WHOI?

What's WHOI? It is the abbreviation for Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. The worlds leader in ocean research, WHOI has been at the forefront of ocean research for decades. It was a WHOI expedition that found the Titanic in 1985. When I worked in the oil industry, I consulted WHOI on the evolution of deep sea tube worms that thrived near thermal hydrocarbon vents. WHOI has a fleet of research ships, numerous deep sea diving vessels and a research campus that is internationally acclaimed.

Why all this interest in WHOI? Renee and her daughter Lauren are currently on their way home from visiting WHOI on Tuesday where Lauren had a job interview! She is literally down to the final four (pun intended). Lauren was one of hundreds of applicants for a position as a graphic designer and was short listed to a group of twelve candidates selected for phone interviews. After the phone interview process, Lauren was selected for a visit to WHOI and interviews with several departments. It is truly as dream job, as she would be working on the forefront of international ocean research, in a beautiful town and with great benefits.

Renee and I are proud of her accomplishments and can only hope that she will be selected. WHOI indicated they will make a decision in approximately two weeks. I don't think Lauren can hold her breath that long.

My Rear View Mirror

Yesterday my first campaign sign was finished and installed on the back glass of my vehicle. When I look through the rear view mirror I am reminded that I am under the spotlight for the things I say and do. Now that I am advertising my desire to be elected to city council, my personal accountability and actions are open to more rigorous scrutiny.

If you don't think I am taking the right actions, let me know. But if you do, please offer suggested courses of action. Your opinions are important. Claiming I am a horses rear end and not offering an alternate suggestion does little to keep the lines of communication open. Every time I look in the rear view mirror I am reminded I am in the spotlight and that eveybody has an opinion.

Let Your 'Yes be Yes' and 'No be No'

I am a dog lover. Pixel, my 8 year old black lab, is more person than dog and garners the attention of the entire household. I think pet lovers have such strong bonds with their pets because the pets only give love back to the owners. Pets generally don't have bad days and all they want to do is please their owners. So being the dog lover that I am I get a call from Logan on Monday night and he relays the following story:

When Drew, his girl friend's brother, went fishing on Saturday, he saw a young black lab puppy along the river bank. It looked lost and Drew was concerned that the puppy did not have a home. On Sunday, Drew convinced his mom to return to the fishing spot to see if the dog was still there and if so they would bring the dog home to their house as a new pet. As luck would have it, the apparently lost lab puppy was still near the fishing spot and Drew scooped up the dog into the comfort of his arms. I can just see the smile on Drew's face and the instant love that was exchanged between the two of them. After the trip home, Drew introduced the new puppy to Jack, the ruling house dog. Jack and the new puppy did not get along and it was obvious that the new puppy needed to find a new home.

The call came about 9pm Sunday night and Logan begins by saying he has a situation. I was on instant alert and then he begins to replay the story of the lab puppy. Logan expertly added facts that the puppy looked like Pixel, was apparently house trained, was so friendly and even sent pictures on Facebook. My heart was aching and my turmoil index is elevated even as I write this blog. The hardest thing to say to Logan was no. My emotions wanted to scream yes. My sense of animal caring wanted to scream yes. As I looked at Pixel, she seemed to say yes. But my answer was no. It broke my heart to say no. But no was the right answer for our family at this time. No one likes me today. I don't like me today. But the right answer was no.

It is easy to say yes. Sometimes, we have to say no to good things.

Recharge the Batteries

I've was exhausted from flying solo at the studio last week while Renee was away at school, training exercises at the fire house, attending community meetings, keeping the house clean, photographing bunnies on Saturday and playing with the dog.

Yesterday after attending church, I came home and made a delicious ham, sharp cheese and pickle sandwich and sat down to let my lunch settle before doing my knee exercises. I woke up 3 1/2 hours later. Wow, I must have needed the rest. I felt so much better after a good nap. My mind was sharper, I did extra exercises and 40 push ups, 4 loads of laundry made dinner and relaxed the rest of the evening.

