RE: Preston CARES (Citizens' Alliance for Resources and Environmental Safety).

Preston CARES formed in Spring 2011 with the initial intent of preventing a landfill from being located on Benson Road which would receive waste from the hydraulic fracturing process. It has been quiet on this front lately. There were reports that the community's negative response to this issue surprised the company. The full acreage of the Benson Road parcel of land has gone back on the real estate market, so we are cautiously optimistic that this "development" has been suspended, if not halted altogether.

When Preston CARES selected our name, it was because we had a shared concern for numerous environmental issues in Preston County. In addition to fighting the landfill, we have engaged in three other efforts in the past year.

At the Buckwheat Festival, we hosted a booth which informed people about our work, and we coordinated the first-ever recycling effort on the Fairgrounds.

In late fall we coordinated two different day-long tours of gas drilling sites in Wetzel County, led by the Wetzel County Citizens' Action Group. We invited our County Commissioners and our Assessor to attend one of these tours with us, and they did. As a result of those tours we met with the County Health Officer, the Office of Emergency Management (911), and the Superintendent of Schools to discuss our concerns about increased drilling in our county and what various organizations may need to be aware of.

Finally, in March we helped Friends of the Cheat, Friends of Deckers' Creek, and the WV Surface Owners' Rights Organization host a community symposium in Bruceton about gas drilling and landowners' rights. It was well-attended, and you can see the news clip on our Facebook page.)

Preston CARES is continuing to engage in work related to environmental issues in our county. This year we are revamping the Buckwheat Festival Recycling Project, and we have received a grant to host a film festival in October.

We hope that you too are concerned about the beautiful place in which we live,

The folks at Preston CARES