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Chamber hits milestone

Local Columns

Running a chamber of commerce is never an easy assignment, and it can get even more complicated when the organization has been built through the merger of two longtime groups. When you consider the accomplishments of the Brooke County Area Chamber of Commerce, however, you have to say that the organization has gotten off to a pretty good start. “This evening, we are all seated at the same table — a table of opportunity connection and growth,” said Sandy Kemp. “It’s wonderful to see so many familiar faces, and so many new ones at our table tonight.” Kemp, the director ...

Guest column/Remembering a time when Martin’s voice filled the street

Local Columns

The Polar Vortex is coming — it is going to be a real old-fashioned Christmas season. Who can forget rushing downtown from store to store and spending time looking at windows decorated at the Hub? The magical festive season, which greeted big-eyed children the same way they had welcomed googly-eyed great-grandparents and grandparents years earlier, who had traveled on icy train tracks, then on a streetcar, eating hot roasted peanuts. It was a time of second-hand trees, and homeless men holding a cup of soup from a gurgling, crackling cauldron gathered in the Steubenville train yard in ...

Heartbreak should never happen to a child

Local Columns

Heartbreak. We all experience it, some of us more than others. But I suppose it just comes with the territory of being human. People break our hearts all the time, intentionally or unintentionally. Even certain circumstances can cause us pain. Life is never fair. But then again, no one ever said it would be. Sadness comes to everyone … eventually. It finds us no matter how hard we may try to escape it. We can lock our doors. Hide under the covers. Change our name. Move away. And still … it finds us. We all experience heartbreak. And yet, it should ...

Guest column/A look at greed and loyalty in athletics

Local Columns

Well, folks, it seems to me that amateur athletics is slowly becoming a thing of the past. Greed has now reached even the middle school level of sports. The vast majority of state athletic associations have approved that students can receive money for their athletic prowess. With the introduction of the NIL (name, image and likeness) profit program, we are witnessing a point where even seventh- and eighth-graders can turn pro. There’s no doubt in my mind that NIL will even reach the youth level in years to come. That’s sad because youth athletes are pressured enough to win ...

Be smart, safe and aware this season

Editorials

The rush for holiday shopping has officially begun. It is a shorter shopping season this year for those who have waited until after Thanksgiving to begin their gift buying. The constant running that surrounds the holiday season means shoppers need to practice common sense and have an awareness of their surroundings in order to make sure they have a safe experience, whether they are at a store or shopping online. Thieves look for the opportunities the season brings. They know store security and police are busy keeping track of people who might be trying to shoplift or work some ...

Patience a big key to happy shopping

Editorials

Traditional activities celebrated with family and friends always have made the holiday season special. That includes the time-honored shopping sprees of Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. At one time it was said to be a day that could make or break the holiday season for merchants, as well as shoppers who were eager to snag a particular gift at a very special price. It involved weeks of planning, getting out of bed before the crack of dawn and waiting outside a store until the doors were finally open. It’s a model that is changing, however, as evolving technology has led ...