Justice, DOH still own
potholes in Mon County
There has been much talk but little results from the governor about increased efforts to upgrade or repair our primary roads in Monongalia County.
Yes, it is true that they did not get in this condition just during his term of two-plus years. It comes from many years of mismanagement, neglect and underfunding. But it has now been about 30 months of Justice, and I am still trying to dodge the same potholes I tried to dodge over 18 months ago.
Do those working for the Division of Highways drive our roads or just those in Marion and Harrison counties? In the last 20 months my husband and I have spent around $4,000 in tires, wheels and suspension repairs to our car.
Over that time my husband has called multiple times and written the DOH to give them the exact location of these nasty hazards down to even providing the GPS coordinates recorded while stopped on top of them waiting for oncoming traffic to clear.
He now has gone to pulling over and spray painting yellow circles around them, including arrows pointing to them and the letters DOH beside each. This seems to work best as a couple were patched last week. You may want to try it.
Carol Craig
Morgantown
Sports psychology can
get awful complicated
It’s a lesson West Virginians have learned. “Never give up. Never stop!” On Jan. 2, 2006, the West Virginia Mountaineers jumped out to a 28-0 lead against the Georgia Bulldogs. But what the Mountaineers did in the first half, the Bulldogs gave back in the second. The Mountaineers held on to win 38-35, but the lesson was clear. Don’t be complacent.
The dreaded word in sports is “adjustment.” When the other team adjusts, suddenly the touchdowns stop coming. The most common response is to run the ball, thereby running the time out. It helps to have a running back like WVU’s Owen Schmitt when you want to do that.
But no strategy is perfect, and it doesn’t work in every situation. The Atlanta Falcons learned this the hard way when they jumped to a 28-3 point lead against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI. Their joy was interrupted by the “X factor.” We call him “Golden Boy” and worse, but Tom Brady is the master of picking apart defenses.
A lot is asked of athletes psychologically, on top of the physical demands. Sports psychology may be unfamiliar to most of us, but it is essential for athletes in hyper-competitive situations.
Right now, we’re watching the rise of Coco Gauff on the women’s tennis circuit. Only 15 years old, she wins with a crushing serve that she maintains with nerves of steel. If she wins, we’ll want her to be humble. If she loses, we’ll want her to be gracious. She needs a pinch of arrogance and an accumulated poise and wisdom to succeed. She won Sunday at Wimbledon and some are saying in her home state, “A star is born!”
Steve Knudsen
Morgantown
Don’t overlook the real
concerns of our children
Years ago, my father’s family was distraught. The country just elected a Democrat for president and he was Catholic.
Next came my tour of Vietnam and the many GI’s returning home with long hair.
On recent trips to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and Wildwood, N.J., I saw and met people of diverse nationalities coming together.
Then I come home to Morgantown and among the June 6 letters to the editor there were comments on Muslims in Congress and concerns about gays on TV.
Our children are faced with the challenges of alcohol, the internet and drugs, to name a few. How do you explain the parable about the lady of the street and he who is without sin cast the first stone to your daughter. And who is the lady of the street? What about the guys on the sex offender’s list?
We have a billionaire governor who can’t pay his taxes, but some are worried about voters sending two Muslim women to Congress? Another politician who likes to call people names.
The Constitution gives all of us the right to live our lives as we like — even to kneel during the playing of the National Anthem.
Oh, don’t forget our kids need to know what to do in case of a school shooting. And we’re worried about children being brainwashed by gays and Muslims?
Dan Carnegie
Morgantown