I have never been one to slow down and day time naps are an oddity for me. In many of my past blogs I have pledged to be a listener and gatherer of facts before I determine my chosen course of action on issues that face our city and region. Recharging my body with rest was needed and important but it was routinely secondary to my regular routine of go, go, go! Realizing how good I feel today, I will start listening to what my body has to say.

CVB - What Now?

I am sharing my thoughts before I read any accounts of the end of the CVB legal issues. I'm sure the spin doctors will be at work painting the best picture for each side both in news print and media interviews.

Here is what I know. The CVB and the City of Buckhannon basically said "We quite". I don't know the legal term for "we quite" but it avoided a trial that could have exposed the happenings that led to the law suite. For all intensive purposes our community is back to square one. The CVB building site has been returned to the city and the city will refund the purchase price to the CVB. The CVB has incurred close to $100,000 in legal fees, may be liable for the attorneys fees of the plaintiffs and our city has likely incurred extra legal fees since the city was a party to the legal proceedings. Of course we all know it is the taxpayer that bears the burden of these costs.

Having done a little research I was informed that CVB's throughout our state have between 12 and 21 board voting members with representation from a wide variety of businesses, governments and programs. Our CVB has a board of 5 voting members and requires a quorum of three to make decisions. With a quorum of three, only two votes are necessary to enact policy. Do you think that may have contributed to the mess we find ourselves in?

As of this morning our CVB website has not posted any events for 2010 and still lists 2009 events. We've lost the whole first quarter of 2010. Indeed that is our loss. http://www.buckhannoncvb.org/

In today's WV State Journal there is an article about the American Mountain Theater in Elkins indicating their 2010 bookings are 50% ahead of last year. That could mean an additional 487 buses or 48,000 people visiting Eklins in 2010. If we could entice just 5% of the visitors to stop in Buckhannon, we would see an additional 2400 people enjoying our area. In my opinion this is the type of opportunity our CVB needs to explore. Thinking regionally is the key to growth. Thinking within the city limit boundaries leads to atrophy.

I hope the CVB board that represents our area include voting members from: the city, county, Chamber of Commerce, SUBA, BURMA, antique industry, cycling interests, motorcycling and car clubs, Strawberry Festival, WVWC, other CVB's?, Rotary and service clubs, SYC and the list goes on. Our CVB should have a broad representation of area interests with decision making resting in the many not the few.

I have just read Friday's Record Delta and the story confirms that the spin doctors are hard at work.

How Long Can You Hold Your Breath?

I am a bona fide Baby Boomer and grew up on B&W TV programs like Sea Hunt starring Lloyd Bridges. I remember episodes where he was under water and his air tank malfunctioned. You could see desperation on his face through the diving mask and yet miraculously, through the power of TV magic and creative writers, he survived to bring another adventure the following week.

Sometimes as firefighters we find ourselves in tight places that are just down right unpleasant. We call these places IDLH's or Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health. When faced with an IDLH environment we put on our SCBA's (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus). Most situations involving fire are IDLH and vehicle fires can be the most atrocious offenders with a full load of synthetic materials, special alloy engine blocks that give off toxic fumes when heated under flame, batteries and of course fuel.

Imagine now you are a firefighter and have responded to a fire in a store with lots of merchandise and many isles that zig zag through the interior. The officer in charge directs your team to start an interior fire attack. Your team of three firefighters advance the hose and carry tools to the fire location in total darkness due to heavy smoke and extreme heat. You are exhausted and breathing heavily before the water is directed toward the fire. In just a few minutes the low level alarm of your SCBA sounds and you have about 5 minutes of air left in your tank. All three firefighters begin the journey out of the smoke black interior in hopes that they reach outside air before the tank is empty. Your pulse and respiration's increase as you know you are nearing your last breath all the time searching for your exit. A Lloyd Bridges look of desperation comes across your face until at last a glimmer of light and then your are outside.

