Maryland's Mini Secession Movement: Freedom, Dollars, and Common Sense

Across the country, secession movements have served as the face of frustration for rural residents.  States dominated by urban and suburban elites continue to rile countryside conservatives.  In an increasing number of states, counties have considered secession as the answer.

Active movements have sprouted in Northern California, Colorado, Michigan, and now Maryland.

According to Fox News, many of the complaints are the same.  Residents chafe under onerous restrictions on land that hurt farmers.  They also oppose gun control laws backed by suburbanites.

Some Marylanders already made the decision to secede as individuals.  Most prominently, former Maryland state senator and Republican Party chair Alex Mooney crossed the Potomac from Frederick County to Charles Town, West Virginia.  His run for Congress puts a face on the long trend of Maryland counties losing opportunities to competition south of the Potomac.

A study of West Virginia and bordering Maryland counties using numbers from the US Census Bureau's County Business Patterns data shows Mountain State counties faring better even with poorer infrastructure.

For example, Maryland's Allegany County, centered around Cumberland, had 1,847 private sector business establishments employing 25,136 in 2000.  By 2011, 1,647 employed 24,485.  Neighboring Mineral County saw some jumps.  In 2000, 480 establishments employed exactly 5,000 workers.  Eleven years later, the number of businesses dropped to 452, but the number of workers shot up to 6,445.

The numbers from Mineral County are still stagnant in many ways.  That area however, unlike Allegany, does not benefit from an interstate or any other four lane highway bisecting it.

Differences also emerge between Washington County, Maryland (surrounding Hagerstown), and Berkeley County, West Virginia.  Between 2000 and 2011, Washington County lost almost 3,000 workers while Berkeley added over a thousand.  Between 1990 and 2010, Washington County's population increased by around 25 percent while Berkeley's shot up by a little over 40 percent.

Washington County should benefit from the intersection of Interstates 70 and 81, two of the most traveled in the Eastern United States.  While Berkeley County has an excellent transportation infrastructure as well as Interstate 81, it is more beneficial to local travel.

Speculation that Marylanders may be seeking better opportunities and a way of life across the border would be tough to prove without further study.  The Mercatus Center's Freedom In the Fifty States Study shows little difference between West Virginia's overall rank of 44 and Maryland's of 42.  The study applauds West Virginia's ranking of ninth on personal freedoms, while Maryland hovers near the bottom among the least free societies in the United States.

Individuals abandoning their native states in search of better economic and social opportunities has helped to define the history of the nation.  But the 21st century wrinkle of seeking out areas friendlier to beliefs about government and freedom are playing out in interesting and unpredictable ways.

At any rate the Potomac Valley counties of West Virginia, despite handicaps from inferior infrastructure and  a system unfriendly to business, outperform their Maryland counterparts.

Less freedom, fewer opportunities.  No wonder western Marylanders have given up on Annapolis.  Time for those in Charleston to wake up and take advantage.

West Virginia Bankers’ Association PAC Endorses Gary G Howell

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Gary Howell
(304) 788-6554 or (301) 707-3069
gghowell1@verizon.net

West Virginia Bankers’ Association PAC
Endorses Gary G Howell

CHARLESTON, WV - The West Virginians Bankers’ Association Political Action Committee (WVBankPAC) has extended their endorsement to Gary G Howell for the 2010 election to the West Virginia House of Delegates.

WVBankPAC is comprised of bankers from throughout West Virginia. The association conveyed, “We pride ourselves on supporting those candidates who take an expansive view of their role as potential legislators in matters of economic development and do our best to examine candidates from a variety of different perspectives.”

“I’m pleased to receive the endorsement of West Virginia’s Bankers,” said Howell, “a strong economy is key to creating jobs in the state and a robust banking system is a cornerstone to economic growth.”

Paid for by Citizens for Gary Howell

Public Service Commission of West Virginia Grants Siting Certificate for Pinnacle Wind Farm at NewPage

January 11, 2010 -- The Public Service Commission (PSC) of West Virginia granted a Siting Certificate for the construction of the Pinnacle Wind Farm at NewPage. The project, developed by Pinnacle Wind Force, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of US Wind Force, LLC, is the product of a joint development agreement between US Wind Force and Edison Mission Group (EMG).

