Letters to the Editor

Don’t Cut Tobacco Prevention Funding

Editor, News-Register: As a teacher in West Virginia, I am deeply concerned about recent decisions to cut both federal and state funding for youth tobacco prevention and education programs. These cuts threaten decades of progress—and more importantly, endanger the health of the next generation. I serve as a Raze adviser at Moundsville Middle School. In Raze, a youth-led movement against the tobacco industry, youth ambassadors across the state have played a vital role in educating students, shifting peer norms, and reducing youth tobacco use through grassroots activism and ...

Following Law Now Optional in W.Va.?

Editor, News-Register: I was very disappointed to read in a recent News Register article that the West Virginia superintendent of schools bowed to pressure from the governor’s office re: required childhood immunizations. Kudos to the Ohio County School Board for their decision to seek the advice of legal counsel on the matter. Since Senate Bill 460 was defeated in the West Virginia Senate and in the House, one would assume that the current childhood immunization law remains in effect. Failing to follow the existing law could put school boards at risk. West Virginia citizens ...

Rose Reinstatement Is the Right Move

Editor, News-Register: I am glad Pete Rose has been reinstated by Major League Baseball. It is time. Pete had an addiction and some people cannot say they are sorry to the public. He admitted he gambled on his team and went to prison. He admitted he made mistakes. I think there are a lot of mixed feelings on the subject. I want him in the Hall of Fame for his record and what he did for Major League Baseball! Kathy Dearth Wheeling

To All Those Who Walked for Jerry

Editor, News-Register: On Sunday, April 27, 2025, Jerry’s Walk — Illuminating Suicide Awareness held its ninth annual suicide prevention Walk in St. Clairsville. The event is an opportunity to encourage an open conversation around suicide with a goal of removing the stigma attached to what is truly a public health crisis. That stigma results in silence that tragically causes so many who are suffering to avoid seeking the help they need and deserve. The Walk also allows those that have survived a loss to suicide to come together and offer each other support. Jerry’s Walk wishes ...

A Real Pickle With Courts in Wheeling

Editor, News-Register: Four months ago, The Intelligencer reported that Wheeling City Council awarded a contract for $71,000 to fund eight “new” pickleball courts at the Patterson Sports Complex. Councilman (Dave) Palmer told reporter Eric Ayers at the time that the courts “should be completed and ready this coming spring” to “welcome pickleball players from outside the area for tournament play.” It’s now May and as of this writing, zero work has commenced. As a longtime player who considers Patterson my home court, I was initially hopeful about the project. But the ...

Federal Cuts Will Only Hurt W.Va.

Editor, News-Register: I worry about the indiscriminate cuts the Trump Administration is making to our federal workforce and what it will to our state and city. It is true that this country has to trim our trillions of dollars in national debt. Yet a multi-trillion dollar tax cut, which will add more trillions to the debt, does not seem the smart way to go. And nickle-and-diming programs without a comprehensive, sensible plan will not get the job done. Yet these smaller programs, such as PBS, NPR, the West Virginia Humanities, libraries and museums, Americorps, Headstart and ...