Proposed policies to govern charter schools in West Virginia have been made public by the state Board of Education. Fred Albert, leader of the second-largest teachers union in the state, appears not to care what policies are adopted, however. Any policy permitting charters is unacceptable to ...
State Sen. Bob Beach, D-Monongalia, is right to be worried about e-cigarettes. It was in his district, after all, that two teenagers had to be hospitalized after using e-cigarette cartridges laced with heroin. Last week, Beach wrote to Gov. Jim Justice suggesting a public health emergency be ...
West Virginia’s public employees just aren’t retiring like they used to. According to Consolidated Public Retirement Board executive director Jeffrey Fleck, significantly fewer public employees — including teachers — are choosing to retire this year. In a normal year, an average of ...
When members of the West Virginia Board of Education voted last week to approve Wood County Schools’ plan, which includes closure of three elementary schools in spring 2020, they did so in a manner that suggested they understood the difference between emotions and fiscal reality. In fact, ...
UP: To Van Devender Middle School students Jordan Mayhew, Nate McPeak, Meredith Poole and Emily Winter for their accomplishments in completing the grade-level i-Ready programs in English and math. Eighth-grader Mayhew completed the math program, while eighth-grader Poole and seventh-grader ...
It’s good to have friends, and we here in West Virginia know we can usually count on our neighbors to be there for us in time of need. Recently, the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Department found out it had some very good friends who were willing to lend a hand. Road conditions in Calhoun ...
State officials have begun planning to reduce spending out of West Virginia’s general revenue fund by $100 million this year because revenue is coming in slower than had been hoped. But what about the other major state budget, the State Road Fund? It is in even worse shape. At the end of ...
As Wood County Schools continues to go school-by-school, computer-by-computer checking and repairing machines affected by a ransomware attack last week, local residents are getting a first-hand look at the way terrorists and criminals have shifted tactics in recent years. In fact, more than ...
About a week ago, state officials announced the RISE West Virginia program had completed 75 homes for victims of the devastating June 2016 floods in southern counties. Unless enormous progress in RISE is recorded during the next couple of months, state legislators convening the regular annual ...
When Americans began observing Armistice Day, it was a way to honor the veterans of what they thought was “the war to end all wars,” World War I. All too quickly it became obvious there would be veterans of many more wars and military conflicts just as deserving of such a day of honor. So, ...
Should one need further proof that the federal government and its bureaucracy are dangerously behind and out-of-touch with reality, take a look at the “revelation” presented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week. It turns out, childhood trauma — or Adverse ...
UP: To those who took time to vote on social media for K9 Drago, who received honorable mention in the run for the Aftermath K9 Grant national award this year. The $500 prize combined with a matching gift from an anonymous donor means $1,000 will be headed to the Wood County K9 unit. That is in ...
Politics in West Virginia is not like that at the national level. Here, Democrats and Republicans can argue about policy like, well, ladies and gentlemen. Or they used to be able to, anyway. One of the most effective Democrat leaders in that regard has been state Senate Minority Leader Roman ...
Parkersburg Fire Chief Jason Matthews said he was grateful someone was on scene before the fire department’s arrival, after Jo Pinkerton was able to help get a woman out of a house fire in time to save her life. Surely Linda Carter, who has mobility issues and was calling out for help when ...
Nearly 2 percent of children under 18 years of age in West Virginia are in foster care. That is roughly three times the national rate, and it explains a lot about failings within our state’s foster care system. Officials say the substance abuse epidemic and our continued flailing economy are ...
Very, very few people receive $79,000 pay raises in a year. But Michael Bransfield, former bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, did. Financial records indicate in 2015, Bransfield’s salary as bishop was $136,488. But in 2016, he was paid $215,571. In 2017, his last ...
It is doubtful ISIS — the Islamic State terrorist organization — was without a leader for more than a few hours after Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died by his own hand rather than be captured in a raid by U.S. forces in Syria. ISIS already had a succession plan in place before al-Baghdadi ...
It took more than three years, but last week, Vienna was able to complete a project prompted by news in May 2016 that higher-than-acceptable levels of C8 had been detected in its well water. Among the reasons for the amount of time needed was the construction of new carbon filter facilities ...
UP: To local law enforcement officers and other first responders who have gone to various Mid-Ohio Valley schools in recent days to build good relationships with kids as part of a week that kicked off with National First Responder’s Day. “Lots of different agencies participate with us to ...
Many Americans are aware Congress writes laws for the rest of us but often excludes itself as an institution and themselves as individuals from having to comply. The same goes for what is deemed politically correct. Imagine how a member of Congress, Republican or Democrat, would reply if one ...