Many people in West Virginia do not own the minerals under their property. They only have what we call “surface rights.”  Surface rights allow us to live on and use the surface of the land, but do not include ownership interests in items such as coal, oil and natural gas.  It is disappointing to find […]

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It wasn’t long ago that my wife, Brenda, and I were discussing vacation plans. Where could we go to “unplug” for a few days? We considered a couple of old favorites.  Years ago we went to a rustic campground in the mountains.  We also considered Sugar Creek, Ohio, nestled in the midst of Amish country […]

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What a great time of year to be a sports fan. It’s that unique time when baseball races to the pennant at the same time football gets back underway. We are particularly lucky this year in the Ohio Valley given that many of our local teams at the high school level are off to great […]

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This year I accepted a volunteer position on the board for Appalachian Outreach, Inc. (AOI), which is based in Moundsville, W.Va. Prior to becoming involved with this organization, I had very little knowledge about the great things that were being accomplished by this group.  Its mission is to help relieve the burden of poverty, disaster […]

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September 11, 2001—a day that not only changed the United States of America, but the entire world. That day will always be near and dear to my heart because I was born on September 11, 1997. I can vividly remember my fourth birthday quite clearly, probably one of my earliest memories. While my mother was […]

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Pennsylvania hospitals can be held liable for harm caused to a patient under two theories of negligence: (1) corporate negligence, and (2) vicarious liability. Corporate negligence is a straight forward “direct” theory of negligence.  For example, a hospital can be found to be negligent if it does not provide industry standard policies and procedures governing […]

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I have heard it said that if you don’t travel it’s like reading the first page of a book over and over again. I do believe that some people are born with wanderlust. My Dad used to call me “Linda Go”. If a trip was mentioned, I was the first one to pack a suitcase. […]

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One of the things I look forward to each September is the start of another Notre Dame football season. One of my best memories is the first Notre Dame football game I ever attended.  I grew up loving football and still do. But, I never attended a Notre Dame game until I was a student. […]

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Moundsville always has been, and always will be my home. It’s true that for relatively brief periods of time I have resided in other areas—Morgantown during college, Atlanta during my first year of law school, and Wheeling for a few years when I got married—but I have never wavered when asked about my hometown.  It’s […]

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I have spent a lot of time thinking about my Dad over the last few days. Had he lived, he would have been 94 years old.  He has been gone for over 10 years now, and still not a day goes by that I don’t think of him.  I learned a lot of valuable lessons […]

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