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By Bob Weaver
5000 WV JOBS "GOING SOUTH" - West Virginia has lost about 5000 manufacturing
jobs in the past twelve months, according to state officials. Many of the jobs are in
the Little Kanawha region. More jobs are expected to leave the area, a result of GATT
and NAFTA, although some of the companies deny the connections.
Shott Glass, the former Libby-Owens plant, and the No. 1 Ames True Temper Plant,
are expected to go. The feds, under both parties, have told the American people this
will be good for us, a situation difficult to accept when you have just lost your job and
none are available in a ten-county area.
SCHOOL RULES TIGHTEN - Slacking off the senior year is now history, with some new
rules coming down from the West Virginia Board of Education. Schools must now
schedule seniors for a full day of instruction, rather than allow them to leave
early.
There are some sweeping changes in what classes students must take in order to
enter college. Starting in 2008, seniors who plan to go to college will have to take
additional math, science classes and two years of a foreign language.
The new school rules, like the "absolute 180 days of instruction" have been placed
on the state's schools this year, after many county school systems went lax on
attendance requirements.
LOAD 'EM UP OR DESTROY THE COAL INDUSTRY - The continued threat by West
Virginia's coal industry of losing jobs is hovering over the special committee looking
at legally allowing coal trucks to haul 120,000 or more pounds of coal per truck. The
Wise administration starting ticketing the overweight trucks, after the Underwood
administration said to ignore them. Currently, enforcement cannot look at the weight tickets of the sender or the receiver.
A number of southern West Virginians have been
killed in overweight truck accidents in the past 18 months.
'YOU HAVE THE MORALS OF AN ALLEY CAT" - A Fairmont Times reporter showed up
unexpectedly Thursday night at an illegal public meeting in the back room of the
Pokey Dot Restaurant. The meeting included all members of the town council,
excluding one, and the Mayor, who had a scheduled meeting with Congressman Alan
Mollohan.
Several items were on the agenda to be discussed when Rep. Mollohan discovered a
reporter was there, after which the reporter quoted Mollohan as saying "You have the
morals of an alley cat." Mollohan then told the gathering, according to The Times, it
was just a get-together to discuss general issues, although numerous topics
pertaining to the future of the city were discussed.
The Freedom of Information Act and the open meetings laws are frequently violated
in West Virginia, with impunity.
SOUTHERN FLOOD RAINFALL EXAGGERATED - A DEP study says the amount of rain
falling on southern West Virginia creating the July 2001 flood, was exaggerated. Gov.
Bob Wise and media reports said "up to 10 inches fell in Mullens and parts of southern
West Virginia."
In the flood studied the most, officials said the highest rainfall was 5.32 inches at
Mullens.
In 27 locations studied the average rainfall was just more than three inches.
The agency recently issued the study to some media outlets with some sections
blacked-out. The conflict is over whether mountaintop removal and timber operations
contributed to the flood, many claiming the floods are an "Act of God" to be expected
in such mountainous terrain.
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