OddlyEnough™: New Book Teaches Children ABCs of Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc invests in dozens of businesses, and a new book tries to explain it all to young readers, from A to Z.

Two Omaha residents, author Nancy Rips and illustrator Tom Kerr, have teamed up on “My First Berkshire ABC” to teach children about one of the world’s best-known companies, and a little about the local billionaire behind it.

More than 1,000 copies were sold at Berkshire’s annual meeting on Saturday, which draws thousands of people to Omaha, and where Buffett has a say on what gets sold.

“You need something to bring home to your kids and grandkids to explain Berkshire,“ Rips, who has also written three books about Jewish holidays, said in a joint interview with Kerr.

Most pages show companies that Berkshire owns or invests in.

G, for example, is for “Geico,“ and features the car insurer’s talking gecko. And W is for “Wells Fargo”, and features the bank’s familiar stagecoach.

The book’s theme changed at Buffett’s suggestion.

“Our first effort was things like, ‘S is for sharing. Mr. Buffett believes in sharing. K is for being kind,‘“ Rips said.

“I got an email back from Warren saying, it’s too laudatory, they will lampoon him in the news,“ she continued. “And I wrote a whole new proposal: A is for Acme (Brick), B is for Borsheim’s (jewelry), C is for Clayton Homes, D is for Dairy Queen. I got an email back: ‘You’re in the show.‘“

Kerr has worked at many newspapers and drew McGruff, the Crime Dog for the National Crime Prevention Council.

“Part of what Warren talks about is investing in things that you know,“ he said. “Virtually everything in here is something that somebody can relate to and touch and understand.“

Berkshire Vice Chairman Charlie Munger is shown under “Q,“ stamping boxes of “quality” merchandise.

Rips and Kerr have not heard from Buffett on whether he likes the book. Buffett’s assistant Carrie Sova had no comment on that question.

Kerr depicted Buffett just four times, including on the cover holding his usual Cherry Coke.

“This book is not all about Warren Buffett,“ Kerr said. “I picked my spots. He’s so synonymous with Dairy Queen that I wanted him there, and obviously on the cover with Coca-Cola.“

“Cherry Coke,“ Rips interjected.

“Yep,“ Kerr said. “She had me change that.“

Daily G-Eye™ : 05.06.13

From the Glenville State Art Club bench project with students from
Glenville Elementary School, Normantown Elementary School, Sand Fork Elementary School
Troy Elementary School, Gilmer County High School, and Glenville State College.
Gilmer Public Library - Glenville, WV

Submit photos for this daily feature. You may select to have your name listed as well.
Send your photo(s) to “tellus@gilmerfreepress.net”

GSC Announces 2013 Trilluim Reading - Friday, May 03, 2013 - Today

The 10th annual Glenville State College Trillium Reading is scheduled for Friday, May 03, 2013 at 4:00 PM in the Mollohan Campus Community Center Room 315.

The Trillium is a literary and arts journal that contains artwork, poetry, and prose created by GSC students, faculty, staff, and community members.

This years cover is based on Liza Brenner’s painting
“Murmillo with the Lions”

This year’s issue of the Trilluim will include not only works from GSC’s campus but also works from Rachel Peckham of Marshall University and Richard Schmitt of West Virginia Wesleyan College. In addition, there are works from John Hoppenthaler and Andrea Hollander who have both been visiting writers at GSC.

“I’ve been the faculty advisor to the Trillium since 2008. I’ve been proud of every single issue that our student editors have published, and this one is no exception. I’m particularly pleased that this year’s Trillium is featuring work from such an impressive diversity of writers and artists. I hope everyone can join us Friday in celebrating this year’s Trillium and in celebrating GSC’s creative spirit and talents,” said Glenville State College Associate Professor of English Dr. Jonathan Minton.

Free copies of the 2013 Trillium will be available at the reading as well as in the Mollohan Campus Community Center, the Robert F. Kidd Library, the GSC Department of Language and Literature in the Heflin Administration Building, and other locations on campus.

For more information about the Trillium reading, contact Minton at or 304.462.6322.

GSC Announces 2013 Trilluim Reading - 05.03.13

The 10th annual Glenville State College Trillium Reading is scheduled for Friday, May 03, 2013 at 4:00 PM in the Mollohan Campus Community Center Room 315.

The Trillium is a literary and arts journal that contains artwork, poetry, and prose created by GSC students, faculty, staff, and community members.

This years cover is based on Liza Brenner’s painting
“Murmillo with the Lions”

This year’s issue of the Trilluim will include not only works from GSC’s campus but also works from Rachel Peckham of Marshall University and Richard Schmitt of West Virginia Wesleyan College. In addition, there are works from John Hoppenthaler and Andrea Hollander who have both been visiting writers at GSC.

“I’ve been the faculty advisor to the Trillium since 2008. I’ve been proud of every single issue that our student editors have published, and this one is no exception. I’m particularly pleased that this year’s Trillium is featuring work from such an impressive diversity of writers and artists. I hope everyone can join us Friday in celebrating this year’s Trillium and in celebrating GSC’s creative spirit and talents,” said Glenville State College Associate Professor of English Dr. Jonathan Minton.

Free copies of the 2013 Trillium will be available at the reading as well as in the Mollohan Campus Community Center, the Robert F. Kidd Library, the GSC Department of Language and Literature in the Heflin Administration Building, and other locations on campus.

For more information about the Trillium reading, contact Minton at or 304.462.6322.

Newest Marthas and Marys Project - Book Drive for Gilmer County Kids - Deadline Tomorrow

Help our Gilmer County kids succeed by giving them books.  Children need good food for their bodies to grow and good books for their brains to grow.  They must have the stimulation of reading.  Children who are not comprehending what they read in the third grade will continue to fall behind in all learning if they are not helped.  Our teachers are not the only people responsible for their learning.  We must encourage our children to read and make sure that they have their own books at home.  We also must be good models for them by letting them see us enjoy reading.

Marthas and Marys and area churches are sponsoring this effort to help our children learn. This week you will see large plastic bins in several Gilmer County public places where you can donate books to our Gilmer County children. Books may be new or gently used which means they have a front and back cover and no missing or torn pages, and are clean.  No damp or musty books please. The goal is to allow all 934 Gilmer County students from pre-school through grade 12 to choose a book to take home.  Your help is needed to accomplish that goal.

Books may be nursery rhymes, story books, short stories, biographies, poetry, novels, plays, how-to books, and books of general information.  Subject matter could be about every-day people today, nature, science, sports, other countries, periods in history, pets, architecture, heroes, how people live,  travel, music, arts, crafts, repairs and how-to, technology, machines and inventions, cars, trucks, and motorcycles, bicycles, cook books, and the list could go on and on.

You will see marked bins in the following businesses where you can help our children grow by donating books for them. Marthas and Marys appreciate the participation of:

•  Calhoun Bank, Foodland

•  Gil-Co Faith Pharmacy

•  Glenville Go-Mart

•  Glenville Public Library

•  Glenville Post Office

•  Hands of Pride Education Center

•  McDonald’s

•  United Bank

•  Watch Me Grow Child Care Development

In addition, there will be book collection bins at the following schools:

•  Gilmer County High

•  Glenville Elementary

•  Normantown Elementary

•  Sand Fork Elementary

•  Troy Elementary

All churches who participate in the ecumenical work of Marthas and Marys will also have book collection bins.  Our children are waiting for your donations.

Collection bins will be in place through Tuesday, April 30, 2013.

West Virginia Medicaid Report Now Not Expected Until May

A report due in January on how West Virginia should expand Medicaid has already cost the state $860,000, but its focus has changed and it is now expected in May.

The Charleston Daily Mail says officials are calling the revised goals for the report an “internal planning document” that contains sensitive information and cannot be made public.

Maryland-based CCRC Actuaries is studying the feasibility of a health care exchange, a publicly run market where people can seek competitive prices for insurance.

Exchanges are part of the federal overhaul of health care regulations.

Governor Earl Ray Tomblin has said the state will partner with the federal government for its exchange.

But he hasn’t announced whether he’ll open Medicaid to lower-income residents, or how individuals and small businesses will seek coverage.

LIBRARIES CELEBRATE WORLD BOOK NIGHT - Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Who is helping give out half a million free books across America on April 23, 2013?

We Are! – Gilmer Public Library

 

On April 23, 2013, 25,000 volunteers from Berkeley to Boston and Sitka to Sarasota will give away half a million free books in more than 6,000 towns and cities across the country.

World Book Night U.S. is an ambitious campaign to give thousands of free, specially printed paperbacks to light or nonreaders across America on one day. Volunteer book lovers help promote reading by going out into their communities and sharing free copies of books they love. The mission of World Book Night is to seek out those without the means or access to printed books.

Some of the volunteers in our community will be picking up their books at Gilmer Public Library and sharing them locally.

We at Gilmer Public Library are proud to be a partner in World Book Night U.S. this year.

Bestselling authors Ann Patchett and James Patterson are this year’s honorary chair-people. James Patterson said: “In my experience, when people like what they are doing, they do more of it. This is the genius of World Book Night — it gets people reading by connecting them with amazing, enjoyable books. I’m honored to be a part of it.”

“I’m very proud to be a part of World Book Night,” Ann Patchett added.  “As both a writer and a bookseller, I’m all in favor of getting books into the hands of people who might not otherwise have access to them.”

The books were chosen by an independent panel of booksellers and librarians through several rounds of voting. The printing of the free books was possible due to generosity of the authors, publishers, and book manufacturing companies.

Although it is too late to be a giver this year, those interested in participating in the future can sign up for the WBN mailing list for news and updates on World Book Night 2014. The free WBN editions are not available in [bookstore/library name] at any time, except for the WBN volunteers to take into the community, but we will be displaying the books in their regular editions all spring.

