THUMBS UP to Beckley Area Foundation for creating a COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, which was created to support local nonprofit organizations working to provide aid to those impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. After three rounds of grant award decisions, the group has now awarded $26,45…
EDITORIALS
If West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner is prohibited by law from sharing details with the general public, as he says, then why did he go out of his way to announce that a voter fraud investigation associated with absentee ballots had been turned over to the federal prosecutors? The i… Read more
THUMBS UP to the local chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 118 that gathered recently at Huse Memorial Park to pay tribute to law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty. Normally on Peace Officers Memorial Day, the chapter holds its ceremony on the lawn of the Faye… Read more
Here is the good news: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases across the nation has been in decline the past several days. In New York City, once the raging bonfire of this disease, the numbers have dropped over the past month as they are now falling in a number of states. Read more
THUMBS UP to the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce and New River Gorge Convention and Visitors Bureau that teamed up with FASTSIGNS of Beckley to show support for essential workers in Fayette County. The organization has yard signs for sale that indicate backing of the county’s essential wo… Read more
If elected officials should ever wonder why they are the object of public derision, we give you Exhibit A – the Beckley Common Council’s debate as to whether sitting members should be rewarded a pay raise, voted upon by themselves, either immediately or sometime down the road. Read more
THUMBS UP to Mark Holcomb, director of communications at the Brooklyn, N.Y. shoe company GREATS, for gifting the United Way of Southern West Virginia with a semi-truck full of shoes. The shoe donation, which totaled 4,000 pairs and filled nearly 30 pallets, will support the United Way’s Equa… Read more
As the state readies to enter Phase One of Gov. Jim Justice’s plan to reopen businesses and services to jolt a moribund West Virginia economy, we will hammer the table until it splinters to make this point: There needs to be more testing for COVID-19 – here and across the country. Period. Read more
THUMBS UP to Dr. Tammy Donahue for being awarded the West Virginia Council of Teachers of English by the group’s executive committee. The honor is given to outstanding classroom teachers who make a positive impact on students and in their school communities. Dr. Donahue is a third grade teac… Read more
Gov. Jim Justice should be concerned and pressing a sense of urgency in this time of the coronavirus pandemic – as he did this past week – with how patients at nursing home centers are being protected by public and private interests from the potentially fatal disease. Read more
While West Virginians can take some satisfaction that they have been doing a commendable job of putting a horse collar on the spread of coronavirus in the state, and while we are seeing the first faint glimmer of hope at the end of this long, dark tunnel, we have a ways to go before anyone –… Read more
It would have been impossible not to notice the presidential pivot this past week, our commander in chief adopting a somber tone while talking about expected deaths brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Apparently, the facts were starting to register beyond his control. Read more
THUMBS UP to West Virginia being awarded an additional $1 million in grant funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for continued debris removal in Greenbrier County due to catastrophic flooding in 2016. This additional award is a result of a cost-share change from 75 perc… Read more
West Virginians deserve a robust and swift response to the coronavirus to save lives, reduce suffering, and minimize the financial stress of working families and small businesses. Read more
Gov. Jim Justice made the prudent and correct call the other day when he closed the state’s K-12 public schools – a day after the girls and boys state basketball tournaments were postponed over growing concerns about the spread of a novel coronavirus that, as of this writing, has been report… Read more
THUMBS UP to a new scholarship for students of color at the West Virginia University College of Law honors the late Franklin D. Cleckley, a Huntington native and longtime attorney and law professor. He was the first black faculty member at the WVU College of Law, the first full-time black pr… Read more
washington – Except for wrapping duct tape around my head, I’m trying not to get hysterical over the coronavirus. Read more
As the 2020 regular session of the West Virginia Legislature was grinding to a close Saturday night, already there were rumblings of how this session was a “do-nothing” affair leading into a major election. Read more
Most of our reports regarding action against dilapidated, often unsafe, buildings originates in municipalities. But there are junk structures in rural areas and small towns without the resources to address the situation, too. Read more
One of the more interesting bills to be introduced during the 2020 legislative session was a measure that would require school children in West Virginia to learn how to write in cursive. Read more
Paying the regional jail bill is a burdensome monthly budgetary drain on the coalfield counties. Read more
Before the next legislative session rolls around – and trust us, we’re in no hurry – we think leaders in the House of Delegates and the Senate, along with the governor, when he is not coaching high school girls basketball, ought to outline what their priorities are, focus on a few transforma… Read more
We trust everyone – coaches, fans, parents, security, referees and players – will be on their best behavior tonight when the Woodrow Wilson Lady Flying Eagles travel to Fairlea to play the Greenbrier Spartans in a regional final of the state basketball tournament. Read more
Though she lived an incredibly full 101 years, the death of Katherine Johnson came as a bit of a surprise – with some sadness. Giants like her seemed as though they will be with us forever. Read more
Last week, Roman Cathlic Bishop Mark Brennan and other officials of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston did something unprecedented. They released a detailed report on diocesan finances. Brennan said it was the first time such action had been taken. Read more