"Pinnacle is delighted that the public service commission has granted the permit. While we have not yet had the opportunity to review the entire order, we are ready to put skilled West Virginians to work building this clean, renewable energy project. We anticipate that construction will likely begin once the terms of a power purchase agreement are finalized", said Dave Friend, vice president of US Wind Force.
The 23 turbine Pinnacle Wind Farm at NewPage will be located on Green Mountain, near Keyser WV, in Mineral County. The turbines will generate approximately 55 megawatts of power, which is enough electricity for over 14,000 households. The cost to construct the project is estimated at $130 million. County property taxes are projected to average more than $433,000 annually, placing it among the county's largest taxpayers. Additionally, Pinnacle has voluntarily committed to establish a community benefit fund that will provide locally controlled financial resources for community projects throughout the life of the project.

NewPage Corporation, the largest coated paper manufacturer in North America, is partnering with the project by placing six of the turbines on NewPage property near the company's Luke, Maryland facility. “NewPage is proud to partner strategically with US Wind Force, especially during a time when our country is facing significant energy challenges. This partnership is an example of our commitment to support the growth of sustainable energy and is consistent with our goal to continuously explore renewable energy opportunities for our facilities," said David Bonistall, vice president, environmental, health and safety for NewPage.

As part of the project planning process, a Community Advisory Panel (CAP) was established to create an ongoing dialogue with community members from the Keyser, New Creek, Piedmont, and Elk Garden areas. Members continue to meet to discuss the project and its progress. In addition to meeting with CAP members, US Wind Force has met with local civic and service organizations in Mineral County and conducted open house events. Friend added, "[W]e appreciate the tremendous amount of support the project has received from stakeholders in the local community and their willingness to provide valuable input throughout this phase of the process."

To learn more about the Pinnacle Project, please visit the US Wind Force website at www.uswindforce.com. Project area residents may stop by one of the community information repositories located at the Keyser Public Library, the Elk Garden Community School, and the Piedmont Public Library to see a copy of the application. A toll-free project line, 1-866-929-4429, is also available to anyone with questions about the project.
US Wind Force, LLC, based in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, is a privately held developer of utility-scale wind energy projects.

EMG companies rank as the seventh largest developer of wind energy projects in the United States with a current portfolio of 27 wind projects capable of producing more than 1,500 MW of electricity in operation or under construction in 10 states, including two projects in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. EMG also operates a power generating facility in Grant Town, West Virginia, which uses waste coal to generate electricity. EMG is headquartered in Irvine, California and is a subsidiary of Edison International.

Commercializing Welcome Centers, Rest Areas Could Ease WVDOH Financial Burden

Forty some odd years ago NASA realized that a ball point pen would not write in space. They worked on the problem and spent over a million dollars to make a ball point pen that would write in zero gravity.

They were successful and developed a beautiful pen at great taxpayer’s expense, but NASA solved the wrong problem. The problem was not to make a pen write in space, but to just “write” in space. The Russians realized that they only needed to write in space, not use a ball point pen and simply used a five cent pencil instead of wasting a million dollars. The lesson is the first thing you must do to be successful in solving a problem is make sure you have identified the true problem.

At the end of November the amount of expected revenue for the West Virginia highway fund was down $14.6 million, mostly because of the poor economy. Immediately there was talk out of Charleston about raising taxes, but the tax rate is not the real problem. The real problem is the rising cost and reduced revenue. Until these problems are solved, the state’s Department of Highways will continue to have problems even in good economic times. The state must get creative on generating additional revenue and cutting cost.

There are 22 welcome centers and rest areas run by the WVDOH. Each costs approximately $500,000 a year in annual maintenance for a total of $11 million dollars. Two of these on the West Virginia Turnpike have a Federal exemption to allow them to be commercialized, which is pretty common on toll roads. However they also occur in a few other places on non-Toll Road Interstates, such as I-95 north of Baltimore, MD.

Commercialization of West Virginia’s other twenty rest areas and welcome centers could provide a partial solution to the WVDOH funding problems. As these are leased to private companies then a $10 million drain on the WVDOH would disappear as responsibility for the maintenance would shift from the state to the private companies. There would also be a revenue stream generated from the lease agreements. A drain on the state highway fund would be turned into revenue generation, all without putting any additional burden on the taxpayers.

There would also be employment benefits for the state. Each rest area at a minimum would end up with a fast food restaurant and a convenience store/gas station. The average fast food chain restaurant employs about 60 persons and the convenience store 10 persons. This would generate approximately 1,400 private sector jobs across the state from entry level fry cooks to well paid manager positions. As an example; if the two rest areas in Braxton County were commercialized in this way, the Braxton County unemployment rate could drop from 8.3% to 5.3% making it the lowest in the state.

