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Weirton takes steps to increase security

It seems safety is on the minds of residents a lot these days, whether you’re driving through your neighborhood or going on a lengthy journey. For many years, security measures have been established pretty much everywhere we go — many in response to major incidents and disasters — from airports, to hospitals, to stadiums and arenas. This list includes local schools, where entrances are closely monitored and students and teachers, as well as visitors, have to pass through sophisticated detectors. One of the more visible examples is at the entrance to courthouses, police and ...

Sportsmanship important aspect

The pageantry and excitement of high school football returns this week, and we once again are reminded about the special place the game holds in the hearts of residents from across the Tri-State Area. Area teams open their seasons Thursday night when Bellaire travels to Buckeye Local for a 7 p.m. start. More teams open their seasons on Friday night, when Steubenville Big Red hosts Youngstown Ursuline in a battle of state powers at Harding Stadium; Catholic Central heads north to take on Wellsville; Indian Creek travels to Cambridge; Edison hosts Shenandoah; Toronto hosts Southern ...

Football edition a yearly tradition

Our annual football edition will be included with your Wednesday newspaper, marking the return of local high school sports for 2025. The high school football season, which officially opens this week in Ohio and next week in West Virginia, will be the topic of many conversations and will occupy the hearts and minds of fans from all parts of the region for at least the next 10 weeks — and, hopefully, beyond. With all of that in mind, members of our local sports staff, led by Sports Editor Andrew Grimm, have spent much of the past several weeks conducting interviews, taking ...

We cannot fail our children

Tri-State Area residents generally think of the region as being a fantastic place for children to grow up. But perception does not always match reality, as WalletHub’s 2025’s States With the Most Underprivileged Children suggests. West Virginia is ranked sixth, Ohio is ranked 18th and Pennsylvania is ranked 35th on the list of states with the most underprivileged children. That West Virginia and Ohio rank in the lower half is reason for concern. But a look at the metrics tells the tale. Ohio is 16th for the percentage of children in households below the poverty line, 26th ...

Rallies help set stage for school

It’s just a matter of days until area schools open for the academic year. That can be a stressful time, and that’s why area school districts, churches, nonprofits and businesses work to find ways to improve the overall experience for everyone involved. A big help is the back-to-school rally. They’ve now become a rite of late summer, with just about all districts and several organizations across the region holding one. The formula is simple — each event is filled with activities for students and their families, ranging from food trucks and other vendors to face-painting and ...

Time to check your voter registration

While some states are fighting back against U.S. Justice Department requests for access to their voter registration lists and other elections information, Ohio has begun the four-year process of ensuring voter rolls here are as clean as they can be. Among the states that have received requests from the federal government so far, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Wisconsin have simply said “no.” Officials there say they have questions about the legality of the requests and how the information will be used. After all, state (and, really, county) elections officials are responsible for ...