Martinsburg, WV (Charleston, Cross Lanes, Dunbar: loan, employment, live in)

[Katie1]

As a VET I welcome you!! Do you know what team you will be with?

[Threerun]

Originally Posted by Katie1

They keep saying it was Voted down by the people.

That's unequivocal bull malarkey. Your quip is with parks and rec's, not 'new' folks moving into town. Hell- most new folks don't even VOTE on these issues, it's mostly the established residents who go to the polls. Look at the voting records and turnout- it's not even close to what the county voting population is.

And that's a fact.

[Katie1]

Since you dont live here then I dont understand why you are so mad. I Live her I See whats going on. I Hear what said in the stores these new commers vote IF it suite them. How do you think the Rec Center got built?

[Threerun]

I lived there for the past 15 or so years and just moved to Harrison, and to be honest I don't like it when folks blindly blame all the Eastern Panhandles problems on newcomers to the state, when the reality is otherwise. They don't vote- US OLD TIMERS DID.

Mad? No- but I will call it like I see it.

The rec center got built by a referendum that was passed by the voters, INCLUDING ME. There was no mention, not one, that appropriated money was to go for a Sr. Pool. It was for a new facility in Martinsburg to serve the public.

Again- your beef is with parks and recs- -not new residents and their kids.

Go to their open board meetings and discuss it, don't blame it on new folks moving in.

[Threerun]

The newcomers vote if it suits them?

Guess what. The Eastern Panhandle Builders Association put out a big drive to defeat the recent zoning referendum. The motto was- "A Vote for zoning will take your jobs away, you're rights away". That's a large group. The predominant industry in Berkeley was trades. Word got out, people went to the polls, and it got defeated- soundly.

The group that was pro-zoning? A small group of 'new-comers', maybe an average of 5 years in the county, that wanted to control growth; build a better county.

They got SLAMMED. And we have the audacity to blame the new folks on the ills of the panhandle? That's what p**ses me off.

It's nothing more than a convenient object to gripe at.

And I don't get my info from a grocery store- I sat at the EPHB meetings and in the county meetings where the arguments were presented.

[vec101]

Originally Posted by mtneeratheart

Threerun is correct, most people in Martinsburg don't work right in DC unless they take the MARC train (a mere 2 hour ride). A lot of Berkeley County residents commute to Frederick MD for work or to the many tech and research companies along the I-270 corridor in Montgomery County MD. Many more also work in the Dulles Tech Corridor of Northern VA in Loudoun and Fairfax Counties. I simply can't imagine how long it would take during the morning rush hours to drive from Martinsburg into DC, couldn't be less than 2.5 to 3 hours.

I'm so confused. I know there has been a push to have Rt. 9 completed. Folks I know involved in the project and other people have told me a big part of the reason is to help relieve traffic from the DC area to the Charles Town and Martinsburg areas. Have also been told that a lot of people from the DC area/ working in the DC area are moving to the Charles Town and Martinsburg areas.

According to web map/directions,
Charles Town to DC is about 1 hour
Martinburg to DC is 1 and 1/2 hours
Are they wrong? Of course, that is not taking traffic congestion into consideration.

So are we talking apples and oranges or are we saying the same thing only in a different manner?

I'm not so sure that when people talk about DC they mean DC proper - they are talking about the greater DC area. Throughout the years I've known several people who lived in Fairfax but when you ask them where they live they said DC. It's about like people around here - they may not live in Charleston proper (may live in Dunbar, Cross Lanes, etc) but when traveling or whatever and asked where they live they say Charleston.

Is there (or was there) or is there not a big influx of people moving into WV from the greater DC area?

By saying "I'm not so sure that when people talk about DC they mean DC proper" - I am referring to the people who have told me about people moving/working. Not meaning people in general.

[Threerun]

From inside the DC we mean from inside the Beltway. For all intent and purposes- no, not exactly. We have a lot of folks moving in from Baltimore and surrounding counties and states as well.

There is a HUGE difference.

I used to live in Laurel MD as a young lad, my wife from College Park MD. We moved to the EP 15 years ago. We lived in Frederick MD before that. The inner Beltway was nuts. We had to get out. I lived before that on a farm in OH, the family spread- so the Beltway was a nightmare for me.

The neighborhood I last lived in had 5 Balto ex-pats, not including the family that bought my house. we had 30 or so homes in the area. Maybe one from 'DC'.

They come from all over- not just from inside the Beltway. And with them come all the richness that their heritages have. Baltimore folks are waaay different than DC folks, and we should be grateful to have them, including my old neighbors.

[Katie1]

Threerun read this.....Rec center looks to build indoor pool - Journal News

[7th Direction]

Originally Posted by Katie1

They are not living they just sleep here. They dont even get to see their spouses or kids. Kids run wild in the Mall. The community has gone all out for these orphans. Yet get no respect from them or the parents.

As a side note: ALL malls have kids 'running wild'. It's not just Martinsburg Mall.

[Threerun]

Originally Posted by Katie1

Threerun read this.....Rec center looks to build indoor pool - Journal News

That's a new proposal by the parks and rec, not even voted on. And they are wise to hold off on a levy request- it may not be a wise thing to put another levy on the ballot when the r/e market has taken such a hit. However the survey results don't look like anyone slammed it down. I don't see how one can equate newcomers to a vote failure when a vote never even happened in the first place.

As of May 6, about 527 votes were cast on the question of whether the recreation center needs an indoor pool. Two hundred twenty one, or 41.93 percent of the respondents voted “yes,” while 22, or less than 1 percent voted “no.” Almost 54 percent of those surveyed voted “no opinion.”

When asked if they would vote for a levy to fund the pool by raising property taxes, 150 out of 525, or 28.57 percent, votes were for “yes.” Sixty respondents, or 1.14 percent voted “no,” while the survey generated 315 “no opinion” votes, or 60 percent. Both sets of votes were cast as of May 6.

Have you gone to the Wellness Center at City Hospital? I know a ton of folks, including Sr.'s that use the facility, and from what I recollect- it's cheap and staffed by lisc. personnel, not parks and rec employees.