West Virginia, Tourism Capital

David Martin: This is the good government show.

Agnes Queen: Well, we have to let people know that we have to grow in order to survive. If we don’t grow, we’re dying. We can’t have our community die. We need our county to grow.

We also take government to the people. So in our community, we have these more rural areas that it’s harder for them to get into town where our county courthouse is located. And I’ll actually go to them once a month. I go out to their communities when they have their neighborhood watch meetings and talk to them and bring government to them.

So not always can they get to us. So I want to take government to them, and I do that in three different communities in my county.

The community, I would say, because I’m inspired by the community to continue to work, because every time you think, oh, you know, you’re getting beat up by the the citizens and then you’ll run into someone who says, oh, thank you for doing this. If you didn’t do this, we wouldn’t be able to do this or I wouldn’t be able to do that.

So I think the community.

David Martin: Welcome to the Good Government show. I’m your host, Dave Martin. On this episode, we’re heading back to my new favorite state, West Virginia. If you’re a regular listener and I hope you are, you know, I’ve made a few trips to West Virginia, and I continue to be captivated by all things West Virginia, the Appalachian Mountains, the hollers, the history, and mostly the great people I’ve met.

There’s a saying you always meet a friend in West Virginia. Well, today we’re meeting someone who’s a friend to pretty much everyone in her county. And that’s Lewis County commissioner Agnes Queen. Oh, and yes, she is a real queen. She was our high school’s homecoming queen. She calls herself very approachable. And she says sometimes when she goes out to the local stars, she will spend hours staying in one place while people come up and talk to her.

I feel uptight since I recorded the show, it appears that one company she talked about, moving into Lewis County and creating jobs is moving forward with plans, and we’ll add some 50 jobs. Another company she mentioned, this one in the agriculture industry, is also moving forward with plans for a new location in the county. Job growth is needed in Lewis County.

Lewis County is in central West Virginia. As with much of the state, Lewis County is banking on tourist dollars to help grow the local economy. One way they’re doing that is with a new highway that will spur increased travel from the Washington, DC area. You may not think of West Virginia as a tourist destination, but it is becoming one.

We talked to the state’s historic resort, The Greenbrier, the state’s second largest resort. The Stonewall Resort is in Lewis County in Roanoke. I’ve seen tourist dollars coming to West Virginia at the state’s most famous resort, the Greenbrier, and the nation’s newest national park, the new River Gorge. I won’t go into the Hatfield McCoy story again, but I did meet ATV riders at the Hatfield family Cemetery.

Tourism is working in West Virginia. Back to Commissioner Queen. She just won her fourth six year term as county commissioner. She was also selected to be on the Governor of West Virginia’s Property Valuation, Training and Procedures Commission. And this is a group that reviews county property tax assessors budgets and spending. So listen, as we head back to West Virginia, that’s coming up after this.

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Welcome to the good government show I have with me a guest from West Virginia where at the Rural Action Caucus in Greenbrier, in White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia. Introduce yourself to the audience. Tell us where you’re from.

Agnes Queen: My name is Agnes Queen. I’m a county commissioner from Lewis County, West Virginia, which is nearly in the southern part or the middle part of the state.

David Martin: The middle southern part of the state, yes. And, so tell me what’s going on in Lewis County. What’s what’s, what are what are the issues you’re working on currently?

Agnes Queen: We’re working on trying to get sewer and water, which is always a big, you know, issue in the state of West Virginia. But we’re focusing right now on the infrastructure for quarter H, which is a highway that will connect Washington Highway.

David Martin: And Highway.

Agnes Queen: No. We’re trying to get to infrastructure that’s going to be along the highway, that’s going to be built in West Virginia, and it’s actually already built in my county. Okay. So depending on which end of that highway coming from Washington DC, either you’re where the beginning or where the end of it.

David Martin: So why do you need a highway?

Agnes Queen: The highway is going to open up tons of visitors from Washington, DC into the center of the state of West Virginia, which is going to be instrumental to growing our community in Lewis County, West Virginia. We’re literally right in the middle of the state of West Virginia off of I-70 98, which is Washington, DC, would be 48. In West Virginia is 33.

