The resignation last week of Nicholas County Superintendent of Schools Donna Burge-Tetrick and former school board president Gus Penix is, in truth, the last act in a seven-year tragedy.
"The finest tribute we can pay/Unto our hero dead to-day/Is not a rose wreath, white and red/In memory of the blood they shed/It is to stand beside each mound/Each couch of consecrated ground/And pledge ourselves as warriors true/Unto the work they died to do." -- Edgar Guest, Memorial Day, 1917.
Cleaning off my old turntable and playing the vinyl record that I must have put there some time ago, I heard a voice from the past: John Prine. The first cut featuring his twangy, authoritative voice was “Your Flag decal Won’t Get You into Heaven Anymore.” Since Memorial Day is May 29, and s…
Far better minds than mine have grappled with the reality that there is evil in the world. Still, it is up to each of us to determine how we will deal with it and not allow it to take over our lives.
The so-called high school transfer portal law is here. Prep athletes can now pick up and play for a different school when they choose.
Editor’s note: This is a republication of a previous piece.
It sure sounds good when folks say, well, if you’re getting health care from Medicaid or help feeding your family, or any other help with essential needs, then you must meet work reporting requirements month after month to prove you are a “good” person.
The U.S. Supreme Court Justices have been in the news lately. Fewer than 50% of Americans are satisfied with them. Clarence Thomas tops the list of least favorable.
There have been three more news stories in recent days about bills left unpaid by companies owned and operated by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and his family.
I was hoping that, by the time this op-ed appeared in the Gazette-Mail, Congress had fixed the issue and avoided defaulting on our national debt. But even if that occurs, there have already been economic effects from the threat of default that Republican lawmakers are using to attempt to for…
I don’t think much about personal identity. Most of what makes me who I am, I take for granted. I’m a husband and father, a journalist and commentator, a sports fan, an avid reader and, sometimes, a fitness buff. Both of my parents are gone now, but I will always think of myself as their son.
A co-founder and senior leader of the centrist bipartisan political group No Labels says she is impressed with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., but the organization is months away from choosing candidates for a “unity ticket” to run for president against the Democratic and Republican party nominees.
When COVID-19 showed up at Mt. Olive Correctional Center, I was nearly done with my sentence. Despite subsisting all that time on low-nutrition, $1.03-a-meal prison food, I managed to stay healthy by working out.
One of the great benefits of living in a wealthy country with lots of energy is that there is always enough electricity to keep the lights on and power everything else that needs electricity. However, the reliability of the service that we take for granted is now threatened.
Thousands of young people soon will graduate from colleges and universities across the Mountain State. Many are at a crossroads, facing the first major decision of their adult lives — staying in West Virginia or leaving to pursue careers elsewhere.
When the score is tied at the end of overtime in a high school soccer tournament, it is a bad idea to stage a penalty kick shoot out to decide which team moves on toward a state championship and which team ends its season – which is how it is done now.
The concept of aging has been on my mind as I watch our president’s age being weaponized against him by those who are determined to tear down our democratic system. I am convinced that he remains the strongest candidate to defend who we are as a country and what we stand for. He was the righ…
Charleston attorney Ben Salango is seriously considering a second run for West Virginia governor. Salango, who also is a member of the Kanawha County Commission, was the Democratic Party’s gubernatorial nominee in 2020, but he lost to Republican incumbent Jim Justice.
As Americans and West Virginians, we sometimes take our unalienable rights to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness for granted because it is so widely understood that protecting these God-given rights is the core reason the government exists.
Ben Beakes: Metallurgical coal is still required (Opinion)