Congratulations to Friends of the Cheat, County Parks and Recreation Commission, Town of Bruceton Mills

Yes, Preston County, there indeed is a Santa Claus.

Three area organizations — Friends of the Cheat, the Preston County Parks and Recreation Commission and the Town of Bruceton Mills — were awarded separate federal and state transportation and recreational grants on Tuesday, Nov. 29, in Charleston by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin.

Tomblin invited representatives from each entity, including dozens of other award winners from across the state, to present each group with the grant certificate and congratulations.

The Friends of the Cheat was awarded $150,000 for the first phase of its Cheat River Rail Trail Design and Construction Phase I.

The Preston County Parks and Recreation Commission received $71,600 in federal grant funds to be used for its ongoing WV Northern Rail Trail project.

The third local recipient was the Town of the Bruceton Mills. Mayor Cathy Smith attended the announcement event, representing her community. Her town was one out of 40 in the state to receive a portion of $5,917,737 in Transportation Alternatives Grants. Bruceton received $135,200 for design and engineering work for its ambitious sidewalk project.

Gov. Tomblin handed out grants for a total of 54 community and infrastructure projects across the state. The Transportation Alternatives and Recreational Trails Grant programs will provide more than $7 million for a variety of improvements. The funding is provided by the Federal Highway Administration, while the state Division of Highways administers the programs.

During the event, Gov. Tomblin told those in attendance, including nine representatives from Preston County, that the grant funding will help build and repair infrastructure across the state, ultimately making communities better places to live and work.

Certainly this is great news for all of us who hope to see our beloved rural community become even more beautiful. The relentless positive efforts by the Friends of the Cheat, the Parks and Recreation Commission and now the wonderful Town of Bruceton Mills are clearly paying dividends.

The Cheat River Rail Trail Design and Construction Phase I represents a single phase of a multi-year, multi-grant endeavor: Construction of one of the region’s most picturesque and recreationally important trails — the Cheat River Rail-Trail. Phase I will result in approximately 1.5 miles of paved trail.

The Preston County Parks and Recreation Commission’s grant will help fund a small part of a larger project to restore and resurface 10 miles of the WV Northern Rail Trail that goes from Kingwood to Tunnelton and to create a WV Northern Trailhead Park. The current grant will fund the design of the next four miles of the WV Northern Rail trail.

The Bruceton Mills award is the largest the northern Preston County community has ever received. According to town council member Laura Dulaney, the sidewalk project has been on the town’s wish list for the last 10 years. The grant will give the much talked about project the kick-start it’s needed for a long time.

We cannot say enough great things about all three local entities. The men and women who make up the Friends of the Cheat, Parks and Recreation Commission and, of course, the Town of Bruceton Mills have shown a remarkable vision and determined community spirit that all of Preston County should recognize.