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Letters to the Editor

Harman parent continues ‘fight’

The superintendent has recommended and the Randolph County Board of Education has approved the closure of Harman and North Schools. Pickens and Coalton have been given perhaps at most a one-year reprieve from closure. And now the school board seeks to increase our taxes through a levy or bond to further enhance the Elkins schools. As our elected educational leaders, you are taking the very basics from our rural communities, subjecting our children to unbelievable hardships and expecting us to share your excitement and support for increased taxes. The arrogance and hypocrisy ...

Local Marine vet shares memories

At this time of Thanksgiving I just wanted to share some thoughts of a Thanksgiving day in Vietnam. I joined 2nd Bn, 5th Marines on Hill 69 at An Ton Bridge near Chu Lai in 1966. Several companies were up north near the DMZ on Operation Prairie and in late November 1966 our battalion conducted Operation Mississippi in the An Hoa basin relieving 3rd Bn 9th Marines. We had assumed the tactical area of responsibility (TAOR) of protecting Liberty Bridge, Nong Song (coal mine), and the An Hoa industrial complex area and Duc Duc district refugee compound. We also had responsibility of the ...

Harman School parent has questions

My children’s school is more than a place of academic instruction — it is a community where lasting relationships form, stability develops, and confidence grows. Harman School has provided my children with a supportive environment that nurtures their academic achievement, emotional well-being, and social development. Removing them from Harman would disrupt this progress and create unnecessary dangerous obstacles, and unrealistic expectations. For these reasons, it is in their best interest to reverse the vote to close Harman School, their home school. My children have built ...

Fear of socialism locally, nationally

There has been a great deal of fear surrounding the election of Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City. The city of Elkins has already had a Democratic socialist mayor and that was me from 2009 to 2013. By bringing together a very diverse coalition of citizens —liberals, conservatives, Democrats, Republicans, various racial, civic, and religious groups of the city and working objectively together — we were able to accomplish a lot for our citizens. We got financing for the new water plant, which is the biggest local public works project in the history ...

Look at what’s happening in D.C.

If your readers are concerned about feeding their kids and family, the rising cost of electricity and natural gas, the price of hamburger, inflation in general, losing their job, not getting paid for the job they are doing, and/or losing their home or farm, maybe it’s time to look at what’s happening in Washington. Representative Riley Moore has been fast at work with other members of Congress to address these, and other issues affecting America and Americans. The House of Representatives has worked studiously for a full 39 minutes between Oct. 21 and Nov. 7, 2025. They’ve ...

Reader: Local BOE shouldn’t be blamed

For the past two years I’ve lived in Randolph County, I’ve watched the public school system in Randolph County fall deeper into crisis, not because of mismanagement at the Board of Education, but because of deliberate policy decisions made at the state and federal levels. Let’s be clear: this crisis is not an accident. It is the direct result of an intentional effort by Republican leadership to defund and dismantle public education in West Virginia. Instead of funding our schools, they’re pushing a private voucher scheme that moves public dollars into private hands. That’s ...