GREAT NEWS came to Belmont County Friday when Gov. Ted Strickland announced that the Eastern Ohio Industrial Park will receive $750,000 for installation of water service.The 200-plus acre site near Barnesville is being developed as an industrial park. Although development of the site is still ...

REGARDLESS of the heat or the humidity, there are a couple of real cool football players in Columbus this week.Chinedum Ndukwe of the Cincinnati Bengals and Joe Thomas of the Cleveland Browns, are represented in the butter sculptures in a 45-degree display case at the Ohio State Fair, which ...

IT IS said that football is king in the Ohio Valley. That being the case, his royal gridness ascends his throne tonight at the 65th annual Rudy Mumley OVAC?All-Star Charity Football?Classic.Prep stars from Ohio and West Virginia will vie at Wheeling Island Stadium, climaxing a week of pageantry ...

NATIONAL Compliment Day, according to at least one Web site, was created in 1998 by two women from New Hampshire.Although a special day set aside for compliments draws attention to the need for such comments, everyone knows compliments shouldn't be limited to one day. A sincere compliment not ...

THE UNION Local Board of Education had a tough decision on its hands. Much like surrounding school districts, Union Local is dealing with financial shortcomings.As often is the case, schools districts seek levies to remedy the situation. However, passing local levies these days is not an easy ...

THE Belmont County Commissioners last week submitted the road map for the next fiscal year's county budget.The budget has been one of the biggest concerns county leaders have faced in recent years. With the economy slumping, officials have been forced to make cuts this year and last year. In ...

JAMBOREE IN The Hills means the world to thousands and thousands of country music fans and revelers.It also means a great deal to the Belmont County economy. The Belmont County Commissioners took their weekly show on the road Wednesday, setting up shop at the site of the 34th annual Jamboree to ...

THE BETTY Zane Days Festival has always been one of the highlights of the summer season in Eastern Ohio.The Martins Ferry spectacular has been moved to later in August this year. The Aug. 17-21 schedule will do nothing to deter the excitement, fun and good times experienced at the festival.What ...

THE BELLAIRE School District is currently experiencing a changing of the guard.The district's board of education at its regular meeting Monday night accepted the resignation of four administrators. Such a move is bittersweet news to the school board.High School Principal Mike Sherwood has opted ...

THE OHIO Department of Development is in line for much credit for its tax-credit program that has fulfilled almost all of its job-creating expectations.Records unveiled this week support the success of the program implemented in 1993 which gives tax-break incentives to companies in the Buckeye ...

PITTSBURGH PIRATES' Charities and St. Clairsville Junior Sports have teamed up to produce a grand slam.As a result, young softball and baseball performers in the St. Clairsville area will be taking the field under much nicer playing conditions. That is due to the two aforementioned ...

IT'S A GOOD thing that Bethesda residents are only figuratively turning back the clock this weekend during the village's 100th anniversary, because turning back the town clock literally would be impossible.The giant timepiece, a landmark for more than eight decades, won't be seen, because it ...

AS WE view it, the auctioning off of the former Bethesda School building is a win-win scenario.The long-dormant structure has been under the ownership of the Belmont County commissioners. It was also proving a constant drain on the county's coffers.Such is no longer the case, and the county ...

ALTHOUGH THE "Dog Days of Summer" are still weeks away, the Ohio Valley finds itself broiling in a heat wave.While summer is a time of year relished by most, the current 90-degree weather can also bring with it pain and, if not careful, tragedy.Summer fun can easily turn into tragedy if proper ...

THE BELLAIRE Board of Education is immersed in a most painstaking task. Board members are attempting to get the school district out of some $3 million in red ink. The deficit has placed Bellaire schools under the guidance of a state oversight committee.Bellaire school board members have a ...

"WE HOLD these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness ..."THE AMERICAN colonists started to get disgusted with being ruled by the English ...

Health care reform is still in its infancy, and despite continued debate over this hot issue, the fact remains that many Americans are living without health insurance.In Ohio, tens of thousands of young adults don't have access to health care coverage, thanks to a new state law that allows ...

THE UNION Local School District is singing a familiar tune. Unfortunately, it is not a pleasant one.At its meeting last week, the Union Local school board addressed an all too common issue in Eastern Ohio, that being a financial pinch. Like many neighboring districts, the western Belmont County ...

Although it's currently not election season, this week marks an important milestone for American voters.Forty years ago, the legal age to vote was changed. This happened during the height of the war in Vietnam, where the average age of fighting soldiers was 19. But before the president signed ...

GEORGE KOVALICK is regarded as the father of wrestling in the Ohio Valley. He earned that distinction through his passionate commitment to the mat sport, elevating it to an elite level.Kovalick worked much of his coaching magic at Bridgeport High. He led the Bulldogs to the 1959 state wrestling ...