WHAT IS Bellaire Village Council waiting for?The Bellaire Police Department is hoping a levy be placed before All-American Town voters to pump much-needed money into the force's operations.A 5-mill police levy has been defeated twice in Bellaire. The first time the vote was rather close. The ...

THE CITY of St. Clairsville has earned the respect from the powers that be in the state.As a result, City Recreation Director Kevin Barr has landed a $70,000 grant from the Ohio Department Natural of Resources.St. C. officials have very nice plans for the money. The hilltop community will soon ...

THE BELLAIRE School District received a dose of good news Wednesday.The financially troubled district had its five-year forecast approved. It was done so with the blessing of the Financial Planning and Supervision Commission.Bellaire schools are trying to dig out of a $3.5 million deficit. The ...

LET THE voting begin. While Election Day is officially set for Nov. 2, voting actually got under way in Ohio Tuesday.Early voting is becoming a more popular practice with each new election. Voters began casting ballots Tuesday in varying numbers throughout the Buckeye State. We expect Eastern ...

THE OHIO VALLEY Athletic Conference is well recognized as being the nation's largest functioning prep conference. The OVAC -- 50 schools strong -- has served as a showcase for local student-athletes for more than 60 years.The conference -- in partnership with Wheeling Hospital -- has once again ...

President Obama's ongoing discussion this week about education reform hit on some key points about proposed changes to our nation's school systems.One issue that immediately received a highlight was the fact that the president said he believed it would make sense to extend the school year.It ...

A KINDER and gentler tax increase.If there is such a thing, it may be currently playing out in St. Clairsville.St. Clairsville has never had a city income tax. The Belmont County Seat is one of the last remaining cities in Ohio to make that claim. Should voters give their approval on Nov. 2, ...

EMPLOYEES at an Eastern Ohio business were nothing short of blindsided recently.The W.C. Cardinal Plant abruptly ceased operations late last week with no advanced warning. Some 72 employees of the business, located in the Harrison County Industrial Park near Cadiz, were left both dumbfounded ...

WHILE THERE likely will be no frost on the pumpkins, orange gourds will be in their full glory this week in Barnesville.The 47th annual Pumpkin Festival is on tap in the western Belmont County community. The festival has blossomed into an annual rite of late September, attracting individuals ...

September has been designated as National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, and local officials are encouraging everyone to take part in the nationwide observation.Recovery from alcohol and drug addiction is a rough road for many. There is a stigmatism to the label of "addict," which ...

BELMONT COUNTY officials continue to display ingenuity and vision in efforts to become more space efficient.Commissioners Ginny Favede, Chuck Probst and Matt Coffland demonstrated that financial-friendly trait once again Wednesday.The triumvirate -- in partnership with Department of Job and ...

ELECTION CAMPAIGNING is heating up.Political signs are being seen more frequently along roadways, in yards and anywhere space can be found. Advertisements are becoming more common place in newspapers on television and radio.We embrace, however, the format which gubernatorial candidates in Ohio ...

Few things are more important in the lives of our youth than an opportunity to achieve academic success. Being able to excel in the classroom is the first big step toward finding a successful path in life.It can be a challenging road in this day and age. Fallout from a struggling economy can ...

BELMONT COUNTY Commissioners defused a potential bomb last week when the board announced the decision to drop a plan to consolidate Eastern and Northern division courts for now.The commissioners had planned to consolidate the two courts in an effort to save money. The plan was initiated this ...

CRIME IS running rampant in the Ohio Valley. Be it of the violent nature or petty theft, local residents harbor safety concerns like never before.The economy is one definite reason for the spike in illegal activity. An accompanying factor is the constraints that many -- if not all -- local ...

THEN PRESIDENT George Bush said it was a day Americans must never forget. He was correct in regards to Sept. 11, 2001.On that day nine years ago tomorrow, terrorists struck our land and shattered our feeling that we were free from outside aggression. Many people lost their lives and many others ...

THE OHIO Department of Education recently released its 2009-10 student testing results. The findings provide an indicator on how schools are functioning in regards to students' academic performance.It was refreshing to see that several local school districts received high marks from the state. ...

It's been a long time coming, and today it has finally arrived.The Belmont County Fair officially opened today at its new home off Roscoe Road west of St. Clairsville.Plans to relocate the fair to the new site have been in the works for many years now, and today opens a new chapter for the ...

Millions of Americans have watched and listened as President Barack Obama assured us the U.S. combat role in Iraq is over. "The war is ending," he proclaimed a few days ago.Now consider what Lt. Col. Andy Ulrich told the American troops he was leading Wednesday - just hours after Obama's ...

SEPTEMBER 11, better known as 9/11, is a day that lives in history as a result of the cowardly attacks by terrorists in 2001 in the United States and the tragic deaths of nearly 3,000 people, and it also is connected with another historic event nearly 220 years earlier in the Ohio Valley.It ...