New laws impact W.Va. utilities

May 30, 2020

The West Virginia Legislature recently passed several laws that will impact utilities and their customers. These new laws that will become effective in the coming weeks will aid the Public Service Commission in its legislative mandate to appraise and balance the interests of current and future utility service customers, the general interests of the state’s economy and the interests of the utility companies. Senate Bill 739, developed by the PSC in consultation with the West Virginia Water Development Authority, the Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council, the Rural Water ...

Nurses deserving of highest praise

May 23, 2020

The purpose of this letter is to commend The Inter-Mountain newspaper’s efforts in recognizing local nurses and the work they do as part of National Nurses Week for 2020. There was a lot of good coverage. I am a nurse and was part of the nursing community in Elkins from 1967 to 2000. I worked at Memorial General and then went to Youth Health after the hospital closed. I can write pages about the nursing work I did at both the hospital and Youth Health. I came out of retirement in 2003 and worked five years for Hospice Care which is WV Caring now. I did a second retirement to care ...

Former mayor: Just the facts, please

May 23, 2020

On a social media post dated May 2, 2020, a sitting Town of Beverly Sanitary Board member commented the following: “The past mayor liked anyone until you disagreed with her. Then you became the bad guy/enemy and she came after you.” Let us look at public records and see if this individual – appointed in 2014 and still seated today – has a valid point. Fact: West Virginia Code 8-10-1 declares “the mayor of every municipality to be the chief executive officer in such municipality…,” and “shall see that the ordinances, orders, bylaws, acts, resolutions, rules and ...

Candidate offers a ‘new deal’ for W.Va.

May 23, 2020

In 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt enacted a “New Deal” in hopes of providing relief, reform, and recovery from The Great Depression. Many groundbreaking programs such as the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps), the CWA (Civilian Works Administration), and the SSA (Social Security Administration) were developed during FDR’s first administration. They provided support for farmers, the unemployed, youth, and the elderly while putting new constraints and safeguards on the banking industry insuring there would not be a repeat depression. Roosevelt had a bold vision for America that ...

Becoming a bike-friendly community

May 16, 2020

Since the southern-most trailhead of the Allegheny Highlands Trail is at the Elkins Depot Welcome Center, Elkins is well on its way to becoming an even more bike-able community. The Welcome Center has biking maps and trail information available. As a cyclist, it is your responsibility to ride safely and considerately, and as a driver, it is your responsibility to share the road and coexist with bicyclists. Here is some advice that will help keep you and others safe while biking and driving: 1. Always wear a helmet. Even the professionals wear helmets because they know that plenty ...

Candidate takes pledge

May 16, 2020

Can you imagine a political candidate who has met face to face over the past year with 11,000 West Virginians, asking what they’d do if they were governor? Candidates have routinely shown up at buckwheat feeds and spaghetti suppers shaking hands and smiling at babies, but only Charleston native Stephen Smith, in his run for governor, has held 200 Town Hall meetings from Martinsburg to Mingo County, Bluefield to Chester. Stephen Smith is not a Left-Right politician. In fact, he is not a politician at all. He is a smart, dedicated West Virginian who, with a team of hundreds of ...