To whom it may concern: Immediately following my loss in the Primary election I chose to not cast my support to any candidate because to be honest, I did not feel that any candidate at that time deserved my support. Over the past 6 months I have thought long and hard about Logan County and what I could do to better support my county and the communities in which I “DO” spend a lot of my time thinking about. Every since my loss in the Primary Election both parties have been interested in getting my support. I chose to avoid both individuals because I did not want to send the wrong message to either person or party but after months of serious thought, I have decided that I cannot tell the people about the importance of voting if I myself choose to sit this one out. I have spent time in conversation with Congressman Rahall and we talked about a few key issues that I think desperately need addressed. I introduced him to a Coal Miner who has recently suffered two accidents that have literally destroyed his left knee making it impossible for him to ever go underground to feed his family again. Since Congressman Rahall was made aware of this man’s issue, his staff has worked around the clock to get this man his disability that he desperately needs to get his family back on track. I have said it on numerous occasions that Logan County has a couple of areas that the children in our very own backyards have it worse than some of the kids I saw when I was in Iraq and Afghanistan. After speaking with Congressman Rahall about these issues he agreed to allow myself and Robin Mutters to drive him across Logan to see first hand how the drug epidemic has devastated communities. We took him to meet a few of the people who are standing on the front lines against the war on poverty like Cathy Frankum who heads up the “Suffer the Children”Ministry that works countless hours to ensure people across Logan County have food on their tables and items like coats and gloves for those children that would otherwise go without. We stopped by the New Day Recovery Center for Men and introduced him to Pete Browning who has worked with the churches to establish a place for those to live that are working through addictions in the hopes of getting them back on track and back to work. We stopped at the new headquarters of the LEAD Community Organization were he was able to meet my brother in law and co-founder of the organization and we showed him the shelves that are almost bare due to the constant need from people who come in because they do not know where their next meal will come from in the hopes that we can come through for them. I invited my Uncle Manuel to drive through Logan with us to speak about the issues facing our local coal miners. My Uncle was a coal miner for nearly 40 years and a UMWA representative as well and I think that his knowledge and experience could paint the real picture for Congressman Rahall that the majority of miners in our area are living in. I know that there will be some that may not be happy with my decision. Regardless.....it is MY decision and I can spend the next two years working against people or I can spend the next two years working WITH people to try and elevate our communities to the levels that they deserve. Will politics be a part of my future in the next two/four years? I do not know! What I do know is that regardless of who wins, I want to see Rehabilitation services established in these areas to help us clean these citizens that are NOT throw away citizens but rather fathers, mothers, daughters and sons of people who would practically give their lives to get their loved ones back on track. I want to see diversification coming to the coalfields so that we can offer more to our graduates than a hole in the ground that will not have the longevity to sustain their new families down the road (over 200 operational mines in 2012 and now we are below 100). I want to see opportunities for our current miners to be able to receive training to transition from coal mining when the EPA or whatever element decides to shut it down without giving the miners any notice. I want to see increases in the pays for first responders, teachers and corrections. I want to see growth created from within in areas such as agriculture that can allow us to grow the 6.9 Billion dollars worth of food a year versus going out of pocket to purchase it from outside of the state. Reclaimed strip mines may look nice but unless they can recreate the trees, establish new communities on them or use them for areas to establish places for us to raise livestock then they are nothing more than the backside of the moon. Southern West Virginia still has our greater days ahead of us and I believe that the time spent with Congressman Rahall was time that will be beneficial to the citizens of not only Logan County but the surrounding counties as well. The one thing that everyone can count on (whether you like it or not) is that if I feel that nothing is being addressed I will continue to bring light to the issues and as I have proven in the past.....I am not scared to jump in and run again against anyone to make sure that our voices will be heard. Sappers Clear The Way! Airborne All The Way! MAJ (RET) Richard Ojeda II
Posted on: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 20:58:47 +0000
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