FEDERAL LAWMAKERS kept their constituents on the edge of their respective seats Friday night. An 11th hour agreement, however, between Republicans and Democrats resulted in a collective sigh of relief nationwide.The historic accord averted a government shutdown. Such an occurrence would have ...

WALT SKAGGS is obviously a man who takes the well-being of his school district very seriously.Why else would the St. Clairsville-Richland City School District superintendent also opt to serve simultaneously as the high school principal?Beginning with the 2011-12 calendar year, Skaggs will do ...

INVESTING IN our youth is certainly reflected in "The Field for Kids" program. That theme was reinforced once again Saturday in St. Clairsville.St. C. Junior Sports officials played host to Pittsburgh Pirates' Chairman Bob Nutting and former Bucs' star relief pitcher Kent Tekulve to help ...

CINCINNATI IS home to a basketball league that doesn't attract the limelight of NCAA March Madness or feature the million-dollar salaries in the NBA. The "Recovery League" as it is known, however, may pay dividends much greater than the aforementioned duo.The loop lives up to its name.The ...

STUDENTS AND their parents are benefiting from an after-school program initiated by the First United Methodist Church in Bellaire.The church launched the program this past fall, focusing on kindergarten through fourth grade students, assisting them with their homework. Each Wednesday, Bellaire ...

Now that spring has arrived, motorists have surely noticed the damage roadways sustained over the winter as a result of the cycle of freezing and thawing, as well as the wear and tear the process of snow removal brings.Potholes are everywhere, and some are big enough to be considered landmarks. ...

SHE DIED all too soon, but she leaves behind a legacy of love, compassion and friendship.Amanda Rosepapa played softball at St. John Central High School, one of the finest programs in the Ohio Valley. Amanda was not your run-of-the-mill player. Amanda was one of the premier pitchers in the OVAC ...

MARK MILLER had a tough message to deliver Monday night to the Buckeye Local Board of Education...to the tune of $1.3 million.The district superintendent brought board members up to speed on the current financial plight facing the sprawling school system. The district is already immersed in ...

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001. That date is etched permanently and painfully into American archives, when terrorists waged deadly attacks on American soil.The World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. were targets of al-Qaeda-piloted planes. Nearly 3,000 people and 19 ...

THE DICTIONARY describes a vandal as "a person who willfully or ignorantly destroys or mars public or private property."Two area cemeteries, the Salem Cemetery and Little Egypt Cemetery in the Egypt Valley area, recently were hit by vandals with grave markers being overturned and/or damaged. ...

WISE BEYOND his years.A Bellaire Middle School student obviously cares about his school district. Even better yet, he is willing to take a lead role in raising money to help the cash-strapped school system dig out of its $3 million hole.Taylor Price is a seventh-grader. Taylor is a very ...

MARGARET Anne "Peg" Dankworth, who died last week at the age of 90, wanted to be remembered as "a pioneer, spearheading new ventures" and also as "the first female working in traditionally all-male settings."Dankworth did all that and more.Even though the word, "multitasking," was first used in ...

THE END of a long journey reached the finish line Wednesday. The trek may have been a lengthy one, but one that will also prove a profitable one.Belmont County commissioners and the city of Martins Ferry finalized a long-discussed deal for the purchase of the former South School building. ...

COMMUNITY SWIMMING pools are drying up in Eastern Ohio.Bellaire has made a softball field out of its former municipal pool. It once was the social hub of the summer season in the All-American Town. But costly repairs doomed its fate.Just to the south, Shadyside was unable to open its village ...

In November, voters in the city of St. Clairsville spoke loudly and clearly about their opposition to the proposed 1-percent income tax. Despite urging from city officials that help was needed to maintain city services, the proposal was soundly defeated.Despite the fact that the city has since ...

Spring has arrived, and this past weekend spring cleaning brought out the masses as the first of many community cleanups took place in Fairpoint.Officials from both Wheeling and Union townships joined those from the JB Green Team - formerly the Jefferson-Belmont Regional Solid Waste Authority, ...

GOOD THINGS come to those who wait.That time-tested saying now rings true in Harrison County.Commissioners adopted the long-awaited strategic plan Wednesday. It climaxed countless hours of input by a host of skilled individuals since work began on it nearly two years ago.It was a true team ...

IT HAS become a rite of spring.The 25th Annual Belmont County Spelling Bee unfolds tonight at Ohio University Eastern.It will bring together the best spellers throughout the county, determined by bees at their respective schools.Two spellers from each school punched their ticket into tonight's ...

THE LADY Tigers are on the prowl with the next stop marking the end of a challenging but quite rewarding journey. And so far, a perfect ride.The Shadyside High girls' basketball team is Final Found bound.Coach Tina Yates' battle-tested charges have successfully answered the challenge in all 26 ...

REASON FOR hope. That is what the latest U.S. Census results provide.The 2010 figures show Belmont County is back on the upswing, defusing thoughts of its demise. The county experienced growth during the past decade, surpassing the 70,000 population total. In the process, Belmont County also is ...