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Local News & Events in Jefferson County WV

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Latest Stories

County Commission Plans For Growth With Purchase Of New Buildings

Bee Line March Anniversary Events In Shepherdstown Mark 250 Years Of History

No Kings Rally In Shepherdstown Gathers More Than 1,000 Participants

County Planning Commission To Look At Zoning, Solar & Data Centers

County Budget Shifts From Surplus To Deficit

County Commission Explains Funding Plan For New Buildings

Shepherdstown Celebrates Its First Pride Parade

County Commission Makes Early Revision to FY26 Budget

County Commission Plans To Change Impact Fees Again

City & County Struggle To Align On Downtown Charles Town Plans

Governor Celebrates Building Rehabilitation In Charles Town

Shepherdstown Banner Program Honors Veterans

Read all stories

editor's note

County Elections Focus On Local Issues

November 1, 2024 Tagged With: editor's note, In Print Nov 2024

resurfaced basketball court at Evitts Run park

The 4 new candidates who win seeats on the Jefferson County Commission will be diving in quickly to some complex issues.  Read the Full Story >>

Things Are Heating Up In Jefferson County

May 1, 2024 Tagged With: editor's note, In Print May 2024

horses are OK sign

It feels like everything runs a bit faster these days, which is why local residents cherish the bucolic spaces that are still here in Jefferson County. Read the Full Story >>

Hold On Tight!

July 28, 2023 Tagged With: editor's note, Housing Growth, In Print Aug 2023, Jefferson County Fair

carnival ride - spinning chairs

Some carnival rides don’t look too scary when they’re not moving. The one above is just a bunch of swings that go around in a circle like a merry-go-round, right? But wait till it picks up speed — then it’s time to hold on tight!  Read the Full Story >>

Moving Around Jefferson County

July 1, 2023 Tagged With: Clare Anne Ath, economic development, editor's note, In Print July 2023, Jefferson County Board of Education, Jefferson County Commission, zoning

The Board of Education kept to its timetable of appointing a new Superintendent, who starts on July 1. He inherits some big holes from his departing predecessor — literally in terms of the two elementary school construction projects, one of which has yet to even go to bid despite the hoopla of a ground-breaking ceremony over a year ago. The twin challenges of retaining & recruiting staff and addressing the fall-off in student achievement are arguably even more complex. All of these issues will no doubt be topics for the School Board election next May. Read the Full Story >>

Changes Underway in Jefferson County

May 30, 2023 Tagged With: editor's note, housing trends, In Print June 2023, solar, solar permitting

A lot of the articles in the June 2023 issue touch on change (we didn’t plan it that way, it just happened — a sign of the times). Read the Full Story >>

Creating Connections in Our Community

April 27, 2023 Tagged With: Contemporary American Theater Festival, editor's note, In Print May 2023, Jefferson County Commission, Needful Things Emporium, Shepherdstown Ministerial Association

The word angel was used more than once. Even if you had never met Sara Lueck, you could feel her kindness and positivity in the tributes offered during a recent vigil. She made a career as a librarian at Jefferson County Schools and a vocation of serving the community. And those connections live on. Read the Full Story >>

Spring Brings Growth

April 1, 2023 Tagged With: budget, Dogwood General, editor's note, House and Garden Tour, In Print Apr 2023

First it’s the daffodils. Then it’s the forsythia. The wind still blows cold, but springtime is in the air. Doug Pifer explains that some of the haze we see around this time is quite natural — just trees doing what trees do. Local garden club leaders have been eager for spring too. For some, it’s been a four-year wait to stage their annual home and garden tour. It’s quite a show, and it raises money for beautification projects around the Eastern Panhandle. Read the Full Story >>

Changes & Choices In 2023

January 25, 2023 Tagged With: editor's note, housing trends, In Print Feb 2023, Jefferson County Commission

looking east from Aspen Green (Jan 2023) - construction

Many changes and choices ahead for Jefferson County in 2023.  Read the Full Story >>

Local Spirits Bright For The Holidays

December 7, 2022 Tagged With: Christmas, editor's note, In Print Dec 2022, Jefferson County Community Ministries, shepherd university football, Shepherdstown Shares

Christmas tree in front of Jefferson County courthouse 2022

The holiday festivities seem particularly energetic this year. Perhaps it was the unseasonably warm weather for the parades — or that our pandemic-related anxieties of the past several years have cooled.  Read the Full Story >>

Remembering An Important Slice Of Life In Shepherdstown

October 28, 2022 Tagged With: editor's note, George Kalathas, In Print Nov 22

vigil for George Kalathas

When what we might think of as history is still present in the minds of the living, the need for an emphatic rejection of groups that seek to instigate race-based fear and political violence seems to be self-evident — so that “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” are secured as rights of our common future, not just hollow words left behind, buried by the burden of a hidden past. Read the Full Story >>

Securing Life and Liberty for All

October 1, 2022 Tagged With: editor's note, In Print Oct 2022, Joe Burns

When what we might think of as history is still present in the minds of the living, the need for an emphatic rejection of groups that seek to instigate race-based fear and political violence seems to be self-evident — so that “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” are secured as rights of our common future, not just hollow words left behind, buried by the burden of a hidden past. Read the Full Story >>

A Thank You to our Readers

July 1, 2022 Tagged With: editor's note, In Print July 2022

It was July 2020 — the height of the pandemic — when Steve and I published our first issue as the new owners of The WV Independent Observer. We were not quite sure what we’d be writing about in the months ahead. Turns out there is a lot happening in Jefferson County and it’s only getting busier.  Read the Full Story >>

Connecting the Trails

June 1, 2022 Tagged With: editor's note, In Print June 2022

bike trail entrance off Route 9

Today, it’s possible to cycle directly from Pittsburgh to Harpers Ferry or Shepherdstown on a direct path — and these communities see the economic impact of this increasingly popular recreation vacation activity. Imagine if the rest of Jefferson County could be connected to this network. Not unlike high speed internet, if we can connect to it, good things will come. Read the Full Story >>

Blowing Warmer & Cooler

April 30, 2022 Tagged With: editor's note, In Print May 2022

East German Street in Shepherdstown, early spring

spring, we’re never quite sure if we’re getting warmer or cooler with some of these conversations. Read the Full Story >>

Local Conversations About The Future

April 2, 2022 Tagged With: editor's note, In Print Apr 2022

lower taxes sign

Like a family we may squabble, but we also need to work together and tackle these problems, listening to the advice of experts, but also listening to the expertise of experience right here at home. Read the Full Story >>

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