Editor,
Governor Morrisey sending troops to Washington, D.C. is yet another way to get your eyes off Medicaid cuts and West Virginia’s continuing low metrics in education, health and economic parity.
Instead of grandstanding nonsense, I’d hope our leaders would focus on real everyday challenges voters live with.
Morrisey, Capito and Justice have no time for real work except grabbing headlines.
Martin Saffer
Hillsboro
Editor,
Dawn Reed wonders in her column, Be a mimosa, “…what the other trees thought of the mimosa.” This can be easily answered, “Please eliminate it from anywhere near me.”
Mimosa trees are classified as invasive by the Invasive Plant Atlas https://www.invasiveplantatlas.orgsubject.html?sub=3004 and in the past, Weed of the Week by the U.S. Forest Service ttps://www.invasive.org/weedcd/pdfs/wow/silk-tree-mimosa_.pdf. A quick google search will explain the ecological dangers of mimosa, how to remove them, and native plants to plant instead (e.g., “But It’s So Beautiful!” https://mdinvasives. org/iotm/may-2009/)
Another invasive plant featured in the August 14, 2025 is the purslane. https://www.invasiveplantat las.org/subject.html?sub=6225
My recommendation for those loving West Virginia’s beautiful forests is to plant and appreciate the ecological importance of native species. All of the Pocahontas library branches have a copy of Doug Tallamy’s book Bringing Nature Home. This book explains the importance of native plants to the entire forest food web—from photosynthesizing native plants to our native birds, bears, and other wildlife. A strong message of hope can be found in his new book, How Can I Help?: Saving Nature with Your Yard. And now with WiFi coming to Green Bank, all of Pocahontas County can access Dr. Tallamy’s studies regarding the importance of native plants online.
Sincerely,
Rodger Waldman
Seven Valleys, Pa.
Open letter to the Pocahontas County Commission:
Subject: Mowing Grass on Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Purchased Lots that belong to the County Commission.
Respectfully request you begin mowing the subject lots on a regular basis. The grass is now 2-3 feet tall. They look terrible now and will look like a fresh mowed hayfield that needs baled after they are mowed.
The bottom line is those lots look terrible now and have all summer due to the Pocahontas County Commission’s neglect.
Please clean them up and make us all proud instead of having East Cass look like a slum area to the thousands of tourists passing through.
Thank you for your attention to this project.
David J. Cain
Cass
