"Outsider" wins respect by keeping his ego in check

Oct. 5—Robert Burnside saw himself as an outsider 46 years ago when he came to Beckley in 1977 to work as an attorney, his first job out of law school.

Having grown up in the little Fayette County town of Kincaid, Burnside regarded Beckley way back then as a world away.

Now, as he prepares to step down from his duties as a circuit court judge, a position he has held since 1988, he couldn't feel more "amazed and fortunate and lucky and grateful and thankful" for being embraced by the Beckley community he now calls home, he told reporter Josephine E. Moore of The Register-Herald.

Well, that's a two-way street, judge, and we feel honored that you chose to stay in southern West Virginia. Considering your schooling, your talents and your legal smarts, you could have landed most anywhere. But you chose to come home.

You were good at your job, too. Owning a carefully crafted temperament and remaining humble, you followed important commandments of the bench, keeping your ego in check, not putting yourself before the law and not leveraging your court seat to your own personal benefit.

You did not treat the job as might a political opportunist, but as a teacher conducting a master class in criminal justice.

You, sir, were a model for others to study and emulate.

And, turns out, folks here knew a good thing when they saw it. You were reelected four times and opposed only once.

Congratulations on your career and retirement, Judge Burnside. We're giving you two thumbs up.

By J. Damon Cain, editor of The Register-Herald

----Thumbs up to the people of the tiny town of Meadow Bridge, located in the southeastern portion of Fayette County. The community, boasting 317 residents in 2021 and known as Montrode when a post office was first established there in 1890, built up around the lumber industry. It was not until 1924, however, that the community's residents were able to convince the powers-that-be to construct a high school in town.

A cornerstone bearing that date still is part of the new high school wing at the school, which was dedicated late last month. The new school has been a long time coming, and its construction is largely due to the steadfast determination of a dedicated group of local residents and educators, concerned citizens and former students of the school known as the Meadow Bridge Citizens for Community Schools. For decades, the group fought first against the closure and consolidation of the school and then for a new school.

That fight ceremonially came to an end on Sept. 26 with the dedication of the high school wing of the Meadow Bridge PK-12 Regional School. Although the entire project isn't complete, funding from the Fayette County Schools system combined with a $20 million grant awarded by the state School Building Authority in 2019 has assured the community of fighters that their efforts will be rewarded with a dream come true.

"This gives our children the chance to see things and have an education with the technology and so forth we weren't able to have before," Carolyn Arritt told The Register-Herald at the dedication. Arritt, a Meadow Bridge resident, former teacher and former member of the Fayette County Board of Education, was among those who never gave up the fight.

"So I'm hoping the community and the children celebrate this for a long time and respect what's been done, and enjoy it."

By Cheryl Kennan of the Fayette County Tribune for The Register-Herald

----Thumbs up to the Wyoming County Sheriff's Department for their quick reaction to the incident at the county Health Department Wednesday morning.

A man entered the county Health Department with a jar of water he wanted tested. He believed the water had been deliberately contaminated with some type of poison or biological hazard in an attempt to kill him. The man, however, had been using meth at the time and didn't communicate his wishes clearly.

Officials believed the man was using the contents of the jar as a threat and reacted accordingly, taking swift action to protect courthouse employees and visitors as well as school children and the staffs in Pineville Elementary, Pineville Middle, and the Career and Technical Center.

The man was quickly detained, and the ensuing investigation showed he had made no threats.

Thankfully the incident turned out to be nothing more than a misunderstanding, but law enforcement officers can no longer leave anything to chance. There are too many lives at stake.

----Thumbs up to Wyoming County Community Educational Outreach Service members who held their annual Breast Cancer Awareness meeting Oct. 2 in the Twin Falls Resort State Park lodge.

Each October, the women exhibit a pink wreath in the lodge in observance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, using the event to raise awareness about the disease and to emphasize the importance of early detection in saving lives.

Members conduct a wide variety of other projects throughout the year, including much-needed donations to numerous institutions and organizations in the county.

By Mary Catherine Brooks of The Wyoming County Report for The Register-Herald