The 30 World Book Night U.S. titles for 2013, alphabetical by author, are:

•  The Handmaid’s Tale , Margaret Atwood (Anchor Books/Random House)

•  City of Thieves , David Benioff (Plume/Penguin Group (USA))

•  Fahrenheit 451 , Ray Bradbury (Simon & Schuster Paperbacks)

•  My Antonia , Willa Cather (Dover)

•  Girl with a Pearl Earring , Tracy Chevalier (Plume/Penguin Group (USA))

•  The House on Mango Street , Sandra Cisneros (Vintage/Random House)

•  La casa en Mango Street , Sandra Cisneros; translated by Elena

•  Poniatowska  (Vintage Español/Random House)

•  The Alchemist , Paulo Coelho (HarperOne/HarperCollins)

•  El Alquimista , Paulo Coelho (Rayo/HarperCollins)

•  The Language of Flowers , Vanessa Diffenbaugh (Ballantine Books/Random House)

•  The Worst Hard Time , Timothy Egan (Mariner Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

•  Bossypants , Tina Fey (Reagan Arthur/Back Bay Books)

•  Good Omens ,  Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett (William Morrow Paperbacks/HarperCollins)

•  Still Alice , Lisa Genova (Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster)

•  Looking for Alaska , John Green (Speak/Penguin Group (USA))

•  Playing for Pizza , John Grisham (Bantam/Random House)

•  Mudbound , Hillary Jordan (Algonquin Books/Workman Publishing)

•  The Phantom Tollbooth , Norton Juster; illus. by Jules Feiffer (Yearling/Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers)

•  Moneyball , Michael Lewis (W. W. Norton)

•  The Tender Bar , J. R. Moehringer (Hyperion)

•  Devil in a Blue Dress , Walter Mosley (Simon & Schuster)

•  Middle School , The Worst Years of My Life, James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

•  Population: 485 , Michael Perry (HarperPerennial/HarperCollins)

•  The Lightning Thief , Rick Riordan (Disney-Hyperion)

•  Montana Sky , Nora Roberts (Berkley/Penguin Group (USA))

•  Look Again , Lisa Scottoline (St. Martin’s)

•  Me Talk Pretty One Day , David Sedaris (Back Bay Books/Little Brown)

•  The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency , Alexander McCall Smith (Anchor Books/Random House)

•  Glaciers , Alexis M. Smith (Tin House Books)

•  A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court,   Mark Twain (Dover)

•  Salvage the Bones , Jesmyn Ward (Bloomsbury)

•  Favorite American Poems (Large Print edition) various authors (Dover)

World Book Night will take place on April 23, 2013. World Book Night in the U.S. is a non-profit organization and has 501(c)3 nonprofit status. World Book Night U.S. is supported by publishers, Barnes & Noble, the American Booksellers Association, the American Library Association, Ingram Content Group, FedEx, printers, and paper companies; a full list of sponsors is at our website.

For more information about World Book Night, please go to www.WorldBookNight.org or visit us on Facebook and Twitter.

LIBRARIES CELEBRATE WORLD BOOK NIGHT - 04.23.13

Who is helping give out half a million free books across America on April 23, 2013?

We Are! – Gilmer Public Library

 

On April 23, 2013, 25,000 volunteers from Berkeley to Boston and Sitka to Sarasota will give away half a million free books in more than 6,000 towns and cities across the country.

World Book Night U.S. is an ambitious campaign to give thousands of free, specially printed paperbacks to light or nonreaders across America on one day. Volunteer book lovers help promote reading by going out into their communities and sharing free copies of books they love. The mission of World Book Night is to seek out those without the means or access to printed books.

Some of the volunteers in our community will be picking up their books at Gilmer Public Library and sharing them locally.

We at Gilmer Public Library are proud to be a partner in World Book Night U.S. this year.

Bestselling authors Ann Patchett and James Patterson are this year’s honorary chair-people. James Patterson said: “In my experience, when people like what they are doing, they do more of it. This is the genius of World Book Night — it gets people reading by connecting them with amazing, enjoyable books. I’m honored to be a part of it.”

“I’m very proud to be a part of World Book Night,” Ann Patchett added.  “As both a writer and a bookseller, I’m all in favor of getting books into the hands of people who might not otherwise have access to them.”

The books were chosen by an independent panel of booksellers and librarians through several rounds of voting. The printing of the free books was possible due to generosity of the authors, publishers, and book manufacturing companies.

Although it is too late to be a giver this year, those interested in participating in the future can sign up for the WBN mailing list for news and updates on World Book Night 2014. The free WBN editions are not available in [bookstore/library name] at any time, except for the WBN volunteers to take into the community, but we will be displaying the books in their regular editions all spring.

The 30 World Book Night U.S. titles for 2013, alphabetical by author, are:

•  The Handmaid’s Tale , Margaret Atwood (Anchor Books/Random House)

•  City of Thieves , David Benioff (Plume/Penguin Group (USA))

•  Fahrenheit 451 , Ray Bradbury (Simon & Schuster Paperbacks)

•  My Antonia , Willa Cather (Dover)

•  Girl with a Pearl Earring , Tracy Chevalier (Plume/Penguin Group (USA))

•  The House on Mango Street , Sandra Cisneros (Vintage/Random House)

•  La casa en Mango Street , Sandra Cisneros; translated by Elena

•  Poniatowska  (Vintage Español/Random House)

•  The Alchemist , Paulo Coelho (HarperOne/HarperCollins)

•  El Alquimista , Paulo Coelho (Rayo/HarperCollins)

•  The Language of Flowers , Vanessa Diffenbaugh (Ballantine Books/Random House)

•  The Worst Hard Time , Timothy Egan (Mariner Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

•  Bossypants , Tina Fey (Reagan Arthur/Back Bay Books)

•  Good Omens ,  Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett (William Morrow Paperbacks/HarperCollins)

•  Still Alice , Lisa Genova (Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster)

•  Looking for Alaska , John Green (Speak/Penguin Group (USA))

•  Playing for Pizza , John Grisham (Bantam/Random House)

•  Mudbound , Hillary Jordan (Algonquin Books/Workman Publishing)

•  The Phantom Tollbooth , Norton Juster; illus. by Jules Feiffer (Yearling/Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers)

•  Moneyball , Michael Lewis (W. W. Norton)

•  The Tender Bar , J. R. Moehringer (Hyperion)

•  Devil in a Blue Dress , Walter Mosley (Simon & Schuster)

•  Middle School , The Worst Years of My Life, James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

•  Population: 485 , Michael Perry (HarperPerennial/HarperCollins)

•  The Lightning Thief , Rick Riordan (Disney-Hyperion)

•  Montana Sky , Nora Roberts (Berkley/Penguin Group (USA))

•  Look Again , Lisa Scottoline (St. Martin’s)

•  Me Talk Pretty One Day , David Sedaris (Back Bay Books/Little Brown)

•  The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency , Alexander McCall Smith (Anchor Books/Random House)

•  Glaciers , Alexis M. Smith (Tin House Books)

•  A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court,   Mark Twain (Dover)

•  Salvage the Bones , Jesmyn Ward (Bloomsbury)

•  Favorite American Poems (Large Print edition) various authors (Dover)

World Book Night will take place on April 23, 2013. World Book Night in the U.S. is a non-profit organization and has 501(c)3 nonprofit status. World Book Night U.S. is supported by publishers, Barnes & Noble, the American Booksellers Association, the American Library Association, Ingram Content Group, FedEx, printers, and paper companies; a full list of sponsors is at our website.

For more information about World Book Night, please go to www.WorldBookNight.org or visit us on Facebook and Twitter.

Why Should I Read to My Child?  Why Would You Not?

    If you would read daily to your child from birth, by the time your child is 5 years old at 30 minutes a day, You would have fed them 900 hours of brain food! You would have given them a base in order to reach their highest potential in life!

You will have done for them SOMETHING that no one else in the world could have possibly done…gave them your time, yourself, your voice!  If you reduce that reading to only 30 minutes a week, your child would lose 770 hours of nursery rhymes, fairy tales and stories.

      A PRESCHOOL CHILD, who has not been read to, could enter our school system with less than 60 hours of Literacy Brain Nutrition!

No adult, No matter how you try, no matter how talented… Can make up for those lost hours of brain nourishment!

    30 minutes a day = 900 hours

    30 minutes a week = 130 hours

    LESS than 30 minutes a week = 60 hours

Why not have a family reading! What a great investment that you can do for the BRAIN of your child! It does not cost money, only your time! Pull up a chair! AND CELEBERATE the WEEK of the YOUNG CHILD

          Choose a good book

                  Hold your child

                            I…by myself am nothing… without my child!

                                      Love what you are experiencing

                                              Do not forget, little does not last, nearly long enough!

Mary Heckert
Hands of Pride Education Center LLC
931 Mineral Road
Glenville WV 26351

304.462.4440

Board of Education to Judge: Don’t Allow Fired Superintendent to Re-File Lawsuit

The WV Record Reports:

he meter is already running on attorneys paid with state funds in former state Superintendent Jorea Marple’s wrongful termination lawsuit, and she should not be allowed to file it a second time, the state Board of Education is arguing.

On April 10, the board filed its response to Marple’s motion to dismiss her own complaint. Marple had asked U.S. District Judge Thomas Johnston on March 28 to dismiss her lawsuit without prejudice, which would allow her to re-file it in state court.

The board has already filed its own motion to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice.

“If this court were to rule in Plaintiff’s favor on her motion to dismiss, it would allow Plaintiff to simply re-file the same unmeritorious claims in state court, which, in turn, would require Defendant to expend additional state resources and funds to file another motion to dismiss,” the response brief filed by the board says.

“Therefore, this court should not feel compelled to rule favorably upon Plaintiff’s motion to voluntarily dismiss while it has the authority to rule on Defendant’s dispositive motion in this matter and fully resolve this case.”

Marple sued the board in February, alleging an agenda to fire her on the part of Department of Education President Wade Linger. Marple, who became the state’s first female superintendent in January 2011, was fired in November in a vote by the board.

She filed her lawsuit in Kanawha County Circuit Court, but it was removed to federal court by the defendant. At issue are claims made under federal law.

On April 15, in response to the board’s motion to dismiss, Marple’s attorney Timothy N. Barber cited a 1999 decision from the Southern District of West Virginia.

In that decision, the late Judge Charles Harold Haden granted a plaintiff’s motion under Rule 41(a)(2) and dismissed a complaint even though discovery had been completed, Barber wrote.

“By the application of the jurisprudence in that case, Plaintiffs are entitled to a dismissal without prejudice – anew complaint shorn of federal involvement was clearly a prospect in Judge Haden’s opinion.”

Marple’s motion to dismiss noted that the defendant has not filed for summary judgment, and that there has been no discovery yet.

