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Thursday morning, representatives of the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of West Virginia were in Weirton for the first of four planned community presentations on protecting our civil rights and increased efforts to enforce such laws in the state.
Residents in attendance heard directly from a group of Assistant U.S. Attorneys, including Weirton native Max Nogay, Carly Nogay, Jarod Douglas and Christopher Prezioso, as well as FBI Supervisory Special Agent Timothy G. Swanson from the FBI's Pittsburgh Division.
The presentation was scheduled for four hours at the Millsop Community Center. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to stay for the entire thing as I had other obligations, but what I saw was worthwhile information for all residents to have.
I hope those who did attend found the information beneficial, and, perhaps, other presentations can be held in the future.
In fact, perhaps others in government should take a cue from this effort and provide similar events, whether it is an informational presentation, a community town hall, a roundtable discussion, or what have you.
We've had a few in recent years. Current West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey makes his way to the area on occasion to meet with local business officials. Former U.S. Rep. David McKinley always made time to visit Weirton to meet with residents when he was in the district. Of course, the district being smaller at the time, and him living in Wheeling sure had its benefits. He made time, though.
I believe I've raised this issue in the past, but it's one that bears repeating every now and again. There often is at least a perceived disconnect when it comes to elected officials and the people who put them in their positions.
In my job, I often interact with members of a city council, mayors, county commissioners, school board members and members of the state Legislature or even the U.S. Congress. What about the everyday individual, though?
There was a comment made at a recent governmental meeting, where a resident appeared to question an issue, and one of the officials thanked the resident for bringing it up, saying, while the group had been looking into the concern because of previous questions on the topic, there had not been an opportunity to address their findings with the public.
Why not?
They don't happen much these days, but, at one point, some members of Weirton Council would host gatherings for residents living in their respective wards. It gave them an opportunity to hear directly from the people they represent. There have been a couple of mayors in Weirton who have held "State of the City" addresses. While the speeches often were scripted, it still provided a chance for residents to hear directly from their mayor, and possibly catch him afterwards to discuss concerns.
What is stopping others in our area from having town halls or roundtables, or some other gathering? It doesn't have to be called for a particular issue as was done last year over the debate on the future of the Edwin J. Bowman Field in Weirton. Just have members of a county commission, or a school board, or a city council get together at a particular place, open the doors and provide a chance for residents to come in and talk with you.
The same goes for our legislators, and even those leading our various state departments. Wouldn't it be great to have an opportunity to speak directly with the heads of our state's Board of Education, the Division of Highways, or Commerce Department? Even if they only do a few of these events a year, they can visit other parts of the state and perhaps even look around the area themselves and see, firsthand, the effects of their decisions.
Communication is always key, and more visibility and interaction between the people and government is never a bad thing.
(Howell, a resident of Colliers, is managing editor of The Weirton Daily Times, and can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com or followed on Twitter @CHowellWDT)