Times Leader Staff Writer
St. Clairsville Mayor Kathryn Thalman makes a presentation during a prior meeting. The city is making progress on the issue of water service as well as responding to the recent cold weather.
ST. CLAIRSVILLE A teleconference meeting of St. Clairsville City Council last week featured updates regarding winter weather issues and water service.
Before council could get down to regular business, though, drama arose again as Mayor Kathryn Thalman read a letter from resident Carrie Gralinski criticizing Councilman Frank Sabatino for reading a constituent’s letter to Thalman in the last meeting. The earlier letter writer expressed disappointment in Thalman for sharing a social media post from a conservative commentator that referred to “liberals” as “communists.” Gralinski’s response to Sabatino described his reading of the letter as “political theatre.”
Penn State juniors Amber Bortner and Kelly Porter have been best friends since kindergarten. This year, their friendship reached a new height as they are dance together in the first-ever virtual THON from their living rooms.
Bortner and Porter attended the same elementary school, middle school, high school, and, of course, college. Suffice to say, they’re lifelong friends.
“We’ve been friends for so long that we don’t remember when we met,” Porter said. “I just feel like [Amber] has always been there.”
Though their reasons for attending Penn State are independent of their friendship, it was no surprise that their passions and interests led them to the same university.
Staff Writer
T-L File Photo
Belmont County’s planned water service upgrades for this year will be welcomed by the city of St. Clairsville, which plans on taking advantage of the projected increased capacity to purchase water from the county.
ST. CLAIRSVILLE The county took another step Wednesday toward long-awaited, large-scale upgrades to water and sewer infrastructure, with work expected to begin early this year.
The commissioners awarded bids and entered into contracts for Belmont County Water and Sewer District improvements based on the recommendation of Poggemeyer Design Group, the project engineer.
The bid to construct a water treatment plant on Guernsey Street in Bellaire was awarded to Christman Constructors Inc. for $26,973,000. The bid for the first phase of water main replacement went to Bova Excavating LLC for $3,093,950, and a bid for the second phase went to Rudzik Excavating Inc. for $6,650,000. Border Patrol LLC will construct the Little McMahon Creek Road B
Staff Writer
AP Photo
U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, speaks to officials. Portman announced he will not seek re-election in 2022.
LOCAL OFFICIALS are wishing Sen. Rob Portman well and looking forward to working with him through the remainder of his time in office after he announced Monday that he will not seek re-election when his term expires in 2022.
While expressing gratitude to Ohioans who voted him into office, Portman’s statement cited ongoing political division as one reason he will retire from office. Portman, R-Ohio, has been recognized as a highly bipartisan senator, known to reach out across the aisle to seek common ground. He said Monday that the division in government has made getting things done more difficult.
For The Intelligencer
FILE - This Monday, Oct. 26, 2020, file photo shows Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, speaking during a news conference in Washington. Portman is participating in a COVID-19 vaccine study, hoping to encourage others to volunteer to take part in testing. Portman said in an interview that as much as he supports such precautions as masking and social distancing, vaccine development, distribution and use are the best hope for reducing the pandemic s toll, and he wanted to what he could to help explain the great potential for these vaccines and the need for volunteers for trials. (Graeme Jennings/Pool Photo via AP, File)