In March 2012, Winger began an agenda of his own to replace Marple in her position as superintendent and he contacted people to replace her, according to the complaint.

Marple claims Linger also contacted various board members to achieve their agreement to his proposed actions.

An agenda for a regularly held meeting was published for the meeting scheduled for Nov. 14, which included a notation that a personnel matter would be addressed in executive session during the meeting, according to the suit.

Marple claims during the executive session, Linger presented his agenda for terminating her from her position and illegally tallied a vote of a majority of the board to sustain the firing.

When the board members returned to the open meeting, Linger announced Marple’s termination would be effective at the end of the day on Nov. 15 and gave no vote details from the executive session, according to the suit.

Board members Gayle Manchin, Robert Dunlevy, William White, Michael Green and Lloyd Jackson voted along with Linger to terminate Marple’s employment.

Members Priscilla Haden and Jenny Phillips voted against firing her and resigned from the board the same day Marple was terminated.

Marple claims she had both a liberty and property interest in her employment by the defendant, which were violated by her summary dismissal from her position as superintendent.

Part of West Virginia public policy is that all contracts, including agreements of employment, include a provision that the parties shall deal with one another in good faith and fairness, free of arbitrary, capricious or despotic action, according to the suit. Marple claims the defendant’s decision to fire her violated the public policy.

The board is being represented by J. Victor Flanagan and Linnsey M. Amores of Pullin, Fowler, Flanagan, Brown & Poe.

~~ John O’Brien - WV Record  ~~

LIBRARIES CELEBRATE WORLD BOOK NIGHT

Who is helping give out half a million free books across America on April 23, 2013?

We Are! – Gilmer Public Library

 

On April 23, 2013, 25,000 volunteers from Berkeley to Boston and Sitka to Sarasota will give away half a million free books in more than 6,000 towns and cities across the country.

World Book Night U.S. is an ambitious campaign to give thousands of free, specially printed paperbacks to light or nonreaders across America on one day. Volunteer book lovers help promote reading by going out into their communities and sharing free copies of books they love. The mission of World Book Night is to seek out those without the means or access to printed books.

Some of the volunteers in our community will be picking up their books at Gilmer Public Library and sharing them locally.

We at Gilmer Public Library are proud to be a partner in World Book Night U.S. this year.

Bestselling authors Ann Patchett and James Patterson are this year’s honorary chair-people. James Patterson said: “In my experience, when people like what they are doing, they do more of it. This is the genius of World Book Night — it gets people reading by connecting them with amazing, enjoyable books. I’m honored to be a part of it.”

“I’m very proud to be a part of World Book Night,” Ann Patchett added.  “As both a writer and a bookseller, I’m all in favor of getting books into the hands of people who might not otherwise have access to them.”

The books were chosen by an independent panel of booksellers and librarians through several rounds of voting. The printing of the free books was possible due to generosity of the authors, publishers, and book manufacturing companies.

Although it is too late to be a giver this year, those interested in participating in the future can sign up for the WBN mailing list for news and updates on World Book Night 2014. The free WBN editions are not available in [bookstore/library name] at any time, except for the WBN volunteers to take into the community, but we will be displaying the books in their regular editions all spring.

The 30 World Book Night U.S. titles for 2013, alphabetical by author, are:

•  The Handmaid’s Tale , Margaret Atwood (Anchor Books/Random House)

•  City of Thieves , David Benioff (Plume/Penguin Group (USA))

•  Fahrenheit 451 , Ray Bradbury (Simon & Schuster Paperbacks)

•  My Antonia , Willa Cather (Dover)

•  Girl with a Pearl Earring , Tracy Chevalier (Plume/Penguin Group (USA))

•  The House on Mango Street , Sandra Cisneros (Vintage/Random House)

•  La casa en Mango Street , Sandra Cisneros; translated by Elena

•  Poniatowska  (Vintage Español/Random House)

•  The Alchemist , Paulo Coelho (HarperOne/HarperCollins)

•  El Alquimista , Paulo Coelho (Rayo/HarperCollins)

•  The Language of Flowers , Vanessa Diffenbaugh (Ballantine Books/Random House)

•  The Worst Hard Time , Timothy Egan (Mariner Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

•  Bossypants , Tina Fey (Reagan Arthur/Back Bay Books)

•  Good Omens ,  Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett (William Morrow Paperbacks/HarperCollins)

•  Still Alice , Lisa Genova (Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster)

•  Looking for Alaska , John Green (Speak/Penguin Group (USA))

•  Playing for Pizza , John Grisham (Bantam/Random House)

•  Mudbound , Hillary Jordan (Algonquin Books/Workman Publishing)

•  The Phantom Tollbooth , Norton Juster; illus. by Jules Feiffer (Yearling/Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers)

•  Moneyball , Michael Lewis (W. W. Norton)

•  The Tender Bar , J. R. Moehringer (Hyperion)

•  Devil in a Blue Dress , Walter Mosley (Simon & Schuster)

•  Middle School , The Worst Years of My Life, James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

•  Population: 485 , Michael Perry (HarperPerennial/HarperCollins)

•  The Lightning Thief , Rick Riordan (Disney-Hyperion)

•  Montana Sky , Nora Roberts (Berkley/Penguin Group (USA))

•  Look Again , Lisa Scottoline (St. Martin’s)

•  Me Talk Pretty One Day , David Sedaris (Back Bay Books/Little Brown)

•  The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency , Alexander McCall Smith (Anchor Books/Random House)

•  Glaciers , Alexis M. Smith (Tin House Books)

•  A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court,   Mark Twain (Dover)

•  Salvage the Bones , Jesmyn Ward (Bloomsbury)

•  Favorite American Poems (Large Print edition) various authors (Dover)

World Book Night will take place on April 23, 2013. World Book Night in the U.S. is a non-profit organization and has 501(c)3 nonprofit status. World Book Night U.S. is supported by publishers, Barnes & Noble, the American Booksellers Association, the American Library Association, Ingram Content Group, FedEx, printers, and paper companies; a full list of sponsors is at our website.

For more information about World Book Night, please go to www.WorldBookNight.org or visit us on Facebook and Twitter.

Area Residents Featured in GSC ‘West Virginia Veteran’s Legacy Project’ Book and Documentary

In September of 2011, Glenville State College established the ‘West Virginia Veteran’s Legacy Project’. This project builds on Glenville State College’s World War II Heroes Project, which records and preserves the experiences of West Virginia veterans from that specific conflict.

The ‘West Virginia Veteran’s Legacy Project’ focuses on collecting, preserving, and broadcasting stories of West Virginia war veterans who served in the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Persian Gulf War as well as the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Historically, West Virginia has had and continues to have the highest per capita military service rate in the United States.

Over two-hundred interviews with veterans and family and friends of deceased veterans have been conducted for the project. The stories they tell and the memories they reveal are creating a living picture of the brutality, confusion, and sacrifices of war.

The project has resulted in the publishing of a book and the production of a film documentary that highlights many of the veterans who have participated in this extensive endeavor.

The book ‘Heroes Among Us-A Tradition of Service’ is a collection of photographs, both new and old, with succinct vet quotes and short stories that have been collected by the project.

Braxton County residents who are featured in the book are:

•  George Lee Fisher of Little Birch

•  John Morrison of Little Birch

•  Gary King of Gassaway

Calhoun County residents who are featured in the book is:

•  Richard McCartney of Grantsville

Gilmer County residents who are featured in the book are:

•  Willie Barton of Glenville

•  Ann Jones of Cox’s Mills

•  Joseph Kemper of Cox’s Mills

•  Benjamin Mick of Cedarville

•  Warren Matheny of Sand Fork

•  Damon West of Troy

•  Dr. Peter Barr of Glenville

•  Dr. Ed Wood of Glenville

Copies of ‘Heroes Among Us-A Tradition of Service’ may be purchased for just $10 each.

The documentary ‘Tradition of Service’ is approximately 50 minutes long and gives a brief overview of West Virginians’ history of service in the military, while including actual interview material and photographs from the ‘West Virginia Veteran’s Legacy Project’. The documentary was shown on West Virginia PBS during November 2012. Kenneth Freshour of Sutton and George Lee Fisher are Braxton County residents who are featured in the film. DVDs of the documentary can be purchased for $10 each.

A package deal is available that includes a DVD and book for just $15. This would make a meaningful gift for veterans and their family and friends.

Purchases may be made at the GSC Foundation Office in the Heflin Administration Building. Orders may also be mailed to you by contacting Michelle Clowser at “www.Michelle.Clowser@ glenville.edu” or by calling 304.462.6380. A $2.50 base shipping charge does apply to all mail orders.

The GSC ‘West Virginia Veteran’s Legacy Project’ has also created a traveling photo exhibit which is now on display at the Beckley Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The photo exhibit and a traveling historical display are both available free of charge for display at other healthcare facilities, businesses, libraries, events, and organizations’ meeting areas.

To reserve the exhibits, contact the GSC Public Relations and Marketing Department at 304.462.4115.

Newest Marthas and Marys Project - Book Drive for Gilmer County Kids Thanks!

Help our Gilmer County kids succeed by giving them books.  Children need good food for their bodies to grow and good books for their brains to grow.  They must have the stimulation of reading.  Children who are not comprehending what they read in the third grade will continue to fall behind in all learning if they are not helped.  Our teachers are not the only people responsible for their learning.  We must encourage our children to read and make sure that they have their own books at home.  We also must be good models for them by letting them see us enjoy reading.

Marthas and Marys and area churches are sponsoring this effort to help our children learn. This week you will see large plastic bins in several Gilmer County public places where you can donate books to our Gilmer County children. Books may be new or gently used which means they have a front and back cover and no missing or torn pages, and are clean.  No damp or musty books please. The goal is to allow all 934 Gilmer County students from pre-school through grade 12 to choose a book to take home.  Your help is needed to accomplish that goal.

Books may be nursery rhymes, story books, short stories, biographies, poetry, novels, plays, how-to books, and books of general information.  Subject matter could be about every-day people today, nature, science, sports, other countries, periods in history, pets, architecture, heroes, how people live,  travel, music, arts, crafts, repairs and how-to, technology, machines and inventions, cars, trucks, and motorcycles, bicycles, cook books, and the list could go on and on.

