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Changes

The Detroit News reported Wednesday that General Motors has laid off thousands of workers from manufacturing facilities in Ohio and Michigan. Though it is tempting to suggest the reason is purely a matter of GM’s overeagerness to catch up to the electric vehicle push, the reality is a bit more complicated. At the company’s Ultium Cells battery cell plant in Warren, Ohio, there are expected to be approximately 550 cuts and 850 temporary layoffs, according to a report by CNBC. There will also be approximately 700 layoffs at the Ultium Cells plant in Tennessee. Those gleefully ...

Scrambling

“West Virginians take care of our neighbors,” Gov. Patrick Morrisey said Tuesday. “It’s times like these that we need to come together as Team West Virginia to help those in need.” He issued the reminder as the state scrambles to prepare for the loss of SNAP benefits to approximately 270,000 Mountain State residents in November, as a result of the federal government shutdown. Among the solutions coming from Charleston is up to $13 million in funding to match private and charitable donations to food banks. Morrisey says he has also directed the West Virginia National Guard ...

Prevention

You might remember them as the National Federation of Parents for Drug Free Youth, from back in the 1980s, but today, the renamed National Family Partnership continues its work to support families and communities “in nurturing the full potential of healthy, drug free youth.” Among the efforts supported by the organization is National Red Ribbon Week, Oct. 23-31 each year, and established to honor the memory of U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency agent Enrique Camarena, who was killed, likely because of his work, in 1985. At the time, according to the organization, “In honor of ...

Hooked?

A front-page headline in the Oct. 20 edition of the Wall Street Journal — and the lengthy article that followed it — evoked the troubling question of whether many people in this country who don’t really need to be taking antidepressants are becoming hooked on them. “Out-in-the-open” dialogue dealing with the issue should be welcomed here. It might open many people’s eyes to a problem festering below the surface of widespread awareness. If that situation exists, it might be paving the way for a bigger problem down the proverbial road. Here is how the Journal’s article ...

Think Pink

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a time when pink ribbons appear across our towns and social media feeds. But beyond the color and campaigns lies a message that can save lives. Early detection remains one of our strongest weapons in the fight against breast cancer. Breast cancer continues to be the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, about one in eight women will develop breast cancer during her lifetime. Those numbers are sobering, but they are not without hope. The survival rate for breast cancer has ...

Why the Mystery?

Ever since Superintendent of Schools Dr. Shawn Dilly canceled the public hearing and Randolph County Board of Education vote to close the Pickens K-12 School on Oct. 14 — a decision announced less than two hours before the hearing’s scheduled start — because he said “new information related to funding” had been received, many people in Randolph County have been anxious to hear the new information, and to learn where the funding will come from. At Tuesday night’s Randolph County Board of Education meeting, those in attendance or watching the event streaming on YouTube had to ...