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Morrisey praises parks operation decision

Gov. Patrick Morrisey slapped five with a young spectator as he walked through the Mountain State Forest Festival’s Grand Feature Parade on Saturday in Elkins. (The Inter-Mountain photo by Taylor McKinnie)

ELKINS — Gov. Patrick Morrisey praised the deal between the National Parks Service and the state of West Virginia that will keep parks open for the next two weeks during the federal government shutdown, before walking through the 87th Mountain State Forest Festival Grand Feature Parade on Saturday in Elkins.

Morrisey spoke fondly of the festival and that part of the state, as well as about why people love West Virginia.

“This is such a beautiful part of the state and so many people come here,” Morrisey told The Inter-Mountain before the parade began. “They love our fairs and festivals. They love our parks, our state parks.”

Morrisey then spoke on the “big news” he announced on Oct. 3 that West Virginia had signed a donor agreement with the National Parks Service to keep the visitors centers and services at both the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park and the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve operational for at least two weeks during the federal government shutdown. West Virginia was the first state to make such a deal.

On Oct. 1, the federal government went into a shutdown, which impacts federal operations and employees, including the National Parks Service. The NPS manages several historic trails, scenic rivers and recreation areas, including West Virginia’s two national parks.

“Obviously we had the big news yesterday that we’re opening up the national parks through the agreement we reached with President (Donald) Trump and the Trump administration, and that’s incredible because we want to make sure that we’re continuing to promote something that West Virginia does very, very well at — tourism,” Morrisey said.

The state will pay nearly $98,000 over a two-week period to operate the two parks and their visitors’ centers, according to the governor’s office. The deal will be re-evaluated should the federal government shutdown continue beyond two weeks.

On Saturday, Morrisey, who stated that he has tried to come to the Forest Festival annually since he became an elected official in 2013, said he’s always enjoyed the event and that every year is “something special and something different.”

“I know one year I really had the chance to stop at a lot of the local shops and sample some of the food,” Morrisey said. “There’s a local brewery here. A lot of nice things that are here, but it’s the people. The people who shine, and I’ve had people stop me that I haven’t seen in years and then they stop me on the parade route, and that always brings a smile.”

Calling the Forest Festival “quintessential West Virginia,” Morrisey explained that all of the state fairs and festivals show the sense of community the state has and gives the public a chance to come together in a community setting.

“One of the challenges with modern life is people get really busy and there aren’t as many things that bring people together as a community,” Morrisey said. “Well, fairs and festivals do that, and that’s why I’ve always been a big supporter of them. I’d argue I’ve been able to get out to more fairs and festivals than any governor has in a long time, and that’s because I do think it’s a chance to go out and listen to what’s on people’s minds.”

Morrisey also spoke highly of Queen Silvia LXXXVII, Sterling Kump, the great-great granddaughter of former Governor Herman Guy Kump. Morrisey called it “phenomenal” that Kump was chosen to be Silvia.

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