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This Week in the W.Va. House of Delegates - Ending Feb. 20, 2026

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Members of the West Virginia House of Delegates took action this week to add more money to the paychecks of public school teachers, school service personnel and the West Virginia State Police. All other state employees are expected to receive a pay raise through the budget bill, but with House Bill 4765, which unanimously passed the House Feb. 19, the three classes of state employees with salary schedules set in state code also would be in line for a 3 percent raise starting July 1. House Finance Committee Vice Chairman Clay Riley, R-Harrison, told Delegates just before the vote the amount would average out to about $1,800 across the three groups — more than $1,500 for the teachers and nearly $900 for school service personnel. The bill goes now to the Senate for consideration. The Foster Youth Post-Secondary Transition Awareness Act, House Bill 4573, and House Bill 4730, which would develop a continuum of independent living and transitional support services for youth aging out of foster care, both passed the House this week with overwhelming support. HB4573 would direct the West Virginia Department of Education to coordinate direct communication about opportunities for higher education, job training, housing, healthcare and support for independent living to students with current or previous foster care experiences. Similarly, HB4730 would require the Department of Human Services to implement a program with the full spectrum of transitional services for young people who soon will exit or recently have exited from foster care. It also would require reports to the Legislature about its activity. The House took unanimous votes this week on House Bill 5101, the Joanna Phillips Domestic Violence Prevention Act, which would enhance criminal penalties relating to domestic violence, and House Bill 4712, Baylea’s Law, which would increase the criminal penalties for DUI causing death, as well as House Bill 4819, which would allow a person with a criminal record who had met specific circumstances of rehabilitation to be licensed within certain categories of professional practice. “We pass a lot of bills in here that increase penalties and make it tougher for individuals to get out of the criminal justice system, and I love bills like this because if you make a mistake, particularly in your youth, that should not be a scarlet letter for the rest of your life,” said Delegate Hollis Lewis, D-Kanawha, just before the vote on House Bill 4819. “Bills like this are important to get people back in the workforce and let people just get on with their lives.” The House also passed House Bill 4009, which would create the Portable Benefit Account Act, with overwhelming support this week. The measure would allow West Virginia’s many independent contractors, freelancers and self-employed workers to maintain their benefits such as retirement savings and health care coverage across multiple clients or from job to job. “Portable Benefits can help our state’s nearly 90,000 independent workers gain stability while holding on to their flexibility,” said Delegate Jonathan Kyle, R-Randolph, and the lead sponsor of the bill. “This would also allow companies to contribute to a worker’s account, which can help them attract talent while still protecting them from any new red tape or classifications.” Eleven bills have completed the legislative process. The 60-day, regular legislative session ends at midnight March 14. Read the full article

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Borsuk: 'Disagree Better and Strengthen Our Communities'

Over 225 years ago, in 1800, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.” I find myself thinking about that quote often lately, especially as we approach America’s 250th anniversary and look honestly at how we talk to each other today.

At 22 years old, my experience of national events has almost entirely come through a phone screen. “Doomscrolling” became a common phrase during the once-in-a-lifetime pandemic my generation lived through. I watched an attempted assassination of a president live on television. I have seen shootings, protests, and political violence spread across social media within minutes. Before all the facts were known, opinions were already formed, shared, and defended as if they were facts themselves, and division already begun.

When I talk to my parents and reflect on stories from my late grandmother, the contrast is striking. My parents remember watching the attacks of September 11th and the attempted assassination of President Reagan. My grandmother told me about where she was when President Kennedy was assassinated and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. While those events were also broadcast quickly, they remember something different. People talked things through with family, friends, and coworkers over time. Regardless of party, there was space to process what happened before being pressured to react publicly. That difference matters.

We are seeing the consequences of that loss of space in today’s conversation about immigration and nearly every other major issue. Immigration is a serious topic involving border security, the rule of law, and human dignity. It deserves careful debate. Instead, social media reduces complex issues into short clips, emotional headlines, and comment sections that turn policy disagreements into team sports. Anger spreads faster than understanding, and nuance rarely survives.