You will see marked bins in the following businesses where you can help our children grow by donating books for them. Marthas and Marys appreciate the participation of:

•  Calhoun Bank, Foodland

•  Gil-Co Faith Pharmacy

•  Glenville Go-Mart

•  Glenville Public Library

•  Glenville Post Office

•  Hands of Pride Education Center

•  McDonald’s

•  United Bank

•  Watch Me Grow Child Care Development

In addition, there will be book collection bins at the following schools:

•  Gilmer County High

•  Glenville Elementary

•  Normantown Elementary

•  Sand Fork Elementary

•  Troy Elementary

All churches who participate in the ecumenical work of Marthas and Marys will also have book collection bins.  Our children are waiting for your donations.

Collection bins will be in place through Tuesday, April 30, 2013.

Gilmer Public Library Book Sale - Friday, April 05, 2013

Friends of Gilmer Public Library will be holding a book sale at the library on Friday, April 05, 2013, from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

Also buy your tickets to win the Spring Basket.

All proceeds benefit the library.

Call 304.462.5620 for more information.

Book Signing Planned at GSC Bookstore

A book signing is being planned for Glenville State College employee Bill Church and his new publication. His new book is titled Medicinal Plants, Trees, and Shrubs of Appalachia and was published late last year. The event will be held in The GSC Bookstore on Wednesday, April 03 from 11:00 AM until 1:00 PM.

“We are looking forward to this event being successful. There seems to be a lot of interest in these types of books,” said GSC Bookstore Manager Diana Milam.

Church began studying herbal medicine in 1999 and has since become a certified West Virginia Master Naturalist and a Certified Herbalist. His background also includes training with world renowned tracker Tom Brown in tracking and wilderness survival.  He is the co-coordinator for the Gilmer County Master Naturalist Association and has taught classes on herbal medicine. In addition, he has a monthly column in the publication Two-Lane Livin’.

This book is a follow-up to his first book A Field Guide: Medicinal Plants, Trees, and Shrubs of Appalachia. This new edition covers one-hundred and five different medicinal plants with color photos and descriptions. Each description includes measurements, properties, harvesting information, and usage.

When asked to comment about his book, Church said, “It’s interesting to meet people who have an interest in learning about herbal medicine. There seems to be a lot of interest in my book.”

Refreshments will be served during this event, and copies of his book will be available for sale for $29.99 each.

For more information, contact GSC Bookstore Manager Diana Milam at “Diana.Milam@glenville.edu” or 304.462.4116.

G-Comm™: Teach the Children War

The National Museum of American History, and a billionaire who has funded a new exhibit there, would like you to know that we’re going to need more wars if we want to have freedom.

Never mind that we seem to lose so many freedoms whenever we have wars. Never mind that so many nations have created more freedoms than we enjoy and done so without wars. In our case, war is the price of freedom. Hence the new exhibit: “The Price of Freedom: Americans at War.”

The exhibit opens with these words: “Americans have gone to war to win their independence, expand their national boundaries, define their freedoms, and defend their interests around the globe.”

Those foolish, foolish Canadians: why, oh, why did they win their independence without a war? Think of all the people they might have killed!

The exhibit admits the motivation of “expanding national boundaries.” The aim of conquering Canada is included, along with some dubious excuses, as one of the motivations for the War of 1812.

But the exhibit provides absolutely no indication of what in the world can be meant by a war being launched in order to “define our freedoms.” And, needless to say, it is the U.S. government, not “Americans,” that imagines it has “interests around the globe” that can and should be “defended” by launching wars.

The exhibit is an extravaganza of misdirection. The U.S. Civil War is presented as “America’s bloodiest conflict.” Really? Because Filipinos don’t bleed? Vietnamese don’t bleed? Iraqis don’t bleed? We should not imagine that our children won’t learn exactly that lesson. The Spanish American War is presented as an effort to “free Cuba,” and so forth.

But overwhelmingly the deception is done in this exhibit by omission. Bad past excuses for wars are ignored, the death and destruction is ignored or minimized.

The exhibit provides a teacher’s manual, and its entire coverage of the past 12 years of warmaking consists of describing the events of September 11, 2001.

What do young people learn from lessons like these? Jessica Klonsky, a high school teacher, in a new book called Teaching about the Wars, wrote that many of her students were surprised to learn that any others than soldiers die in war.

Civilians — children, women, the elderly — have been the vast majority of war deaths in most major wars since World War II, and our young people have no idea. And if students save up for a field trip to Washington, D.C., they’ll return home just as clueless.

People love to complain about the stories the Bush Administration told about WMDs. I think the stories we tell about wars after they are over do more damage. The truth would result in an absolute end to war-making. The truth is not pleasant, but it is the real price of freedom.

~~  David Swanson - His books include War Is A Lie and When the World Outlawed War ~~

LIBRARIES CELEBRATE WORLD BOOK NIGHT

Gilmer Public Library and the Robert F. Kidd Library are spreading the love of reading, person to person, by participating in World Book Night festivities this April.

The Gilmer Public Library will serve as book delivery site for book giver volunteers who will be handing out free books on World Book Night, April 23, 2013.

Each volunteer will receive 20 copies of a specially-printed, not-for-resale World Book Night U.S. edition of a book they have read and loved, chosen from a list of 30 titles selected by a panel of librarians and booksellers. How they distribute them is their choice—but the books must be given away to those who do not regularly read, and who may have never owned a book of their own.

This year’s titles include classics like My Antonia by Willa Cather and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury as well as more contemporary titles like Bossypants by Tina Fey and Playing for Pizza by John Grisham. There are also some children’s novels on the list, like The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster and illustrated by Jules Feiffer.

In 2012, 80,000 book givers worldwide handed out over 2.5 million books! This year, there are an estimated 25,000 book givers in the United States alone, who will distribute a half million books. The books are all donated by publishing companies. Best-selling authors Ann Patchett and James Patterson are this year’s honorary World Book Night Chairs.

Book givers applied online and were notified of their acceptance at the end of February. Each giver selected a pickup location for their books.

Gilmer Public Library is the designated pickup spot for the local area. The library staff will be hosting a small reception for book givers to pick up their books the week prior to World Book Night.

For more information, visit www.us.worldbooknight.org .

Vazquez Signs with His Father’s Rival, Glenville State

It had been virtually days since Tony Vazquez signed his letter-of-intent to play football at Glenville State, yet the trash-talking began almost immediately in the family.

Father against son; son against father.

Glenville is a longtime rival of Shepherd, the alma mater of his father. Nelson Vazquez played football for the Rams from 1982-85.

Now the Vazquezes are on opposite sides.

“The next few years..,“ Tony Vazquez said.

The Washington senior can’t wait for day when the longtime rivals from the West Virginia Conference play their first game under the banner of the new Mountain East Conference.

Dad might be a little more reluctant, though Dad realizes that blood matters more.

“The game at Shepherd, he said he’ll have on Glenville blue but a Shepherd T-shirt underneath,“ Vazquez said.

Rivalries don’t die that easily, in other words.

Vazquez narrowed his college choices down to Glenville and Shepherd incidentally, making the situation even closer to the vest in the family.

“My dad was really the pushing point behind recruiting,“ Vazquez said. “He knew what it was all about. He took himself out of it emotionally. He just wanted what was best for me. Any way I went, he’d be proud of me.“

His football coach, Mark Hash, is a graduate of Glenville, making matters even more personal.

“My friends, I don’t think any of them went to rival schools of their dad,“ Vazquez said. “I think it’s ironic and funny.“

Glenville had a step up in the eyes of Vazquez.

“Right after the season ended, the recruiting process began,“ Vazquez said. “Glenville was one of the first schools recruiting me and pursuing me.

“When I went up there, I liked the campus. The place is great, and the coaching staff is awesome.“

Vazquez also drew interest from Shippensburg and Alderson-Broaddus.

“Since I was a little kid, I always had a dream to play college football,“ Vazquez said. “After my junior season, that dream started coming into reality as colleges started talking to me.“

The senior projected as an inside linebacker for the Pioneers.

One thing that appealed to Vazquez is that he is under the impression he’ll get a chance to play as a true freshman, rather than being redshirted.

“The big thing that really got me going was that they put big emphasis on giving me every chance they can to give me (playing time) as a freshman,“ Vazquez said. “That was really cool for me.“

Surely cool for his father, too, despite the rivalry.

Vazquez plans to study criminal justice at Glenville.

Beyond the rivalry with his father, Vazquez noted he’ll have an opportunity to play against Washington teammate Tyler Wilt, for whom the Glenville recruit worked hard to raise funds to help defray the costs of Wilt’s cancer treatments. Wilt, who didn’t play football his senior year because of a tumor discovered in his chest, signed to play football at Shepherd.

“It will also be pretty cool to be able to play against Tyler Wilt, my former teammate,“ Vazquez said.

Former teammate, indeed.

The same, in some sense, can be said about Vazquez and his father.

~~  Rick Kozlowski - Journal Sports Editor ~~

Newest Marthas and Marys Project - Book Drive for Gilmer County Kids

Help our Gilmer County kids succeed by giving them books.  Children need good food for their bodies to grow and good books for their brains to grow.  They must have the stimulation of reading.  Children who are not comprehending what they read in the third grade will continue to fall behind in all learning if they are not helped.  Our teachers are not the only people responsible for their learning.  We must encourage our children to read and make sure that they have their own books at home.  We also must be good models for them by letting them see us enjoy reading.

Marthas and Marys and area churches are sponsoring this effort to help our children learn. This week you will see large plastic bins in several Gilmer County public places where you can donate books to our Gilmer County children. Books may be new or gently used which means they have a front and back cover and no missing or torn pages, and are clean.  No damp or musty books please. The goal is to allow all 934 Gilmer County students from pre-school through grade 12 to choose a book to take home.  Your help is needed to accomplish that goal.

Books may be nursery rhymes, story books, short stories, biographies, poetry, novels, plays, how-to books, and books of general information.  Subject matter could be about every-day people today, nature, science, sports, other countries, periods in history, pets, architecture, heroes, how people live,  travel, music, arts, crafts, repairs and how-to, technology, machines and inventions, cars, trucks, and motorcycles, bicycles, cook books, and the list could go on and on.