Firefighters don't have the backup of TV magic or scripted scenarios to help us out of a tight spot. We do however have training and recently seventeen Buckhannon firefighters participated in an air management training exercise, where members were carefully monitored during a variety of stress and exercise levels, all while wearing full gear and SCBA's. The results of the training provided participants with a realistic measurement of air usage under simulated fire conditions. Understanding air management is critical for firefighters and fire ground officers to assure firefighters have sufficient air to execute their duties and most importantly have enough reserve air to exit a burning building.

What's your answer to the question, 'How long can you hold your breath?' Probably not long enough in an IDLH.

Bragging Rights

We here so much about what is wrong with our youth today good news is often over shadowed by bad. For instance, the 15 year old freshman, who viciously beat another student to within inches of her life over a text message, was the major story on most early morning talk shows and many newspapers on Monday. What did not hit the papers or national news was the event that packed Woodrow Wilson High School Auditorium beyond capacity on Saturday night.

On Saturday, hundreds of West Virginia's finest technical students competed in the Skills USA state competition, hosted by the Raleigh County Technical School in Beckley. The competing students were winners in their home schools and represented almost every county in West Virginia. How exciting it was to see the students, all dressed in red jackets and black pants cheering each other on as the awards for the state's best were handed out Saturday night. These students were well behaved, energetic and talented. I have to think that their instructors and parents must have done a good job.

The awards ceremony was scheduled to begin at 6:30pm but was delayed until 7:30pm due to the large number of participants and the final recording and tabulation of competition scores. I mention the start time because the awards are presented in alphabetical order and that is important to me because I was there for the W's. My stepson Logan competed in the welding category which happened to be the last category in the award proceedings.

As the ceremony progressed the temperature and noise level of the auditorium rose as the capacity audience cheered on the recipients. My discomfort level was approaching overload and then miraculously we were at the W's. My heart rate quickened as the bronze metal was awarded. Then tears of joy flowed as the silver medal was awarded to Fred Eberle Technical School welder Logan Lamb. I couldn't tell you who the gold medal winner was, I didn't care. I plan to get a lot of mileage out of the bragging rights that come with a silver medal!!!

An Afternoon at BUHS

Each spring I am a guest teacher at BUHS in Julie Conley's photography class. I specifically focus my instruction on the art of portrait photography. What makes this class fun and interesting is that I use lighting equipment available from Lowe's or WalMart with the most expensive light no more than $7.95.

The students really get involved as it truly is a hands on class. Today for instance, we had seven students involved in creating a sample portrait (1-model, 2-reflector holders, 4-light holders and 1-camera operator). One of the students asked how I do outdoor photography? It wasn't raining. It wasn't too cold. So naturally we had a field trip to attempt some location portraiture. We used reflectors made from building insulation and a car windshield aluminum reflector drivers use in the summer to keep their car interiors cool. The images included with this blog were created with 60 watt light bulbs and/or reflectors that cost less than $1.25. The students will have assignments to create portraits of their own using the techniques demonstrated today.

I had a one class period break between my teaching assignments and took that opportunity to monitor a class. It's been a long time since I last observed a high school class in session. I'm having a difficult time coming up with words that described what I observed. Let me start with a list of adjectives: disrespectful, rude, sleeping, inattentive, disruptive and the list goes on. I was appalled and wondered what had happened since I was in high school. The teacher I observed saw to the needs of those students who appeared to be interested, asked the disruptive student to take their seat and attempted to keep interest in the class.

I wouldn't last long as a teacher. I think I may have responded with a bit of Bruce Willis, in your face, to the attitudes and behaviors I observed . Teachers need a raise, permission to administer corporal punishment, an ample supply of Ivory soap for language adjustment and incentives to be creative. I don't want to begin expanding my thoughts about the responsibility of parents in this mess.

What's happened to 'yes sir' and 'no mam'? Those days may be gone but I hope they come back soon!!

