|
Eschbacher's surgery said successful
May 21, 2008
PARKERSBURG - Parkersburg South High School Principal Tom Eschbacher successfully went through surgery Wednesday to remove a tumor from his brain and is expected to make a full recovery. Eschbacher was admitted to St.
» Full Story
W.Va. delegate race ends in tie
May 21, 2008
PARKERSBURG — In what veteran election officials are calling a first for Wood County, the primary canvass has ended in a tie for the third position on the Democratic ticket for 10th District House of Delegates.
» Full Story
C8 Health Project info sealed by court
May 21, 2008
PARKERSBURG — A recent Wood County Circuit Court order seals information gathered during the C8 Health Project, but qualifying medical schools and other experts can petition the court for their own analysis and review.
» Full Story
C8 Science Panel begins followup
May 21, 2008
PARKERSBURG — The three-member C8 Science Panel, appointed by the Wood County Circuit Court to determine whether C8 has a probable link to any health effects, will begin sending introductory letters in the next few weeks to those involved in the pane
» Full Story
Two injured when porch collapses
May 21, 2008
VIENNA — Two people were injured Tuesday when a porch broke free from a garage apartment and fell about 20 feet.
The incident occurred shortly before 8 p.m. at 5606 1/2 Fourth Ave.
» Full Story
Belpre school board drops marching band
May 20, 2008
BELPRE — Belpre City Schools District Board of Education approved a motion Monday night to not have a marching band for the coming school year.
» Full Story
Top Headline Poll
Considering national controversy over selection methods of determining high school valedictorians, should school districts cease naming valedictorians?
Yes
35%
No
65%
Online Newspaper Ads
|
|
Featured Ad
Parkersburg News and Sentinel - House Ads
|
Blogs
Methods of Distraction
Jolene Craig
Wood County Delegation visits Japan
Cam Huffman
Business Savvy
Rachel Lane
Mancini's Commentaries
Jess Mancini
Amy's Book Nook
Amy Mendenhall
Five minutes in a Verbal Tsunami
Jody Murphy
An Elk River Boy made good
Dave Payne
It's your internet
Art Smith
Editor's Log
Jim Smith
Close
|

Jolene Craig
|
Wow
Wed, May 21, 2008 @ 9:32AM
I knew it had been a while since I posted, but I hadn't realized how long until I noticed a frequent commentor asked that this blog be moved because I am not a frequent poster. I am terribly sorry for the lack of new posts, but other work is more important. Now, onto the real post: I know the last post was about music coming back, but Hollywood has been trying to cash in on Generation X for several years. First it was the theatrical re-release of the Stephen Spielberg classic "E.T." for the film's 20th anniversary in 2002 and now it's sequels 20-plus years in the making.
|
Close
|

Cam Huffman
|
Day 8 - The Wrap-up and Final Reflections
Fri, May 16, 2008 @ 10:38AM
After a fascinating and I think productive week in Japan we thought we would leave you with some random observations and wonderful memories of our time in Tokyo and Nagoya: It’s amazing that cities with millions of people packed into relatively little space could be so clean. The streets and building were spotless. Not only did you not find trash, you didn’t find trash cans on every corner. They meticulously recycle and they take personal pride and responsibility for their surroundings. They are lessons more of us need to learn. It doesn’t take very long to notice that the American Auto Industry has little penetration in the Japanese car market. While we spotted a handful of luxury vehicles from the U.S.
|
Close
|

Rachel Lane
|
Rebate check
Tue, May 20, 2008 @ 3:20PM
Most people in the United States will be receiving rebate checks thanks to the stimulus package congress passed several months ago. While I don't think the $600 checks will have much influence on the economy, it can help the pocketbook. Most people seem to say they will be spending the check on debt, gasoline and savings. Possibilities are practically endless (as long as it doesn't cost most than $600), but there are some purchase that can help make life safer, more relaxing or cheaper. Since gasoline is so high in price, don't forget to take care of your vehicle. Properly inflated tires, or new tires if needed, help improve case mileage by 1 or 2 miles a gallon. If your car is in need of an oil change, now would be a great time to change it. Reseal windows around the house. It will help keep the air you pay for inside the house, keeping it cooler in the summer. Also, purchase curtains for windows to keep the sun out, keeping the air cooler.
|
Close
|

Jess Mancini
|
Living and dying by the political sword
Wed, April 30, 2008 @ 6:53AM
I was wondering when someone was going to cut to the chase. The Wood County Board of Education Tuesday rejected a local pay raise for teachers and service employees. "If you don't consider this issue an important one for the employees of Wood County, then I hope all of you enjoy the remainder of your board term, because I am certain the WVSSPA, the AFT and the WVEA will join together to see that we elect future board members who care for and about all the employees in Wood County,' said Vicki Squires, president of the service personnel association. Then this from Bob Mortgenstern, regional representative of the West Virginia American Federation of Teachers: "We're very upset with the direction the school board has chosen to go. We believe there has been a breakdown in trust. Unlike a bruise, this cut will take a long time to heal." The implication is watch out for the next election.
|
Close
|

