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You say you know your W.Va. history? There are more than 200 middle-schoolers now out there who probably know more than you do

Say you’re a West Virginian — born, bred and everything. Say you moved here for college and never left, thus claiming (and not unjustly) Wild, Wonderful as yours, too. Say you’re always ready, at the drop of your WVU ball cap, to summon the pastoral pantheon of pop culture icons running these hillbilly thoroughfares. You know: Your pepperoni rolls and your ramps. Your Mothman and your Mary Lou Retton. Bill Withers. Can’t forget Bill Withers. And the eternally far-out John Denver, even if that tune he’s known for only grazes a sliver of Eastern Panhandle while ...

Justices hear arguments on charter school approvals

West Virginia Supreme Court justices heard arguments Tuesday about whether the system being used to approve charter schools is constitutional. Charter schools receive financial support from the state’s public education system and are given greater operational latitude in exchange for the possibility of losing their right to operate if they fail. Because they receive public funding, they are considered public schools. The legal battle is over whether they may be authorized through a newly established Professional Charter Schools Board, whose members are appointed by the governor ...

Board of ed discusses improvement projects

BY JENNIFER GRAHAM KINGWOOD — The Preston County Board of Education met Monday in regular session with one board member, Jeff Zigrey not present. The secure front entryway and exterior door projects scheduled at Preston High School this summer have been combined for bidding purposes to elicit a greater number of bids for the project, according to Superintendent Bradley Martin’s report. Three vendors have submitted bids for the project, with Veritis being the successful bidder. R.M. Hunter has been contacted to provide quoting for bleacher replacement for the PHS gym. ...

Supreme Court to consider charter system

CHARLESTON — West Virginia Supreme Court justices will consider whether the state’s system of approving charter schools is constitutional. Justices will hear oral arguments at 10 a.m. today. Charter schools receive financial support from the state’s public education system and would be given greater operational latitude in exchange for the possibility of losing their right to operate if they fail. Because they receive public funding, they are considered public schools. The legal battle is not about whether West Virginia can have charter schools, but instead whether they ...