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Country singer Carroll closes Interstate Fair
Photo by Rachel Lane
Hope Melrose, 7 months, of Waverly, tries her first ice cream cone while her family watches truck pulling on Saturday at the fair. Saturday was the last day of the West Virginia Interstate Fair and Exposition.
July 20, 2008
MINERAL WELLS — The West Virginia Interstate Fair and Exposition ended its five-day run Saturday with truck pulls and country songs from national country star Jason Michael Carroll.
About 39,500 people were estimated to have attended the festival this year to enjoy new agricultural barns, new pathways, mud bogs, music, games, rides, food and sunshine. Fair board president Mike Zoller said no problems were reported throughout the event.
“I enjoy watching people leave happy... There have been a lot of smiles on a lot of faces,” he said.
» Full Story
Jamboree offers unique experiences
July 20, 2008
CAIRO — For two dozen handicapped children and teens, this weekend spent at North Bend State Park was one they will never forget during the Telecom Pioneers 30th annual International Sports Jamboree.
» Full Story
Ripley’s Megan Ross crowned Junior Fair Queen
July 20, 2008
RIPLEY — After the interviews, street wear, evening gown and event promotion competitions were all said and done, Ripley resident Megan Ross was crowned as the 2008 Jackson County Junior Fair Queen Saturday in Ripley.
» Full Story
Pow Wow continues today in Waterford
July 20, 2008
WATERFORD — Six men and women dressed in traditional Native American garb danced around a pole flying the American Flag on Saturday afternoon, while several men sat outside the circle and sang a Native American honor song.
» Full Story
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Jolene Craig
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Not another
Thu, July 17, 2008 @ 10:25AM
Is nothing sacred? There is news out of Hollywood this morning about film director/producer Rob Cohen having nabbed the rights to remake the 80s children's horror flick "Monster Squad." The movie - about a group of early teens who join forces with Frankenstein's Monster to stop Dracula, the Wolf Man and a mummy to save the world - has become a cult classic. It didn't do well at all in theaters, but as children of the era (myself included) have grown into adulthood, the film has gained in popularity. Just this past September it was released on DVD for the first time. I was one of the first to own it (thanks to a friend) and immediately began loaning the disk out to co-workers. If remade, "Monster Squad" will join the list of movies from my childhood to be ruined by Hollywood's lack of imagination. "Lost Boys: the Tribe," a sequel to "The Lost Boys," is due to be released direct to DVD later this month with less than stellar expectations.
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Hilary Heinzman
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Can't run 13.1 miles?? Try 2 instead
Thu, July 10, 2008 @ 9:04AM
Want to be a part of race weekend and running 13.1 miles is absolutely out of question for you? Want to try something a little bit more practical for your fitness level? Consider running or walking in the Parkersburg News and Sentinel Two-Mile Race. This race is great if you are trying to set a personal record, testing your summer training, or a high school or college team looking to get some race experience before the season starts. Most participants are a part of a team from work, or a group of friends who work all summer long to better their health.
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Rachel Lane
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Goodbye 600 Starbucks
Wed, July 2, 2008 @ 1:56PM
Starbucks has announced it will be closing 600 stores and cutting 7 percent of the workforce, about 12,000 full-time and part-time jobs. I'm not surprised. Starbucks has been advertising recently - they have basically never advertised before because they have not needed too. Word of mouth got them enough business to expand. While I have never been in favor of purchasing $4 cups of coffee daily, many people disagreed with me. Until gasoline became $4 a gallon. I think that $4 morning indulgence is only the first thing people are going to cut out of the daily budget.
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Jess Mancini
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Keep your promises
Thu, July 17, 2008 @ 11:01AM
I have to hang my hat with Gov. Joe Manchin on this one. He wants the Tri-State Racetrack & Gaming Center to make a public explanation about why it has yet to offer table games. Tri-State runs the dog track in Nitro where Kanawha County voters, after a bitter election last year between the foes of gambling and the supporters of the games, approved table games. The company in the campaign said it would build a $250 million expansion and create 1,000 jobs. Sounds like the governor has struck a nerve. Dan Adkins, vice president of Hartman & Tyner, the parent company of the race track, said the transformation has begun. Adkins said there was a $3 million surveillance system overhaul, two poker areas constructed and the simulcasting room was relocated. ``If anyone would get off their duffs and go take a look, they'd see things were moving forward,' he told the Associated Press. I don't have a problem with table games, but these companies must keep the campaign promises they make.
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Amy Mendenhall
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Death Angel by Linda Howard
Mon, July 14, 2008 @ 12:05PM
June is the official start of summer, so I'm kicking off the season with a new book a week that you should be sticking in a beach bag to take on vacation, or just relaxing with in the backyard along with a glass of sweet tea. This week's is a mystery/thriller offering. Be sure to check back every Monday for a new book for adults or teenagers! New York Times bestselling author Linda Howard returns with "Death Angel," combining a bit of mystery with romance and action-adventure in a book of bad guys and girls finding a second chance at life. Drea Rousseau has fashioned herself into an entirely different person - that of Rafael Salinas, noted crime lordás, mistress and eye candy. Drea's enjoying the high life while still being very careful of her boyfriend, for she knows one false move and she will disappear forever, that is, until the day the assassin shows up. The assassin wants to broker a deal with Rafael - for Drea.
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Jody Murphy
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The end of the whole mess
Thu, July 10, 2008 @ 10:21AM
It's over. It's finally over. The bad aftertaste of Rich Rodriguez's departure from West Virginia and West Virginia University finally reached a conclusion late Tuesday night with the coach, his agent and his lawyer agreeing to do what should have been done in the first place; pay the $4 million buy-out clause. This isn't about bitterness in R-Rod leaving for the University of Michigan. Someone wants to better themselves, great! To be honest it'd be hard to blame anyone for wanting a chance to coach football at storied Michigan. This is about the basic premise of honoring a commitment - in this case a signed contract. Rodriguez signed a contract with a $4 million, buy-out clause. Then when he left, he didn't want to pay. That's not fair and it wasn't right. It wasn't fair to former WVU basketball coach John Beilein, who left for UM, and has written at least one six-figure check to WVU to help pay a portion of his buy-out clause.
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Dave Payne
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Lewis Wetzel Chronicles
Thu, July 10, 2008 @ 11:00AM
In the late 1700s, Indians could attack settlements in present day West Virginia, burn some cabins, kidnap some people, steal some stuff, and feel safe once they crossed the Ohio River. Before Lewis Wetzel, that is. When Lewis was a young man, he was a likeable enough fellow to have around. The older he got, however, the crazier he got and with each passing year he became more eccentric. He had tassels hanging from his split earlobes. He grew his hair down to his knees so that any Indian who took his scalp would have a scalp worth the extra effort it would take to kill him. Everybody knew he was a nut, but folks were glad to have him around. Wetzel was a scout during Virginia Col. Daniel Brodhead's campaign against the Delaware on the Muskingum River in 1781. General George Washington himself had ordered the expedition to maintain some control over the Ohio River while the Continental Army fought the British farther east.
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Art Smith
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Tags make pages easier to find
Sat, July 5, 2008 @ 9:42AM
Nearly every person on the planet has now used a search engine. For most that means they go to Google and type in a few key words and what they are looking for pops up. The magic behind returning exactly what you are looking for has made Google billions and has spawned the new "science" of search engine optimization. If you operate a Web site you try very hard to supply the search engine what it wants. Google uses some 200 factors when rating sites, exactly how they use them remains a trade secret. Tons of books, articles, and web pages have been written to offer tips on how to make pages more search engine friendly. It boils down though, to having good content and then letting the search engines index the site. A good web site helps this task out by having special tags on a site.
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Jim Smith
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Big band coming!
Fri, July 18, 2008 @ 3:37PM
Get ready for an evening of musical pleasure! The 95-piece U.S. Army Field Band, with chorus, will make its first-ever appearance in Parkersburg on Oct. 13. The band is so large and needs such a large performance area that no stage in the county could accommodate it, not any of the school stages or even Smoot Theatre. So, this morning, amid all the preparations for ESPN's visit to the PHS Stadium for its taping of a segment on Parkersburg being nominated as TitleTown USA, I meet with Sgt. Maj. Darrin Blume and SFC John Luke, field band tour coordinators, to look over the PHS Fieldhouse as a possible site for the performance. Contracts were signed with the school and a written agreement was made with the Field Band to have it put on a 7 p.m. concert at the fieldhouse. There will be some opportunities for local high school musicians and for audience involvement with the band commander and conductor, Col. Thomas H.
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