Dear Editor:

Project Christmas 2009 was a sweet success.

I write this article with a heart full of genuine gratitude. Each year the Family Resource Network faces the formidable challenge of providing Christmas gifts for children of low income families and the collaboration of county service providers. Although this is not an easy task; it is one of my favorite projects.  The magnitude of generosity and the outpouring of love from the residents of this beautiful county never ceases to amaze me. You have the spirit of Christmas and it certainly shows in all you do. Once again, we were able to serve over 250 children with toys and clothing.  This was made possible through the benevolence of area businesses, civic organizations, faith based partners and individuals.  For the past several years we have received help from our neighbors at The Greenbrier Resort.

A special “thank you” goes out to the people who work so hard to make this happen.  The sheriff’s department deserves recognition for their efforts as well as the inmates at Denmar, who wrapped toys.

In addition, we should recognize the students at Pocahontas High School who participated in the annual Elf Auction.  A total of $750 was raised through the auction to benefit 2009 Project Christmas.   Employees of the NRAO and Snowshoe added their support by adopting angel names from the tree.  Brett Withers and the employees of City National Bank graciously allowed us to use their facility to host the event and store the gifts.  A total of $2,250 was raised to purchase angel food orders for hungry families. The First Baptist Church of Huntersville, along with many volunteers, helped with the distribution. These are just a few of the people who contributed time and effort. There are many, many more.

Perhaps you chose a name from the angel tree or donated a hat or some mittens; perhaps you scoured your kitchen cabinets for the Feed the Need drive or made a monetary donation; maybe you delivered some packages to shut in families; or sponsored an Angel Food order; maybe you are someone who helped unload a truck of Angel Food in zero degree weather at 10 p.m.; you may have been a shopper or a wrapper or someone standing quietly in the background waiting for an opportunity to serve.  Whatever your contribution, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  I thank you on behalf of the families and children that you have fed, clothed and nurtured.  My wish for you is a healthy and prosperous new year.
Laura Young,
FRN Coordinator

Dear Editor,

Your "Here's What I Think" column in the December 24 edition of the Times was great.  I hope your ideas and thoughts do come to fruition.  But with politics as they are in Pocahontas County I think the statement you made in paragraph three of, "If we do what we've always done well, our results will reflect that", may be only too true.  I, like you, would like to see politics put aside and everyone work together for the common good.  But there lies the sleeping dog, so to speak.  What you see as the common good and others see as the common good may not be the same.

This is where teamwork comes in to play.  Each person must put aside his or her own favorite agenda and work together to protect and enhance the lives, neighborhoods, communities, businesses, schools, jobs, health, etc.

My wish for all Pocahontas County residents is that everyone can and will work on accomplishing the above.  Petty differences must be set aside.  Foolish lawsuits against the board of education must cease.  These lawsuits are costing the education system of the county good money that could be spent on keeping the vocational classes at the high school.

Rumors about the sheriff's department need to cease.  Sheriff Jonese is doing an outstanding job putting away the drug users.  If a person thinks they know something that one of the deputies has done wrong, they need to talk to the sheriff instead of spreading rumors.

The voting citizens of Pocahontas County have spoken loudly and clearly on how they felt about the taking of someone's property for the sewage treatment plant.

Now if everyone would work together on all of the other problems the county is facing, wonderful things could be accomplished!

I may be living in Florida now, but I'll always consider Pocahontas County my home.  I have family and a good many friends still there and I care more than you know about what is happening there.

Keep up the good work with the paper and please feature more of Jaynell's wonderful articles.

One last thing, please put the obituaries back on the front page.
Sincerely,
Linda Gibb
The Villages, FL.


Dear Editor:
There seems to be great concern over the loss of school days in West Virginia due to inclement weather. Extending the school calendar prompted a major debate in the legislative session last year and remains a projected debate for this year's session. The biggest instructional obstacles we, as teachers, face are not snow days. Unfunded initiatives and the lack of necessary staff is what affects student achievement. The classes we are required to offer and the resources we need for instruction
are not comparable to the staff and resources funded by the West Virginia Department of Education or Pocahontas County Schools.

In addition to this problem, it is nearly impossible to maintain an uninterrupted day when we are in school. We lose instructional time every school day due to students returning from absences, disruptive behavior, pictures, students' emotional distress, announcements, class travel, fire drills, illness, assemblies, etc. We overcome the daily obstacles extremely well considering the limited staff and resources we have, which is why the focus of education needs to shift from the quantity of school days to the quality of instructional days. We could do better.

The state of Colorado's school calendar requires 160 days. According to a data comparison on the United States Education Department's Institute for Educational Sciences website, Colorado's NAEP scores (National Assessment of Educational Progress) are well above the national average in all tested content areas. West Virginia falls well below the national average. Colorado's Mathematics scores rank 15th in the nation while West Virginia's rank 48th. In Reading, West Virginia ranks 43rd while Colorado ranks 18th nationwide (http://www.nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard). Because of their dedication to quality programs, Colorado can achieve success in 160 days. West Virginia can improve student achievement with fewer than 180 days.

The West Virginia Department of Education and Pocahontas County Schools should be directing educational funds to support quality teachers and provide quality programs. Instead of worrying about lost days, we should be concerned about an education without available necessary resources or the number of staff needed to successfully instruct our students while they are in school.

Christine Campbell
Marlinton Middle School
Pocahontas County AFT President