• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Observer

Stories of West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle

  • Home
  • Sightline Stories
    • Jefferson County Commission Not Attending To Business
    • Jefferson County Ambulance Services
    • School Construction In Jefferson County
    • Solar in Jefferson County
    • Remembering Hartstown
    • Waters of Jefferson County
    • 2022 Elections
    • Ambulances
  • Columnists
    • Editor’s Notes
    • Book Reviews
    • Nature
    • Environment
    • Education
    • Health & Wellness
    • Local History
    • Law
    • Government & Politics
    • A Little Time Away
  • Newsletter Sign-up

Primary Sidebar

Latest Stories

Events & Activities – November 2023

Jefferson County Commission Misses Grant Deadlines

Commissioners Attempt To Repeal Part Of County Zoning Ordinance

Jefferson County Lights Up For Halloween

Red Summer 1919 – An Instrumental Opera

Cryptid Cave Escape Room

A Crash Course In Bird Feathers

Salute To Veterans

Two Commissioners Refuse To Meet

Local Woman Plays For USA Team In Amputee Soccer Tournament

Shepherdstown Day Care Center Celebrates 50 Years

Imaginary Horribles – An Artist’s Perspective

Read all stories

In Print

rockwool

Jefferson Orchards Requests Industrial Zoning Near Rockwool

May, 2023 Tagged With: In Print June 2023, Jefferson Orchards, Ranson Planning Commission, rockwool, zoning

A zoning change request in Ranson has prompted significant questions and concerns.  Read the Full Story >>

Rockwool Commits To Improving Stormwater Management At Its Ranson Factory

March, 2023 Tagged With: groundwater, In Print Mar 2023, Ranson, rockwool, water monitoring, water pollution

rockwool factory in ranson

ROCKWOOL has agreed to additional studies, inspections, and drainage improvements that will further strengthen stormwater handling and control at its Ranson facility. Read the Full Story >>

Rockwool Factory In Ranson Marks First Year of Production

July, 2022 Tagged With: air quality, groundwater, In Print July 2022, Jefferson County Foundation, rockwool, water monitoring, West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection

One year ago this month, Rockwool North America announced the start of commercial production at its 130-acre insulation factory off Route 9 in Ranson. Where do things stand now? The Observer contacted Rockwool and reviewed publicly available information to prepare this update.  Read the Full Story >>

Air Quality Forum – June 2

June, 2022 Tagged With: air quality, In Print June 2022, Jefferson County Foundation, rockwool, West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection

Rockwool facility in Ranson, as viewed from the Black burial ground (Boyd Carter Memorial Cemetery) adjacent to the factory property.

The Rockwool Ranson facility is required to file an application for its air permit with the WV Department of Environmental Protection in June. The non-profit Jefferson County Foundation will summarize the permitting process as it applies to the Rockwool facility, followed by a discussion about how residents can engage in this review process.  Read the Full Story >>

Aluminum in the Water Prompts Questions

October, 2021 Tagged With: aluminum, drinking water, Harpers Ferry Water Works, Jefferson County Foundation, rockwool, water monitoring, West Virginia Environmental Quality Board

Shenandoah River bridge piers in Harpers Ferry.

Elks Run and its tributary, Elk Branch, are the primary source of drinking water for Harpers Ferry and Bolivar. Tests of an Elk Branch spring show a 20-fold increase in aluminum in September compared to prior months, according to reports shared with government officials in Harpers Ferry, Bolivar, and the Jefferson County Health Department. Aluminum’s health effects have been widely studied and associated with neurological disorders.  Read the Full Story >>

Zoning Changes Coming to Kearneysville

June, 2021 Tagged With: housing, Jefferson County Commission, Jefferson County Comprehensive Plan, Jefferson County Planning Commission, Jefferson Orchards, rockwool, zoning

On April 15, Jefferson Orchards Inc. (JOI), applied to the Jefferson County Commission to change the zoning designation for the old Miller Orchard and a second, adjacent property located to the northeast of Kearneysville. The two parcels (240+ acres) are currently in the rural zone.

On April 15, Jefferson Orchards Inc. (JOI), applied to the Jefferson County Commission to change the zoning designation for the old Miller Orchard and a second, adjacent property located to the northeast of Kearneysville. The two parcels (240+ acres) are currently in the rural zone. Read the Full Story >>

Construction Complete, Concerns Continue Over Rockwool

June, 2021 Tagged With: air pollution, groundwater, Jefferson County Foundation, karst geology, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), rockwool, stormwater, West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, West Virginia Environmental Quality Board

Rockwool facility in Ranson, as viewed from the Black burial ground (Boyd Carter Memorial Cemetery) adjacent to the factory property.

