By Liz Beavers
lbeavers@newstribune.info
Tribune Managing Editor

KEYSER – The Mineral Daily News Tribune is launching a new weekly feature today, with the addition of a “Face Off” page.
Previewed in today's “Election 2008”  special section, the feature pits two of our local readers – one who considers himself a conservative and one with more liberal views – against each other on a wide range of topics.
The idea originated when News Tribune  publisher, Dave Boden, and staff writer Richard Kerns, were both employed at the Cumberland Times-News. For the period of a little over a year, they faced off each Sunday in a good-natured  style reminiscent of the old “Weekend Update” skit in which  comics Dan Akroyd and Jane Curtain badgered each other in the original “Saturday Night Live.”
The feature became a reader favorite, and since Boden took over the helm of the News Tribune, he has been approached by many interested readers about the possibility of bringing the popular piece to the pages of the hometown paper.
“Because of our current positions, we are unable to fill the roles ourselves, but we still wanted to follow through with the idea,” Boden said.
“I'd thrown out some lines to a few people to see if they knew some people who would be interested, and I think we came up with two very good choices.”
And so, you will find Keyser residents Stephen Smoot and Kent Moreno debating the question “Obama or McCain for President?” inside today's special election section.
Smoot, an instructor at Potomac State College, was born in Charleston and graduated from Ripley High School.
During his first year at Marshall University in Huntington, he met the woman who would become his wife, Crystal, and they had their daughter Emily. He recalls those days as “the beginning of over a decade of struggle,” but it was also a time of growth and learning.
“Looking back, I am thankful that God blessed us with such obstacles,” he said. “Life is about overcoming, not avoiding, problems that feel overwhelming.
“My experiences reinforced my basic conservatism.”
Smoot finished his bachelor's degree in history from the University of Delaware, and when he and his family moved back to Huntington they had one more family member – son Jared.
He earned his master's degree in history and political science from Marshall, and briefly taught at the University of Rio Grande and a Marshall branch.
“Then we moved to Preston County, when I opened my doctoral studies at West Virginia University. Three years ago I obtained a teaching position at Potomac State, which brought me to Keyser.”
Smoot says his “Republican roots run deep.”
“One of my grandmothers, the daughter of Italian immigrants, was a good old-fashioned Arch Moore-supporting, Charleston Gazette-hating Republican. Her family built and lost businesses during the Great Depression, but they all persevered.
“My grandfather on the other side was a World War II veteran and also a strong conservative whose family had lived in West Virginia for generations,” he said.
“I learned much about the values of freedom and patriotism from these two representatives of the 'Greatest Generation.'”
Moreno was born in New York City and grew up in New Jersey. He moved to West Virginia in 1981 and shortly thereafter met his future wife, Keyser native Mollie Ravenscroft.
They have two children, Megan, a senior at Keyser High, and Ben, an eighth grader at Keyser Primary-Middle. Ben is dually diagnosed with Down syndrome and autism.
Educationally, Moreno has completed all of the coursework and two of the competencies for his doctorate in educational psychology.
“I am a behavior analyst. I specialize in developmental disabilities, especially autism spectrum disorders and severe maladaptive behaviors,” he said.
Wife Mollie currently teaches sociology at Potomac state College.
Moreno calls himself “a product of a mixed marriage.”
“My father is a Democrat and my mother, a Republican. My father came to the United States in 1958 from Colombia, South America,” he explains. “My mother's family can trace their roots back to the Mayflower. My grandmother, a die-hard Republican, swore that Nixon was framed by the Democrats. Her dream was that when I was an adult, I would join the Sons of the American Revolution.
“Sorry Grandma.
“I am a lifelong Democrat,” he continued. “When I vote, though, I base my vote on the issues. I would never vote a straight ticket.
“I have voted for a Republican once,” he added. “I voted for the Republican because there was not a Democratic opponent running for prosecuting attorney and the Republican candidate was a woman.
“I decided if I was ever going to vote for a Republican, it was going to be a woman.
“But when I got home and told my wife, she informed me that the candidate for whom I had voted was actually a man.
“Oh well. He seems to have done a good job.”
Boden said he is excited to be able to add Smoot and Moreno as an important addition to the News Tribune,  and he hopes the feature will spur other readers to get involved.
“I'm a big  believer in opinion and editorial and giving people a voice,” he said. “I think these two guys will be perfect to get that started.”
In conjunction with the launch of “Face Off,” a poll will begin running on the News Tribune's website. Readers are being invited to take part in the poll and the results will be revealed when the next “Face Off “ appears in the paper.
“We'd also like to invite our readers to comment on the weekly topic by writing letters to the editor, as well,” he said.
“Face Off” will begin running on a regular basis on Saturday, Nov. 8.