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2020 Year End Review

   The year 2020 will always be related to life changes that none of us wanted to make. These changes placed most into  hibernation, away from our friends, families, large groups, shopping centers, Churches and our club meetings.

   We were asked to shut down our lives  for 15 days to “stop the spread” of a virus that was attacking and could lead to the death of our elderly and disabled, a 15 day time frame that has continued in some form or fashion from March to present. 

   2020 has been wrought with yes you can, then no you can’t, back to yes you can as days have passed  giving us no real solid answer to really stopping the spread or controlling the spikes in the virus. 

   We were told to wear masks for the safety of others, stay at home, don’t go to Church and a vocabulary of words such as “quarantine”, “shut down”, “stop the spread”, “COVID 19”, wash your hands”, “stay inside”, “social distancing”, “asymptomatic”, “contact tracing”, “non contact”, “containment area”, “epidemic”, “pandemic”, “essential business”, “hydroxychloroquine”, “WFH”, “PPE” and many other words, were added to our vocabulary.

   Our children were/are being taught at home, school schedules have change, sports and other extra circular activities have been shut down.  

   We watched and are still watching, as the numbers of positive cases increased along with the number of deaths and pray for this plague to go away. 

   Through the fog surrounding the “virus”, we have continued on with our lives, sometimes unsure if the actions that we were (are) taking are the correct actions but knowing that we have to move forward to the day that we are not having to weigh every choice that we make. 

   When we began the year in January  life was normal. It was the beginning of a Presidential Election Year and on the National Front, the National Terrorism System issued a bulletin for an elevated alert from January 4th to January 18th, due to the death of Iran’s Qassimi Soleimani. Locally, the Library had announced the retirement of long time Library Director, Cathy Ash. 

   Governor Justice presented the State of  The State Address to the citizens and the 2020 State Legislature was in session. Locally the Candidates had begun to file their candidacy papers and the Oxford Grange presented dictionaries to all of the third-graders in the County. 

   On the 21st of January, The Herald reported Senator Shelly Moore Capito and Senator Manchin   announced the approval of a 18.7 million dollar grant through the USDA Re-Connect Program to HREA to provide to over 6000 households and businesses Broadband internet service. The Town of West Union hired Amberly Taylor as Traffic Court Judge and the Walbash Project was nearing completion, with the exception of re paving the streets, which was on hold until the weather cleared. 

   Other happenings in January included the completion of construction of the IRP Tower, EQT donated $92,000 to the DC Community Foundation as an unrestricted community endowment and those planning on running in the 2020 Election has submitted their Candidacy papers. 

   February rolled around with the Commission approving their Second Amendment Resolution and French Creek Freddie indicating that it would be an early Spring.  Jim Fostor for the West Fork Conservation District presented an agreement between the WFCD to join with the Commission in cleaning up the streams in the County. The Grand Jury met and Senator Capito visited the Doddridge County Middle School. 

   Also in February, Counterfeit $100 bills were being passed in the County, Congressman McKinley met with the Veterans, and Sleep In Heavenly Peace was organized, received a donation from Dominion and held their first build day. 

   We were having a “normal” year up to this point. There had been rumblings about some type of virus that was different from the flu but we were half listening. 

   The Health Department published an  article concerning the Corona Virus “COVID 19”  in The Herald on March 10th edition, and schools were closed by the Governor  from March 16th to at least  March 27th. (The schools ended up being “virtual” for the remainder of the school year.)

   Hospitals closed to visitors, Gov. Justice issued a Stay at Home Order, Courthouses closed to the public, the Doddridge County Commission declared a State of Emergency and the lists of cancellations and closures grew. The Primary Election Date and the deadlines were changed by the State. 

   While we cancelled the parts of our lives that we were advised to cancel, the Commission approved the purchase of two ambulances to replace those which were damaged,  Heidi Bee and Carter Lipscomb were chosen as “Argonauts, the Town and County worked on their budgets and the Town considered an ordinance to charge $25 for ATV owners.

   And we found out what we considered the most important item in the stores was – toilet paper!

   April led into more COVID-19 information and warnings, the State’s Unemployment level was over 25,500,  protective suits purchased for the employees at the DCAA, EQT donated $160,000 to the Mountaineer Food Bank, online Census was announced and opened, and Doddridge County did not have one active case of COVID-19 reported to the DC Health Department. 

   In the School news, Golden Horseshoe winners were:  Makenna Curran ad Karlee Joswick and Teacher of the Years for each school included: Kaylee Kirkpatrick, Alan Snodgrass, and Melissa Smith.

   May began with Gov. Justice  announcing the “Safer at Home” Executive Order for the businesses to begin to re-open in WV. 

   Workforce WV began offering Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and DC Schools and City Net announced a new Broadband partnership to set up better/new internet in the County. 

