eye, they became the widows, and they left their children,” UMWA Local 1304 Financial Secretary Mel Woods said. Since then, the UMWA local has transformed the site to a fitting memorial for those miners. A memorial stone and ...

‘Raylee’s Law’ No Place for Games

A group of lawmakers who repeatedly try to earn cheap political points by talking about how precious to them are West Virginia children showed their true colors Saturday in ugly fashion. Legislators had a chance to pass House Bill 5537 — Raylee’s Law, which would have prohibited county boards of education from approving a request for home school instruction for an enrolled public school if there is a pending child abuse or neglect investigation against that child’s parent or guardian. There is already proof the law is necessary. Raylee Browning died in 2018 as a result of child ...

WPHS Speech Team Keeps Streak Rolling

Here’s a statement that should astound you: the Wheeling Park High Speech and Debate team this past weekend won its 46th consecutive state championship. Forty-six. Since 1980, only one team in the Mountain State has come home with that trophy, and that team calls the school atop the hill at Wheeling Park its home. It’s a testament to each team’s talent, hard work and dedication to their craft. So how does one team establish that level of dominance over more than four-and-a-half decades? Everyone involved understands the legacy they’re part of. To understand that legacy, ...

Help West Virginia Highways

Did warmer weather have you flinging open your windows and getting a jump-start on spring cleaning recently? If you’ve already started planning for that annual home reset, it’s time to start planning for how to help West Virginia’s highways get a clean start to the spring/summer travel season, too. Registration is open for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s annual Adopt-A-Highway Spring Statewide Cleanup, which will be April 25. No, you don’t have to tackle a stretch of highway by yourself. This is an opportunity for individuals, yes, but also ...

Time To Modernize Wheeling’s Tax Structure

Recent reports in this newspaper that the city of Wheeling’s revenues are running $1.3 million ahead of last year should be welcome news for city officials and residents alike. A healthy bottom line means the city has the resources necessary to maintain services, invest in infrastructure and continue improving the community. But it also presents an opportunity for reflection — particularly when it comes to Wheeling’s primary revenue source: the Business and Occupation tax. The B&O tax has long been a staple of municipal finances in West Virginia, including here in ...

Robotics Students Excel

Schools in the Northern Panhandle have quickly become tops in West Virginia in the field of robotics. Teams from both Ohio and Marshall counties excelled at the recent VEX Robotics West Virginia High School and Middle School State Championships held in Fairmont. Four high school teams from the two counties ­—three from Wheeling Park High School and one from John Marshall High School ­­—qualified for the VEX Robotics World Championships scheduled for April 21-30 at the America’s Center Convention Center in St. Louis. At the middle school level, five teams from Sherrard Middle ...