Too Much Water! A Plea to the City of Keyser. Also, Region Inadvertantly Slammed By Marylander

Contrary to the expectations of some folks in leadership positions, many property owners in and around Keyser got more than their fill of water. Storms repeatedly slammed the area, dumping several inches of water in a short period. Many homeowners who have never seen this problem before were cleaning out their basements. Kudos to Eric Beeman who singlehandedly cleaned out the major mess in the basement of Calvary United Methodist Church.

How many homes were affected? Hundreds? We don't know. If a lot of them were like me, they foolishly left clothing, books, magazines, etc on the floor to soak up water. The humid and warm days that follow guarantee that unhealthy mold will develop.

Keyser is proposing a cleanup in August. I suggest that the health hazard created by so many flooded basements constitutes a reason to act sooner. If possible, bump up the clean up day to July and rent a truck to pick up from the elderly and destitute that would never be able to get their own vehicle. I wonder if the county health department could get an emergency grant to assist the entire county.

Next rally the churches. Calvary United Methodist has a working youth group in town now. Mobilize them and Habitat For Humanity to help the elderly, disabled, and otherwise unable to clean out their basements. I am telling you, if you have a basement full of papers, wood, cardboard, clothes, etc, it is almost an overwhelming chore for a healthy man in his prime. Imagine a single mother, an elderly man, or a person in a wheelchair, trying to lift eighty pound bags of wet material.

If we do not act, we definitely run the risk of having larger numbers of sick children and elderly.

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Speaking of water issues, Kolin Jan of the Allegany County Chamber of Commerce was quoted in the Cumberland Times News recently while discussing the subject. In the past some have speculated that the region might be running out of water even in the midst of floods. Jan made a comment that was definitely not meant as a vicious slam on the region, but demonstrated some level of misunderstanding.

Kolin Jan mentioned, "he discounts the notion that, as the area’s population as decreased from its peak over the past 20 years that there’s plenty of water. Lifestyles have changed, he said, and people often take two showers a day when “back then, a Friday night bath was a big deal.”"*

Amazing, simply amazing. I started spending a lot of time in this region about seventeen years ago. My wife's family bathed daily even way back in them there uncivilized days and I am sure they were not unusual even though they were living on the cusp of poverty.

He could have said that people wash their cars more often, or are more likely to baby and coddle their yards with regular watering. Both are true and both require more water than showers. But he "went there" and made a statement based upon stereotype, not truth. Like I said, it was not meant to be a slam based upon mythical perceptions of people in this region. But he did say it and he does seem to believe it. I wonder if he also believes that people around here just figured out that being photographed does not steal your soul?

* Cumberland Times News, "Marcellus Shale forum at Frostburg about water, not money" by Kevin Spradlin, June 21, 2009

Wvjohn and our First Amendment Rights

The internet is a great tool of receiving and providing information. This blog which has been a quite successful example of how the internet can be used effectively to provide information and opinion. The News Tribune allows people to follow up to stories that have been printed, which is a great service that they offer.

What I find funny is the lefts use of it to attack those on the right personally. People usually attack people personally when they are unable to attack the message. On the News Tribunes website I have a personal attacker that goes by the screen name of “wvjohn.”

Now when I write on News Tribune website, the Potomac Highlands Conservative or for various news papers I always use my own name. I don’t have a problem with people knowing exactly who I am when I’m stating my opinion. I want to be challenged. Through challenging my ideas you maybe able to change my opinion, but some people believe in the personal attack as a way to make their point.

Now I’m not sure what they are trying to accomplish through the personal attack. Take my follower wvjohn; he takes issue with me using my real name when I write letters to the editor. I find that strange, because when people know who you are it leads to discovery. A follow up by letter by Gerald Frantz on my comments on the water studies wasting taxpayer money, led to and invitation to speak with him personally on the subject. I want to take him up on that offer because it will further my education on the water systems in the county.

If a person chooses to hide their identity, then they are unsecure in their own opinions. They do not get to follow up on opportunities like the one presented by Mr. Frantz. Now it is clear to me that wvjohn is one of these people that believe government should control our lives. In a recent follow up on the News Tribune website he states, “Some people just want to pettition their government and get their name out there in the public eye.” He is absolutely right, I want to petition government! After all the First Amendment of the US Constitution says I have that right; Congress shall make no law abridging my right to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Yet, wvjohn thinks it’s awful that exercise my First Amendment right, which speaks volumes. Maybe wvjohn only believes I should have the right of free speech if it is something he wants to hear?

