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School Attendance Policy A Good Step

One of the biggest roadblocks to a good education is the student not showing up to school in the first place. Ohio County Schools is trying to cut down on the number of students who miss too much school. At the last Ohio County Board of Education meeting, Ohio County Schools Attendance Director Raquel McLeod informed the board on the changes the district is making to its attendance policy to cut down on “chronic absenteeism,” defined as missing more than 10% of the days in an average school year — 18 days based on the West Virginia public school calendar. A statistic McLeod ...

Low Voter Turnout Is No Good For America

Considering sitting out this November’s General Election? There are plenty of people who feel either so fed up or so helpless and hopeless that they think the best option is to not vote. Nothing could be further from the truth. Low voter turnout tends to lead to more extreme results; and a whole lot of people who remain unsatisfied AND had no say in the matter. The solution isn’t to sit out. It’s to do your research and determine which candidates align most closely with the representation you want in local, state and federal government. It doesn’t mean you’re going to find ...

Job Growth Needs A Boost

A new analysis shows that while Ohio officials have a little reason to be proud of relatively low unemployment rates, the bigger picture is disturbing. Job growth is slowing to a crawl. Policy Matters Ohio reports one reason for slowed job growth alongside low unemployment is that employers are more cautious about hiring. Nationwide, there is stronger than expected hiring, but Policy Matters researcher Molly Bryden told the Ohio Capital Journal that signals more a recovery from an earlier slowdown than a continued upward trend. And here in the Buckeye State, the number of people ...

Ohio Valley Shows Love For The Wall That Heals

Way to go, Ohio Valley. The committee that put together this week’s visit of The Wall That Heals — a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial ­ —was hoping that its journey from The Highlands in Ohio County to the Belmont County Fairgrounds would be met with celebration and support from the community. And you didn’t disappoint. From the start of the trek to the finish, people from all over the Ohio Valley made sure that this important historical display received a warm welcome. Let’s start at beginning, as dozens of people riding motorcycles and ...

Be Careful During This Fall Fire Season

Though it may seem as though it has rained enough in our region over the past month or so that the ground will never dry out, it will. Eventually. Meanwhile, the change in humidity and all those crisp fall breezes we love so much mean it is time once again for fall fire season in West Virginia. It begins officially Thursday and continues through Dec. 31, according to the state Division of Forestry, as the accumulation of dry leaves on the ground are perfect fuel for a wildfire. Those same leaves and other fall yard debris may be the reason you are tempted to strike up a burn pile or ...

Building The Workforce

Want to know what Ohio employers need? Ask the employers. A novel idea, maybe, but doing so helped the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association complete its Good Jobs Challenge grant eight months ahead of schedule, while blowing past every performance goal set. In 2022, the U.S. Economic Development Administration supported the $23.4 million initiative with the largest workforce investment in the association’s history. The idea was to scale up WorkAdvance, which lets employers take the lead in building the short-term job-skills, technical instruction and other supports that get them the ...