To be a destination or to be the doldrums?
I personally do not want more people to come live in West Virginia and I hope more of them leave.
So, the way to continue population loss is to keep the status quo and tweak it to increase the negative aspects of living here. We could ask people why they left. Has anybody done that? Here are some ideas for getting more people to leave:
1. Pass laws that make it scarier to live here.
2. Pollute more streams; weaken regulation to increase environmental ugliness.
3. Cut funding for public schools and pass laws that undermine them.
4. Cut funding for universities and colleges so they raise tuition.
5. Cut income tax so there’s no money to fix roads, improve infrastructure and make things look nice.
6. Raise sales tax to harm the most needy and encourage people to shop out of state.
7. Continue leaving trash along the highways.
8. Cut public services so the most wealthy can avoid paying income tax.
9. Elect stupid politicians.
It all fits together in a big messy web of political chicanery, as it is within the power of our state government to make West Virginia a destination. Don’t do it — keep the status quo. I like it this way.
Betty L. Wiley
Westover
Celebrate Transgender Day of Visibility
March 31 is Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV), a day to honor all those individuals who have taken or are taking the courageous and sometimes dangerous journey to just become who they are.
Transgender individuals are probably the most discriminated against and the last of the LGBTQ community to be understood and to gain acceptance in our society. A 2017 study done by the Williams Institute (UCLA School of Law) estimated that West Virginia has, out of all 50 states, the highest percentage of 13- to 17-year-olds who would identify as transgender. They deserve our support and understanding.
The process of becoming true to oneself for a transgender person is complex and cannot be described in simple either/or terms. PFLAG Morgantown has on its website (pflagmorgantown.org) many transgender-specific educational resources, including a recent class video entitled Understanding the Transitional Process: Birth Sex to Gender Identity.
I invite you to become informed about transgender issues in support of TDOV and our transgender friends.
Mavis Grant
Morgantown
W.Va. needs Minority Health Advisory Team
Although West Virginia has received positive press for vaccination efforts, Black West Virginians are still not receiving the vaccine at a rate that matches their share of the population. This disparity is one example of many this state faces when it comes to race. As chair of the Health Committee for the Morgantown/Kingwood NAACP, I write to ask you to help our state use what we learned this year to address health needs of our state.
Consider these facts about health in West Virginia:
- Infant mortality higher than US average.
- Highest rate of diabetes in nation (over 1 in 10).
- Highest rate of obesity in nation (39.5%).
- Highest rate of depression in nation (26.6%)
The life expectancy for Americans is shorter than it has been since 2003; for Black and brown people has shortened even more than for whites. Black and brown people are twice as likely as whites to die and three times more likely to be hospitalized due to COVID.
We need to do better for West Virginians across the state by passing a comprehensive health policy. We need to collect health statistics, improve access to health care, and enable organizations to recruit providers who reflect the diversity of West Virginia. Our state Legislature currently has several bills that propose a Minority Health Advisory Team for West Virginia. This team approach of local health departments and health care centers would evaluate social determinants impacting our health and inform the West Virginia Bureau of Public Health of ways to improve health outcomes for our state.
We cannot ignore the rising health disparities occurring among vulnerable populations in West Virginia. Please call Sen. Mike Maroney and Delegate Jeffrey Pack and ask that the Minority Health Advisory Team Bills (HB 2611, SB 260 and SB 319) be introduced for discussion.
Nicole Wilson-Carr
Morgantown
Death threats take winning, losing too far
I was disturbed to read that at least one of the WVU basketball players had received death threats after we lost to Syracuse in the NCAA basketball tournament last week. That is egregious and needs to be stopped.
I, along with so many other West Virginians, put great hope and expectation on our sports teams. We want to see our team win! We want to see them excel! We want them to be the best! I imagine there are many reasons we feel this way, one of which is because we believe it says something about us and who we are as West Virginians.
As West Virginians, we too often get a bad rap. Challenges and economic stresses face us constantly. Being last on almost every list of measure is depleting. So, we look to our sports teams to lift us up. To bring us pride. To give us a moment of joy and relief. Whether they win the NCAA basketball tournament or any other big game — or not — they do provide moments of inspiration and joy. They do shine in their hard work, their commitment, their endurance and their passion for the game and that inspires me.
But when we put all our hopes in a sports team or on individual athletes who then don’t live up to our expectations and needs, and then we berate them and threaten death, we’ve gone too far. Self-examination is needed. Those hopes and dreams for excellence and winning would be better focused on visions for our communities and energies to build up our neighbors.
Winning is great. It is fun and exciting. But winning isn’t everything and neither is losing. We shouldn’t forget that.
