Moonlight & Magnolias

"Frankly, my dear, this is one funny play...a rip-roaring farce...(with) witty, pointed dialogue and hilarious situations..." --NY Daily News

"Consumers of vintage Hollywood insider stories will eat up Hutchinson's diverting conjecture as to what actually happened behind those closed doors, a scenario given extra spark by the fractious interplay among the three men and their wildly contrasting demeanors...it's the hell-bent determination and entrepreneurial insanity of the independent producer to which Hutchinson pays tribute." --Variety

"...a Hollywood dream-factory farce...At once a hyperventilating slapstick comedy, an impassioned love song and a blazing critique of Hollywood...just when you think it's all fun and games...(Hutchinson) turns the tables...he has a gift for enveloping you in blackness. And then, with a single line...he also can lift the heavy cloud and get on with the hilarity." --Chicago Sun Times
Playing at the Old Opera House: February 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14
1939 Hollywood is abuzz. Legendary producer David O. Selznick has shut down production of his new epic, Gone with the Wind, because the screenplay simply doesn't work. Famed screenwriter Ben Hecht and formidable director Victor Fleming are summoned to Selznick's office and over five days, on a diet of bananas and peanuts, these three men fashion a screenplay that will become the blueprint for one of the most beloved films of all time. Based on a true event from Hollywood's golden age, playwright Ron Hutchinson has written a side-splitting speculation on what might have happened during those five long days in Selznick's office.

Director Caroline Cash, who brought the hit musical-comedy, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change to the Old Opera House last season, has assembled a cast of seasoned comedic talent to bring this farce to life, including David Porterfield, J.D. Wine, Steven Brewer, and Sandra DeRocha.

Show Times and Ticket Prices: Rated PG13 (due to some language)
If you would like to make a reservation Call #04-725-4420 or email us at
At www.oldoperahouse.org

Friday and Saturday Nights: February 5, 6, 12, & 13th
Showtime: 8pm
$17 for Adults and $8 for Students

Sunday Matinees: February 7 & 14th
Showtime: 2:30pm
$15 for Adults and $8 for Students

A report on the Jefferson County Commission


The Jefferson County Commission has been busy this past January. I notice that the changes they have put in have done a lot to make the meetings more interesting and smoothly run. This past meeting held Jan. 28th, Produced four items that I think are important to the county. Annette Van Hilst, Secretary for the Partnership for Affordable Housing came before the Commission to request a letter to the Eastern Panhandle Housing Consortium of West Virginia in support of a request for a $60,000 grant that would be spent in Jefferson County. “We are working with venders in the area to come up with a list of homes that they are having trouble selling,” Hilst said. She went on to say that the money would be used to repair some of the homes and that the work would be provided by local contractors. Commissioner Dale Manuel made a motion that the Commission send a letter along with the request. President of the Jefferson County Commission Lyn Widmyer thought it was a great idea she said, “I think this is wonderful after listing to the President last night whose message was, jobs, jobs, jobs and your statement that we will work with local contractors. I think this is a win, win situation for everybody.” The motion carried by a 5 to 0 vote.
In these times, we’re losing jobs and we are concerned with economical survival and economic development Commissioner Patsy Noland said. She was referring to the fact that the impact fee being collected in the county has dropped over the year. Noland went on to say that she had read an article that said Jefferson County had the largest Impact Fee’s in the United States. Impact Fee Coordinator Mark Schiavone pointed out that there were several western states such as Arizona that were charging $40,000 dollars for Impact Fee’s pertaining to water.
The next fiscal year was also a topic of the County Commission. In a report presented to the commissioners a shortfall is expected for the next fiscal year. “If the levy is not increased, the county could expect to see roughly $90,000 less in its coffers then he currently projecting,” Schiavone said. Commissioner Manuel believes that the revenue from the table gaming would reduce the projected short fall. Commissioner Noland thought that it could not be sure how much the revenue from table gaming would be. She said “I’d like to not plan on that at all.”
One of the changes to the agenda that I have come to follow is the Legislative Issues.
In last weeks meeting (Jan. 21) Commissioner Noland brought up a resolution that Del. John Doyle D Jefferson and Del. Linda Longstreth D Marion had introduced in the State Legislature. HJR22 reads in part: “The residents of a county may, if a county commission receives a petition signed by ten percent of the registered voters of the county requesting an alternative term of office for county commissioners, elect to decide whether the term of office for county commissioner is two years, four years or six years.”
At the end of HJR22 it state the basic purpose of the resolution
“NOTE: The purpose of this resolution is to amend the State Constitution to allow residents of a county to determine how county commissioners are elected, and the number of years for a term on the county commission.”
Del Doyle has introduced almost 50 bills during this session of the Legislature. Among them is HB2267 a bill that provides that a county commission may establish a program for transfer of development rights without a requirement for an election. HB2301 Prohibiting the demolition of a historic structure prier to a review of and issuance of a permit by the Commissioner of Culture and History.
Sen. Hurb Snyder D Jefferson has also introduced a bill SB337 Requiring Racetrack Video Lottery Fund be used for certain payments. The Bill’s note describes the purpose of the legislation. “NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require all of an established $11 million Racetrack Video Lottery Fund to be transferred into the existing West Virginia Racing Commission Special Account - Unredeemed Pari-Mutuel Tickets account to be used to pay certain current and unpaid debt payments. The bill also provides that when those debt obligations have been fully met all monies deposited in the Video Lottery Fund will be used for the Workers' Compensation debt service until that debt is retired. The bill removes a provision concerning the Thoroughbred Development Fund. The bill eliminates a $200,000 annual payment for providing health and disability benefits to jockeys and their dependents and also eliminates an obsolete provision concerning a special trust fund. The bill further provides that the Racing Commission may use current funds to pay previously incurred obligations. Additionally, the bill requires certain obligations be paid on a monthly basis and that certain receipts from all thoroughbred racetracks be divided on a pro rata basis between those racetracks. The bill modifies a current treasury account to include funds for greyhound adoption, spaying and neutering.
By: James P. Whipple

Jefferson County History presented in Shepherdstown.

