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NATO as It Celebrates Its 75th Anniversary

Born out of the ashes of post WWII, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, commonly referred to simply as NATO, was created in 1949 by the United States, Canada, and ten Western European nations to provide collective security against the growing threat of a hostile Soviet Union and to alleviate regional instability. This past week, NATO celebrated its 75th anniversary. Seventy-five years of friendship, partnership, and common bonds that tie and strengthen us. Since its inception, the alliance has flourished, overcoming challenges, welcoming new members and partners, and helping to set ...

A Few Odds and Ends

I’m leaving for vacation later this week, heading on an eight-day cruise of the Caribbean, so I’m suffering a bit from vacation-brain as I write this. The following will be more of a stream of conscience of things that are on my mind. --- My apologies to Delegate Joey Garcia, D-Marion, but he could possibly have competition after all. I wrote last week that with Republican hospital executive Jonathan Board dropping out of the race for the state Senate held by the retiring Sen. Mike Capito, D-Marion, to run the West Virginia First Foundation meant Garcia had in essence locked up ...

Marshall Memo: Library Week Events and Summer Concert Series

The Moundsville-Marshall County Library will take part in National Library Week, April 7-13. Special events will be held during the week. On April 8th at 6 p.m., West Virginia historical character “Mary Lydia Weaver Sapp: A daughter and wife of the Civil War,” will be performed by storyteller Jo Ann Daidsman. On April 9th at 6 p.m., the film “The Boys in the Boat”, a bio-drama centered on a Depression-era rowing team will be shown. On April 10th at 5 p.m., Pittsburgh Puppet works will present a puppet show title “Inky’s Library Mystery.” There will able be a preschool story ...

West Virginia Legislative Races Worth Watching This Year

As your state government reporter based in the State Capitol Building in Charleston, I cover the West Virginia Legislature, but I do not cover individual legislative races. My focus is covering statewide state and congressional races. There are just too many House of Delegates and state Senate seats for one person to cover one-on-one. Your local newspaper is better capable of covering individual legislative seats. But I do enjoy doing analysis of legislative seats. Naturally, all of the media attention is on the Republican primaries for U.S. Senate, governor, and even some of the ...

Finding That Bridge To Carry You Through Life

If there is anything we know about in the Ohio Valley area it is bridges. We just celebrated the opening of a new bridge in the Wellsburg area, connecting parts of West Virginia with parts of Ohio. Trips that used to take 30 to 45 minutes are now taking 5 to 10 minutes. Hopefully, businesses on both sides of the river are benefiting from the bridge. I remember being there the day they floated the bridge down the river to its present location. It was amazing to watch. You cannot go to Pittsburgh without encountering a number of bridges. We are still recovering from some of the local ...

Marshall Memo: Hefty County Budget; Community Night; and Fundraisers

The Marshall County Commission on Wednesday adopted the Fiscal Year 2025 levy for submission to the West Virginia Auditor’s Office. The county’s budget for the coming year is set at $47.9 million, with an additional $5.1 million in coal severance. “We believe this budget serves the needs of our elected officials so that they may operate their offices in an efficient manner,” Commission President Mike Ferro said. “We also believe we have projected sufficiently for potential increases in the cost of insurance, regional jail expenses, and fuel for vehicles—all of which are ...