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How is it double-digit August already? I am not sure who approved this, but I would like to file an objection. It feels like we were just making plans for Memorial Day. We just celebrated America’s 250 at the lake with family and friends. We were making summer plans, looking forward to long evenings, cookouts, vacations, and all the things we promise ourselves we are going to do when life finally slows down. Then we blinked. Suddenly, the calendar says August 11. Double digits. That phrase alone makes me nervous. 'That is what August does to me: it makes me nostalgic for the calmer days and leaves me wondering if I took full advantage of the time.' August has always been a little sneaky. To me, it always feels like summer is just getting started in June. July feels like there is plenty of time left. Then August arrives. Suddenly, everyone is talking about school starting. The stores are filled with notebooks, crayons, and backpacks. Parents are trying to figure out where the summer went. Teachers are preparing their classrooms. College students are getting ready to head back to campus. We are moving our youngest back for another year later this week. When I was growing up, summer seemed to last forever. Three glorious months felt like an eternity. No alarm clocks! We would wake up in the morning without much of a plan and somehow fill the entire day. There were swimming pools, bicycles, friends, ballgames, family gatherings, and evenings that seemed to go on forever. Nobody was checking a calendar. Some days you would even forget what day it was. Nobody was worried about getting everyone to the next activity. We simply enjoyed being there. Come home when the streetlights come on. Why does adulthood have a way of speeding up time? Is it because our calendars are fuller? Maybe it is because we spend so much of our lives looking ahead to the next meeting, the next event, the next deadline, the next election, the next season. We are always preparing for what comes next. Then one day, we look around and realize the moment we were waiting for has already passed. 'Summer does not announce its departure. It simply gets a little shorter each evening.' That is what August does to me: it makes me nostalgic for the calmer days and leaves me wondering if I took full advantage of the time. It should remind me to slow down. I should embrace that there is still plenty of summer left. The evenings are still warm, and while the days are getting shorter, it is still light into the evening. There are still opportunities for a cookout, trips to the lake, a conversation on the porch, or simply sitting outside without having anywhere else to be. We should probably take advantage of it. We need to take advantage of it. Because before we know it, we will be complaining about cold weather. August also brings another unmistakable sign that time is moving. Political campaigns are gearing up. The signs will begin appearing. Mailboxes will become crowded with flyers. Candidates will be knocking on doors, attending festivals and community events, and introducing themselves to voters. For those of us who have spent time in politics, there is something familiar about this time of year. The energy changes. The conversations become more political. Candidates become more visible. Campaign teams will be cranking out the hours. People start talking about who is running, who is supporting whom, and what the next election might mean. I have spent enough years in politics to know that campaigns can bring out the very best and the very worst in people. Competition is healthy. Passion is healthy. Disagreement is healthy. What is not healthy is forgetting that there are real people on the other side of every political argument. We can disagree without being disagreeable. We can support different candidates without becoming enemies. We can challenge ideas without attacking people. 'I am not ready for the calendar to fill up again. Perhaps that is exactly why we should pay attention to these days.' That seems particularly important as we head toward another election season. Pay attention to the candidates. It is important to ask questions. Look at their records. See how they have voted. See how they carry themselves. Listen to what they say, but also consider what they have actually done. Perhaps most importantly, remember that politics is supposed to be about people. It is about the people who are sending their children back to school. It is about the people who are trying to make mortgage payments. It should be about the people who are building businesses, working jobs, caring for aging parents, and trying to give their families a better life. Those are the people who matter. Those are the people who should be at the center of every campaign, not those seeking the title. So yes, I am still trying to figure out how it is already double-digit August. While I am excited for family reasons in September (our son is getting married to a wonderful young lady), I am not ready for summer to end. I am not ready for the relaxed pace to disappear completely. I am not ready for the calendar to fill up again. Perhaps that is exactly why we should pay attention to these days. Summer does not announce its departure. It simply gets a little shorter each evening. The kids go back to school. The campaign signs go up. The calendar turns another page. One day you’re driving home from work, and it is dark. I don’t even want to think about that right now. Suddenly, we are wondering where the time went. Maybe the answer is that we were busy living it. If so, I suppose that is not such a bad thing. But I am still going to ask for a few more summer days. I promise to use them wisely. Read the full article

