Wow. I knew the “power of the press” can be substantial sometimes, but I had no idea just how powerful.
Monday night, I sat down to write a column about the need to patch all the scary-looking potholes that had turned Memorial Bridge into an obstacle course over the past few days and guess what?
Tuesday morning when I came in to work, the potholes had been patched.
I think that's the first time I've ever gotten results on something I've written – before it  appeared in the paper!
All kidding aside, thanks to the Department of Highways for being so quick in response to a very real need. Had someone hit one of those potholes the wrong way, a pricey re-alignment could have been the least of their troubles.
Job well done!
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I would also like to take the opportunity to congratulate the Green Team at Frankfort High School for producing a top quality, full color tri-fold brochure touting the importance of recycling.
Started last year as a means of making Frankfort students more aware of the importance of recycling, the Green Team made great strides in not only getting their fellow high school students involved in recycling aluminum cans, plastic bottles and newspapers, but also in spreading the word to the students at the feeder schools.
They got the word out about their project so well, in fact, that at one point faculty advisor John Ritchie's  classroom looked like it would soon be taken over by a creeping pile of cans, bottles and papers.
Their counterparts at Keyser High were having the same problem, however, and with the help of the Mineral County Commission and the Litter Task Force, both schools were supplied with storage trailers for the recyclables.
This year, with the aim of reaching even farther, the Green Team designed the brochure, featuring a number of photos of team members working on their recycling projects, and including information on where items can be taken for recycling in both the Frankfort and Keyser districts.
Funded by  a West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection Little Control Grant, the brochure is beautifully done and something of which the Green Team, Frankfort High School, and the entire county can be proud.
County Commissioner Janice LaRue is also to be congratulated for her work with both the Green Team at Frankfort and the Going Green group at Keyser High. Her efforts with these two groups of students have helped them reach even farther toward their goal of making Mineral County a green county.
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Congratulations, too, to all the fine folks who worked so hard to make Mineral County Day in Charleston a success.
Begun 10 years ago by a small group under the umbrella of the Mineral County Chamber of Commerce, Mineral County Day  has grown into a large-scale production which puts all we have to offer here in Mineral County – as well as our needs – at center stage at the state capital.
I won't try to name all those who worked to make Mineral County Day possible this year for fear of leaving one of the key players out.
But you all know who you are. And to all of you, I say “Good Job” and “Thank You!”
(Liz Beavers is managing editor of the Mineral Daily News Tribune and can be reached at lbeavers@newstribune.info.)