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Letters to the Editor

How much would data center cost?

As Tucker County faces the prospect of hosting a massive gas-powered data center complex, one question remains unanswered: how much will this cost us? The Ridgeline facility, backed by out-of-state interests and fast-tracked under HB 2014, could reshape our economy and our landscape. Developers like Fundamental data LLC tout jobs and investment but refuse to guarantee even one local job. We don’t know what we are going to get. And the bigger question is what we stand to lose—especially in local tax revenue. Under HB 2014 rules, property taxes that would normally support Tucker ...

Reader: Gambling isn’t glamorous

Admittedly, I watch a lot of television; probably too much. Lately, I have been astounded at the sheer volume and nature of advertising promoting online gambling. Beautiful people decked to the nines placing bets, laughing and celebrating their endless good fortune. Celebrites and models normalizing what used to be considered a vice. Financial incentives to get you to place that first bet. The most absurd and manipulative ad, in my opinion, features a beautiful woman taking a bubble bath on the 50-yard line of some football stadium while expounding on the virtues of sports ...

Reader alarmed by beef prices

Beef! It ain’t what’s for dinner anymore. That’s the popular response to the tripling of beef prices in the past 15 years. The underlying reasons have been severe droughts in the cattle producing states of Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas, aggravated by the 50% tariff imposed by Trump on imports of Brazilian beef. Ironically, the droughts are connected to global warming caused in part by methane emissions from cattle. The rising price is expected to reduce consumption of beef, as well as the associated disastrous impacts on our personal health and the health of our planet. ...

Reader: Unions are under attack

Just a few more days and it will be Labor Day. For many, it is just another long weekend for hot dogs, hamburgers, boating, swimming and many other activities before cooler weather prevails. But for Union members, true dedicated union members, it is more. It is a time to reflect on what it means to be a union member. My union, the United Steelworkers, and many other unions it means it is a shield, a voice, a force that ensures no worker left behind. Unions fight for fair wages and benefits, safe working conditions, dignity and respect. That fight wasn’t just for ourselves but ...

SBA official says bill is beneficial

Since my appointment as the Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator at The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) in April this year, I have traveled the Mid-Atlantic Region meeting small business owners in all facets of industries — from a hair salon in Denton, Maryland to ship repair and maintenance provider in Suffolk, Virginia, to a dairy farm in Pennsylvania. Whether I’m in a rural area in West Virginia or an urban area in Delaware, one thing remains the same — taxes are one of the top issues for small businesses. The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) extends the 199A ...

Reader wants to keep Harman open

Harman and Pickens schools are not the Randolph County Board of Education’s problem. The problem has been mismanagement. Us outlying country people’s kids are becoming just a number, rather than growing up with the potential of being able to play sports, after-school curriculum and becoming a well-educated citizens, so they can be happy and able to keep themselves. Hurray for Mr. Daniels on the BOE. He makes more sense than anything I’ve heard so far. Your student numbers are down because parents are transferring their kids to other counties. I believe whatever county ...