PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD: Relocating West Virginia

[Scott5114]

This poll is related to the proposal to merge the Ohio Valley board. If the result of that question is "no", the result of this poll will be null and void.

Feel free to leave your feedback in this thread.

[hotdogPi]

Just so you know, approval voting (vote for any number of options) works better than voting for one and only one option.

The same applies to the Kentucky thread.

[ran4sh]

Just so you know, approval voting (vote for any number of options) works better than voting for one and only one option.

The same applies to the Kentucky thread.

That might be true but the poll seems to be a forum feature, so approval voting would need to be available as a feature to be able to use it.

[Scott5114]

Just so you know, approval voting (vote for any number of options) works better than voting for one and only one option.

The same applies to the Kentucky thread.

It would be, and the forum does support multiple-vote options. However, if we were to do that, we would need to do some sort of ranked-choice voting, which the forum does not support, because of the need for a clear single winner. (Because of the small sample size, I considered that allowing people to choose multiple options might potentially make a tie more likely, although I'm not really sure if there's any statistical backing to that concern.)

[mrsman]

I voted to put WV in Mid-Atlantic.  I'm heavily in favor of avoiding split-states, and it seems to me that the other possibilities for WV would make those other boards too crowded.  (Midwest and Southeastern states would be huge with WV, especially if KY is also moved to one of those groups).  There is also a benefit since part of WV is already in Mid-Atlantic.  So the real decision is whether WV belongs in the same region as VA or as KY.

[VTGoose]

DARN! I thought this was going to be about relocating the whole state, to somewhere like the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Hokies and Pitt fans everywhere are disappointed.

[triplemultiplex]

DARN! I thought this was going to be about relocating the whole state, to somewhere like the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Hokies and Pitt fans everywhere are disappointed.

That would pull them out of their generations-long economic depression, probably. Beachfront real-estate galore!

[ITB]

Mid-Atlantic.  It just makes sense. West Virginia's Jefferson County is counted as part of the Washington MSA.

[hbelkins]

Mid-Atlantic.  It just makes sense. West Virginia's Jefferson County is counted as part of the Washington MSA.

But Logan and Mingo counties are in the WYMT-TV (Hazard, Ky.) coverage area.

[Roadgeekteen]

Mid Atlantic, as Virginia is is mid Atlantic and part of the state is already in it.

[hbelkins]

For this to be a road-related board, one would think the members would have a better grasp on geography than they're showing in some of these relocation threads.

[Dirt Roads]

For this to be a road-related board, one would think the members would have a better grasp on geography than they're showing in some of these relocation threads.

I'm so used to this.  It was weird going to Virginia Tech and finding out that half of the folks from NOVA thought Blacksburg and the rest of Southwestern Virginia was part of West Virginia, and the other half thought that West Virginia was still part of the Old Dominion.  Once they found out that the real West Virginia had a lower drinking age, their geography was enlightened (so to say).

[Dirt Roads]

Reposted from the Proposal to Merge thread:

The obvious solution is to give West Virginia and Kentucky each their own board.

I'm certainly not opposed to that.  Both states have a lot in common, including the Hatfields and McCoys.  But we would have a hard time deciding which state gets to pick the Moderator.

[SkyPesos]

Reposted from the Proposal to Merge thread:

The obvious solution is to give West Virginia and Kentucky each their own board.

I'm certainly not opposed to that.  Both states have a lot in common, including the Hatfields and McCoys.  But we would have a hard time deciding which state gets to pick the Moderator.

Existing Ohio Valley board doesn't have a regional moderator either.

[74/171FAN]

For this to be a road-related board, one would think the members would have a better grasp on geography than they're showing in some of these relocation threads.

I'm so used to this.  It was weird going to Virginia Tech and finding out that half of the folks from NOVA thought Blacksburg and the rest of Southwestern Virginia was part of West Virginia, and the other half thought that West Virginia was still part of the Old Dominion.  Once they found out that the real West Virginia had a lower drinking age, their geography was enlightened (so to say).