The benefits do not stop at increased employment and reduced operating cost to the state. The free market approach also creates new tax revenue streams into the states coffers. The 1,400 new employees and the new businesses created will pay income taxes to the state. There will now be property taxes paid to the counties at the rest areas on the equipment installed where before there was none. Most important to WVDOH is the gasoline sold at the new filling stations will pay new taxes directly to the highway fund without raising taxes on struggling WV families.

In these hard economic times West Virginia must work to solve the correct problems and reduce the burden of taxes on all the people of the state in the process. We must look for new solutions to old problems and stop thinking the only solution is increasing taxes.

New Keyser Bridge Traffic Patterns

If your coming from the Fountain area on Rt 46 and want to go North on US 220, then your going to see some major changes in the traffic patterns. The blue lines are where the new roads and bridge will be.

You will no longer be able to turn onto the bridge from Center Street. So you will have to go all the way to Piedmont St and then make a right at the light to access the new bridge. You will also not be able to just drive to the end of Armstrong street and make a left crossing traffic to go to Cumberland. That will now be a one way off ramp for the new bridge. If you stay on Armstrong St. to the end, then it will bring you to Piedmont Street across from Orchard Street. There will be major changes in traffic patterns.
On the McCool side of the river you will no longer be able to turn left to go to Westernport from Keyser. You will now have to turn right and circle under the new bridge to go to Westernport.

Looks like we are going to have major changes in the traffic patterns. Many on the West Virginia side may not be for the best. Davis Street is going to become much more busy than it already is. Looks like we will need a new traffic light at Orchard and Piedmont to handle all the truck traffic that will be routed that way.

Obama Stumps for Cap and Tax

[Charleston, WV] West Virginia Republican Party Chairman Doug McKinney issued the following statement in response to President Obama's speech this morning at MIT about the energy legislation working its way through the Democrat Congress:

"Moments ago, President Obama concluded his remarks to a small crowd of supporters in Massachusetts as he called for 'the passage of comprehensive legislation that will finally make renewable energy the profitable kind of energy in America'. That's a laudable goal, but not if it means loosing hundreds of thousands of jobs we can't replace and spending billions of dollars we don't have. The Democrat cap and tax scheme is simply one more big government boondoggle that West Virginian's can't afford. Of course if Obama and his entourage had bothered to show up in a place that produces coal, like West Virginia, they might have actually heard that opinion. Instead it's clear that president cares more about his image in Copenhagen this December at the international climate talks than he dose about American workers and American jobs"

Capito Statement on Corridor H Congresswoman Applauds Progress, Renews Call for Project’s Completion

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., today praised ongoing progress in the construction of Corridor H, while also calling for renewed efforts to complete the project.

“Corridor H is critical for promoting economic growth and opportunity through Appalachia,” said Capito. “We’ve already seen the benefits of the completed portions of Corridor H, and those opportunities will only grow with today’s developments and the full completion of the highway.

“This project has been held up long enough. Simply put, it’s time to see this project completed.”

Capito also reiterated her desire to see real bipartisan investment in highway infrastructure.

“It’s clear that – despite the rhetoric – the stimulus bill’s highway investment amounted to less than 5 percent of the bill and dozens of projects remain unfunded or underfunded,” she noted.

“With a smart, bipartisan highway bill we have an opportunity to start filling in the gaps with infrastructure projects we know can set the stage for economic growth now and in the future.”

Congresswoman Capito Says Announcement is Latest in EPA Delays and Continues Troubling Uncertainty for Miners

As the Environmental Protection Agency today announced that they would effectively block nearly 80 mining permits across the mining region, Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-WV, expressed her concerns about the potential economic impact of the administration’s decision.

“With a new announcement from the EPA comes more delays and continued uncertainty for West Virginia miners,” said Capito. “As I’ve said before, it’s certainly appropriate to have legitimate oversight and review of all proposed permits, but today’s announcement amounts to the latest in a series of decisions that create still more ambiguity for mines across our state and region. Our nation depends on West Virginia coal as a domestic resource to power our economy and we can’t afford never-ending delay on the many outstanding permits. ”

Over the course of the summer, Capito met with officials at the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers where she highlighted the stakes of the continued evolution of the permit review process.

“In my discussions with officials at the EPA, I’ve regularly stressed that their decisions stand to directly impact jobs in our state and today’s news of further delays is a troubling development. Simply put, the decisions of bureaucrats in Washington have a real personal impact on West Virginia families.”

Twenty three of the 79 permits mentioned in today’s announcement are located in West Virginia. The EPA, which will have final approval on all permits, gave no binding deadline for completing their enhanced review process.

“This can’t be an endless process,” added Capito. “Yet it’s beginning to seem like it might be, and that’s unfair to mining families and mining communities throughout the Mountain State.”

