Author: Liz McCormick

Liz is WVPB's Webmaster/Digital Coordinator and Eastern Panhandle Bureau Chief, based in Shepherdstown, WV on Shepherd University's campus. Liz is a native of Charleston, West Virginia. She received a M.A. in Strategic Communication from American University in 2022 and a B.A. in Communication and New Media from Shepherd in 2014. Prior to her role as webmaster, Liz was WVPB's Eastern Panhandle reporter from 2014-2022, the House of Delegates reporter on "The Legislature Today" from 2015-2017, and she covered K-12/higher education from 2020-2022. Liz has also worked as a technical assistant and associate producer on "The Legislature Today."

Eastern Panhandle Farmers Express Concern Over Proposed Storage Tank Regulations

After a chemical spill contaminated the drinking water for 300,000 West Virginians, state lawmakers passed a bill to regulate above ground storage tanks…

After a chemical spill contaminated the drinking water for 300,000 West Virginians, state lawmakers passed a bill to regulate above ground storage tanks in the hopes of preventing it from happening again. Just a few weeks ago, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection released some guidelines for tank owners on how to interpret that law until their inspection program is finalized later this year. The DEP held an informational meeting in Martinsburg yesterday to hear the concerns of tank owners and collect comments on their new program.

The informational session on the proposed Aboveground Storage Tank Program was met with…distaste from the forty or so in attendance. The majority of those people were farmers living and working in the eastern panhandle whose storage tanks would be directly affected by the new proposed rules. And the overall feeling…was not one of pleasure.

“This is a bunch of bull,” said Eddie Hough. Hough and his brother are dairy farmers in Charles Town, “We have a 4,000 gallon milk tank, and I can’t believe that it will be an environmental hazard if it does spring a leak.”

And Hough wasn’t the only one who was upset. Most of the other farmers refused an interview, but many did say during the meeting that they had either milk tanks or water tanks and just couldn’t understand the need for them to be regulated. One woman even expressed outrage on how she would adequately regulate a water trough for her farm animals.

Under this proposed program, all aboveground storage tanks in the state would have to be regulated by the DEP if they have the capacity to hold 1,320 gallons or more of liquid, are 90 percent or more above ground, and are at a fixed location for at least 60 days. It’s estimated that this could affect as many as 80,000 tanks used in a variety of industries and for a multitude of purposes.

Last month, DEP Secretary, Randy Huffman entered an emergency rule meant to guide tank owners through the inspection process described in law until his department can fully implement the tank inspection program.

That rule said tanks would be categorized in three groups with varying inspection levels for each. Tanks like Hough’s that contain water or food based products must be registered and inspected by the January 1st deadline, but can be inspected by the owner or a designee. Only tanks containing hazardous materials, holding more than 50 thousand gallons of a substance or located near a public water supply must be inspected by a certified engineer.

Dr. Terry Polen, West Virginia DEP Ombudsman, a person who investigates individuals’ complaints, led the meeting.

“I’m going to go through a short overview of this, and then allow folks to make comments and then I will take those comments back to the agency to those people that are actually drafting the bills. If changes need to be made, if people think that changes need to be made, then their voice needs to be heard,” said Polen.

The draft interpretive rule is out for public comment through October 9th. That rule will set the framework for the final above ground storage tank program for the DEP.

CATF to Be in New York City in October

The Contemporary American Theater Festival in Shepherdstown will, for the first time, take one of its world premieres to Off-Broadway in New York City.

In August, CATF finished up its 24^th season, but that wasn’t quite the end. To its surprise, the festival was invited to transfer one of this season’s productions to New York City’s Off-Broadway venue, 59E59 Theaters. The play chosen was Uncanny Valley by Thomas Gibbons.

Uncanny Valley is set in the near future and portrays the relationship between Julian, an artificial intelligence being, and Claire, a neuroscientist tasked with teaching him how to become “human.”

This is the first time in the Festival’s 24 year history that it will move one of its Shepherdstown productions as-is to a new venue.

“It’s a really thrilling opportunity,” said Ed Herendeen, the founder and producing director of the Contemporary American Theater Festival, “You know we’ve had several of our plays produced in New York…and several of our plays have been produced around the country at regional theaters, but this is the very first time one of our productions will transfer to New York City.”