You have to wonder how they got into Virginia Tech if they do not even have a clue what the boundaries of Virginia and West Virginia are.

[vdeane]

Reposted from the Proposal to Merge thread:

The obvious solution is to give West Virginia and Kentucky each their own board.

I'm certainly not opposed to that.  Both states have a lot in common, including the Hatfields and McCoys.  But we would have a hard time deciding which state gets to pick the Moderator.

1. Move PA and NY to Northeast
2. Move Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois to Midwest
3. Rename board to "Appalachia"
4. Move in the rest of WV
5. Profit

[hbelkins]

Reposted from the Proposal to Merge thread:

The obvious solution is to give West Virginia and Kentucky each their own board.

I'm certainly not opposed to that.  Both states have a lot in common, including the Hatfields and McCoys.  But we would have a hard time deciding which state gets to pick the Moderator.

Existing Ohio Valley board doesn't have a regional moderator either.

I've volunteered, but knowing how most of the mods/admins feel about me, I know that offer will go unrecognized.

For this to be a road-related board, one would think the members would have a better grasp on geography than they're showing in some of these relocation threads.

I'm so used to this.  It was weird going to Virginia Tech and finding out that half of the folks from NOVA thought Blacksburg and the rest of Southwestern Virginia was part of West Virginia, and the other half thought that West Virginia was still part of the Old Dominion.  Once they found out that the real West Virginia had a lower drinking age, their geography was enlightened (so to say).

Interesting story. A childhood neighbor and friend moved away when I was in elementary school. He was a year older than me and moved back to his family's original home of Lawrence County, Ky., which is right on the West Virginia border. (His father had been transferred here by Ashland Oil and then was transferred back east.) He didn't live far from Louisa, which is on the Big Sandy River across from Fort Gay, WV. We ended up reconnecting in college. He had some classes with some friends and we were all talking one night and he mentioned where he had lived as a child, and we both realized that we had known each other way back then. He told stories about how West Virginia allowed a drinking age of 18 for "3.2 beer" while the drinking age in Kentucky was 21, so lots of 18-year-old Lawrence County youth went across the river to Fort Gay to get beer.

[VTGoose]

For this to be a road-related board, one would think the members would have a better grasp on geography than they're showing in some of these relocation threads.

I'm so used to this.  It was weird going to Virginia Tech and finding out that half of the folks from NOVA thought Blacksburg and the rest of Southwestern Virginia was part of West Virginia, and the other half thought that West Virginia was still part of the Old Dominion.  Once they found out that the real West Virginia had a lower drinking age, their geography was enlightened (so to say).

You have to wonder how they got into Virginia Tech if they do not even have a clue what the boundaries of Virginia and West Virginia are.

It's a NOVA thing where they think they are the center of the universe. A number of years ago when dealing with traveling soccer, a NOVA parent though Blacksburg was just on the other side of Harrisonburg (well, yeah, it is relative to Denver).

There is also general confusion between "Southwest Virginia" as a region and "south West Virginia" or people who only hear "West Virginia" when mentioning where Blacksburg is located. South of Roanoke can also garner blank stares when people have no clue where that city is located.

Bruce in Blacksburg -- squarely in Virginia

[Alps]

For this to be a road-related board, one would think the members would have a better grasp on geography than they're showing in some of these relocation threads.

Geography != culture.

[WillWeaverRVA]

I've always felt like West Virginia would fit better closer to Iowa, to make Big 12 conference games easier.

[StogieGuy7]

FWIW, this business of VA and WVa being lumped together has been going on forever; and it has never been in harmony with the culture in either state. West Virginia has much more in common, culturally, with western PA (northern WV) and OH (most of the rest). Even Bluefield has little interest in the goings-on within the neighboring commonwealth. It's always been that way and probably always will be. The spine of the Appalachians is more than a physical barrier to infrastructure; it's a cultural barrier as well.  Yes, there may be 2 counties that have become DC exurbs, but the rest of the state is basically Steelers and moonshine country.

[GaryV]

P13 was around at the time this thread was created. I wonder why it was never suggested to relocate WV as a new arctic island?