Encouraging news is always good to share. According to the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office, and despite the ongoing pandemic, the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in West Virginia. State-wide in November 2020, 928 new businesses were registered, and for that month, Pocahontas County led the state in the percentage of new business growth with a total of 13 new businesses registered. This was a 1.79 percent increase.
What positivity might come in 2021 or 2022 is yet to be determined. But a lot of changes are in the air. Pocahontas County could see real benefits. One emerging trend is travel, so people can audition new places to live, especially smaller communities with ample access to nature and recreation.
Sound familiar? Sounds like Pocahontas County to me –
Nature’s Mountain Playground.
Recently, a growing number of media inquiries regarding Mon-Forest Towns Partnership has prompted the MFT Marketing Committee to begin work on a plan designed to better articulate the MFT story and to assure that its members speak on behalf of their respective Towns, and not the USFS.
Recreation update: In partnership with the Mon Forest Town partnership, the Benedum Foundation funded the initial flagging and ground work for the Monday Lick trail development project with a $50,000 grant. IMBA flagged about 16 miles of trail in early November. A portion of this grant is still available for 15+ miles of additional trails to be flagged.
I have now walked the Marlinton Overlook Trail as laid out by Trail Solutions, an engineering branch of the International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA). The recent report on this project has a potential timeline for spring construction, made possible by a $55,000 DOH grant, submitted in December 2017.
Also worth noting – I would not recommend walking the proposed trail until it’s finished!
Sam