According to the @ROCKWOOLRansonCommunity page on Facebook, the manufacturing facility will operate equipment in May to “run in” the factory, prior to beginning production operations in June. In an April 30 post, the company stated that “steam” will be visible from the chimney stack above the “wet electrostatic precipitator'' and a “plume” will be visible from the tall chimney Read the Full Story >>

A Sunny Season

June, 2021 Tagged With: editor's note, Family Drive In Theater, Rock Hill Creamery, rockwool

The Town Run Garden behind Knutti Hall on the Shepherd University campus is a leafy oasis of native plant

What a difference a year makes. Last June, Harriet and I had just purchased The Observer and were rushing to pull together our first issue. With this, our twelfth issue, we’ve had time to think, experiment, and change. We hope to keep on this path and welcome your thoughts as we continue to present the stories and voices of our community. Read the Full Story >>

WVU Studies Local Children’s Exposure To Heavy Metals

April, 2021 Tagged With: air pollution, heavy metals, rockwool, WVU Medicine

The Rockwool mineral wool factory, scheduled to begin production this spring, is visible across the road in front of North Jefferson Elementary School.

It’s about giving families peace of mind, emphasized Dr. Michael McCawley and Dr. Catherine Feaga, speaking about the WVU School of Public Health research project to study the potential exposure and near-term health effects of heavy metals in children in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. Read the Full Story >>

Taking Waters Into Their Own Hands

February, 2021 Tagged With: drinking water, groundwater, Jefferson County Foundation, karst geology, rockwool, SIGHTLINE, water monitoring, water pollution, West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection

A map of drinking water wells and municipal water source protection areas proximal to the Rockwool factory in Jefferson County.

Concerned that West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) oversight is insufficient to protect the water underlying their property from the threat of pollutants from the planned nearby Rockwool factory, a group of local residents is hiring experts to test their water to establish a record to use in possible future legal action. Read the Full Story >>

Counting on the Well Water

December, 2020 Tagged With: air pollution, drinking water, groundwater, Jefferson County Foundation, karst, karst geology, rockwool, water pollution

A map of drinking water wells near the site of the Rockwool facility in Ranson.

After the WV Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a notice on November 5, 2020 that it was authorizing the Rockwool stone wool insulation manufacturing facility in Ranson to operate under a general water pollution control permit, the Jefferson County Foundation noted that the source water protection area map submitted as part of the facility’s application process marked only 4 drinking water wells within the one mile buffer zone. Read the Full Story >>

The Water Connecting Us

September, 2020 Tagged With: brownfields, cave, groundwater, karst geology, Lakeland Caverns, rockwool, SIGHTLINE, USGS, water monitoring, water pollution, WVDEP, zoning

map of Caverns in Jefferson County, West Virginia.

One hundred years ago, underneath the Old Opera House in Charles Town, locals and tourists danced the night away beside a crystal-clear lake inside a cavern filled with orchestral tones. Today, the Lakeland Caverns cave is quiet, all entries sealed off from the public.  Read the Full Story >>

Remembering Hartstown

August, 2020 Tagged With: Boyd Carter, Cemetery, civil war, Hartstown, Kearneysville Methodist Cemetery, rockwool, SIGHTLINE INTRODUCES

St. Paul’s Church — paid for and built by the members of the congregation.

Appalachia is often viewed through a narrow lens. The stories of Black communities throughout the region are often left untold or simply overlooked. Acknowledging these communities and preserving their stories helps us to truly understand the broad patterns of the cultural landscape in which we live today. Read the Full Story >>

Country Roads Not Friendly to Rockwool

March, 2020 Tagged With: air pollution, Jefferson County Vision, Mountaineer Gas, rockwool, water pollution

Jefferson County Vision

The Rockwool factory in Ranson has been encountering some rocky roads as of late and the fight to keep them from their final destination continues. Read the Full Story >>

At the Crossroads of Passion and Purpose: She Walked the Walk

January, 2020 Tagged With: Resist Rockwool, rockwool, Tracy Danzey, water pollution

Resist Rockwool

Shepherdstown resident Tracy Danzey grew up in the Parkersburg (WV) area, in a little town called Vienna—an idyllic childhood as she recalls, suburban and wooded, with plenty of time spent outdoors and, especially, in the water.  Read the Full Story >>

Next Page »

Footer

Topics

  • Community
  • Economy & Environment
  • Education
  • Government
  • Public Health

Sightline Stories

  • Solar in Jefferson County
  • Remembering Hartstown

Columnists

  • WV Perspectives
  • Book Reviews
  • Nature
  • Environment
  • Education
  • Health & Wellness
  • Local History
  • Government & Politics

The Observer

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Connect With Us
  • Print Issues
  • Terms of Use

Follow Us

  • Facebook

Copyright © 2023 WV Independent Observer LLC · Log in