But they are changing the name to the corridor to 48.

David Martin: All of uniform.

Agnes Queen: It will be uniform.

David Martin: So I’ve spent I was, my first visit to West Virginia was, a couple of years ago since then, I’ve sort of kept my eye on things that are happening here in the state. And I know that there is a transition really going on in the state. And one of the things that seems to be driving the, the new West Virginia is tourism, especially outdoor stuff.

So is that is that accurate? And what are people coming to your county for?

Agnes Queen: Yes, we actually have one of the larger resorts in the state of West Virginia next to the Greenbrier. Greenbrier, being the largest in our system, will resort, which has a large conference center, outdoor recreation, boating, skiing. It’s 2000.

David Martin: Why don’t I stay there tomorrow night?

Agnes Queen: Right, exactly. You need to, It’s not as this one’s more older looking, and this one’s ours is more modern. All right, so.

David Martin: But what brings people to to just other than that fact, it’s a beautiful resort. What are they coming for?

Agnes Queen: They fish, they hunt, they hike, they bike. There’s a lake. The day they boat on the lake, what.

David Martin: Do you do? Which of those things do you do?

Agnes Queen: Boating. That’s what I do. My husband golfs because there’s also a golf course there. And we camp. There’s a campground there. So not to my community, but it’s right on the lake. It’s close to home.

David Martin: So what’s your boat? What do you have?

Agnes Queen: Pontoon.

David Martin: Oh, those are so great. On a lake.

Agnes Queen: Yes. Pontoon.

David Martin: It’s like having a big, giant wet bar.

Agnes Queen: Right. Exactly, exactly. So it’s it’s phenomenal. and when we camp, we’re close enough with our jobs to be able to to still go to work if we need to. If there’s something we still work when we’re on vacation or when we’re camping or whatever. And within that actual, facility, camping wise, you still have the amenities of, broadband and internet and things of that nature.

David Martin: What does having a highway means? The citizens of Lewis can.

Agnes Queen: It is going to bring growth that we need, and we know that we actually have a hospital also being built at that intersection of quarter H and I-70 933, which is also going to be another anchor for us. Our county has just over 17,000 residents. We are one of eight counties that actually had a population increase in the state of West Virginia.

Okay. So we’re able to boast that we also had an increase in population with this new what this new hospital moving to that area as well as a quarter opening. It’s going to bring the numbers up for us to be able to capture, growth, which we desperately need to help with our job creation, for more people to move to our community, to be able to have jobs.

David Martin: I know that a lot of the economy in West Virginia was based on the coal industry. How did that affect your county? Were you a coal producing county or were you a coal supporting county?

Agnes Queen: We do receive some coal severance. There used to be coal, in Lewis County years and years ago, but once they built the Stonewall Jackson Dam and the lake, there’s no you’re no longer allowed to, mine coal in my county. Okay, at this point, our county’s always been a only one gas county. Okay. So we we depend on the oil gas industry.

And in Lewis County, okay. And glass at one time, glass industry was huge.

David Martin: The the glass industry what did they make?

Agnes Queen: They made all kinds of glass that they sent all over the world. So it was, Princess, I don’t. Have you ever heard of Princess Glass? They were one of the bigger ones in the area, so. But we used to have two actual glass factories in my county, which have since closed because all that industry was moved overseas.

David Martin: So what are the folks doing, your county fair work?

Agnes Queen: A lot of people work in oil and gas. A lot of people work at local hospitals. We have a mental institution in our community as well, Sharp Hospital, where a lot of forensic patients unfortunately go and a lot of mentally ill patients go. So that’s one of our top employers in it. Once again, the oil and gas industry is still there.

not as grand as it was, but it’s coming back. So we have a lot of people in those industries as well as a school system.

David Martin: And, what do you think the, this road will change. The highway will change.

Agnes Queen: I believe it’s going to bring bigger industry. A lot of companies, we actually do have some companies looking at us now. A factory and a, plant are both. We’re currently looking for land for those individuals in our community. Okay. One will bring 50 jobs, the other is going to bring hundreds of hundreds of jobs. So we’re excited about those things.

