Editorials

Get Real With State ID

It’s been 20 years since Congress passed the Real ID Act. At the time, the idea was to have the program implemented by 2008, but opposition and other delays pushed the timeline. But now, the agreed-upon deadline is approaching rapidly. It is a mere three months away. Across the country, states are urging residents who have not already done so to collect the proper documents and get that “gold star” driver’s license. West Virginia’s Division of Motor Vehicles offers a couple of options. Those who are ready to hop online to start the process can go to ...

Prioritize the Issues Important to W.Va.

Mountaineers — always free, certainly; but also, always willing to be good sports, take responsibility, accept when things don’t go our way without complaining about it, and focus on what is really important for our state and our families. We don’t run investigations every time we’re disappointed in the way things have turned out. In fact, here, we frown upon frivolous legal action and wastes of time and taxpayer dollars. There’s difficult work to be done, after all. There are needs upon which those we elected to serve must be focusing. Unless, apparently, something ...

Excellence Name of the Game at Park

It’s a record that likely never will be toppled. Last weekend, the Speech and Debate Team at Wheeling Park High School captured its 45th — yes, 45th — consecutive state speech championship during the state’s Overall Speech Sweepstakes at West Virginia University in Morgantown. It’s a record that now goes back to 1980 when then-coach Fran Schoolcraft and her assistance William Cornforth instilled in a group of young students that they could be ... well, more. To continue that streak — that level of commitment it takes, year in and year out, to produce champions, for 45 years ...

Pats on the Back

- To the middle and high school students from Ohio and Marshall counties that will compete in May in the annual VEX Robotics World Championships. A handful of teams from our region qualified this past week during the state championships at Fairmont State University. Congratulations to all those that participated and best of luck to those students that will continue their efforts during the World Championships in Dallas!

It’s Time for Natural Gas to Power Ohio

U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli, R-Ohio, can be forgiven for his enthusiasm over a recent report. After all, the good news being proclaimed by the Ohio Natural Energy Institute’s “The Essential Facts on Essential Ohio Energy” are a re-polished version of the shiny proclamations we’ve been hearing for about 15 years now. Rulli was first elected to the state Senate in 2018. But well before that, organizations similar to the Ohio Natural Energy Institute were touting (then the Marcellus and Utica shales) as our region’s savior. “Our region has been blessed with an extraordinary ...

Let Sun Shine On Local Communities

As we near the end of this year’s Sunshine Week, communities across the country are continuing to rely on their local newspaper to ensure public officials are not doing business in the dark. This is becoming a difficult task due to the challenges facing the local news industry and also public officials doing their work in private. This Sunshine Week, as with every other week of the year, we at The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register pledge to do our best to ensure you and your neighbors are fully informed as to how your tax dollars are being spent, and how decisions made by ...