Warren Scott WALKING FOR THE WAY – Children and staff at Franklin Primary School as well as parents and other community members walked from their school to Brooke Hills Park and back while raising $400 through sponsorships for the Brooke County Allocation of the Upper Ohio Valley United Way. The agency is a new version of the charitable organization that continues to raise funds for about a dozen local nonprofit organizations. Walks for the cause also were held at Jefferson and L.B. Millsop primary schools, and future walks are planned for other Brooke County schools.

Following a year-long hiatus, the Brooke County United Way is returning as an arm of the Upper Ohio Valley United Way and with a series of walks aimed at raising funds and promoting awareness of the 11 agencies it serves. Marc Chernenko, who served as president for the Brooke County United Way’s 2006-07 campaign, said the organization will continue to raise funds on its own during the 2008-09 campaign, after which it will become part of the regional organization. Chernenko said the challenge of generating revenue from a shrinking population led to the move. While the campaign, with Chernenko among its leaders, raised $99,000 in 1997, downsizing at local industries and other economic difficulties in the county led the group to lower its goal to $75,000 in more recent years. In 2007, the campaign raised just 85 percent of that goal. Chernenko said merging with the larger Upper Ohio Valley United Way, which supports 26 agencies in Ohio, Marshall and Belmont counties, is expected to d