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Slow Progress

Slow progress is being made toward improving circumstances for state Child Protective Services workers and the young people they serve. Last week, state Department of Human Service Secretary Alex Mayer announced decreases in child welfare vacancies, which sit at a rate of 8.5% as of Sept. 1, compared with a peak of 27.3% in 2023. In his announcement, Mayer focused on CPS vacancies in Doddridge, Pleasants, Upshur, Lewis and Ritchie counties, about which concerns had rightly been raised by Third Judiciary Circuit Court Judge Tim Sweeney in February. Mayer had been among those DHS and ...

Register

There are few duties more important for American citizens than casting their ballots in elections. It is their opportunity to actively influence the way governments operate. And there’s no reason to wait to exercise that right, so it was good to see West Virginia Secretary of State Kris Warner at Wheeling Park and John Marshall high schools last week touting the importance of registering to vote — and getting juniors and seniors at those schools to register that day. He reminded students that even those who were 17 years old could register and vote in the November general ...

Festival City

The 87th Mountain State Forest Festival got off to a rousing — albeit rainy — start on Saturday morning with the official opening ceremony for the 87th Mountain State Forest Festival at the Jennings Randolph Federal Center in Elkins. A large group of spectators turned out for the opening ceremony, despite overcast skies and rain falling throughout the morning. Rain definitely made its mark on the first weekend of this year’s festival. Mountain State Forest Festival officials announced Saturday that the Forest Festival Kickoff Party and Chili Cook-Off Festival Feud had been ...

Vaping

As though West Virginia’s young people don’t have enough challenges to overcome, an American Lung Association representative suggests we’re failing them on another front: vaping. Though it has been evident for many years that vaping is not even remotely a safe alternative to smoking, tobacco companies have continued their marketing onslaught — and access is easy. “We are talking about one of the most deadly products currently on the market … and hooking and addicting our kids,” Jennifer Folkenroth with the ALA told WCHS. “There is no safe alternative. The only true ...

Opportunity

As the U.S. Senate considers codifying the reestablishment of the National Coal Council, lawmakers have an opportunity. U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli’s bill drew support from enough Democrats in the House of Representatives that it is now moving to the Senate, which will consider whether it is necessary to back up the executive order that, among other things, called for reinstating the group that provides guidance on the future of coal technologies and markets. And Rulli, R-Ohio, is right. It is important for those making decisions about our energy future to have information and guidance ...

Free Speech

Freedom of speech is on a lot of minds these days — even Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who spoke at the state Department of Higher Education’s Trustees Conference recently. According to a report by the Ohio Capital Journal, DeWine felt it important to remind policymakers on college campuses that an environment in which people are comfortable speaking freely is essential. His remarks were inspired, of course, by the killing of Charlie Kirk and its aftermath, though he noted the notion of whether Kirk’s death could have been prevented was a security issue, not a speech issue. “I’m ...