Local Columns

A Different Take on How To Fix Nation’s Public Schools

This piece is not going to be well received by a number of my readers. What you’re about to learn are my beliefs pertaining to educating our students based on my practical experiences. To digress, many contemporary businesses are looking, almost begging to hire new employees, but many young people don’t want to work at entry level positions. They want top wages without proving their worth. Now when my late wife, Peggy, and I moved to Wheeling in 1970, we knew no one in the area. We had to start at the bottom and work our way up. Peggy was employed as a waitress until she obtained a ...

Kiwanis Club Revived in Marshall County as Summer Approaches

There’s a Kiwanis Club in Marshall County again! After an absence of seven years (when the almost 100-year-old Kiwanis Club folded) the Marshall County Kiwanis Club was organized April 10. Kiwanis is a service organization of volunteers dedicated to serving the children of the world, one community, and one child at a time. It will be a part of the Capital District of Kiwanis International, which includes Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. The new Club will be in Division 18 which includes Kiwanis Clubs in Weirton, Wellsburg, Wheeling and Parkersburg. The Marshall ...

California on My Mind

As you are reading this, I am vacationing with my wife and mother-in-law in Southern California, staying at a resort just south of Orange County. For my mother-in-law, this is a bucket list trip to dip her toes in the Pacific Ocean for the first time. For my wife, this is an opportunity to visit Disney Land and see Hollywood. For me, it is about reconnecting spiritually with my biological mother’s side of the family. My mother, Ethel Mae Glee Adams, died in 2019 due to complications from lung cancer, being a lifelong smoker. My grandparents on my mother’s side have been dead for ...

This Mother’s Day, Pledge To Honor Mom All Year Long

How old am I? Recently, Prince Harry was seeking to repair any damage to the family that his book may have caused and also, he did not feel there was enough security being offered for him and his family while in England. One of the reasons he wants to reconcile is because he does not know how long his father has to live with his fight with cancer. One of the big stories over the past few years was that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were quitting their duties as the royal family. I don’t know how many times that has happened, but I know they are not the first. Yet still the act, the ...

Marshall Memo: Moundsville Updates; Schools; and Graduations

At Tuesday’s Moundsville City Council meeting, officials announced openings on the Historic Landmarks Commission, the Building Commission, the Housing Authority, and the Board of Zoning Appeals. If you’re interested in serving your city, contact Rick Healy at rhealy@cityofmoundsville.com to learn more or apply. While residents step up for city boards, Moundsville’s municipal building project took major steps forward recently. Crews wired breaker panels, installed interior and exterior lighting, and completed underground conduit to a new Morton Avenue pole for fiber internet. ...

Capitol Records

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve made my nearly annual trip to the U.S. Capitol Building to spend time with members of West Virginia’s congressional delegation. I’m writing this on Thursday afternoon from the U.S. Senate’s press gallery. I spent part of the day with U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, U.S. Sen. Jim Justice, and U.S. Rep. Riley Moore. The first time I made this trip was in March 2021 to shadow Capito, R-W.Va., and then-senator Joe Manchin, following them to votes and meetings. That was already a pretty surreal visit. I’m someone who loves going to ...