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Congratulations To Retiring Educators

Editorials

When the Ohio County Board of Education honored its retiring educators this past week, it offered a staggering statistic. The combined experience of the retirees being honored totaled 477 years. “You have been that shoulder for them to put their head on, you were that person that gave them that special pat on the back, you are the person that taught them math,” Ohio County Schools Superintendent Kim Miller said. “You are all in this room and I can’t thank you enough. ... We could not do the things we do in this great county without the work that you have done over the ...

Sales Tax Holiday Coming

Editorials

Need a budget break on back-to-school shopping? West Virginia’s Tax Division has one built in Friday through Aug. 3, with a sales tax holiday that should help. During those days, clothing priced $125 or less, laptops and tablets priced at $500 or less, school instructional materials priced at $20 or less, school supplies priced at $50 or less and sports equipment priced at $150 or less will be exempt from sales tax. The total purchase is not limited, only the amount for each individual item. There are restrictions, of course. Find explanations such as “’School instructional ...

Blue Envelope Program An Important Addition To West Virginia

Editorials

Last week, amid all the disasters that warranted his attention, Gov. Patrick Morrisey also launched the state’s Blue Envelope Program, an important effort that should help law enforcement officers better interact with drivers who have autism spectrum disorder, dementia or intellectual or developmental disabilities. Family and friends of those people know the anxiety that comes with worrying an interaction with law enforcement could go wrong because of difficulties with communication. But the program gives participating drivers a blue envelope where they can put their driver’s ...

TCI Building Thankfully Coming Down

Editorials

There are plenty of older buildings in Wheeling that would do best with some TLC to keep them viable and usable. The TCI building in Elm Grove is not one of them. That building has stood empty at the corner of National Road and Junior Avenue for decades, rotting away and becoming more dangerous and more of an eyesore to the neighborhood with each passing day. The Wheeling City Council on Monday put it on a faster track to coming down. Council met Monday specifically to hold a second reading and vote to spend $130,000 with Reclaim Company LLC for asbestos abatement and demolition of the ...

It's Good To See Democrats, Republicans Working Together

Editorials

In what has become such a politically charged climate throughout the United States, it’s always good to see Democrats and Republicans reach across the aisle to work toward a common cause. That current cause is building a better roster of poll workers in Ohio County, and the leaders of both the county Democratic and Republican Executive Committees ­— Democratic Chair Anthony Edmond and Republican Chair Michael Borsuk — have joined forces to make that happen. And, in the meantime, it’s also a lesson on how the two sides can put differences aside for the sake of the ...

Reporter's Notebook: Always Ready, Always There

Local Columns

After a week of tragic news, I think a palate cleanser is in order. I got to do something last week that allowed me to witness the professionalism of our West Virginia National Guard members. Members of the guard take part every two years in Sentry Storm, a joint training exercise involving both the Air and Army National Guard, along with National Guard units from nearby states, such as Kentucky. This year's exercise was supposed to be last Wednesday, but after the flooding in Upshur and Lewis counties, the exercise was canceled. National Guard members were stretched thin last week. ...