New Common Sense West Virginia Ad

This Could Help Car and Truck Sales

County to waste more taxpayer money on Water Shortage Farce

The on going waste of taxpayer’s money on the fake water shortage continues. As our economic continues to slide deeper into the recession many people are cutting back and saving their money for the future, but for some reason government doesn’t want to do the same thing. This puts an ever increasing burden on the taxpayers when they can least afford it.

The Wednesday addition of the News Tribune reports a WVU student was paid $5,000 as a precursor to a much larger study. The PHC reported last year that “DHHR notified the county they are making available $92,000 to assist with the study.” This $92,000 of taxpayer money is just an assist as the full study is expected to cost somewhere around a quarter million dollars.

This is what the study will tell us: 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 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.

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 today. 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!

The county government is acting very strange and very anti-business on many issues. Consider that the County Commission is not actively supporting the $138 million dollar investment in the county on the Wind Project which will generate an additional $326,591 in taxes for the school system alone as reported by the News Tribune on Wednesday. I cannot understand why the county commission would not actively support the increase in funding to the school system. County Commissioner Spiggle’s wife Betty sent a letter to the Public Service Commission actively opposing the project and can be viewed on the Public Service Commissions website. Commissioner Wayne Spiggle pushed the County Commission to request making US 50 a Scenic Byway which would hinder business. Now it is the water study, which if not done correctly, can be used as a way to restrict business growth and economic growth.

It is time for the County Commission to stop wasting the taxpayer’s money on anti-business policies and 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.

City of Keyser Backs Green Mountain Wind Farm

After a unanimous vote of approval, Keyser City Councilman Dave Sowers said of a proposed Green Mountain wind farm that it would generate county tax revenues, create more jobs, and help expand national renewable energy production.

Pinnacle Wind Force plans to spend $131 million to create the facility on the mountaintops above Keyser.

This puts the Keyser City Council potentially at odds with some members of the county commission who have expressed reservations about wind energy. Some concerns cited include the altering of aesthetics, damage to wildlife, and questions about what would happen if wind power was not profitable in the long run.

However Mineral County will gain benefits for years from the farm. Property tax revenues will bolster school budgets. The ripple effect from a $131 million investment will boost Keyser's flagging economy. Also it will promote the perception that Keyser and Mineral County embrace new technologies and ideas. Windmills are a symbol of clean energy independence.

No Logic in States Numbers on Corridor H Funding

Recently an article appeared in the Charleston Daily mail entitled, “Official targets slow work on Corridor H” and state officials gave reasons for the continued delay of the highway. Most of the reasons given by the state make little or no sense.

The state claims they couldn’t pay the back the bonds. According to the article, “Even if the Legislature raised the cap, Walker said the state still couldn't pay back the debt on such a project.” This statement is totally illogical, as the bond method builds the highway at a lower cost. Consider that the current estimate for completing constructions is 1.5 billion dollars over the next 26 years. Of those 1.5 billion dollars, the state is responsible for 20% matching funds as outlined by the Appalachian Region Commission and that cost would be $300 million dollars.

Now if the state issues bonds to complete the final 50 miles of Corridor H that have yet to receive funding, at 22 million dollars per mile , then total construction cost would be approximately 1.1 billion dollars. The states portion of that would be $220 million saving the West Virginia taxpayers 80 million dollars and saving the US taxpayers 400 million dollars.

Walker went on to say, “"It would completely bleed the state road fund. If we were able to do all of that, very important programs, like paving and bridge repairs, would have to be sacrificed." My question to Mr. Walker would be; why would freeing up an extra 80 million dollars from Corridor H, require the state to cut other projects? Those 80 million dollars in savings from Corridor H could be used to increase funding of very important programs, like paving and bridge repairs. The reality is the exact opposite of what Mr. Walker says; the state will have to cut $80 million worth of future projects, because they are not changing the funding method.

Now it is estimated that Corridor H over its length will create an additional 8,000 jobs in the state. If we bond the highway and complete it in 2015, then using the median income in the state, 32,589 dollars , those 8,000 jobs will create an additional 260 million dollars of annual income in the state. The state taxes as on that median income will be around 15.6 million dollars in annual revenue for the state. From an early completion date of 2015 to 2035 the current funding completion date, the total taxes collected from those new jobs, adjusted for inflation , will be 439 million dollars. The estimated annual Federal Tax from the new jobs will be 39 million dollars annually or 1.1 billion over 20 years adjusted for inflation.

