Breaking News

Columns

Taking time to make home special for the holidays

It’s — finally — beginning to look a lot like Christmas at my house. Although I had hoped to have everything in order to welcome family and friends to visit a couple of weeks ago, life got in the way. Under the heading of “it never rains but it pours,” Mike and I had car trouble and truck trouble and sinus infections and unexpected obligations to fulfill. On Thursday, though, we started our day determined to turn our home into a bit of a winter wonderland. We both took the day off so that we could help each other with the project and check several items off our to-do ...

No place like home, especially for the holidays

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Time flies. Fifty years ago, I left my childhood home in Pittsburgh and headed to my first engineering job after college, in Michigan. I was on my own. Dad died suddenly in August leaving Mom with my 5 brothers at home. Mom would be celebrating her first Christmas without Dad. I didn’t have any vacation time yet. Fortunately, Christmas was on a Tuesday that year. With a long Holiday weekend, I packed a bag, put the Christmas gifts I bought for the family in my new lime green Plymouth Duster and headed home for the holidays. A seven-hour ...

Ringing in the holidays with a spirit of generosity

A simple request for a photograph led me to an interesting and enjoyable evening on Thursday. Vince Gianangeli, a former Belmont County official and past principal of St. John Central Academy, called our office seeking for a staff member to attend the Belmont County NAACP’s Christmas party. He said there would be a nice surprise at the end of the evening, and he believed it would be a newsworthy moment. I was already traveling through Bridgeport when the call came in, so I headed on over to the venue — Vino di Piccin, located along National Road in Lansing. My husband, Mike, and ...

Judge not! Instead, listen and try to learn

“Judge not lest ye be judged.” (Matthew 7:1) Jesus said this over 2,000 years ago. In other words, don’t judge or you will be judged. Jesus went on to say, how you judge others is how you will be judged. Humans have struggled with this for thousands of years. We still do. It is easy to see the faults of others. Our own faults are much harder to see. When I was a Junior Achievement Volunteer some years ago, I asked my class of ninth-graders, “In the last week how many of you were criticized for something.” The entire class had their hands up. When I asked, “How many of you ...

Belmont County filled with joys of the season!

The holiday season is, without a doubt, the most awaited time of the year. When the air turns cold, the day turns dark, Christmas lights start twinkling, and jingle bells are ringing there is no better place than Belmont County to get you into the holiday spirit! From parades to outdoor festivals, Christmas shopping for one-of-a-kind gifts to sipping hot cocoa, and picking out a freshly cut Christmas trees, we have you covered! The Christmas tree is a symbolic part of holiday traditions, and no matter how or when you decorate your tree, there’s nothing quite like cutting your own ...

Recalling the magical feel of Christmases past

Remember how magical this time of year seemed when you were little? From the wonder of a jolly old elf who would bring you that toy that you wanted so badly to the delightful scents of cinnamon and sugar as Mom or Grandma baked those traditional cookies that always tasted the same year after year, there was a special kind of magic in the air each and every December. There were catalogs to thumb through and lists of wishes to make. There were letters to write and mail off to the North Pole. For my family, everything turned blue and sliver and sparkling once the holiday decorations ...