You will see marked bins in the following businesses where you can help our children grow by donating books for them. Marthas and Marys appreciate the participation of:

•  Calhoun Bank, Foodland

•  Gil-Co Faith Pharmacy

•  Glenville Go-Mart

•  Glenville Public Library

•  Glenville Post Office

•  Hands of Pride Education Center

•  McDonald’s

•  United Bank

•  Watch Me Grow Child Care Development

In addition, there will be book collection bins at the following schools:

•  Gilmer County High

•  Glenville Elementary

•  Normantown Elementary

•  Sand Fork Elementary

•  Troy Elementary

All churches who participate in the ecumenical work of Marthas and Marys will also have book collection bins.  Our children are waiting for your donations.

Collection bins will be in place through Tuesday, April 30, 2013.

Gilmer Public Library Book Sale - April 05, 2013

Friends of Gilmer Public Library will be holding a book sale at the library on Friday, April 05, 2013, from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

Also buy your tickets to win the Spring Basket.

All proceeds benefit the library.

Call 304.462.5620 for more information.

G-Comm™: West Virginia Failing in Higher Education

West Virginia’s colleges and universities received a failing grade in a report released recently by the Institute for a Competitive Workforce. The report identified the Mountain State as one of only four in the nation that received an “F” for not meeting the standards employers demand from four-year institutions.

The Institute, which is a nonprofit affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, also reported that this state’s two-year colleges did only slightly better, receiving a “D” for their efforts.

The critical factor is that individuals who receive a bachelor’s degree in West Virginia only earn $12,700 more annually than those who merely graduate from high school. Even more revealing, they have an unemployment rate that is a mere two points better than those high school graduates.

Those who receive associate degrees earn only $7,600 more annually and their unemployment rate is a mere 1.5 points lower than those with only a high school diploma.

This latest report also indicated West Virginia does a poor job of retaining four-year students through graduation and gives the state a low grade for what the study considers “highly restrictive” barriers and a burdensome approval process for those more innovative higher education campuses.

Another alarming aspect of the report is that the four-year public colleges in this state had a retention rate of 72% in 2009. Only five states in the nation had a poorer record. And West Virginia graduated fewer than half of its four-year college students - one of 17 states with that dubious distinction.

Back in January, the state Higher Education Policy Commission, along with the West Virginia University College of Business and Economics, released a study that indicated most public college graduates in the 2010 workforce had studied subjects that mirror the changing job market in this state. Two-thirds of them concentrated on business, education, health care, liberal arts or engineering.

The West Virginia Legislature has now increased its oversight of higher education, including the private colleges and universities as well as those publicly funded. A bill passed at the 2012 regular session earlier this year will ultimately require them to provide annual reports on their performance.

Any college or university that fails to provide this information or submits data that shows it is not meeting minimum standards could face state action to revoke that school’s authority to issue degrees.

In response to these dismal numbers, a task force created by the Higher Education Policy Commission and the West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education announced a plan that aims to make college graduation a priority as well as reduce the time it takes to earn a degree, increase adult graduation rates and tie funding to college graduation rates. Hopefully that will result in a better grade when the states are reviewed the next time.

The arguments concerning whether or not states should be collecting consumer sales taxes on purchases made on the Internet and shipped to the customer from other states was renewed last week in Charleston during the series of meetings of the Southern Legislative Conference, which was being hosted by West Virginia.

Delegate John Doyle, D-Jefferson, argued during a meeting of that group’s Fiscal Affairs and Government Operations Committee that it was not so much the additional tax revenue that would be generated. He said it is a “fairness issue” because most of the people who make purchases in local stores and don’t use the Internet to buy items from out-of-state companies have to pay the state’s sales tax, while those using computers to make purchases from out-of-state avoid the tax.

State tax department officials estimate nearly $100 million in consumer sales tax revenue is lost annually because of a 1992 Supreme Court ruling that it would be too difficult to collect consumer sales tax on purchases from businesses in other states. And purchases made on the Internet from companies not located in West Virginia would account for between $50 million and $60 million of that total.

Doyle and other members of the committee voted unanimously last Monday to ask Congress to pass the Marketplace Fairness Act, which would allow sales taxes to be collected by the states on these purchases. And the Southern Legislative Conference’s policy positions committee also endorsed it with no dissenting votes.

The revenue from West Virginia’s four racetrack casinos continues to exceed expectations in the face of growing competition from new gambling establishments in Ohio and Maryland. Total lottery receipts of $112.8 million in June were 3.7 percent better than expected, largely due to the results at the Hollywood Casino in Charles Town.

Table games at the Charles Town facility accounted for $12.9 million in June, which was nearly three times as much as the revenue at the state’s other three tracks combined. The Lottery Commission reported $1.45 billion in revenues for the fiscal year that ended June 30 and the state’s share of lottery profits was $651.7 million. But lottery officials still believe increased competition from the neighboring states of Ohio and Maryland will eventually reduce those numbers.

~~  Tom Miller, Under the Dome , journal-news ~~

Fortunate Fall

This Gilmer County woodworker and celebrated Tamarack artisan learns to pursue his dream after a brush with death.

Wind chimes and stillness punctuated by peals of laughter—this is the background music to Matt Thomas’ new life. Most mornings he gets up at 5 AM, walks to work, and spends a few hours adjusting the jigs he needs to build an accent table or fits thin pieces of walnut inlay into unfinished cutting boards. By 7:30 AM, the sound of little feet scurrying down the hall next door signals break time. He doesn’t need to get up so early—his trip to work consists of a 10-foot walk from his front door to the door of his woodworking studio, which overlooks a quiet little valley in Gilmer County dotted with farms—but he likes to be there when his wife Terri and their four children wake up.

Matt Thomas owns Thomas|work, a small studio on a 13-acre plot in the Mountain Lakes region, where he designs and builds custom furniture and sought-after retail pieces. His signatures are the graceful swoop of inlaid wood and the organic curve of iron. In his most daring pieces, the natural softness of wood and strength of metal seem to shift roles—hard wooden edges brush up against slithering iron vines in a wonderful interplay of form and function. “The process is what’s interesting,” he says. “To take the very rigid wood and wrap the ironwork around it—I just try to find different ways, from a design standpoint, to combine these two very different substances.” His furniture often has angular, Shaker-style bodies.

Quickly becoming one of Tamarack’s most celebrated artisans, Matt is still a little taken aback at the idea of being called an artist. Although he considers himself semi-retired, he often works 50-hour weeks, puts out hundreds of products at a time, and was featured as an emerging artist by NICHE magazine. He insists his passion is not for the art but for the lifestyle itself—a lifestyle that allows him to see his children grow and change every day. “Honestly, I’m a businessman, a craftsman, not really an artist. I worked for about 10 years in construction, putting in 14-hour days. I know how physically intense it is, and I know the wage I can get out of it. This is a lot less physically demanding. I’m not as drained at the end of the day, and my kids are right here playing. But even if this paid minimum wage, I would still choose it. This is the best job I’ve ever had. It’s a little stressful when the phone isn’t ringing and there aren’t orders to fill, but it’s worth it because I get to be right here. It’s a no-brainer.”

Turning from an everyday career in construction to life as an artisan wasn’t an easy transition. For Matt, it took a brush with death. Although he’d always nursed a love of the craft—his work was in a jury session at Tamarack when he was just 16 and he apprenticed under internationally recognized blacksmith Jeff Fetty for nearly four years—his work had always lived on the periphery. “I just never thought I could take the plunge,” he says. Then one rainy afternoon in July 2011, Matt was finishing up a metal roofing installation when he took a wrong step and fell 16 feet to the ground. It wasn’t until he found himself lying immobile in a hospital bed that he realized his whole world was about to change. Matt had fractured a vertebra in his lower back, and there was a very real chance that he would never be able to return to his job as general contractor. “Immediately, I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t build. I couldn’t do anything. And I had a wife and three kids to support, which made it that much more traumatic.”

When Sally Barton of the Tamarack Foundation came to visit him in the hospital and offered to help him get his woodworking business off the ground, Matt jumped at the chance. The Tamarack Foundation, an organization that works to preserve West Virginia’s cultural heritage, support the arts, and assist in the development of a strong, creative economy, sent Matt and seven other artisans to the 2012 Buyer’s Market of American Craft in Philadelphia. There he received nearly enough orders from gallery owners to fill his production schedule for a year. He took one glance at the numbers and never looked back. “When I broke my back, I had to take the chance.”

Both Matt’s woodworking and metalsmithing are gaining recognition across the country. He was recently named a finalist in the 2013 NICHE Awards and regularly fills orders for galleries from New York to San Francisco, including a custom cherry bench presented to the former West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture Gus Douglas. And he’s happy to share his knowledge, regularly taking on apprentices and opening his studio to admirers and dreamers alike.

“It would be wrong for me to turn them down when so many people helped me get to where I am,” he says. “That’s how I learned. I still call up my friends from Tamarack. They’re good as gold to me because if I have questions, problems, or anything, I can ask them for help.”

In his tiny shop on top of the hill—he calls it his “cramped man cave”—Matt designs timeless pieces as large as a custom bed and as small as a pair of chopsticks. The challenge isn’t just in the design. Matt takes great care to distill the process of creating each piece down to the most economical steps, approaching each product like it’s a puzzle. “It’s all very meticulously planned out,” he says. “It’s been a process of constant refining to find the most efficient way to make each piece. Then I can pass those savings on to the customer.”

From a neat stack of native West Virginia lumber along one wall, Matt looks over pieces of walnut, cherry, and maple with the eye of a businessman and the eagerness of an artist. These pieces might become a beautiful cutting board or a fine sushi set, or they might become the body of a brand new design—something with clean lines and elegant ironwork in that mixture of beauty and practicality that sets his work apart. When he looks back on how far he’s come in just a few years, he still has trouble believing it. “What I did before was just fine. It paid the bills. It was a job. This is a change of pace, but as a line of work, it is so much more controllable. I can put a dollar figure on it and say it netted me a certain amount, but what I can’t put a price on is how much it improved my quality of life. Now I’m glad I fell.”

