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Beware of the quick fix, the results are too good to be true

My wife, Lynnda and I have been trying to lose a little weight. On TV a celebrity was talking about her new diet and the weight she lost using a supplement. It sounded good. Quick weight loss without exercise or starvation. The supplement was discounted initially, then got expensive. Celebrity diets and supplements are common. The magazines at grocery store checkouts are full of them all promising quick success. They give people hope. Probably all of these diets work for some people. Diets are never a one size fits all since people are all different. People want to look better and feel ...

Feeling all the love in Belmont County

This Valentine’s Day, consider celebrating love in a meaningful way by embracing the charm of local businesses. Whether you’re looking for a romantic dinner, the perfect gift, or a fun activity to beat the winter blues, Belmont County offers many heartwarming ways to help celebrate your love! Choosing to shop locally not only adds a personal touch to your gift-giving but also supports the heartbeat of our community. From Barnesville to Martins Ferry and everywhere in between, Belmont County offers local shopping options for everyone. Whether it’s handmade jewelry, custom artwork, ...

Here’s hoping for a cloudy Friday (and early spring)

This Friday is a widely observed holiday that has its roots in old European lore about the weather, according to farmersalmanac.com. It is not a federal holiday, so your mail will be delivered and banks and schools will be open, and Groundhog Day is an occasion that people take with varying degrees of seriousness. Celebrated each year on Feb. 2, it falls on the same date as the medieval Christian feast of Candlemas, and the pre-Christian Imbolc. An old Scottish poem tells us that sunny weather on Candlemas means that winter will maintain its grasp on us for a while. “Ancient ...

Have a strong foundation from which to build

We have friends in South Carolina who are building a house and coming back home to West Virginia. Lynnda and I are emailing them photos of the construction progress. The homes where they are building are all different. All the foundations are consistent, made of concrete block and poured concrete on rock or compacted clay. We go to Virginia Beach annually for meetings and to see family. We have seen many tall hotels built over the years. They all start the same way, with steel pilings driven down to solid rock creating a solid foundation to build the high-rise on. They wouldn’t stand ...

Preserving and learning from all of our past

This past week we celebrated what would have been Dr. Martin L. King Jr.’s 95th birthday if he would have lived. Over the past few years, the Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. holiday was normally the third weekend of the month; this year it came early and caught some off guard on the second weekend of the month. The good news is many in the Ohio Valley did get to participate even with the very cold weather. The majority of the programs went on in the bitter cold with great success. Successful programs took place in Steubenville, Ohio, Weirton, Wheeling, West Virginia, and several other ...

Human trafficking happens everywhere, even here

It’s hard to believe that human trafficking is taking place right here in Eastern Ohio. With a few exceptions, we all seem to feel pretty comfortable in our daily comings and goings. Yet we frequent the same types of businesses that, in an unfamiliar location, might give us the creeps. They have big parking lots filled with vehicles that could easily block the view of something sinister taking place. And there are plenty of places where local residents mingle with all sorts of people who are traveling through from outside our region and out of state. Because these local places are ...