Brookside residents have an important choice to make at the polls this election season. Village Council and the administration are seeking approval of a 1-mill tax levy on the Nov. 7 ballot, hoping to generate the necessary funds to purchase a new dump truck for the village. The municipality ...
The shooting of Jefferson County Judge Joseph Bruzzese several weeks ago was a stark reminder of the risk those at every level of law enforcement take simply to do their jobs. Bruzzese is a well-known outdoorsman, and he was armed as he approached the courthouse in Steubenville that ...
Belmont County has been fortunate this week. A few structure fires occurred in various locations, but none had tragic results. Although one firefighter was injured responding to a blaze in St. Clairsville, he is recovering. Still, members of the family who occupied that home were lucky to ...
The first thought that crosses the mind of a politician who has just won an election is how to win the next one. The temptation to use one’s power to retain and expand it seems irresistible to human beings. One result of that is gerrymandering, the practice of setting legislative district ...
For many years, standard practice on many college and university campuses was to minimize, even cover up actively, reports of crime affecting students. That is changing, in some measure because of federal law insisting on honest campus crime reporting. With that in mind, reports of crime at ...
It appears the Buckeye State and its residents need to do more to protect the youngest Ohioans. In a report released last week, the Ohio Health Department said the number of infant deaths increased slightly in 2016 compared with the previous year. The report states that 1,024 babies died ...
When we think about the history of the Ohio Valley, our industrial past immediately comes to mind. Nearly every family that has lived here for at least a generation or two has one or more members who was employed as a coal miner or steelworker. Today, natural gas and oil exploration and ...
In many towns and cities, some members of minority communities do not trust police officers. Many in law enforcement work to build trust among those they serve. Clearly, however, enforcing the law is the department’s overriding priority. We pay police officers and sheriff’s deputies to ...
Complaints about foul odors emanating from the Apex Sanitary Landfill in Jefferson County are nothing new. Though the company has taken steps to address the issue, it is a continuing headache for the Jefferson County Board of Health. Resolving the problem may require intervention by the ...
Officials in many cities are frustrated at owners of buildings who allow them to deteriorate instead of tearing them down and making the land available for development. When structures become safety and/or health hazards, local governments can order owners to do something about the ...
The eyes of Ohio will be on Martins Ferry today as the four Democrats who hope to be our next governor gather here for a debate. Set to take the stage at Martins Ferry High School at 7 p.m. are the four current candidates who have declared their intent to run so far — former congresswoman ...
Most people understand the risk impaired drivers — those intoxicated from drinking alcohol or using other drugs or distracted by utilizing smartphones improperly — pose to the traveling public. It turns out we can blame an even greater threat on ... ourselves. Safety-related ...
If you care about the future of the Buckeye State, pay close attention to what happens in Martins Ferry on Tuesday. That is when some of the people who hope to become Ohio’s 70th governor will hold the inaugural debate of the campaign. The Ohio Democratic Party is hosting the event, slated ...
Recent developments in Belmont County have brought bad news and good news for our feline friends. Due to budget concerns and space constraints, the Belmont County Animal Shelter has stopped accepting cats. Officials there are seeking homes for the cats already housed there, Dog Warden Lisa ...
It seems we are all connected to one another all the time these days. People of all ages have cell phones in their pockets everywhere they go. Children carry them at school, their parents carry them at work, and their grandparents take them shopping or out for the daily walk they enjoy during ...
Most schools are back in session across Eastern Ohio, and those that haven’t yet started classes for the 2017-18 academic year soon will. That means elementary, middle and high school students will be walking to and from classes and bus stops each weekday morning and returning home from them ...
What else hasn’t been handled properly in Bellaire municipal government? That question may be on the minds of some residents — as it should be, in view of news from the Village Council meeting last week. It was revealed during the meeting that for 15 years, no one in the water ...
Two serious chemical leaks within two weeks at St. Clairsville’s wastewater treatment plant constitutes an emergency. Just two weeks ago, a sulfur dioxide leak at the plant forced evacuations of some people living near it. Personnel from several fire departments responded. Then Monday, ...
You would be hard pressed to think of a product invented just because an innovative thinker or a company with big research laboratories wanted to do something nice for humankind. If there isn’t any money in it, it probably is not going to be developed. That is why Ohio Gov. John ...
We are all taught at a very young age that we must share with others. So why is it sometimes so difficult for us to apply that lesson as adults? It seems that municipal leaders in the villages of Belmont and Bethesda remember that lesson better than some others. After many years through ...