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Editor's note: During the course of a week, issues are covered that might not lend themselves to full editorial comment, but they are worthy of The Inter-Mountain weighing in -- pro, con or neutral.
• Applause to Gov. Jim Justice and First Lady Cathy Justice, who will present Elkins High School with a therapy dog as part of the First Lady's Friends With Paws initiative.
The therapy dog coming to EHS is Tora, a female Yellow Labrador. Six other schools will receive therapy dogs as the program expands across the state.
Justice is certainly well known for his connection to Babydog, his famous English bulldog. No date has yet been set for the presetation of Tora to EHS.
Here's hoping that Tora will become an important, beneficial part of the lives of EHS students.
• Applause to the Randolph County Sheriff's Office, which has seemingly hit a home run in its new effort to bond with local students.
The Sheriff's Office has recently designed trading cards, which deputies are handing out to children at schools and other events.
The idea was pitched to Sheriff Rob Elbon by Deputy Rocky Hebb, who is one of three Prevention Resource Officers in the county. Hebb and fellow PRO Deputies Daniel Pennington and Ethan Carr have been visiting local grade schools and handing out the cards, which are similar to a typical sports trading card.
The officers say the cards are a big hit with the kids, which is building a positive bond with local students and giving them a favorable attitude toward police. This could serve them well in the future, making them more likely to speak to police and ask for help when they are in trouble or in a potentially illegal situation.
• Applause to the West Virginia Division of Highways, which confirmed this week that it is providing data for an alternate northern route for the section of Corridor H to be built between Parsons and Davis.
The DOH said in a press release it is providing the additional data "in order to expedite the design process."
An online petition asking that an alternate northern route for Corridor H from Parsons to Davis be considered has been signed by more than 5,000 people.
Whichever route is chosen, we applaud the DOH for listening to the public and taking their concerns and needs into account.
• Applause to the news this week that Trickett Hardware, one of Elkins' longest-lasting businesses and a staple in the community, is set to reopen soon after being closed for several weeks.
The store recently changed hands when Colin McFadden and Heidi Storrick McFadden purchased the building from previous owner Brenda Jackson. Although the McFaddens have some new plans in store for the building, other things will remain the same.
McFadden said he is determined to maintain the store's history in Elkins.
"It's important to us to kind of carry on the legacy of Trickett Hardware," said McFadden. "We want to keep it going in its second 100 years here. We are going to keep the name the same and keep the hardware store going the way it was."
We applaud the McFaddens for working to keep this iconic local business alive and well.