Bluefield can add a heroine to its list of noted and famed personalities. June Leckie, a long-time resident of Bluefield now living in Florida, was a member of a unit of female pilots who served this country with valor during World War II. She was a WASP, a member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots, which was one of the organizations of civilian female pilots that flew military aircraft during World War II, enabling male pilots to be freed for combat service and duties. Leckie served as one of those pilots and flew many military airplanes including bombers. She also served as an instructor teaching others how to fly. Jim Godwin pointed out a recent story in the Wall Street Journal that mentioned that the Army had these women fly the new planes to the bases and airfields to prove to the men that the new (and sometimes awkward looking contraptions, as Godwin commented) were safe to fly.
The WASP women pilots held a pilot’s license. More than 25,000 women applied for WASP service, and less than 1,900 were accepted. Those that were accepted were given further training by the U.S. Army Air Forces at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas. After completing four months of military flight training, 1,078 of them earned their wings and became the first women to fly American military aircraft.
On July 1, 2009, President Barack Obama and the United States Congress awarded the WASPs the Congressional Gold Medal. There are approximately 300 surviving WASPs.
Today, June Leckie will join her peers in the Nation’s Capitol in Washington D.C. to receive a Congressional Gold Medal. She will be accompanied to the ceremony by her family, including her grand-daughters. June Leckie, who now lives in Florida, is the mother of Sharon Perkinson, Drew, Will, and Dana Leckie.
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Senator John Pat Fanning has also been busy in this session of the West Virginia Legislature. Fanning is noted as a sponsor of 67 bills thus far. One of the bills Fanning has co-sponsored makes some changes in Chapter 17, Roads and Highways concerning bonding requirements tied to granting access to a state highway by developers. The purpose is to insure compensation to the Division of Highways for improvements to highway facilities required as a result of the development.
Another bill sponsored by Senator Fanning would create a permit for use of the Division of Natural Resources’ public shooting ranges to recover the costs of maintenance and remediation of public shooting ranges, to provide funds to create additional public shooting ranges and to provide penalties for violation of shooting range rules. Fanning also wants to PEIA to provide coverage and benefits for acupuncture treatment performed by a licensed acupuncturist. At least it’s a start, some folks hope he can get them to pay for something. I hope the good Senator from Iaeger doesn’t mind my “needling” him a little.
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Signs of spring are popping up.everywhere, including dandelions and political signs. The landscape will soon be covered with both.
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The spigots haven’t yet opened on the Bramwell Hill Water Project. Bids for engineering design services for the project were opened in October 2008 and the contract was awarded to Anderson and Associates. Last September, a spokesman for the firm reported that the engineering work was to have been completed within six to eight weeks. The Bluewell Public Service District is now in the process of soliciting bids for the services of an accountant and project attorney to complete the Bramwell Hill/Coaldale Mountain Water Project.
According to the Bryan Rotenberry, manager of the Bluewell Public Service District, the Bramwell Hill project is now being coordinated with the Windmill Gap Waterline Project and the engineering work for both is nearing completion. Engineering for the Windmill Gap portion is being provided by Stafford Consultants of Princeton.
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There you have it, a few comments on items of interest to the area. The weather was beautiful this past weekend and I hope you have another blue sky today.
Wilson Butt, a resident of Bluefield, is a retired Department of Highways official.
Columns
March 10, 2010
Leckie honored for WASP service
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