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Remembering the truest love I have ever known

I am proof that love exists. Call it fate. Consider it luck. I refer to it as a blessing. It is that rare, genuine love you think you will never find. The kind I kept wishing for with each and every breath I exhaled into the candle flames on my birthday cake. Year after year. To have someone believe in me with such vulnerability? To be the recipient of such trust? That’s quite a responsibility. I’m holding their heart in my hands.That another would have such faith believing I would never hurt them and never harm either them or their heart? How can anyone put that much trust ...

Guest column/Recovery: A very beautiful ­— and possible — ­thing

Every time I visit Fleming House, I see success stories. Women who have reclaimed their lives in a good and healthy way. In looking into their faces, there is no way to know what they had to go through to get to where they are as they prepare to leave the yellow house that love built in Columbiana County. Jefferson County has its success stories as well. Addiction is not something anyone starts out to achieve. For whatever reasons, though, people arrive there. And they must find their way back. It’s not something that can be done for them. They must do it. It’s hard work. And ...

Guest column/Many made Historic Fort Steuben season a success

The 2023 summer season of concerts and activities at Historic Fort Steuben is drawing to a close and it’s a good time to thank all those who made this another successful year. For those who like numbers, since June 1, we welcomed more than 2,600 visitors from 28 states and seven countries. Many came to tour the fort, purchase city and state souvenirs, explore family history or simply use the restrooms while getting travel information. Our friendly volunteers presented a positive image of Steubenville and the Ohio Valley. The 2023 Fort Steuben Summer Concerts were attended by ...

History in the Hills: Let’s go back to school

I can’t believe summer is almost over for our kids. Within the next week, our children will go back to school and although, it is always an adjustment for them, it is an adjustment for us parents, too. Soon they will be bringing homework home, projects will be due and tests will need to be studied for. And with any luck, our kids will do the best they can do and get good grades. I know with the right encouragement, they will succeed. In Weirton today there are three elementary schools: St. Joseph the Worker, St. Paul’s and Weirton Elementary. But back in the day there were many ...

Election not that far off

The end of the Jefferson County Fair, which is concluding its 152nd season this weekend, brings with it some realities. First, it means that the end of summer is not that far off. Second, it’s a sure sign that it’s time for the kids to return to school. And third, it marks the unofficial start of the area’s election season. With the run-up to the Nov. 7 general election already under way, residents of many communities across the region will have some interesting races to decide. In Steubenville, for instance, residents in the First and Fifth wards will find contested races ...

Guest column/Suppertime perfect time for family connection

In my youth, the last two weeks of August were spent on family vacation in the truck and camper, making memories. School did not start until after Labor Day then. How things have changed. Everyone is shopping for new shoes, new school clothes and school supplies. Parents are rearranging the family routine for the next nine months. How will the family find time to sit down to supper together with all of the extracurricular activities, the jobs and all of the stress? My mother spoke of her youth. Everyone was expected to be at her mother’s table at 6 p.m. The family discussed the ...