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Editorial

Teachers haven’t felt the love, but this is Teacher Appreciation Week

Yesterday was the nationally recognized Teacher Appreciation Day, but Teacher Appreciation Week goes until Friday. The not-holiday is extra special this year, given all the flack educators have faced at school board meetings and on the floors of state legislatures recently. But in all the debate about what should or should not be taught to our kids, no one takes the time to acknowledge what an essential profession teaching is, or the special people who have what it takes to do the job. Teachers aren’t just people who stand in the front of the classroom, reciting factoids. ...

We need poll workers, and they need a raise

Last week, Preston County Clerk Linda Huggins approached the county commission about giving poll workers a raise. Currently, poll workers in Preston County make $150 every day they work. Huggins’ proposed pay bump would bring it to $175 a day, plus $25 for the training session. (In Monongalia County, poll workers can earn $272 for working Election Day.) Preston County Commission is expected to take the matter up at its meeting tomorrow. We hope the commission can find the funds to approve Huggins’ request. Poll worker is an important job, and people who fulfill the role ...

Child tax credit was the hand up many needed

In December 2021, three sources told news outlets that Sen. Joe Manchin had postulated in private that West Virginia families would use the money they received from the Child Tax Credit (the final payment for which went out that same month) to buy drugs. His concerns — which he has publicly denied — might be why Manchin began insisting that the program, if it were to be continued, have a work requirement and maybe even an income cap. The Brookings Institution released a study this month that broke down how families spent the extra cash from the CTC each month. Leah Hamilton, one ...

Why the Legislature needs to be more pro-environment

Last week, the Sierra Club released its legislative scorecard for the 2021-22 sessions. The environmental group uses the scorecard to rate West Virginia legislators based on how they voted on climate- and environment-friendly policies. By the club’s own words, “Bills were chosen based on roll call votes where a clear pro-environment position was identified, and where at least 5% of the chamber voted in opposition ... . Those votes were used to calculate a pro-environment percentage score, with 100% being perfect.” Four out of five of Monongalia County’s current delegates were ...

Endorsements for Board of Education

The Dominion Post Editorial Board recently had the pleasure of interviewing candidates for Monongalia County and Preston County boards of education. We would like to thank all the candidates who took the time to meet with us and answer our questions. (Several candidates were unable to attend or did not respond to our invitations.) Each candidate answered seven to eight questions about their thoughts on a variety of topics. Unfortunately, we do not have the space to discuss all that we covered during the interviews, but our endorsements are based on the entirety of those ...

After Musk buys Twitter, whose speech will be free?

The free speech protection of the First Amendment applies to the individual’s right to say what they may wish. However, it does not guarantee them a platform on which to say it nor freedom from repercussions.  In recent weeks, there have been renewed discussions about freedom of speech as related to social media platforms, since Elon Musk cited it as a primary factor in his bid to buy Twitter and take it private. Musk previously had his Tweets removed for spreading misinformation about COVID. He’d also complained when stories about the racism allegedly prevalent in his ...