Tag: Monongalia

Sen. Maroney Arrested And Asked To Step Down

State Sen. Mike Maroney, R-Marshall, was arrested on Monday for suspicion of driving under the influence. This is his third arrest since his tenure as a state senator began in 2016. His other arrests were for solicitation of a prostitute and indecent exposure. 

Now the Monongalia County GOP has asked him to step down. Maroney’s district encompasses nine counties: Marshall, Monongalia, Wetzel, Marion, Tyler, Doddridge, Ritchie, Gilmer, and Calhoun. 

Ethan Moore is the county party chairman. He says that Maroney no longer represents his district’s values. 

“We believe that we deserve representation that represents our goals and our values,” Moore said. “The actions that Senator Maroney has taken here recently, and the issues that have caused him to be arrested for allegations, we don’t believe, represent those values and goals of our community and our constituents.”

He says absenteeism has also been a problem with the senator. Maroney was absent during the May special session, and all the interim sessions since. 

He said in a message to the senator, that he hopes he gets better.  

“Take care of yourself, straighten out your life and focus on recovery and making sure that you’re leading a life worth leading,“ Moore said.  

Moore is asking the governor to grant Senate leadership the ability to remove Maroney from office if he fails to resign. Following his last arrest Maroney was removed from all of his committee assignments, including the health committee that he chaired.  

Maroney lost his May primary election, his term is set to expire in January. 

Maroney made headlines in the last regular session for his attempts to block a bill that would roll back vaccine regulation in the state for school children. The bill was ultimately passed by the legislature and then vetoed by Gov. Jim Justice. 

W.Va. Senate District 13 Race — Two Legislative Veterans

The 13th District covers parts of Marion and Monongalia counties, including Morgantown. The candidates are Del. Barbara Evans Fleischauer, D-Monongalia, and Republican Mike Oliverio.

The race for the 13th Senate District features a pair of veteran legislators.

The 13th District covers parts of Marion and Monongalia counties, including Morgantown.

Republican candidate Mike Oliverio served 16 years in the Senate and two years in the House of Delegates, ending that tenure in 2011. He switched parties in 2017.

“I was disappointed with the direction of the National Democratic Party and felt like they no longer focused on the needs of the people of West Virginia,” Oliverio said. “If I were to ever return to public service, it would be in the Republican Party where I could do the most good for my community.”

Oliverio said Morgantown is the state’s health care hub, and it is underserved in Charleston.

“We need to fight for our fair share,” Oliverio said. “We’re the only senate district in West Virginia that doesn’t have a member on the Finance Committee.”

After 26 years in the House, Del. Barbara Evans Fleischauer, D-Monongalia, said the Senate needs more women’s views and she can bring that perspective to the conversation. She plans to continue her health care campaign against diabetes, to see the state offer affordable insulin and treatment for the disease.

“I found out that another thing that is very expensive, are the supplies and equipment that go with being a Type 1 diabetic especially, and also Type 2,” Fleischauer said. “An insulin pump can extend people’s lives by decades. A continuous glucose monitor can tell people if their insulin is getting a little bit out of whack.”

Oliverio said he has a plan to help financially strapped senior citizens.

“That’s something we could do in the form of expanding the homestead exemption,” Oliverio said. “We want to enable our senior citizens to be able to stay in their homes, yet the value of their homes are increasing and their property taxes are increasing.”

Fleischauer plans to continue the fairness fight for the LGBTQ+ community.

“If you are, or if you look different, or if you love somebody, you shouldn’t lose your job or lose your house because of that,” Fleischauer said. “It’s just the same as we shouldn’t have discrimination based on race or gender.”

Both candidates say 13th District secondary roads are desperate for repair. Both Oliverio and Fleischauer argue they have the experience to make a difference.

August 2, 1991: Interstate 68 Completed from Interstate 79

On August 2, 1991, Interstate 68 was completed from Interstate 79 eastward through Monongalia and Preston counties into Maryland. The new expressway linked Morgantown to Hancock, Maryland, and connected northern West Virginia with Baltimore and Washington via I-70. I-68 was an upgrade to Route 48, which was completed in the 1970s as Corridor E. The Appalachian Corridor System was a ‘60s-era project by the Appalachian Regional Commission to tie together rural sections of Appalachia.

I-68 is West Virginia’s most recent addition to the interstate highway system. The entire process started as the brainchild of President Dwight Eisenhower, who’d witnessed the efficiency of Germany’s Autobahn highways during World War II. Eisenhower launched a mammoth construction project to connect every state with high-speed expressways. West Virginia voters committed their share of funding by passing nearly $1 billion worth of road-building amendments in 1969 and 1973.

Today, the West Virginia interstate system includes I-68; I-77, from Bluefield to Williamstown; I-64, which runs through Huntington and Charleston; I-79, connecting Charleston with Morgantown; and short stretches of I-70 in Ohio County and I-81 in Berkeley County.

Exit mobile version