GRAFTON, W.Va (WDTV) – As we remember those we’ve lost in the September 11th terrorist attack, it’s also a day to remember the men and women who have died for this country before and after 9/ll. on Wednesday, volunteers at the West Virginia National Cemetery in Grafton went above and beyond to ensure that honor.

“We just keep the headstones clean,” said Richard Colosky, the West Virginia National Cemetery Director. “We make sure we’re getting any type of objectional accumulation, and the big thing to keep them clean as if you don’t stay up on this, they can get algae or liken, and then eventually if they’re not taken care of properly, it ends up all black and you won’t even be able to read the names.”

Colosky explains a headstone-cleaning process. He and other staff joined volunteers today as part of the ‘Carry the Load’ initiative, which works to beautify headstones at 67 national cemeteries across the nation. This preserves the final resting place of those who paid the ultimate price for the United States of America.

“You have to be able to come in and read the veterans’ names, the veterans and the people who come to visit deserve that,” Colosky said. “This is not the only time these gravestones get cleaned, we clean these headstones twice a year. It’s the national standard for national cemeteries to keep these headstones clean. We go through assessments twice a year that grade the quality.”

The cemetery in Grafton has been taking part in ‘Carry the Load’ for a few years now, and this year it had one of its biggest crowds of volunteers. Most of the volunteers, and students, weren’t even alive at the time of the 9/11 attack or during wars for which these veterans fought. Even so, one student, Payden Moon told 5News that he’s all too familiar with the importance of remembering those who we’ve lost.

“A lot of my family members served in the military,” said Moon. “Grandpa, my mom’s stepdad, a real long line of military background. My great-grandpa survived Pearl Harbor. It means a lot to me to come out and show these graves of deceased individuals some respect.”

Moon and his peers cleaned over 1,800 headstones in under three hours.

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The Ogden Newspapers will purchase The Dominion Post from the Raese family of Morgantown and its West Virginia Newspaper Publishing Co., the two companies announced Wednesday.

The ownership change is expected to be completed by Sept. 30.

In a statement, Ogden chief executive Robert Nutting said his family has long valued the work done by The Dominion Post and its staff to serve Morgantown and the surrounding region. He commended the Raese family for its century-long stewardship of the newspaper and said his family looks forward to continuing their legacy of community-focused journalism in the greater Morgantown region and throughout North Central West Virginia.

“We are extremely proud to be given the opportunity to carry on the work done by the Greer and Raese families for the past 101 years at The Dominion Post,” Nutting said. “The newspaper has served the residents of Morgantown well since its founding, and we plan to honor and build on their legacy of strong community journalism well into the future by continuing to publish — both in print and on digital media platforms — community-focused content that covers the issues most important to readers.”

The Dominion Post is the main newspaper in Morgantown, Monongalia County. Its history dates to 1864 with the founding of the Morgantown Weekly Post. In 1876, another predecessor, the New Dominion, was founded.

The modern version of the newspaper developed from the merger of the Morgantown New Dominion and Morgantown News into the Morgantown Dominion-News. That then merged with the Morgantown Post, finally forming the Dominion Post.

The newspaper came under the family ownership that has steered it for years in 1923, when Col. H.C. Greer became the owner and publisher of the Morgantown Post. He constructed a new building on Elk Street, just off of Spruce Street, for a new printing plant and editorial office for the Post.

When Greer, a prominent Morgantown businessman, died August 5, 1948, his wife, Agnes Jane Reeves Greer, continued to operate their businesses, including the newspapers, radio, steel and limestone until her death on October 21, 1972.

Since then, the Dominion Post has remained a family-owned business operated by brothers John and David Raese, who are grandsons of the Greers. David’s son, Adam Raese, has served as publisher of the Dominion Post since 2023.

“This transaction will give us the opportunity to focus on our other media activities which have substantially grown over the last decade. We look forward to the continued growth, diversification, and growth of our WVRC Media Group, West Virginia’s largest media group,” said David Raese, joint owner of the Dominion Post.

Ogden Newspapers Inc. is a West Virginia-based publisher of dozens of daily and weekly newspapers. The company has operations in California, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.

The company headquarters is in Wheeling, Ohio County. Nutting said The Dominion Post will be an exciting addition to his family’s West Virginia and regional publications.

In West Virginia, the company runs The Inter-Mountain of Elkins,  The Journal of Martinsburg, The Parkersburg News and Sentinel, The Weirton Daily Times, The Wheeling Intelligencer
The Shepherdstown Chronicle, The Wetzel Chronicle of New Martinsville and The Tyler Star News of Sistersville.

The Ogden Newspapers also publishes the Herald Standard in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, and the Observer-Reporter in Washington, Pennsylvania.

The company’s origins date to September 22, 1890 with H. C. Ogden’s launch of the Wheeling News. Robert Nutting is now the chief executive, Bill Nutting is the vice president and Cameron Nutting Williams is the chief revenue officer.

“The Dominion Post is becoming part of the largest news-gathering team in West Virginia,” Nutting said. “This will provide opportunities to readers in all our markets – both in print and online – to experience more comprehensive news coverage and in-depth reporting on regional issues including important news and sports stories at West Virginia University.”

Wednesday, September 11, 2024