Editorials

Don’t Ignore the Flu

It is the season during which many of us simply accept that we will get the common cold or come down with the flu, but failure to do all we can to prevent such viruses can be dangerous. In some cases, it can be deadly. Recently, Ohio reported its first pediatric flu death of the season — a teenager under 18 in Greene County, according to state health officials. In fact, each year there are between one and seven pediatric flu deaths in the state. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nationwide 6,300 to 52,000 people died from the flu annually between 2010 ...

Protect Yourself This Tax Season

As “political season” ramps up, election filings begin, tax preparation is underway, and any number of 2026 tasks come to mind at the start of the year, state officials are warning residents to beware of phishing campaigns and other cyber crimes in which deceptive website addresses and other techniques lead people to believe they are dealing with a state agency when they are not. Generally, the goal is to gain login credentials or other personal information — maybe even money. Criminals do so by creating web addresses that LOOK as though they came from state agencies, or send ...

Upward Mobility Act Sound

Working families who are supported by federal benefits can sometimes find themselves in a difficult spot when a potential promotion or raise at work is not cause for celebration, but sparks worries about falling off the benefits cliff. Those receiving federal public assistance can see a complete loss of federal resources after even a small increase in income. But the Upward Mobility Act, introduced by U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, is meant to change that. Better still, it would help streamline some of the bureaucracy that feeds off such programs. It would create a five-year pilot ...

Wheeling Police Earn Praise for Overdose Stats

It wasn’t long ago that Wheeling was deep in the throes of the opioid crisis. In 2021, the city experienced all-time highs in drug overdoses and overdose deaths. According to data from the Wheeling Police Department, there were 210 overdoses that year and 28 overdose deaths. Yet over the next five years, the outlook has changed drastically, both statistics are at lows not seen in a decade. That’s thanks to the approach that Wheeling Police and Chief Shawn Schwertfeger have taken since his arrival in the Friendly City, a combination of diversion and discipline, enforcement and ...

Pats on the Back

- To leaders of the Ohio District Council of Pentecostal Churches, which spent the week in Ohio County for its January Conference. That week including helping serve meals and donating care packages and clothing to those in need at the Soup Kitchen of Greater Wheeling. - To former Intelligencer sports editor Doug Huff, who was recently included in MaxPrep’s list of the top 25 most influential people in high school football history. He joined a list that included President Teddy Roosevelt, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, football legends Red Grange and Jim Thorpe and ...

Tax Cuts Should Come Cautiously

Gov. Patrick Morrisey is right to note West Virginians are “feeling the impact of inflation,” as he pointed out Monday. “People know that groceries cost more. Gas has (cost) more. Utilities have (cost) more,” he said. It is easy, then, to understand why he wants to find a way to do something about that by speeding up the state’s path to already approved cuts, and is proposing reducing the state’s personal income tax rates by between 5% and 10%. It’s exciting talk, but once lawmakers dig into the idea, they will likely have to pump the brakes. Revenue from the personal ...