High Points of the Valley (Graphic Illustration)

* While data for individual school districts may still indicate a need for improvement, it is encouraging to learn West Virginia’s overall performance in the annual Balanced Scorecard for public and charter schools continues to improve. Even chronic absenteeism continues to show improvement, though it is still an enormous problem. On some data points, West Virginia schools have exceeded the levels reached pre-COVID. Again, that is wonderful news, now it’s time to focus on getting our students up to levels that show we aren’t just settling for meeting (or getting closer to) standards, but that we are unsatisfied until we see the standard as the bare minimum.

* A couple of members of the Washington County Bullseye Shooting Sports 4-H Club showed off their skills this summer at the 4-H Shooting Sports National Championship in Nebraska, where both McKensie Mason of Marietta and Levi Reynolds of Fleming tied the state record for silhouettes, as part of the Ohio 4-H Air Pistol team. Mason is a junior at Warren High School and Washington State College of Ohio, and Reynolds is a sophomore at Warren High School and WSCO. Congratulations!

* Local residents answered the call Sept. 13 during the Roy Trembly Annual Fall Food Drive hosted by the Marietta Times and the Marine Corps League (along with other local veterans assistance organizations) at Walmart in Marietta. “We got a whole truckload of food,” Bryan Reeder, commanding officer of the Marine Corps Veterans Association, said after the event. “The Gospel Mission provided a pickup truck, so we filled up the back seats of it, because it was like a four door truck, big four door truck, so the back seat and the bed was completely full of food.” In addition, the event resulted in $1,145 in donations that can be used to help the Gospel Mission Food Pantry buy more of what local people need. Thank you to all those who showed up and gave what they could. Now let’s do the same Oct. 18 in the News and Sentinel parking lot in Parkersburg to benefit the Old Man Rivers and DAV Chapter 32 food pantries.