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Guest column/Let’s make safety forces exempt from income taxes

West Virginia has good law enforcement officers. We need more of them. Their pursuit of justice and peace serves the most vulnerable members of our community, forming an indispensable part of our shared project: That our people of West Virginia might flourish as the happiest in the union. Law enforcement officers routinely confront danger in order to guard their neighbors from the violence and injustice of wicked men. They have received, as their thankless task, a society suffering the breakdown — and even erasure — of its traditional forms of peacekeeping: Strong families, ...

Another election season is upon us

One of the most common reasons someone will give when they say they don’t vote is that they think their one vote won’t make any difference. It’s becoming increasingly obvious that’s not always the case. A reminder came near the end of 2024. That’s when Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose issued a release detailing the closeness of several races around the state in the November election. LaRose reported that the results of 23 local races triggered automatic recounts. Of those, three ended in a tie, three came down to three votes and three were decided by a single vote. ...

Maybe it’s just me, but … I wish I would’ve …

Maybe it’s just me, but I wish I would have traveled and seen the world. Or at least certain parts of it. But I ended up staying in my hometown ... the very place I was born. I think the farthest I have moved was across town to the other end of the Gem City several years ago before I had my third son. Somehow, I ended up back at the end of the block from the house where I was born. Funny how that happens, although it isn’t really comical. How does life pass us by so quickly? Before we realize it, more than half or most of our time is in the rear view mirror of life. And ...

History in the Hills: Snowy and frozen

We have had some cold weather here lately. I am not sure how it stacks up with cold weather here in the past, but it certainly gets your attention if you have to be out in it. We have had many cold days recently. At the Visitor Center in Steubenville over Christmas, this past season was especially cold, and on some of those nights, not many folks were out. So far, this new year, the weather has not quite let up just yet, either. I can deal with the cold, but the snow is another thing all together. As long as I don’t need to drive or go out in it, I am OK. Snow can be fun, too. The ...

A well-deserved honor

When he spoke at the funeral of Fred McGee, the late Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla left no doubt about the respect he had for the man. “Fred was the real deal,” Abdalla told those who had gathered in Mount Carmel Community Baptist Church to celebrate the life of McGee. “The enemy was coming right at him — he was wounded, but he still stood tall. And, when I say ‘stood tall,’ he was going toward the enemy. “How brave he was in the face of danger. He was an all-American man,” Abdalla said during the Jan. 11, 2020, service. McGee, who grew up in ...

Dogs are more important than you think

I miss my dogs. I know it’s been a while since I’ve mentioned it, but it seems to hit harder whenever I cover a story pertaining to the humane society. Don’t get me wrong, I like the dog I have now. I always thought goldendoodles were adorable. Like little teddy bears. Not real, but real, you know? But I have discovered that no dog, no matter how adorable, will ever take the place of the ones I have lost. For Christmas, my mom bought me a clear plastic tree ornament that shows the back of someone sitting on the ground between two dogs. She looks like me with the ...