~~  Written by Mikenna Pierotti - Photographed by Matt Thomas - WVLiving  ~~

 

Newest Marthas and Marys Project - Book Drive for Gilmer County Kids

Help our Gilmer County kids succeed by giving them books.  Children need good food for their bodies to grow and good books for their brains to grow.  They must have the stimulation of reading.  Children who are not comprehending what they read in the third grade will continue to fall behind in all learning if they are not helped.  Our teachers are not the only people responsible for their learning.  We must encourage our children to read and make sure that they have their own books at home.  We also must be good models for them by letting them see us enjoy reading.

Marthas and Marys and area churches are sponsoring this effort to help our children learn. This week you will see large plastic bins in several Gilmer County public places where you can donate books to our Gilmer County children. Books may be new or gently used which means they have a front and back cover and no missing or torn pages, and are clean.  No damp or musty books please. The goal is to allow all 934 Gilmer County students from pre-school through grade 12 to choose a book to take home.  Your help is needed to accomplish that goal.

Books may be nursery rhymes, story books, short stories, biographies, poetry, novels, plays, how-to books, and books of general information.  Subject matter could be about every-day people today, nature, science, sports, other countries, periods in history, pets, architecture, heroes, how people live,  travel, music, arts, crafts, repairs and how-to, technology, machines and inventions, cars, trucks, and motorcycles, bicycles, cook books, and the list could go on and on.

You will see marked bins in the following businesses where you can help our children grow by donating books for them. Marthas and Marys appreciate the participation of:

•  Calhoun Bank, Foodland

•  Gil-Co Faith Pharmacy

•  Glenville Go-Mart

•  Glenville Public Library

•  Glenville Post Office

•  Hands of Pride Education Center

•  McDonald’s

•  United Bank

•  Watch Me Grow Child Care Development

In addition, there will be book collection bins at the following schools:

•  Gilmer County High

•  Glenville Elementary

•  Normantown Elementary

•  Sand Fork Elementary

•  Troy Elementary

All churches who participate in the ecumenical work of Marthas and Marys will also have book collection bins.  Our children are waiting for your donations.

Collection bins will be in place through Tuesday, April 30, 2013.

WEST VIRGINIANS ARE ENCOURAGED TO PARTICIPATE IN LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SURPLUS BOOK PROGRAM

Free books are available to West Virginia schools, libraries, and local municipalities through the program

U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) encourages eligible West Virginia schools, libraries and local organizations to receive free books through the Library of Congress Surplus Books Program.

“Just last week I had the opportunity to read to West Virginian students on Read Across America Day and talk to them about the importance of books. The power of reading is so special and so valuable; it is something that never leaves us. I strongly encourage all schools, libraries and eligible organizations in our great state to help our local communities build their own book collections by taking advantage of this tremendous program. This is a unique opportunity from the world’s largest library to provide free books to West Virginians.”

For more information on eligibility and how to apply, please contact Senator Manchin’s office at 202.224.3954, or visit the Library of Congress Surplus Books Program web page at www.loc.gov/acq/surplus.html.

West Virginia Residents Can Vote for the Cover for Commemorative Magazine

West Virginia residents are encouraged to choose a cover for a special issue of Wonderful West Virginia magazine commemorating the state’s 150’s anniversary.

The June 2013 issue will feature dozens of photographs submitted by readers for a “Day in the Life of West Virginia” issue.

From those photographs, four have been chosen by magazine staff as potential covers for the issue.

The public is encouraged to pick a favorite and vote on the final choice.

The cover finalists were chosen from among nearly 5,000 photographs submitted by about 1,000 people who participated in the magazine’s planned photographic tribute, “A Day in the Life of West Virginia.“

On September 15, 2012, the public was asked to take photographs across the state at different times of the day depicting the people, events and places that make the state special.

Votes can be cast at www.wonderfulwv.com.

Rockefeller Highlights Literacy and Science with Young People Across West Virginia

Celebrates Dr. Seuss’ Birthday and March into Literacy Month

Senator Jay Rockefeller this week released a video as part of celebrations across West Virginia for Dr. Seuss’s birthday and March into Literacy Month.

In the video, Rockefeller – a longtime advocate for science education – reads There’s No Place Like Space! by Tish Rabe, a book that explores the planets and the solar system and is part of The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library, with a group of children.

Rockefeller’s recording has been shared with hundreds of schools, preschools, daycares and libraries across West Virginia, including Green Bank Elementary, Colliers Elementary, and Piedmont Elementary in Charleston – a school Rockefeller visited while students connected online with a NASA scientist.

“Reading inspires young minds, and this is a wonderful time to explore the journeys – even through space – that a book can provide,” Rockefeller said. “Dr. Seuss promoted literacy in such a remarkable way. I am thrilled to see so many young West Virginians celebrate his birthday by reading, learning and imagining.”

Lady Pioneers Ranked No. 12 in USA Today Sports

The Glenville State Lady Pioneers are ranked No. 12 in the USA Today Sports Division II Top 25 Coaches’ Poll.

The Lady Pioneers are 24-2 (19-1) this season.

Last week they were ranked No. 16.

The Lady Pioneers are leading the nation in Division II in scoring with 96.6 points per game.

The Lady Pioneers return to action Thursday, February 21, 2013 when Concord travels to Glenville.

USA TODAY Sports DIVISION II TOP 25 COACHES’ POLL

February 19, 2013


USA TODAY Sports Division II Top 25 women’s basketball poll, with first-place votes to the right, total points based on 25 points for first place through one point for 25th.

Rank	Institution -  First Place Votes	Previous Rank	Record	Total Points
1	Bentley   University (MA) -24	2	23-0	792
2	Clayton   State University (GA) -6	3	24-0	772
3	Ashland   University (OH) -2	1	25-1	730
4	Colorado   Mesa University	4	22-1	677
5	Washburn   University (KS)	6	19-3	629
6	Holy   Family University (PA)	5	22-2	627
7	University   of Central Missouri	7	21-2	614
8	Western   Washington University	9	19-3	566
9	Gannon   University (PA)	10	23-3	553
10	Limestone   College (SC)	14	20-2	467
11	Simon   Fraser University (BC)	8	18-4	439
12	Glenville   State College (WV)	16	24-2	424
13	California   State University - Chico	11	19-3	403
14	Stonehill   College (MA)	18	20-3	324
15	Dowling   College (NY)	17	19-3	315
16	University   of South Carolina - Aiken	12	19-4	306
17	New   York Institute of Technology	19	22-1	274
18	Fayetteville   State University (NC)	20	21-3	231
19	Grand   Canyon University (AZ)	13	21-5	218
20	Shaw   University (NC)	15	20-4	213
21	Minnesota   State University - Mankato	25	20-4	143
22	Edinboro   University (PA)	21	18-5	114
23	Augustana   College (SD)	23	19-5	105
24	Concordia   University (MN)	NR	19-5	72
25	University   of Findlay (OH)	NR	19-4	54

 

Dropped Out: Northwest Nazarene University (Idaho); Augusta State University (GA).

Others Receiving Votes: Northwest Nazarene University (Idaho) 45; Truman State University (MO) 34; Augusta State University (GA) 32; Lewis University (IL) 27; Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania 26; Pfeiffer University (NC) 19; Nova Southeastern University (FL) 16; California State University - Monterey Bay 13; University of California - San Diego 12; University of Wisconsin - Parkside 11; Abilene Christian University (Texas) 10; Pittsburg State University (KS) 10; Fort Hays State University (KS) 9; University of Indianapolis (Ind.) 9; Assumption College (MA) 8; Indiana University of Pennsylvania 8; Wayne State University (Mich.) 8; Rollins College (FL) 7; Emporia State University (KS) 6; Michigan Technological University 5; Millersville University of Pennsylvania 5; Tarleton State University (Texas) 5; University of Texas of the Permian Basin 5; Wayne State College (NE) 4; Anderson University (SC) 1; Arkansas Tech University 1; University of Massachusetts at Lowell 1; University of Southern Indiana 1.

The USA TODAY Sports board of coaches is made up of 33 head coaches at Division II institutions. All are members of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). The 2012-13 board: Carmen Dolfo - Non-voting Chair (Western Washington University), Linda Cimino (Caldwell College), Jeff Curtis (Northwood University), Joddie Gleason (Humboldt State University), Dennis Cox (Clayton State University), Kiley Hill (Valdosta State University), Corey Fox (Limestone College), Meghan Burke Brown (Southern Connecticut State University), Chris Kielsmeier (Wayne State College), Cleve Wright (Gannon University), Beth Jillson (Texas Woman’s University), Renee Jimenez (California State University Monterey Bay), Jennifer Knight-Kenesie (University of Wisconsin- Parkside), Jason Martens (Saint Mary’s University, Texas), Patrick Mashuda (Chowan University), Stephen McDonald (Fairmont State University), Claudette Charney (Hillsdale College), Tim Kirby (Harding University), Todd Starkey (Lenoir Rhyne University), Corey Laster (University of Colorado-Colorado Springs), Cassandra Moorer (Stillman College), Rick Stein (University of Southern Indiana), Paul Fessler (Concordia University, St. Paul), Joe Pellicane (Dowling College), Linda Raunig (Regis University), Carrie Seymour (Pace University), Sally Brooks (Angelo State University), Glenn Wilkes (Rollins College), Lane Lord (Pittsburg State University), Lynn Ullom (West Liberty University), Kevin Woodin (Montana State University, Billings), Trent May (Grand Canyon University), and Susan Yow (Belmont Abbey College).

*Please note that all voters for the DII poll are required to vote each week between 9:00 PM Sunday and 1:00 PM Tuesday ET.

Gilmer Public Library: WV Reads 150

Join the West Virginia Library Commission (WVLC), the West Virginia Center for the Book and libraries across the state in West Virginia Reads 150, a fun reading challenge that celebrates West Virginia’s 150th birthday in 2013.

The year-long reading initiative encourages West Virginians to read 150 books in any format (printed book, e-book, downloadable text, etc.) from any source, during the course of 2013, West Virginia’s sesquicentennial year. Books can be on any topic, fiction or non-fiction; they must be read between January 01 and December 31, 2013.

People can read 150 books individually, or create teams to read 150 books collectively. Libraries across West Virginia are encouraged to form teams to compete. Teams, which can have up to 15 members, must choose a name and select a leader to keep track of the books read by team members.

