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Mon County welcomes back students — but not their phones

Monongalia County Schools welcomed back students on Tuesday — but not their smartphones. Phone-related distractions have been an increasing, and seemingly insurmountable, obstacle for educators and school systems across the nation. But this year, Mon County Schools is trying a new way to keep kids off their phones during the school day. Compared to methods we know have been tried in the past, this one seems like it will strike the right balance between limiting distractions and protecting students’ property. Starting this year, middle and high school students will put their ...

Rocky roads now smooth sailing

The W.Va. 7 repaving project is complete and, oh, is it beautiful! The formerly cratered route from the Walnut Street Bridge to Hartman Run Road — encompassing Brockway Avenue, the dreaded Hogback Turn and a stretch of Earl L. Core Road — has been scraped down to the foundation and filled in fresh. What was previously a pothole-laden obstacle course is now 1.5 miles of smooth sailing. And for the first time in years, Hogback Turn is wrinkle-free (and less likely to toss you into opposing traffic). The West Virginia Division of Highways did a fantastic job. We know this ...

Congratulations to Granville’s Lewis on ‘Mayor of the Year’

We’d like to congratulate Granville’s Mayor Patty Lewis on being named West Virginia Municipal League’s 2024 Mayor of the Year. It is certainly a well-earned recognition for her nearly 34 years serving the town as mayor. In her tenure, she has overseen major growth and expansion, particularly at the University Town Centre but also a revival of Granville’s main street. Upon receiving her award, Lewis acknowledged that the recognition is for all of Granville and the progress it has made. We hope, though, that she realizes just how much leadership determines a ...

COVID’s summer wave

When we talk about catching waves over the summer, this is not the kind of wave we mean. Because as summer winds down, it’s not ocean waves many of us are riding — it’s the still-climbing wave of a COVID surge. If it feels like everyone around you has COVID (or just had COVID), you aren’t crazy. This summer surge is on track to potentially be the biggest since the pandemic began in 2020, and it’s driven by the innocuously named “FLiRT” variants — descended from the JN.1 variant but even more contagious. For those at high-risk for severe illness or who have ...

As WVU students return, let’s put the ‘welcome’ in ‘Welcome Week’

Tomorrow, Morgantown officially welcomes (and welcomes back) WVU students for the fall semester. You may have noticed an uptick in traffic already, as students who had to come back early have filtered in. But tomorrow and Friday are the official move-in days, and things will likely be hectic around town over the coming week. We all like to gripe about our 10-minute summer commutes turning into 30-minute slogs overnight and how the stores go from busy to packed when we do our weekend shopping. And not all of us are fans of the parties and bar crawls that take over downtown after ...

Skimmers & scammers

With skimmers and scammers popping up in the headlines lately, we want to share some tips for protecting yourself from these swindlers. Card skimmers are mostly found on ATMs or gas station pumps but, as an incident at Dollar General shows, it is possible to find them at retail stores, too. Identifying a skimmer can be done pretty easily. Look for any pieces or parts on/around a card reader that are bulging or skewed, or any indication the machinery has been tampered with. Give the card reading part a little tug or wiggle — if anything moves or pops off, that might be a skimmer. ...