Applause to the Randolph County Fair, which entertained for a full week before wrapping up last weekend, and also the Tucker County Fair, currently underway, and the Barbour County Fair, which kicks off today. Local residents are offered a bonanza of fun-filled family activities every August, with all three festivals taking place back-to-back-to-back. We salute the small army of volunteers who work so hard each year to bring us this area’s county fairs.

Applause to the local residents who made their voices heard by submitting comments to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection regarding the air quality permit for the proposed Fundamental Data power plant and data center in Tucker County. The permit was approved by the DEP on Aug. 13. The DEP noted this week that more than 1,600 comments were received, most of which were against the permit being approved. Although the permit was approved, the DEP announced that the comments prompted officials to make changes to the permit, most of them regarding safety specifications and chemical emission limits.

Applause to the dozens of Davis & Elkins College students worked together to comb the streets of downtown Elkins Wednesday evening as part of the annual Student Athlete Clean Up Day. The event saw contributions from athletes from all 20 D&E men’s and women’s teams, including women’s basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track & field, and volleyball, and men’s baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, tennis, track & field and wrestling. The student athletes gathered supplies at the Elkins Fire Department station and then, equipped with gloves, garbage bags, brooms and trash grabbers, the teams and their coaches cleaned a large area running from the Davis Avenue Bridge and the Train Depot to City Hall and the intersection of Third and Kerens.

Applause to the hundreds of residents who responded to a Randolph County Board of Education survey this month. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Shawn Dilly said during a Randolph County Board of Education work session last week that 570 responses to the survey had been received at that point. The survey, which was posted online Aug. 1, requests community input on proposed school closures and consolidations in Randolph County. Randolph County Schools was placed in a State of Emergency by the West Virginia Department of Education in June. The school district will remain on probation for a total of six months, and faces the possibility of a state takeover if it cannot create a balanced budget or show progress by December.

Applause to this week’s news that plans for a new skatepark in Elkins are rolling forward. The Refinery Church is “waiting on the excavation equipment” to begin work on a new skatepark in the Highland Park area, officials said. Pastor Roy Schneider confirmed to The Inter-Mountain that, while officials do not have a set timeline for when the skatepark will be finished, they have everything they need for the project. Schneider said officials have been able to save on costs thanks to people offering to excavate and pour concrete for free. He explained that the person who will be excavating the space has had issues with one piece of equipment, with it having been in and out of repair. Once the equipment is up and running, Schneider said “there’s not a lot that needs done” for the skatepark, but for now, they’re in a “holding pattern.” Last year, Schneider told The Inter-Mountain ithat the Refinery Church would have the space for a skatepark on the 26 acres of property it had purchased near North Elementary School on Kennedy Street. Schneider said the church offered to make a place for a skatepark on their property after learning the Elkins Parks and Recreation Commission (EPRC) was considering removing the Elkins Skatepark from Glendale Park. He explained that the church wanted to make sure “kids can continue to skate.”