West Virginia Blue
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HUNTINGTON - Award-winning reporter and long-time columnist Jack Hardin died Tuesday at the age of 84.
He is remembered for covering some of the biggest news stories in the Tri-State during his tenure at The Advertiser and The Herald-Dispatch, including the Marshall plane crash, President Lyndon Johnson's visit and talking an escaped killer into surrendering to police.
When the state "West Virginia" is mentioned on anything besides local news stations, its typically associated with one thing and one network.
Sports, and ESPN. West Virginia, as a state, doesn't get a lot of respect. For example, a recent ESPN article will give you all the evidence you need about a lack of respect. Just check out these "indexes."
But no, this is not an article in regards to sports. I don't really like sports a WHOLE lot, however living in West Virginia my whole life (and being a former sports addict for several years) I have grown to love the WVU athletic teams.
This is about another exposure to our little state, that takes place in Huntington, WV. I was recently surfuing Hulu.com a few evenings ago. I'm currently on spring break (from WVU) and was relaxing at my home in Parkersburg. I ran across a tv show called "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution," and remembered hearing something about it. The show based itself in Huntington, WV (otherwise known by non-residents of the state as the fattest/unhealthiest cities in the country. Supposedly the crux of the show is for Jamie Oliver to invade the city and help spread healthier eating habits.
First of all, I like the idea.. but judging by the one episode I watched (I don't have enough patience to watch more than one hour long episode).
Everyone who lives in West Virginia is familiar with its unfortunate and sometimes vulgar stereotypes. Toothless, redneck, no shoes, incestuous, un-educated... the list goes on.
A new one added to the list is apparently unhealthy. Watching the show, in the morning at an elementary school kids were being served pizza for breakfast. (I can personally vouch for this happening at my elementary school, an unfortunate truth)
The most astonishing part of the show, was when the host went to a classroom of I believe 2nd or 3rd graders, and persisted to show them various vegetables. None of them seemed to get any of them right. Granted, knowing what an eggplant looks like at that age is a longshot. But a tomato, none of them could identify that what Oliver was holding up was a tomato. This to me is sad, and sheds a poor light on our great state.
Let me be clear, this is not an attack (nor is it meant to be) on the wonderful people of Huntington or their children/education system/ etc. This is simply to point out flaws and places that need improvement. Its unfortunate that this is what people associate our state with. The great strides we have made are put on the backburner when shows like this display the kinds of things on this episode.
I take pride in the state of West Virginia, but I also recognize where we need to improve. Clearly judging by this show, although editing out of other parts may have proven a different story, improvements need to be made in our health and well-being.
We need West Virginia to be associated more with positive things, and less with negative things like having the most unhealthy city in America.
Please enjoy this slideshow of pictures and images of the Create WV Conference that was held in Huntington earlier this week. It was a great event that shows we have good reason to be very optimistic about our state's bright future.
Congratulations to Jeff James and his talented team of state and local volunteers who made the conference a great success!
Featuring workshops and speakers, including Jeff Biggers, Ken Hechler, Larry Gibson, Matthew Petty and Terri Blanton.
Thousands of young people will rally across the United States this Fall for the Power Shift '09 Regional Summits: 11 massive gatherings to exercise the political power of young voters and ask President Obama and Congress to pass a clean energy jobs plan by December to rebuild our economy, end our dependence on dirty energy, and bring America lasting security.
There's a rally today at the Huntington HQ at 1 pm (1201 7th Avenue).
We'd love to see it big enough that the Huntington paper has it on the frontpage so when Sarah Palin lands in Huntington to make her OHIO trip on her Hate Talk Express that she sees West Virginia is Obama territory.
We'll be getting more offices and 27 staffers. Here's what I know so far and how you can help.
From an email:
Each office needs baked good, fruit, veggie trays, soft drinks/coffee/water for openings. Your donations will be greatly
appreciated.
Each office will need non-perishable food items, as well as all of the above to keep people going through November 4. Please do what you can to help!
There will be some additional openings around the state and I will do my best to keep you posted...
Buttons, posters, and bumper stickers are really, really hard to come up with all over the country right now. I have talked with staffers in several other states this week and it's the same story.
More stuff is coming; please be patient.
CHARLESTON
This office will hold its official opening on Tuesday, 5:30 PM. The office is located at the intersection of Lee and Capitol Streets, downtown, and is open from Mon - Sat.
MARTINSBURG
This office will be holding its official opening on Tuesday, 5:30 PM.
The county office will become the regional Campaign for Change office, with Tyler Oyler and Chris Lokin assigned to the area.
MORGANTOWN
This office will be holding its official opening on Tuesday, 5:30 PM.
The county office (University Avenue) will become the regional Campaign for Change office. Scott Ellison will be joined by a second staffer (sorry I missed the name).
HUNTINGTON
This office will be operational on Tuesday, at the county office location downtown. Staffers are Steven Reed and Karen Cartwright-Nance.
RAVENSWOOD - RIPLEY
Josh Miller will be working in both Jackson County locations, beginning on Tuesday.
IMPORTANT DATES TO TRACK
Oct 14: Last day to register
Oct 15 - Nov 1: Early Voting
From another email:
Anyone wishing to contribute to the Obama Campaign and the Campaign for
Change in West Virginia, and ensure their contribution is used on the
ground here in the State can make a check out to Campaign for Change and
mail it to:
Campaign for Change
247 Capitol Street
Charleston, WV 25301
HUNTINGTON -- Mayor David Felinton will have to wait two more weeks before he can veto a pay raise.
