Racial profiling isn’t a figment of imagination
The purpose of my letter is to enlighten those who believe that “racial profiling” by law enforcement is a figment of an African American’s imagination.
My wife and I were driving through Granville on July 10, at approximately 7:45 p.m. We were following a tow truck with a vehicle attached at a speed of less than 20 mph. A Granville Police Department SUV was behind our vehicle, and the officer pulled us over just before we reached the railroad tracks.
The officer approached the passenger’s side where my wife was sitting and told me he pulled me over because I had a cover on my license plate and he couldn’t see my plate. My plate was clearly visible and I knew that wasn’t the reason for being detained. (This type of thing has happened before). He took my documentation to his vehicle and called for backup.
A second officer arrived on the scene. We sat there for about 20 minutes and when the officer returned to the driver’s side of my car with the citation, the second officer stood at the passenger side staring at my wife.
The routine traffic stop escalated into an uncomfortable situation where we felt unsafe. I know that this was basically an opportunity for the officer to look for a crime at my expense.
Many African Americans have experienced interactions with police officers that are similar to mine — stopped for a bogus reason, treated like a criminal and put in a position where you question your safety.
Law enforcement is uniquely situated to deprive people of fundamental rights and it is important there is independent civilian oversight to ensure the safety of all members of our community.
Richard W. Burks Jr.
Morgantown
Neal’s contribution to lower infant mortality
I enjoyed a recent letter by William Neal, commending the late Hershel Mullins for his contribution to reducing newborns’ deaths (DP-06-28-20). There were others who also helped.
William Neal comes first to mind. He was one of four who reviewed 520 death certificates of the previous year’s newborn deaths to find out why the state had a 17.6 per 1,000 mortality rate. The problem turned out to be that sick babies in the rural hospitals were not being sent for specialty care. He worked with Ruby and hospitals in Charleston, Huntington and Beckley to increase their bassinet supply. Dr. Neal did the caring at Ruby as their neonatologist.
Also, there was the state Legislature providing money for rural ambulances. And the WVU Emergency Room staff, both for training the new EMT ambulance workers and for acting as the routing agency by telephone to direct where the ambulances should go. Also two public health nurses worked with the rural hospitals to have the resources for the babies’ travel. And the federal government provided $1.1 million for the program.
The end result after eight years was a neonatal mortality rate of 7.4 per 1,000, a little below the national average (240 deaths), with no newborns dying in the rural hospitals except for four who had been transferred back; they were returned to be able to die in the company of their relatives.
John Pearson
Morgantown
W.Va. energy doesn’t have to be either/or
An editorial (DP-07-10-20) recently touted the creation of sustainable, tech-driven jobs, a goal we all support. Sadly, it did so while celebrating the failure of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and, in the process, advancing the shallow view that we have only a binary choice — either high-paying energy jobs or knowledge-based jobs.
In truth, we need a holistic approach as we continue the ongoing transition to tomorrow’s energy world and concurrently build New Economy capacity. In the meantime, we benefit greatly from the 20,000 oil and gas jobs referenced.
For the past 15 years, statewide economic development professionals have worked hard to promote tech-based activity and economic diversity in West Virginia, and the state’s future pivots on continued successes in this arena. While doing so, we should encourage energy companies, which operate with ethical standards, collaborate with the state’s labor community and comply fully with environmental regulations to compete with our surrounding states’ use of their natural resources. Pennsylvania and Ohio have found that path forward as their energy evolution advances.
It is clear West Virginia must make a much larger investment in broadband, STEM and all related tech-based infrastructure to promote knowledge-based opportunities. At the same time, a fully integrated linkage with our existing economy base surely grows our chance to be more competitive and build demand for new, sustainable jobs. To suggest that we must walk away from our significant resources and thousands of quality jobs to focus only on our tech-based future is illogical and narrow. We need all of the above.
Russ Lorince
Morgantown
Celebration of America a true community effort
On July 4, the community and Mylan Park worked together to provide family activities to celebrate Independence Day. Our community has experienced difficult times and the Celebration of America activities provided families an opportunity to celebrate safely and responsibly.
The day’s events included a baseball game between Morgantown and Wheeling, the movie Doolittle under the new Monongalia County Building Pavilion and Morgantown’s own Davisson Brothers Band playing at Triple S Harley-Davidson. The celebration concluded with fireworks from Mylan Park. The concert and fireworks were streamed live by Pikewood Creative and hosted by WKKW for residents to enjoy.
Event planning started on June 18 with Mylan Park, WKKW, Pikewood, Triple S, Monongalia County Commission, Mon County EMS, Mon County Health Department, Mountaineer Country CVB, Mon County Sheriff’s Department, City of Westover, Town of Granville, Town of Star City and Mecca 911. These entities working together was key to the event’s success and safety.
