Fund real road repairs, not pet projects
I’ve been following this year’s news of planned infrastructure developments in the greater Morgantown area closely. Proposals like the Harmony Grove interstate exit and the Green Bag Road roundabout have caused some concern and quite a bit of frustration.
The new interstate exit and the roundabout will total close to $50 million. All Monongalia County residents agree that we need investment in our infrastructure. Yet these projects benefit very few and speak to misplaced priorities on the part of local government bodies.
The roads surrounding the Morgantown Industrial Park are crumbling, for instance. Dupont Road has no shoulder, quite a few speedbumps and has a crack down the middle that’d be laughable were it not so embarrassing and dangerous. Lower River Road’s deplorable condition need not be elaborated upon. Follow these routes to Fairmont Road, on to Pleasant Street, Spruce Street and head out to Sabraton. Go anywhere in the county. Most are virtually destroyed.
An official connected with the Harmony Grove interstate exit proposal mentioned going to DOH with a “bird in hand.” They’ve got money, apparently, from a massive, decades-long tax break from which MIP is still benefiting. (One wonders if the levies Mon County votes on to fund basic services count as “birds in bushes.”) It is insulting that Mon County citizens must drive these shoddy roads while the well-connected advocate for their very own interstate exit.
According to the Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization, DOH funding is hard to come by. Perhaps, then, we should focus on providing a modicum of decent infrastructure for the vast majority of Mon County citizens rather than pet projects for the few. That should be the purpose of local government bodies, but each new proposal seems to cast doubt as to whether they see it this way.
David Ervin
Morgantown
Retrofit Mylan to make COVID-19 vaccines
Just days ago, Mylan Pharmaceuticals announced the closing of its manufacturing facility in Morgantown. More than 1,500 employees are suddenly faced with the reality of not having a livelihood in the coming months. Merry Christmas?
Mike Puskar is no doubt turning over in his grave.
My suggestion for what to do with the facility — retrofit it and start production immediately of one (or more) of the COVID vaccines just approved by the FDA. The world will need billions of doses. The federal government will certainly help fund this initiative.
We should all pray that a “knight in white armor” company will swoop into our community and save this plant and the many jobs associated with it. Without such a rescue, Morgantown will never be the same.
Dallas Branch
Morgantown
Thank you for making a veteran’s b-day special
This letter is a thank you to all the wonderful people who participated in honoring Jessie Arbogast on his 99th birthday, Saturday, Dec. 12.
Jessie served in the 5th Marine Division on Iwo Jima during World War II, and the parade honoring him had several Marines and other veterans, as well as representatives of veteran organizations participating in the event. Jamie Summerlin, Board of Directors of Operation Welcome Home, was instrumental in notifying and encouraging local veteran organizations to turn out. Matt McIntosh, from Union Lodge No. 4, reached out to Jessie’s masonic lodge brothers, who honored Jessie by participating in the parade. In addition, many members of the community also joined the parade.
On behalf of Jessie’s family, thank you all for the gifts and cards. We soon hope to write a personal thank you to as many people as we can identify. We want to give a really big thank you to Natalie Moore, one of Jessie’s caretakers who was the event planner, and her assistant, Donna Huey, another of Jessie’s caretakers. They put their hearts and souls into giving Jessie the attention and recognition they believe he deserved.
Jessie has always loved parades and we loved that the community honored him with a parade. Many thanks.
Jeanne Arbogast Grimm
Morgantown
Thanks for standing up for the rule of law
I wish to express my appreciation to Sen. Shelley Moore Capito for her acknowledgement that Joe Biden is our president-elect and for not signing the “friend of the court” U.S. Supreme Court lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Paxton. I also wish to thank my House representative, David McKinley, for not signing on either to the ludicrous appeal that election results in four states be overturned.
It is a relief that there are still Republican legislators who are sane, recognize the U.S. Constitution (including the 14th Amendment) and support peaceful transition of leadership in our American democracy. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to even give the lawsuit a hearing.
While I may disagree (and often do) with both Sen. Capito and Rep. McKinley, they are a breath of fresh air compared to other West Virginia elected leaders. West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey signed onto the “friend of the court” filing, as did House Representatives Carol Miller and Alex Mooney. Gov. Jim Justice and Secretary of State Mac Warner said they supported the move. All are Republicans. Justice also said he received a call from Trump about the matter.
As Hoppy Kercheval said: “The longer Morrisey, Warner and other leading Republicans in the state help perpetuate the falsehood that the election was ‘stolen,’ the more they themselves contribute to an undermining of the cherished practice of free and fair elections and the peaceful transfer of power.”
With the continuing threats, including death threats, to our political leaders who do support a peaceful transition, it becomes the responsibility of all citizens to speak out. I will not be silently complicit in these destructive actions.
It doesn’t feel comfortable to write this letter, knowing that there are irresponsible people willing to commit mayhem for their cause. But every political leader who stands up for the rule of law deserves our support, regardless of their political party. It is called democracy.
Patricia Schaeffer
Morgantown
‘The other epidemic … Alzheimer’s disease’
Today we face the COVID-19 virus and its effect on our lives. Unlike COVID-19, however, a cure for Alzheimer’s is not on the immediate horizon.
Today, “the other epidemic … Alzheimer’s disease” affects over 5.5 million Americans and 39,000 West Virginians. This progressive and ultimately fatal brain disease is the sixth-leading cause of death in the U.S. and is our nation’s most expensive disease, impacting millions of families and threatening the future of Medicaid and Medicare as the number of people living with Alzheimer’s increases.
One in three seniors passes with Alzheimer’s or other dementia. While heart disease deaths have decreased 7.8% over the past decade, Alzheimer’s death rates have increased 146%. Last year, Alzheimer’s disease cost our nation nearly $280 billion and is projected to cost $1.1 trillion by 2050.
Alzheimer’s is also a relentless thief that robs the memory of a loved one and the family of a future they worked so hard to achieve and enjoy. I am one of those people.
For a time, I was my wife’s caregiver. I’m now a widower after almost 54 years with my girlfriend, college sweetheart, wife, a mom and grandmother. I remain bitter this disease stole every dream my wife and I had and achieved. The three most horrible days in our life together were the day she was diagnosed, the day she entered the nursing home and the day she earned her wings. Today, she lives in my heart.
To pay tribute to my wife, I do what I can to support the Alzheimer’s Association and its mission. If you would like to learn more, I encourage you to visit alz.org or call their 24/7 Helpline at 800-272-3900.
As we look toward a new year and a new administration and Congress, I implore our members of congress — Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelly Moore Capito as well as Reps. David McKinley, Alex Mooney and Carol Miller — to support the fight against all dementia via research and greater support for families dealing with the daily challenges of caring for loved ones.
Barry Weber
Bruceton Mills
West Virginians need to elect real Republicans
As a resident of West Virginia for over 45 years, I am greatly relieved that the U.S. Supreme court has wisely decided to reject the call of President Trump and his Trumpian Party legislators to throw out the national victory of President-elect Biden and reverse Trump’s defeat at the polls in the four battleground states.
Even so, I am pained that the Republican Party that once had some good ideals under Reagan and the Bushes has become a Trumpian fellow-traveler believing that the Trump-appointed Supreme Court justices would have lost their self-respect and honorableness and would support Trump’s personal bids. I hope and pray that in future elections, West Virginians elect real Republicans and Democrats — not the current Trumpians — and restore the good name we had in Robert Byrd’s time. God bless West Virginia.
Jag Jagannathan
Morgantown
