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Caring for West Virginia Children

Editorials

Slow progress is being made toward improving circumstances for state Child Protective Services workers and those they serve. Last week, state Department of Human Service Secretary Alex Mayer announced decreases in child welfare vacancies, which sit at a rate of 8.5% as of Sept. 1, compared to 27.3% in 2023. Mayer focused on CPS vacancies in Doddridge, Pleasants, Upshur, Lewis and Ritchie counties, about which concerns had rightly been raised by Third Judiciary Circuit Court Judge Tim Sweeney. Mayer had been among those DHS and Bureau of Social Services officials ordered by Sweeney to ...

Women of All Ages Must Focus on Health

Editorials

Breast Cancer Awareness Month is this month, an annual reminder for women of all ages to be vigilant about their health. This year, one organization wants younger women to be especially careful. Quilt for the Cure, an awareness group through Neighborhood Ford Store, made it a point last week to tell younger women, those under 40, to pay attention. Nancy Lewis of Neighborhood Ford Store was spurred to speak when she saw statistics that women under 40 are more likely to have aggressive forms of the disease, that metastatic breast cancer rates in women under 40 have risen 3.5% each ...

Get Out and Walk the Mountaineer Mile

Editorials

Though the weather is still warm enough to make us forget, cooler temperatures are on their way. As the cold gray of winter appears on the horizon, it’s a good time for those who love the outdoors to remember: There’s no such thing as bad weather, only poor clothing choices. The Mountaineer Mile has been a tool to help West Virginians stay healthier for months now. But representatives of Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s office took the chance this week to visit a couple of parks in Pleasants and Wetzel counties to remind us there are walkable opportunities outdoors in the Mountain State ...

Caution With Data Centers

Editorials

Data centers have generated plenty of buzz in Ohio, as some economic development officials have touted them as an integral part of the state’s economic future. That may be true, but the Ohio Chamber of Commerce has some words of caution as it releases a new report through its research foundation on the economic impact of those centers. SRC EvalMetrics LLC prepared the report, which took a look at Ohio’s spot in the upper echelon of North American data center markets, but also noted a few challenges. For 2024, the data center industry here “supported more than 95,000 jobs across ...

Working Toward a Drug-Free West Virginia

Editorials

State and regional law enforcement agencies continue to fight diligently against one of West Virginia’s most dangerous foes: the flow of fentanyl and other drugs that continues to endanger and kill Mountain States residents still falling victim to the substance abuse epidemic. On Sept. 10, the West Virginia State Police, the Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force and the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area worked together on what has been billed as one of the largest fentanyl busts in state history, in Mercer County. It yielded 54 pounds of suspected ...