Today, the Chief Logan Rec Center celebrates its grand opening.

And, hopefully, with that grand opening comes a new era of healthy living in Logan County and southern West Virginia.

Our great state has America’s worst rate of cigarette smoking, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and our people are ranked as the third fattest state after Mississippi and Alabama and that’s caused mainly by our fatty diets and a lack of exercise.

Now, with the new rec center, we have a place where we can start getting healthy and turn those bad statistics around.

The Chief Logan Rec Center is affordable for every resident of the coalfields. For a family of four, it costs around a quarter a day to be a member and it offers such a wide variety of health options. And the rec center is close enough to Boone and Mingo counties that people there can join and take part in the healthy new start it offers.

We’re appreciative of the more than $8 million Gov. Joe Manchin put into the project from state funding. It’d be a shame not to make good use of this amazing rec center. There’s something for everyone at the Chief Logan Rec Center and everyone in the coalfields should become a member.

The Chief Logan Rec Center can help you live a healthier life.