I attended the PATH public meeting in Buckhannon last night, and had gone so far as to update the fact Sheet we wrote for TrAIL last year. For better or worse, the meeting was very poorly attended, probably about 30 citizens when I took a count, and about 45 "green shirts" representing PATH. They are doing a very good job of presenting this as an environmentally responsible project, and had tables and displays talking about energy conservation and CFL light bulbs, but the real goal is to sell PATH.
Interestingly, the proposed routes represent a spiderweb of intersecting links all over central West Virginia. One southern route goes just south of Elkins and follows Route 33 East through the Mon Forest. All other routes meet up with, and parallel the TrAIL route from souther Preston County, to Mt. Storm and then East through the Eastern Panhandle. I asked if this new line would be in addition to TrAIL and they said yes, both new lines would parallel the existing line from Mt. Storm to Meadowbrook as much as possible, as the PSC has clearly indicated a preference for avoiding new greenfields routes. (Perhaps someone should mention this to the Bhavana Society).
My biggest mistake was not talking to the TV cameras first. They were interviewing someone when I got there shortly after 5, but disappeared promptly, I suspect to get the film to the Clarksburg studio in time for the 6 PM broadcast. If people go to any of the other meetings, be sure to talk to reporters and let them know how much opposed we are, as that will make the story much more interesting t the reporters, and generate news for us. But the PATH green shirts were very good at suppressing controversy and steering anyone with questions off to one little corner or another, so the meeting was really pretty boring and ineffective. It was a great way to stifle public debate, and we will need to stimulate some if we are to be effective.
My recommendation to those I talked to was to get their County Commissions to pass resolutions opposing the line, similar to what Monongalia, Preston, Tucker, Hampshire and other Counties did for TrAIL. And if your County Commissioner is leery of opposing this, tell them to talk to the Commissioners in those Counties that have already done so, and get them to talk about why everyone is opposed to the line.
JBK