Kate Shunney

Morgan County Planning Commission president Jack Soronen opened the September 25 meeting by focusing attention on the 11 members of the volunteer board.

Soronen, who has served on the board for 10 years, briefly introduced each of the members.

Six graders at Paw Paw Elementary sat in the dark for more than an hour last Wednesday, learning the difference between a helpful ghost and a restless ghost.

Their lesson – one in folk-lore and West Virginia ghost stories – came from professional storytellers Jo Ann Dadisman and June Riffle who visited Morgan County schools for three days.

You'd expect the county's top teacher to be dynamic and caring, excited about students and willing to do whatever it takes to help kids succeed. Someone willing to go the extra mile, so to speak.

That describes Dixie Deering pretty well, though the platitudes don't seem quite strong enough to capture the passion and effort she puts into her work as a special education teacher.

School Treasurer Nancy White characterized Morgan County Schools' finances as "steady" during her presentation of the year-end financial statement at the September 18 school board meeting.

White walked board members through her 16-page report, which described both the county schools' assets and financial obligations for the last fiscal year.

It's not just students who wait anxiously for their report cards. School administrators have to face their own evaluations when the annual West Virginia Educational Standards Test (WESTEST) scores come back from the state's Department of Education.

Morgan County's Director of Testing Terry Riley gave school board members a crash course in how to read the county's report card at their board meeting on September 4.

Beth Duvall was honored late last month as the Morgan County Schools Service Personnel of the Year. Nominated and chosen by her peers, she was presented with a plaque and an oak rocker from local furniture-maker Gat Caperton.

"I was honored and it's been a pleasure to serve the school system," Duvall said of her service award.

Those stories about finding a valuable treasure in a box of junk at an auction aren't just myths, according to auctioneer Paul McBride.

It would seem that Jim McCoy was never one to shy away from the limelight. Now the Highland Ridge native, veteran country musician and recording artist has grabbed center stage as the subject of a new book.

Joltin' Jim, written by Morgan Messenger editor John Douglas, is a biography of McCoy's long career behind the microphone, a history of country music, and a tribute to those who played the music around here.

Members of the Morgan County Planning Commission took their first look at new rules for cluster development at their August 28 meeting.

The draft of a Cluster Development Subdivision Ordinance was prepared by ARRO Consulting at the request of County Planning Director Alma Gorse. ARRO is the Hagerstown engineering firm employed by the county to review subdivision applications.

This summer has been busy for Joan Willard. As Principal of Widmyer Elementary, Willard celebrated the school's recognition in June as a state School of Excellence. At the end of July, Willard traded in her leadership of Widmyer Elementary to become the county's new Assistant Superintendent.