What is striking to many in my generation is that this division is not driven solely by politicians or political parties. It is driven by platforms that reward outrage regardless of ideology. Social media algorithms do not care whether a post is conservative or liberal. They amplify whatever provokes the strongest reaction. The loudest voices rise to the top, while thoughtful ones are buried. Over time, this trains people to see their neighbors not as individuals, but as caricatures.

A friend told me this summer, “The Ohio Valley lives and breathes on Facebook drama.” It was meant half-jokingly, but it rings true. When people can hide behind a screen name, react with a laughing emoji, or block someone they have never met in real life, it becomes easy to say things we would never say face to face. Social media removes the human cost of incivility, and our culture pays the price.

Disagreement itself is not the problem. Our country was built on it. The danger comes when disagreement turns into dehumanization. When every issue becomes a moral test and every opponent becomes an enemy, productive conversation becomes impossible.

That is why the idea of disagreeing better matters. The Disagree Better movement, led by Utah Governor Spencer Cox, gained national attention after the assassination of Charlie Kirk in September. 

Disagreeing better does not mean giving up your beliefs or pretending differences do not exist. It means standing firm while still treating the other person like a human being.

Regardless of what the President does or what happens in the halls of Congress, most of us will never directly change the minds of lawmakers or executives. But we do control something just as important. We control how we think about our neighbors, how we speak online, and how quickly we rush to judgment. Our individual mindset matters more than we often realize.

Younger generations see how dangerous this moment is. We see how quickly outrage spreads, how easily people are pushed into camps, and how social media profits from division. We also see that this path is not sustainable.

Civility is not old-fashioned, and it does not surrender. It is a choice. If we want better conversations about immigration and about the future of this country, we need to slow down, resist outrage, and remember that disagreement does not require contempt.

So, here is the ask. Log off when you need to. Think before you post. Treat people you disagree with like neighbors, not enemies. We may not be able to control national politics, but we can choose, every day, to disagree better and strengthen our communities where it actually counts.

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Novotney: ‘Release the Covid Files’

Yes, by all means, keep going – release every single one of those Epstein files. Let’s finally find out, and let’s prosecute the guilty, exonerate the innocent, and let’s allow the political BS finally to play itself out.  It would be cleansing for our country, would provide long overdue justice for the victims, and it would end the speculation and innuendo so we can address government overreach that held us hostage, continues to adversely impact the American public, likely caused a plethora of unnecessary deaths, and robbed children of months of their in-person education. So, yes, let’s force the release of the Covid Files. Let’s find out the truth behind the precautions that locked us and our kids away for nearly a year, caused us to argue and dislike each other when someone refused to wear a mask or stand 6 feet away, and closed “non-essential” companies and placed millions of Americans on inflated – and temporary – unemployment benefits. What about the heart issues and the irregular blood clotting? Or the alcoholism, the depression, the anxiety, or other issues with mental health? Who pays those bills? And where did Covid 19 begin? And, whether it was a lab leak or from some sort of animal-to-human interaction or consumption, why is our most formidable world enemy playing around with such dangerous and deadly coronaviruses? And why does it seem like the Chinese are getting away with causing suck global mayhem? It hurt people. Some permanently. And Covid 19 and the pandemic broke up marriages, divided families, caused financial strife, crashed millions of retirement funds (again), killed our most vulnerable, and change human habits for good. So, yes, release the Covid files, and let the blame fall where the blame belongs. Read the full article

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Firearms Violators Sentenced to Multiple Years in Federal Prison

