Anti-annexation signs
mean ‘Don’t shop here’
Businesses on the edge of Morgantown: I see your signs. And despite the double negative, I understand their meaning: You do not want to be annexed.
You do not want to contribute to or benefit from Morgantown city services like the Morgantown Fire Department. You do not want to support the Morgantown Police Department. You are against making EMS workers’ jobs easier by having clear city boundaries. You do not want to support BOPARC’s many city projects. You would prefer to wait for the state to pave your streets rather than have the city pave them on a timely schedule (I don’t get that one, but OK).
You do not support the city that you cling to, that you located yourself adjacent to, that you clearly benefit from.
I see your signs, and to me, those signs mean “Don’t shop here.”
Amy Hessl
Morgantown
Lighten load for miners
in light of coal’s demise
As Hoppy Kercheval wrote (DP-July 19), coal’s future includes a steady decline in America, and unreliable exports. We must treat coal miners fairly during this decline.
As a society we need to cover miners’ retirement, health care and transition payments when new jobs pay less than mining jobs. For each 100 miners who lose their jobs, a good 10-year transition program would cost $3.4 million per year.
There are only 13,000 coal miners in West Virginia, and 50,000 in the whole country, so we can afford this.
One approach is at NewDay4.com, and more approaches can be developed when people start planning together. Coal plants are at the end of their lives and won’t be replaced.
Half of utility executives say they will use significantly less coal over the next decade. Last year recorded the lowest use of coal since 1979. Wind, solar and storage are getting cheaper than fossil fuel plants.
Coal has kept the lights on, so now it is time to ask elected officials and candidates to support a solid transition program when miners lose work.
Paul Burke
Harpers Ferry
We must recognize what
drives people to border
I am blessed to live in a democratic country, in a beautiful state, in a welcoming city. It is my great fortune that I was born into this. I did nothing to earn my citizenship or constitutional rights but they are mine. In addition, I have three children with these rights. My husband and I can guarantee their safety and provide for their needs.
Our biggest concerns involve whether they eat their vegetables or get to bed on time, and whether they want to play soccer or basketball. For this security I am eternally grateful.
I cannot help but contrast, though, the situations of the families that daily present themselves to the U.S. border. They risk their lives and that of their children to seek the safety and opportunity that our country has historically provided. What misery at home must have prompted this migration? I cannot imagine.
It is beyond me that our affluent nation would subject these desperate people to conditions that are beyond deplorable. We have the money for massive tax breaks and fund the largest military in the world. Certainly we have the funds to house asylum applicants and provide their most basic needs. If we cannot do this we have no business detaining them.
We are obligated as a country to take in asylum seekers and hear their claims. We are not obligated to demonize them, separate them from their family and mistreat them.
When we speak of these migrants we must recognize their humanity and the driving force behind their actions. We must provide oversight and reform of ICE and CBP (Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection) to ensure the fair treatment of asylum seekers. We must close the detention camps until we are able to provide appropriate accommodations.
Rebekah Aranda
Morgantown