Wvjohn, I invite you to write for the Potomac Highlands Conservative. Only rules are no personal attacks and you have to use your real name. You will have a state wide audience of over 13,000 to here your opinion and see what kind of follow commentary they have for you.

Water Studies are money down the drain

Is this the time when the taxpayers of Mineral County collectively say, “We told you so and thanks for wasting our money?” When the County Commission announced they were going to spend taxpayer’s money on a water study of Knobley Mountain to see if there was a sufficient supply for future growth many of us wondered aloud why? If you have lived in Mineral County any length of time you know there are natural springs all over Knobley. You know there is a bottled water plant in Fountain using spring water and the city of Keyser has a dam on Limestone that they can’t empty because water from Knobley Mountain springs keep refilling it, despite their efforts.

Now the county wants to do a bigger water study and at bigger cost as well. DHHR notified the county they are making available $92,000 to assist with the study. That is just to assist, because the cost of the total study is going to be some where around a quarter million dollars.

If they spend this quarter million of your tax dollars; we already know what they are going to find. We will find that Piedmont gets its water from Savage River in Maryland, the Elk Garden area gets its water from Grant County, and Ridgeley and Wiley Ford are connected to Cumberland’s water supply for now. This means that many of the people of Mineral County don’t even rely on water from within the county. History will also show that even in the worst drought, the Keyser and New Creek water systems have never ran out of water. Also keep in mind that the Limestone Dam is a water reservoir for the city of Keyser that is no longer used and they can’t seem to empty it, because to much water flows into it.

The study will also find that Jennings Randolph Lake has 41,000 acre feet of water in storage that is enough to supply every man, woman and child with 100 gallons a day for over 13 years if the river stopped flowing to day. There is an additional 51,000 acre feet used for water quality management, so we are looking at over 27 years worth of water if it didn’t rain for the next 27 years and nobody in Mineral County uses any of that water now!

So basically the County Commission wants to spend more taxpayer money on a water study to learn what we already know; that we don’t live in the Sahara Desert and Mineral County has plenty of water resources to tap if we need. Perhaps Mineral County has so much water because the drain is plugged up from the County Commission stuffing money down it.

It is time for the County Commission to stop wasting the taxpayer’s money on water studies. If you want to spend our tax dollars on water, then we believe you should spend it on providing additional water and water safety. Connect the different water systems in the county together, so that in an emergency the separate water systems can help each other. If a chemical truck were to wreck and spill its contents into New Creek, then a connected system would allow Keyser to bring in water from Elk Garden or Piedmont. If water quality becomes and issue in Fort Ashby, then water could be supplied from Fountain or elsewhere in a connected system.

In short the County Commission should spend the taxpayer’s money wisely or not at all.

"Water Water Every Where (sic) Nor Any Drop to Drink?"

Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner gives the reader a powerful image of what happens when a luckless ship breaks into an ocean bereft of breeze or rain. The crew suffers as they lose their supply of fresh water. Lack of water tortures them, giving them "black lips baked." This dire situation of no water has been presented to us by some of our leaders. According to a test that is far from conclusive, the aquifer under Keyser and New Creek may be low.

The problem faced by Coleridge's sailors was that their most convenient source of water had actually disappeared. Although no one has concluded that is the case in Mineral County, let us assume for a minute that the aquifer did start to run low. The unfortunate men on the ship described by Coleridge were surrounded by "water, water every where, nor any drop to drink." If they had lived in our time, modern technology could have saved them by separating the salt from the seawater, giving them as much as they needed.

We don't need modern technology. If the aquifers are low (and that is doubtful considering the precipitation that we have received since November) then all we need is the same technology used 2,000 years ago by the Romans. They drew millions of gallons per day from mountain sources, enough to fill the needs of over a million people and flush Rome's sewers.

We have ample sources of water. The Mountaintop Water Department commissioned a study which claims that their reservoir contains over 100 million gallons of water and does not drop much even in dry spells. Another study confirmed that 10% of the lowest ever recorded flow of the Potomac out of Jennings Randolph Lake could supply the needs of almost ten times the number of people currently living in Mineral County. The idea that we face a water crisis when surrounded by lakes is absolutely preposterous. Did anyone else see some of the streets of Keyser under four inches of water on Saturday?

Coleridge's ship ended up in a supernatural realm where each member of the crew was either sent to death or "death in life." Death in life was a crueler punishment, a cursed existence where a man had some sense of his surroundings, but those surroundings were decayed and foul. This water question, if it creates enough concern, will certainly be used to prevent significant development in Mineral County. For those in certain situations of comfort, keeping things as they are makes sense. However for those who need to find better jobs to feed their families and stay in this region, a Mineral County without growth becomes a death in life. Communities will continue to wither and lives and homes will decay. Of course if given a chance they will leave the state to live better and give their families more.

