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Bravo, Festival of Sound

Editorials

Wheeling Park High School dazzled with yet another group of performances last weekend with its “Festival of Sound,” the annual holiday concert that brings together many of the components of the school’s performing arts department for one big spectacular. The school’s concert band, strings program, steel drums and choirs all combined for a wonderful display of their talents. While Mother Nature decided not to cooperate — bad weather cancelled the Sunday performance — everyone involved put everything they had into Friday and Saturday’s shows to give audiences a fantastic ...

Building on Progress: My Dedication to West Virginia Continues

Local Columns

It has been the honor of my life to serve West Virginia as your United States Senator, fighting for the concerns of our communities and making sure the voices of West Virginians are heard loud and clear in Washington, D.C. As a lifelong native of the Mountain State, I know how diligent and determined the people of our state are, and they deserve representation that works as hard as they do. I’m proud to announce that I’m running for reelection in 2026 to continue my hard work on behalf of West Virginia in the U.S. Senate. With President Trump’s endorsement of my reelection, it is ...

Make Dreams Come True, Regardless of Your Age

Local Columns

Let me share an event that was less than 5 minutes, that keeps coming up in my memory. In 1979, I was blessed to be hired to work for the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Ohio. I was tasked to be an Internal Auditor for the bank, and part of my responsibilities was to do what I called surprise audits with a team of auditors on banks in the 4th district. As part of my new job we were sent to Atlanta, Georgia to go to the Federal Auditors School for a series of classes. As we took the class, we were living out of a hotel. One day after work, we got on the hotel elevator, and to my ...

Roads in West Virginia Still Need Work

Editorials

A gift of good news came for the state this week, in the form of the American Society of Civil Engineers “2025 Report Card for West Virginia’s Infrastructure.” The Mountain State’s grade has improved from the last grade it received, in 2020. Now the dose of reality: The grade improved … to a D+; and marks for bridges and wastewater have not budged. Category grades included a C+ for solid waste; a C- for aviation, public parks, rail and roads; a D+ for bridges, broadband, dams, drinking water, energy, levees and ports; a D for hazardous waste, inland waterways, transit and ...

Drive Carefully on Two-Mile Hill

Editorials

Of the many winter traditions around the Ohio Valley, there’s one that I think we’d all like to see less of — traffic crashes on Two-Mile Hill along Interstate 70 in Ohio County. Long a problem spot on I-70 near The Highlands, we were reminded of just how much of a problem it could be on Monday, when a tractor trailer overturned on the curve at the bottom of the hill, choking traffic there for several hours. Thankfully, no one was hurt. The driver was able to walk away. Yet not every crash victim has been so fortunate over the years. In that area, injuries and deaths have ...

Manufacturing Matters

Editorials

Data centers are getting a lot of attention in Ohio, but one organization reminds us the backbone of the Buckeye State economy is still an industry with a more human touch. The Ohio Manufacturing Association released its 2025 Ohio Manufacturing Counts report Thursday, in which the analysis shows manufacturing is the largest private sector contributor to the state’s economy. Manufacturing supports jobs, income, exports and investment. The association says it also continues to make progress in efficiency and environmental metrics. “Manufacturing sets the pace for Ohio’s ...