And of course, right now we’re under, we can’t really talk a lot about them or who they are.

David Martin: Yeah, but. Well, how do you how do you how does one manage? it sounds like you, you’re anticipating growth, but how do you manage growth? especially in, in a sort of a more rural setting where there’s a lot of folks that are there because it’s not growing? how do you manage that?

Agnes Queen: Well, we have to let people know that we have to grow in order to survive. If we don’t grow, we’re dying. We can’t have our community die. We need our county to grow. And we have had that instance where people have moved here from Maryland, or they’ve moved from Washington DC, and they like it like it is and they don’t want it.

But, you know, I’m here.

David Martin: Close the door.

Agnes Queen: Right. Exactly. But they want water and sewer even though they moved in the woods. Right. So and we can’t afford to put water and sewer into the woods. You moved there. You didn’t have it when you went there. And if we don’t have business growing in our community, help with the tax base, we’re never going to get it to you.

So.

David Martin: So, have you become a water and sewer, expert on some of a sudden?

Agnes Queen: Yeah, it’s been it’s been very interesting. Yes, yes, we’ve we’ve had the.

David Martin: I want to learn about that. What’s your what’s your background?

Agnes Queen: marketing and public relations. Okay. Not a water and sewer. Water and sewer. Nothing to do. A lot of meetings, going to have a lot of trainings. I go to a lot of things like this. Yeah. To learn more about what’s going on. And also when we’re working with the water and sewer industry, those folks coming in and the the contractors or the developers and the engineers go to those meetings and sit in, see, understand what’s actually happening.

David Martin: And is that enough to.

Agnes Queen: It’s never for.

David Martin: Your education.

Agnes Queen: It’s it’s always growing. You’re always learning something.

David Martin: Okay. And do you know more about water and sewer than you ever thought, you know. Yes. Okay.

Agnes Queen: I do definitely.

David Martin: Sure. What have you learned? What’s it what’s the what’s the big takeaway?

Agnes Queen: Well, the big takeaway is when you’re working with, engineering firms who are, designing the, the plan itself, make sure when they give you a list to call individuals to sign up for water, that the people on the list actually can receive the water. Because I happened to me recently where I called and got an entire road signed up for water and then was told that, oh, but they’re not in the scope of project.

Well, then why did you give me the list that have their names on it? So, you know, so that’s been fun.

David Martin: Is, is is this growth management, an issue that is that you’re dealing with every day? You know, kind of almost. I mean, is it is it what people are talking about in your, in your counties?

Agnes Queen: Yes. It is, is something that we feel like we’re we’re, we’re behind again. We’re still like, we’re trying to get to the finish line before the hospitals built, before the corridors completely open so that we don’t miss out. We feel like we’re missing out on opportunities that we really need in our community. So we’re just gung ho trying to do everything we can.

We applied for earmark funding, and we were actually awarded or moved through the process, both by our senators mansion and senator’s capital. But when it came down to the funding organization, the committee, we were turned down.

David Martin: what do you say to the people whose, you know, like, no, don’t build that. No, I don’t want that. No, no. You know, keep it the way it is. I like it rural. What do you say to those folks?

Agnes Queen: Which again, we tell them in order for us to grow and for our communities to survive, we have to have economic development and growth with jobs that satisfy them. They understand, of course, you’ve always got the naysayers. So the keyboard warriors, especially on social media, Facebook’s a big.

David Martin: Keyboard Warriors.

Agnes Queen: Keyboard warriors, yes. And funny enough, they’re the same people that complain. I tell them, I tell you give them $1 million and they’d find a reason to complain. It wasn’t small bills. Why didn’t I get it yesterday? you know, why wasn’t it more. They found a reason. All right.

David Martin: What are the people most excited about?

Agnes Queen: People most excited about it. Just being able to have a job that they can actually survive. One that’s a big issue in our county. Housing is a big issue. We’re locked house in the house. And that we do have really isn’t suitable. The the cost is extremely high to rent or to buy homes on our community because of where we’re at.

Everybody thinks their property is worth a goldmine.

David Martin: All right.

