News

Most of the time when bikers come to town, it’s expected to get rough and rowdy.

As a Beallsville High School graduate, I can remember roaming through the halls during a Rally Day or wandering my way into a Key Club or National Honors Society meeting.

“We broke a record!

What can you do to thank someone who paid the ultimate sacrifice?How can you truly show someone who gave his or her life for your freedom that what they did matters?That was the question posed by multiple speakers during Woodsfield’s annual Memorial Day service Monday, May 27 at Oaklawn Cemetery.When you find yourself on a beautiful, sunny day, standing among friends in your community, all decked out in red, white and blue - it’s not hard to think of how lucky you are.It’s even easier when you get a day off from work, a three-day weekend.Woodsfield VFW Post 5303 Commander Brent Bosley recognized how lucky we all are - but he, and other speakers, reminded those in attendance of the cost that was paid for us to have the freedoms we enjoy every day.“One day is not enough,” Bosley said, “what we owe these brave men for.

Monroe County’s Barn Artist Scott Hagan revealed his latest work – and it was a fitting piece for Memorial Day.Hagan announced on his Facebook Page the completion of what he described as a “tribute barn” on Memorial Day, Monday, May 27.The barn is located on State Route 145 near the Beallsville Park and pays tribute to the six young from Beallsville who lost their lives during the Vietnam War, Jack Pittman, Duane Greenlee, Charles Schnegg, Richard Rucker, Robert Lucas and Philip Brandon.The mural, decked out in red, white and blue, features the last names of the six young men as well as silhouettes.

Thirty-five years of celebrating area businesses and organizations was the theme for the Monroe County Chamber of Commerce’s 35th annual dinner Thursday, May 16 at the Generations Complex near Woodsfield.

Woodsfield Chapter #268 Order of the Eastern Star will meet at 7:30 p.m.

The Christian and Jacob Schnegg families will meet Sunday, June 2 at the Clarington Methodist Church.

COUNTY COURTJustin L.

There’s a lot of misinformation about vaping running around for kids to see.It’s a safe alternative to smoking.It’s a way to quit smoking.It’s the cool new thing.With all that floating around like the plume of vapor exhaled after puffing on a vape pen, it’s not hard to see why kids would be curious.Some Monroe Central High School students see the bad messaging and decided to find a way to help their classmates get properly educated and make the right decisions when it comes to vaping.Through a partnership with the Monroe County Health Department, Monroe Central formed an Anti-Vaping Committee comprised of 12 students.With the help of Monroe County Health Department staff and math teacher and advisor Lisa Swords, the students researched vaping, helping them figure out what it actually does and how it can affect people their age.With months of research under their belt, the committee offered its findings to a group they felt was “one of the most targeted” in the community for vaping - the Monroe Central freshmen class.The goal of their presentation was to show the freshmen how dangerous vaping can be and help them understand what is at risk.Whether it was in terms of your physical health - or the health of your wallet - the students shared the dangers of getting hooked on vaping.Freshman Caylin Calder explained that vaping can affect your life in many ways, saying it can end up costing you thousands of dollars.If having no money isn’t depressing enough, vaping itself can add to that depression.Your grades might suffer, as nicotine can harm parts of the brain that effect learning and increase the risk of developing a mood disorder.And that’s not to mention the health risks.It’s unclear exactly what is in vaping products, the students said.But what is clear is that those products can cause severe lung damage and even cause your hair to fall out and you to develop acne.“I don’t know about you,” Calder said, “but I don’t want my hair to fall out.”While it seems like a open-and-shut case, not every freshman was sold.It’s not surprising but at least of few, if not more, of the freshmen in attendance had been exposed to vaping.One said he even tried it.While this student did not become addicted, it bolstered the committee’s point of showing the rest of the them how at risk they are - and what they can do about it.“You have to make smart decisions,” senior Dalton Phillips said.