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Screenings

Editorials

If the sight of a giant inflatable colon catches you off guard, good. Perhaps the image will stick and serve as a reminder to keep up with colon cancer (and other) screenings. WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center is using the prop to help raise awareness about colon cancer and colon health, and encourage them to ask questions in an atmosphere that is perhaps a little less daunting than the doctor’s office. The “Strollin’ Colon” is hard to ignore. Colon health is nothing to ignore, either. “Everybody, regardless of family history, should start screening for colon ...

2026 Session Potpourri

Columnists

Normally my column immediately after the end of the legislative session focuses on final thoughts, but I needed to write about the Raylee’s Law debacle that occurred in the final hours on March 14. So, consider the following my 2026 legislative session final thoughts. -- If the budget bill this year was a staring contest between Gov. Patrick Morrisey and the Legislature, then Morrisey blinked first. Much has been made of the House of Delegates and the state Senate getting Senate Bill 250, setting the general revenue budget for fiscal year 2027 beginning on July 1, out the door ...

Uncertainty remains

Columnists

Four years and 25 days. Twenty days. There’s a huge difference between those two numbers. The first number — 1,486 days altogether — is the length of time since Russian troops crossed the Ukraine border on Feb. 22, 2022, and headed for Kyiv. The second number — just 20 days — is the number of days since U.S. and Israeli forces on Feb. 28 began bombing strategic targets in Iran. The two attacks have this in common: Their initial responses were far different from what many experts, in the United States and beyond, expected and predicted. Back in 2022, the conventional wisdom ...

No longer just dysfunction; it is danger

Columnists

When a Transportation Security Administration official warns that airports could “quite literally shut down,” we are no longer talking about inconvenience, delays or political theater. We are talking about vulnerability in one of the most sensitive and critical systems in our country. Aviation security is not just another government function. It is a frontline defense. And when that defense shows signs of strain, every American should pay attention. Let’s speak plainly. When security systems are stretched thin, when agents are overwhelmed, when focus is fractured, the margin for ...

Thanks for ‘Screen Time Awareness’

Columnists

Thank you to Randolph County School Counselors for organizing the local “Screen Time Awareness Week” activities in Elkins.  The goal of this event was to encourage students to spend more time with their families doing activities that do not include cell phones, computers, or televisions.  It was delightful to host school children and their parents or grandparents visiting Kump Education Center. Counselors are aware of the changes that screens make in the social behavior of children. Adults use screens more frequently now to keep kids occupied and to teach academic subjects in ...

Harman fighting to save school

Letters to the Editor

The West Virginia State Board of Education is facing sharp criticism after approving the closure of Harman School, along with an appeal from community members that sat unanswered — a move that parents and local advocates say exposes a breakdown in the state’s oversight process. The appeal, filed by residents of the Harman community, challenged the West Virginia State Board of Education as well as Randolph County Board of Education’s justification for shutting down the K–12 school. It included transportation data, and Impact Statement information that advocates say directly ...