And right now you’re listening to Good Government show at Valley Park Productions. We’ve expanded. If you want to hear more good government, join me over on a new show I’m hosting, Leading Iowa. Good Government in Iowa Cities. I host the show with the mayor of Dubuque, Iowa, Brad Cavanaugh. On our show, we talk with mayors and other city leaders across the state of Iowa.

We talk about what makes each city a distinctly Iowan city. We share ideas with mayors around the state. We talk about what works and how each city can do better. It’s an up close look at what’s going on in Iowa and how the city’s leaders are making Iowa better for the people in Iowa. Every day there’s a few fun facts.

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So now we’re going to get to the heart of of politics, okay? The heart of your the heart of your philosophy on government. All right. Here we go. Are you ready for this? Okay. All right. Unscripted. All right, here we go. you’re a county commissioner. You’ve been a county commissioner for you said.

Agnes Queen: 17.

David Martin: 17 years. from where you said define good government.

Agnes Queen: Good government. I truly believe there’s someone that listens to the people. You have to listen. You have to be open to, meeting with them or talking with them. I actually have several, pages on Facebook because that’s I’m the Facebook guru in our county. The person every yes. The person everybody goes to to find out what’s happening, what’s going on in our community.

And I strive to make sure that that whatever is told or put out there is the truth. so I try to get the information to the people, and I also take government to the people. So in our community, we have these more rural areas that it’s harder for them to get into town where our county courthouse is located.

And I actually go to them once a month. I go out to their communities when they have their neighborhood watch meetings and talk to them and bring government to them. So not always can they get to us. So I want to take government to them, and I do that in three different communities in my county, as well as regardless of when they contact me on Facebook, if there’s a 2:00 in the morning and I’m up, I’ll respond.

David Martin: Now, I gather that you are the Facebook guru because you’re the youngest county commissioner.

Agnes Queen: Yes.

David Martin: All right.

Agnes Queen: Yes, I had been, yes.

David Martin: You had the.

Agnes Queen: You did you have another one? That’s just a little bit younger. But he’s too busy. He’s an auctioneer as well.

David Martin: And but you said when you were elected you were the youngest elected.

Agnes Queen: Oh yes. Yes, yes.

David Martin: Youngest elected.

Agnes Queen: In my can. And the first woman to be elected as a county commissioner in my county.

David Martin: What, what why do you think they supported you of being both young and a woman and never having had that before?

Agnes Queen: Well, I had a son, actually. He was, two years old when we started campaigning. And he would go with me and talk to everyone, and he wanted to hand out my information. And I think that people saw that. I had a reason that I would work hard to make things happen and change in my county.

David Martin: Does he still work on your campaigns?

Agnes Queen: Yes, he does, but he did. He was, He hates to do it. He’s in college right now. He just started college, but he’s not a big fan of being an I. But he would go with me everywhere when I was campaigning and even at some meetings when he was little or that I could take him to, he would go to Rotary Club meetings, you know, fair and festival meetings, things like that.

He would be able to attend with me.

David Martin: So, how do you judge your success? what do you use as your personal, you know, yardstick.

Agnes Queen: Yardstick? Just the fact that people continue to come to me for information and for assistance and for help. So I still like that as long as they’re coming to me and asking, you know, that’s a good thing, that they trust me. So I feel if they trust me, that’s that’s a good thing.

David Martin: So if people don’t feel like they’re getting good government or the government that they want, what should they do?

Agnes Queen: They should actually reach out to the local government, get involved. I tell people all the time, if you don’t like what’s happening, get involved. Whether it’s the government or the city, it is hard. It is hard.

David Martin: So what do you do with that case?

Agnes Queen: I tell them to research. I do a lot of like I said, take government to them. If they want to find out what’s going on, contact me. I’ll come meet with you. Yeah, I’ll come and meet with you. I’ll talk to you on the phone. Whatever works best for the individual, I’ll be willing to help them.

David Martin: How should they hold you accountable? Other than, you know, an election every four years?

Agnes Queen: Let me know if we’re not doing things properly, you know, let me know. Come to me and tell me what you would like to see happen or why I’m what I’m doing. You don’t think is right. And I’ll tell you what I can and can’t do. A lot of times people think that we do things that we can’t like.