Herendeen says this opportunity wouldn’t have been possible if it hadn’t been for the success of the festival and its location.

“We are passionate about our geography. We really, really believe that place matters, and in many ways, the success of the Contemporary American Theater Festival is directly related to our geography; the eastern panhandle, Shepherdstown, the state of West Virginia. So this is going to give and shine a positive light on our state.”

Uncanny Valley by Thomas Gibbons will be presented in New York City between October 2-26.

To learn more about the play, you can visit the CATF website or watch this teaser trailer from the Contemporary American Theater Festival’s Vimeo page.

STEM Camp for Middle School – Age Girls

On Saturday, a STEM camp for middle school girls will be held at Shepherd University.

The camp is called, Seeding Your Future, and the organizers hope that the middle school-age girls who attend will be inspired to consider careers in science, technology, engineering, and math; better known as STEM.

Seeding Your Future will offer hands-on workshops that will teach scientific, technological, or mathematical lessons. The whole idea is to help the girls get energized about science and math.

“Research has traditionally shown that in middle school is where the sort of interest in math, science, technology, engineering, those sort of fields, tends to flag a little bit, and so this is an effort to help increase the interest, keep that going, so that maybe they want to go into a science or math, or STEM career,” said Dr. Jordan Mader, assistant professor of Chemistry at Shepherd.

Mader says there’s a growing need for more professionals in STEM fields, and now is a great opportunity for more young women to consider getting involved. She also says girls are often being discouraged when it comes to STEM careers.

She and fourteen other Shepherd faculty members, running the camp on Saturday, hope it helps change those girls’ perspectives.

National Park Service Seeks Public Comments on Shepherdstown Battlefield Boundary Adjustment

This week is the last chance to make a public comment about a boundary adjustment for the Shepherdstown Battlefield. The National Park Service is looking for thoughts and opinions on whether the battlefield should be part of the park system. If so, will it be an addition to Harpers Ferry National Historical Park or Antietam National Battlefield?

On September 19^th and 20^th 1862, the Battle of Shepherdstown was underway. Some say, this battle may have significantly changed the course of the American Civil War. Edward Dunleavy, the President of the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association says it was this small battle that caused Confederate General, Robert E. Lee to retreat south, halting his Maryland campaign.

“Lincoln had talked to his cabinet in July of 1862 about releasing the Emancipation Proclamation,” Dunleavy said, “and his secretary of state, Seward, said if you do it now without a military victory, it will fall on deaf ears, but if you do it after a military victory, it’ll have some importance. So the Union army could claim a military victory by pushing Lee’s army in retreat back into Virginia, and on September 22^nd, the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation was released by Lincoln. That’s the significance of this battle.”

Dunleavy thinks the Shepherdstown Battlefield would be better as an addition to Antietam, because he says historically, it makes more sense.

“From a purely Civil War standpoint, it really should be part of the Antietam Battlefield,” he argued, “Not to take anything away from Harpers Ferry, but the fact is, there was an enormous surrender at Harpers Ferry during the Maryland campaign, but there was really no battle that ever happened there.”

While most of the opinions from the public and even the National Park Service seem to be overwhelmingly for Antietam, that’s still up for debate.

The boundary adjustment will be re-evaluated by both the National Park Service and Congress. Dunleavy says it will probably take at least six months or longer before a decision is made.

The comment period will end on Friday, October 3rd.

Appalachian Heritage Festival Continues in Shepherdstown this Weekend

The annual Appalachian Heritage Festival in Shepherdstown continues this evening. The dance, art, and music filled weekend is a celebration of the region’s artistic traditions. This past week included a quieter celebration of Appalachian literature with Shepherd University’s 2014 writer-in-residence, Homer Hickam.

Hickam is best known for his 1998 book Rocket Boys, the story of his 1950s childhood in Coalwood, West Virginia and his hopes of becoming a rocket scientist. He eventually realized his dream, working for NASA as an aerospace engineer for seventeen years. But when it comes to his writing ability, he credits his West Virginia roots.

