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Editorial

Justice says emergency in jails is over. Is it?

After nearly two years, Gov. Jim Justice has rescinded the state of emergency over jail staffing shortages. It is a cause for celebration — and possibly one for concern. Good news: The vacancy rate for uniformed corrections officers is down to 12% from a high of roughly 33% a year ago. Over 230 people have graduated from the corrections training program since January, and more than 30 of the National Guardsmen who were deployed to assist in the jails have decided to remain on staff. Bad news: Non-uniformed corrections staff still has a vacancy rate around 20%. The difference ...

Pride Month kicks off in Morgantown

On this first day of Pride Month, we’d like to highlight Pride and Pride-themed events and activities happening around Morgantown in June. Morgantown Adventure Outfitters is offering LGBTQ+ kayaking and biking tours 4-8 p.m. every Saturday in June (including today). These outdoor activities double as a place to meet other members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies and to make new connections and friendships. Morgantown Pride, in conjunction with Main Street Morgantown, will be hosting its Pride Parade at 7 p.m. June 13 (line-up at 5:45 p.m.). Line the sidewalks of High Street ...

Despite delays, light at the end of the tunnel for Mylan BMX park

Its future looks bright, indeed It’s a project three years in the making, but it finally seems to be gaining ground: Mylan Park will be welcoming the nation’s first fully accessible national-level BMX facility. Originally slated for the lower park, the Mylan Park Action Sports & Bike Park Complex has been moved to the upper part, just past the aquatic center — which is part of the reason the BMX facility hasn’t moved beyond the design phase despite a groundbreaking ceremony in 2022. It seems the action sports complex, now predicted to start construction next ...

Let voters decide on abortion directly

We’re not fans of special legislative sessions (which you already know if you regularly read our editorials). However, every once in a blue moon, they can be justified, and the concurrent May interims and special session showed that they can be done responsibly, without abusing taxpayer resources. That is why we suggest Gov. Jim Justice call a second special session to coincide with the August interim meetings to consider a proposed constitutional amendment that was ignored during the May special session. At the May interims, Democratic gubernational candidate Steve Williams ...

It’s possible to leave a kid in a car. It can also be prevented

By now, most of us have heard about the young child who was found deceased in a hot car last week. We offer our condolences to the family for their unimaginable loss. According to KidsandCars.org, on average, 38 kids per year die in hot cars. In about 55% of incidents, the child was unknowingly left in the vehicle. (For perspective, 25% of incidents involved the child getting into the car on their own.) Of the episodes in which a child was unknowingly left in the vehicle, 43% involved a caregiver believing they had dropped their kid off at daycare, 34% were forgotten in the car and ...

Editorial encore: Ways we honor Memorial Day

EDITOR’S NOTE: Today’s editorial has been adapted from one that originally ran May 26, 2020. Today, some people will hold somber remembrances, while others will gather for cook-outs and fun. In recent years, we’ve seen a lot of pushback against the commercialization of Memorial Day and joyful celebrations on a national day of mourning. Which is certainly fair. For those who lost a loved one to war, Memorial Day has a special poignancy and pain. It can be hard to watch people laugh and play when your own heart hurts. But there can be a place for cookouts and yard games ...