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Local EMS Agencies Need West Virginia’s Help

When West Virginians call 911, they know there will be a dispatcher on the other end of the line, who will ask us one simple question. “What’s your emergency?” Dispatchers then communicate the needs of West Virginians to the first responders in our communities, and those paramedics, EMTs and firefighters take the calls that often save our lives. But who responds when it is the first responders who have an emergency? Emergency medical services throughout West Virginia are frantically calling the State Capitol asking the governor and the Legislature to dispatch the votes ...

W.Va.’s Next Attorney General Must Be Prepared for AI Threats

Imagine answering a call from an unknown number one afternoon and instead of hearing the voice of someone trying to reach you about your car’s extended warranty as you expected, you instead hear panicked cries for help from your teenage daughter. You know for certain it’s her voice, and begin to panic as a man gets on the phone and tells you he’s kidnapped her and wants a significant amount of money in exchange for her release. As the call goes on, however, you slowly begin to realize that something isn’t right as another family member has been able to reach your daughter by ...

Marshall Memo: Lots of Happenings at the Library; Tea Party; and Flag Hunts

There will be two free events this coming week at the Moundsville-Marshall County Public Library. One will be at 6:30p.m. on Tuesday and the other at 6 p.m. on Thursday. For those who wish to learn more about Civil War history they will want to be at the library Tuesday as local author and archivist Jon-Erik Gilot will be sharing his Civic War history along with some regional connections.. The program is titled, “Dangerfield Newby’s Fight for Freedom.” The formation draws its material found in Gilot’s new book, “John Brown’s Raid: Harpers Ferry and the Coming of the ...

Mountain State Carries the Load

I’m typing this week’s column from beautiful Adventures on the Gorge, overlooking the New River Gorge Bridge near Fayetteville. I’m fresh off a unique tour of the New River Gorge Bridge — underneath. The Bridge Walk tour takes you to the catwalk beneath the famous arch bridge. If one can get beyond a fear of heights and ignore the shaking of the bridge caused by the flow of traffic above, it’s a wonderful way to see the gorge and the New River from where its name comes from. It is also a good way to marvel at the engineering behind the bridge. I come from St. Marys. At one ...

Fathers’ Role Changing But Still Critical to Children

The evidence suggests that the role of the father in the United States is changing and that the male parent can contribute much more to the child’s development during the first months of life than was formerly believed. At a Rotary meeting that I attended, a pediatrician doctor who is very well known in the community for numerous awards in studies in pediatrician medicine, said that scientist have concluded that what happens in an infant’s life in the first 100 days affects how the child’s brain is developed. After the child’s brain has been formed it is almost never reversed ...

Marshall Memo: Hunt for Some Mountain State Treasures on West Virginia Day

Six Marshall County sites will take part in West Virginia Day on Tuesday in Moundsville and Glen Dale with a scavenger hunt, organized by the Grave Creek Mound and the Moundsville-Marshall County Public Library. A scavenger hunt guide can be picked up at the Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex at 801 Jefferson Ave. in Moundsville. Those taking part in the ``Hunt’’ are to bring their completed guide to the library, 700 Fifth St., Moundsville, to claim a prize! Prizes must be claimed by 6:30 p.m. In addition to the Mound and the library, other participants will be: - ...