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School Bus Safety Important

House Bill 3 made its way to the Ohio Senate after having encountered no naysayers during the House of Representatives vote June 11. It seems unlikely there will be much resistance in the state Senate, either, as the School Bus Safety Act includes some important ways to keep students and drivers safer. Most drivers know the rules regarding driving safely when school buses are on the road. Too many ignore them anyway. According to the National Safety Council, between 2013 and 2022 there were 1,082 fatalities and approximately 132,000 injuries as a result of school-bus related ...

Making Ohio and West Virginia Competitive

Public officials in our region have said for years that one of their priorities is attracting and retaining new and exciting industries — and the kinds of individuals (and their families) who work for such companies. According to WalletHub’s “Most and Least Innovative States (2025),” neither Ohio nor West Virginia has picked up the pace on making that happen. In the list of most innovative states, Ohio ranks 42nd and West Virginia is 49th. Louisiana and Mississippi continue to cushion the Mountain State from hitting rock bottom. Ohio ranks 38th for both human capital ...

First Responders Are Area’s True Heroes

The call can come at any time. A house fire. A vehicle accident. Or, as we witnessed late Saturday evening into Sunday, a devastating flash flood. The flooding that swept through Triadelphia, Valley Grove and elsewhere in Ohio County late Saturday evening claimed at least seven lives. The tragedy is unthinkable. Yet without the heroic efforts of local first responders from the Wheeling police and fire departments, the Triadelphia and Valley Grove volunteer fire departments, state Division of Natural Resources employees and so many others, the toll could have been much worse. Consider: ...

Area Devastated Following Floods

Gov. Patrick Morrisey on Sunday declared a State of Emergency in Ohio County due to flash-flooding that swept through Triadelphia, Valley Grove, Elm Grove and parts of the Woodsdale neighborhood late Saturday evening. While that’s the official designation necessary to allow for help from the state, it falls so far short of truly describing and understanding the total devastation area residents and businesses experienced. ∫ Five confirmed dead and four others still reported missing. ∫ Dozens of cars damaged or destroyed. ∫ Homes damaged and even destroyed as they were swept ...

A Business-Unfriendly Approach in Wheeling

There’s something fundamentally wrong when city leaders repeatedly tell a private property owner that there’s nothing that can be done with their property. Want a zone change? Not a chance. Want to tear down a building currently sitting alongside one of Wheeling’s busiest roads and build residential homes in its spot? Highly unlikely, as the building there is a “contributing historic structure.” Want to return it to its original use as a church? No, unfortunately the property no longer meets the zoning requirements needed for a church. Such is the current plight of Tom ...

A First Step in Addressing County’s Future Growth

Both Wheeling and Ohio County have the same problem: a declining and aging population. The 41,000 people here today (Ohio County at its peak nearly a century ago had 72,077 residents) are being forced to shoulder more of the burden when it comes to public utilities, taxes and more. This is an issue every resident and public official should have at the top of their priority list. Quality of life here, as we all know, is excellent. We have the amenities of a medium-sized city (a symphony orchestra, professional hockey, a casino and more) without much of the crime and traffic. Homes, when ...