Ohio Valley residents may dread the fact that there's six more weeks of winter ahead of us, but we all should be thankful that we've been dealt a comparatively mild dose of Mother Nature so far this season.From the Midwestern to the Northeastern United States, this winter has been ...

THE LATE Chickie Williams' original arrangement of the hymn, "Beyond the Sunset," with a poem by Albert Rowswell is poignantly memorable. The poem begins with the words:"Should you go first and I remain"To walk the road alone,"I'll live in memory's garden, dear,"With happy days we've ...

LAST WEEKEND'S 58th annual Mauck Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Wrestling Tournament held at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling brought back many memories ... mostly memories of lessons learned.All three of my son's wrestled for Cadiz High School and my daughter, the youngest of the litter, was a mat ...

GOOD TIMES are beginning to return to Ormet Corp.The Monroe County plant is targeted to return to full production within two months. What a nice breath of fresh employment news for an Ohio Valley hit hard by an ailing economy.Steel mills are on life support, the Burger Plant in Shadyside is ...

GIVING YOUR constituents a convenient forum to express their views and concerns is an ideal political scenario. It is also one that the Belmont County Commissioners believe in.Commission President Matt Coffland announced Wednesday that the three-member board will again conduct Town Hall ...

BARNESVILLE IS a western Belmont County community well known for its annual Pumpkin Festival. The nationally recognized fest is a rite of September.We also view Barnesville as a village full of visionary leaders, willing to work together for the good of their residents.A steering committee has ...

HABITS are hard to break, and smoking appears to be one of the hardest despite all the aids and the warnings about related problems - especially death.Just the fact that tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death and disease in the United States ought to bring smokers to their ...

President Obama will deliver his State of the Union address Tuesday, and the event promises to be one to watch closely - not only to hear what the commander in chief has to say, but also to observe the actions of lawmakers who will be in attendance at the Capitol.Many members of the House and ...

SOME GIVE and take combined with patience may result in a new development project taking root in the village of Bridgeport.The former site of Bridgeport High and Kirkwood School on Bennett Street has been dormant for several years now after a new school campus was built in Wolfhurst.The ...

GREEN IS a popular color when associated with the environment, but the Ohio Department of Transportation is thinking of safety in regard to the surroundings when it proposes the use of green lights on its snowplows.ODOT recently announced it was "taking a cue from the comic book superhero who ...

PREP WRESTLING comes to the forefront this week in the Ohio Valley.The 58th Annual Ron Mauck OVAC Wrestling Tournament unfolds at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling. The mat extravaganza begins Thursday evening and continues until Saturday night.To become one of the 14 individual weight class champions ...

GIVING THE gift of life.That opportunity surfaces again on Monday, Jan. 24 as WesBanco Arena in Wheeling holds the 25th Annual Ohio Valley Media Blood Drive.The mega-event is under the auspices of the American Red Cross.This year's drive again will be held in honor of Powhatan Point's own ...

OHIO HAS a new political landscape lately, but in the near future, that landscape will be changing in more ways than just a swing of power from the left to the right.This past election brought a Republican regime to power like few have in recent history. The new Republican governor has taken ...

WHEN Randy L. Marple was elected Belmont County Clerk of Courts in 1984, his margin of victory was a "whopping" three votes. "In the past 26 years I wanted those three votes to count for something," he said. "I owed the people of Belmont County a debt of gratitude and I wanted to repay that ...

SOME OF the best laid plans can go awry.Need proof?Look no further than Monroe County. The Switzerland of Ohio School District is in the midst of an $80 million plus construction project. The massive undertaking was made possible by voter approval of a 2009 levy which resulted in the district ...

ST. CLAIRSVILLE is one of the most scenic communities in the Ohio Valley.Its beauty extends well beyond the downtown area, rolling into outlying subdivisions. St. Clairsville residents take great pride in the appearance and upkeep of its hilltop home.St. C. boasts what many local towns do not ...

WHEN WORD came down that the R.E. Burger Plant in Shadyside was targeted for closing by the end of 2010, it spawned a tidal wave of disbelief, bitterness and concern.The power plant was expected to enjoy a new and long life thanks to a clean-fuel burning process. A quick about-face by the ...

OHIO HAS a new governor. John Kasich officially took office during a special ceremony that began at 12:01 a.m. today.The transition of power over the weekend saw the exit of Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland and the arrival of Republican Gov. John Kasich. While we wish him the best of luck and ...

IS "Little Red Riding Hood" next?With the recent actions taken by Mark Twain scholar Alan Gribben concerning "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and "Tom Sawyer," it makes one wonder about other stories oft read or heard by youngsters.Don't pooh-pooh the idea that banning could affect the little ...

IN THE near future, the former Freeport Lakeland school building will no longer be a possession of the Harrison Hills School District.The Harrison Hills BOE, at its first meeting of the new year, opted to put the building up for auction. It is a move we believe is a financially prudent one.The ...