For Ari Lichti, his fondness for fencing probably traces its blade’s arc back to when he was 6 years old. It involved spending family afternoons watching live jousting competitions on the grounds of Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England, site of Winston Churchill’s privileged birthplace.
Jefferson County’s local governments have become a management recruiter’s dream.
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice on Monday ordered a sweeping investigation of the State Police after he accepted the resignation of the agency’s superintendent and revealed allegations of wrongdoing, including that a video camera was placed inside a women’s locker room.
As Jefferson County’s population has grown, so have its criminal and civil caseloads in its court system.
CHARLESTON – West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice signed a $4.87 billion budget last Friday for the next fiscal year along with bills giving pay raises to public employees and making changes to their insurance program.
About 79 percent of Jefferson County residents own their homes with 21 percent renting. That and other housing statistics were discussed as part of the county planning commission work session held March 14 on the county’s comprehensive zoning and development plan.
The Jefferson County Commission voted 3-1 last week to rezone the Clarion hotel property outside Shepherdstown from a residential use to a mix residential-light-industrial-commercial use.
SPEECH WINNERS: Rebekah McGivern, a sophomore at Washington High School, won first place in a Rotary Club speech contest held March 14 for Jefferson County students. Rebekah will compete next month in a regional Rotary speech contest in Hancock, Maryland.
CHARLESTON – West Virginia’s governor signed a bill that makes interfering with a police officer and causing an officer’s death a felony punishable by up to life in prison.
Want to be superintendent of Jefferson County Schools?
CHARLESTON – A child marriage bill is heading to the West Virginia governor’s desk after lawmakers agreed to let 16- and 17-year-olds get married with restrictions.
The Spirit of Jefferson requests and receives various government documents from time to time. Here's a vault of recent comments we received.
A 37-year-old woman was stabbed to death in her Ranson apartment over the weekend, leading police on an evidence trail identifying a former boyfriend as the lone suspect who committed suicide in a local motel room after the slaying.
Should Charles Town allow food truck vendors to broaden the city’s downtown dining options? Would food trucks generate some commercial-energy buzz that’ll draw more customers?
The Rev. Jennifer Verdugo now serves as Jefferson County’s new community social services liaison, which was recently established as a new county government position after two years of study and planning.
CHARLESTON – During the 60-day session of the 86th West Virginia Legislature that ended at midnight Saturday, 332 bills were advanced—203 House bills, 129 Senate bills—to Gov. Jim Justice to possibly sign into law.
The Charles Town Charter or the document that details how the city will be run was enacted by the West Virginia Legislature in 1915. It has only had a few amendments since that time.
West Virginia University’s Land Use and Sustainable Development Law Clinic is bridging the gap for small, rural towns—like Romney and Capon Bridge—and contributing legal services to local governments while also providing boots-on-the-ground educational opportunities for its law students.
A Martinsburg man has been charged with animal cruelty for allegedly failing to adequately feed and care for several of his horses kept at a Summit Point farm.
The Jefferson County Commission agreed unanimously to send a letter urging the West Virginia Public Service Commission to avoid approving a rate increase as part of a proposed $32 million acquisition of Jefferson Utilities and its four related water and sewer utility systems.
I have the privilege to serve as the newest member of the Jefferson County school board for the past eight-months. Recently, an editor of another publication asked me, do I enjoy being on the school board? The fast answer is, yes—absolutely. I am honored to have a seat at the table of what I…
EDITOR’S NOTE: Jeri Wines, who lives on the Blue Ridge Mountain, offered the following remarks March 16 during a public comment period before the Jefferson County Commission. Her remarks reference the commission made to reposition county ambulance crews stationed in a trailer near Blue Ridge…
I am writing in relation to the column by State Senator Rucker you printed on March 8th 2023 [“Let kids be kids,” page 7].
EDITOR'S NOTE: Several Jefferson County residents have filed comments on West Virginia American Water's proposed acquisition of Jefferson Utilities, the county's largest private water service utility. The acquisition include four much smaller but related water and sewer systems. The followin…
It takes a little while for the Spirit to make its way out here, but the article about writer Bob O’Connor [“A Writer’s Life,” Feb. 15] was worth the wait. When it comes to watching TV, I fall decidedly into Bob’s camp. If you want to write, ditch the TV and learn things worth writing about.
I sat down with West Virginia State Auditor John “JB” McCuskey to discuss his run for governor and his proposal for the state government to provide free early child care in West Virginia, which is certainly a departure from Republican establishment policy positions.
Marching through Beckley, West Virginia, on March 4, the crowd of 150 friends and families of Quantez Burks and Alvis Shrewsbury stretched a full block. I was there with others to honor the memories of the two men killed not far away in the Southern Regional Jail.
Jefferson High baseball coach John Lowery hasn’t lost his touch.
For one quarter last Thursday, Jefferson High’s boys basketball team hung with No. 3-seed Parkersburg South High in the Class AAAA state semifinals.
Jefferson High’s boys and girls track and field teams are aiming to make another run at a Class AAA state championship this spring. Both Cougars teams had impressive showings at last Saturday’s Paul Arbogast Invitational Track and Field Meet at Spring Mills High School.
Last weekend Charles Town put the finishing touches on the official winter portion of the racing slate for 2023 as owners, trainers, jockeys and onlookers began to welcome the spring portion of the schedule that officially gets underway tomorrow night.
BASEBALL
Ralph “Buck” Edward Spangler, 77, of Ranson, WV passed away at his residence Saturday, March 18, 2023.
Amber Alexis Ray, 39, of Ranson, WV passed away Sunday, March 12, 2023 at Med Star Georgetown University Hospital.
Bessie Lee Reynolds, 99, of Ranson, WV passed away Wednesday, March 15, 2023 at Shenandoah Center in Charles Town, WV.
Therl Meadows, 84, of Charles Town, WV passed away Tuesday, March 14, 2023 at Reston Hospital.
Barbara Elane Viands, 87, of Charles Town, passed away Monday, March 6, 2023, at home surrounded by her loving family and under the care of Hospice. Born November 27, 1935, in Ranson, she was the daughter of the late Arthur Donzelle Andrews and Marjorie Naomi Collis Andrews.
Ethel Dean Brown Porter, 104 years old, passed away on March 14, 2023 while in the care of Commonwealth Senior Living - Berryville and Blue Ridge Hospice of Winchester, VA.
John Allen Casey, 61, of Charles Town, West Virginia died Friday, March 3, 2023, at Frederick Health Hospital, Frederick, Maryland.
Movita Athalia Daniels departed this life on Tuesday, February 28, 2023, in Temple Hills, Maryland. She was born to Cecelia Isabella Lee Daniels (Green) and Richard (Pete) Daniels on November 16, 1939, in Charles Town, West Virginia. Movita graduated from Page Jackson High School in Charle…
Vickie Marie Laurine, 66, of Harpers Ferry, WV, passed away Friday, March 10, 2023 at her residence.
A Celebration of Life for Kenneth Lee Walker will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 12, 2023 at Independent Fire Hall in Ranson, WV.
On January 26, 2023, Linda Andrews Fries Whitmore of Charles Town, WV, rose to Glory.
Joy H. Schwartz, 90, of Leetown, WV passed away Friday, March 3, 2023 at Heritage Hall Leesburg in Leesburg, VA.
