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Guest column/Remembering a hero from Toughman

Roger “Cookie” Wallace passed, a longtime friend I met through his brother, Richard “Dick’ Wallace, who was a Brooke County school bus driver who listened with encouragement about my aspiration to be in the fight racket. When I was working in Wellsburg back in the late 1970s, his brother would come from a long day’s work at Eagle Manufacturing to do his banking when I was a teller. But Cookie enjoyed unclaimed fame in the glove game, having been the wheels in 1980 for the Ohio Valley Tough Man contest at what was then Wheeling Civic Center. In what was a rather tense drive, ...

Sorry Mr. Groundhog: Still six more weeks of winter

So, today is Groundhog Day. It’s one of the lesser-celebrated holidays of the year, unless, of course, you happen to live in Punxsutawney, Pa. Then, it’s a celebration unlike any other. I know this because I watched the movie “Groundhog Day,” with Bill Murray several times. Now, I have never been one to pay very much attention to what the groundhog tells us. Why? Because even before he comes out of his tiny hole, his cage or whatever it is they have that poor little guy contained in, I already know that there will be six more weeks of winter. How do I know this? ...

History in the Hills: Consider shared tasks

These past few weeks have been tough for folks in the Weirton area. The ongoing water issues have pretty much taken much of our attention. Since we live on Weirton Heights, we are still under a boil order, although we are blessed to have some water when so many don’t. It makes me thankful for so many things we take for granted these days, like turning on a light, running hot and cold water, being able to go to the store and buy essentials and the like. With those little things in mind, we are still very blessed despite the current water issues. With all the days off my kids have had ...

More numbers to chew on

One of the most common resolutions made at the start of every new year is to lose some weight. In fact, according to a study released by Gallup during the last week in December, 40 percent of Americans said they were overweight and 55 percent said they wanted to lose weight. Only 27 percent of Americans, according to the research done in collaboration with the nonprofit West Health, say that they are seriously trying to lose weight. Those statistics are telling, especially when you consider the survey “States with the Healthiest Diets” released last week by Trace One. ...

We need those three minutes and 51 seconds

We all have that song. That one song where even if we are having one of our worst days, it can suddenly turn around and become better in just a heartbeat. You unexpectedly hear it come on the radio … and for those few moments, for that brief instant, we are all right again. Every single one of us has that song. There’s just something about it that brings us a joy like no other song ever could. Perhaps it is an oldie, one that takes you back to a time when you were young and living your best life possible. Maybe there is a classical piece that makes you close your eyes ...

Guest column/Issues with profanity in scholastic sports are troubling

Today, we have a serious problem in all high school sports. And that growing predicament is athlete profanity. Who is responsible for such inappropriate behavior? That’s easy — every adult who is involved directly or indirectly with sports — the parents. The coaches, the officials, the event organizers and even the school administrators. After watching people play the new blame game on various news media topics, I think I have a pretty good handle on what is a contributing factor regarding the profanity problem. Today, if something happens that doesn’t go one’s way, it is ...