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* Applause to those groups, organizations and individuals who put time and effort into making sure that local citizens had something to eat and someone to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with Thursday. Free meal events were offered on Thanksgiving in each of four area counties, including Randolph -- which had two events taking place in Elkins -- and Barbour, Tucker and Upshur. These events were well-attended and were each a heartfelt gift to the community.
* Applause to Gov. Jim Justice and newly sworn-in Parsons Mayor Bruce Kolsun for fighting to keep a Parsons pharmacy open. On Monday, Justice released a letter he sent to the Walgreens corporation regarding the scheduled closing of the Parsons Walgreen store and pharmacy on Dec. 14. Kolsun had contacted Justice and other state officials, asking them to help with the situation. Justice's letter was addressed to Tracey Brown, executive vice president and president, Walgreens Retail and Chief Customer Office, at the corporate headquarters in Deerfield, Illinois. The letter was sent Monday "in an effort to keep the Parsons' location open," Justice's press secretary, C.J. Harvey, said to The Inter-Mountain. Here's hoping the officials' efforts will help the situation.
* Applause to the Emma Scott Garden Club for unveiling a replica of the Rosie the Riveter Statue that will someday stand in Elkins Veterans Memorial Park during the most recent Randolph County Commission meeting. Before the official start of the meeting, ESGC President Linda Shomo addressed the commission and unpackaged the replica, along with former City of Elkins Mayor Judy Guye, who is also a member of the ESGC. It was then shown to each commissioner and passed around to those in attendance. The finished statue will be 8 feet tall and will be designed by Big Statues out of Provo, Utah. The original price tag for the historic piece is $67,000. Earlier this year the Randolph County Commission provided $35,000 to the project.
* Applause to Davis & Elkins College's historic district being expanded. The National Park Service has added portions of Campus Drive, Harpertown Road, Graceland Drive, Allen Street, Residential Drive, and College Drive to the existing Davis & Elkins College Historic District. While Graceland and Halliehurst mansions are designated Historic Landmarks on their own, they are also part of the Historic District, along with Albert Hall, the Gatehouse, the Icehouse, and Liberal Arts Hall. With this new designation, the District has been expanded to include 34 additional contributing structures and 15 additional non-contributing structures.
* Applause to the City of Elkins and the Randolph County Commission for working together to help the Whitmer water situation. At the most recent Commission meeting, commissioners approved a funding request in the amount of $60,270 from the City of Elkins for the Whitmer Water Association. The Public Service Commission designated the City of Elkins to take over the Whitmer Water Association in April. During the past few months the RCC and the City of Elkins have gone back-and-forth over previous funding requests that were made to the commission, with both sides questioning how those requests were presented. Here's hoping the city and the county can continue working well together, on this issue and others.