Applause to the town of Thomas and the city of Elkins, which both ranked high on a national list of the 50 best mountain towns in the country. Thomas, in Tucker County, is listed at No. 4 on Architectural Digest magazine’s Top 50 Mountain Towns for 2023. Meanwhile, Elkins is listed as No. 30 on the magazine’s list of the Top 50 Mountain Towns for 2023. Thomas and Elkins are the only West Virginia towns represented on the list. Architectural Digest also provided a list of 15 Hidden Gem Mountain Towns, with Thomas listed at No. 1 and Elkins at No. 2. Marlinton in Pocahontas County is No. 8 on the Hidden Gem Mountain Towns list, making three West Virginia towns listed in the top 15. “I think people are finally realizing what we’ve known all along, that we have magic in the mountains,” Elkins Mayor Jerry Marco told The Inter-Mountain.

Applause to New Year’s Baby Julien Keith Shaffer, the first delivered baby of the year at Davis Medical Center in Elkins. Julien was born at 1:02 p.m. Monday. He measured 18 and 1/4 inches long and weighed 6 pounds and 4 ounces at birth. He is the son of mother Sarajane Shaffer and father Dustin Shaffer.

Applause to Davis & Elkins College’s Student Government, which is hosting a Night to Shine event on March 16. Night to Shine, which is sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation, is described as a “prom for students with disabilities” by Sydney Megna, secretary for Student Government at D&E. Night to Shine is a complementary event for people with special needs ages 14 and older. Megna said she is currently working with officials from the county’s school system, so that students from Randolph County can attend the event. The Randolph County Commission unanimously voted this week to help fund the event with $2,000.