Amy Mendenhall
|
What Are Some of Your Book Recommendations?
Wed, May 21, 2008 @ 11:08AM
I make book recommendations all of the time. What about you readers out there? What books do you recommend? Edelene Wood recently wrote me about two books she read. One is "Monongah" by West Virginian writer J. Davitt McAteer. According to Wood, it tells the story of the Dec. 7 explosion of a mine owned by Parkersburg's first millionaire Johnson Newlen Camden and the victims were almost all immigrants from Italy, Hungary, Austria, Russia, Turkey and a few Americans. Another book Wood recommended was the historical-fiction book Ivan Ivanov by Dr. John Tomikel and published by Allegheny Press. According to Wood, it weaves a romantic story against the real horrific conditions in Russia leading up to World War II. Wood says she is a non-fiction reader normally, but thought this book would be good enough to make into a movie. So any other readers out there want to make book recommendations?
|
Close
|

Jody Murphy
|
Re-enacting something that never happened?
Wed, May 21, 2008 @ 9:36AM
This weekend at Mountwood Park Civil War re-enactors will be staging the "Battle for Volcano." Organizers of the event are calling it a re-enactment. The problem is there is nothing to re-enact! There never was a battle for Volcano. I have no problem with Civil War buffs gathering at Mountwood in period clothing to discuss the life and times of soldiers and civilians, but re-enacting a battle that never happened - despite the silly idea that it "just as easily could have" - does little good for the historical education of West Virginians. Twenty years from now, if the mythical "Battle for Volcano" continues, I guarantee people will think it was a real battle that took place during the Civil War. In a weekend article in the News and Sentinel, Mountwood Park's director of marketing said the understanding of history is vital to society. The director even goes so far as to repeat a common quote: "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
|
Close
|

Dave Payne
|
Buckeye Harmonica Festival
Wed, May 21, 2008 @ 10:15AM
This was my second year at Buckeye Harmonica Festival, which is held each April in Columbus, Ohio. It's a good chance to see what's new in the harmonica world, representatives of the various harmonica makers, especially Seydel, Suzuki and Hering (although I didn't see Hering this year) are there each year. As a harmonica technician, the table I most enjoyed was the Buckeye Harmonica club table, where, and this is my assumption, club members donate items to be sold to raise money for the club. I love wood-comb harmonicas and I bought an old wood-body Hering chromatic there for five dollars. It was marked “parts only,” which I considered a personal challenge. The problem with this harmonica was the threads were stripped on the metal insert that the mouthpiece screw goes in. It's almost impossible to drill something hard like metal when surrounded by something soft like wood, the drill bit wants to slide off the metal and into the wood.
|
Close
|

Art Smith
|
From space, Parkersburg is still a little fuzzy
Mon, April 28, 2008 @ 4:45PM
A few months ago I wrote a blog about how fuzzy the area was when viewed through images used by Google Earth and Google Maps. With some areas of the country you can zoom in with the popular software so tight that you feel like a peeping tom. Not so with the Mid-Ohio Valley. It was a blurry mess. In the January blog I used Marietta as an example and displayed the blurry images of downtown that were generated by the program. Since then, something has happen. I really doubt that Google pays any attention to what I write, but the images of Marietta are now clear. In fact they are stunning. You can read MARIETTA on the football field. You can see fences in yards. You can tell what color the cars on the roads are. You get the idea. Parkersburg is still a fuzzy mess.
|
Close
|

Jim Smith
|
What's next?
Wed, May 21, 2008 @ 8:34AM
The Belpre Board of Education Monday evening eliminated the high school marching band program, opting not to renew contracts of the marching band director and the flag corps director. The school board, citing its continuing financial woes, said 13 members of the band just wasn't enough participation in the program to warrant its continuation. Interesting, there were fewer than 13 members on the high school football team. Does that mean it will be eliminated, too, especially since there are numerous paid coaches to operate the program, compared to one paid position for the marching band program? Granted, football games bring in gate money, but so does the marching band festival and much of the marching band expense is financed through band parent fundraisers and the parents' operation of the concession stand at those football games. The annual marching band festival also brings in money for the community restaurants, gas stations, etc.
|

Calendars
Local events
Parkersburg High School
Parkersburg South High School
|
« April 2008
|
Local events
May 2008
|
June 2008 »
|
Close
|
|
|
|
Sunday
|
Monday
|
Tuesday
|
Wednesday
|
Thursday
|
Friday
|
Saturday
|
27
|
28
|
29
|
30
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
13
|
14
|
15
|
16
|
17
|
18
|
19
|
20
|
21 TODAY
|
22
|
23
|
24
|
25
|
26
|
27
|
28
|
29
|
30
|
31
|
|