So our choices are continue with the current funding method of Corridor H, which will complete it around 2035 and cost the taxpayers of the nation and state 1.5 billion dollars with small increase in employment during the construction phase, or build it over the next 6 years at a cost of 1.1 billion generating around 1.5 billion in new state and Federal tax revenue between 2015 and 2035 in the process as those new jobs are created in the near term. I prefer the method where Corridor H is completed early and pays for itself with taxes generated from the new jobs it will create. We have to start being smart about how we build highways and other large projects in the state. We must be fiscally responsible.

Byway or Bye Economic Opportunity

At the March 26th afternoon meeting of Keyser Rotary Club, the speaker was Karen Allen of West Virginia Department of Highways. She runs the office that takes care of the Scenic Byways in the state. She told the group the benefits of Scenic Byways, the opportunities and the pitfalls. It was a very good presentation with good questions and answers from the public. Mineral County Commissioners Wayne Spiggle (A member of Rotary) and Janice LaRue attended to hear the discussion. The County Commissions from Grant and Hampshire County were invited to attend this Rotary meeting to hear Karen Allen, but did not attend.

At the last US 50 Association meeting held on March 18th, 2009 a surprise addition was added to the meeting agenda at the meeting. The original 3/18/2009 meeting Agenda sent out had no mention of discussing converting US 50 into a Scenic Byway, so the public was unaware it was to be discussed. It was never asked to be put on the agenda for this meeting prior to the start of the meeting. Wayne Spiggle the facilitator was adamant that it was to be discussed at that US 50 meeting, although it is my belief it should have been delayed, so that proper public notice could have been given. Government works best when the public is involved and the public was excluded from this discussion.

In the past the US 50 Association has repeated shown good wisdom when the public was well represented. At the July 21st, 2004, Deb Clatterbuck reported the findings of the Scenic Byway Task Force. It was a sub-committee set to explore the benefits and problems with designating the highway as a Byway. The official minutes show, "There are strict sign regulations such as been brought to light by the George’s Creek Coal Heritage Trail. The Task Force recommends tabling this issue until dual lane and alternate routes can be reviewed which may leave portions of the original roadbeds to be designated as Scenic By-ways." - July 21st, 2004 US 50 Minutes. The problem is businesses are restricted from advertising, which can hurt the local economy. The US 50 Association at that time believed that it was more important to improve the road and improve economic opportunity along the road. Putting the people first it always the best choice.

At the September 20th, 2006 meeting of the US 50 Association Mike Workman from North Central Byways spoke and told the group, "The North Central Byways group has control over signs on both public and private land." - Sept. 20th, 2006 US 50 Minutes. You read that right; a non-elected group can tell you what to do on your private land. Like giving up your 5th Amendment Rights without due process? Dave Price of Preston County, indicted the sign limit was upsetting business owners and asked how the group got the authority. According to the minutes, Karen Allen told the US 50 Association, that the Commissioner of Transportation gave the unelected North Central Byways the power. With the stroke of a pen your rights were gone and chances are you didn't even know.

The problem with the Byway designation is that it can be used as an anti-business tool. Now I have long argued that the Mineral County Commission has been anything, but pro-business. In fact many initiatives put forth by the Mineral County Commission and its agencies over the last 8 to 10 years have been anti-business. Consider this public statement about not letting business in made by then Economic Development Director Casey Lambert 2006, "We have had numerous prospects, but we're not going to let every Tom, Dick and Harry put something in there [Fort Ashby Industrial Park]" - Cumberland Times-News Oct. 5th, 2006

Another thing to look at is the fake water shortage scare created 2 years ago in the county that had people begging to ask for a moratorium on growth. - Potomac Highlands Blog Dec. 3rd, 2007 Had we not broke the story all housing construction in the north end of the county may have been stopped. Fortunately cooler head prevailed when the true got out. Zoning is one of the biggest restrictions to economic growth is coming, "Spiggle said when the county’s comprehensive plan is completed next year, officials could have the power to begin drafting possible zoning ordinances." - Cumberland Times-News Dec. 10th, 2008 After Zoning was enacted in Allegany County, MD in the 1960’s, they lost more than 10,000 people in population. Zoning was one of many factors that devastated the Allegany County economy.

Turning down businesses trying to provide jobs in our area, trying to restrict advertising along US 50 which will adversely effect business growth, creating fake water shortages and implementing zoning are all things designed to stop or reduce business growth in the county. With the population of Mineral County dropping, we cannot afford to restrict business growth in our county. Projections do not show Mineral County exceeding the 2000 population, until at least 2035. - Cumberland Area Long Range Transportation Plan, Sept 28, 2005

Either we have a county commission that is clueless on how an economy works or we have a county commission actively seeking to stop growth and business from coming into the county.

