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Stay Safe During the Holiday Season

Editorials

’Tis the season … for the potentially nasty combination of holiday parties and weather-affected roads. And while we should bear in mind Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over all the time, local law enforcement agencies will be increasing efforts to stop impaired driving over the next few weeks. According to the Governor’s Highway Safety Program, there are some disturbing trends in West Virginia, where there were 58 alcohol-related traffic fatalities in 2023. Of the DUI arrests in the state since Jan. 1, 2025, 43% were double the legal limit or higher, 21% were 0.20 or higher and 1.6% ...

DHS Plan A Good Sign For W.Va.

Editorials

West Virginia’s Department of Human Services has its work cut out for it as it attempts to respond to a federal audit of Child Protective Services, but there seems to be a good plan in place. Department Secretary Alex Mayer told the Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resource Accountability his agency takes seriously the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General report on West Virginia’s compliance with child abuse and neglect requirements. “These are children’s lives, families’ futures, and the credibility of state ...

Good News For Wildlife

Editorials

For a state that at one time was known for rivers that caught fire, Ohio has made tremendous strides in cleaning up its waterways. More good news came last week from the state Department of Natural Resources, which is seeing success in its effort to reintroduce state-endangered lake sturgeon. The project has expanded to include the Cuyahoga, Sandusky and Scioto rivers, in addition to the Maumee River. Among the reasons for the sturgeon’s sharp decline here were dams blocking access to spawning sites and unregulated fishing. At one time, the Buckeye State had lost all known spawning ...

Maroon Knights Add to Splendid Legacy

Editorials

To reach the pinnacle of a state championship once in West Virginia high school football is awesome. To do it a few times is impressive. To do it 13 times, as Wheeling Central Catholic did last week in its Class A championship win? There may not be enough words to describe that feat. We can start with one: Wow. The Maroon Knights had already cemented their football program in Mountain State lore with their previous 12 championships. Then they ran away from Clay-Battelle in Charleston to win No. 13. And it was done with good old fashioned hard nosed football. The Maroon Knights ...

Why Limit Freedoms?

Editorials

U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, is proposing a change in U.S. law that would eliminate a freedom that has been cemented since 1967. His proposed Exclusive Citizenship Act of 2025 would eliminate dual citizenship and “establish that citizens of the United States shall owe sole and exclusive allegiance to the United States.” Moreno was born in Colombia. His family immigrated to the U.S. when he was 5 years old. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen at 18, and at that time, renounced his Colombian citizenship. “One of the greatest honors of my life was when I became an American ...

Lessons To Learn in Marshall County

Editorials

On Sept. 18, a school aide at McNinch Primary School in Moundsville reportedly witnessed a horrifying incident in which a teacher grabbed a 6-year-old girl — nonverbal and on the autism spectrum — by the neck with both hands and squeezed. That aide took the girl to the nurse’s office, who took photos of red marks on the girl’s neck. Then, the aide took the correct next step: reporting the incident to the school’s principal. After that, it seems, Principal Jane Duffy and Erin Cuffaro, district director of special programs, did not have the sense of urgency or desire to the ...