Wheeling Native Begins Coaching Career in Same City Where He Spent Three Seasons as a Player WHEELING, WV- The Wheeling Nailers are excited to announce that Peter Laviolette III has been named the team's new Assistant Coach. Laviolette, 28, is ready to begin the next chapter of his hockey career, as he earns his first coaching opportunity with his hometown team. Peter's playing career spanned four seasons, and he spent three of those years in a Wheeling uniform. As a Nailer, Laviolette appeared in 110 games and registered ten goals, 18 assists, 28 points, and 292 penalty minutes. Last season, the forward suited up in 29 games with the Orlando Solar Bears and Savannah Ghost Pirates, and posted two goals, three points, and 75 penalty minutes. In addition to his play on the ice, Peter was a star in the community, as he won the Project BEST Community Award in all three of his seasons in Wheeling. "Peter Laviolette III was a tremendous ambassador for the Wheeling Nailers as a player, and we are happy that he will be able to begin his coaching career here at home," said Nailers President & Governor Brian Komorowski. "You couldn't ask for a better mentor for Peter than his father, who also began his coaching career in Wheeling, and has become one of the best coaches in the NHL. Peter's passion for the game aligns perfectly with Nate DiCasmirro and Jason Payne, and we look forward to watching him develop as a coach, while teaching all of our new players what it means to be a Nailer." Peter Laviolette III will be the second member of his family to make his professional coaching debut in Wheeling, following in the footsteps of his father, Peter Laviolette Jr., who led the Nailers to the Northern Conference Final in 1997-98. Laviolette III was born in Wheeling during the season when his father was coaching the Nailers. In fact, the Nailers earned a win the night Peter was born. Earlier this summer, Laviolette Jr. was named head coach of the Los Angeles Kings, and his 846 career wins are the most by an American head coach in NHL history. "Peter Laviolette III comes from a strong family lineage of coaching, and he was also recommended to me by Derek Army, who coached him for three years here in Wheeling," said Nailers Head Coach Nate DiCasmirro. "Peter put in a tremendous amount of work to earn this position, plus he has an unbelievable amount of energy, dedication, passion, and enthusiasm for the game of hockey. He is already part of the Nailers family and has started his own family in Wheeling, so I am excited to help him start his coaching career here, just like his dad did almost 30 years ago." Peter and his wife Lindsey got married this summer and are now parents as well, as they welcomed their daughter Leah to the world on July 19th. "I am extremely grateful for this opportunity to start my coaching career where I started my playing career and my dad started his coaching career," Laviolette said. "I am ready to take a step in a new direction in my hockey career, and my goal is to help young athletes get better both as players and as people. Wheeling is a perfect fit for me, as I am already part of the community. I have had great chemistry already working with Nate DiCasmirro, and I built a good friendship with Jason Payne when I played against the teams that he coached. I can't wait to come to the rink and work hard every day." Peter Laviolette III and the Wheeling Nailers will begin the 2026-27 season in Indy on Friday, October 16th. The first home game is Saturday, October 24th against the Toledo Walleye. For information about season tickets, group tickets, ticket packages, and more, call (304) 234-GOAL or visit wheelingnailers.com. The Wheeling Nailers, considered one of the top things to do in Wheeling, West Virginia, provide affordable family entertainment for fans throughout the Ohio Valley. Read the full article

WHEELING, WV- The Wheeling Nailers are excited to announce their eighth player signing of the 2026 offseason. Wheeling has signed forward Justin Taylor to an ECHL contract. Taylor, 37, is ready to begin his 17th professional season, and is coming off a year which saw him set the ECHL record for most career games played. Justin played in his 885th career contest to take over the top spot on December 13th against the Nailers. He enters this season with 935 ECHL games played, as well as 25 AHL matches for a grand total of 960 professional games. The 2025-26 season marked the 11th time that Taylor scored 20 or more goals in a season, as he finished the campaign fourth in scoring for the Adirondack Thunder with 20 goals, 19 assists, and 39 points in 68 games. Wheeling will be Justin's seventh ECHL team, as he has also suited up with Kalamazoo, Trenton, Idaho, Tulsa, Fort Wayne, and Adirondack. The Mindemoya, Ontario native has spent the majority of his playing career with the Kalamazoo Wings, as he played for them during 13 of his first 14 pro seasons, and served as the team's captain in 2021-22. Taylor's most productive seasons came in consecutive years, as he set a career high with 61 points in 2016-17, then set a career high in goals one year later, when he turned on the red light 35 times in 2017-18.  Justin's teams have qualified for the postseason in 11 of his 17 years as a pro. 56 of his 80 career playoff games were played with Kalamazoo, which included a trip to the Kelly Cup Final in his rookie season of 2010-11. The Wings reached the Eastern Conference Final again the following year, then Taylor reached the Western Conference Final in 2012-13 as a member of the Idaho Steelheads. This past spring, he led Adirondack with four goals and seven points in the North Division Semifinal Series against Maine, which included scoring the overtime goal in game five to force the series back to Portland. When Taylor makes his debut with the Nailers, he will become the fourth player in the ECHL's top-six in career games played to have suited up for Wheeling. The other three are Michael Pelech (2nd - 884), Garet Hunt (5th - 776), and Louis Dumont (6th - 771). Justin Taylor and the Wheeling Nailers will begin the 2026-27 season in Indy on Friday, October 16th. The first home game is Saturday, October 24th against the Toledo Walleye. For information about season tickets, group tickets, ticket packages, and more, call (304) 234-GOAL or visit wheelingnailers.com. The Wheeling Nailers, considered one of the top things to do in Wheeling, West Virginia, provide affordable family entertainment for fans throughout the Ohio Valley. Read the full article