Throw another Law on the Barbie

In the movie "The Philadelphia Experiment" the destroyer USS Eldridge is part of an experiment to make warships invisible and everything goes wrong. Well maybe Delegate Jeff Eldridge (D-Lincoln) needs to become invisible, because he has gone all wrong.

Delegate Eldridge has proposed a bill to ban the sale of Barbie. Yes, Barbie, the Mattel doll that is turning 50 years old this year. The same doll that has taught generation of young girls they could strive for more. In 1965 Mattel introduced Astronaut Barbie years before real life women were accepted into NASA's Space Program. Barbie has worn the uniform our all branches of our armed services, competed in the Olympics and been part of the corporate world. While Barbie may just be a doll in the world of the imagination she has shown lots of young girls what they could be and many have gone on to achieve more than even Barbie, because they dare believe in themselves.

Now it has not been reported if Delegate Eldridge is going base his bill off another law. One law that I did find that was similar was passed by Saudi Arabia in 2003 in which Saudi's outlawed the sale of Barbie dolls, saying that she did not conform to the ideals of Islam. Perhaps the real reason for outlawing Barbie in West Virginia is because she is shown taking career paths that are unlikely to be available in our state because of the tax and legal structure that keeps us at 50th in the states rankings?

Delegate Eldridge should be introducing legislation to improve the economic conditions in West Virginia by putting in a business friendly tax structure and revamping our legal system to attract businesses to the state. Let's create the economic opportunity for the young girls in this state to actually have the jobs that Barbie shows them are available, so they don't have to leave the state to find those careers. Instead changing West Virginia for the better, what the delegate proposes is to take away the young girls dreams of being something better because his party is unwilling to offer it to the people of this state and they don't want the people to leave to find it.

More anti-economic development propaganda sent out

Last week I got more e@mails from the anti-economic development group that is trying to stop windmill based jobs, tax revenue and lease revenue from coming into our community.

This time I got a story about why they are bad in Great Britain. Well I’m not real worried about what is best for Great Britain, but I am interested it what is best for my country. Well let’s look at the differences between the UK and the US.

First the UK power grid is much smaller than ours. We actually have three semi separate power grids in the US and we are in the largest of the three. Now the article states, “In 2006, according to U.K. government statistics, the average load factor for wind turbines across the U.K. was 27.4 percent.” Again what does that have to do with power generation in the US? Nothing!

Consider that the Isle of Great Britain is a little less than 600 miles top to bottom. The east coast power grid (which includes part of Canada) is over 2000 miles from top to bottom. While the UK power grid is small enough for the wind to stop blowing over the entire country, which is almost impossible in the US. While the wind may stop here in Mineral County for the day, the odds that the wind stops in Florida, Maine, Michigan, etc at the same time are not likely. The article even states, “Wind turbine advocates have claimed that this can be avoided by the geographical spread of wind farms, perhaps by creating an international ‘super grid’.” Well we already have the ‘super grid’ in place, so we are ready.

The article also talks about the need for gas turbines to back up the wind energy when the wind doesn’t blow. In the US we will have less of a need to back up the wind turbines, because of our large power grid and if when we do need back up it is locally produced coal firing our generators. We already have the system in place.

The article goes on to talk about tax breaks. These are UK tax breaks, not US tax breaks. Our wind generation industry has much less tax breaks than the UK. The facts are our local tax revenues to the county and state will increase when the wind farms are installed.

You have to be careful when making comparisons. You must have all the facts and details. You must compare apples to apples; Great Britain is not the United States. The anti-economic development group doesn’t want you to use your common sense, but when you do our community wins.

Governor Manchin's Statesmanship

I voted for Russ Weeks last November and I am still proud of that vote because it was a statement against things as usual in West Virginia.

However, we must give credit where it is due. In the past month, Governor Manchin has emerged as a rare bird in state politics. He looks, sounds, and importantly acts like a statesman. As economic indicators drop across the country, he alternates between a Rooseveltian and a Reaganlike tone. Boosting confidence and morale is the job of a leader. Manchin has grasped this concept.

This opinion came to me when I was watching him address the Mineral County delegation on Thursday, February 12. He presented a contrast to the flailing, bumbling, power hungry Democratic president. Where Obama stokes fear, Manchin reassures. Where Obama preaches that government will save us, Manchin asks us to first start saving ourselves. Where Obama has no vision, Manchin tells us that we are not in a panic, but in a planning mode. If we had to have a Democratic president, why could it have not been someone more like this. Of course many assume he is a Republican at heart anyway.

