Editorials

Voting Makes The Biggest Difference

If you’re beginning to feel as though the stakes in this year’s elections are unusually high, you are not alone. Even a cursory glance at newspaper opinion pages or social media feeds will tell you there are strong feelings on many important issues — and plenty of people believe they must weigh in on the candidates who might address those issues. Here’s the problem. When it really counts — Election Day — those opinion pieces or social media posts will not move the needle. Your vote will; and primary elections are closer than you might think. According to the West Virginia ...

A Positive Move Forward

An Ohio state law has already made a positive impact locally, on the Belmont County Board of Developmental Disabilities. Martins Ferry resident Hannah Patterson was named to the board, becoming the first person with a lived experience to be a member of the board. Ohio law now requires that appointing authorities include at least one person with a developmental disability when making initial appointments or filling vacancies on county boards. Patterson, who has cerebral palsy, said her place on the county board of developmental disabilities is an important move. “I feel it is ...

Warner Protecting West Virginia Voters

As West Virginia state officials have been doing for several years now, Secretary of State Kris Warner pushed back against federal overreach this week when he announced the Mountain State “will not volunteer the release of personally identifying information of every registered West Virginian to the U.S. Department of Justice. Warner said the Department of Justice has sent requests to almost every state seeking registered voters’ information such as ID numbers, Social Security numbers and other identifying information. His office was having none of it. “West Virginians entrust ...

Quick Work Shown To Resolve Windsor Manor Situation

There was good news for Windsor Manor Apartments residents last week, as the condemnation order that had been slapped on the building had been lifted after what was called an “aggressive pest control effort” was completed. The apartments had been issued the order by the City of Wheeling in January after inspections uncovered infestations of roaches and bed bugs. The complex then had one month to get the pest situation under control. “Management was very responsive and communicative with our building officials,” said Brenda J. Delbert, director of Building and Planning for the ...

State of the City Is Powered by People

Wheeling Mayor Denny Magruder hit the nail on the head when, in his State of the City Address this past week, he said that it was the people of the Friendly City that power the engine of its success. At the end of his speech, Magruder reviewed the many investments that have been made in the Friendly City. “These investments matter,” he said, “but they are not our greatest asset. That distinction belongs to the people of Wheeling — resilient, hard-working and deeply committed to this community.” Much of Magruder’s speech was focused on triumphs of the last year and ...

Remembering Rusty Jebbia

The City of Wheeling lost one of its best public servants with the passing of Rusty Jebbia at age 71. Jebbia spent 44 years with the city in numerous roles, starting as part of Wheeling’s engineering department, moving to assistant city manager and wrapping up his career as the city’s director of public works. Those who knew him remembered him as a cherished wealth of information, someone always willing to help, even if it was in the dead of night. “Rusty was an incredibly dedicated public official who loved this city wholeheartedly,” Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron ...