Worried about venturing out for a COVID-19 test, waiting in line, figuring out whether your insurance will cover it, and how long it will take to get results? If you are like most responsible West Virginians, you know it would be smart to get tested, particularly at this time of year and as our ...
Many Mid-Ohio Valley residents make it part of their holiday tradition to donate to the Salvation Army — either through the organization’s Red Kettle Campaign or the Angel Tree program. Some wonderful folks find a way to do both. This year is a little different, and the opportunities for ...
Doing your Christmas shopping at local stores is always the best bet, for many reasons. But many people will be making substantial purchases this year with online retailers, primarily because of the COVID-19 epidemic. After all, it seems safer to avoid in-person shopping and go the electronic ...
Not long ago, we wrote that COVID-19 seemed to have surged once again into nursing homes. At the time, public health officials reported active outbreaks of the disease at 65 long-term care facilities in West Virginia. An update just a few days later put the number at 78. Just 45 Mountain State ...
UP: To the folks at places such as Recovery Point, the Salvation Army or Norwood United Methodist Church who found a way to carry on Thanksgiving dinner traditions last week to help those most in need of the support of their community, this year. “This is my second year, and it’s amazing to ...
Saturday, officially, is Small Business Saturday. It is the day on which, for the past several years, clever marketers have suggested we spend a single day altering our shopping habits to explore the small, locally owned businesses in our communities. It’s a great idea, but it is not big ...
For years, veterans of military service and their families have worried about the Department of Veterans Affairs. News of lengthy wait-lists, enormous cost overruns on new facilities and similar outrages was, to say the least, worrisome. It got worse in 2018, when what happened at a VA ...
What a year in which to have an opportunity to purposefully gather our thoughts and be thankful. We need this day, which like so much else this year is different. We need this reminder to look toward what is good, and that for which we can, still, be grateful. Some have been blissfully ...
U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials and scientists are in a race against death, but it is one they must undertake in a cautious sprint. Two COVID-19 vaccines appear nearly ready to go. Before doses already on the production line can be distributed, the FDA has to approve ...
Remote learning simply isn’t doing the job for many West Virginia students forced by COVID-19 to stay away from their classrooms. That has been painfully obvious to many educators, parents and school children for months. State Superintendent of Schools Clayton Burch made it official last ...
UP: To organizers of the many local events that have been canceled as we face a new surge in COVID-19. It is a difficult decision to cancel or postpone the wonderful traditional events that bring us all together as we start into the holiday season. But you are doing the right thing. Don’t ...
Gov. Jim Justice is right to hold off on taking action recommended by the West Virginia Education Association, to close schools from Thanksgiving until the beginning of 2021. As the governor noted, “There are so many ramifications” to such an order. But Justice may want to meet the WVEA ...
Some in the Democratic Party are suggesting a virtual re-do of our political system. U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is both right and responsible in letting them know he will not go along with that. Depending on how two U.S. Senate races scheduled for January in Georgia go, it is possible ...
In discussing the city’s program to reconnect homeless individuals with their families, Parkersburg Mayor Tom Joyce said it “hasn’t put a dent” in the crimes linked to some homeless individuals in our area. One thing is certain, though, it has made an enormous difference for 25 people ...
While Joe Biden is not yet officially president-elect, it seems clear he will be the nation’s next chief executive. The sooner he clarifies his agenda — especially regarding energy — the better. Certainly within days of the election, some energy companies began revealing their own plans. ...
People are dying virtually every day at nursing homes in West Virginia. You would not know that to look at the website maintained by the state Department of Health and Human Resources (dhhr.wv.gov/COVID-19). On Friday, a representative of a nursing home in West Virginia told its local ...
UP: To the number of organizations that last week found a way to observe Veterans Day without the usual parades and large gatherings. “(Veterans) are our protectors who protected us against all enemies foreign and domestic ... you protect our way of life,” said Veterans Advocate Darren ...
We’ve all heard by now the cry that “masks don’t work!” They are just an infringement upon our rights, some folks say. Well, even if you are of the opinion that masks do not stem the spread of COVID-19 (they do), or that being asked to wear one in public is taking away your freedom (it ...
Parkersburg City Council took an important step this week in adjusting its approach to the way law enforcement interacts with our community’s homeless population. Members approved on first reading an ordinance that creates a civilian homeless outreach coordinator to work with the Parkersburg ...
It would not be a surprise if Gov. Jim Justice’s language turned even more colorful than normal and perhaps a bit angry when he was informed of a “communications lapse” regarding COVID-19. If so, we don’t blame him. We agree, in fact. Monday morning, the state Department of Health and ...