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Editorials

As always, the helpers are all around us

“Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” Mr. Rogers may have been speaking encouragement to children when he taught us that, but its truth rings even clearer when Mid-Ohio Valley residents are forced to look — and respond — so often. This week, communities across our region and deep into West Virginia needed help. Flash flooding, high winds, and something new for many of us: tornadoes. That help arrived even before many families and communities were sure what they were going to need. Sharon Kesselring, executive director of the Ohio Valley Chapter ...

Put pressure on those who can provide federal help

Here we go again, as not just the Mid-Ohio Valley, but large sections of West Virginia find themselves in recovery mode after nasty storms, destructive winds — possibly a tornado or two — and flooding. Once again, state emergencies have been declared. Very late Tuesday, Gov. Patrick Morrisey was trying to keep track of the severe weather and all the communities that were affected. “Many West Virginians are helping communities deal with flooding, property damage, and dangerous conditions tonight,” Morrisey said. “State and local emergency officials are working to assist ...

Ohio EPA right to abandon blanket approach to data centers

Ohio’s Environmental Protection Agency made an important decision this week when it opted NOT to proceed with a proposed statewide wastewater discharge permit for data centers. It is encouraging to see the agency understands the importance of reviewing this sort of thing on an individual, case-by-case basis. "After carefully reviewing the significant volume of public comments received on the draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System general permit for data centers, Ohio EPA has decided not to move forward with finalizing the general permit,” the agency said Tuesday, ...

W.Va. lawmakers deserve a failing grade

Public school districts across West Virginia know they are facing significant challenges — so much so that they launched the “I Love WV Public Schools” campaign to boost support. Funding woes are a big part of the problem. And certainly, some public school administrators have not been shy about placing part of the blame for that on the ways in which lawmakers have allowed Hope Scholarship money to be spent. At the risk of kicking when a system is down, then, lawmakers should also take note of WalletHub’s “States with the best and worst school systems (2026),” which places ...

Fort Frye health clinic important for kids, community

Fort Frye Local Schools, with the help of plenty of community partners, is proving once again that is will rise to the occasion when its students and families need more than just reading, writing and arithmetic. Board members have approved allowing Superintendent Stephanie Starcher and Treasurer Kaitlin Huck begin seeking bids for a new school-based health clinic. Appalachian Children’s Coalition, the Marietta Community Foundation, Sisters Foundation and Washington County Commission have all offered money and support; and Coplin Health Systems will operate the clinic with the help of ...

BHRC doing award-winning work on our behalf (editorial for 7/18)

We live in a region with one of the heaviest concentrations of EPA-designated brownfields sites in the country. We’re no stranger to the scars left by our industrial and extraction past. The Mid-Ohio Valley is fortunate, then, to have an organization working to help us take advantage of those sites, rather than let them remain spoiled. Buckeye Hills Regional Council has been recognized by the National Association of Development Organizations for its Regional Brownfields Assessment Program. The group uses U.S. Environmental Protection Agency funding to lead a “comprehensive regional ...