• 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
    • Solar in Jefferson County
    • Remembering Hartstown
  • Pandemic Stories
  • COVID-19 Resources

Primary Sidebar

Latest Stories

COVID-19 Relief Grants

March 5, 2021

Unlocking Options for Renters & Landlords in the Pandemic

March 5, 2021

March 21 — Virtual Walk In The Woods Fundraiser with PVAS

February 26, 2021

2021 American Conservation Film Festival

February 26, 2021

Exhibit at Berkeley Art Works Celebrates Historic African-American Cemetery

February 26, 2021

Book Review: Pop

February 26, 2021

March 5 — Virtual Concert: A Celtic Celebration

February 26, 2021

Feeling The Heartbeat Of Spring Emerging

February 26, 2021

March 9 — Speak Stories Presents Chetter Galloway

February 26, 2021

Take An Online Art Class This March At Berkeley Art Works

February 26, 2021

Connecting Solar In Jefferson County

February 24, 2021

A Look At Rural Zoning In Jefferson County

February 24, 2021

Read all stories

In Print

SIGHTLINE

Connecting Solar In Jefferson County

February 24, 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 24, 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 >>

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

September 1, 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 >>

Building Hartstown

August 1, 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 30, 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 >>

Solar in Jefferson County

July 29, 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.

With this post, The Observer introduces SIGHTLINE stories, in-depth explorations intended to engage and inform the community on key topics. Our first SIGHTLINE story explores the implications of large-scale solar development in Jefferson County.  Read the Full Story >>

Footer

Local Coverage

  • Elections
  • COVID-19

Read Online

  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Book Reviews
  • Community
  • Economy & Environment
  • Education
  • Government
  • Public Health

Sightline Stories

  • Solar in Jefferson County
  • Remembering Hartstown

Local

  • Events and Live Entertainment
  • Shepherdstown
  • Harpers Ferry & Bolivar
  • Charles Town & Ranson

The Observer

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

Follow Us

  • Facebook

Copyright © 2021 WV Independent Observer LLC · Log in