Susan Eason
Morgantown
Tis the season for ATVs to appear on roads
As spring is getting closer, it is time to start seeing ATVs, UTVs and dirt bikes going up and down Brookhaven Road — with a police officer not to be found. There are kids and people out walking and people walking their dogs. I thought there was a law against these off-road vehicles being on the roads?
Gary Chivers
Morgantown
City must use ARP funds for needs, not wants
Some are concerned that West Virginia cities and counties may use funds from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) inappropriately or even illegally. I am less concerned with fraud than I am that many communities will initiate new programs or hire additional employees without considering the long-term implications of their decision.
Local governments will receive an abundance of funds through the ARP but will be faced with “this is what I want” requests from many advocacy groups. With a bundle of cash, local governments may be quick to honor the requests from advocacy groups. My concern is what will happen when the ARP funding runs out in 3 1/2 years. Will local governments be on the hook for the continued funding of their favorite programs?
Monongalia County residents are fortunate that they have had extraordinary leadership (Bloom, Sikora) at the county level. It is highly unlikely that they will get caught in the want vs. need trap.
The best thing that has happened to the City of Morgantown in the last 10 years was the day Paul Brake left town. Emily Muzzarelli is a real jewel, and the employment of Kim Haws only adds to the quality of the management team. But they will be faced with great pressure to initiate new programs with supplanted funds or with ARP funds that run out in 3 1/2 years.
My great friend Indiana Jones was once told to “choose wisely” — local governments must do the same. They must be overly transparent with the budgeting and expenditure of ARP funds. We are adults — trust us, be honest with us. But don’t commit us to programs that will need local funds after the ARP funds run dry.
Denny Poluga
Morgantown
If it’s not licensed for road, keep it off road
Do you like sharing the road with fellow motorists who have no insurance or proof thereof, no license or registration and possibly impaired and no safety equipment, lights, turn signals, etc.? Neither do I, but we do!
Nearly every time one sees an off-road vehicle on a state road, you are seeing an unregistered, uninsured vehicle. You and I have to buy insurance, license, pay vehicle taxes and go through the inspection process every year, just so we can drive a car. People you see in four-wheelers do not. They get free use of our roads.
There is no enforcement. Police dispatchers tell you straight out that they aren’t allowed to give chase.
Tell me: Does your insurance company offer free uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage? Mine doesn’t. What happens if you have an accident (God forbid) with one of these machines? Who fixes your car? Who pays if you hit someone with no headlights or driving lights, and they try to bring a lawsuit against you. Does the state? It might cost you all you own to defend yourself. I can’t afford that, and I’ll bet you can’t either.
I was told that the state makes gas tax money from these folks buying gas so they can use our roads for recreation areas. If that’s the case, I think the state should redistribute the excess revenues to the taxpayers as profit sharing. Either that or take them off the roads, except by special permit, free to farmers who use them in their labors. The state could also sell special permits in certain counties that entertain off-roaders and those who use our roads for recreation areas.
It isn’t right, and it is not fair that honest motorists have to share roads with people who don’t see the importance of driving and using our roads responsibly. If it’s on the state road, then it needs to meet the state requirements for the privilege of being there.
Vaughn Butcher
Fairmont
‘Second Chance at Life’ goes through Legislature
The Second Chance at Life Act (HB 2982/SB 609) is successfully working its way through the legislative process. Sponsored by Delegate Kayla Kessinger, the bill will require that a woman be informed that the effects of the chemical abortion pill can be reversed to save her baby if she changes her mind after taking it.
Facts regarding the Second Chance at Life Act:
- Providing information to the abortion client in no way interferes with any patient-client relationship. It is not an attack on personal freedom, but a guarantee of it. The bill does not tell physicians how to practice medicine or place obstacles on women seeking abortions.
- Abortion pill reversal uses progesterone to reverse the effects of the Mifepristone. In a letter to West Virginia legislators OB-GYN Donna Harrison, CEO of the 2,500 member American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), said, “Progesterone is a natural hormone which has been used in the IVF industry for over 50 years to date to support early pregnancy after embryo transfer and has never been shown to cause any type of harm to women or their preborn children. There is no increased risk of birth defects when using progesterone in early pregnancy. Progesterone is the hormone that the woman’s body makes during pregnancy and has been given to women for decades in all stages of pregnancy to help women carry their pregnancies.”
- Nine states have enacted these laws: Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee and Utah.
- In West Virginia, 40% of abortions are chemical abortions. To date over 2,000 babies have been saved nationwide by the abortion pill reversal protocol.
Those wanting to save their babies once the chemical abortion process has started should contact a health care professional. These can be found at abortionpillreversal.com or by calling 877-558-0333.
Wanda Franz
Morgantown