Rosencrance Benefit Dinner

This coming Sunday March 21st, the members of the Buckhannon Fire Department are sponsoring a spaghetti dinner benefiting the family of Joey Rosencrance, the young man who recently drowned in the Buckhannon River. Tickets are $5 each and the meal will be served between 12 noon and 5pm.

We live in such a caring community and I'm sure this dinner will be supported in our usual strong fashion. Several businesses have donated food, beverages and tableware and several churches have pledged people to help serve and clean up.

Please share this information with your friends and associates and help make this benefit dinner another Buckhannon success.

Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks

I have been blessed throughout my career because the jobs sought me rather than the other way around. Times are different now and I have created my own dilemma. Our photography business is running well and now staffed by wonderfully creative photographers, digital artists, framers and customer service managers. It is self sustaining and thus the desire to challenge myself in other non photography areas and hopefully find work with health care benefits.

On Tuesday I had a job interview; the first since 1974!! It was exciting and intimidating at the same time. After filling out the standard employment application and attaching my resume, I waited briefly for my interview. As the minutes ticked by I could sense my heart rate increase and I worked at keeping my breathing near normal. Once my interview started I felt relaxed and the conversation flowed freely between the interviewer and me.

Then with a flick of a wrist, the interviewer took a prepared set of questions and fired away.

What accomplishments are you most proud of? I thought briefly and replied climbing Mt. Kilamanjaro in Africa and running a marathon in Texas.

What are your passions? I easily replied that service in the fire department is my current passion.

What excites you? Photographing a newborn child and crying right along with the parents when they view the images for the first time.

What one word describes you? 'Excessive' I replied because I put my heart and soul into everything I do. Renee says I have one speed-full open.

The questions continued and when the interview was over I felt drained and wondered if this old dog was really up to the challenge of learning new tricks? After reflecting on the whole interview process, I decided learning new tricks would be a blast. I remembered the first time I had outfield practice in Little League and the coach just started ripping high fly balls. As it came my turn I felt like I would vomit and then I heard the crack of the bat. All my senses were instantly on alert and, springing into action, I took off after the elusive white speck in the air. What an exhilarating feeling came over me when I realized I had actually caught the ball. After a few more high flys, I thought I could turn pro and actually was a star player for the Guilderland Central Dutchman.

Well this old dog is ready for new tricks whether in the form of a new employment opportunity, a seat on city council or another unknown challenge.

WVWC Performing Arts Center

I am a long time supporter of the theater arts program at Wesleyan and have offered to photograph the dress rehearsals of most productions for years. It's a non paying gig for me but something I truly enjoy.

Last night I had the pleasure to document the dress rehearsal of Kaufman and Hart's, You Can't Take It With You, a zany 1936 comedy about a totally dysfunctional family meeting the upper crust of New York City. It was a Pulitzer Prize winner in it's debut year.

In order to properly photo document the production, characters, emotion, wardrobe and actor interaction, I am actually on stage during the performance. What a hoot, especially last night as fireworks were exploding, snakes came out of their cage and kitchen doors opened so quickly I almost got knocked off the stage. The production was exceptionally well done and opens this week. For details and ticket information please call the college at 304.473.8000.

Volunteering is fun and rewarding. I urge everyone to branch out and find an area of service or interest that has personal meaning. Oprah's Dr. Oz recently reported that active individuals generally live longer with fewer complications. Volunteering is a great way to stay active and a wonderful way to enhance the community in which we live.

Budget Dilemas Close to Home

Buckhannon is not alone in it's challenge to create a budget that is financially sound. Check out the report from The InterMountain newspaper. It is interesting reading and it certainly presents some of the challenges facing our neighbors in Weston.

http://www.theintermountain.com/page/content.detail/id/527267.html

Oops!!!

Rich Clemens, who is running for city recorder sent an email to me about my blog that discussed voting times and places. Rich advised me that all the regular voting places will be open on June 8th, the official election day. Early voting prior to June 8th is at the City Hall location only.