“Both my parents were good storytellers around the kitchen table after supper, and I’d listen to their stories,” Hickam remembered, “And Coalwood, where I grew up, a lot of folks knew how to tell a good story. And when I started writing, it was one of the first things I got back from my editors was, wow you really know how to tell a story, and I said, well, you know I had good teachers.”

As Shepherd University’s writer-in-residence, Hickam has spent the past week speaking to student and community groups around Shepherdstown. Last night, he received the annual Appalachian Heritage Writers Award, funded by the West Virginia Humanities Council.

Hickam says it’s been a great experience for him and his wife.

“We have been treated like royalty, and it’s been standing room only wherever I’ve gone, which has been really, really nice, and I mean the people are just wonderful.”

Hickam’s Coalwood Trilogy is this year’s One West Virginia Common Read. That means it’s recommended reading for everyone in the state according to the West Virginia Center for the Book.

167th Airlift Wing to Get Eight C-17 Aircrafts

Thursday, September 25th marks the end of an era for the 167^th Airlift Wing in Martinsburg. The National Guard unit is getting the first of eight C-17 aircrafts, which will eventually replace the 11 C-5s that have been on the base since 2006. This transition comes at a price. About 160 fulltime positions are going away, but the West Virginia National Guard is trying to help the people affected find other jobs.

Senior Master Sergeant, Lee Deyerly spends his days as a flight engineer on the C-5 aircrafts, but soon he’ll be climbing into a new plane.

“The C-5’s like a 1968 model aircraft, and the C-17s are much newer than that, so with that it’d be the equivalent of driving an older car or an older RV and getting into a newer RV,” noted Deyerly.

And this new model doesn’t need as many workers. Deyerly’s position will go away after the switch to C-17s.

“I was bummed at first,” Deyerly said, “It takes two years of your life to become a first engineer on the C-5, and that is a lot of time, a lot of effort, and a lot of time away from home learning a certain job.”

In some ways, Deyerly feels like he’s throwing away those two years of training.

The 167^th Airlift Wing first learned it was losing its C-5s in 2012. The Air Force had decided to retire many of the planes at bases across the country. This isn’t the first time the 167th has switched aircrafts. Prior to the C-5s, the base flew C-130s from 1972 until 2005. Sergeant Deyerly worked on the C-130s. He says it’s always bitter-sweet to see a plane go, but a recent experience helped him get excited about his new job as a loadmaster on the C-17s.

“I got to go to Stewart National Guard Base in New York and actually got to fly on the airplane with a couple other NCOs from the base here, and it was kind of invigorating,” Deyerly remembered, “It brought back a little bit more pride in what we’re about ready to go do. It brought back that excitement of flying again.”

In October, he’ll head to Oklahoma for four months of re-training. Many of Deyerly’s colleagues who worked fulltime on the C-5s are also being re-trained. Others are re-locating to bases that still have C-5s, or moving to new jobs on or off the Martinsburg base, or simply retiring. But about 40 more people could be without fulltime jobs when the last C-5 leaves the base in March.

Colonel Shaun Perkowski is the commander of the 167^th Airlift Wing.

“We knew that the move to the C-17 would come with a difference in numbers,” Perkowski said, “we knew that the constriction of fulltime positions and part time positions would be a challenge for us.”

Base personnel seem unsure how many part time positions will be lost, but Colonel Perkowski hopes the West Virginia National Guard can help all the affected workers find other positions by the time the final C-5 leaves. He is glad the base is getting the newer C-17s.

“We’re very excited for the future,” noted Perkowski, “The C-17 is a vibrant, supported platform by the Air Force, funding and everything else, so we are excited from that standpoint.”

Senior Master Sergeant, Lee Deyerly and his crewmen will be taking one last flight in a C-5 today. They’ll be delivering it to an Air Force storage and maintenance facility commonly called “the boneyard” in Arizona, where it will be recycled.

“The entire section of engineers that are still here, we’re all going to get on it, and…on the C-5 and do our final flight together as a section,” Deyerly said, “So it’ll be a kind of a nice, a nice send off for the airplanes.”

Deyerly says that final flight will be reminiscent of his last flight on a C-130, but he’s happy to still have a fulltime job on the next aircraft. For about 40 of his colleagues, the future isn’t as clear.