Manchin this week unveiled a mandate demanding that 25% of state production of energy eventually come from some alternative source. This will not hurt the coal industry as energy needs will continue to expand. To the representatives present from US Windforce this was an important boost to their plans to expand windmill production into Mineral County, especially after County Commissioner Wayne Spiggle promised that he and the county would work hard to make all of the Governor's plans successful.

Vision without fear. Policies that emphasize individual effort and private sector initiative. What a welcome change compared to what we have seen from Washington lately.

Windmill Truths: Economic Impact and Jobs

Let’s face it we need jobs in our community. The economy is turning down and many in the area have been laid off and people are looking for new job creation. Many see the Windfarm on Green Mountain as a potential job creator. Both sides of the issue are putting their spin on what will happen with job creation.

The anti-windmill faction has been sending out the following information on jobs, “one maintenance employee for every 12-15 turbines. A 20 turbine windplant in Meyersdale, Pennsylvania now employs only two maintenance employees.” I was e@mailed that information again by the anti-windmill faction after yesterday’s blog, but I have seen it before. I can not attest to its accuracy, because no source was quoted. As for US Windforce’s position, they have made no official claim as to the number of jobs created.

From my own research I believe that the claim of one employee for every 12-15 turbines is probably in the ball park. Wind energy production is not very labor intensive, but how does it compare to coal electrical generation? Dominions Mt. Storm Power plant has 3 units. Unit 1 and 2 are rated at 551 Megawatts each and unit 3 at 553. (1) That gives the plant a total capacity of 1,656 MW. With 270 employees (1) that is about 6 MW generated for each employee.

The name plate capacity on the US Windforce project is 55.2 Megawatts (2). Typically a windfarm can only operate on an annual basis of about 30% of rated name plate capacity. So if we believe that the US Windforce project is only going to employ two people, then that works out to about 8 MW generated for each employee.

This means from a labor stand point that wind energy generation is slightly more efficient, but real close to what the nearest coal fire plant achieves. This begs the question; is the anti-windmill faction advocating that the Windfarm is too efficient? Efficiency leads to lower cost electricity and for most people that is a good thing.

But the permanent employment numbers are only part of the story. The anti-windmill faction provided the following information, again from an unnamed source, “of the 200 total construction jobs, only 20 were local—and all disappeared within six months.” Most construction workers don’t hang around after the job is complete. That is the nature of construction jobs; they are there until the job is complete. It doesn’t make them any less important to the community.

At the last public windmill meeting on Feb 2^nd, 2009, Mr. Shirley a local construction worker working on the Mt. Storm project indicated he had been employed for 2 years on that project. Many other workers that have been employed on that project were in attendance and expect to move to the Green Mountain project. Our area is developing a skilled work force of wind turbine erectors and these workers may begin to travel with their new skills. They will still be bringing those paychecks home. That fact is completely discounted by the anti-windmill faction. In claiming that only 20 construction jobs are local, they fail to take into consideration that the local concrete plants, lumber yards, earth movers will all be local subcontractors.

But the local economic impact is not limited to those employed by the project. The landowners will receive lease payments for the use of their land. While the lease agreements with the specific landowners on the Green Mountain project are private, typically $5,000 per windmill is what is seen in the industry for our area. That will pump around $115,000 annually into the local economy. An additional $373,000 in property taxes (2) will be paid to Mineral County.

The average wage of a Mineral County resident is $26,645 per year (3). That $488,000 in new money being brought into Mineral is the equivalent of 18 new wage earners being brought to Mineral County. We also know that each dollar brought into the local economy has a multiplier effect as it is spent.

The real effect on the economy is much more than the information being disseminated by the anti-windmill faction. In this case we are finding that even the numbers presented by US Windforce under estimate the true economic impact of the project.

Reference:

(1) May 2005, Power Engineering Magazine, “Dominion Mt. Storm”

(2) US Windforce official website

(3) US Census Bureau

Winds of Change, Words of Deceit

Monday night I had the opportunity to attend one of the monthly Windmill meetings that are open to the public and designed to keep the community informed and give the opportunity for the public to ask questions. The format is quiet simple, a presentation is made, questions are ask of the permanent panel of local leaders, then the public in attendance is allowed to ask questions. If it is something that can’t be answered immediately, then it is put on the agenda for the next meeting or a reference for that information is given. It works quite well.

