Local Columns

Don’t Expect a Debate in W.Va. Senate Race

I’m writing this on Friday, but by the time you read this I will be on vacation at Disney World with my wife, mother-in-law, my best friend, his wife and their three young daughters. This will be my friend’s family’s first time at Disney, so I’m looking forward to being part of those memories. Let’s get to the column then. --- Don’t expect a debate between Republican Gov. Jim Justice and Democratic former Wheeling mayor Glenn Elliott for their U.S. Senate race. My friend and colleague Brad McElhinny with WV MetroNews posed the question about the possibility of a debate ...

Why Can’t We Disagree Without Being Disagreeable?

It is sad to hear of a second attempt on one of the presidential candidates’ lives. It’s a club that no one wants to be a member of; the club where someone tries to take your life. It is reported that only two American presidents are members of the two assassination attempts club: President Gerald R. Ford, while he was the sitting president, and former President Donald Trump, while running as a candidate. The good news is they both survived both attempts. It is reported that the two men who attacked former President Trump at one time voted for or supported him. It shows the ...

Marshall Memo: Courthouse Facelift Complete, Spooky Autumn Events Scheduled

This past week one of three projects in Marshall County was completed — the Marshall County Courthouse. Yet to be completed are the Marshall County Health Department and the Moundsville City Building. As to the courthouse contract, total sum to date is $6,737,792, while the original contact amount was $6,652,460. The money for this project was budgeted from general county funds. The Marshall County Commission has been very fiscally conservative and, because of that, the commissioners were able to pay cash and not float bonds for this project. The courthouse was built in 1875 with ...

Advantages of Synthetic Turf Today: Not Your Father’s Surface

Aren’t sports meant to be played on natural turf? That’s what I thought when I first heard Mount Union College (now University) was trading in its natural grass for an artificial field in the summer of 2002. It wasn’t until after I investigated this new breed of synthetic turf that my perspective changed, and it led to my new career in the synthetic turf industry. Today, the proposed House Bill 605 would require Ohio professional sports stadiums that seat 10,000 or more and host preseason, regular season, and postseason events to be 90% natural grass. While this may sound ...

To cut or not to cut is now the question

We now have nearly two weeks until lawmakers gather for the Sept. 30 special session to pass Gov. Jim Justice’s 5% cut in personal income tax rates, and at this point I’m just not sure it can pass. That doesn’t mean it won’t pass. There is certainly time for the governor’s advisors (Chief of Staff Brian Abraham and Department of Revenue Secretary Larry Pack) and legislative leaders to come to some form of agreement on bill language to make such a cut happen. The hang up on the state Senate side appears to be how to pay for the 5% personal income tax cut, which would return ...

Marshall Memo: School Staff Changes, a Holiday Play, and ‘We Serve’

Four Marshall County school personnel were approved as Class of 2028 advisors by the board of education this past Tuesday. They were Brandice Walton, Jennifer Yates, Kylie Krieger and Derek Martin. Both Walton and Yates will be advisors at John Marshall High School, while Krieger and Martin will be class advisors at Cameron High School. Hattie DeBolt will become department head of CTE and Fine Arts at CHS. In other matters: Resignations include Brice Brennan as Leo Club advisor at Sherrard Middle School, Debra Higginson as Bus Safety Team, countywide, and Morgan Piatt, ...