There was an incredible event on the Daily Telegraph Facebook page last week. For a moment – a mere day, really – there was no snark, no gripes, no political discourse, insults or anger. Read more
Although the school itself was closed decades ago, the old Northfork High School is still standing along U.S. 52 in McDowell County. That won’t be the case much longer. Read more
We have been concerned for some time with Gov. Jim Justice’s take on the economy these past couple of years. To hear the governor talk, he inherited a mess back in 2017 – and there is no dismissing the evidence of that. But now, as if he were some carnival barker, the governor is pitching th… Read more
Last September when Fairmont Regional Medical Center announced it was laying off 25 employees, it left many movers and shakers in the community concerned. Read more
West Virginia cannot afford an inaccurate assessment in the 2020 Census. According to the Associated Press, the Mountain State is more reliant on federal money than any other state. One study shows federal funding represents more than 16 percent of personal income here – in the form of Medic… Read more
We have known for decades that tobacco use can lead to all sorts of health risks, ranging from lung cancer to heart disease. Yet more than one-fourth of adult West Virginians still smoke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is the highest percentage in the nation. Read more
Whether you are watching the Democratic primaries and cheering for Sanders, Warren, Buttigieg or Biden, or you are anxiously awaiting President Trump’s reelection, it’s important to remember that politicians are just as human as the rest of us, and therefore, far from perfect. Read more
Members of the Mercer County Planning Commission are still working on a draft dilapidated buildings ordinance which, if adopted by the county commission would give local officials more authority to deal with burned-out structures that have been left standing. Read more
We’re not sure what Gov. Jim Justice does not understand about “words matter,” but certainly, they do, as the governor’s own words this past week prove. Read more
Ohio state officials revealed last week that they are pumping another $20 million into the proposed ethane cracker plant in Belmont County. That brings total state involvement through JobsOhio to $70 million – for a project that has not yet been announced officially as a done deal. Read more
For the greater part of 2019, Gov. Jim Justice touted how revenue collections were setting record highs in West Virginia. Read more
Because West Virginia has deep and perplexing issues that have been allowed to fester for years and now need all hands on deck if we are to turn this ship of state against winds of misfortune, because tax revenues are struggling to meet budget projections and because a fix for the mightier o… Read more
THUMBS UP to Braden Daniels, a student at Victory Baptist Academy in Raleigh County, who earned a composite score of 36 on the American College Testing (ACT) exam – the highest score that can be received. Daniels is the son of Brandon and Janelle Daniels. The ACT consists of tests in English… Read more
President Donald J. Trump, accused of trying to bribe the head of a foreign government to damage a political rival back home and then charged with attempting to cover it up, almost certainly will be acquitted by the Senate today. The formal articles of impeachment handed over by the House de… Read more
When existing providers expand their facilities, the longer waiting time that is normally associated with the development of all-new campgrounds or ATV facilities can be significantly reduced. That’s why we applaud the planned expansion of the Buffalo Trail ATV Resort in Bluewell. Read more
When lawmakers in West Virginia introduced formal resolutions this year, inviting rural and conservative parts of Virginia to join our rural and conservative state, we thought it was a one-note story, good for a nervous chuckle and a shake of the head. We hoped the world at large would not n… Read more
THUMBS UP to the city of Mount Hope for thinking outside the box when it comes to promoting the area. The city is preparing its application for HGTV’s new six-episode special event series, “Home Town Takeover,” which is slated to air on the Home and Garden channel sometime in 2021. In order … Read more
Just as Rep. Adam B. Schiff, D-Calif., was putting the final flourishes on three days of impeachment arguments to the Senate, presenting a credible and compelling case to convict President Donald J. Trump of abusing the powers of his office and of obstructing justice, a 2018 audio recording … Read more
The West Virginia House of Delegates is considering House Bill 4025, sponsored by Delegates Brandon Steele, R-Raleigh County, and Tony Paynter, R-Wyoming County, which would reduce the publication of legal ads for public notice in communities and counties across West Virginia in favor of pla… Read more
THUMBS UP to Lexi Jones, 10, creator of Lexi’s List – a resource that details the material needs of several local nonprofit organizations – for being recognized recently for her “exemplary community service” with the Youth Service America’s (YSA) Everyday Young Hero award. The honor recogniz… Read more
The West Virginia State Legislature entered its 2020 session on Jan. 8. Our state faces myriad issues, most of which we’ve written about in the past. We are still in an uphill battle against opioid addiction, our foster care system seems to be failing our children, we are steadily losing pop… Read more
Now that millions of Americans took part in celebrations to honor the legacy of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, let’s reflect on the events that took place this past week in Fairmont. Read more
West Virginia state Treasurer John Perdue certainly deserves credit for prudent management of our money. Read more
It is a weekday morning and, as usual, I’m running 10 minutes late. I’ve spent the early a.m. hours scurrying about the house like a mad woman. The coffee is perking while I steam clothes. I gulp down a Claritin while catching two minutes of national televised news. Read more
Occupancy rates at lodging facilities across Mercer County were up in 2019 and are expected to increase again in 2020. According to local tourism officials, this increase is being attributed to a growing number of visitors to Mercer County over previous years. Read more
The United States is the only industrialized country that does not guarantee its citizens paid family leave. A proposed bill in the West Virginia statehouse could change that in part – at least for state employees here in the Mountain State. Read more
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