By unanimous approval Monday, Huntington City Council amended an ordinance raising the mayor's salary from $62,272 to $90,000 over the next three years. The proposal now is to raise the mayor's salary to $80,000 by July 1, 2011, which reflects the original recommendation of a committee of council members that studied the issue last month.
Council members could not vote on the amended ordinance. Because they adjusted the dollar amount, the pay raise proposal must go to a third reading. That will take place at the council's June 23 meeting.
Felinton still vowed to veto the ordinance if it gains council approval, because the city has other priorities, he said. He also said it sends the wrong message to city employees, who are facing a 2008-2009 budget year of health insurance concessions and no pay raises.
A handful of cities in West Virginia are one step closer to getting what they've always wanted -- home rule and the ability to govern themselves.
On Jan. 1, four cities -- Bridgeport, Charleston, Huntington and Wheeling -- submitted application packets to the state's Home Rule Board, which will review each city's plans during the next several months before announcing later this year which cities can proceed forward with home rule on July 1.
All four may be picked to take part in the pilot program. Or some may be denied. Legislation passed in 2007, however, requires at least one community be selected.
"I think for some cities, they see this as a real opportunity to prove to themselves and others that they know best how to run their cities," said Lisa Dooley, executive director of the West Virginia Municipal League. "For a long time, their hands have been tied. Now the ropes have been loosened."
Who is against home rule? Many big businesses are, for one. They like having a single legislature and centralized government they can lobby to do their bidding.
Although the devil is in the details, as a general philisophy I'm all for "home rule." Decisions should be made by people who are as close to the problems being solved as possible. That's the view shared by advocates of home rule.
[Wheeling Mayor Nick Sparachane] also said home rule brings government closer to the people: It allows local leaders to set the tone, rather than having lawmakers in other parts of the state deciding how things should be done.
"People are scared to death of taxes, I understand that," he said. "But home rule is a chance for people to be closer to their elected officials -- there are seven representatives at our council table, and what a great opportunity for people who want to voice dissent to come and talk to them, face-to-face. You don't get that opportunity at the state level, and certainly not at the federal level. At the end of the day, those seven people will ... make the decisions that most affect them, and they will have the ability to talk to them."
Dooley said she understands some people's fears about home rule, but she points to the four cities' applications as proof that home rule isn't just some code phrase for new taxes. None of the cities are taking that approach. The cities' approach, if anything, is to make the cities better for business, not worse, Dooley said.
"What we've been doing isn't working, or, at least, it isn't working very well," she said. "Give it a chance and see what happens."
She said the people who lead cities tend to know the needs and challenges of their neighbors, co-workers, friends and constituents better than folks sitting under the gold dome in Charleston.
"If you work on the assembly line making cars all day, you know which type of wing nut works better in certain areas than maybe the president of the company," she said. "It's the same thing here. I feel certain cities know best how to deal with city problems."
Four of the six bridges that span the Ohio River between Huntington and Ironton were deemed "not deficient" in their most recent inspections, according to the National Bridge Inventory database for 2006 and state transportation officials. The Ironton-Russell Bridge, built in 1922, was categorized as "structurally deficient," meaning it is deteriorating. Ashland's Ben Williamson Bridge, built in 1930, was categorized as "functionally obsolete," meaning it is structurally sound but no longer meets transportation standards and demands.
Nearly 13 percent of all the nation's bridges have been deemed structurally deficient, while another 13 percent are categorized as functionally obsolete.
A bridge deemed structurally deficient does not necessarily mean it is unfit for traffic, but there are a number of concerns with the Ironton-Russell Bridge, said Mike Loeffler, a bridge inspector for the Ohio Department of Transportation.
In 2000, ODOT recommended that the bridge be replaced. It has since undergone several emergency modifications so that it can be used in cold weather, Loeffler said.
"The bridge was only closed twice last year for a short duration, but it has a lot of structural issues," he said. "We inspect the bridge annually and if it is shut down for cold weather it will be reinspected. Thus, it may be reinspected three or four times a year."
In 2006, plans to replace the Ironton-Russell bridge were rejected as the contracting bids for the original design came in too high, Loeffler said. The state is once again in the preliminary stages of the replacement process. Consultants are studying how to redesign the replacement, he said.
The bridge received a sufficiency rating of 7.2 on a scale of 0 to 100, according to the National Bridge Inventory Database.
Now if only West Virginia's bridges were in Iraq, there would be plenty of funding to rebuild or repair them.
A. Michael Perry, a member of the Marshall University Board of Governors, had a good reason for voting Monday to approve construction of the new Recreation Center at Marshall.
The university, he said, needs to broaden its appeal and attract more students from out of state. Marshall needs up-to-date residential halls and high-quality recreation offerings to do that, he said.
Construction on new residence halls will begin in June, and the recreation center should be under construction in August. The new freshman residence halls will have two-person suites with individual bedrooms and a shared bathroom for each suite, along with the latest technology, including wireless Internet. They will provide a total of 785 beds, a study room, a theater room and a video conference room.
A. Michael Perry, a member of the Marshall University Board of Governors, had a good reason for voting Monday to approve construction of the new Recreation Center at Marshall.
The university, he said, needs to broaden its appeal and attract more students from out of state. Marshall needs up-to-date residential halls and high-quality recreation offerings to do that, he said.
Construction on new residence halls will begin in June, and the recreation center should be under construction in August. The new freshman residence halls will have two-person suites with individual bedrooms and a shared bathroom for each suite, along with the latest technology, including wireless Internet. They will provide a total of 785 beds, a study room, a theater room and a video conference room.
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