It’s fantastic. I wish I had a beach body. I wish I was younger. I wish I could swim. But I get a big negatory on all three counts.
Still the pool is fantastic.
Let me tell you a little about the new swimming pool. It was built on Wayne Underwood Field at the old Calhoun High School in Grantsville. And while there is still work going on getting all the amenities in place it is a world class pool ranking right up there with pools in any bigger town or resort area statewide.
The facility which is called The Saundra Johnson Aquatic Center held its grand opening Saturday and was covered by many of the state’s biggest media members including the Charleston Gazette and television stations WSAZ, WCHS and WOWK. It was that big of a deal.
No, no because it was a fantastic facility, which it is, but because of where it is and its history including the struggle to get it built and the unlikeliness it would ever have been done.
First off, the aquatic center is in Grantsville, a declining town in rural central West Virginia. It is a town with a population of slightly more than 500 which has been oozing population since the 1960s and businesses and jobs for about the same length of time.
And the facility that was bought to get things under way was Calhoun County High School. It opened in 1923 with the first class graduating in 1924. It burned in 1942 with only he cut stone walls surviving. It closed when a new facility was opened at Mount Zion.
After that the school was bought and sold several times but never renovated or refurbished. Instead, it was ravaged by time, weather and vandals and when it finally was bought by somebody who was actually going to renovate it it was in a sorry condition with parts that were simply going to have to be torn down because they were beyond repair and renovation.
They have come a long way since then and frankly the aquatic center is just the cherry op top of the facility the 1982 Foundation has decided to name Avalon.
There is so much more to this facility than just a world class aquatic facility.
To wit: There will be enterprise zones, recovery zones, learning zones, restaurants, apartments, schools, sales areas, entertainment areas and a porch for sitting.
It will be something spectacular and it will be a draw bringing people to the area, which will help other businesses in the area if they are prepared for the influx of people.
As much as I hate the term “new beginning” because all beginnings are by reason new this may actually be a new beginning.
Let’s take advantage of it.
After the wonderful opening day at the Saundra Johnson Aquatic Center, I was able to watch a rarity on television when I watched President Donald Trump speak to the Libertarian National convention.
It was interesting.
Trump was not heckled or derided and if the “mainstream” media or democrats say he was they are just lying but those two entities lying should not come as a surprise because lying along with stealing elections like they did in 2020 are what they do best.
His speech to the Libertarians was well received but they were not (as of right now) ready to endorse him as their presidential candidate although they probably did have to agree that the Libertarians and Republicans should work together since they have so many things in common.
Although I was the former Executive Chair of the Calhoun County Republican Party the truth of the matter is I am probably more of a Libertarian. The problem is the Libertarian party is too small to win many elections.
Principles of Libertarians include:
Individualism. Libertarians see the individual as the basic unit of social analysis. Only individuals make choices and are responsible for their actions.
Individual Rights. Because individuals are moral agents, they have a right to be secure in their life, liberty, and property. These rights are not granted by government or by society; they are inherent in the nature of human beings.
The Rule of Law. Libertarianism is not libertinism or hedonism. It is not a claim that “people can do anything they want to, and nobody else can say anything.” Rather, libertarianism proposes a society of liberty under law, in which individuals are free to pursue their own lives so long as they respect the equal rights of others.
Limited Government. To protect rights, individuals form governments. But government is a dangerous institution. Libertarians have a great antipathy to concentrated power, for as Lord Acton said, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Free Markets. To survive and to flourish, individuals need to engage in economic activity. The right to property entails the right to exchange property by mutual agreement.
The Virtue of Production. Much of the impetus for libertarianism in the seventeenth century was a reaction against monarchs and aristocrats who lived off the productive labor of other people. Libertarians defended the right of people to keep the fruits of their labor.
Peace. Libertarians have always battled the age‐old scourge of war. They understood that war brought death and destruction on a grand scale, disrupted family and economic life, and put more power in the hands of the ruling class — which might explain why the rulers did not always share the popular sentiment for peace.
Anyhow I believe in those principles and that probably makes me a Libertarian.
MEMORIAL DAY OR VETERAN’S DAY: What is the difference? Basically, as a veteran (Veteran’s Day) you served in the military while on Memorial Day you died for your country.
Here is how to differentiate between the two and some history from History.com.
Memorial Day: Celebrated the last Monday in May, Memorial Day is the holiday set aside to pay tribute to those who died serving in the military.
“Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of an organization of Union veterans – the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) – established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30. It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country.”
The passage of the National Holiday Act of 1971 by Congress made it an official holiday.
Veterans Day: This federal holiday falls on November 11 and is designated as a day to honor all who have served in the military. According to Military.com, Veterans Day began as Armistice Day to honor the end of World War I, which officially took place on November 11, 1918.
“In 1954, after having been through both World War II and the Korean War, the 83rd U.S. Congress – at the urging of the veteran’s service organizations – amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word “Armistice” and inserting the word “Veterans,” the site says. “With the approval of this legislation on June 1, 1954, November 11 became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.”
Thank God for all our military people.
Until next time stay safe but don’t live life in a bubble.