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Four men were sentenced this week for various firearms violations, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey. Tomez Faulkner, 39, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 60 months in prison for the unlawful possession of a firearm. Faulkner was stopped on Interstate 70 in Ohio County for erratic driving. A 9mm pistol was in plain view inside the vehicle. The firearm had been stolen from Corapolis, Pennsylvania. Faulkner is prohibited from having firearms because of an aggravated assault conviction in Pennsylvania. Steven Wayne Springer, 57, of Proctor, West Virginia, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition. An off-duty officer observed Springer with a firearm and reported it to the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) because the Springer had a history of disregarding wildlife hunting regulations. A DNR officer, knowing Springer is prohibited from having firearms because of a prior felony drug conviction, visited with Springer, who admitted to having multiple firearms. Law enforcement later executed a search warrant at Springer’s home and seized two rifles, a shotgun, and 96 rounds of various ammunition. Peter Alexander Ruskin, 52, of Wheeling, West Virginia, was sentenced to 18 months for the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition. The Marshall County Sheriff’s Department responded to a domestic violence call at Ruskin’s home. Ruskin was hiding in the basement. As officers searched for Ruskin, they found a firearm hidden under a couch in the residence. During a later legal search of his home, officers located multiple rounds of ammunition. Ruskin is prohibited because of prior domestic battery convictions. Steven Wayne Tubby, 45, of Moundsville, West Virginia, was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison. Tubby was convicted of the unlawful possession of a firearm after he threatened someone with a firearm at his residence. Officers executed a search warrant at Tubby’s residence and found a firearm and ammunition. Tubby is prohibited because of two prior felonies involving assault with a dangerous weapon and wanton endangerment involving a firearm. Investigative agencies include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; The West Virginia Department of Natural Resources; the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office; the Ohio County Sheriff’s Office; and the Moundsville Police Department. These cases are part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime, and repel the invasion of illegal immigration. U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided. Read the full article

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An OPEN LETTER to … West Virginia Lawmakers …

Legislators: We believe it’s imperative you remember one VERY important fact as you ready yourself for this upcoming regular session, a 60-day timeframe during which you will consider what’s best and what’s useless for the citizenry of West Virginia. What’s the one fact? Simple. You represent West Virginians – All. Of. Us. – and not the people who are sending you all of the out-of-state emails about crazed social and economic agendas that have ZERO to do with the issues in our 55 counties. If you’ve performed the duties in your district, then you’re quite aware of the issues your constituents care about most here in the Northern Panhandle … so, stick with those topics and don’t get caught up with the foolish games others play. Instead, the economy, the economy, the economy. Go do the job we need you to do, and thank you for serving. (Psst … it’s an election year.) Sincerely, Montani Semper Liberi  https://ledenews.com/video-the-collapse-of-the-washinhgton-avenue-bridge/ Read the full article

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Storch: 'New Year. New Opportunities.'

A new year arrives with a kind of quiet promise. Calendars get flipped. Clocks are reset. Conversations fill with resolutions, goals, and declarations about how everything will be different this time. This time. New Year’s Day carries an optimism that feels both energizing and, if we are honest, can also be a little heavy. Every January, many of us feel pressure to reinvent ourselves overnight. Better habits. Healthier routines. Bigger dreams. Cleaner houses. Calmer minds. There is nothing wrong with wanting improvement. Growth matters. Hope matters. Progress matters. Problems arise when those promises turn into punishments we place on ourselves before the year has even had a chance to begin. A new year does not erase the old one. The lessons, the disappointments, the detours, and the victories all come with us. That is not a failure. That is life. The idea that January 1st requires perfection can steal the very joy the season is supposed to offer. ---------- "There is value in reflecting on what worked and what did not." ---------- New opportunities deserve enthusiasm, not anxiety. A fresh start is not about pretending we never struggled. It is about recognizing that we made it through. Our resilience counts for something. Our experiences count for something. Wisdom earned the hard way still matters, even when the calendar changes. Promises can be powerful when they are rooted in grace. A promise to try again. A promise to be a little kinder. A promise to show up when it matters. Those are the kinds of commitments that build over time rather than collapse under unrealistic expectations. Beating yourself up has never been an effective strategy for lasting change. Shame rarely produces growth. Encouragement does. Progress usually comes from consistency, not perfection. Small steps, repeated over time, often accomplish more than bold declarations abandoned by February. The new year offers permission to begin again, but it does not demand that everything be figured out immediately. Some answers take time. Some goals require patience. Some seasons of life call for rest more than reinvention. That is not a weakness. That is wisdom. There is value in reflecting on what worked and what did not. Reflection helps us adjust our direction without condemning ourselves for taking the long way around. Sometimes the long way teaches us things the shortcut never could. New opportunities often arrive quietly. A conversation. A chance to help. A moment to choose differently than before. They do not always announce themselves with a ticker tape parade. Paying attention matters more than rushing ahead. A kinder approach to the new year leaves room for humanity. It allows setbacks without surrender. It recognizes effort even when outcomes fall short. It understands that growth is rarely linear and that progress sometimes looks like simply not giving up. Life will still be messy in January. Schedules will, inevitably, be full. Responsibilities will remain. Challenges will appear without asking permission. The goal is not to escape those realities but to meet them with a little more intention and a little less self-criticism. There is also something powerful about naming what we want more of rather than everything we want to fix. More patience. More connection. More gratitude. More courage. Those aspirations shape our days without demanding constant self-judgment. The new year is not a test you can fail. It is a gift you get to open one day at a time. Some days will feel productive. Others will feel ordinary. A few will feel hard, but all of them count. Celebrate the fact that you are still here, still trying, and still hopeful enough to consider what could be next. That matters more than any perfectly worded resolution. So, step into the new year with curiosity instead of criticism. Set intentions that encourage rather than intimidate. Leave room for growth without demanding immediate results. Promise yourself effort, not flawlessness. New year. New promises. New opportunities. Carry them lightly. Walk forward steadily. Give yourself the same grace you so often and easily extend to others. The year ahead will unfold whether you rush or breathe. You might as well choose kindness, especially toward yourself. Read the full article

