Local Columns

Marshall Memo: A Love for Mathematics; Adult Education; and Birthdays

Students in fourth through 12th grade put their “mathletic” skills to the test during the annual Marshall County Math Field Day competition held recently at Wheeling University. Some 150 students competed in categories ranging from mental math, mental estimation, measurement estimation, and short answers. Participants also took a written test. Math Field Day was established to promote increased student participation in classroom and extracurricular mathematics. One of the primary objectives of the event is to demonstrate mathematics being a challenging yet exciting subject to ...

2024 Election Season Is Underway in West Virginia

Fire the metaphorical starter’s pistol, because the 2024 primary and general election season begins now as you are reading this. The candidate filing period for statewide candidates continues through midnight Saturday, Jan. 27. Races on the statewide ballot include: U.S. president, U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, governor, secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer, agricultural commissioner, attorney general, Supreme Court of Appeals, Intermediate Court of Appeals, state Senate and House of Delegates. The candidate filing period always is an interesting time, ...

Israel-Hamas War: It’s Time for a Second Look

Early in the Israel-Hamas War (Oct. 17, 2023) I analyzed the conflict according to the traditional norms of the Catholic just war theory: 1.) a defensive war in response to armed aggression 2.) undertaken as the last resort 3.) with a reasonable prospect of success 4.) and likely not to cause worse evils than the one it wants to eliminate (this last criterion sometimes referred to as proportionality). I claim no infallibility for my analysis but it seemed clear to me that Israel was justified in attacking Hamas in Gaza in response to the brutal rape, murder and ...

Credit Card Competition Act Hurts Economic Growth

Economic development has always been near and dear to my heart. Helping our economy grow strong is one of the reasons I ran for the West Virginia House of Delegates, and it is something that I take very seriously. Sometimes expanding our economy means that I must support state bills and sometimes it means that I must oppose others that I think will hurt expansion and growth. And sometimes it means that I must either support or oppose federal legislation. That is the case in this instance. Today I am writing about the Credit Card Competition Act and the damage it will do to our ...

Marshall Memo: Success at the Strand; Support; and Pre-K Registration

This past year, the Strand Theatre in Moundsville was highlighted with programming opportunities, facility upgrades and continued community collaborations resulting in over 4,500 attending events there. The Strand benefited from numerous safety upgrades to the fly space above the stage, and this means that the safety of performers, technicians, and patrons is set for the future. The Theatre continued to build and strengthen community connections by partnering with organizations such as the Marshall County Public Library, City of Moundville’s Arts and Culture Commission and the Cockayne ...

New Year Clouds Crystal Ball In Charleston

Well, here we are. It is 2024 and I’m heading into the new year kind of blind. It’s natural to try to make some predictions or express some expectations when a new year approaches, but when it comes to West Virginia politics I find it hard to see what the future holds. As a reporter, I try to avoid making outright predictions, especially about races. I might have personal opinions about who might win this race or lose that race, but I try not to broadcast those opinions publicly. For example: it might be easy to say at this moment that Gov. Jim Justice will win the Republican ...