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In the News
Paw Paw Festival is set for
September 14-16
by Kate Evans
from The
Morgan Messenger, 6/13/2007
The Town of Paw Paw will hold a new Paw Paw Festival the weekend of September 14-16 [2007 -ed.]. The festival will be held in the Paw Paw Park and fields and the Paw Paw School fields area, said Mayor Julie Kidwell.
Activities will include an area fireman’s parade and competition, a carnival, bingo, a regional beauty pageant for children and teens, entertainment, a fiddle competition, Sunday bluegrass gospel music, food, crafts and Saturday fireworks.
A Saturday, September 15 Paw Paw Cook-off will showcase foods that were made with paw paw fruits with judging for a Blue Ribbon paw paw recipe, said Kidwell.
Friday, September 14 events will feature an area fireman’s parade and competitions, a hot fireman’s contest and the regional children and teen beauty pageant, she said.
Fireman’s competitions will include a Battle of the Barrels, where firefighters spray a barrel between two poles, and a Fireman’s Carry contest, which tests their strength and endurance, said Kidwell. Any area fire department wishing to be in the parade and competitions should call Paw Paw Town Hall at 947-7476 to register.
Saturday, September 15 festival activities will be live music throughout the day, a fiddle competition, lawnmower races, a chainsaw competition, a greased pig contest and the Paw Paw Cook-off, said Kidwell. Fireworks are scheduled for Saturday night.
Sunday, September 16 will have bluegrass gospel music, an old-time picnic basket lunch and cake auction and kids’ activities like a balloon bounce, sack races and old-time games, she said.
A carnival with amusement rides by Snyder Amusements and a bingo sponsored by the Paw Paw Volunteer Fire Company will run Thursday, September 13 through Saturday, September 15. Food and crafts will be featured throughout the festival.
At their March 23 meeting, the Morgan County Commission approved funding Mayor Kidwell’s request for $500 to help the Town of Paw Paw cover the cost of promoting the festival. They also approved $1,000 to help pay for the Paw Paw Festival fireworks display.
Kidwell also appealed to Senator Walt Helmick, Senator Clark Barnes and Delegate Daryl Cowles for some festival funding, but she has had no word yet whether any state money is available to help with the event.
The Paw Paw Festival is a big community project, said Kidwell. Some 24 people came to the first meeting about the festival. People are excited and everyone is coming forward to take charge of specific projects, she said.
Anyone can set up a crafts booth at the Paw Paw Festival for no charge and any non-profit organization can sell food or set up a booth for free, said Kidwell. Booths are on a first come, first serve basis by room only, she said. Call to register for a booth as soon as possible.
If anyone would like to help with the festival or is interested in participating in or donating to the event, call Paw Paw Town Hall at 947-7476.
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Paw
Paw receives a state
trailhead grant
by Kate Evans
from The
Morgan Messenger, 9/20/2006
The
Town of Paw Paw received
a $40,916 state Recreational
Trails Program grant to
construct a trailhead
welcome center beside
the boat ramp.
The trailhead welcome area will
have landscaping, restrooms, a parking
area, a small walking trail and
a sign, said Julie Kidwell, Paw
Paw economic development coordinator,
town clerk and recorder. It will
be an attractive display as people
approach the town, said Kidwell,
who authored the grant.
The trailhead will be the beginning
of the trail that bicycles can ride
from the boat ramp to Paw Paw without
riding on the road. They are trying
to make the town more appealing
when entering from Maryland, said
Kidwell.
The
trailhead will serve the
C & O Canal and
future bicycle lane that
will extend to the heart
of town from the
boat ramp. It will provide
year-long access to public
restrooms. There
are no other public rest
areas between Interstate
68 in Cumberland and Interstate
81, said Kidwell.
The
Division of Highways has
moved the telephone poles
back so the separate bike
lane can be paved, said
Kidwell. The $32,000 bike
lane was funded as last
year’s grant, said
Kidwell. It is a Division
of Highways project, she
said.
Kidwell hopes to work
with the state of Maryland
to also create a future
separate bicycle lane
on the bridge over the
Potomac River or a separate
bridge for bicycles. They
have a Share the Road
program with the C & O
Canal to accommodate bicyclists,
she said.
Paw Paw Mayor Jeff Palmer
applauded Kidwell’s
hard work to secure the grant, which
is part of the town’s efforts to
spruce up its appearance.
Governor Joe Manchin awarded more than
$8 million for 53 state projects to help
local communities develop recreational
and transportation infrastructure. The
West Virginia Depart-ment of Transportation
and the Federal Highways Administration
administer the grant programs. Local
communities provide 20% matching funds,
which can be in-kind donations or volunteer
labor.
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