Gov. Joe Manchin recently addressed the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) during the 2010 Washington Legislative Briefing in Arlington, Va. The briefing includes seminars on performance management, communications, transportation and the economy, the legislative outlook in Congress for transportation authorization and funding and freight. In his keynote address the governor focused on the importance of a sound transportation system and the challenges that face West Virginia and other states in times of continuing budget dilemmas.
“West Virginia’s terrain presents unique transportation challenges for residents and visitors,” Manchin said. “In West Virginia you have to drive to survive, and I am grateful for the opportunity to bring our concerns to the forefront at a national level.”
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Mayor Martha Moore and the employees of the city of Welch have been busy. Debris, grime and accumulated litter that surfaced after the winter snow melted away has been removed from streets and sidewalk in town. Everything is beginning to look ship shape.
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Many large ice formations formed along the cut slopes on U.S. Route 52 in McDowell County throughout the winter. As beautiful as they may be, they remain dangerous. View them from a safe distance.
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During an interview about his new book, “American Conspiracies,” Jesse Ventura mentioned that he had taught at Harvard University. The statement piqued my curiosity. The former Minnesota governor and professional wrestler has done a lot of things, but I had not heard about that one. While Ventura’s formal education does not quite reach the ranks of the PhDs that one would normally equate with Harvard, he was invited to teach a study group at Harvard University for the spring 2004 semester as a visiting fellow at the Kennedy School of Government’s Institute of Politics (IOP). It seems that the university was looking to reach out to citizens experienced in public service, but who did not fit the traditional idea of a politician.
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Several folks in the coalfields are more that a little upset over the “Music Saves Mountains” concert sponsored by the Natural Resources Defense Council that will be held in Nashville and far away from any coal mining site. The show is slated to feature performers Dave Matthews, Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Buddy Miller, Patty Loveless and Kathy Mattea — a West Virginian. Not everyone is a fan of their cause.
Most of us would probably agree that “on the surface” it does seem right to want to save a mountain top. However there are other sides to the issue. This form of mining has provided usable land for development, something that is in short supply in southern West Virginia.
Most of us have noticed that electric bills are skyrocketing, something that has to do with greed and the value of the dollar. Take into consideration that if you remove a substantial amount of economically recoverable coal from the market, we could only expect further escalation in the price of energy. I suppose that these do-gooder folks have sold enough records that they are set for life and that they probably care less whether or not coal people and the people coal supports attend their concerts, buy their albums, have good paying jobs or are able to pay the power bill. We need another singer who is “proud to be a coal miner’s daughter.”
There you have it, a few comments on items of interest to the area. It was looking like the rain had set in, but I still wish you another blue sky day. Enjoy the day. And one more thing ... Bluefield is going to miss our dear friend and community pillar Max Kammer. I enjoyed every conversation I ever had with Mr. Kammer. Those occasions were nothing less than special because Max Kammer made them that way. He was a good man. Shalom.
Wilson Butt, a resident of Bluefield, is a retired Department of Highways official.
Columns
March 14, 2010
Manchin puts spotlight on highways
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