Recent editorials from West Virginia newspapers:
March 11:
The Times-West Virginian, Fairmont, West Virginia, on a state survey regarding proposed hunting regulation changes:
As citizens of a free government, we sure do have a lot of rights. We have so many rights, we take them for granted. We’ve got rights we’ve never had to use.
With all those rights we have, we’ve got just one thing to do - let our voice be heard.
“We always hear about the rights of democracy, but the major responsibility of it is participation,” said famous jazz musician Wynton Marsalis.
Participation comes in many different forms. We can participate by voting, by writing letters to our elected officials, by attending public meetings and even by running for office ourselves. All too often we forget that this government is not only for the people, but made by the people it serves.
And all too often, by not participating, we’re left with decisions made by elected or appointed officials without our own input. And then it’s too late.
And complaining never really gets us anywhere, does it? We can complain around the water cooler or in the barbershop or post things on social media and it never gets to the people who need to know how the citizens feel about the issues.
Participation takes some effort, but if an issue is important enough to you, you need to make that effort. And often it’s nothing more than filling out a survey or attending a public meeting.
And the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources is asking you to do just that with proposed changes to hunting regulations for the 2015-16 seasons. Consider the thousands of hunters in West Virginia. Out of those thousands, last year only 300 surveys were returned to the DNR. That’s pretty disappointing.
This year, the DNR has again released proposed changes for a variety of game species in the state and is inviting public comment.
Not only can you log on to the website at www.wvdnr.gov and download, print and fill out a survey to be returned by April 3, you can also attend a local public comment meeting from 6-8 p.m. Monday at the commons area at East Fairmont High School. The number of changes are too long to list here, but DNR officials will be able to address questions from those who attend the meeting. Or if you already have a strong opinion on an issue that you care deeply about, care enough to participate in the process.
There are proposed changes to the black bear season and the antlerless deer season on private and public lands, as well as walleye regulations for the Monongahela, Tygart and West Fork rivers. The DNR is also seeking opinions about changing the closing date of the statewide squirrel hunting season and a proposal that would require bear hunters to submit their information and the first premolar bear tooth of a harvested bear to the DNR.
The DNR is also asking hunters to weigh in on when hunting seasons should open.
We certainly hope that hunters take the responsibility of participating in the process by either filling out a survey or attending the local meeting. After all, government just doesn’t work without participation from the people.
Online:
www.timeswv.com
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March 10:
The Herald-Dispatch, Huntington, West Virginia, on the Appalachian Regional Commission’s 50th anniversary:
More than 50 years ago, an effort began to give states making up what is known as the Appalachian region some special attention. The reason was simple and obvious: The region was beset by poverty.
The numbers told at least part of the story. A third of Appalachians lived in poverty, the region’s per capita income was 23 percent lower than the U.S. average, and high unemployment and harsh living conditions had in the 1950s forced more than 2 million Appalachians to leave their homes and seek work in other regions.
A firsthand look of life in Appalachia by John F. Kennedy in 1960 while he was campaigning in West Virginia and other Appalachian states made an impression on the soon-to-be president, and he pledged to work to improve the lives of the region’s residents. That planted the seed for what would become the Appalachian Regional Commission, established in 1965 during the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson after being authorized that year by a strong majority in Congress. It was envisioned as a federal-state-local partnership, with the commission playing a mostly coordinating and advisory role.
In the 50 years since, the agency has distributed nearly $4 billion aimed at providing job opportunities, improving infrastructure, increasing educational opportunities and enhancing residents’ well-being.
A question upon reaching that milestone is how effective has ARC been in achieving its goals. The organization itself set out to provide answers by commissioning a study by researchers from West Virginia University and a D.C.-area consulting company.
The upshot from that report, released last month, is that the region has made significant strides in the half century since ARC was formed, but it still faces many challenges.
The positive trends are that unemployment rates in the 12 states served by ARC are now comparable to the rest of the nation. The poverty rate has fallen from about 31 percent in 1960 to about 17 percent in the four-year period ending in 2012, and the gap in income levels has decreased slightly.
But within those trends remain some troubling gaps.
Regarding employment levels, workforce participation in the region has continued to lag behind the nation as a whole. For the four-year period ending in 2012, only about 60 percent of working-age Appalachia residents were in the workforce, compared with 64 percent of the country as a whole. In West Virginia, the disparity is even more stark, with slightly less than half of working-age residents participating in the workforce.
Regarding poverty, the poverty rate in Appalachian states still is two percentage points higher than the national average. In terms of income, Appalachian residents are sharply more dependent on government payments than people in the rest of the country.
Health disparities also continue, with high rates of obesity and related diseases, and more limited access to health care for many of the region’s residents. While ARC helped the region catch up on needed roads and highways, the region faces new infrastructure problems, such as access to good Internet services. And educational attainment among the region’s residents is still markedly lower than the rest of the country.
Does this mean that the Appalachian Regional Commission has been a failure? Not at all. While it’s difficult to gauge the region’s circumstances had the commission not come into being, it seems safe to say that it has made a significant difference in many people’s lives. And it’s continuing to work toward improvements through such initiatives as Shaping Our Appalachian Region Inc., which is a collaboration to increase jobs in Eastern Kentucky.
If anything, the progress that has occurred and the needs that remain combine to show that the Appalachian Regional Commission has been a vital supporter of the region and remains as important as ever as a catalyst for helping the region’s continued improvement.
Online:
www.herald-dispatch.com
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March 6:
The Journal, Martinsburg, West Virginia, on U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin’s vote on the Keystone XL pipeline:
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin was right to join a few fellow Democrats in voting against President Barack Obama on the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline, even though they were involved in a losing cause.
Obama had vetoed a bill intended to clear the way for the pipeline, which the White House has blocked for six years. That set up attempts to override his veto.
Though 62 senators voted to do so, their initiative fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to overcome a veto. Most Democrats were among the 37 senators voting against the measure.
It was to be expected that senators such as Shelley Capito, R-West Virginia; and Rob Portman, R-Ohio; would vote against the president. But Obama and his minions on Capitol Hill have made party loyalty a priority, meaning that it took courage for a Democrat senator to vote in favor of an override.
Manchin has been critical of Obama many times. His primary concern seems to be the White House’s refusal to adopt a rational energy policy.
In voting against Obama on the pipeline, Manchin was part of an unsuccessful effort - but, like Capito and Portman, he did what was right for his constituents.
Online:
www.journal-news.net
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