Thank you Rich for bringing this to my attention. If I have cause any confusion, please call City Hall at 304.472.1651 for voting information.

Happy Early Birthday - Scott

I've been blogless the last few days as I try to put the wind back into my sails. What was it, you ask, that sucked the wind out of my sails? I opened our health insurance invoice for April. The premium increased $270 per month since January and Renee and I now pay $1096 per month with a $3000 deductible each. It's just overwhelming for a small business to remain profitable when faced with health insurance costs of this magnitude.

So the reasonable course of action was to investigate the reason for the cost increase and what measures are available to mitigate the cost increase. You can imagine my surprise to learn that the increase is a result of the anniversary of my birthday that contains either a '5' or '0'. Next month I will turn a very young and active 60. Renee says it's more like 16!!! Nevertheless, my early birthday present is an increase in health insurance premium. Now the reason is clear, but what can be done?

I researched many health insurance options and the universal response from each underwriter went something like this: You are how old? And what was it you had done to your right leg? And what about those routine prescriptions? Can you hold the phone please? Mr. Preston, you are best to keep the insurance you currently have even at the newly inflated price. Wow, that was not information I wanted to hear.

Our current options are limited: pay the higher premium by the due date, cancel our health insurance or look for opportunities in the work force that include health insurance benefits. For the short term we will make the next premium payment, look for areas to reduce costs and continue to evaluate all our options.

Our city council is wrestling with similar issues as they prepare the city budget for submittal to the state by the end of this month. It's not easy. It's painful. I hope council has the fortitude to make potentially hard decisions for the long range good of our community.

Our Voting History

When the office of mayor is not contested, the voter turnout for the citizens of Buckhannon is surprisingly low. In 2006, three candidates were running for two open council seats. When the final vote count was complete, 535 citizens cast their votes and the difference between the three candidates was only 13 votes! The candidate vote totals were 186, 176 and 173.

The 2010 municipal non mayoral election has at least five candidates running for city council. If the voter turnout is similar to 2006, the math alone could predict a winner with as few as 113 votes. That to me is a startling low number. If you are reading this blog, my bet is that you will be voting either for me (I hope) or another candidate. It's the people not reading this blog that I want to reach. Please forward this to people you know who live in the city and encourage them to vote in the June 8th election.

If you want to make a difference in city government, please vote. It is critically important that your voice be heard. I ask that you consider Scott Preston as your choice for city council.

Some importrant voting reminders:

• The city election is June 8th. Voting takes place at city hall, 70 east Main Street, between 6:30am and 7:30pm.
• You must be registered to vote and it is very easy. Both city hall and the county court house have registration forms. I believe all you need to register is a picture ID and proof of residency. Proof of residency can be a utility bill, rent receipt or similar item.
• If you will not be able to vote on June 8th there are a couple or options. You can vote absentee by mail. A mail-in ballot is available at city hall. I believe you must state a reason for your mail in ballot such as away for vacation or out of town for work. The staff at city hall can answer any questions.
• Your other voting option is early voting. Early 'No Excuse' voting begins May 19th and concludes June 5th. Voting hours are 9:00am till 5:00pm. There are two Saturdays available for early voting: May29th and June 5th again between 9:00am and 5:00pm.
• If you have any questions about voting or registration please contact either city hall at 304.472.1651 or Upshur County clerk's office at 304.472.1068.

Lessons From Our Neighbors

While researching city and county web sites for ideas, I came across the Fairfax County, Virginia website. I was impressed at it's simplicity and thoroughness. Information on their site covers all the various government agencies to restaurants and motels. There are complaint forms, forms for stray animals and forms to report potholes that need repair. Check it out at www.fairfaxcounty.gov. Compare this site to Buckhannon's web site www.buckhannonwv.org and Upshur County's website www.upshurcounty.org. Think now about the Buckhannon-Upshur Chamber of Commerce, the Upshur County Development Authority and the Buckhannon Convention and Visitors Bureau each with websites.

