** Montani Semper Liberi **
Opinion/commentary on this site are solely those of the creators & content providers. This site NOT affiliated with the Town.
Opinion/commentary on this site are solely those of the creators & content providers. This site NOT affiliated with the Town.
A New Beginning?
The 2023 town elections resulted in the incumbent Mayor of the previous two years being defeated and a new reform/revival minded Mayor (Dan Hauger) taking office on July 1, 2023. It was a closer election result than many expected, but we were excited to see if this new reformer Mayor could make a difference. Mayor Hauger c
A New Beginning?
The 2023 town elections resulted in the incumbent Mayor of the previous two years being defeated and a new reform/revival minded Mayor (Dan Hauger) taking office on July 1, 2023. It was a closer election result than many expected, but we were excited to see if this new reformer Mayor could make a difference. Mayor Hauger campaigned on eliminating the "good old boy system" and equal access/treatment to all citizens of the town. He also espoused a "tough love" approach to getting noncompliant residents to clean up and properly maintain their property; we remember him saying in a social media post (paraphrasing), it's a get with the program or get out approach. We generally support the new Mayor's efforts to "save" the town and to foster a "rebirth" of Terra Alta. That being said, we are also hopeful that these renewal initiatives are undertaken with FULL transparency and in a democratic (small "d") mindset.
Suggestions for Increased Transparency & Openness
All Government Proceedings OPEN to be the Public
West Virginia Code § 51-3-2 states:
"The sittings of every court of record shall be public, and every citizen may freely attend the same, except in cases where the court shall, for special reasons, order the trial of a cause to be private."
Even though municipal courts are not courts of record, they are still part of the judicial system and are subject to the same principles of openness that apply to other courts in the state. This means that, unless there is a specific legal reason to close a proceeding (such as protecting the privacy of a victim, a minor, or sensitive information), the public has the right to attend municipal court hearings.
The general requirement for public access to court proceedings, including those in municipal courts, aligns with the broader legal principles found in the West Virginia Constitution and the West Virginia Code, which promote open government and transparency in the judicial process.
Body Cams
Why are TAPD officers not provided & required to wear/use Body Cams? We feel these are necessary equipment to protect both the officers and the public; just like the two new assault weapons purchased for and to provided to the TAPD by the current town administration.
Speed Trap?
Based on our observations/experiments, in our OPINIO
Body Cams
Why are TAPD officers not provided & required to wear/use Body Cams? We feel these are necessary equipment to protect both the officers and the public; just like the two new assault weapons purchased for and to provided to the TAPD by the current town administration.
Speed Trap?
Based on our observations/experiments, in our OPINION, the TAPD seem to have the only speed-RADAR-gun in the country that cannot be detected by fairly expensive & sophisticated RADAR detectors. AMAZING!!! Has anyone actually seen one of these TAPD RADAR speed guns?
Open Court Proceedings
West Virginia Code § 51-3-2 states:
"The sittings of every court of record shall be public, and every citizen may freely attend the same, except in cases where the court shall, for special reasons, order the trial of a cause to be private."
Revitalization Progress
Slowly but surely... Recently, a new ice cream parlor, a new pizza shop, significant renovations to the town park and some eyesore properties demolished/cleaned-up. Coming soon a new (another) dollar store.
Climate Change?
Unusually hot & dry this summer of 2024. A foot plus of snow possible any day October thru May.
Don't Kill the Messenger
Citizens with pitchforks & torches at the ready. Maybe a more constructive activity is to focus the ire on the ones that own the eyesores and continue to take no action year after year after year.
Elon Musk (billionaire & Donald Trump supporter/advocate) says, "free speech is someone you DON'T like allowed to say s
Don't Kill the Messenger
Citizens with pitchforks & torches at the ready. Maybe a more constructive activity is to focus the ire on the ones that own the eyesores and continue to take no action year after year after year.
Elon Musk (billionaire & Donald Trump supporter/advocate) says, "free speech is someone you DON'T like allowed to say something you DON'T like".
The Terra Alta Veterans Memorial is a tribute to all who served to protect & defend the U.S. Constitution. The first amendment of which guarantees the free speech rights of ALL citizens.
Rumor has it the new Family Dollar store is set open in the February/March 2025 timeframe. However, from our observations it appears the new store will not be a dual-branded Family Dollar / Dollar Tree establishment, as originally planned. Workers were observed initially installing lighted signage on the front of the building that would indicate a dual brand store; but the next day they were replaced with a single larger Family Dollar sign. The original intent of the dual-brand store is still visible by the split red/green colored trim along the top of the building (right side is red & left side is green).
The town of Terra Alta is still collecting a separate $25.00 "Fire Fee" from anyone owning real-property within town limits. This is despite the fact the Preston Co. passed/enacted a Fire Fee Levy back in...
The Terra Alta Police Department appears to have procured and are wearing/using body-cams. We infer this from the Mayor's official social media page; where a post the subject of which is that the T/A Police Chief has received the 2024 Best-of-Preston Law Enforcement Officer award. In a photo accompanying the post, we observed devices which appear to be body cams being worn by all three officers. The pervious sentence contains new news itself; as the TAPD appears to have added an additional officer in training.
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