“This is out of an abundance of caution,” Hickey said. Any time pipes are disturbed by leaks and work to make repairs, there is a chance for contaminants to be introduced. That’s why Boil Water Notices are put into place until the water quality can be officially verified.

Water customers will be notified when the Boil Water Notice is lifted, both by phone and via the town’s website.

The local Health Department also became involved in the water emergency on Friday as the major leak was identified and being repaired. Hickey said the town contacted health officials to “loop them in” as water outages and Boil Water rules impacted the operations of businesses, especially restaurants. County health officials are helping advise establishments about the right protocols to use boiled water and reopen their operations when possible.

It is reported that customers of the Berkeley Springs Water Works do have access to water on Monday.

Hickey said the largest leak at Jimstown Road has been repaired. There were five separate leaks detected by water crews with the town and with assistance from crews from American Water. A couple have been fully repaired and others have been “managed,” Hickey said. Those will be fully repaired this week.

Additional reporting on the water emergency will be in this week’s Morgan Messenger.

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Before a crowd of more than three dozen people, the Paw Paw town council discussed at length on Tuesday two proposals to keep the doors of the Paw Paw Senior Center open in the future.

Just last week, Senior Life Services of Morgan County published notice that they were holding a public comment meeting about a proposal to close the Paw Paw Senior Center. That meeting is set for Monday, October 26 in Berkeley Springs.

Meanwhile, a group of senior citizens and Paw Paw residents have been in negotiations with the Senior Life Services about how to operate the center, which offers a place for older residents to gather, socialize, eat lunch daily and hold community events.

During Tuesday evening’s meeting at the Paw Paw Senior Center with the Paw Paw Town Council, there were claims that Senior Life Services had not been negotiating “in good faith” over the future of the center.

Several residents and center supporters described getting proposals about how the center would operate, and before that proposal could be considered, the terms of the proposal would change.

A key issue is which entity would lease the bottom floor of the Mountaineer Community Health Center building when the current lease runs out on December 31, 2026.

Senior Life Services has said they would not renew the lease, which is nominal at $1 per year.

On Tuesday, Paw Paw officials considered two main options – the Town of Paw Paw would sign the lease to keep the space open for senior activities and would manage the use of the space, or the town would lease the space and turn over management of the space to a senior center board appointed by the town.

Paw Paw officials voted unanimously in favor of the first option, and adopted a one-page Resolution to that effect.

The title of the document is: “A Resolution Authorizing the Lease of Premises at 783 Winchester Street and Dedicating the Premises to a Public Purpose as a Senior and Community Activities Facility.”

The resolution took effect on Tuesday when it was adopted.

Through the resolution, town officials are authorized to execute a lease for the lower-level of the Mountaineer Community Health building for one year with renewal options for a rent of $1 per year.

“The premises are dedicated to and shall be used for a public purpose, namely senior activities and related public, recreational, educational, and community uses consistent with W.Va. Code 8-12-5, 10-2-2, and 16-5P-9,” the document says.

The council will “adopt a Facility Use Policy governing access to and use of the premise. All access and use granted by the Town shall by nonexclusive and revocable and shall be coordinated by a facility coordinator designated by the Town,” according to the resolution.

A Facility Use Police was attached to the resolution and was adopted at the same time as the resolution.

In it, the Town of Paw Paw specifies that it will insure the premises but not the contents.

“Senior meal and nutrition services may be provided by a third-party provider under a separate agreement, provided that provider remains responsible for its own staff, insurance, and food-service permitting. No other permitted food service is conducted at the facility unless separately authorized in writing by the Town,” the policy says.

Use of the senior center space will be arranged through a town representative, who will hold the keys to the facility, the policy says.

“The facility is open to area seniors and to senior-focused activities. Other compatible community uses may be scheduled as the Town allows,” the policy says.

Who keeps the lights on?

During extensive discussion ahead of the vote on the resolution, financial support of the senior center operations was discussed.

An existing senior citizens club has held multiple fundraisers and has told the town they would pay the utilities for the center to stay open for public use.

Paw Paw Mayor Darlene Abe said repeatedly that the town doesn’t have funds to put into the center.

“We will lease the building so you have a place to meet. You do the fundraisers and pay the utilities,” she said.

“We want nothing to do with it. The town is already overworked and no monies are available to put into this facility,” said Mayor Abe.

Jock Shambaugh asked if the club can go out and seek grants if the town chooses not to appoint a senior citizen board to direct the center’s operations.

The town’s attorney, who participated in the meeting by phone, said that would be possible. He said the club can raise funds and find grants, they could partner with other non-profits to seek grants or the town could sponsor grants for the senior club activities.

An official non-profit would have more opportunities for grant funding, officials acknowledged.

The senior club has said it would deposit funds with the town to cover utility bills by January 1, 2027.

Senior club advisor Glen Stotler said he would be surprised if Mountaineer Community Health would lease the space to the Town on the premise that a third party – the club – would keep the lights on. He said the town had been told multiple times the club would provide money to the town to cover expenses.

“I have represented that to the town every time we’ve met,” said Stotler.

Discussion confirmed that the building owners would need a guarantee from the town that they would pay the basic utilities even if the club couldn’t come up with funds to do so. Mayor Abe verbally agreed to that.

“Yes, we would make sure the lights would be kept on,” she said.

Even as officials took public comment about the resolution options, the mayor questioned how the fate of the senior center had come to the point that the town was having to step in.

She suggested “someone needs to sit down” with the Senior Life Services officials to work something out.