I get a lot of information people contact me for what’s happening in the city, and I always respond to them and say, I’m sorry, that is not what I do, but this is who you need to speak to. I’m sorry that it’s not my control because they have their own form of government, but this is the information. This is the phone number.

But if you don’t get the results you want, contact me again and I’ll find someone else who can.

David Martin: Okay. You’re an elected official. You’ve been there for 2017. 17 years. Sorry. 17 years. What would you like people to know about how government works?

Agnes Queen: Government has each form of government has its own rules in its own government governing body. Again, a lot of people do not understand. They think county commission does everything. At least in my county. They think that we’re responsible for roads. In West Virginia, we don’t do roads, we don’t do bridges. City does. County does not. We’re not in charge of school system.

A lot of people think that we are. Yeah, we’re not with the school board. We’re not over the state. We you know, we have our own issues. And a lot of times that’s the thing. Get to know what government does and which form of government you need to be working with. I’m always happy to help try to get people to understand that.

David Martin: Do you do any outreach to sort of explain what it is you do?

Agnes Queen: Do? Yes, I do. And a lot of times I’ll send up several times a year, I’ll actually do on social media education to people to let them know this is what we do. This is what the city and the town and, you know, each form of government, this is what they are and what they do and how you can reach them.

David Martin: Have you found social media to be effective form of communication for you?

Agnes Queen: Yes, it has been. And again, it’s so that I can, no matter what time of day, oh, if I’m in a meeting or whatever, they can inbox me or tag me on a post and I’ll eventually be able to get back to them and answer their questions and the needs that they have. So and they tell me a lot that I’m a very approachable.

David Martin: well, I was going to ask about that. Do you have a hard time going shopping or going to, you know, walking into the local grocery store or your diner?

Agnes Queen: Yes, actually, one time I went to Walmart and I was there three hours. I made it to the front door, and I was standing in the clothing section by the registers and the the workers went back and forth and they came back. They said, you were standing there when I went to lunch. I’m like, I know, because as fast as one person would leave, somebody else would come out.

David Martin: Yes. Do you mind?

Agnes Queen: No. Not really. As long as I’m not in a, you know, I have to be someplace. Yeah, I’m happy to help any way that I can.

David Martin: So, who is your political hero? Who inspires you or who inspired you to run? And who inspires you now?

Agnes Queen: the the person who most inspired me was my friend Kathy Snapper. she was a fantastic person. Yeah, well, she’s passed away.

David Martin: I’m sorry. I’m sorry.

Agnes Queen: She was, passed away at a very young age. She was 54 when she passed away.

David Martin: Okay.

Agnes Queen: And, but she’s the one who actually talked me into running for office and has always been my mentor.

David Martin: Did she talk you into it? Truly.

Agnes Queen: She did truly, truly talk to me.

David Martin: And why did she think that, you should do it?

Agnes Queen: She just felt that I cared enough about the community. Yeah, that I would actually work hard for the the local people to get done what they needed to be done.

David Martin: And, did she work on your campaign or manage your campaign?

Agnes Queen: she behind the scenes did a lot of stuff. Yes, she did.

David Martin: All right, Agnes, you’re mess it up. Here’s stuff like that.

Agnes Queen: Yeah. She said this is where you need to go to, and this is a you need to talk to. So I had a list of individuals that they felt that, were connected enough that I needed to speak to them.

David Martin: And who inspires you now?

Agnes Queen: Who inspires me now? Oh, goodness. I don’t know. I just kind of do my thing right now. Okay? And, I don’t really, I don’t know, to community, I would say, because I’m inspired by the community to continue to work because every time you think, oh, you know, you’re getting beat up by the, the citizens, and then you’ll run into someone who says, oh, thank you for doing this.

If you didn’t do this, we wouldn’t be able to do this or I wouldn’t be able to do that. So I think the community.

David Martin: So just one, one kind of conversation like that can wipe out like 4 or 5 bad ones, right?

Agnes Queen: Right. Exactly. When you, when you actually talk to somebody and you know that what you’re doing is actually helping people.

David Martin: When you were growing up, did you want to be president, United States or a county commissioner or a senator, or were you president of the student body or. yes.

