It has been suggested that because of COVID-19 upheaval, America’s students and educators should be given a break from standardized testing this year. That is precisely why the tests should be administered this year. Before you begin calling friends to join the mob demanding my head ...
This has been a week and a half of firsts and lasts. For the first time in my 40-plus years in this newspaper office I have worked part of my time at home. Imagine doing interviews and finding the news from the comfort of one’s home. But modern technology has allowed that to happen. Not ...
While Congress is in session, lawmakers ought to pass one more bill related to COVID-19. It would alter the application for college student financial aid, both grants and loans. Financial aid applications from individual colleges and universities could copy the language. Question 1 would ...
It became a different “ballgame” this past week. No, the major leagues didn’t begin play! Instead the coronavirus crisis has taken over for the time being. While it is here, numerous agencies/providers have come forward to help their fellow man not only in Marshall County, but ...
In times of crisis, a leader who serves the most vulnerable people in a community needs three things: broad shoulders, thick skin and a compassionate heart. Youth Services System Inc. CEO John Moses couldn’t do what he does day in and day out without all three. Moses said two people asked ...
How long did it take modern humans to evolve from our primitive ancestors? Well, Neanderthals roamed the earth about 40,000 years ago. Let’s say it required 2,000 generations for creatures like us to evolve to what we are today. Compared to Neanderthals, we are much more capable physically ...
Mother Nature is not letting the coronavirus stop her. I know this because the signs are all around. Some enterprising young bird has begun its springtime ritual of building a nest in the top of our propane tank. Despite our best efforts to discourage her last year, we gave up. And we ...
Why are so many public officials rushing to close public schools and ban big gatherings? Why are some companies planning to tell employees that if they sneeze once, they’ll be sent home? And why can’t the drug companies hurry up with coronavirus tests, vaccines and drugs to treat ...
When I was in Houston recently for our National Speakers Association (NSA) Winter Conference, one of the topics discussed was the corona virus. For professional speakers, it is a big concern since speaking at conventions or conferences is a major source of their income. Canceled meetings mean ...
It’s 2020, and while most minds might be on the upcoming elections, there’s another way you can have your voice heard and make a difference in government: take the census. Every single West Virginian needs to take the census for two critical reasons: First, census data helps determine ...
We all need incentive. If we don’t have it, everything grinds to a halt in our lives. But if we do have it, it is surprising what we can accomplish. Dr. Charles Simonton wrote a book called “Getting Well Again,” that shows how incentive plays a big role in fighting disease. Simonton, a ...
At the conclusion of the recent Business and Health Expo, vendors were handed a survey form pertaining to the event. The Expo was somewhat different this year, as, for the first time, there were a number of health-related opportunities available, and the health attractions were mentioned in ...
You may have heard of “the butterfly effect.” The late Edward Lorenz, an American mathematician and meteorologist, suggested it some years ago. His illustration focused on how a tiny atmospheric change caused by a butterfly flapping its wings could alter the timing an course of a tornado ...
I wasn’t afraid. Yet I heard the concern in my parents’ voice when they talked about it. I was just a girl when I heard them utter the word “polio.” It was a terrifying word for parents because so many children were afflicted with it. Polio, also known as infantile paralysis, ...
One year after the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) was made permanent, members of Congress from both sides of the aisle are coming together to give the program the funding it needs to conserve nature in West Virginia and across America. Sen. Joe Manchin D-W.Va., with Sen. Cory ...
“Mike, you know we don’t sleep in class,” admonished Mrs. F. “I don’t feel so good,” I told her, raising my head and looking at her. “Go home,” she replied. “Now. Go look at yourself in a mirror. Then go home.” Would a young teacher today even recognize a case of the ...
It is often said, “every vote counts.” In West Virginia, every voter counts, too. For too long, segments of voters have been disenfranchised from our democratic process through no fault of their own. Deployed armed services members often lack access to mail, printers, and scanners — ...
One of Moundsville’s major visitor attractions, the Fostoria Glass Museum, reopened this past Wednesday for the spring and fall seasons. The museum’s hours are 1-4 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday. Actually, there was an open house on Tuesday to which a number of locals were in attendance ...
What’s scariest about Bernie Sanders is how many voters support him, not whether he’ll win the presidency. He won’t. But how close he comes will give us an idea of how far along the path to full socialism — and thus, repression of our liberties — many people are eager to go. How ...
There was and still is nothing like it. The outdoor ice rink at Wheeling Park, built in 1959, became a mecca for teens and even younger kids every Friday and Saturday night. At least that was the case when I was growing up in the 1960s and early ‘70s. It’s all we talked about in school ...