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MOV Climate Corner: Need for air monitoring effort only grows

Communities throughout the Mid-Ohio Valley woke up Sunday morning, July 5, to an ominous black plume overhead as the Peoples Cartage building off Camden Avenue was engulfed in flame. It was a tragic, yet familiar, sight that we witnessed for the second time in less than nine years; its origins on the same stretch of road outside city limits, yet right in the middle of town geographically and very close to the Little Kanawha River. I slept in a bit after having a few beers the evening before for the 4th of July (drinking is a lot different at 40 than it was at 20 or 30). By the time I ...

Cracking the Code: Impressions of Scotland

It is 10:15 p.m. in Dornoch, Scotland. The sun is just setting. Temperature is a cool 58 degrees. Today’s high was in the 70s, with no rain for the first time since Lynnda and I arrived in Scotland. This is a pleasure trip, of golf and sightseeing with our daughter, Dannielle, and her husband. They both play golf and have been to Scotland several times. Scotland is the birthplace of golf, back in the 1500s. (The Pilgrims came to America in 1620.) Dannielle asked last year if we wanted to come. After some thought, we agreed. We have experienced the people, culture and beautiful ...

Life in the early 1800s through the lens of newspaper notices

Newspapers were THE media in the early America. Advertisements and notices offer a fascinating glimpse of life at the time. Here are a few such items from local papers in the early 1800s, compiled by Debbie Noland Nitsche from Andrews' History of Marietta and Washington County. Your author's notes are in parentheses. From the OHIO GAZETTE and VIRGINIA HERALD October 24, 1803: --List of letters uncalled for by Griffin Greene, Postmaster, for persons living at "Belleprie, Little Kenhawa, Kenhaway, Gallipolis, Guiandot and Big Sandy." --John Cline and Enos Atwater will apply "for a right ...

Backyard Gardener: Summer squash

Hello Mid-Ohio Valley farmers and gardeners! Hard to imagine Independence Day was last weekend. We experienced the hottest weather of the summer and now are receiving plenty of rain here in the valley. Compared to the historic drought of 2024 and the extremely dry fall of 2025, I am not complaining about the rain. Now is a great time to plant a crop of summer squash. Summer squash is the edible young fruit of Cucurbita pepo, a highly diverse, easy-to-grow and short-season group of vegetables. It is a great vegetable for backyard gardeners here in the valley. There are many great ...

MOV Climate Corner: The Cost of Forgetting

As America prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we have an opportunity to reflect not only on how far we've come, but on how we got here. The anniversary should be more than a celebration of our founding. It should be a reminder that America's greatest achievements have come from our willingness to learn—from history, from science, and from one another. We cannot sustain democracy without history. We cannot address climate change without science. Both democracy and science depend on the same thing: knowledge accumulated over generations. ...

The Way I See It: Fourth celebrations have always been a blast

The celebration of Independence Day in the area has always been a mid-summer chance for area families to take a break and perhaps reflect on the freedoms that we take for granted. Add in a few pyrotechnics and perhaps a hot dog or two and you have a pretty good day in my book. It has ...