The Legislature adjourned its 2021 Regular Session on April 10. I wasn’t pleased with the results overall, but there were a few bright spots. We passed a bill aimed at bringing workable broadband to the entire state. In the past, the Legislature’s attempts have failed, but this time I ...

This is the story of a how a painting evolved over several months in my efforts to deal with politics and the long lasting pandemic. Sometime in early Aug. 2020, I wanted to paint a large painting, and a 48” x 60” linen canvas was primed and ready. After screwing eye hooks on and hanging ...

Even though half of all freshwater fish are now extinct and we have lost three billion birds in the last 50 years (National Audubon Society), there is some hopeful news in this week of Earth Day observances. One hopeful sign is how human interdependence with nature is seeping into the ...

The effect of an attractive landscape with fetching plants on the perceived value of a home has often been documented at 15 percent or more, even for non-gardening lookie-loos. According to one survey, the preferred landscape includes a sophisticated design with large deciduous, evergreen and ...

Among the angry mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 was incoming West Virginia Del. Derrick Evans, R-Wayne, who posted a video online from the Capitol interior yelling, “We’re in! … Derrick Evans is in the Capitol!” His illegal actions demanded a swift and severe ...

On Monday, Gov. Jim Justice announced his executive order mandating face coverings to be worn when a person is in a public indoor space where six feet of social distancing cannot be maintained. Children eight-and-under, people who are eating and people with trouble breathing or the inability to ...

We are finishing week two of Gov. Jim Justice's six-week phased reopening plan for West Virginia.After spending over a month in social isolation, West Virginia's businesses certainly need to increase their cash flow, so they won't have to permanently close. As The Shepherdstown Chronicle ...

Last Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that COVID-19 had been upgraded from an epidemic to a pandemic, due to the level of global devastation it had caused.On Tuesday, Shepherdstown residents James and Carolyn Vigil were the first people in West Virginia to ...

Many times, I have wanted to reach out to the public. As a Jefferson County School Board member, I have been hesitant to speak out, not wanting to represent the entire school board. However, this letter is personal. This letter is written as Donna Joy, a mother who is in a unique position to ...

The Friends of Music heartily congratulate the talented area students who were recently selected to be West Virginia All-State Musicians. This is quite an honor, and we realize how much effort they put in to deserve this recognition. Our mission is to promote musical excellence in Berkeley and ...

April is Financial Literacy Month! Again this year, I am offering all Jefferson County high school seniors a graduation gift, a copy of the “The Missing Semester,” an award-winning book by Matt Kabala and Gene Natali Jr. that explains basic personal finance to allow people to make smart ...

Have you been to Morgan’s Grove Park yet this springtime? The park is more majestic than I have ever seen it. Nothing but nature, all littering or immovable branches removed, and some playground equipment and a covered picnic area available for everyone to use. We should all go. Walk or run ...

As I have gotten older I have begin to notice how beautiful some things have become, such as watching the sun come up or standing in a field on a cold night just looking at the stars. Somehow it gives me a certain peace in my life that I have not felt before,The early Chinese teacher Confucius ...

Hello folks. I thought I'd drop a line or two just to fill you in on what's been happening and just to say hello.First, I want to say how much I have missed writing my column As I See It. As some of you have known I have been very ill.Last October I was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. ...

Christmas is almost here and I could think of a million things to write about the joyful time of year.For me, Christmas has seen many moods and many ways of celebrating the day of Christ's birth. Over the years I have written about some of the ways I have spent Christmas day.When I was young I ...

Well, old 73 has popped up and I have lived to see another birthday. First of all let me thank all of you who have sent me so many messages of kindness an the hope for many more years to come. I have always told friends that I would like to live to be 100 years old, but I have to admit that ...

As we have waited with baited breath to see the flattening of the curve in relation to COVID-19, it is ironic to me that I, too, am flattening the curve in relation to my healthcare career. With 41 years working as a nurse at Jefferson Medical Center, my career has truly peaked, or one might ...

Recently, the West Virginia Senate passed the Tourism Development District Act.Sponsored by Senator Patricia Rucker, the act will help expedite large tourism projects within smaller municipalities that might lack the resources and expertise to handle them themselves. For the project to qualify, ...

Despite all of the good news about West Virginia's economy over the past few years, we still have one of the lowest labor force participation rates in the country. If we want the state's economy to continue to grow, we need to focus on increasing our labor force participation. One of the ways ...

Someone once said that Shepherdstown's most significant contribution was when local men met at Morgan Spring, and marched from there to join up with George Washington, in what is today known as the Beeline March.The comment was spoken in 2012, at a Fourth of July "wayside" dedication, placed in ...