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John Larch a Quiet Hero in the Ohio Valley

Every community has them: the people that work behind the scenes, quietly moving mountains without ever asking for recognition. They are the ones who volunteer after work, who notice what’s missing and decide to fix it, who serve others not because they want to be seen — but because they believe it’s the right thing to do. One of those people is John Larch. Larch never served in the military, and he is the first to deflect credit for Wheeling’s Military Banner Program. Ask him about it, and he’ll point to Mayor Dennis Magruder, to the city’s Operations department, to the ...

Safeguard Freedoms and Focus on Drug Treatment

Brooke County officials find themselves at a crossroads familiar to many communities across West Virginia — deciding how to spend money secured through settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors. The intention behind those funds was clear: to help repair the devastation the opioid epidemic has wrought on our region and its families, its workforce, and its way of life. Yet, as discussions late last month before the Brooke County Commission reveal, the temptation to divert those treatment and recovery dollars toward law enforcement remains strong. The Brooke County ...

Keep Red Kettles Full This Holiday Season

The Ohio Valley air soon will be filled with the familiar holiday sound of ringing bells, as the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle season returns. Throughout the region, people will be standing beside those kettles, bells clanging, bringing attention to the Salvation Army’s mission of helping those who are in greatest need of it. That need has only increased this year. At this week’s Red Kettle Kickoff Luncheon, Salvation Army Lt. John Lawrence said that, because of rising costs and a government shutdown that suspended SNAP fund distributions, his organization has served four times as ...

Learn Your Districts

Given the degree to which so many in Washington, D.C., have shown us their reluctance to do their jobs — or remember for whom they work — lately, it is likely the 2026 elections will be a time for voters to take action. In Ohio, change is imminent, as redrawn congressional districts will mean upheaval for lawmakers and those heading to the polls. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose is trying to get out ahead of any confusion by updating the office’s Find My District tool now. The hope is voters will not be caught off guard just as they are looking to cast their ballots in the ...

Make Sure Kids Are Safe Online

Parents and guardians cannot receive reminders often enough about the urgent need to prepare kids for staying safe online. Local residents got an alarming one this week with news that Steven James Boose, 35, of Littlestown, Pa., had been arrested after allegedly traveling to Parkersburg to meet with a person he believed to have been a 14-year-old girl, with whom he’d been corresponding online. Parkersburg Police met up with him, instead, and Boose has been charged with one count of soliciting a minor and six counts of use of obscene matter with intent to seduce a minor. And the ...

Washington Avenue Bridge Fix Needed

Starting very soon, getting around the Washington Avenue area of Wheeling will get more complicated, but those complications are necessary. As early as this month, the Washington Ave. Bridge will close down for replacement. That bridge is one of the busier paths in the city, connecting National Road to the area around WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital, as well as providing an exit and entrance to Interstate 70 from that part of National Road. The replacement for that bridge should take several months, officials say, which will make travel in that area tougher. But an inconvenience for ...