Happy Earth Day!

MAYOR’S PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS, the celebration of Earth Day was first proposed in 1969 by peace activist, John McConnell, with a second proposal advanced by the late, former U.S. Senator, Gaylord Nelson, with the first Earth Day being celebrated in 1970; &

WHEREAS, Earth Day is the largest secular holiday celebrated on Earth with more than a billion celebrants advancing planet friendly initiatives in 192 nations around our world with the 2019 Earth Day marking the golden anniversary of this worldwide celebration; &

WHEREAS, our City of Buckhannon is very highly environmentally conscious in all that we do, & Buckhannon has been repeatedly recognized as evidenced by our City having been awarded the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s Cabinet Secretary’s Award in 2017, the highest honor that may be bestowed by our State for environmental stewardship; &

WHEREAS, our City further established “the Green Bench,” that soon will be installed in front of the City Seal Mural upon completion of the forthcoming sidewalk & landscape improvement project at the West Main & North Locust Street intersection; &

WHEREAS, our City applauds the many groups who seek to protect our environment through conducting our annual RiverFest, river bank cleanup efforts, the excellent work of the Buckhannon River Watershed Association (BRWA), & our Solid Waste Authority, as well as other environmentally conscious organizations; &

WHEREAS, despite the celebration of this day, Buckhannon finds that our State & federal governments need to do much more to address such critical, environmental issues as (1) potable water loss especially by WV public service water districts where as much as a half gallon of water leaks into the ground for every gallon delivered, & (2) the end of straight pipe sewer contamination of our tributaries through full enforcement of existing laws, & (3) minimizing infiltration & inflow (I & I) sewer issues where storm water is needlessly treated by sanitary sewer plants, & (4) removal of the legislative threats of removal of state assistance with landfill closures, & (5) encouragement & expansion of tax credit opportunities for sustainable energy practices.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DAVID W. McCAULEY, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF BUCKHANNON, pursuant to the power & authority duly vested in me, do hereby proclaim Monday, April 22, 2019, to be EARTH DAY throughout Buckhannon. I urge all of our residents to be mindful of, & vigilant in the protection against the many threats posed to our environment while supporting the sustainability of our planet EARTH as we know it. I encourage us all to lobby our local, state, & federal governments insisting upon implementation of best, greenest, most sustainable practices in all that we do so that future generations of humanity may enjoy all that our planet affords us.

Given under my hand & official seal of The City of Buckhannon, this 22nd day of April, 2019

David W. McCauley, Mayor