HAZEN — A final rule signed Tuesday by federal Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood ends a decade-long debate over which time zone is best for this Coal Country county.
The rule says Mercer County, where Stanton is the county seat amidst five energy plants and two coal mines, will make the change from Mountain to Central time Nov. 7.
When everywhere else people fiddle with their digital clocks, folks in Mercer County won’t fall back an hour that day, thus catching up to Central time.
The rule comes after a formal petition from the Mercer County Commission, which was acting at the behest of the Beulah Chamber of Commerce and others.
Beulah Chamber president Linda Czywczynski said she was pleased with La Hood’s decision, even though she recognizes what a huge change it will be for many in the county.
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“I know how difficult change is,” she said.
Supporters said they were tired of the confusing time difference, leaving early to get to doctors and airplane flights, being off-clock with suppliers and state government and working industrial jobs in one time zone with home life clocks set in another.
A majority of comments at a public hearing this summer were in favor of the change. Some did say they preferred more morning than evening light and being able to use local businesses an hour longer because plants and coal mines all keep a Central time schedule, but town doesn’t.
In the rule, La Hood said the department looks at the key areas of transportation, business, schools, health care and family life.
“This should alleviate the confusion and scheduling conflicts that are part of so many residents’ daily lives,” La Hood said in the order.
It won’t be quite that easy for schools, however.
Both Beulah and Hazen school superintendents say it’s likely they may have to keep their school on Mountain time through the end of the semester, if not the end of the year.
The reason is that both schools cooperate in inter-active television classes with many other schools and that can’t be changed without disrupting the entire academic schedule.
“It would be a fruit-basket upset,” said Beulah Superintendent Rob Lech.
Hazen Superintendent Mike Ness said some students are taking college-credit courses and disrupting those courses is not an option. “We don’t want to hurt kids,” he said.
Lech said once that hurdle’s cleared, the school looks forward to gaining hundreds of class hours lost now because students have to leave an hour early for Central time sports and other activities.
Mercer County Commissioner Wayne Entze said he regrets that loss of morning light for rural children and their bus drivers.
“The DOT has ruled, so there” not much we can say,” Entze said.
(Reach reporter Lauren Donovan at 701-748-5511, or lauren@westriv.com.)
