Opinion
Sen. Byrd hits another record in distinguished political career
Sen. Robert C. Byrd is still setting records.
Most people certainly are aware that Byrd is already the longest serving senator in United States history. But today he reaches yet another milestone in his long and distinguished career. Today he becomes the longest serving member of Congress in history. He surpassed Carl Hayden when one combines his terms in the U. S. Senate as well as in the House of Representatives.
Hayden served in the House from 1912 to 1927 and then in the Senate from 1927 to 1969. That period covers 56 years and 319 days for the Democrat from Arizona.
Byrd served in the House of Representatives from 1953-59 and has been in the U.S. Senate ever since. During nearly half of that span he has served as the majority leader.
And would you believe the West Virginia senator will observe another birthday on Friday as he turns 92 years old?
Gov. Joe Manchin and state lawmakers have some celebrations planned in Charleston today at the state capitol, although Byrd probably will remain in Washington. He is still rather weak following an extended hospital visit or two.
He reappeared on the U.S. Senate floor back on Oct. 19 to manage a $44.1 billon homeland security spending bill. He said then that “there are some people in this country who have become complacent about the threat of another attack,” referring to the horrors of 9/11. “Don’t count me as one of them.” He has apparently made great strides since it appeared he might be near death in mid-summer.
Byrd stepped down as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee prior to his 91st birthday. But while he was in that post, West Virginia was the recipient of huge sums of money for roads, colleges and universities and economic development projects.
One of our favorite comments about the senator was that he might as well move the nation’s capitol to West Virginia since just about everything else has moved here.
As we have stated on previous occasions, West Virginians owe Sen. Byrd a big round of thanks for all he has done for the betterment of the Mountain State.
- Opinion
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Mine officials’ swift action may have saved lives
While it was hard to watch Patriot Coal Corp.’s Federal No. 2 Mine halt production a few times over the past month, we have to believe that swift action on the part of mine, union and federal officials may have saved lives.
Stopping mining at the operation means placing a financial burden on the miners who work there, we understand, but conditions were such that an explosion like the one that took the lives of 12 miners just four years ago in Sago was possible.
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Voters: Scrap it and rewrite it
A few weeks.
A lot can happen in a few weeks. Just think, a few weeks ago, we were all lamenting the snow and poor road conditions. Now we’ve had enough spring-like weather over the past couple of days that the only snow left is the clumps in parking lots from the plows. And even those are melting faster than a Dairy Creme Corner ice cream cone on a hot July day.
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Area women’s basketball programs have come long way
For many years, women’s basketball just seemed to many observers to be just something for young girls and women to do prior to the “real games” being played by boys and men. It took a long time before women’s games were even covered by the media — and that includes radio and television as well as newspapers.
Fortunately, opinions have changed over the years.
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City must practice responsible fiscal policy
The employees of the City of Fairmont have a reason to celebrate.
For the first time in three years, since a water crisis crippled the city and its finances in the early months of 2007, employees will get one-time pay increases worth about $750.
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Laws needed to regulate development of resources
The Marcellus shale formations, which extend throughout the Eastern United States, remain a largely untapped reserve of natural gas. And that makes it a prime target for energy development.
But local legislators want a little regulation when it comes to the extraction of the natural resource. Drillers tap millions of gallons of water from streams and rivers so as to bore into the rock formations that trap the state’s abundant reserves of natural gas.
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Broadband access vital to state’s future
The Mountain State is receiving $126.3 million in federal stimulus funding for a proposed statewide broadband infrastructure project.
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Here’s to dodging those potholes
There’s always this span of time when the snow melts and the beauty of the landscape suffers for it. Bare trees once frosted with snow are just bare again. The streets and sidewalks are covered with cinders and dust.
The brighter the sun shines, the uglier it looks.
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Erin’s Law would enable families to get sense of justice after future tragedies
There came a point several months after the violent death of her daughter that Debbie Keener came to a very grave conclusion. The person responsible for the hit-and-run death of her daughter would face but one charge — leaving the scene of an accident causing death.
And that charge, if successfully prosecuted, would mean that the person responsible for the death of Erin Keener, a 21-year-old honors nursing student at West Virginia University, would serve up to three years in prison.
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Hall of Fame would be fitting tribute to FSU legend Joe Retton
Has it really been almost 50 years since Joe Retton took over the reins of the Fairmont State basketball program that became such an important part of the West Virginia Conference Tournament for many years thereafter?
That it has. Forty-seven years, to be exact. And the West Virginia Conference Tournament is celebrating its 50th anniversary being held in Charleston this week.
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Community generosity shines during ‘Gift of Love’
Did you ever see something that just made you feel good all over and that all is right with the world?
You probably have, at one time or another. But down at the Times West Virginian, we enjoyed that rare feeling Monday afternoon. That’s when a good portion of the food collected out in the county for the Gift of Love food drive arrived at our building for distribution today.
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Mine officials’ swift action may have saved lives
