W. Virginia Woes Threaten Celebration

CHARLESTON, W. Va. —  West Virginia’s financial troubles have eaten up the funds set aside for celebrating the 125th anniversary of statehood this summer.

Norman Fagan, commissioner of the state Culture and History Department, said his agency had saved $100,000 for the event. Before any plans could be completed, however, the money was taken to help pay the state’s backlog of bills.

“We’ll have something, but it will be small and modest. But that might be more appropriate,” Fagan said Tuesday.

Educational Materials

The money would have been used to educate people about the anniversary, provide grants for local governments to throw their own celebrations, and print a special edition of a journal of West Virginia history. In addition, Fagan had hoped to have a party on the state Capitol grounds this summer, as well as a celebration at Independence Hall in Wheeling.

But the $100,000 fell victim to the state’s bills, which total more than $200 million. The Legislature is working on a plan that would allow Gov. Arch A. Moore Jr. to borrow $50 million to pay some of the bills. As part of that legislation, Moore identified areas where spending cuts could be made, including the Culture and History Department.

West Virginia was granted statehood on June 20, 1863, after delegates from the northwestern counties of what was then Virginia met in Wheeling and voted to join the North during the Civil War.