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West Liberty University Celebrates Fall 2025 Commencement

WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. — West Liberty University celebrated its Fall 2025 Commencement on Saturday, December 13, recognizing more than 120 graduates during a ceremony held in the Academic, Sports, and Recreation Complex (ASRC) on the University’s main campus. Graduates represented a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs across the College of Sciences, Gary E. West College of Business, College of Education & Human Performance, and the College of Liberal & Creative Arts, as well as master’s-level programs in education, business, biology, criminology, and art therapy. West Liberty University President Tim Borchers congratulated graduates and acknowledged the many paths that led students to commencement day. “No matter how our graduates began their journey at West Liberty, each one arrived here with the aspiration to complete this chapter of their education,” Borchers said. “They leave prepared to adapt, persevere, and lead in their communities and professions.” The ceremony featured remarks from Tom Cervone, Managing Director of the Clarence Brown Theatre at the University of Tennessee and a 1990 West Liberty alumnus, who delivered the commencement address titled “The Story Goes On.” Cervone reflected on education as a lifelong process and encouraged graduates to approach the future with curiosity and imagination. “Graduation is not the end of the story,” Cervone told graduates. “It’s simply the end of this act. Wherever life takes you next, remember that you already know how to begin again.” During the ceremony, West Liberty University conferred upon Cervone the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, recognizing his leadership in the arts, service to higher education, and ongoing commitment to the University as a member of the Board of Governors. Riley McIntyre, a History and Geography & Planning double major from Moundsville, W.Va., served as the Fall 2025 student speaker. An Elbin Scholar graduating summa cum laude, McIntyre reflected on the resilience and adaptability of the graduating class. “We leave West Liberty with more than a degree,” McIntyre said. “We leave with the confidence to face uncertainty, knowing we have the skills to navigate whatever comes next.” The University also recognized students earning academic honors and members of honor societies during the ceremony. Following the conferral of degrees, President Borchers encouraged graduates to remain connected to the University and to view West Liberty as a lifelong home. “Hilltop is home,” Borchers said. “We look forward to seeing the impact our graduates will make and hope they remain engaged with the University for years to come.” The Fall 2025 Commencement ceremony was livestreamed on West Liberty University’s digital platforms for family members and supporters unable to attend in person. West Liberty University blends a small-town environment with a comprehensive college experience, fostering students’ aspirations through hands-on learning, personalized support, and unique academic programs at both undergraduate and graduate levels. To apply or learn more about West Liberty University, visit westliberty.edu. Read the full article