Friends of Blackwater Fundraiser a success!

I attended a fundraiser in Canaan Valley for Riverwalk tenant Friends of the Blackwater Canyon on Friday night. It was hosted by developer and Charleston attorney Steve White. Governor Manchin attended and Speaker Richard Thompson sang and played his guitar for us. Whitegrass, Sirianni's, Timberline Resort and others donated food. Over 30 items or services were donated for the fundraising auction. Expecting 30 or 40 folks, I was amazed to see what looked like over 200 people. Steve's house easily hosted the crowd.

During the event a group of protesters formed at the entry of the subdivision. No one knew what they were protesting until it was relayed that they were against the planned power line called PATH. See www.wvcitizensagainstpath.com. They were at this location on this night specifically because Governor Manchin was present. This confounded the guests, most of whom seemed unfamiliar with the PATH project. The host family told the protesters to stay off the property at one point, though the Governor apparently went out and spoke to two women leading the protest. Tacky as it was to protest outside a private home at a completely unrelated fundraiser, the protest had the positive effect of provoking more conversation by the Governor. The next day I saw the Governor at Landis Realty's ribbon cutting ceremony and asked him what he thought of the protests, and let him know that some folks here in town perceived that he was denying knowledge of PATH, and even it's very existence. Neither are of course the case, but the vibe he was sending was definitely one of distancing himself. The Governor's ribbon cutting speech drifted to the PATH topic, and the Parsons Adovcate then interviewed the Gov for a good 30 minutes.

The more he is challenged on this position, the more he may come to recognize that it isn't fair to play possum to a project as potentially invasive as PATH. From what I've seen and read, Governor Manchin needs to take a more concerned position regarding this project. At the event in Canaan and previously he has said he "has no dog in this fight," but I have trouble accepting that notion when there is so much impact to reconcile. I would think that the state of WV would specifically need its leader to watch over this project and ensure that the voting citizens are not on the raw end of the PATH deal.