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John McCabe: Doing the Hard Work To Protect Wheeling

Wheeling City Council did the hard thing Tuesday night, not the easy thing. In a 6-1 vote, council approved a memorandum of understanding with Silicon Foundry Energy for its proposed data center campus at the former Centre Foundry & Machine Company site. Dozens of residents packed the meeting to object. But when you boil it down to what is best for Wheeling moving ahead, council indeed made the right call. This is the choice those seven elected members of our community — Mayor Dennis Magruder, Vice Mayor Jerry Sklavounakis, and councilors Tony Assaro, Ben Seidler, Connie Cain, ...

Bishop Darrell Cummings: Remembering A Somber, Sorrowful Day 25 Years Ago

This summer we have had several dramatic events in the United States. The war with Iran which stands alone as a dramatic event over the last six months. Our prayers as always is for our military, peace, and lower gas and food prices. We also celebrated the milestone of the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence that was adopted in Philadelphia, PA on July 4, 1776. What an honor to be living during this time of the Semiquincentennial of our great country. As an old commercial use to say; We have come a long-ways, but we still have a long-ways to go. It also makes me think ...

Angela Curfman: Building Literacy Through Knowledge, Relationships, Purpose

Each year, International Literacy Day reminds us of something that can easily be taken for granted: the ability to read, write and communicate has the power to change a life. Established by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), International Literacy Day, celebrated on Sept. 8, recognizes literacy as a fundamental human right and an essential part of building stronger communities. This year marks the 60th anniversary of International Literacy Day, with the theme, “Literacy for people, the planet and prosperity.” As we celebrate literacy, ...

Hoppy Kercheval: W.Va. Needs More Pathways To Prosperity

The U.S. Census Bureau has released new figures on poverty in America, and for West Virginia the findings are mixed. I’ll get to those numbers shortly, but first here is some context: The data come from the Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics. The agencies look at poverty two ways: The official poverty figure looks at pretax income. The supplemental poverty measure includes cash income as well as government benefits and geographic differences in housing costs. The state-by-state figures look at a three-year average of 2023, 2024, and 2025. In terms of straight poverty, ...

Reporter’s Notebook: Remembering 9/11

It's hard to believe that Friday marked 25 years since terrorists tied to Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda flew airplanes into the two World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, with a fourth plane sent into the ground in a field in Pennsylvania due to the bravery of its passengers and likely saving more lives. A certain generation can remember where they were when they heard about the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, bringing the U.S. into World War II. Another generation knows where they were when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated or when the Berlin Wall fell, signaling ...

John McCabe: Coming Full Circle on Ohio County Jail

I have a little history with the former Ohio County Jail on Eoff Street. Thankfully, it’s not the kind that involved fingerprints, mug shots or a phone call home. Rather, the jail was one of the first big stories I tackled after arriving in Wheeling as a young reporter and being handed the Ohio County government beat. Back then, West Virginia was working through a major change in how it housed prisoners. The Ohio County Jail had closed in 1994 with the opening of the Northern Regional Jail that year. By the beginning of 1998, the state was again housing prisoners at the Eoff Street ...