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Opinion

Then and now

Columnists

Given the political tensions in the United States, perhaps it might be useful to revisit the dilemmas of the 1850s. During that period, “moderates” labored mightily to avoid slavery. Usually, “compromise” meant acceding to anything favored by the South. One of the casualties of such maneuverings was the party system. The Whigs particularly come to mind with their leaders, most notably Henry Clay and Daniel Webster, trying to forge faux unity. Webster, more than Clay, attempted to avoid the “impending crisis”. His support of the fugitive slave law, part of the Compromise ...

Familiarity can breed complacency in business

Columnists

Have you heard that most car accidents happen close to home? It’s often because the driver’s familiarity with the roads leads to complacency.  The same happens in a community. Citizens get used to something the way it is. Chuck Marohn of Strong Towns encourages people to walk their community. When I do this, I see things that I don’t experience in a car. For example, I might see a power pole in the middle of a sidewalk that makes it very hard for a person in a wheelchair, or with any other ambulatory challenge, to travel safely (if at all). Or maybe I notice an intersection ...

Look at what’s happening in D.C.

Letters to the Editor

If your readers are concerned about feeding their kids and family, the rising cost of electricity and natural gas, the price of hamburger, inflation in general, losing their job, not getting paid for the job they are doing, and/or losing their home or farm, maybe it’s time to look at what’s happening in Washington. Representative Riley Moore has been fast at work with other members of Congress to address these, and other issues affecting America and Americans. The House of Representatives has worked studiously for a full 39 minutes between Oct. 21 and Nov. 7, 2025. They’ve ...

Protection

Editorials

Parents and guardians cannot receive reminders often enough about the urgent need to prepare kids for staying safe online. Local residents got an alarming one this week with news that Steven James Boose, 35, of Littlestown, Pa., had been arrested after allegedly traveling to Parkersburg to meet with a person he believed to have been a 14-year-old girl, with whom he’d been corresponding online. Parkersburg Police met up with him, instead, and Boose has been charged with one count of soliciting a minor and six counts of use of obscene matter with intent to seduce a minor. And the ...

Instability

Editorials

As the weather gets colder and snow mixes with the drifting leaves, most of us are grateful for the knowledge that a cozy home awaits us at the end of a long day. But thousands of West Virginians are experiencing both sheltered and unsheltered homelessness — and according to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, their number is growing. Meanwhile, a SchoolHouse Connection report for 2024-25 estimated more than 15,000 students do not have a stable place to sleep — and those are just the ones that have come to the attention of the public school ...

Snatching defeat from jaws of victory

Columnists

Democrats in the Senate managed to do the impossible, snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory. Now, not all Democrats voted to advance legislation that would end the government shutdown; only eight did the deed. Their timing was outrageous when they were on the verge of forcing Republicans to at least address Democratic concerns. Despite conventional wisdom that initiating the shutdown was political suicide, Democrats succeeded in the off-year elections, strengthened their arguments, and even the most hardened GOP operatives were admitting defeat. They had nothing to fear, as it ...