When my children were growing up, I didn’t keep candy in the house. They never had soda, and sugar cereal was reserved for one day a year — on their birthday, when they could pick out one box and a pack of fruit roll-ups. It was my way of teaching them early that sugar isn’t meant to be ...
One of the more popular drive-by historic homes in Shepherdstown is at 207 East German Street – the one with the elaborate Halloween and Christmas decorations. A gauge of the decorations’ popularity is the official count (a hand held counter is used) of trick-or-treaters that reached 854 ...
Several weeks ago, Governor Patrick Morrisey sent a few hundred members of the West Virginia National Guard to patrol Washington, D.C., at the request of President Donald Trump. I strongly oppose the governor’s action, as policing is not a proper role for soldiers, and those soldiers are ...
In July 2025, the Jefferson County Commission voted to dissolve the Jefferson County Development Authority Board — a move that left many residents wondering what the county’s vision for economic development really is. In the absence of a clear strategy, we risk allowing speculation and ...
Since 2021, Emma and Brian Wenner have owned what is known locally as the Pump House (circa 1790) at 107 North Princess Street in Shepherdstown. Friends at Jefferson High School in the early 2000s and as students at West Virginia University, it wasn’t until 2013 when Emma was home from New ...
In a special edition of this column last week, we discussed the process by which the Jefferson County Commission suddenly and precipitously dissolved the Jefferson County Development Authority and summarily fired all it members. But what kind of Development Authority might we want? State law ...
On July 8, suddenly and without warning, the Jefferson County Commission summarily fired all 15 members of the Jefferson County Development Authority. Why did the commissioners take this action? Apparently, because they could. Were the requirements of West Virginia’s open meetings law ...
The 15th anniversary of the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster took place on April 5. I wanted to share my personal experience with it, with my readers. This story is divided into three parts, with this being the final one. The governor’s assistant picked up a bullhorn. “Just keep doing what ...
Growing up in a 1790s farmhouse in McLean, Va., where Dolley Madison fled during the War of 1812 must have influenced Deb Tucker’s thinking about historic places and her choice of Shepherdstown as a place to live when she moved from the Washington, D.C. area. While history defines much of ...
After the massive flooding that devastated much of West Virginia in 2016, the Legislature established the Flood Resiliency Fund. The Flood Resiliency Fund was created so that West Virginia would be prepared to immediately aid people who experienced killer floods in the future, but the ...
