Editorials

A big chunk of the Berkeley Springs business community's concern about policing policies has been related to parking matters. It's nice to see that town and police officials have been listening.

The Saturday after the May 16 meeting between Bath Council members and business people, the meter man began giving out a "Complimentary Warning Ticket." The message reminds people that meters operate from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday. It reads: "Your parking meter is expired. Please remember to feed the meter during times of operation. Thank you. Have a good day!"

As the Bath Town Council rethinks parking policies, they will no doubt be looking at the dollars and cents.

For the 2005-2006 fiscal year, the council estimated they would get $25,000 from meters and $8,000 from parking

This year's high school graduates would do well to go on to college — advice we've given before. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the U. S. faces a severe shortage of educated workers. For that reason alone, the pay gap between college and high school graduates has nearly doubled in the past 25 years.

Part of the problem is that the Baby Boomer Generation is starting to retire, and the birth rate was less in the next generation. So, there will be jobs to fill for quite a while, many requiring advanced education. Meantime, the United States didn't even make the top five countries in the world when you consider the percentage of college graduates.

Last week's concert by the Morgan Community Concert Band was one of the more memorable local events we've attended through the years. Not only was it great to see a performance by a group of nearly 30 area musicians who get together out of sheer love of music, but the historic side of their program was something special, too.

Though we never saw them perform, we'd long heard about the Patriotic Order Sons of America Lodge Band, or the P.O.S. of A., as it was usually called. So, it was amazing to hear the Community Concert Band play some of the music that Irving "Pete" Nesmith wrote and arranged for the P.O.S. of A. outfit a half century ago.

Last week's Morgan Messenger reported that the West Virginia Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for Denver A. Youngblood, Jr. on sexual assault charges. That case was one of four that the State Supreme Court heard when the justices sat in Romney last month.

The court has also ruled in another case with local interest for which the justices heard oral arguments while they were up this way.

The debate is continuing over whether Town of Bath government should have space in the new Morgan County Courthouse. A lot of the arguments are lined out in this week's front page report about a town council meeting on Monday evening. It will be interesting to see what the town council decides to do after they meet with Governor Joe Manchin on Thursday.

One thing that caught our eye in the council report was a comment made by Mayor Susan Webster: "We are the economic development hub of Morgan County." Of course, she's right. Sorta.

New studies and investigations are blowing holes in the Bush Administration's education policies. If you recall, before 9/11 and the War on Terror, the centerpiece of President Bush's domestic agenda was the "No Child Left Behind" plan for public schools.

Last month, it was announced that the reliance on educational software and computer teaching hasn't caused any dramatic improvement in student performance. The study was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Education itself, not some off-the-wall group.

While we're talking tax funds, we're glad the Morgan County School Board cut their special levy rate to help ease the local property tax burden. Of course, we urged them to cut the rate in an earlier editorial so our viewpoint was clear.

The board's tax cut more than makes up for the 2% increase that the county commissioners imposed to help pay for a new courthouse. So, maybe it's time to stop beating that horse.

Finally, there's the question of whether Town of Bath government should have offices in a new courthouse. When Mayor Susan Webster mentioned this to us last September, we thought it was a good idea. We brought it up in editorials and in conversation with county officials. Unfortunately, we now have our doubts.

The mayor and council never really took hold of the ball and, eight months later, they're still fumbling. They never went to the county with an official request. They never figured out how much space they needed. They never even voiced the notion at the public meetings about courthouse design. Most importantly, they never came up with any money.

The Morgan County Commissioners are doing the right thing in rethinking the design and costs of a new courthouse. The original plan from Silling & Associates was beautiful, but there's no way to pay for the $12.7 million building. Clearly, there's little public support for such a major project without state aid.

That said, we still feel the commissioners should build the best courthouse they can, with an eye toward how the facility can be expanded in the future. The idea of using the old hospital, being promoted by some, is not appealing. The building is not set up for public spaces and courtrooms, and the location is far from perfect. Using the hospital as a courthouse is a backward dodge, not a step into the 21st century. Plus, such a move would leave a big hole in the downtown.