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Essential

No matter your political leanings, everyone can agree the Nov. 5 general election is an unusually important one for our communities, states and country. There are calls from all sides to ensure this is a fair, legal, accurate election in which there is no room for doubt when the results are tallied. But who makes that happen? Poll workers and state/local elections officials. Theirs is an enormously important job. But, in the Mountain State anyway, there are not enough poll workers. Last week, West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner issued a plea. Poll worker recruitment efforts ...

Get It Done

Wondering whether or when you should get your seasonal vaccines this year? Well (provided your doctor agrees), the answers are yes; and, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, right now. Staying up-to-date is important for the latest COVID-19 vaccines, flu shots and maybe even respiratory syncytial virus, if you are of a certain age or risk group. “Right now is the best time” to get all the recommended fall vaccinations, said Dr. Mandy Cohen, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s “the single most effective thing you can do ...

Tax Cut?

As state lawmakers prepare to consider a 5% personal income tax cut, they are not wrong to be asking for long-term forecasts that will better help them make the decision. Of course our elected officials should be doing all they can to ensure taxpayers are able to keep more of their hard-earned money. They must not do so irresponsibly. State Senate Finance Committee Chairman Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, said he had not seen a long-term tax revenue and expenditure forecast in years. The State Budget Office says the last publicly available six-year forecast was provided Jan. 8, 2020. Gov. Jim ...

Big Rush

On Tuesday night, for the first time, the Randolph County Board of Education publicly offered information about potentially closing two schools — the Harman K-12 School and the Pickens K-12 School. On the same night, at the same public meeting, Dr. Shawn Dilly, the county superintendent of schools, presented a schedule of seven public hearings, along with two special meetings in which the BOE will vote on whether to close the schools. All seven hearings and two meetings will occur in the week between Nov. 13 and Nov. 19. If you look at the calendar, you will note that Nov. 13 ...

Devastation

For those of us watching in horror as Florida, North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee come to grips with the devastation left by Hurricane Helene, the first thought might be “I need to help. Now.” Whether the urge is to send money, send supplies or volunteer, we might have to be more patient than we’d like. Federal Emergency Management Agency guidance begins with something that might come as a surprise. Should you be trying to contact someone in the affected regions, text rather than calling. Texting leaves the lines open for ...

Nurses

One of the reasons for West Virginia’s challenges in ensuring everyone has access to affordable, quality healthcare has been the shortage in healthcare workers. Nurses are in incredibly short supply. But two years ago, the Nursing Workforce Expansion Program was launched. Now, officials are celebrating its early successes. Between 2022 and 2023 there was a nearly 15% increase in the number of registered nurses graduating with associates degrees. The 676 graduates from that year represent a record number of nursing graduates in the Mountain State. Funded projects for the program ...