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Latest Stories

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

Local Residents Will Perform “The Anvil” At Courthouse In October

Friends Of Music Presents Poulenc Trio In October

Halloween Fun In Jefferson County

Events & Activities – October 2023

Comment On Air Permit Modification For Rockwool Factory In Ranson Due Oct 23

Jefferson County Planning Commission Takes Comments On Future Land Use

The Emotional Benefits Of Fishing

Stall Tactics On Jefferson County Commission

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In Print

Observer 2023-08 cover

SIGHTLINE

Solar in Jefferson County

April, 2022 Tagged With: renewable energy, SIGHTLINE, SIGHTLINE INTRODUCES, solar, zoning

lines of solar panels that extend far into the distance which are part of a commercial solar array.

Jefferson County could be home to several large scale solar power projects - if the County can amend its zoning to permit these facilities. There has been much discussion, several amendments, and several lawsuits since this process began in 2020.  Read the Full Story >>

Waters of Jefferson County

October, 2021 Tagged With: drinking water, groundwater, karst geology, SIGHTLINE, SIGHTLINE INTRODUCES, water monitoring, water pollution, West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection

a riffle in a stream.

What is karst? Who is responsible for protecting surface waters and groundwater in WV? How can community members ensure the safety of their drinking water resources. This SIGHTLINE covers topics surrounding water in Jefferson County. Read the Full Story >>

Court Ruling Undoes Zoning Amendment For Industrial Solar

August, 2021 Tagged With: Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Jefferson County Commission, SIGHTLINE, solar, zoning

electrical power lines stretch in to the distance while a "dead end" sign is visible in the foreground.

On August 16, Judge Debra McLaughlin, in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, issued a ruling that invalidated the text amendment ZTA1903 to the Jefferson County zoning ordinance. The now-invalidated amendment was written to allow development of utility-scale solar power facilities as a principal permitted use in rural, residential growth and other open lands in the county.  Read the Full Story >>

Tracking Solar Installations

August, 2021 Tagged With: economic development, SIGHTLINE, solar, zoning

A map of the 138 kV electrical grid in Jefferson County and proposed utility-scale solar projects.

During the discussions of the now-invalidated zoning amendment, several citizens expressed concern that the broad expansion of the amendment to include by-right development of industrial solar in rural and residential growth zones would open up most of the county as potential sites for these facilities. Read the Full Story >>

Connecting Solar In Jefferson County

February, 2021 Tagged With: agriculture, conservation easement, farming, renewable energy, SIGHTLINE, solar, zoning

Millville substation

The Observer spoke with several energy industry professionals with experience in the development and management of utility-scale energy projects to understand the general context for the types of large-scale solar projects being proposed for Jefferson County. We also researched the specific topography of the local power grid and land to understand both the potential and constraints for these types of solar projects in Jefferson County. Read the Full Story >>

A Look At Rural Zoning In Jefferson County

February, 2021 Tagged With: economic development, SIGHTLINE, solar, zoning

While it’s common to think of land designated with rural zoning as reserved for agriculture, it’s really a category with many allowed uses, not all directly related to agriculture. 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 >>

Sparking A Converstation: Local Farmers Discuss Large-Scale Solar Development

September, 2020 Tagged With: agriculture, conservation easement, farming, renewable energy, SIGHTLINE, solar, zoning

A wooden sign for a dairy farm with power transmission Lines visible in the field in the background.

Pastoral landscapes may be easy on the eyes, but farming them is a hard life. Todd Hough of Oakwood Farm has been working the land since he was a child. He and his brother are the fourth generation to run the family farm in the Kabletown District of Jefferson County.  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 >>

Building Hartstown

August, 2020 Tagged With: Boyd Carter, Cemetery, Hartstown, Kearneysville Methodist Cemetery, SIGHTLINE, St. Paul’s Baptist Church

An imposing granite headstone marks the burial plot of Mascena and Sara Hart.

Following the end of the Civil War, formerly enslaved men, women and children developed many self-sustaining communities based on proximity to employment opportunities. Hartstown (or Harts Town) was the name of one such community that developed in Kearneysville, West Virginia. Read the Full Story >>

Perspectives from a Local Solar Professional

July, 2020 Tagged With: renewable energy, SIGHTLINE, solar, zoning

high stalks of corn with solar panels barely visible over the top of the cornstalks.

For the first article in this series, we invited Danny Chiotos to research and address some questions about the nature of the specific solar generation project that initiated the request for proposed zoning amendment ZTA 19-03. Read the Full Story >>

A Timeline Of Zoning For Solar

July, 2020 Tagged With: renewable energy, SIGHTLINE, SIGHTLINE INTRODUCES, solar, zoning

lines of solar panels that extend far into the distance which are part of a commercial solar array.

Jefferson County began to amend its zoning ordinance to allow for utility-scale solar in 2020. The process has had several setbacks, but a vote by the County Commission on April 5, 2022 has restarted the amendment process. Read the Full Story >>

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