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Sharing progress around the region

As you look through the pages of the first installment of our annual Progress Edition that is inside today’s paper, you will find a real sense of optimism — a great deal of which is being driven by the men and women who have important roles in the region’s economic growth. “We need to think regionally, not just in terms of our own city or county,” explains Jefferson County Commissioner Tony Morelli. “We’ve been preaching a regional approach to development,” adds Brooke County Commissioner A.J. Thomas. And, according to Hancock County Commissioner Eron Chek, ...

Pinewood Derby tradition alive

The Pinewood Derby is a piece of Americana that hearkens back to a treasured time when fathers taught sons about working with their hands and with tools to create something of value. That piece of Americana nowadays involves moms and sons and daughters, brothers and sisters or uncles and nephews and nieces or grandparents and grandchildren — anyone who is willing to invest a little time in the life of a young person — but the concept remains the same: Teach a young boy or girl about using the skills of their own handiwork to enter a competition that is all about fun and ...

Let’s make rail safety a priority

Norfolk Southern has suffered another derailment — although this one, thank goodness, was more an inconvenience than a disaster. Eight cars of a train carrying several thousand pounds of soybeans derailed Monday morning at the company’s railyard in Portsmouth. Three of those cars turned over completely. Scioto County Emergency Management Director Larry Mullins told WCHS-TV in Columbus the derailment was caused by extreme weather, which led rails at Norfolk Southern’s yard to freeze, thaw, become brittle and break. It’s enough to make one wonder whether knowing such ...

Lower comp costs are good for Ohio

Ohioans have plenty of reason to worry about prices that just seem to keep going up and up, but there may be good news ahead for the state’s private employers. Because of prioritized health and safety measures in our workplaces — and at least one state agency willing to take into account how the work done by those who pay taxes and fees might make a difference in what needs to be paid — the state Bureau of Workers’ Compensation board of directors will be considering yet another rate reduction in February. “At (Gov. Mike) DeWine’s request, we are proposing a new rate ...

Ihlenfeld leaves a proud record

The Northern District of West Virginia has had a number of excellent U.S. attorneys during the past half-century. Add outgoing U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld to that list. Ihlenfeld, who served as top prosecutor during the Biden and Obama administrations, stepped down earlier this month. In total, he served as U.S. attorney for 10 years. “Serving as U.S. Attorney has been an honor and a privilege,” Ihlenfeld said. “I’m deeply saddened to leave, but as I walk out the door today, I do so with tremendous pride because of all this team has accomplished over the past four ...

Smoking costs money and lives

As mid-January tests New Year’s resolutions across the region, many may be weakening in their resolve. Certainly, that must include some who vowed this is the year to give up smoking. To add a little incentive to the effort, WalletHub took a look at the true cost of tobacco use. The dollar amounts are eye-opening for the 46 million people in the U.S. who still use tobacco. Total lifetime cost per smoker in Ohio was estimated to be $3,538,844. In West Virginia it is $3,210,116, and in Pennsylvania it is $4,300,935. Think about that for a moment — particularly given that those ...