By WILSON BUTT
Retired West Virginia Department of Highways County Supervisor Earl Crigger was recently appointed city judge for the city of War. Crigger attended several training sessions that enabled him to be qualified for the position and will attend additional training sessions in the future as they become available. He will be replacing the late Eva Sue Rash who served as the city judge for a number of years. Rash also served as the mayor of Anawalt and was noted for her efforts to benefit the area.
Dr. Tom Hatcher, mayor of Anawalt, is putting in a lot of hours working toward the implementation of Phase 2 of the town’s new water system. Phase 1 has been completed. Crigger is also enjoying riding his four-wheeler through the mountains since he retired from the DOH.
Any West Virginia city may provide by charter provision, and any municipality by ordinance, for the creation and maintenance of a municipal court. Municipal judges are required to submit to a criminal background check. Those who assume the duties of a municipal court judge must complete a course in rudimentary principles of law and procedure, and attend an annual course to continue their education.
The education requirement does not apply to municipal judges who are attorneys admitted to practice in West Virginia.
It’s report card time. Back in the dark ages when I attended grade school we received a report card every six weeks. The subjects were graded A, B, C, D and either F or U. Later numerical grades appeared: 95-100 equaled an A, 86-94 was a B, and on down the line. Most of our parents clearly understood our progress — or lack of it. Our parents were required to sign our report cards and we students returned the cards to our teacher the next day.
My granddaughter recently came home with a four-page report for about four “grades,” if that was what they were. Three pages of attached explanations accompanied the “report card.” I doubt seriously that few, if any parents clearly understood the printed materials before them as they read a “grade” of 1, 2, 3 or 4 in areas that simply failed to correlate any reasonable recognition of the “Three R’s” — reading, ’ritin’ and ’rithmetic. Bless their little souls when mom tried to decide if her child had made an A, B or C and couldn’t figure it out.
Apparently some school administrators need three things for which to be able to hoist the flag of success, a new system no one understands, a revolutionary approach to what McGuffey’s Reader did well, and the third is what they always ask for ... more money. I’m not against paying our teachers and paying them well, but when more money is directly equated with improving teaching techniques within the classroom, spare me the lecture.
I never did figure out the new “grading” system even though my wife, a retired teacher, spent about 15 minutes trying to explain things as best she could.
As Virginia Democrats struggle through the carnage of last Tuesday, some are still trying to figure out why things did not go their way. Some are speculating Republican wins are a direct result of opposition to much of the President Obama’s agenda. Health care, cap and trade and the economic policy are opposed by the right wing.
Bill Clinton found safety in moving toward the center, perhaps the Democrats should consider moving in that direction if they are to actually reflect the values of many Americans.
A good friend, an immigrant and now a proud American, recently told me that family is the basis upon which we should build our future. Family is the most important component of success. Without the support and encouragement of a family, success, prestige and respect are often extremely difficult to achieve. Today family is a mixture of yours, mine, ours and often someone else’s. Our children suffer and our future lies in their hands.
There you have it, a few comments on items of interest to the area. I hope that you may feel the warmth of the sun upon your face and that you have a clear blue sky upon which to gaze today.
Wilson Butt, a resident of Bluefield, is a retired Department of Highways official.