Between September 2009 and May 2010, the Jefferson County Historical Society and the Men's Club of Shepherdstown are hosting a series of presentations by local experts on aspects of Jefferson County History. In the fifth of the series, on February 8th, the Jefferson County Black History Preservation Society (BHPS), will present the second public showing of Road Trip to History – African Americans of Jefferson County, West Virginia, a recently released 27-minute video. Prior to the showing Mr. Jim Taylor, president of the BHPS, will introduce the video as well as other members of the society in attendance. After the showing, members of the BHPS will entertain questions from the audience. This presentation is free and will begin at 7pm at the War Memorial Building, 102 E. German Street, Shepherdstown, WV. It will be preceded at 6 pm by a social hour for members of the BHPS, the Jefferson County Historical Society, and the Men's Club.
In September 2000, Mr. Taylor, Nathaniel Downing (deceased), George C. Rutherford and James A. Tolbert met to discuss a way to bring to light the significant events in the history of African-Americans that had occurred in Jefferson County. As a result of that meeting they formed the Jefferson County Black History Preservation Society (BHPS), whose mission is to research and preserve information about the county’s rich black history.


Niagara Movement leaders at Harpers Ferry, ca 1906.
(Historic Photo Collection, Harpers Ferry NHP)
Over the past 10 years, the Society has created visual exhibits and published several books documenting the County’s rich African-American history. More recently, stimulated by the PBS series “Road Trip to History,” the BHPS contracted with Jefferson County film-maker Wayne Bronson to create a half-hour documentary video featuring Jefferson County’s African-American history, which will also be shown on PBS television stations in Virginia and West Virginia. Much like the “Road Trip” productions of Charles Town and Shepherdstown histories, the black history video will document the many significant events which have occurred in Jefferson County, including Martin Delany’s contributions to the Civil War (among them he was the first and highest-ranked black field officer in the U.S. Army) and African-American participation in the John Brown raids and the Niagara Movement meetings at Harpers Ferry, which ultimately led to the formation of the NAACP. Mr. Taylor will also discuss the BHPS’s plans for several more research and publications projects including a book on the impact of women on the county’s African-American history and another summarizing a number of interviews with elderly black residents of the county conducted about 20 years ago.
Watch for monthly reminders and abstracts about each of the following presentations as well:
· March 8 Walter Washington
& Betsy Wells The Washington Family in Jefferson County
· April 12 Doug Estep The Mine Wars’ Impacts on Jefferson County
· May 10 Doug Perks I Am a Son of Virginia, and Her Destiny Shall be Mine, the story of
Jefferson County’s struggle over whether to secede from the Union.
· June 14 Jerry Thomas Soul of the People: The Federal Writers Project
For more information about the Men’s Club and the Historical Society, please visit their respective web sites at http://www.smc25443.org/ and http://www.jeffersonhistoricalwv.org/.

Jefferson County Geo-History Network

On February 9th at 7 p.m., Dr. Bill Theriault will present a free public lecture in the auditorium of Shepherd University's Byrd Center for Legislative Studies about his latest efforts to develop a Jefferson County Geo-History network.
Dr. Theriault, a former Jefferson County resident now living in Hagerstown, earned his Ph.D. in American literature at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Between 1989 and 2002 he served as Chairman of the Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Commission. He founded the Peter Burr Living History Farm and continues to be involved with the farm, baking artisan bread in a reproduction brick oven, teaching classes, and developing interpretative programs. He has written numerous books and articles on West Virginia history, including:
· How and Where To Look It Up: A guide to researching Jefferson County History
· History of Eastern Jefferson County
· West Virginia Wordcrafter: The Biography of Julia Davis
· History of Shannondale Springs
· Explorer: the West Virginia History Database
The Jefferson County GeoHistory Project seeks to integrate GIS into the study of local history and to provide research tools to academics, other professionals, students, and the general public. Although Jefferson County, WV, will be the geographic focus of this endeavor, the project will be structured so that it can be expanded to include others areas if the interest and resources develop. The project will span the time period from approximately 1700 to 1900. It will be designed so that information falling outside this time frame can be incorporated as needed. Researchers and software developers have been striving for more than a decade to document, display, and analyze geographic changes over time. Simultaneously, other groups have made important strides to digitize and study other potential sources of historical information. These sources include:
Graphic images (photographs, maps, and facsimiles of primary and secondary sources)
Relational databases containing census information and other data generated at the federal, state, and local level
Full text databases and other textual sources containing various material of interest to historians
In November, Dr. Theriault made an initial presentation on the project at the Shepherdstown Men’s Club which generated a great deal of interest in the community. Since then the project has developed of working group of more than a dozen volunteers and has become affiliated with five participating institutions. Work has begun on several short-term mapping projects which he will describe. His working group meets on the third Thursday of each month at 7 pm at the Charles Town Visitors' Center. Meetings are open to the public. For additional information contact Bill Theriault at wmtheriault@myactv.net

NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING
COUNTY COMMISSION OF JEFFERSON COUNTY


The County Commission of Jefferson County will hold a public meeting
on Thursday, February 11, 2010 at 7:00 pm in the Old Charles Town Library
Meeting Room on the ground floor of the Library, 200 East Washington
Street, Charles Town, WV 25414.
At this meeting, there will be public review and discussion on the
proposed plans for the new Jefferson County Judicial Center/Courthouse
Annex. No decisions will be made at this meeting.
By Order of the County Commission of Jefferson County
Lyn Widmyer