Open Letter to Pocahontas County Residents
Subject: County Residents Hazard Mitigation/ Flood Buyout Public Meeting
I would like to begin by thanking Cory Clay and Tammy Sneed of the West Virginia Emergency Management Division for travelling from Charleston to brief county residents on Floodplain Mitigation procedures and available funding. Although they were scheduled here by the town of Marlinton, the mitigation procedures/rules and available funding applies to all of Pocahontas County as well as Marlinton residents.
Hazard mitigation planning reduces loss of life and property by minimizing the impact of disasters. It begins with state, tribal and local governments identifying natural disaster risks and vulnerabilities that are common in their area. There are thousands of dollars in grant money available that can be used to purchase and tear down houses in the floodplain areas or raise the foundations and other financial support for people with property in the floodplain areas. Floodplain mitigation projects are very important to the town of Marlinton, town of Durbin, and Pocahontas County residents that live in the floodplains. Any grants used to support the county, Durbin or Marlinton residents must be approved by those entities before being distributed.
I find it interesting that neither the Mayor of Marlinton, no one from the Marlinton Town Council, and/or no one from the Pocahontas County Commission found it necessary to attend the important briefing to learn about the Floodplain Hazard Mitigation benefits of the residents they serve, especially since it was planned ahead of time, and everyone was notified.
Any mitigation funds distributed must be approved by them prior to requesting outside funds.
David J. Cain
Marlinton
Editor,
I find the decision outlined in The Pocahontas Times that the buildings at some of the Green Box Sites which are used by the community to make available free items that still have some life left for adoption are going to be sold or destroyed and placed in the landfill, foolish and uncaring.
The current system allows items that still have useful life to find a new home and be recycled and not end up in a landfill, rapidly approaching capacity. A lot of folks at all income levels have benefited from this approach for many years. I think it is time that any significant decision like this to include the obligation of funds for special projects should be voted on by the entire community rather than decided by some politicians playing King. Now the response by the politicians will probably be that if we did this, we will never be able to do these special projects. Well, guess what, it’s our money and not yours.
I know there have been many problems with the Green Boxes, and I understand the frustrations of those that have to deal with them on the ground since many items not for acceptance at these locations are being disposed of there but the more difficult our political leaders make it to properly dispose of trash of all kinds, the greater the likelihood that it ends up thrown in a sink hole or over the hill. Improperly disposed of material in our limestone terrain can contaminate groundwater and our wells. This county also depends on tourism for a lot of jobs and income, no one will want to visit a place with trash all over the place.
If you want to keep these buildings and the benefits they provide, let those that have made this decision know your feelings before it is too late.
Joe Kaffl
Hillsboro
