A general appeal to Harsco ...

Something that has occurred in Fairmont over the past few decades has, unfortunately, separated the community from one of its all-time great employers. As we offered our look back at 150 years of local history last year, all of us learned, or re-learned, that Fairmont Railway Motors was pretty much THE institution in town from the early 20th century right through the end. The railway-related manufacturer employed thousands, offered grants to the community and contributed in many others ways. Things change. We understand that. Today the firm is known as Harsco and employs far fewer people than it did in its heyday. But the firm is still important locally and its facility is still huge, holding out hope for some that business will pick up for Harsco and Fairmont will play some role in it. In any case, much of what happens at Harsco these days seems a mystery. No one at the plant really seems to communicate with the media or the public anymore. From the Sentinel's standpoint, if this stems from something we have done, we'd like to take this opportunity to apologize. Whatever may have happened certainly didn't occur under my watch, and those of us who work here now would simply like to open up the lines of communication and maintain an amiable relationship with this local employer. If anyone at Harsco has any thoughts on this, please contact me at the Sentinel. We'd love to hear from you.