Last week was the first week of the 2020 legislative session. Really, it was just three days, but I’m counting Monday and Tuesday since January legislative interim meetings started then. While it remains to be seen how the next 55 days of the 60-day session will go, this week was a bit ...

With the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, Donald Trump finally became a neo-Conservative. The action which was both rash and, even worse, emotional, gave the mullahs a decided break. First, it helped unite Iran, which had been under considerable pressure thanks to the sanctions ...

Hello and Happy New Year from Barbour County! The year 2020 has arrived, and it brought some snow along. I would like to send a big thank you to the DOH for doing such an awesome job this season. The Barbour County Fairgrounds is planning a winter event. The first annual Snow Day will be fun ...

Remember your high school and, perhaps, college history classes? Hopefully, you learned a lot about what happened during the past two or three millennia. You were taught virtually nothing about why important things happened, however. And, unless you educated yourself after leaving school, you ...

The 2020 legislative session starts Wednesday, Jan. 8, and I’m struggling with what I can fill this column up with. Based on what media heard last week, this is not going to be a very exciting session. It’s understandable. It’s an election year, with all 100 House of Delegates seats and ...

Before the Civil War, hints of what was to come were already evident on the floors of Congress. During the debate over whether slavery should be allowed in the territories in the Mexican cession, some members of Congress had taken to carrying firearms. In 1857, Preston Brooks of South Carolina ...

A new government report presented to the West Virginia Legislature recommends removing public notices from your community newspaper and placing them on a state government website to reduce state spending. Reducing government spending is important, but it should not come at the expense of an ...

Hello and happy new year from Barbour County! I hope that you all had a very merry Christmas. School resumes in Barbour County on Jan. 6. There will be a Food Service Worker Permit Class on Jan. 7 at the Market Place in Philippi. Registration begins at 5:15 pm, with the class ...

At last, The Washington Post did Donald Trump a favor. After a three-year struggle to obtain a secret history of the Afghanistan War, the Post won its case. In the report, the follies of U.S. policy were exposed. The failures of nation building, the isolation of the Afghan government and the ...

Hello and Merry Christmas from Barbour County! Wreathes Across America will take place at the Fraternal Cemetery on today at noon. This is a national program to honor veterans at Christmas time by placing a wreath on their grave. Plan to join in on this holiday tradition. A ...

Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s embattled president, is facing the greatest test since his election. His first meeting with Vladimir Putin has been surrounded by controversy. Advocates of the hardline are back at it in the Maidan, threatening violence if Zelensky chooses anything that ...

A cynical, though practical view of life, might be the following: We teach our children they are to grow up, get a good job, earn money to support themselves and their family, and save enough money to enable their retirement until the end of their lives. A more purpose-filled and holistic view ...

The Emma Scott Garden Club and Kump Education Center invite you to a free 1930s-style Holiday Open House next weekend, Dec. 14 and 15 from 2-5 p.m. at 401 South Randolph Ave. across from the Elkins Kroger. Children’s activities will be available thanks to the new Interact Children’s Museum ...

As the impeachment proceedings move forward, it is perhaps instructive to examine the history of such proceedings. Andrew Johnson was the first president impeached and he was spared removal by one vote. It happened in an election year in 1868, and some Republicans were not eager to see the ...

Garland, wreaths, trees and lights greeted Davis & Elkins College students as they returned to campus from Thanksgiving break. The air is festive with the arrival of the holiday season and students wasted no time becoming involved in the Christmas celebration. A special D&E edition of ...

One of the best parts of Christmas for most of us (I hope) is the ear-to-ear grins and whoops of delight from our children and grandchildren when they open those packages from Santa Claus. Is there anything better? Yes, there is, as hard to believe as you may find it. There’s a different ...

My first job was as a welder. After I completed trade school and became certified, I worked at a mining operation and was responsible for maintaining all on-site equipment. It was hard work, but it was rewarding, and it led me to want to open my own mobile welding business. I planned to buy a ...

First, as all wise dogs do, he sniffed. Yep. Definitely a pine tree. So he lifted a rear leg, aimed at the tree, and let fly. Why not? Easier than having to whine for someone to open the door. Dog owners learn many things. One of them is how difficult it is to clean up canine urine. But we ...

Little did I know last week that a simple story about employment numbers would cause so much consternation in the world of social media. That’s exactly what happened last Monday when Gov. Jim Justice and Steve Roberts, president of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, touted an increase of ...

For Republicans, the current impeachment inquiry must appear a conundrum. Mostly because they approved President Donald Trump’s foreign policy from the outset. They are partially responsible for his current troubles. Yet because they crave power more than consistency, the GOP has also ...