Welcome
I am a life-long West Virginian, having grown up on a small farm in Mercer County. I graduated from Spanishburg High School in 1987. I earned a B.S. in Mathematics/Computer Science from Concord College in 1992. I went on to West Virginia University, completing an M.S. in 1994 and a Ph.D. in 1997. From 1998-2003, I was a professor at Concord College where I enjoyed teaching many wonderful students. In 2003, I came to the NRAO in Green Bank as a software engineer. In 2005, I took a related position at the University of Illinois while family stayed in Green Bank. Now, I am back home here running a website design business.
Getting Started
When I heard of the plan to use eminent domain to take the land of a 9-generation Pocahontas County family for a sewer plant, I stepped up and started www.SaveTheSharpFarm.com. Over the past couple of years, I’ve learned a great deal about the specifics and motivations of this project. I attended PSD meetings and went to meetings in Charleston. No candidate in this election knows more about this issue than I do – including James Carpenter.
More than one issue—Drugs
There is much concern about the drug problem in this county. Candidates for Magistrate, Sheriff, and Prosecuting Attorney have borne much of the Q&A on this issue. But a County Commissioner has a role to play also. Living in Pocahontas County is hard. It is hard to make ends meet, and it is hard to maintain a positive and hopeful outlook. When one loses that optimism and hope, it becomes all too easy to look to drugs. So as a County Commissioner, I would ask, “What can we do to restore optimism and hope in the future of Pocahontas County?”
Clean Jobs
Our optimism and hope are tied to our economy. We have a wonderful tourism industry, and timber and farming are also important parts of our economy. I would work to sustain and improve all these. But beyond this, there is much we could do to bring in education- and technology-related business. Among the commission candidates, I bring with me the highest level of education and experience to make this possibility a real option for Pocahontas County.
Your Family
Our optimism and hope live in our sons and daughters. My work over the past years has sent me to places such as Seattle, WA, San Francisco, CA, and Tucson, AZ. All the while my family has been here, in little old Green Bank, Pocahontas County, West Virginia. From such distant and different vantage points, it becomes clear how rare and special Pocahontas County is; that it is the best of homes. This is where it starts. Family. This is what life is, and this is what any public official must stand to protect. I think it’s time we had a County Commission that embodies this belief.