I wonder if we could use the example of Fairfax County to develop a more comprehensive website for Buckhannon and Upshur County. I think we could enhance our regional presence with more attention to our website(s). I'm not suggesting we eliminate any websites just take a look at making them all more user friendly, maybe have a similar look and linking each to one another. I would be in favor of efforts to explore this concept and even regional linking with our surrounding neighbors. Let me know what you think.

Preplanning

Our studio is usually closed on Mondays since we work most weekends so Mondays become our day off. On Mondays I usually work at the fire station until noon then work around home for the balance of the day. This morning instead of performing fire engine weekly inspections, I assisted two of our paid firefighters by preplanning several local businesses.

What is preplanning? Simply we visit local businesses and record important facts that will be helpful in the event we have a fire call at that business. Some of the areas that are important to identify include: gas and electric shutoffs, sprinkler connections if available, interior layout, exits, storage of any hazardous materials, contact information, location of nearest fire hydrants, type of construction, etc.

After the information is gathered, it is condensed to one fact page along with any floor plans or location maps and placed in binders on the first responding engines. In the event of a fire call to a business, an officer will consult the preplan information while we are in route. Having this basic information greatly enhances our ability to respond to a fire incident and increases on scene firefighter safety.

To date we have completed preplans on approximately 90 businesses and have another 30 or so to go. We focus our preplanning activities on businesses as the variety of products, occupancy and layout varies widely. To my blog readers I extend an invitation to any who wish to have their business preplanned. We will also preplan your home if you have any home fire safety concerns. A call to the fire station at 304.472.2868 is all that is needed.

Heads in the Sand

At Thursday's regularly scheduled council meeting, Lt. Keith Rowan of the Buckhannon police department, delivered a well prepared and passionate statement, rebutting reports printed in the Buckhannonn 2015 report. Keith was concerned that some sections were personally directed toward him and not true and asked that the disputed sections be investigated. Well done Keith! More people should stand up and say exactly what they believe.

What city council did in response to Keith's statement was to call for removal of the Buckhannon 2015 report from the city website with no investigation what so ever into Keith's claims. By council burying their heads in the sand, they have done a disservice to any city employee who has a complaint. Let's just make the report or issue disappear and all will be well. I have a printed copy and CD version of the Buckhannon 2015 report in my possession and I wonder if city council will order house searches? Will we be publicly forced to come together and burn our copies? This kind of emotional response from council is not always the best path to follow.

How about this for a response:

Lt. Rowan we thank you for your years of service and we take your statement seriously. We want to get to the bottom of this issue quickly. We will form an investigation committee made up of one member of the police force, city council, Buckhannon 2015 committee, the police civil service board, West Virginia Wesleyan College and a community member at large appointed by the Chamber of Commerce. We will ask this committee to thoroughly investigate the findings in the Buckhannon 2015 report and any findings not substantiated, should be withdrawn. Further, if an apology is warranted it should be forthcoming. I would also request the committee have results within a specified period of time not to exceed 30 days. If I were Lt. Rowan, I would want a full investigation of the issues and my name fully exonerated. The only action taken by council was to remove the Buckhannon 2015 plan from the website and start a review of the Buckhannon 2015 plan by council. The Buckhannon 2015 plan was submitted to council in April 2009. Lt. Rowan's key issue for an investigation, in my opinion, was side stepped by council.

The Buckhannon 2015 report has a wealth of information about the growth of Buckhannon and ideas to make our city prosper in the future. I question removing this report from public circulation and review. Is this a breech of our constitutional rights?

Forgive then Forget

In one of my previous blogs I stated how infrequently we hear the words "I'm sorry". It was refreshing to read the open letter in the March 3rd Record Delta from Greg White. His letter was simple, to the point and he took responsibility for his actions. He also took action to prevent future incidents. Well done Greg. Now it is up to all of us to put this incident behind us, forgive it and forget it.