Meeting attendees rejected that notion, outlining how many times they had gone back and forth with proposals for keeping the center open.

“The board has been here. They told us what we needed to do and we did it,” said one town resident.

“Other than providing meals that they are federally reimbursed for, they want to cut ties,” said Stotler. He said regional entities for senior centers are in support of closing Paw Paw as a full-fledged center.

Stotler, a former Morgan County Commissioner, pointed out that the county provided free space to the Morgan County Senior Center for its first 40 years of operations before it purchased the former U.S. Silica building where the non-profit is now headquartered.

He recommended the Town of Paw Paw create a board and appoint members to provide oversight for the senior center budget and operations, so it could succeed long-term.

“The issues have been going on since the spring of 2025. We can go on and on about that. This resolution is a good stepping stone, or a good starting point,” said councilman Devin Abe.

In a social media post on October 9, the Senior Life Services director Tammy Kees shared a lengthy post about the change in operations predicted in Paw Paw. That post was updated on Wednesday following the Town of Paw Paw vote to lease the space with local control.

The post Town of Paw Paw to take over Paw Paw Senior Center lease by end of year appeared first on Morgan Messenger.

The Berkeley Springs Lady Indians varsity volleyball team battled hard on their home court but came up short against Southern Garrett, falling in three sets at the Berkeley Springs High School gym.

The Lady Indians pushed the visitors throughout the match, especially in the opening and closing sets, but Southern Garrett was able to capitalize on key points late in each frame to secure the victory. The set scores were 25-22, 25-15,…

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The Berkeley Springs Lady Indians are proving that championship teams find ways to win, no matter the circumstances.

Riding a wave of confidence and momentum, the Lady Indians stretched their winning streak to 10 consecutive matches with a memorable Senior Night victory over the Moorefield Yellow Jackets on October 6 at Morgan Field before following it up with an emotional road win over Petersburg two days later. The back-to-back shutouts improved Berkeley…

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On a picture-perfect autumn day at Cacapon State Park Golf Resort, the Berkeley Springs Indians golf team etched its name into school history by claiming the Class AA Region II Golf Championship on Monday, October 5.

The Indians dominated the field with a winning team score of 255, finishing well ahead of runner-up Petersburg (278) and securing a coveted berth in the WVSSAC Class AA State Golf Championships at Oglebay Resort in…

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by Kate Shunney

The Morgan County Republican Executive Committee will host a rally in Berkeley Springs State Park on Saturday, October 24 to emphasize patriotic ideals and American opportunity, said organizer Glen Stotler.

Stotler asked the Morgan County Commission to proclaim October 24 as “Proud to be an American Day” in Morgan County, which officials voted to do last Wednesday.

“In spite of some of the things going on today, the…

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“I recognize the historical and ecological importance of chestnut and chinquapin trees at the former Clements State Tree Nursery and am committed to ensuring their preservation,” the governor said.

His office said after an October 5 assessment involving The American Chestnut Foundation, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, and the West Virginia Department of Agriculture, “a plan is now in place to protect these trees and preserve their genetic lineage.”

The nursery was closed by the West Virginia Division of Forestry in May 2021 due to financial losses.

The governor’s office says that since 2023, access to the property for seed and sapling harvesting has continued uninterrupted as tech companies took possession of the land.

“The American Chestnut Foundation, the Division of Natural Resources, and the Division of Forestry have already taken steps to preserve the genetic lineage of these trees, establishing multiple two-acre stands on state land, along with two additional plots using grafts and seedlings,” said the governor’s office.

The preservation plan involves moving the existing trees to “a more suitable environment within the property”. According to the governor’s office, a professional arborist will supervise that work in late 2027 during the dormant season of the trees. Those will remain accessible for seed and sapling harvesting for propagating the varieties.

Gov. Morrisey said Nscale will cover the full cost of the preservation and relocation efforts, with no expense to West Virginia taxpayers.

Nscale is building the 2,250-acre Monarch Compute Campus in Mason County, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) microgrid that the company claims will be part of a $20 billion capital investment in AI infrastructure in the state.

“I am committed to working together with NSCALE, the Department of Agriculture and concerned citizens to ensure the concerns about the trees are addressed and I thank everyone for their thoughtfulness in developing solutions,” the governor said.

The post Governor says plan will protect historic trees at former state nursery property appeared first on Morgan Messenger.

by Lisa Schauer

Isaias, a major category 3 hurricane, hit Florida on Friday, October 9, its remnants carrying wind and heavy rain across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Sunday, October 11.

Yet on Saturday, October 10 Berkeley Springs’ 51^st annual Apple Butter Festival shined.

Organizers estimated a crowd of 20,000 people attended, based on the number of parade spectators.

At 9 a.m. sharp, the…

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After nearly a year of uncertainty about the operations and services being offered at Paw Paw’s Senior Center, the Senior Life Services of Morgan County has set a public comment meeting on Monday, October 26 about closing the facility.

The meeting will take place at 2 p.m. the headquarters of Senior Life Services of Morgan County, located at 106 Sand Mine Road, Suite 1 in Berkeley Springs.

Senior Life Services operates the…

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Morgan County Commissioners have approved short-term financial support for Life or Drugs Tri-State Support Group as the non-profit faces the loss of a key grant.

Commissioners agreed to spend $10,740 of their opioid recovery settlement fund to help pay the wages of two part-time recovery and support specialists who work for Life or Drugs.

The group formed in 2013 when Morgan County had little in the way of substance abuse recovery services…

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