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Preparing for storms

No one can predict the future, but the scientists who work for the National Weather Service can, to a large degree, predict how weather conditions will unfold. That is why everyone should pay attention when they issue watches, warnings and advisories. Today is a day when that is likely to happen. The NWS issued a statement Monday placing the local region at “moderate risk” for severe weather today. In addition to repeated heavy rainfall that is expected to cause flooding, forecasters anticipate that storms striking our area will bring damaging winds with gusts exceeding 78 mph, ...

Act on Bellaire Bridge

The series we ran last month on the Bellaire Bridge — it wrapped up Sunday — has exposed some very serious issues. First, just who is responsible for the span? Second, what happens if the unthinkable (is it really so unthinkable after the tragedy that took place in Baltimore this week?) occurs and the bridge collapses into the Ohio River? The sad fact is no one — not West Virginia, not Ohio — wants any responsibility for the span. Ohio officials started this mess when they purchased the Bellaire side of the bridge for construction of the new Ohio 7. The ramp was removed and ...

A day for joy and hope

This weekend Christians around the world celebrate the holiest of days — Easter. It is the day that commemorates not only sacrifice but resurrection. It is a celebration of light, hope, renewal and promise. “The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.’ So the women hurried ...

Accountability key in Austin Master mess

No one likes to hear “I told you so,” but officials in Martins Ferry, Ohio, are hearing that and more as a fracking waste recycling facility is facing a complaint filed by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost in Belmont County Common Pleas Court. Filed March 25, the complaint requests a temporary restraining order against Pennsylvania-based Austin Master Services, which is accused of illegally storing excess quantities of brine and drilling waste. More specifically, Yost’s office said its chief concern is “the plant’s proximity to the Ohio River (about 500 feet) and to a ...

Reporting overdoses

Ohio is working at every angle to attack the substance abuse epidemic that continues to grip our region. A recent change could make a big difference in the way we think about and react to drug overdoses. For many of us the overdose data with which we are familiar involves fatalities. That doesn’t give us the whole picture. Now, a change approved by the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review will require emergency departments to report non-fatal drug overdoses to the Ohio Department of Health. As Gov. Mike DeWine put it, this is a way to “address the overdose crisis, to support ...

A well-deserved appointment

There may be no more giving soul in the Ohio Valley than Bishop Darrell Cummings. He leads his flock at Bethlehem Apostolic Temple in Wheeling; he feeds the hungry during the holidays; Christmas for many is made brighter through his works; youngsters go back to school with all the supplies they need thanks to the efforts of Cummings and others; he provides spiritual direction through a monthly column in this newspaper that he’s contributed for more than 30 years. He truly is a light that shines upon all that is good in our Ohio Valley. Now, he will be sharing those talents with ...