It takes a wise entity to admit when it can’t handle something as it deserves to be handled.
That’s exactly what the Raleigh County Commission did recently when it transferred Burning Rock to the West Virginia Citizen Conservation Corps.
“I’ve always said the county is good at implementing things,” commission president John Humphrey said. “We’re just not good at running things once they get up and going, especially in recreational matters. We did the best we could.”
Well said, Commissioner Humphrey.
The Raleigh County Commission does a great many things, but it knows when it’s in over its head. Each of the county’s three commissioners works a full-time job in addition to responsibilities with the county. They can admit it when they don’t have time to oversee the management of another one, and they should.
The county’s recreational authority — which operates under the commission’s guidance — is correct to stay within its realm of operating baseball fields and Lake Stephens. A growing ATV trail park may simply be too much for it, for now. After all, Lake Stephens continues to provide a wonderful recreation spot, as it has since the early 1960s. It’s growing, too, with new cabins, boat ramps and docks. It could be difficult, costly and perhaps harmful to the success of the lake for the authority to shift focus to a project as large as Burning Rock.
That’s not to say Burning Rock doesn’t have just as much potential, if not more, than Lake Stephens. The WVCCC is an ideal entity to improve and enhance what the commission started with the ATV park. It’s a good match, and the commission was wise to recognize it.
Raleigh County should be thankful its leaders have the decency to admit weaknesses. That in itself is a strength that deserves recognition.
Opinion
September 2, 2009
Burning Rock
<b>Raleigh County Commission made the right move</b>
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