Last night there were some anti-jobs people there disrupting the meeting, I’m all for exercising freedom of speech, but you don’t purposely disrupt a meeting and make accusations you can’t back up. Several times during the meeting the anti-jobs people had to be ask to be respectful to the other speakers. It was mainly a tactic to get the attention of the media present and judging by Tuesday’s paper they succeeded, as the article doesn’t accurately reflect the events of the meeting.

I especially like the quote by Greg Trainor in the newspaper, “This is more of monologue.” While it was true that Mr. Trainor said that, it fails to point out it was during Dave Friend’s presentation. The presentation was supposed to be a monologue, the question and answer session came after is presentation, not in the middle of it. Mr. Trainor didn’t want to play by the rules like the rest of the people in attendance were willing to do, and when the question and answer session came Mr. Trainor didn’t really ask questions as much as he made accusations. Mr. Trainor needs to understand you learn by listening and not shouting over the people that are trying to answer your questions.

Trainor did ask a question that is impossible to answer. “I want to know how many houses will be powered, what you really think?” But it was his point to ask a question that couldn’t be answered correctly. You can take average estimated output of the windfarm and average home electrical usage, but beyond that the question can’t be answered. Mr. Trainor knew that. He wanted an exact number that doesn’t exist, because then he could use that number to say look under these conditions that it is wrong.

Well most people are quick to understand that in the middle of the night in the fall when there is a strong wind and people are asleep using very little electric the project may meet the needs of 100,000 homes. The average person is also smart enough to understand that on a 100 degree summer day a noon and no wind is blowing that the project can’t supply work to a single electric fan. The people are smarter than Mr. Trainor believes.

In 30-days the project is filing its papers with the Public Service Commission. 99% of the questions asked by the anti-jobs group will be answered in that public filing. The Windmill project is operating releasing its information as prescribed by the laws of the state of West Virginia, but the anti-jobs group is demanding information be released in a matter not in accordance with the law. US Windforce is complying with the law as they should and when the follow the law the anti-jobs group accuses them of trying to hide something. The anti-jobs group is using deceit to stop the positive change coming to our community.

Brunswick to Close Cumberland, Md., Boat Plant

Brunswick to Close Cumberland, Md., Boat Plant

LAKE FOREST, Ill., Nov. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC) today announced that it will transfer production of Trophy offshore fishing boats made at its plant in Cumberland, Md., to another Brunswick facility in Ashland City, Tenn. The shift will precipitate ceasing production at the Cumberland manufacturing facility by the end of 2008, eliminating approximately 115 production and support positions.

"As we deal with the global economic downturn and its impact on recreational marine markets, we are continuing to shrink our North American manufacturing footprint," Dustan E. McCoy, Brunswick chairman and chief executive officer, said. "This decision is no reflection upon the Cumberland work force or product, but the result of our need to develop a more efficient manufacturing footprint.

"As previously announced, Brunswick has been following through on a number of measures to reduce expenses and resize the company to compete in the global marine market," McCoy added. "Over the past two years, we have closed 12 other North American boat plants, in addition to Cumberland, and have continually reduced production rates throughout our marine businesses. Cumberland will also observe three weeks of furlough, during which time all boat production temporarily is halted, while the phase down is completed."

Brunswick stated it will offer outplacement assistance for affected employees, including severance and other support aimed at helping them transition to another job.

About Brunswick

Headquartered in Lake Forest, Ill., Brunswick Corporation endeavors to instill "Genuine Ingenuity"(TM) in all its leading consumer brands, including Mercury and Mariner outboard engines; Mercury MerCruiser sterndrives and inboard engines; MotorGuide trolling motors; Teignbridge propellers; Albemarle, Arvor, Bayliner, Bermuda, Boston Whaler, Cabo Yachts, Crestliner, Cypress Cay, Harris, Hatteras, Kayot, Lowe, Lund, Maxum, Meridian, Ornvik, Princecraft, Quicksilver, Rayglass, Sea Ray, Sealine, Triton, Trophy, Uttern and Valiant boats; Attwood marine parts and accessories; Land 'N' Sea, Kellogg Marine, Diversified Marine and Benrock parts and accessories distributors; IDS dealer management systems; Life Fitness, Hammer Strength and ParaBody fitness equipment; Brunswick bowling centers, equipment and consumer products; Brunswick billiards tables; and Dynamo, Tornado and Valley pool tables, Air Hockey and foosball tables. For more information, visit http://www.brunswick.com.

SOURCE: Brunswick Corporation

CONTACT: Daniel Kubera, Director - Media Relations and Corporate
Communications of Brunswick Corporation, +1-847-735-4617,
daniel.kubera@brunswick.com
Web site: http://www.brunswick.com