Hither and Yon

Ever since it was declared that Mineral County should cease development or risk running out of water, God has seen fit to drench the region with rain and snow almost every single day .

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The Grant County Press reported lottery payouts to local governments.

Hampshire, $2,803.63; Hardy, $1,698.89; Mineral, $11,039.98; Pendleton, $157.51; Tucker, $153.15.
Petersburg received a payment of $176.37 and Bayard picked up $21.76.
Some other cities and their payments were: Franklin, $16.97; Keyser, $3,109.46; Moorefield, $401.56; Romney, $301.12: Wardensville, $41.59; and Elk Garden, $127.24.

From the new table games account, Grant, Hardy, Hampshire, and Pendleton each received $242.65. Cities received $57.67.

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Antiwar protesters love using quotations. Ever notice that? They love to drag some quote out of context to try and prove that Founding Fathers or other respectable people share their viewpoints. The Devil can even cite Scripture for his own purposes. People's actions reflect their nature better than their words. Yes John Adams discussed the evil of war, but he built up a United States Navy and sent it to war, as did his successor Thomas Jefferson.

Quotations are easy to memorize and antiwar folks are very good at learning their lines. However, true wisdom lies in knowledge AND understanding. Ron Paul on his website utterly distorts the meaning of Washington's Farewell Address. Knowing the text helps one to under stand that Washington meant only Europe. Understanding the man could lead one to believe that Washington's nature was far from dogmatic. He changed his approaches to problems in life, war, and politics readily. When someone uses a quote alone to argue a point, it may serve as a red flag that he or she has chosen the easy way out and does not truly understand.

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Can someone please explain why that beautiful evergreen tree on the Mineral County courthouse lawn is not decorated for Christmas?

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Sean Penn has visited the dictators of Iran and Venezuela. All three agree that Dennis Kucinich is the right president for the United States. With those kinds of endorsements, who could lose

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All baseball players found to have used steroids need their statistics and awards expunged from the record books. It would be nice to see the fans get their money back from these cheaters.

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The New York Times has a long history of looking the other way in the face of leftist terror. Seventy five years ago last month, their correspondent Walter Duranty reported at the height of the Stalin imposed famine, "there is no actual starvation or deaths from starvation." Reports of hundreds of thousands, even millions of deaths he called "Malignant propaganda." In Ukraine alone perhaps five million died during this crisis imposed by Stalin's desire to communize farming.

At the New York Times, bending over backwards to accommodate dictators has been tradition.

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Don't forget about the Harrison County Republican Club Dinner on Friday December 21. Tommy Phillips and the Harrison County Club have done an outstanding job putting together a Christmas dinner. The food will be terrific, the speakers and good times even better.

2007 Harrison County Republican Club Christmas DinnerDecember 21, 2007

Social - 5:30 P.M. -

Dinner 6:00 P.M.Cottage Corner Restaraunt in SalemGuest Speaker -

St. Senator Clark Barnes (R-Randolph)Auctioneer - Rocky PeckTickets - $20.00 per person

Please contact - HCRC President Tommy Phillips - (304)672-6890

Email - gopguy1980@verizon.net

HCRC Vice President Jack Pringle - (304)669-3781

Also in attendance will be Republican candidate for the 14th Senatorial District Gary Howell.

Scare tactics used against Mineral County residents

Thursday night I attended one of the 6 comprehensive plan meetings in Fort Ashby. This is actually the first one that I have been able to attend because of scheduling conflicts with the other events.

One of the things that was repeatedly mentioned was that the whole of Mineral County is running out of water. One person even stated that we should put a moratorium on development, because we don't have any water to support additional growth. It was also stated that there are only two sources of water used for drinking in the county, Patterson Creek and New Creek.

All of these statements were completely wrong. There were several county officials both elected and appointed in the room. County officials just allowed this incorrect information to go unchecked. There were people that left that meeting believing that Mineral County has run out of water. That is wrong and that is a failure of the county government to properly inform the public. This was the 5th meeting so the county had plenty of time to have the correct information at the meeting.

Keep in mind this was a public input meeting on the development of the new comprehensive plan. The public was then using this incorrect information to make suggestions. Suggestions in many cases based on the fear of running out of water. One of those suggestions based on this incorrect water information was the one requesting a moratorium on new development. Think about that for a minute stop new development in a county that has a major job shortage.