   The Commission approved the Secretary of State’s Grant,  approved the Governor’s Pandemic Grant of $100,000 and began to re open the Courthouse on a limited basis.

   The DCHS Graduation was set for June 26 but they held a socially distanced Graduation Parade on May 24, at the DC Park. 

   At May’s end, the County still had not had a person with a positive  COVID-19 test and we were asked to forgo our vacations. 

   With the Election being on June 9th, the Commission voted to approve only the Candidates (and spouses), media and poll workers were allowed inside of the Courthouse on Election night at the same meeting they allocated $475,007 for donations to the various organizations. 

   From Churches to Family Reunions to the Doddridge County Fair, the list of cancellations were long,  with most families heeding the Governor’s call  in cancelling their long planned vacations. 

   The Primary Election was held through offering various ways to vote. Absentee voters were not required to have a reason to vote by mail, the early voting took place with people using a q-tip to make their choices and regular in person voting was held on Election Day at the various precincts. 

   In June businesses and agencies began to re open. Hospitals adjusted visitation rules and everyone took a deep breath and tried to get back to normal. 

   The Board of Education approved the remodel of the DCMS Science Lab, paving at the DCMS and DCES, approved the purchase of the old Salem College Equestrian Center to convert to a vo-ag center, and the building of the new Early Childhood Academy at the old Cline Stansberry Stadium. 

   Moving forward to July, bids were taken to clean up the Old Stansberry Stadium in preparation for the ECA and the first steps were taken by removing the visitors bleachers and giving them to Wirt County. 

   With the summer weather, the Commission approved to move forward with the Annex.

   Business wise, Dominion sold out to Berkshire Hathaway and the ANTERO & CNX lawsuit was concluded.

   July 29th brought the County back to the COVID world with a report of three (all believe to be health care workers) positive tests in the County. 

   But as life must go on the Schools presented their re-opening plans and the DC  Library moved forward with re opening. 

   August raised the question of the school sports calendar with much concern of the bringing athletes from other schools as well as the County’s athletes traveling to games  and what could be held and when.  

   This triggered the State to set up the Metric Map where only those who were a certain color could play teams of the same or certain colors. The Map was also used to determine if schools would be held in person or virtually.

   The DCHS Football, Band, Cross Country and Cheerleaders began the first Football Game by honoring the Seniors and their parents at the game. DCHS Bulldogs  ended up as Regional Champs, Cross Country (both Boys and Girls) Teams were State runners-up leaving the Cheerleaders being Regional Runners up and having to wait until January for the State Championships. 

   In September, schools reopened with modifications to their calendar, Jan Chapman was announced to be Oil and Gas Man of the Year, and drive-through COVID-19 Tests began. 

   The Historical Society held a Back The Blue Drive, the Old Middle Island Grade School was totally torn down, and the DC Park began renovations to the old pool. 

   By the end of September there had been 29 reported positive cases of COVID when the County was rocked with their first COVID death. 

   In October the Schools went back to Virtual Learning, the BOE donated to the County the old Greenbrier Grade School, the Town decided to use the Salem B&O Ordinance as their B & O Tax, there was an outbreak of COVID in a couple of Churches. Doddridge County was Red on the Metrics Map. 

   The Bids were approved for the landscaping of the new Childhood Training Academy which began a few days later and the USDA awarded Doddridge County 7.6 million dollars for the City Net Broad Band Internet Project. 

   October ended and November began with the Schools holding Homecoming  without a Parade, the Cross Country teams placing runners up in the State Meet  and Gordon Edgell being given the award of Citizen Of the Year.

   Also in November, Summit Community Bank in Salem was robbed, Ian Knight was charged with murder and IOGA WV came out in support of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. 

   December began with the Summit Bank robber being apprehended and the Commission rolled back their decision concerning the New Annex by approving to wait until Spring 2021 to award the bid and break ground.  

   Also taking place in December the Richard Barton Family donated a piece of land in Smithburg to the DC Park and the Estate of Mary Maxine Welch donated 25 Million Dollars to the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation. 

   As 2020 comes to a close we hope as it leaves that it will take this insidious virus called COVID with it, never to be heard from again. 

   As the world is hoping that 2021 is a better and brighter year, we end by THANKING all of those “essential workers” who have stood firm and faced COVID so we can continue with our changed lives.  Those include but are not limited to the:  DC Health Department Staff, Health Care providers, 1st Responders, Restaurant Owners and Employees, Ministers, Mailmen/women, Storeowners and clerks, Courthouse Employees, School Staff, Volunteers of all types, Poll Workers, Policemen and many more too numerous to list. 

   So to all of you readers – Happy New Years and many Blessings from the owners and staff at the Herald Record!