Braxton Citizens' News, Opinion

She’s here…

Finally, after talking about it for weeks, Jeanine and I are very pleased to announce the birth of our first great granddaughter. She missed my last deadline, but not by much. MyKenna Dawn Wine was born at 12:24 a.m. Tuesday morning July 30. She weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces and was 21 inches long.

Her parents brought her home on Wednesday and we got to see her that evening. I am happy to say… she was quiet as a mouse when I held her, but whimpered when Jeanine took her…

I can’t say, without getting in trouble, that she is the prettiest baby I have ever seen, but I can say she is in the top ten… no wait that’s the top 12 now! The good news is, she and MyKaela are doing well. We’re not sure about father, Shane. He’s a great daddy, but someone told me he is looking forward to going back to work… something about this being too much work… but I’m sure he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Different subject…

I was very disappointed in Larry Clifton at last Friday’s County Commission meeting. He has taken it upon himself to bring light on the drug crisis our society faces and that’s a good thing. Just this week I read an article that came across my desk saying West Virginia had the highest per capita death rate from drug overdoses in the nation. That certainly reinforces the need to focus on the problem.

During the conversation, the subject of a drug dog came up. I listened to the discussion then expressed my opinion that the county had been down that road a number of times in the nearly 50 years I have been behind this desk. I said that I felt it took the right person to make such a program work and the first step should be surveying the deputies to see if that individual is on staff. In the past the dogs, as I see it, have mostly been a liability to the county. They have an ongoing cost in food, housing, veterinary services… the list goes on and on. With the exception of Jake Dennison, the animals service was very limited to the county. Jake and his K-9 eventually relocated to Wood County to finish the dog’s distinguished career.