To the Editor:
The recent photo of Roy Clarkson sparked a memory of the Golden Spike Run to Bald Knob at Cass in 1968. Obviously, there was a lot of pomp prior to the trip with Governor Smith being there and a culmination of years of planning for the trip to Bald Knob.
My dad and Roy were friends and, ironically, they looked similar although my dad was taller. As we milled about in the front of the depot before we boarded, Jim Comstock, editor of the West Virginia Hillbilly, walked up to my dad believing he was Roy. After introductions dad sparked a conversation about Governor W. W. Barron. Jim Comstock was ruthless with the Governor Barron investigation a few years prior. We enjoyed his editorials immensely, not just about the governor but also state politics.
I later served in the Morgantown Lions Club with Roy Clarkson and this story was a good antidote to share. We also shared an interest in trout fishing and membership in the local Trout Unlimited chapter. We had a few friendly conversations about trout, logging in the mountains and Cass. I no longer am surprised by the six degrees of separation in life.
David Bott
Morgantown
Dear Editor,
When I was a young man in the 1970s scientists began warning us about Climate Change. They predicted that, if we did not curb our appetite for oil, gas and coal, the atmosphere would warm and would become less stable. Extreme weather events would become more common. Droughts, violent hurricanes and flash floods would increase in frequency with devastating effect.
These were predictions 50 years ago. Now they are reality.
Not surprisingly, powerful oil, gas and coal corporations rejected the idea that fossil fuels were a problem. A well-funded campaign emerged to discredit climate scientists.
In spite of the overwhelming scientific evidence; in spite of the undeniable changes in climate and in spite of the fact that every American citizen’s life will be touched by it, President Trump still acts as if it is a hoax.
Science has proposed good solutions with good jobs and some progress has been made toward the transition to an energy efficient economy. Unfortunately, the current administration is rolling back that progress, is defunding clean energy projects and is full speed ahead on fossil fuels. The president’s approach will enrich a few and hurt many.
Bob Must
Hillsboro
Editor,
When I was living in Spain, a local newspaper printed a list of people’s wishes for the new year, and good health topped the list.
After years of chronic ill health, I unreservedly understand why health was a Spanish priority. Being the best person one can possibly be, in a myriad of ways, requires good health.
While attending a movie at a Majorcan cinema, years later, I saw a government sponsored advertisement extolling the benefits of specific types of exercise. Out on the street I noticed that there had been an impressive increase of fit middle-aged women since my last visit.
In the U.S., government campaigns highlighting the health risks of smoking related conditions have led to a decrease in smoking, hence, also to a decline in these conditions, some of which are invariably fatal.
But, where do Americans fall on a scale of the health of citizens of wealthy countries?
”Out of the 32 wealthiest countries in the world, the U.S. ranked 32nd in the wealth health gap.
“Our nation spends a fortune on healthcare, and yet we remain remarkably unwell.
Starting at birth Americans fall far below other wealthy nations on many standardized health indicators, such as infant mortality, car crashes, mental illness, teen pregnancies, heart disease, imprisonment, homicides, substance abuse, obesity and premature death.”
A study published in JAMA in 2025 concluded that American children’s health has worsened across many indicators since 2007, including a rise in chronic disease, increased obesity (to 21% in 2021-2023) and mental health problems.
A succinct synopsis of some negative health factors, starting in the womb: fetal alcohol syndrome; highly stressed pregnant mothers-to-be; toxins passed from the mother’s blood into the placenta and fetus; birth complications, including cesareans; lack of breast-feeding, which has negative effects on the infant’s immune system; toxic breastmilk – analyzed samples have shown high levels of toxins in breastmilk; lack of touch; dysfunctional family upbringings; adverse childhood events; the standard American diet (SAD); pathogens, malnutrition, trauma events; toxic exposures – heavy metals and chemicals, including mercury in fish and amalgam fillings; smog; some cleaning and hygiene products; poor emotional support systems; drug abuse; loneliness and isolation; lack of exercise; over or under eating – obesity and anorexia; and pernicious electromagnetic fields…
Pocahontas County has the potential to be an exceptionally salubrious environment, given its mountain air and lack of industry, but the current trend in the Green Bank area is towards increasing toxic elements: coal smoke – which contains mercury and sulfur – spewing from the tourist train; roadside spraying with glyphosate herbicide; Roundup ready corn planted in fields previously sown in grass and alfalfa, and now a rolling out of Wi-Fi in previously wired institutions.
Numerous studies show pernicious health from microwave radiation, including a Swedish study linking it to an increase in Alzheimer’s. Newspapers are no longer interested in publishing the results of microwave studies. Once upon a time, not so very long ago, the owners of microwave ovens were urged to have their ovens checked for leaks because of microwave radiation’s detrimental effects on health.
It is perhaps edifying that the very rich will pay over $1,000 a night for an exclusive “digital detox retreat” on a small US Virgin island. I wish I could afford to investigate the place. Meanwhile, perhaps extolling the benefits of this country’s one official Quiet Zone would be a better, and certainly healthier, option than adding yet more technologies and substances pernicious to health.
Clover Kreger
Dunmore
