Short takes

"Without, or With, Offence to Friends or Foes,

I Sketch Your World Exactly As It Goes."

IN its first year, the Clay Center has had quite an impact on thecommunity and the state, but economics and numbers tell only part ofthe story. As workers unloaded 86 artworks this week, another part ofthe story was being told.

The pieces are from San Francisco and include 41 pieces from theRockefeller Collection. The parents of the senator donated 140 piecesto the San Francisco Museums of Fine Arts, which is replacing itsbuilding following the 1989 earthquake.

That these pieces could be displayed in Charleston is a testamentto the improved facilities. Not only is the art display area roomier,it is climate-controlled, making it more attractive both to travelingexhibits and to potential donors.

The San Francisco collection's appearance marks a turning point.Being able to display such artwork in the capital of West Virginia isan achievement that cannot be measured in dollars and cents.

Who knows how many schoolchildren will be inspired by these piecesto make a positive contribution to their state and their society? Thedisplay marks a radical departure from the 20th century and sets thetone for the 21st.

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In 1946, Morgantown was swamped with 4,000 veterans of World WarII who wanted to attend West Virginia University using the GI Bill.What a mess.

Enter Joe Gluck, a young native of Auburn in Ritchie County. Hehad started working for the university as a youth counselor in 1933.He was brought in as veterans coordinator. He brought humor tostressful situations.

Gluck was promoted to assistant director of student affairs in1948, and a year later, to director.

Putting Gluck in charge of all departments of student welfare wasa wise idea. For thousands of students far from home for the firsttime, Gluck was a friend. He was not just an administrator, but amentor.

By the time he retired in 1980, he had worked with 11 presidentsand 82 deans. Even after that, Gluck served as a special counselor.

He died Feb. 18 at 89, years after the university honored him bynaming the Mountainlair theater for him.

But the greatest tribute was the students he helped. One - DavidHardesty - is now president of WVU. Thousands of others alsocontributed to the state, the nation and the world.

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State government often takes it on the chin for itsinefficiencies. But the quick return of Shaunita Renee Neace, 14, toher home in Kiahsville in Wayne County was a credit to the WestVirginia State Police and law enforcement agencies in upstate NewYork.

Neace, an eighth-grader, disappeared this week, leaving herparents a note saying she was off to meet a man she had met on theInternet. An Amber alert was sounded. Within 24 hours, she waslocated and sent home. A man in Troy, N.Y., was taken into custody.

It was a nice piece of work by police agencies.