Publication: THE CHARLESTON GAZETTE
Published: 04/12/2004
Byline: GZEDIT

WRITING in the Industries of the Future newsletter published by West Virginia University and the state Development Office, state Dow Chemical chief Allan Fowler reiterated his assertion that sky-high natural gas prices are ravaging West Virginia chemical employment. Gas constitutes 60 percent of the raw materials for Mountain State chemical plants, as well as their fuel, he said. Recent price upsurges are forcing manufacturers to close American plants and move production overseas. Fowler urged political leaders to take bold steps to bring gas prices down. We aren't sure what action they could take - but any help would be a blessing, not only to chemical plants but also to families wracked by painful heating bills.

The state Republican executive committee has started an "ethics violation hot line" through which West Virginians can report wrongdoing by politicians. We wonder if it accepts complaints about Republicans.

Bearing arms in West Virginia: Chad Shannon, 32, of Mingo County, shot his wife twice with a 9 mm pistol, then lay down beside her body and killed himself, police say. They had three small children.

Invention Technologies Inc. says Terry and Lucinda Harden of Martinsburg have invented a device that lifts toilet seats automatically, without human contact. It's called "A Touch of Class."

A religious Web site, www.amazing facts.org, offers a "video of heaven." We assume it wasn't filmed with a video camera and sent back from the beyond.

The Duke of Wellington was a master of blunt comments. In 1842, when his ex-mistress threatened to publish his love letters to her, he retorted: "Publish and be damned." He once said of his troops: "This army is composed of the scum of the Earth. I don't know what effect these men will have on the enemy, but by God they terrify me." After defeating the French at Waterloo, Wellington attended a gathering in Vienna, where French officers turned their backs on him. A woman offered sympathy, but Wellington assured her: "I've seen their backs before, madam."