Observer Weekly
Summit Point water & sewer, Ranson zoning, Harpers Ferry events
Observer Weekly June 18, 2026 Jefferson County, WV news & events We start this week’s issue in Summit Point, then work our way northward through Ranson and end up in Harpers Ferry. It’s only 14 miles by road (a half hour drive unless it’s rush hour or tourist season), but quite the change from rural landscape to dense city and then to preserved parkland. In the mid 1800s, both Summit Point and Harpers Ferry were thriving small towns in Jefferson County and Ranson was farmland. Fast forward to...
Transmission Lines, Shepherdstown Projects, Community Volunteers
Observer Weekly June 11, 2026 Jefferson County, WV news & events Residents and visitors alike appeared to enjoy last weekend’s Street Fest in Shepherdstown. Even the intense storm that blew through late in the day couldn’t stop the music — thankfully the main stage was under cover and the bands resumed playing after the storm passed. The music lineup for this weekend’s WV Fest looks equally impressive, so everyone has a chance to keep the party going this weekend. Closing an entire downtown...
Water bottling litigation, Teacher pay, Childcare support
Observer Weekly June 4, 2026 Jefferson County, WV news & events Both the calendar and the thermometer say summer has arrived. For Jefferson County, the first weekend of June is full of outdoor events, including a day-long festival and car show in Ranson and the annual Street Fest in Shepherdstown. Looking ahead, the Fourth of July is less than a month away. Our spotlight story (which follows the events calendar) includes a roundup of local events marking America’s 250th anniversary. Summer...
Legislators Answer Questions, School Boundaries Change
Observer Weekly May 28, 2026 Jefferson County, WV news & events For many of us, Memorial Day signals the start of summer and perhaps a little more time to relax. For schools and governments, it signals the end of the fiscal year is arriving. This week most of Jefferson County’s state legislators held an open forum to recap what they did in Charleston during this year’s legislative session. As usual for these types of discussions lately, the most animated conversations were about data centers....
Data Center Discussion, Ranson Map Confusion, County Approves Fees
Observer Weekly May 21, 2026 Jefferson County, WV news & events Data Centers were on the agenda for several presentations during this week’s interim session of the WV House of Delegates. There were no new announcements and few voices advocating for any changes to the state’s HB 2014 framework for data center projects, although Chris Morris, the director of the WV Data Economy Office did acknowledge that communication with communities about these projects has been “lacking” so far. Closer to...
Election results, Shepherdstown Snapshot
Observer Weekly May 14, 2026 Jefferson County, WV news & events There will be a full slate of candidates on the Jefferson County ballot this fall running for County Commission and local House of Delegates seats. Only the Prosecuting Attorney and the State Senate race in District 16 will be uncontested. We’ve summarized the Jefferson County primary election results below — there were no real surprises in these races. If you’re interested in results elsewhere in West Virginia, Mountain State...
School Budget Highlights, May 12 Election Info, Candidates Answer Questions
Observer Weekly May 7, 2026 Jefferson County, WV news & events Last week The Observer broke the news about a data center project near Summit Point. This week we watched a workshop for a project being proposed about 6 miles to the west, in Frederick County VA. What struck us most when watching the video (link below) was the willingness of the developer to offer specific proffers to address noise, setbacks, water usage, and other concerns from the community. It remains to be seen whether data...