The principle of forgive and forget applies to us all. In my experience I find it easier to forgive than forget. If we can't carry through on the forget part, old demons will come back to haunt you. We also set ourselves up to be very judgemental if we can't fully apply the principle of forgive and forget. I still do my best to forget though sometimes it's difficult. I hope those in our community who choose to raise the forgiven past will also learn to forget it.

Wrangling and Scrambling

Let me say first and foremost that my position as a candidate for city council affords me the unique opportunity to be a Monday morning quarterback and as some would say a bobble head pundit. When elected to city council, I will be on the other side of the equation with all the darts pointed in my direction.

Yesterday's Record Delta reported the city was wrangling with the budget, scrambling to find areas to reduce expenses and balance the budget. I don't envy the current council as difficult decisions must be made. One area in question and of concern to all city employees is the matter of salary raises. The mayor has said there is not enough money and a mandated 6% increase in Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) payments will be about all the city can handle in this budget year. That sounds like sound fiscal management.

One council member said city employee raises should go through because we have to take care of our people. Again, remember I'm on the outside looking in, but that sounds too political to me. I would wager there is not a single council member that does not want the very best for the city employees. I personally know many city employees and all in all, the employees and the various departments are very good and I have nothing but good things to say about them. But to come out in favor of salary raises when there is no funding is not responsible leadership. Making a difficult decision in the short term can have longer lasting benefits for city employees in the long term.

Another council member suggested consulting other municipalities to inquire how they are dealing with the 6% increase in PERS contributions. I concur that seeking outside information might be helpful, However, I would not slow the budget reconciliation process while waiting for outside information. All municipalities are working toward the March 26th budget deadline and receiving timely information from outside sources might be at a premium.

Lastly, a council member said "I can't believe we're just taking this and not fighting it." I find that this statement has been used too frequently over the last several years by our city leadership and to the detriment of the tax payers. There was a law suit between the city and the paid firefighters that resulted in the firefighters receiving a $25,000 settlement with $19,000 going toward the firefighters legal fees and the balance split among 4 firefighters. The city's legal fees for three attorneys from Steptoe & Johnson, approached $100,000 which is currently the subject of yet another legal action with the city's insurance company. This matter could have been resolved for less than $6,000. Remember, I'm the Monday morning quarterback. Take a look at the current CVB situation in which the city is linked, where legal fees spent by the CVB as of December 2009 were reported (last months CVB board meeting) near $85,000. This is a sad waste of tax money that could have been better used to promote our city and region. Do we really want to fight the State of West Virginia?

Mission or Missing

When you run for political office your interest is piqued in all sorts of areas. When I am elected I hope my interest in our city does not fade and I have the same tenacity to learn new things and embark on new adventures.

I love Google. You can research almost any topic and find helpful information and ideas that people and communities have implemented. We can be further along the learning curve by understanding the successes and failures of others. One of the principles of successful organizations is having a mission or policy statement that is meaningful and known by all employees/members. When I worked in the offshore oil industry, I had a project mission statement that became the buzz with all my contractors and it was simply 'The safe way or the highway' which was a play on the dictatorial adage 'My way or the highway'. This simple phrase put safety at the top of the project priority list in all categories. At a vision retreat weekend my church worked on developing a new mission statement. At Chapel Hill it is simply "Celebrating, living and sharing Christ's love for all."

When I look at the City of Buckhannon's website, I cannot find our mission statement. Our mission is missing. I think we should boldly proclaim what it is that makes Buckhannon attractive to new families, vacation visitors and businesses. With that in mind, I fired up Google and found many examples of city/town mission statements. One mission statement provided by a friend, struck me as both fitting and needed for our city and it reads as follows modified for Buckhannon:

Buckhannon will provide responsive,

open and transparent government,

professional leadership and excellent

communication that will inspire a collaborative

environment for successful and speedy

implementation of community plans.

