Reader praises local paper’s performance
It was good to see Ron Rittenhouse honored recently in The Dominion Post (DP-06-28-20) for his brilliant service as chief photographer for our great local newspaper.
I have been reading Morgantown daily newspapers for more than 75 years, so I have had the privilege of seeing many of Ron’s terrific photos; most recently, the picture of the mother goose leading her goslings across old Route 7 in Marilla, halting traffic and giving us a moment of peace and wonder.
When I was in my teens, I delivered The Dominion News and The Morgantown Post throughout the Wiles Hill/Seneca area.
The present publisher, David Raese, has many years of experience in the newspaper business, having written a sports column at one time. David has given The Dominion Post a fair, reasonable and balanced paper, which is a very difficult accomplishment. I consider David a local guy and the editor Pam Queen is also a local person, who has much experience with our newspaper.
We have seen many fine reporters over the years, most recently retired editorial writer Randy Vealey, one of the best, if not the best, in the state of West Virginia. Others come to mind, including Tony Constantine, Mickey Furfarri, Evelyn Ryan, Norman Julian, Chuck Sell, John Samsell, Judy Beavan and Max Robinson.
We are fortunate to have several very good reporters presently working to bring our daily news, including David Beard, Jim Bissett, Ben Conley, and Sean Manning and Justin Jackson in sports. Jessica Nelson, the opinion editor, brings a new style to the editorial page. Her comprehensive knowledge of local, state and national issues is impressive.
Congratulations are due David Raese for the excellent job he has done in putting together a great team doing a job so essential to the preservation of our great nation.
John W. Pyles
Morgantown
USPS slowdown seems suspiciously partisan
The U.S. Postal Service is an essential service, even in the age of the internet and associated methods of communication. We cannot afford for that service to be compromised by partisan politics! But it is currently under threat and already being affected. Here in Morgantown, we got mail delivery only four of six days last week.
The new postmaster general is a donor to the Trump campaign. He has apparently decided it is no longer important to fulfill the Postal Service motto in making their appointed rounds. He has decreed that there will be no overtime pay and delivery can take its good ol’ time. This decision is designed to handicap voting by mail and endanger delivery of ballots in time to be counted. Thus, citizens worried about exposure to COVID-19 may have difficulty exercising their right to vote.
I am reminded of a true story from my youth. I grew up on Patterson Creek Road in Medley, Grant County, which was considered “the most Republican county east of the Mississippi River.” On Patterson Creek Road, the old crank telephone system had gone out in a storm in 1942. Sometime in the 40s or 50s, a group from Medley asked the telephone company to replace the lines. The telephone company said no, “There are too many Republicans up there.” That decision stood for many years.
Voting by mail was facilitated in the primary election by Secretary of State Mac Warner and the county clerks. However, as of now, it won’t be as easy in the general election. Is it only Morgantown where mail is being held back, “because there are too many Democrats out there”? I don’t think so, but the goal seems to be to limit voting in November.
Although Trump has voted by mail himself, he has tried to discredit the process, without evidence. The slowdown of postal service is a blatant attempt to limit the opportunity for all citizens to vote. It’s time to end extremism in politics and to tell Congress to protect the U.S. mail.
Keith Inskeep
Morgantown
Stonewall Jackson statue should be relocated
I stand with the West Virginia Black Heritage Festival Inc. (WVBHF) regarding the relocation of Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s statue, which sits on the Harrison County courthouse plaza. Confederate statues and memorials do not belong in public spaces that are maintained with taxpayer dollars.
At the July 1, July 29 and Aug. 5 Commission meetings, WVBHF Board of Directors Chairman James E. Griffin requested its removal and relocation. He stated that such an action would lead in demonstrating to “our state and the country that our county does not tolerate or give safe harbor to hatred and oppression.” His request was received and taken “under advisement” by the commission on all three occasions.
I was born and raised in Harrison County, West Virginia (not Virginia) and educated in the Harrison County public school system. I was taught that our state seceded from the Confederate state of Virginia, because our enlightened ancestors who led the secession effort did not believe in the oppression and enslavement of any human beings. They followed the United States Constitution’s core principle of equality for all.
As we know from studying history, the citizens of Virginia did not take that principle to heart. Virginia chose to remain in the Confederacy on whose side Stonewall Jackson served and fought against our country.
So why would the Harrison County Commission, by majority vote of two to one, support keeping the statue in a public space supported by taxpayer dollars? I don’t know.
I do know that creating a more welcoming community by removing the statue would help to move our county forward. I believe this is one of the ways that the county leaders could help to expand our ever-decreasing population and tax base.
The Commission should stop stonewalling and reconsider its vote on the matter and relocate the statue as the WVBHF has requested of them on multiple occasions.
Bill O’Field
Clarksburg
Don’t have to agree with Trump to vote for him
Here we go again. How much wit and intelligence does it take to write another hit piece on Trump (DP-08-04-20)? It happens so often that it has completely lost impact. The truth of the matter is, people didn’t elect Trump because they agree with everything he says and does. They elected him to combat the efforts of Democrats to convert the nation to European-style democratic socialism. It appears that there are growing numbers who believe this to be a viable option. The bottom line is if you want socialism, vote Democrat. If not, vote Republican. At this point, the identity of the candidate is unimportant.
Patrick Nabors
Morgantown
