October 06, 2022

FAIRMONT — A local electric company will be giving away 1,500 trees in Elkins City Park Friday and Saturday during the 84th Mountain State Forest Festival.

The FirstEnergy electric company Mon Power will hand out Redbud, Red Maple, Red Oak and Serviceberry trees at the festival’s Conservation Village located at the Elkins City Park on Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

“The Mountain State Forest Festival highlights the critical role that natural resources play in West Virginia’s culture and economic development. As one of West Virginia’s largest festivals, it’s an ideal venue for our largest tree giveaway in the state this year,” said Carol Trembly, a senior scientist with FirstEnergy who leads the company’s tree planting initiative.

FirstEnergy will also provide 600 reusable tote bags for children visiting the Conservation Village during the festival’s Kids Day today.

Green Team members from Mon Power – “a group of employees who volunteer their time and talents to support a wide variety of environmental initiatives,” a FirstEnergy press release states –will be handing out the trees and tote bags.

The giveaway is part of a larger company initiative to plant 20,000 trees in 2022. Nearly 16,000 trees have already been planted at parks and nature reserves throughout FirstEnergy’s six-state service territory so far this year. Tree plantings and giveaways support FirstEnergy’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint, promote the responsible use of natural resources and further the advancement of sustainable practices.

“The Mountain State Forest Festival highlights the critical role that natural resources play in West Virginia’s culture and economic development. As one of West Virginia’s largest festivals, it’s an ideal venue for our largest tree giveaway in the state this year,” said Carol Trembly, a senior scientist with FirstEnergy who leads the company’s tree planting initiative.

In addition to the tree giveaway, FirstEnergy is donating $2,000 to the Mountain State Forest Festival this year. Mon Power is also making an in-kind donation valued at $10,000 by providing crews, trucks and equipment to set up the logs for the festival’s annual Lumberjack Contest Saturday at Davis & Elkins College.

Mon Power serves about 395,000 customers in 34 West Virginia counties.

October 06, 2022

Edgar Kelly – Staff Writer

ELKINS — After being canceled along with the Mountain State Forest Festival the past two years, the Randolph County Senior Center’s annual Bazaar has returned this year and is off to a running start during the 84th MSFF.

“We have a lot of people visiting the Senior Center for this event,” RCSC activities director Donna Canfield said. “We’ve only been open a few days and we’ve been pretty busy with guests coming in every day. I expected to pick up even more the next couple of days, especially on Friday when everyone is downtown.”

The bazaar kicked off Monday at the Senior Center building on Fifth Street and Railroad Avenue. It will run through Friday and is open each day from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.

All of the items being sold at the bazaar are made by seniors who are residents of Randolph County. Many unique homemade items are available at the event.

“There is homemade food, different types of cookies, candies and things like that,” Canfield said. “Then you have all the other items like flower arrangements, pot holders, dish towels, Christmas ornaments, handmade wooden bowls and much, much more.”

Some of the other items on sale at the bazaar include embroidered wall hangings, sweatshirts, Christmas wreaths, quilts, decorative plates, crocheted toys, blankets, scarves, hats and gloves, pillows and tabletop decor.

Randolph County Senior Center Director Laura Ward said some of the items for sale are things you just don’t see any more.

“Because there aren’t a whole lot of people out there who knit and crochet like they used to, you don’t see much of that around like you used to,” she said. “People can find a lot of that stuff to purchase at the bazaar. And the neat thing is that everything is handmade by people from Randolph County.”

Ward said she is unsure of how many years the event has been held during the Forest Festival, but believes it has been around as long as the Senior Center building itself.

“The senior center has been hosting this bazaar during the Forest Festival for many, many years,” Ward said. “It’s not an official Forest Festival event, but we do it every year at this time. So it’s part of what happens every year during the festival.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Edgar Kelly Staff Writer – October 05, 2022

ELKINS — It’s a decades-old Mountain State Forest Festival tradition: Maid Silvia and her royal court visiting Randolph County schools. On Tuesday, Silvia’s caravan made several stops at schools throughout Festival City and beyond.

Caroline Fluke, the 84th Mountain State Forest Festival’s Maid Silvia LXXXIV, was greeted with warm welcomes and an array of gifts during stops at North School, the Highland Adventist School, Coalton Elementary, Third Ward Elementary, Elkins Middle School, Jennings Randolph Elementary School and Elkins Mountain School.

At Third Ward Elementary, Fluke and her two maids of honor, Hannah Lee Phillips and Sarah Diane Riggleman, were not only serenaded by the school’s choir, but the entire student body sang songs for her as well.

The trio also received gifts and were welcomed into the school’s gymnasium by the MSFF trumpeters. The students were entertained by the MSFF jesters, who flipped across the floor when they were introduced along with the rest of the royal court by Queen’s Department Director Tracy Gooden.

“Hello everyone, I’m so happy to be here today,” Fluke told the students. “I’m so excited for the rest of this week and it has been awesome so far. I would love to see you guys around town at the parade or at the carnival. So if you see me, come up and say hey.”

The queen and the royal court will continue with school stops today, as they visit Elkins High School (9:30 a.m.), the Randolph County Vocational Center (9:50 a.m.), Midland Elementary (10:05 a.m.), Tygarts Valley High School (10:45 a.m.), George Ward Elementary (11:05 a.m.), Beverly Elementary School (11:30 a.m.) and the Harman School (1:15 p.m.).

On Monday, Maid Silvia visited Elkins Christian Academy, Tygarts Valley Christian Academy and Pickens School. Fluke’s caravan has been escorted by officers from the Elkins Police Department, the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office and the West Virginia State Police.

This week’s visits are leading up to the Royal Coronation that will take place Friday at the outdoor amphitheater on the campus of Davis & Elkins College. Fluke will receive her crown during the elaborate ceremony, which will feature 40 princesses from across the state, her two maids of honor, and her minor court.

Fluke is a 2019 graduate of Buckhannon High School and is the daughter of Eric and Jennifer Fluke of Buckhannon.