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Editorials

Homelessness

“No American should face homelessness,” reads the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s news release accompanying the January 2024 Point-In-Time Count Report. Yes, the data is a year old, but each year’s snapshot give us a better understanding of how many in our communities are facing just that. During the look at the number of individuals in shelters, temporary housing and unsheltered settings, researchers found more than 770,000 people were experiencing homelessness on that one night in January. That was an 18% increase from the same point-in-time in ...

Danger

Though the winter has been mild for many in our region over the last several days, we have entered a season during which we have even more reasons to be cautious about how we heat and light our homes. Working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are essential. On Christmas Day, four adult family members died in New Hampshire. “While the investigation remains active and ongoing, at this time, investigators believe the victims died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning,” said New Hampshire State Fire Marshal Sean Toomey. Part of that investigation involves examining the ...

New Year

We’ve done it. We’ve reached the end of 2024 and are looking ahead to all the possibility 2025 holds. Some may be planning to put 2024 firmly behind them and not look back, others may have much upon which to build from one year to the next. Whatever the case — whether our dreams include making a national project of the year or just working harder on being the best we can be for ourselves and those around us — most of us can agree we are hoping for a year in which we are able to lift up one another and work toward the good of all. On a personal level, there may be resolutions ...

LevelUp

As our economy diversifies and the education and career paths of the past are no longer the right fit for as many of our students, West Virginia’s young people are taking advantage of a program that allows them to take college courses — for free — while they are still in high school. In fact, since the start of the LevelUp WV program, the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission says dual enrollment programs have grown by more than 11% across the state. That is encouraging news. “Studies have shown that students who do dual enrollment are more likely to go to ...

Boos & Applause

Applause to the Tygart Valley Volunteer Fire Company for giving children in Dailey, East Dailey and Valley Bend one final chance to meet up with Santa Claus before his big night as he made his way through their neighborhoods on a fire truck Sunday evening. The company’s annual “Santa on a Fire Truck” event allowed children to greet Kris Kringle as he made his way through the backroads on one of Company 41’s trucks. Santa and fire fighters with the fire company departed the Dailey Firehouse at 6:30 p.m. before making their first stop at Wildwood Manor in East Dailey. During the ...

Derailed

“This is why people hate Washington.” Outgoing U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, had good reason to speak his mind last week when lawmakers dropped the ball on the Railway Safety Act. Inspired by the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine on Feb. 3, 2023, the act would have enhanced existing rail safety regulations and added mandates such as reducing train lengths, shortening the distance between hotbox detectors on freight lines, notifying local officials in advance of trains carrying hazardous cargo and a minimum two-person crew on every locomotive. But, as the Lisbon ...