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Friday, March 31, 2023
Thursday, March 30, 2023

This is a column about little things — many of them. We all have them in our lives; sometimes they are stored away or lost. But when readily available, these little things bring life to wonderful memories.

Regardless of where someone falls in the legacy of a two-party system, there are some things that remain true. We can all agree that the hospitality of Appalachia is unmatched.

Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Tuesday, March 28, 2023

In Chapter 54 of a treatise titled “On the Incarnation,” a fourth-century bishop and Father of the Church, St. Athanasius, wrote a sentence that, in the words of an Orthodox priest, author and theologian, “has echoed down through the centuries, even into our own time.” That sentence is a rea…

Sunday, March 26, 2023

Fentanyl is wreaking havoc here. West Virginia’s history of substance abuse probably began with bootlegging, progressed to marijuana growing, and blossomed with OxyContin pain relief (the addictiveness of which was not initially admitted). And now fentanyl: apparently not that hard to make a…

Saturday, March 25, 2023
Saturday, March 25, 2023
Friday, March 24, 2023

The time is nearing when hundreds of eighth graders in this area will make the jump to high school. Do schools still have eighth grade graduations? If so, and in the unlikely event someone like me were invited to give a motivational speech, here is some of the advice I would give those students:

Thursday, March 23, 2023

Given the intensifying criminal investigations into Donald Trump — including his impending arrest and indictment in New York — many think he might finally pay for his crimes. Some even believe a conviction and jail sentence could prevent Trump from retaking the presidency if he wins next yea…

Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Monday, March 20, 2023

In his inimitable fashion, Pope Francis has dropped a bombshell into the frothy furor of debate over gender identity politics. Francis earlier this month told the Argentine newspaper La Nacion that “gender ideology today is one of the most dangerous ideological colonizations” on the planet.

Sunday, March 19, 2023

It’s been about 14 months since Nucor Corp. announced it would invest about $2.7 billion in a new sheet steel mill along West Virginia 2 about 28 miles north of downtown Huntington. That number has since grown to $3.1 billion.

Ecclesiastes 12:12 teaches us “the making of many scrolls (books to us) is without limit.” I have always been intrigued by this notion. Although couched as a warning, I have always thought this verse is positive: While we may think we know a lot, there is always more to learn. With learning …

Saturday, March 18, 2023

I have voices in my head — “earworms” of songs from 1970s TV commercials and show themes. How is it that we were designed to have old jingles play infinite loops in our brains? Last month it was the 1970s Burger King commercial: “Hold the pickles hold the lettuce, special orders don’t upset …

Friday, March 17, 2023

A recent New York Times editorial titled “Biden’s Promises on Social Security and Medicare Ignore Financial Reality” is, alas, convincing. The president has said there will be no diminution of Social Security payments, even though the Social Security fund’s current outgo is higher than incom…

No one wants to see flashing blue lights as they’re driving along minding their own business, but sometimes law enforcement must crack down on excessive speed. The construction zone on Interstate 64 between the 29th Street exit and the Huntington Mall became an area of increased enforcement …

Thursday, March 16, 2023

While traveling, Maury, I and friends were waiting for a table at a nice restaurant. There was no rush; we did not have a place to be after dinner. Yet I expressed annoyance that our wait seemed extremely long. One friend smiled said something to the effect, “Yes, we do have a first world pr…

Wednesday, March 15, 2023
Tuesday, March 14, 2023
Monday, March 13, 2023

The late 1950s song “Sixteen Candles” has been running through my head this March because our wonderful Shepherd-Huskie mix and former Hospice House therapy dog Cooper has reached his 16th birthday (or at least “birth month”).

Sunday, March 12, 2023

Three years ago this week, Gov. Jim Justice closed all schools in West Virginia in response to the threat of COVID-19. What may have seemed to be a logical response to the spread of an unfamiliar disease became an educational disaster for many of the state’s children.

Saturday, March 11, 2023
Friday, March 10, 2023
Thursday, March 09, 2023
Wednesday, March 08, 2023

The 2023 West Virginia Legislature’s session has offered many pieces of legislation that will affect education, especially as many sources have ranked the state’s educational system extremely poor. The Legislature’s recent push for intelligent design to be included in the science curriculum …

Tuesday, March 07, 2023

No one can deny that we’ve had extraordinary swings of weather in the United States in recent times, especially over winter 2022-23. In late February the skies dumped 6 feet of snow in southern California while our Tri-State area was making like April with temps in the 70s.

Monday, March 06, 2023
Sunday, March 05, 2023

In medical terminology, they are known as necrotic lesions. In layman’s terms, they are patches of dying and decaying flesh on living tissue. Dr. Sydnee Smirl McElory has seen enough of them during her patient visits at Harmony House to know the Tri-State has a new battle in the fight agains…

Saturday, March 04, 2023

“Some people believe the law to be a restriction. It is a restriction only against evil. Laws are made to free people not to bind them if they are the proper laws. They tell each of us what he may do without transgressing on the equal liberty of any other man.” — Borden Chantry by Louis L’Amour

Friday, March 03, 2023
Thursday, March 02, 2023

People get angry. It’s normal. In daily life, many of us have uttered the phrase, “I’m going to kill him,” regarding bosses who expect too much, spouses who don’t do as desired and children, despite warnings, who repeat ordinary annoying behaviors. Few people have the intention of killing th…

Wednesday, March 01, 2023

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