All ages and groups can participate – friends, coworkers, book clubs, classmates, seniors, etc. If children are too young to read on their own, kids can have their parents read to them. Families can use their Summer Reading Program reading toward their West Virginia Reads 150 tally.

To participate, sign up at Gilmer Public Library.  Contact the library at 304.462.5620 for more information, or you can check us out on Facebook.

Perform Criminal Background Checks at Your Peril

A federal policy intended to help minorities is likely to have the opposite effect.

Should it be a federal crime for businesses to refuse to hire ex-convicts? Yes, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which recently released 20,000 convoluted words of regulatory “guidance” to direct businesses to hire more felons and other ex-offenders.

In the late 1970s, the EEOC began stretching Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to sue businesses for practically any hiring practice that adversely affected minorities. In 1989, the agency sued Carolina Freight Carrier Corp. of Hollywood, Fla., for refusing to hire as a truck driver a Hispanic man who had multiple arrests and had served 18 months in prison for larceny. The EEOC argued that the only legitimate qualification for the job was the ability to operate a tractor trailer.

U.S. District Judge Jose Alejandro Gonzalez Jr., in ruling against the agency, said: “EEOC’s position that minorities should be held to lower standards is an insult to millions of honest Hispanics. Obviously a rule refusing honest employment to convicted applicants is going to have a disparate impact upon thieves.“

The EEOC ignored that judicial thrashing and pressed on. Last April, the agency unveiled its “Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions,“ declaring that “criminal record exclusions have a disparate impact based on race and national origin.“

Though blacks make up only 13% of the U.S. population, more blacks were arrested nationwide for robbery, murder and manslaughter in 2009 than whites, according to the FBI. The imprisonment rate for black men “was nearly 7 times higher than White men and almost 3 times higher than Hispanic men,“ notes the EEOC. These statistical disparities inspired the EEOC to rewrite the corporate hiring handbook to level the playing field between “protected groups” and the rest of the workforce.

Most businesses perform criminal background checks on job applicants, but the EEOC guidance frowns on such checks and creates new legal tripwires that could spark federal lawsuits. One EEOC commissioner who opposed the new policy, Constance Barker, warned in April that “the only real impact the new Guidance will have will be to scare business owners from ever conducting criminal background checks. . . . The Guidance tells them that they are taking a tremendous risk if they do.”

If a background check discloses a criminal offense, the EEOC expects a company to do an intricate “individualized assessment” that will somehow prove that it has a “business necessity” not to hire the ex-offender (or that his offense disqualifies him for a specific job). Former EEOC General Counsel Donald Livingston, in testimony in December to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, warned that employers could be considered guilty of “race discrimination if they choose law abiding applicants over applicants with criminal convictions” unless they conduct a comprehensive analysis of the ex-offender’s recent life history.

It is difficult to overstate the EEOC’s zealotry on this issue. The agency is demanding that one of Mr. Livingston’s clients—the Freeman Companies, a convention and corporate events planner— pay compensation to rejected job applicants who lied about their criminal records.

The biggest bombshell in the new guidelines is that businesses complying with state or local laws that require employee background checks can still be targeted for EEOC lawsuits. This is a key issue in a case the EEOC commenced in 2010 against G4S Secure Solutions after the company refused to hire a twice-convicted Pennsylvania thief as a security guard.

G4S provides guards for nuclear power plants, chemical plants, government buildings and other sensitive sites, and it is prohibited by state law from hiring people with felony convictions as security officers. But, as G4S counsel Julie Payne testified before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights this past December, the EEOC insists “that state and local laws are pre-empted by Title VII” and is pressuring the company “to defend the use of background checks in every hiring decision we have made over a period of decades.“

The EEOC’s new regime leaves businesses in a Catch-22. As Todd McCracken of the National Small Business Association recently warned: “State and federal courts will allow potentially devastating tort lawsuits against businesses that hire felons who commit crimes at the workplace or in customers’ homes. Yet the EEOC is threatening to launch lawsuits if they do not hire those same felons.“

At the same time that the EEOC is practically rewriting the law to add “criminal offender” to the list of protected groups under civil-rights statutes, the agency refuses to disclose whether it uses criminal background checks for its own hiring. When EEOC Assistant Legal Counsel Carol Miaskoff was challenged on this point in a recent federal case in Maryland, the agency insisted that revealing its hiring policies would violate the “governmental deliberative process privilege.“

The EEOC is confident that its guidance will boost minority hiring, but studies published in the University of Chicago Legal Forum and the Journal of Law and Economics have found that businesses are much less likely to hire minority applicants when background checks are banned. As the majority of black and Hispanic job applicants have clean legal records, the new EEOC mandate may harm the very groups it purports to help.

Naturally, the EEOC will have no liability for any workplace trouble that results from its new hiring policy. But Americans can treat ex-offenders humanely without giving them legal advantages over similar individuals without criminal records. The EEOC’s new regulatory regime is likely to chill hiring across the board and decrease opportunities for minority applicants.

~~  James Bovard – WSJ ~~

Empowering Parents to Help Children Read Like Rock Stars

You do not have to be a certified educator to help your child read like a rock star. In fact, it might even be easier to pull it off if you are not an educator.

Why? Because the classroom can be a stressful, evaluative reading environment for children, and struggling readers can feel even more pressure when they know they will be tested.

There is, however, a way to help your child relax, read, and actually comprehend what is being read at home.
Parents who come to me feeling intimidated and daunted by the task of helping their children with reading comprehension often walk away feeling a great sense of relief by the time I am done talking.

Why? Because I suggest a shockingly simple initial starting point for parents:

DO NOT WORRY ABOUT TEACHING READING. JUST READ

If you just read with your child and have normal conversations from time to time, without ever interrupting or interfering with the natural reading process, and without asking question after question, both you and your child will realize how easy, rewarding, and beneficial this process actually is.

Here are some basic steps to make that happen:

EMPATHIZE WITH YOUR CHILD’S STRUGGLE WHILE PROVIDING SOME BASIC GUIDANCE BEFORE OPENING THE BOOK

Reading is not easy. Even adults find themselves “reading,“ with eyes following along the lines of text, flipping page after page while the minutes pass, only to realize they have no idea what happened on the pages they were supposedly reading. I call this the passive eye shift. Our fingers and eyes are moving, but either our brains are off in La La Land or we are too busy visualizing something we read earlier in the book to actually focus on the text we’re trying to read. This is completely normal. Everyone experiences it. I want you to talk about these little blips with your children. Let them know that not only do lots of kids experience these struggles when reading, but adults do as well.

Your child does not need to feel like a failure, but chances are, if he or she is failing those reading comprehension questions at school, that ship has already sailed. You can reverse course by empathizing with your child’s struggle, and providing some guidance before you open the book in the first place.

IMPLEMENT A HANDS-OFF PLAN OF ACTION FOR DEALING WITH CHALLENGING WORDS.

There is no point constantly correcting a child or explaining things while he or she is reading. It is extremely distracting. Adults do not like to be interrupted while reading, so what makes us think kids are cool with it? And we wonder why kids cannot answer comprehension questions after we have interrupted them 386 times while reading the passage in the first place.

Start by making sure your child plays a major role in choosing an engaging book to read with you. If your child thinks the book is too challenging or boring, do not argue about it; just let him or her choose a new book. Then, let your child know that when encountering a really tough word, he or she should just say “blank” instead of trying to say the tricky word, and you will deal with the pronunciation and definition together later. Once the child has finished the chapter or is at a good stopping point in the story, you two can start sounding out the word and using context clues or the dictionary or internet to figure out its meaning.

LET YOUR CHILD KNOW THAT IT IMPRESSES YOU WHEN HE OR SHE VOLUNTARILY REREADS A PARTICULAR SECTION.

There are plenty of times when kids (and adults) need to reread a sentence, paragraph, or in my case, an entire chapter, if we engage in the passive eye shift or the section is boring or challenging. A tremendous amount of our comprehension comes not from our initial reading of a passage, but from the times we have to reread sections that we believed were important but that we didn’t quite focus on hard enough.

Teachers often have to force kids to reread; kids tend not to do it voluntarily. If you let your child know that voluntary rereading impresses you and you express joy when they do so, you will see wild growth in their comprehension skills. The fact is that kids want to impress the adults in their lives. It is just downright unfair that the primary way kids think they can impress adults is through great performance on tests. Make it easier for your child to impress you. Show your excitement during little victories (like small improvements, a smoothly-read sentence, or voluntary rereading), but do not go overboard. Compliments should be just enough to reinforce the action to the child, but not so much that the child thinks the only reason to perform the action is for the reward or parental excitement that follows.

Struggling readers need instruction, empathy, and engaging reading materials. You can provide a safe, assessment-free reading environment at home. The laid-back, hands-off, empathetic approach in this article will ensure that your child starts to feel some success with reading, a fundamental step in boosting comprehension and nurturing great readers.

~~  Kumar Sathy - An educator and author of “Attack of the Chicken Nugget Man: A National Test Prep Adventure,“ winner of the 2010 Moonbeam Children’s Book Award.  ~~

See www.KumarSathy.com.

A Minute with Jay: Protecting Our Libraries

WV Record: Court Ruled Man Owed Gilmer Public Service District’s Court Costs

The WV Record Reports:

The state Supreme Court ruled last year that a magistrate was correct to not only dismiss a Gilmer County man’s breach of contract suit against the county’s public service district, but also order him to pay court costs.

The court on May 29 upheld Gilmer Circuit Judge Richard A. Facemire’s ruling affirming Special Magistrate Richard G. Postalwait’s October 07, 2010, decision dismissing John Zsigray’s suit against the Gilmer County Public Service District.

In a unanimous, four-page memorandum opinion, the court agreed with Facemire that Postalwait properly determined Zsigray, 58 and a Glenville resident, lacked standing to sue GCPSD, and did not abuse his discretion in ordering Zsigray to pay $671.

Memorandum opinions are issued by the Court in cases that would not be significantly aided by oral arguments and present no new or significant questions of law.

According to court records, Zsigray’s wife, Jeannie Marsh, on an unspecified date signed a contract to have GCPSD install a tap on their property. Only Marsh’s signature was on the contract.

After the tap was installed on the wrong property, Zsigray on January 28, 2010, filed suit for recovery of the fees Marsh paid GCPSD. When he filed the suit, Zsigray only listed himself as a plaintiff.

