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News
Officials: Plant Would Be A Plus
Ethane cracker focus of hearing
After the public had a chance to weigh in on a proposal to build an ethane cracker plant in Belmont County last week, officials who have been working to make the project a reality still believe its potential economic benefits far outweigh its possible impact on the environment. Read More...
Justice Remembers Wheeling’s Place in His Company’s History
Governor recounts 1994 trip to Friendly City during snowstorm
Photo by Scott McCloskey West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice recounts memories of his father, James C. Justice, as well as a trip he made to the Friendly City during a major 1994 snowstorm. The governor spoke about them during his visit Wednesday to the City-County Building in Wheeling.
A visit to Wheeling last week on a snowy, winter day had West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice remembering his father, a trip he made to the Friendly City nearly 25 years ago and how a business opportunity here positively changed the course of the family’s coal business. Read More...
Calm before the storm? What the construction industry can expect in 2019
Last week, industry leaders and economists convened at Dodge Data & Analytics’ Outlook Executive Conference at Maryland’s National Harbor to roll out predictions for the U.S. economy and construction markets in the coming year. The top finding of Dodge's report that was unveiled at the event is that total construction starts in 2019 will inch  up to just over $808 billion  from this year’s estimated $806.8 billion. Read More...
Gov. Jim Justice Hands Out $163K in Grants for Projects in Moundsville, Brooke County and Wetzel County
Community Leaders in Moundsville accept a check for $92,811 for upgrades at the Four Seasons Pool from West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice. Pictured are, from left, Rick Healy, assistant director of management services for the Belomar Regional Council; Rico Coville, Moundsville parks and recreational director; Councilwoman Judy Hunt; Mayor Allen Hendershot; Justice; and Vice Mayor Phil Remke.
The city of Moundsville and Brooke County have received state grants to upgrade their community pools, while a Wetzel County agency has been awarded money to buy a used forklift.
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice made a stop Wednesday at the City-County Building in Wheeling. He brought with him three grant checks totaling $162,811 to help Northern Panhandle communities with environmental-related projects. Read More...
Officials: Plant Would Be A Plus
Officials Respond To Plant Concerns
After the public had a chance to weigh in on a proposal to build an ethane cracker plant in Belmont County last week, officials who have been working to make the project a reality still believe its potential economic benefits far outweigh its possible impact on the environment. Read More...
Water Upgrades in St. Clairsville To Cost $1.5M
The city took another step in the long-planned water tank upgrade Monday when council motioned to accept bids from DN Tanks and Ferri Contracting Co.

DN Tanks bid $1,038,874 for a prestressed concrete water utility storage tank. Ferry Contracting bid $585,468 for site improvements, a generator and booster station.
Work should begin in March. The 500,000-gallon water tank would replace an existing tank dating from 1929, which holds 200,000 gallons of water. Read More...
Wheeling City Council Will Give Update on Footbridge Work
A crew member with Savage Construction of Wheeling uses an excavator Monday near the new footbridge. Bridge construction started last week and will wrap up soon.
Council members will give updates on the new, nearly-completed footbridge near Wheeling Jesuit University at today’s Wheeling City Council meeting.
As of Monday afternoon, workers from Savage Construction had assembled three out of the four main pieces that make up the aluminum bridge. 
The bridge is the result of a $170,000 anonymous donation to the city announced at its council meeting Nov. 20. Read More...
The Dotted Line: A successful project closeout 'starts at the beginning'
Closeout for a general contractor encompasses several tasks, including the gathering of warranties for work and materials; providing to the owner operation manuals, as-built plans and other information necessary for maintenance and repair of the property; completing punch list items and making sure all change orders have been booked and submitted to the owner. Read More...
Safety and Education
Leadership Skills to Turn Your Foremen into Jobsite Safety Leaders
Foremen and lead workers who have the skills to be effective jobsite safety leaders are the linchpins to creating a strong jobsite safety climate — a key indicator of injury outcomes. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of needed safety leadership training.   Read More...

Safety matters on the jobsite. Workers face any number of dangers during the typical construction project. A contractor’s No. 1 priority is always keeping everyone safe while they are on site.

OSHA has published a proposed rule eliminating the requirement for large employers to electronically submit injury and illness data from OSHA Forms 300 and 301, while retaining the requirement for covered employers to electronically submit data from the 300A annual summary. 
OSHA Announces National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls May 6-10, 2019
Employers and workers are invited to participate in the fourth annual  National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction , May 6-10, 2019. The weeklong outreach event encourages employers and workers to pause during the workday to discuss fall hazards and how to prevent them. Falls are the leading cause of death in the construction industry, accounting for 37 percent of fatalities industry-wide. For resources on fall prevention visit  OSHA's webpage .
Bookkeeping Tips for the New Year
Before you know it, the holidays will be here, filling up the calendar with more to-dos and festivities. Don’t put off the  year-end planning  details of bank reconciliations and estimated tax payments until the last minute. We advise all business owners to provide a clean version of your financial records to your accountant on or before November 15. Save yourself the stress and start the cleanup now!
Here are some bookkeeping tips and questions to ask yourself:
Safety Tool Box Talk
Plan Room News
What Is the OVCEC Plan Room?
  • It is a conveniently located source of construction plans for the Ohio Valley area
  • It publishes a weekly Construction Report listing projects out for bid, due dates, apparent low bidders and contracts awarded
  • It provides updates on projects throughout the week by email
  • It provides online access to plans and specifications for your review and downloading
  • It provides bidders lists
  • It has staff that will get the plans you need whenever possible
Submit Plans & Specs
As an Owner or Architect of a project, placing your project plans in the OVCEC Plan Room will help to insure the success of your project.
The Plan Room will:
  • Help you publicize your project
  • Increase the quantity and quality of bids you receive for your project
  • Help you get addenda out to bidders
  • Reduce your cost of blueprint duplication by allowing electronic submission to Plan Room Online