I like the sound of these words and I will honor the spirit of this mission when elected to city council. On the same web page as this mission statement, is a quote from Herm Albright that is a fitting end to today's blog:

"A positive attitude may not solve

all your problems, but it will

annoy enough people to

make it worth the effort."

Sad Day

Ray Rosencrance is a friend and fellow firefighter. I am so sad for Ray and his family as the grieve the loss of their son Joey who was recovered from the Buckhannon River about 1pm. Please pray for God's peace during this time of great sadness for the Rosencrance family. I also ask for prayers for all the responders who participated in the search and recovery effort as well. We are saddened when rescue turns to recovery and we always hope for the positive outcome.

Tracks in the Snow

Shortly before 9:00am Monday morning the Buckhannon Fire Department was called to assist in the search for a young man missing since 2:00pm Sunday afternoon. He was last seen fishing in the Buckhannon River near Island Avenue. Seven firefighters responded and searched both sides of the river from the Hall Road to just above the Poe Bridge. This is the only time you will hear me say I was glad for the snow cover. It was relatively easy to exclude search areas where there was no evidence of foot tracks and it was easy to determine if and where any anyone had gone close to the edge of the river. We searched without success until midday when we regrouped and considered alternate search plans. It was decided to conduct a bank search from the water both above and below the river dam.

Phase 2 of our search effort required launching boats in February. We used a large boat above the dam but before we could use the boat ramp at Wood Street, the ramp had to be cleared of snow that had piled up during the last several snow falls. A call to the city street department was all that was needed and the boat ramp was quickly made ready for launch. Two DNR staff and a Buckhannon firefighter made quick work of the river above the dam. Two firefighters launched a jon boat by the soccer fields near Fifth Street. They had a more challenging launch because they had to slide the boat approximately 300 yards over the snow before lowering the boat by hand into the river. Because that portion of the river can be shallow, they only had a trolling motor for propulsion. The river search from the jon boat took several hours and the two firefighters on board were chilled to the bone. The boat searches were completed about 3:30pm.

Phase 3 of our search began when we received information that foot tracks were found near the secondary small dam down stream of the large dam that suggested a possible slide to the waters edge. Firefighters responded and began a water search which was suspended at darkness for the safety of the searchers. Phase 3 will resume again onTuesday.

It is my hope and prayer that this situation will come to a successful end with the return of the missing young man. Our city is fortunate to have dedicated volunteers and employees that unselfishly, without hesitation, give their time and talents in time of need. I'm glad I live here.

Hard Times, Hard Decisions

Saturday I attended an auction at Riverband Golf Course. Needless to say it was not well attended as the relentless snowfall kept all but the hardiest and most dedicated auction fans away. Renee and I borrowed my sons 4 wheel drive truck to make the journey. I must say Mike Rogers had the roads leading to Riverbend very well cleaned and salted. I thought the prices at today's auction were generally low compared to other warm weather auctions I have attended and don't know if the lower prices were due to the weather or the trying economic times we face. I was the low bidder on a set of three floor fans I will use at the studio to circulate air in the basement. With the spring thaw hopefully around the corner, the basement is subject to moisture creeping in.



Just before the auction started I was talking with a group of attendees and sharing stories about health care and the lack of action we see from Washington. One person in the group said he was just happy to have a job with some sort of benefit package. He shared the the company he worked for in thetimber industry was faced with job cuts and cost reduction. He was grateful to have made the cut and retain his job, but had to take a $4.00 per hour wage reduction in addition to having his health care deductible raised from $750 to $2000 per person annually. WOW!!! He was also a supervisor and had to share the harsh news of wage and health care reductions with his staff. Running a business is challenging especially in difficult economic times. The same is true for running a household when income streams are reduced. Vacations are redefined, major purchases are postponed, you eat out less and for some, just paying the utility bill is tight.



Running a city is not that much different than operating a company or household. When times are tough, tough decisions have to be made. I hope our city council has the tenacity to make the right decisions for our city as they struggle with the budget for next fiscal year.