Editorials

Resolve to Grow In the New Year

As we wrap up one year and look hopefully ahead to the next, most in our region are looking forward to the possibility of peace, prosperity, success … all the good things that are possible when the blank slate of an entire year stretches out before us. Sure, we take some accountability by assigning resolutions to ourselves — improvement plans to which we say we will stick for 365 days. (On the other hand, some eat their pork and sauerkraut and hope for the best knowing they’ve done their part.) But it is worth asking ourselves: What do we truly want for ourselves, our families, ...

A Deserving Teacher of the Year Winner

Wheeling Middle School special education teacher Tiffany Barnes recently received a big check, literally and figuratively, for her triumph as West Virginia Teacher of the Year. The Horace Mann Education Corp. came to her school right before holiday break with an oversized check in the amount of $5,000. (She got a smaller, actual check, too.) And what was she planning to do with that new found financial boost? As always, Barnes was thinking about her students. That money was going to a sensory room Barnes is designing for her students. It’s another way that Barnes is looking out ...

Restore Funding Now

Ohio’s elected representatives in Washington, D.C., are doing their best to understand and overcome a bizarre federal decision to suspend the state’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership award. U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, along with U.S. Reps. Max Miller, Michael Turner, Robert Latta, David Joyce, Mike Carey, Michael Rulli and David Taylor, all R-Ohio, sent a letter earlier this week to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, asking him to restore the flow of funds to the Buckeye State program. This is in addition to a letter Husted sent to Lutnick on Dec. 11 asking for ...

Trade Jobs Are a Great Option for Youth

Those who have the opportunity to spend time with younger family members over this holiday break may be tempted to ask questions such as “What do you want to be when you grow up?” or “What are you studying in college?” A growing number of employers are hoping the answer to that question is plumber, carpenter or even conveyor belt repairperson. There are so few people entering (or staying in) the skilled trades that consulting firm McKinsey predicts an estimated imbalance of 20 job openings for every one net new employee between 2022 and 2032. Employers such as Walmart and ...

Caring for Our Seniors

Elected officials and policymakers in Ohio have plenty to work on in the coming years. We talk a lot about the loss of population, but there’s a follow-up to that: The Buckeye State’s population is shrinking AND aging. Data projections show that by 2040, the percentage of residents 65 or older will rise to 25%, while the percentage of those 85 and older will make an even more significant leap. This is not just an Ohio problem, of course. That will be an unprecedented challenge to our social infrastructure — Medicaid, housing, transportation, long-term care — all while ...

Show Kindness in the New Year

As the calendar pushes past Christmas Day and toward the New Year, it gives us time to reflect on the Ohio Valley’s 2025. And what a year it was. During the last 12 months, we saw plenty of tough times. But through those times, we saw shining examples of kindness and community. That was no more evident than in the devastating flash floods in Ohio County. Nine lives were lost, along with dozens of homes. Families were forced to rebuild almost, if not entirely, from scratch. And many of those families struggled to find the means to do so. Yet, in the days, weeks and months that ...