All sites were monitored for safety and social distancing. The live stream enabled people to enjoy the Celebration of America from their homes. I watched the WKKW live stream on my phone. I’m proud my community could pull off such a wonderful event focused on safety and responsibility.
An event like this takes coordination, effort and funding. The event was made possible by additional funding from private business partners.
Triple S, MVB Bank, WKKW, Pikewood, BFS Foods, Mon County Commission, White Diamond Realty, United Bank, and Morgantown Power Equipment provided direct financial support by sponsoring this event. Their support enabled our community to enjoy this wonderful event. I am grateful to all these sponsors, and our community should support businesses that support our community.
This event wouldn’t have been possible without individuals working so hard during the planning stages and during the event. A very special thanks to Dale Miller, at West Virginia Radio, for all his support and vision. The staff at West Virginia Radio worked hard to bring the event into our homes so all could enjoy. Also, a special thank you to the Mylan Park staff for all the support to pull the event off in a safe and responsible manner.
Clifford H. Sutherland
Morgantown
Star City resident being charged Morgantown tax
As a resident of Star City, I was recently surprised to see that Adobe Corporation had charged me the new 1% Morgantown sales tax on my latest subscription payment. I inquired with “support” and concluded that they had no choice in the matter: I use a post office box in the Star City Post Office as my billing address, and the address there reads “Morgantown,” rather than “Star City.” The Dominion Post opinion editor pointed me to an article describing Granville merchants who are being required to assess the same tax on their customers, even when they are located well outside the Morgantown city limits.
My first inclination was to blame the City of Morgantown, but that’s unfair. The City has done as best it can with procedures dictated by the West Virginia Tax Department. It makes little sense for multiple residents with billing addresses at the Star City post office to deluge the City of Morgantown with requests to be exempted.
To be clear: We should not be charged the 1% tax for purchases made online, when the vendors are in California, New York or other states. If we purchase from Morgantown merchants, we pay the tax without complaint. I’m writing to alert other readers in the same boat.
What to do? First, I hope to simply change “Morgantown” in my billing address (the default I was given) to “Star City,” assuming I am permitted to do so. That might fix the issue. Otherwise, I’ll have to return to getting my banking mail at my residence, which is less secure.
What not to do? Bombard the City of Morgantown with a request to be exempted. That seems cumbersome and unworkable.
Joseph Ervin Jr.
Star City
Bar closures should be statewide, not just Mon
According to the article (DP-07-07-20) the governor requires masks to be worn indoors. Then on July 14, Gov. Justice shut down Monongalia County bars for 10 days.
I’m a big believer in wearing a mask in public, but closing the bars in Mon County makes no sense. It is only a few minutes drive south on I-79 to the bars in Marion County or a few minutes east on I-68 to the bars in Preston County. Either of these options leads to the possibility that the return drive will be a DUI. Is that what we really want to accomplish? Closure of bars should be statewide or not at all.
David Yelton
Morgantown
Stonewall Jackson statue like photo of ex
Here in Clarksburg, a statue of Stonewall Jackson is under attack — again. The first time it was a matter of the size of his horse. People joked he was riding a dog.
This time it’s a matter of values. What do we revere in a permanent fixture in front of our halls of justice?
I usually react to statues aesthetically. A monument in Charleston of soldiers from various American wars is particularly memorable because each face, body, uniform and piece of equipment is so well done. It chokes me up as I think about the men who faced and died in all our wars.
Another statue that comes to mind is Lady Liberty herself. I climbed her from hem to head in sixth grade when we took a class trip to New York City. Her iconic image certainly recalls important values.
My thoughts about statuary, however, are often irreverent — influenced no doubt by a coarse British song I learned as a kid, “My favorite pastime after dark is goosing statues in the park, if Sherman’s horse can take it why can’t you?”
Statues are kind of a big deal these days so I’ll get serious. Keeping around images of people who have been rejected for whatever reason seems unhelpful.
Think about divorce: What good does it do to keep around a picture of my ex-husband after I have remarried? Perhaps if the kids are small, a picture of their dad in their room is OK, but otherwise it just confuses things. What would my new husband think if I kept pictures of his rival around? My ex is the past — I need a new vision to build a successful new marriage.
Do we really want to be reminded of a man who fought to separate us, someone who needed to be defeated for us to truthfully say we are the United States of America? All our Civil War soldiers have now passed away, so slavery’s defenders need not be idolized around us. It only confuses things.
Andrea Myerberg
Clarksburg
