Bridgeport has been declared in a state of fiscal emergency by the Ohio Auditor’s Office, which notes the village is seriously in arrears in paying back state loans. That means village government will have to operate under the oversight of a special state commission until it gets its ...

At some point, someone may have to pay to clean up chemicals used in a Bellaire dry cleaning shop that has been closed for about 20 years. That “someone” should not be taxpayers in the village. During their meeting last week, Bellaire Village Council members discussed the old ...

Ohio lawmakers are floating some ideas Buckeye State residents may want to watch. House Joint Resolution 19, introduced a few days ago, would make it more difficult to approve proposed constitutional amendments on the statewide ballot. Rather than a simple majority needed for an amendment to ...

Honorable. Decent. Capable. Those are just a few of the terms that have been used to describe former President George H.W. Bush since he died Friday. The son of a senator, he began his own service to our nation at age 18, when he joined the U.S. Navy in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor. ...

A U.S. Department of Justice official says there is no evidence “of any health effects people are suffering” from the Heritage Thermal Services hazardous waste incinerator in East Liverpool. But some of those at a public meeting where DOJ Senior Counsel Elizabeth Loeb made the comment are ...

The owner of a dog that injured two other animals in Belmont — and bit one of their owners — may deserve some credit. It appears the owner was trying to comply with the village rule requiring that all dogs be on leashes when they are not on their own property. But, as Belmont Mayor ...

Essentials such as street repair, keeping water lines in good shape and ensuring the police department is staffed adequately have to be priorities for any local government official. Recreation has to take a back seat. That should not be the case in Martins Ferry, where the municipal ...

When Ohioans go to the polls on Tuesday, they have many important choices to make. At the top of the list is a decision about who will be the Buckeye State’s next chief executive. Republican Gov. John Kasich is term-limited and cannot seek re-election. During his eight years in office, ...

Now that Melody McClurg has been hired legally as the new executive director of the Jefferson Metropolitan Housing Authority, she will have quite a mess — both literally and figuratively — to clean up. Obviously, McClurg is entitled to begin with a clean slate. She had nothing to do with ...

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is winding down. What have you done to increase your understanding of this potentially deadly disease? According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, breast cancer is the second most common cancer in American women; only skin cancer is ...

Education is a cornerstone of a happy, productive life. Fortunately, we have a lot of options here in Eastern Ohio when it comes to obtaining a good education. And those opportunities are still expanding, especially for those who live and work in Jefferson County. Last week, Eastern ...

Schools across the Buckeye State received some feedback from the Ohio Department of Education last week in the form of annual “report cards” issued to assess the progress and performance of each district and the individuals schools within them. Unfortunately, the marks local schools ...

More than 5,200 veterans of military service live in Belmont County, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Some of them have had — and will have — brushes with the law. A substantial number of them might not have gotten into trouble but for the physical and mental stresses ...

Someone must have made a mistake. Otherwise, the Buckeye Local Board of Education would not be paying out $70,000 to make a lawsuit go away. Taxpayers have a right to know what happened. During a special meeting Monday night, board members agreed to pay Angela Hicks $70,000. She had been ...

St. Clairsville officials and Belmont County commissioners are off to a good start in a plan to freshen up the appearance of the city’s downtown business district. Located in the middle of the district high atop a hill on Main Street, the courthouse was renovated extensively over the past ...

Several local communities share a common problem, and they need to use creative, cautious approaches in their efforts to solve it. Jail overcrowding is common in area counties. It’s an issue that continues to worsen as jail facilities age and as drug abuse and addiction problems grow. ...

It appears trouble may be brewing in Bellaire, and action should be taken now to avoid more problems later. Village Council members seem to be at odds with the mayor over who gets to be the boss. The fact is, however, that the people of the community should be in charge. The mayor and council ...

While President Donald Trump was on the campaign trail, he promised he would “make America great again.” His rhetoric regarding the news media, however, is actually harming our country and undermining some of the principles upon which it was founded. Early in his presidency, Trump began a ...

Belmont County leaders are in a familiar — but difficult —position. Once again, it has become apparent that the county’s jail facility is not large enough to accomodate all the people who engage in criminal actvity here. The sheriff and the county commissioners all know the problem ...

When the people who keep the rest of us safe begin to feel threatened, it is time to take action. That is exactly what two local fire departments have done, providing bulletproof vests for members to use is specific situations. The Brookside Fire Department recently purchased six bulletproof ...