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Editorial Encore: Halloween’s origins and traditions

EDITOR'S NOTE: This editorial was originally published Oct. 31, 2021. Happy Halloween! A fun fact for you: “Halloween” is a contraction of “Hallow Eve” or All Hallows’ Eve as we’ve sometimes heard today called. It’s fascinating to trace the history of Halloween from an ancient religious festival to the fun and frightening secular “holiday” we know now. It’s believed All Hallows’ Eve has its roots in the Celtic festival Samhain. Samhain marked the end of summer and the harvest — the Celtic New Year, which fell on what we would know now as Nov. 1. It was ...

Schools failing dyslexic students

As the old adage goes, actions speak louder than words. We believe that every child should have access to a free, quality education, and we have frequently used this space to champion public schools. Which is why we were disappointed to learn that Monongalia County Schools has done little more than pay lip service to helping students with dyslexia. You’ve likely seen our articles the last several Sundays in honor of Dyslexia Awareness Month, including one highlighting Mon County Schools’ protocols and resources for students with dyslexia. In an interview with The Dominion ...

There’s no rainbow fentanyl trick in Halloween treats

Despite what the fearmongers have claimed recently, you really don’t need to be in a panic over marijuana edibles or “rainbow fentanyl” ending up in children’s Halloween candy. We recently had a story in The Dominion Post discussing the rise of rainbow fentanyl and public service announcements put out by two groups at roughly the same time. After a Monongalia County drug bust where narcotics presumed to be rainbow fentanyl were found, three WVU pharmacy professors put out a PSA. After rainbow fentanyl started making national headlines, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito joined 12 ...

The DP endorses candidates for office

Elections are the most direct impact many of us will have on our government, and it’s important everyone knows who they are voting for and what those candidates represent. Therefore, we would like to thank all the candidates for office who took the time to join us over the last few weeks to help us and our readers get a better understanding of who they are and what their mission will be should they get elected. We sent invitations to 26 candidates to join us for virtual interviews, and we were fortunate to be able to speak to 19 of them. In general, we paired candidates with ...

The infamous ‘hot coffee’ lawsuit

She became the poster child for “stupidity needs a warning label” and “you can sue for anything nowadays.” You might have heard the story: A woman orders a cup of McDonald’s coffee and sets it between her legs while driving. The coffee spills (of course, because that’s what happens when you put a takeout coffee cup between your legs while driving) and she receives some burns on her legs. She sues McDonald’s for $3 million and becomes rich because of her own stupidity. That story is wrong. We’re revisiting it today because Morgantown is experiencing its own “hot ...

MUB needs oversight

Now that Morgantown City Council has decided to table its ordinance creating more oversight for the Morgantown Utility Board, we’d like to offer some suggestions before council takes it up again. We do agree with city council that MUB needs greater oversight. As it has expanded beyond Morgantown’s borders, MUB seems to have gotten the idea that it need not be beholden to anyone. It has cooperated with municipal and county governments, there is no question about that — but it seems to have forgotten it is a subsidiary of Morgantown’s government and has instead acted as an ...