Agnes Queen: Yes, I was president, student body. You were I was, but never wanted to be, you know, a government in government. I never dreamed that I would be in government, ever. Yeah. but I ended up here, but I was I was involved, I was homecoming queen, and I was president, student body and treasurer. That’s right. Exactly right.

So I’ve always kind of been a people person.

David Martin: Was your husband the quarterback of the football team? No.

Agnes Queen: Very shy. He’s quite opposite of me.

David Martin: Well, you know, opposites attract. All right. Right, right. Okay. how does he how does he handle it with your out in public and people come up to you and go, I just our commissioner, I need to ask.

Agnes Queen: He leaves, he just goes, if we’re a Walmart, he’ll go shop, do his thing. He’ll go to the car and wait on me.

David Martin: Oh he does.

Agnes Queen: My son refuses to go to Walmart with me.

David Martin: Really?

Agnes Queen: Yes.

David Martin: Okay.

Agnes Queen: Just refuses.

David Martin: All right. So, as I said, this is my second trip to, West Virginia. where in, where in Lewis County are you taking me out to dinner? What do we having? What are some great regional dishes?

Agnes Queen: Oh, goodness.

David Martin: yes.

Agnes Queen: Tom bistro is on Main Street downtown.

David Martin: Okay.

Agnes Queen: Which is phenomenal. They have a lot of great food. My favorite is their, bistro fries.

David Martin: Bistro fries.

Agnes Queen: And their. Yes. And their steak hoagie without the bun. and it’s phenomenal. their bistro fries have garlic and parmesan cheese and, and just a special blend of their own secret herbs. And it’s it’s fantastic.

David Martin: Is there any regional dish? Is there anything you can only get in, Louis County that’s. Think what do you what what what are the what is what’s special Ed Louis County that, it’s better there than anywhere else.

Agnes Queen: The bistro fries there a there’s there a special just to them. And they’ve actually the, the.

David Martin: The chefs there was 17 or, you know, just go fries.

Agnes Queen: Yeah possibly. But they are and they have a special blend of sauce that everybody loves. I personally don’t like the sauce, but I do like the fries. But they’ve won several awards even on a national level. As for being a.

David Martin: Chef.

Agnes Queen: Okay. So they’re phenomenal. All right. And we have a do have a little local family type A restaurant as well. It’s called Giovanni’s and they do a lot of home cooked meals in the community. So there are a lot of people really enjoy.

David Martin: So I have to go back to this because I just wrote this down as a note and, and I realized, you are were you Agnes Queen, the homecoming queen?

Agnes Queen: I was actually Agnes Quinn, the homecoming queen.

David Martin: All right.

Agnes Queen: Quinn.

David Martin: So I was after you got married, you truly became a queen.

Agnes Queen: That’s right. And my husband, actually, when he proposed to me, said, I want to make you a queen for a lifetime.

David Martin: right. So that what you over, over there? So. Yeah.

Agnes Queen: I thought it was funny. I thought it was cute.

David Martin: Who can turn that down? Right? Right. so we, this is the good government show. We always bring it back to good government. Give me an example of a really good government project you’re proud of that you worked on over your time.

Agnes Queen: Currently, I’m working on broadband. Okay. And if you can believe this or not, regular telephone service. I have a community and my county is about 2800 homes that actually their phone system doesn’t work, let alone the internet, because the cabling and everything is copper. and it doesn’t work. So I have been for three years fighting, coming to these meetings.

We’re talking with the FCC and NTIA to try to get better service to those areas. And with the art office coming through, which is a rural opportunity fund to give broadband to those areas, and we’re still not seen it happen. So I continue to work to try to help those people. I mean, their phone, they don’t get self service at all.

And their telephones. We had a lady who called 911, and the service was so bad on her landline that they could not understand what she needed, and had to send agencies there to send everyone. And where this lady lives in southern Louis County is 45 minutes to an hour away from citizens of downtown so that they they don’t have service until they get almost into Weston, which is our largest municipality.

So it was it’s a lot it’s send those agencies there out of the way as well.

