Protests about roads
falling into a ‘black hole’
Most recently, I read with great interest the editorial (DP-May 7) on delaying road repairs which inspired me to write this letter to the editor.
My family and I adopted Morgantown as home in 1985 and I always boasted about my “home’s” wonderful people, business climate, international but unmistaken American flavor, WVU, sports, entertainment, education, etc.
I display that pride when I recruit needed transplants to Morgantown ranging from blue collar workers to university professors and even clergy.
The roads and air transportation, however, were always a “rough spot” for me (pun intended), but recently those “rough spots” have morphed into “black holes.”
I have written about the airport before and the city responded with a solution that proved worse than the previous problem. And while air transportation (or lack thereof) is a big problem for Morgantown, it does not affect everyone and it is not a daily problem.
The roads, on the other hand, are a daily chore, for everyone. We have suffered through potholes that are deep and wide enough to swallow a whole tire (hence the black hole designation) and we have suffered through endless lane closures on “forever 79” when there was road work and when there has never been any workers to be seen for weeks on end with no explanation and response (hence the “black hole” designation.)
When are we going to have a bare minimum transportation service, worthy of Morgantown and its people? Including:
Good flights to useful destinations.
Roads with no potholes, unless temporarily.
Highways with no cones, unless necessary.
Is this too much to ask for? Would any officials care to respond? Or will my voice, along with many others, continue to echo in bureaucratic space, bouncing from one “black hole” to the next?
Nabil M. Jabbour
Morgantown
Low-income housing
should be a priority
Many low-income seniors and families in Monongalia County have no place to go due to the lack of housing. These people are ignored by developers who build housing for students and middle- and upper-income renters.
Low-income housing that is presentable and affordable has a four- to six-month waiting list. The older housing developments are not well kept and have high crime and drug traffic.
Grandparents who are raising one to two or more grandchildren due to drug abuse are not permitted to have children in affordable senior housing. These grandparents need affordable housing to prevent their grandchildren from being added to the 7,000 children in the West Virginia foster care system.
Single mothers in Monongalia County with three or four children with an income of $20,000 to $25,000 a year need affordable and safe housing with nearby medical centers, schools and shopping centers.
Persons who were forced to move from the Osage area due to uncontrollable circumstances (I-79 and floods) would come back to their hometown if housing was available and affordable. Development is surrounding the Osage area and ignoring its existence.
The old Osage Hill coal camp community would be an ideal area for a huge low-income housing development. It is located directly across from the University Town Centre where all necessities are available, including a nearby school.
This would be a win for the developer and the families, and it would improve the western end of the county immensely. Low income people are not bad people, they just need a little more help sometimes.
Mary Jane Coulter
Morgantown
