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Letters to the Editor

Reader comments on political climate

The following statements are clips and quips from recent newscasts and newsprints. All are verifiable. The NYC spokespeople for the alternate lifestyle parade has banned the police from showing a presence because they don’t like them and some LGBTQ and possibly XOJWPMDVZY folks might be intimidated and stay away. Holy cow! Who runs that city? They said the police and EMT squads were welcome to follow at least one block away out of sight, I suppose in case they got attacked. Sounds like a good day to get the Blue Flu. Secretary of State Blinkin had a short press conference ...

Honoring all law enforcement officers

Sunday June 13 is National Day of Prayer and Appreciation for Law Enforcement. With all the negativity and malice toward police and sheriff departments who bravely serve and protect our families, it is important to support those who wear the badge as peace officers. Every day, thousands of law enforcement officers across the country leave their homes to faithfully protect the communities they serve. They say goodbye to their families, not knowing if, when, or in what condition they will arrive home. Yet every day, these heroes continue to uphold and defend the oath they took to ...

Retired trooper calls for safety upgrades

Dear Gov. Justice, This correspondence relates to a matter of life and death on US Route 33/Allegheny Mountain, Pendleton County. Since 1979, throughout my career in the West Virginia State Police and now beyond, I have asked many governors and many DOH personnel to please address this mountain. I have witnessed several deaths on that 10% grade. They have included truckers trying to make a living and they included at least one innocent vacationer driving up the mountain, only to be crushed by a runaway truck descending the mountain, hugging the wrong side of a blind curve in an ...

17 local churches work together for project

During Holy Week each year Elkins Area Church Women United gather seventeen churches to provide a luncheon following the Randolph County Coalition of Christian Churches services. Because of the pandemic, we have not been able to do the luncheons for the last two years. However, those churches and many individuals donated money to carry on our tradition of providing support to local agencies. The churches involved in this project include First United Methodist, Mercy Chapel, Orlena United Methodist, Wayside United Methodist, Davis Memorial Presbyterian, Saint Brendan Catholic, ...

Big plans for railyard

The recent request for design proposals for an event center/conference center at the Elkins railyard is an exciting step for the town. My last letters along this line, “Elkins resurgence” (Aug. 24 and Sept. 14, 2019) raised the possibility of erecting a building in the footprint of the old roundhouse—why not build the new event center as a reproduction of the old Elkins roundhouse? There are only a few remains of roundhouses left in the state, with Martinsburg having the only intact historical one. Theirs is used as — you guessed it — an event center. Search ...

Reader upset by stadium decision

To the sports fans and alumni of Elkins High School, It would appear that the new regime has accomplished what they have been trying to do for years. This is to move our historic and perfectly viable Wimer Stadium to the new Elkins High School property. This being the same location that we were told that no lights could be installed due to the airport. Now, we will be installing additional lighting on the property. By the way, this brings to mind the large amount of money it will cost to remove the excellent lights and scoreboard that are already on Wimer Field. These lights are ...