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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: - ...

Manchin’s Dilemma — and Opportunity

It remains to be seen what U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin will do in 2024. Will he seek the Democratic nomination for another term in the U.S. Senate? Will he make a third-party run for U.S. President? Will he take a guest spot on “The Masked Singer?” Regardless of what he does, Manchin, D-W.Va., is doing everything he can short of switching his party registration to win back the approval of a West Virginia electorate that has shifted its allegiances over the last several years to Republicans on the whole and to former (now indicted) president Donald Trump as its standard bearer. A good ...

West Virginia’s Future Is Still in the Coal Mines

Before West Virginia was a state, the impact of coal formed the makeup of America. Coal has a long, rich history of spurring economic growth and energy production—and that shouldn’t change anytime soon. Washington Democrats have had little respect for the deep roots coal has in West Virginia’s communities, workers, and economy. Due the trend of “green policies,” the far left has waged war on coal. Many coal mines have been forced to close or been abandoned, causing communities to be uprooted and jobs to disappear. Specifically, southern West Virginia has been left ...

Marshall Memo: World War II Weekend; ‘Collage Art;’ and a Scavenger Hunt

Although the Cockayne Farmstead World War II Weekend is three months away, things have started to shape up. Last year the event was held at the Cockayne Farmstead, however, this year’s event will take place at John Marshall High School on Sept. 9-10. As to the attractions, one will be that of a World War II camp where re-enactors will show what a soldier’s experience might have been like. Also, re-enactors will represent armored tank divisions, parachute infantry regiments, and the Signal Corps which was Sam Cockayne’s branch of service. People will also learn about what ...