Following motions filed by GCPSD, Gilmer magistrates Robert Minigh and Carol Wolfe voluntarily recused themselves from the case. On an unspecified date, Postalwait, a magistrate from neighboring Calhoun County, was appointed to hear it.

According to court records, at a July 19, 2010, pre-trial conference, Postalwait entered a scheduling order that included a trial date for later in October. On September 22, 2010, Zsigray filed motion to include Marsh as a co-plaintiff.

On the day of trial, GCPSD objected to Zsigray’s motion on the grounds it was not served with it. Postalwait dismissed the case, and ordered Zsigray to pay the $671 tab to summons a jury.

Immediately, Zsigray appealed Postalwait’s decision to Gilmer Circuit Court. Following a Nov. 29, 2010, status conference hearing, Facemire not only upheld Postalwait’s decision, but also ordered Zsigray to pay an additional $145 for appealing it.

In upholding Facemire’s and Postalwait’s rulings, the court made reference to its opinions in the 2002 and 2010 cases of Findlay v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company and Carper v. Watson. Since Zsigray not only lacked standing to file the suit, but was also warned at the pre-trial conference about it, the court said Postalwait correctly dismissed the suit when Zsigray failed to add Marsh by the trial date and assess him court costs for essentially filing a frivolous suit.

“In the present case,” the court said, “[Zsigray] had neither standing nor a legally protected interest.

“Moreover, [his] pro se motion to add his wife as a plaintiff was not filed in accordance with the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure for Magistrate Courts, as he did not serve the motion on opposing counsel.”

“Given the facts of this case, this Court finds no error in the circuit court’s decision to affirm the magistrate court’s dismissal of this action.”

GCPSD was represented by former Gilmer County Prosecutor Shelly Morris DeMarino. She was paid $1,803 to defend it in Zsigray’s suit.

West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, case number 11-0577
Gilmer Circuit Court, case number 10-CAP-30

~~  LAWRENCE SMITH ~~

OddlyEnough™: WV BOE President Had Phares in Mind Before Firing Marple

Emails between the president of the West Virginia Board of Education and acting superintendent Jim Phares show the possibility of replacing then-Superintendent Jorea Marple was being discussed two months before she was fired in a public vote that shocked Marple’s supporters and two members of the board.

The Charleston Gazette and Charleston Daily Mail obtained emails dating to September under a Freedom of Information Act request. The requests were made in November, but the documents weren’t turned over until Thursday.

Board President Wade Linger says he asked Phares for a biography in September because he was aware of his credentials. But he also says the idea of replacing Marple goes further back, to the review of a March 2012 education-efficiency audit.

Marple was fired November 15, 2012, five months after a positive performance review. Her attorneys say she will sue. The parents of a student have also sued, arguing the board broke open-meeting laws.

Linger denies any wrongdoing.

Phares and Linger worked together in Marion County, but Linger denies the appointment was either predetermined or politically motivated. He also says though the idea may have been his, he couldn’t have acted without majority approval from the board.

“I don’t know how anybody could say that we were somehow buddies or something like that,“ he said. “I’ve only known him in a professional way.“

Linger and Phares also exchanged emails a week before Marple’s termination, discussing the audit recommendations.

Phares had publicly complained about a state data system, and Linger, who has a background in technology, was of similar mind.

Shortly after Marples was fired, Phares announced his plans to resign as Randolph County Schools’ superintendent. But Linger warned him by email to hold off.

“I am being told that it is a bad idea for you to take any kind of resignation action whatsoever until after the WVBOE takes official action offering you the position,“ Linger wrote. “The concern is that your doing so will create the appearance that I am overstepping my authority by offering a position on my own.

“Even if you and I know that is not true, it most certainly can and will be (spun) that way,“ he said. “I don’t need that extra hurdle to jump, and it will definitely harm my chances of convincing the Board to support me on this.“

Phares was unanimously appointed and sworn in the following month.

Lingers said the board had been frustrated by Marple’s response to the audit, and he felt it was his duty to “start looking for a change in leadership.“ He defended requesting Phares’ biography, saying it would have been irresponsible to recommend a termination without having a replacement in mind.

“I would think that the public would expect that the president of the board would do what I did,“ he said.

Marple and her supporters, however, were crying foul within minutes after the firing. Board members Priscilla Haden and Jenny Phillips resigned shortly after voting against the termination.

Gilmer Public Library: WV Reads 150

Join the West Virginia Library Commission (WVLC), the West Virginia Center for the Book and libraries across the state in West Virginia Reads 150, a fun reading challenge that celebrates West Virginia’s 150th birthday in 2013.

The year-long reading initiative encourages West Virginians to read 150 books in any format (printed book, e-book, downloadable text, etc.) from any source, during the course of 2013, West Virginia’s sesquicentennial year. Books can be on any topic, fiction or non-fiction; they must be read between January 01 and December 31, 2013.

People can read 150 books individually, or create teams to read 150 books collectively. Libraries across West Virginia are encouraged to form teams to compete. Teams, which can have up to 15 members, must choose a name and select a leader to keep track of the books read by team members.

All ages and groups can participate – friends, coworkers, book clubs, classmates, seniors, etc. If children are too young to read on their own, kids can have their parents read to them. Families can use their Summer Reading Program reading toward their West Virginia Reads 150 tally.

To participate, sign up at Gilmer Public Library.  Contact the library at 304.462.5620 for more information, or you can check us out on Facebook.

GSC and Gilmer Public Libraries Participating in Statewide Reading Challenge

Staff members from Glenville State College’s Robert F. Kidd Library and the Gilmer Public Library invite you to join them, the West Virginia Library Commission, and the West Virginia Center for the Book in the WV Reads 150 reading challenge. West Virginia Reads 150 is designed to celebrate and honor West Virginia’s sesquicentennial (150th) birthday.

The yearlong reading initiative encourages West Virginians to read 150 books in any format including traditional printed books, e-books, downloadable text, and more during the course of 2013. Books can be on any topic and can be fiction or non-fiction, but they must be read between January 01 and December 31, 2013.

Books can be read individually or through teams to reach the 150 books total. Teams can have up to 15 members, but each team must choose a name and select a leader to keep track of the books read by individual team members.

All ages and groups can participate. If children are too young to read on their own, their parents may read to them. Families may use their completed Summer Reading Program titles as part of their West Virginia Reads 150 tally.

Robert F. Kidd Library Director Gail Westbrook said, “Our staff members are really looking forward to this friendly competition between us and the Gilmer Public Library staff.  We are already busy reading at home during any spare time we manage to find.“

According to Gilmer County Public Library Director Susan Atkinson, a few different teams from the community have signed up in addition to the group that the library staff has. “The idea is just to get people reading. You usually don’t keep track of how many books you read, so it will be interesting to see what kind of numbers these groups reach,“ Atkinson said. She also adds that the five readers from the public library team will have no trouble making the 150 book goal and that they intend to ‘take no hostages’ when it comes to winning the competition between them and the RFK Library readers.

To register for the program, visit www.librarycommission.wv.gov and select WV Reads 150 from the ‘Programs’ drop-down menu.

For more information on the WV Reads 150 challenge, contact GSC’s Robert F. Kidd Library at 304.462.4109 or the Gilmer Public Library at 304.462.5620.

Gilmer County: Friends of Library Meeting - Monday - 01.21.13

The Friends of Gilmer Public Library will meet on Monday, January 21, 2013 at 10:00 AM at the library.

Gilmer Public Library: WV Reads 150

Join the West Virginia Library Commission (WVLC), the West Virginia Center for the Book and libraries across the state in West Virginia Reads 150, a fun reading challenge that celebrates West Virginia’s 150th birthday in 2013.

The year-long reading initiative encourages West Virginians to read 150 books in any format (printed book, e-book, downloadable text, etc.) from any source, during the course of 2013, West Virginia’s sesquicentennial year. Books can be on any topic, fiction or non-fiction; they must be read between January 01 and December 31, 2013.

People can read 150 books individually, or create teams to read 150 books collectively. Libraries across West Virginia are encouraged to form teams to compete. Teams, which can have up to 15 members, must choose a name and select a leader to keep track of the books read by team members.

All ages and groups can participate – friends, coworkers, book clubs, classmates, seniors, etc. If children are too young to read on their own, kids can have their parents read to them. Families can use their Summer Reading Program reading toward their West Virginia Reads 150 tally.

To participate, sign up at Gilmer Public Library.  Contact the library at 304.462.5620 for more information, or you can check us out on Facebook.

Gilmer County: Friends of Library Meeting - 01.21.13

The Friends of Gilmer Public Library will meet on Monday, January 21, 2013 at 10:00 AM at the library.

Gilmer Public Library: WV Reads 150

Join the West Virginia Library Commission (WVLC), the West Virginia Center for the Book and libraries across the state in West Virginia Reads 150, a fun reading challenge that celebrates West Virginia’s 150th birthday in 2013.

The year-long reading initiative encourages West Virginians to read 150 books in any format (printed book, e-book, downloadable text, etc.) from any source, during the course of 2013, West Virginia’s sesquicentennial year. Books can be on any topic, fiction or non-fiction; they must be read between January 01 and December 31, 2013.

People can read 150 books individually, or create teams to read 150 books collectively. Libraries across West Virginia are encouraged to form teams to compete. Teams, which can have up to 15 members, must choose a name and select a leader to keep track of the books read by team members.

All ages and groups can participate – friends, coworkers, book clubs, classmates, seniors, etc. If children are too young to read on their own, kids can have their parents read to them. Families can use their Summer Reading Program reading toward their West Virginia Reads 150 tally.

To participate, sign up at Gilmer Public Library.  Contact the library at 304.462.5620 for more information, or you can check us out on Facebook.

New Issue of West Virginia Edge Magazine Features State’s Diverse Economy

A new edition of the award-winning West Virginia Edge is available in print and online.

The glossy, 52-page magazine profiles the state’s diverse economy, its workforce, energy blueprint, creative class communities and business retention efforts. Request a free print issue at www.wvcommerce.org/EDGE, where you also may view an iPad-friendly version that integrates videos and photo galleries.

The West Virginia Edge is produced twice a year by the West Virginia Department of Commerce’s staff.

The debut issue won two awards in the six-state East Central District of the Public Relations Society of America.