David Martin: All right. Well, Agnes Queen, of Louis County, a real queen. Yes. I thank you very much for stopping by. Good luck with your good luck with your highway. Thank.

Agnes Queen: Thank you very.

David Martin: Much. There was a I think I mentioned that there was another highway, the King Cole highway. Correct. So, yeah, just curious, if you if you know the answer, you seem to be, under highway construction in West Virginia. What what causes that? how did that come about?

Agnes Queen: I mean, the highways being built, actually, quarter h the reason it was being built was after after nine, 11, they wanted an exit route for those in Washington, DC to be able to to get out of Washington, DC quickly.

David Martin: Okay.

Agnes Queen: And when that happened, they actually came into to our different communities along that corridor and dropped off these trailers that were full of supplies that could help somebody.

David Martin: is there any connection between that and the King Cole Highway? That’s, you know.

Agnes Queen: The King Cole highways being built in southern where the coalfields are. Okay. And that is being built to help those coal counties that lost a lot of revenue and job markets and things of that nature.

David Martin: So two different things, correct, but still two different highways in West Virginia. Again, Agnes, Queen of Louis County, West Virginia. Thank you for coming back.

Agnes Queen: Thank you for having me.

David Martin: Thank you, thank you. Have a great.

Agnes Queen: Day.

David Martin: I want to tell you what our friends at the LA Academy of Science are doing. The LHC Academy is a national association for local health department data collectors. Through the Academy of Science, County health directors are coming together to measure their county health issues the same way. Here’s the problem. There are over 3000 counties in the U.S., and they all count differently.

We live in a data driven world. We need all the public health data to be counted the same. Let’s say you want to see if your community is overweight or vaping or another way less healthy than your neighboring counties. To determine this, you’ll need to measure these problems the same. You also have to ask the same questions, different results, but same data points.

LHC Academy is working with a National Center for Disease Control, creating a standard to count and collect data. The same way you don’t have to reinvent the wheel, they create the process and make sure everyone is looking at the information the same way. This means a county in Connecticut can compare their data with a county in California, it’s apples to apples.

Now with the Academy, counties and other governments are pooling resources and sharing data and creating a huge database library. That means lower costs, more accurate results, and better information for everyone. Sound like a government, right? If this sounds like something you want to get for your county or your city, check them out at LA Academy of science.org. That’s LHD Academy of science.org.

What is it the county government does? That’s the question county commissioners get asked the most. And the simple answer is everything on the good government show. We’re so lucky to have talked with so many county commissioners and other county officials that have shown us how effective county government is. County government dates back to get this 1634, making it one of the oldest forms of government in the United States.

Think about it. Roads. Highways. Hospitals. Schools. Recycling. Law enforcement. Water. Sewers, and most of the county. Those services are maintained by the county that’s county government. The National Association of Counties represents all 3069 counties across the USA. Naco helps county government work better together through things like sharing best practices. When county government works well, well, that’s just good government.

They would complain if you gave them $1 million, as any good elected officials will tell you, you just can’t make everybody happy. What really impressed me about Commissioner Queen was that she takes government to the people. West Virginia is a rural state. How more people live here in Brooklyn, where I am, than in all of West Virginia. But Agnes makes sure they know what’s going on by visiting the real rural communities in her county.

That’s good government. And when she goes, she listens to them again, more good government. Well, that’s a look at Lewis County West Virginia, with a very popular Agnes Queen. I always like hearing about West Virginia. Keep listening. There will be more, but for now, that’s our show. Thanks for listening. Please like us and share us with your friends.

Or interview us right here where you’re listening and check out our website. Good government show.com for extras. Help us keep telling stories of good government and action everywhere. Join us again for another episode right here. I’m Dave Martin and this is the Good Government show.

The Good Government show is a Valley Park production. Jim Ludow, Dave Martin, that’s me and David Snyder are the executive producers. Our show is edited and produced by Jason Stershic. Please subscribe then share us and like us and reviews. That’s the best way to make sure we’re able to keep telling these stories of our government working for all of us.

Then listen to the next episode of The Good Government Show.

**This transcription was created using digital tools and has not been edited by a live person. We apologize for any discrepancies or errors.