After thirty years serving on the Logan County Housing Authority, Roger Ramey has decided to step down and resign. He made an announcement about his decision to resign during the county commission meeting in the Logan County Courthouse Monday, May 7.
Robert Fields | WVOW News
LOGAN The chairman of the Logan County Housing Authority is resigning.
The announcement came Monday during the Logan County Commission’s meeting. Logan Housing Authority Chairman Roger Ramey took to the podium to announce his resignation, effective the last day of May. A veteran with the United States Air Force and a native of Logan County, Ramey joined the housing authority in 1994. During his time with the organization, Ramey said Monday that he didn’t join for the money, noting that he hadn’t seen a single paycheck during his thirty years on the housing authority.
“People ask me why I do this,” Ramey said. “I enjoy it. And really, I did what I did because I could. I’m not a Republican, I’m not a Democrat, I’m an independent, but mostly I’m an American. I’m a mountaineer from West Virginia; I’m a Logan Countian, and I try to put this county first in everything that goes on; the people of this county.”
Acting as chairman for the Logan Housing Authority, Ramey has spearheaded numerous housing development projects over the years. Producing a prepared list of both present and past projects, Ramey credited county commissioners, credit he says commissioners seldom receive, for organizing the projects and making them possible. .
Ramey spoke about the former Appalachian Regional Hospital in the Man area. Built in 1954 with the help of the Miners Memorial Hospital Association, ARH was an 82-bed facility which serviced southern West Virginia as well as parts of Kentucky. Citing closure of many area mines, the hospital announced its closure in 2000, with the facility closing its doors for the last time in 2001. As of today, there’s a medical facility in the area and, according to Ramey, that’s because of the County Commission.
Moreover, Ramey cited a new welcome facility located in the Mount Gay area as well as Logan County Airport, which has a new runway due to the airport authority created by the commission in 1996. The new runway gave the airport the ability to land larger aircraft, but according to Ramey, it was the addition of a new automated weather station that allowed Logan County Airport to be able to land a plan from anywhere in the world.
“You know, if you used to fly from Myrtle Beach to Logan, you had to follow a flight plan to Charleston or Beckley and when you get within ninety miles you have to divert and come into Logan, because there was no automated weather station or no air traffic controller on location. Now, you can file a flight plan from Paris, France to Logan, West Virginia and know what the weather is, what the conditions are and whatnot. That aids in our air evac that’s at the airport because of Logan County Commission.”
Air Evac services started at the Logan Airport nearly fifteen years ago, according to Ramey, who also said that the County Commission to this day covers part of the premium for those services for the county. Moreover, the expanded runway allowed for the installation of two certified Air Force training stations in Logan County.
As for Ramey’s involvement with the Housing Authority, He cited projects currently underway, like the Loganwood apartments, a senior and veteran living facility in downtown Logan. That facility was set to open this month, however due to the timing of the Freedom Festival, that opening has been pushed to the ninth of July. Ramey said Monday Triadelphia Landing, has been approved, with groundbreaking planned in either September or October. He also talked about Logan Landing, a senior living facility completed in recent years on Logan’s east end.
Meetings of the Logan County Commission are normally held at the commission office across from the courthouse in downtown Logan and the next meeting is scheduled for 3 p.m. on May twentieth. Meeting’s are open to the public and typically streamed on Facebook. Search “Logan County County Commission” to find the stream.
PHOTO | Bob Fields