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When I read the editorial the other day concerning the planned consolidation of Richwood and Nicholas County high schools, I thought, "Why is a paper 100 miles away from that area so concerned about this issue?"
I have been to Richwood and know many who live there. Richwood was one of the communities devastated by the June floods last year. They were hit hard and are now recovering. Richwood High School was damaged so badly that it had to be closed. Seems the Nicholas County BOE decided this would be the perfect opportunity to consolidate the two schools.
The communities of Richwood and Summersville are on opposite ends of Nicholas County and are diversely different from one another. Their rivalry is similar to that of Parkersburg and Parkersburg South High Schools.
Imagine what it would be like here if , say, PSHS were devastated by fire or flood and the Wood County BOE said the best thing would be to again combine those two schools. Richwood is a proud community and deserves to be able to keep its high school and not have students transported over 20 miles to a new school and have to assimilate into a new environment. In towns like Richwood, their schools are the focal point of the community. I live in Wirt County and remember when many of the outlying schools there were closed. The little communities lost a big part of their identity. Stay strong Richwood and don't give up the fight.
Bruce Wendelken
Elizabeth