Let's look at the real facts that county officials know:

The statement was made that Mineral County gets all its water from two sources Patterson Creek and New Creek. That statement is incorrect and was not corrected in the meeting. The Real Water Source Facts:

• Keyser & New Creek Water Systems - Source: New Creek
• Piedmont Water System - Source: Savage River in Garrett County, MD
• Fountain & Unfinished Burlington Systems - Source: Wells
• Fort Ashby Water System - Source Patterson Creek
• Carpendale - Source: Well
  
• Ridgeley, & Wiley Ford - Source: Evetts Creek in Allegany County, MD and Bedford County, PA.
• Elk Garden Water System - Source: Reservoir in Grant County

Letting people believe the entire county is only serviced by two sources of water creates fear. The drought in Georgia was brought up several times to increase that fear. The reality is much different.

According to the USGS, the average water usage per person in United States is 100 gallons. According to the 2000 Census there were 27,078 people in Mineral County. Working out the math that means that Mineral County on average uses 2.7 million gallons of water a day.

According to the USGS the median (average) discharge over a 68 year period is 61 cubic feet per second at Headsville, which is above the Fort Ashby water filtration plant. That works out to 456.28 gallons per second, or 39.4 million gallons a day. So 6.8% of the average flow of Patterson Creek could supply the entire county and it is not asked too nor will it ever be asked to supply the entire county.

Now Mineral County does not use Jennings Randolph Lake as a water supply. According to the US Corp of Engineers, the design of the dam allocates 41,000 acre feet of water storage for water supply. 1 acre foot of water is 325,851.42 gallons. If the Potomac River was to stop flowing today that 41,000 acre feet of water supply is enough to supply Mineral County for the next 13.5 years!!!! Jennings Randolph Lake holds a lot more than 41,000 acre feet. It holds an additional 51,000 acre feet for water quality control. And additional unused 36,200 acre feet are allocated for flood control.

Below the dam at Barnum in 1976 the lowest Potomac River flow was recorded at 142 cubic feet per second. To put that in perspective 10% of the lowest recorded flow could be supply water to a population of just under 100,000 or roughly 4 times the population of Mineral County. 10% of the average flow could supply the daily needs of around a 1/4 million people, and this is all from a source of water we currently do not use!

Is there a water supply problem in the county? No, water is our most abundant resource. There is a problem with the older water systems needing to be upgraded and a distribution problem.

18 miles of piping can connect the current water systems in county together. This would allow transfer of water between systems if needed. If one systems runs low on water or has quality issues, then another system could supply its needs on a temporary basis. In West Virginia the average cost of laying a mile of water pipe is around $200,000. That means the 18 miles of pipe could be laid for around $4 million. To put that in perspective, the sewer project in the north end of the county is a $40 million project. In addition to those 18 miles of pipe about another $4 million in modernization and pipeline upgrades is needed. All is doable and Homeland Security even has money available for connecting systems together to provide water system security.

So why is the public being instilled with false sense of fear that we are running out of water? One of the statements made in the meeting tells the story. When the person said, we should put a moratorium on development, that was the goal of those pushing the myth we are running out of water. There are people in this county that want no economic growth. They do whatever they can to stop businesses from moving into Mineral County and by scaring people by creating the myth we are running out of water is their latest attempt to stop economic development.

Is Mineral County running out of water?

At several planning commission meetings over the past 2 years I have heard people claim that Mineral County is running out of water. Now living here my entire life I have never thought that Mineral County is running out of water. The water may not be distributed properly throughout the county currently, but it is nothing that couldn't be done. There is a fair amount of water at Jennings Randolph Lake that could be accessed if we needed, so the people saying we are running out of water are just trying to scare people.

If anybody has driven past the filtration plant in Keyser and looked at the dam, you may have noticed that the water is not going over the spillway. New Creek is very low right now, but money was available through Homeland Security provide backup water supplies throughout the country. 18 miles of pipe would be needed in Mineral County to provide that security.

4 miles of pipe could connect New Creek Water to Mountain Top Water System. 4 miles would connect Keyser to Piedmont, 1 mile to connect Keyser/New Creek to Burlington/Fountain and the long one of 9 miles to connect Fountain to Frankfort's system. At about $200,000 per mile of pipe construction, this would be about a $3.6 million project. Once completed in an emergency any water system could pull off another to continue service. Put in perspective the $3.6 million water security project is less than a 10th of the $40.0 million north end sewer project.

It is hard to say which is the most important project. I would tend to believe that clean drinking water would top the list, but we don't have to pick as the funding sources are different. We have an opportunity if we choose to take it. I will build better infrastructure for future economic growth in the county, and because it will help bring jobs to the county some will oppose it.