WHILE most of America becomes a sardine can of urban congestion - a noisy beehive of shopping malls, subdivisions, high-rises, slums and stressful traffic jams - West Virginia remains blessed with closeness to nature. Green hills, shady ravines and gurgling streams are everywhere. Preserving this treasure is a goal of The Nature Conservancy, which quips, "we deliver results you can walk around on." The state chapter now shields 120,000 acres from commercial development. "The forests we've protected clean our air, cleanse our drinking water and provide the recreational opportunities we all enjoy," says state director Rodney Bartgis. Bravo.
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WHILE most of America becomes a sardine can of urban congestion - a noisy beehive of shopping malls, subdivisions, high-rises, slums and stressful traffic jams - West Virginia remains blessed with closeness to nature. Green hills, shady ravines and gurgling streams are everywhere. Preserving this treasure is a goal of The Nature Conservancy, which quips, "we deliver results you can walk around on." The state chapter now shields 120,000 acres from commercial development. "The forests we've protected clean our air, cleanse our drinking water and provide the recreational opportunities we all enjoy," says state director Rodney Bartgis. Bravo.
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Millions of Americans relish tracing their family roots. The reading room at West Virginia's State Archives usually is full of genealogy-diggers. The Wall Street Journal says Ancestry.com has more than 2 million members. "Last year, people curious about family trees spent $2.3 million on genealogy products and services," it added. Some researchers are jolted to learn that forebears were jailed as crooks or killers - and one found that a New England ancestor was tried twice for witchcraft.
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The Internet may be grabbing billions of readers, but hometown newspapers still are potent. The New York Times featured 93-year-old Newt Wallace, longtime owner of the weekly Winters Express, who still shoulders a delivery bag and makes rounds in Winters, Cal. As he left papers at the Chamber of Commerce, the director said: "There is no way Winters would survive without the weekly paper."
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Bearing arms in West Virginia: Two horses were shot near St. Albans, one fatally. Police found 31 empty shell casings at the scene. Neighbors said a St. Albans man was seen at the locale with an assault rifle.
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Email joke, supposedly from Genesis: "God promised men that obedient wives would be found in all corners of the earth. Then he made the earth round, and he laughed and laughed and laughed."
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The Wheeling Intelligencer says Northern Panhandle hotels and motels are bursting with Marcellus Shale gas drilling workers. Apparently, many jobs from the gas boom are going to out-of-state employees.
WHILE most of America becomes a sardine can of urban congestion - a noisy beehive of shopping malls, subdivisions, high-rises, slums and stressful traffic jams - West Virginia remains blessed with closeness to nature. Green hills, shady ravines and gurgling streams are everywhere. Preserving this treasure is a goal of The Nature Conservancy, which quips, "we deliver results you can walk around on." The state chapter now shields 120,000 acres from commercial development. "The forests we've protected clean our air, cleanse our drinking water and provide the recreational opportunities we all enjoy," says state director Rodney Bartgis. Bravo.
***
Millions of Americans relish tracing their family roots. The reading room at West Virginia's State Archives usually is full of genealogy-diggers. The Wall Street Journal says Ancestry.com has more than 2 million members. "Last year, people curious about family trees spent $2.3 million on genealogy products and services," it added. Some researchers are jolted to learn that forebears were jailed as crooks or killers - and one found that a New England ancestor was tried twice for witchcraft.
***
The Internet may be grabbing billions of readers, but hometown newspapers still are potent. The New York Times featured 93-year-old Newt Wallace, longtime owner of the weekly Winters Express, who still shoulders a delivery bag and makes rounds in Winters, Cal. As he left papers at the Chamber of Commerce, the director said: "There is no way Winters would survive without the weekly paper."
***
Bearing arms in West Virginia: Two horses were shot near St. Albans, one fatally. Police found 31 empty shell casings at the scene. Neighbors said a St. Albans man was seen at the locale with an assault rifle.
***
Email joke, supposedly from Genesis: "God promised men that obedient wives would be found in all corners of the earth. Then he made the earth round, and he laughed and laughed and laughed."
***
The Wheeling Intelligencer says Northern Panhandle hotels and motels are bursting with Marcellus Shale gas drilling workers. Apparently, many jobs from the gas boom are going to out-of-state employees.
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