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Rain, rain, please — go away already!Might need more, but no time soon!Ground’s plenty saturated by now.Hoping it’s good for the crops.Too much can be damaging.Wettest summer in awhile.More sunshine needed.Fewer thunderstorms!
The only safe ship in a storm isleadership.
— Faye Wattleton
d Spearhead Trails
Spearhead Trails will conduct aribbon-cutting ceremony to offi-cially open its Mountain Viewoff-highway vehicle trail systemon Friday, Aug. 16, 2 p.m., at thetrailhead in St. Paul. The site isadjacent to the Maggie WayCampground just off ThirdAvenue. The public is invited tocome celebrate the launch ofthe 70-mile-plus network oftrails.
d County news
County supervisors haveagreed to spend some moremoney on upgrades to the newjustice center building. Also,supervisors honored a countyofficial for a statewide achieve-ment and made several boardappointments last week. SeePage 3.
d Mountain men
Want more of a physical chal-lenge than the typical 5K run?Big Stone Gap Kiwanis mayhold the answer. The civicorganization is planning a newMountain Man Challenge inmid-September that will includea run, obstacle course andmore. See Page 3.
d Docs in training
Wellmont Health System’sosteopathic family medicine res-idency program has acceptedseven new physicians who willtrain while treating patients inSouthwest Virginia and north-east Tennessee hospitals andother facilities. Get the detailson Page 2.
d Customer service
Mountain Empire CommunityCollege hosts a workshopThursday, Aug. 15 on improvingbusiness leadership and cus-tomer service skills. Cost is only$25 for a day of instruction. Pre-registration required. Find outmore in Homespun, Page 6B.
Six environmen-
tal groups are
suing over
pollution from
transporting coal.
See Page 5.
J U S T A
MinuteJeff Lester
NEWS EDITOR
d Needing homesLooking for a pet to adopt? Callthe Wise County Animal Shelter,www.facebook.com/home.php#!/norton.shelter.
Fire, rescue funds going out on time
JEFF LESTERNEWS EDITOR
WISE — Countysupervisors rejecteda recommendation tosplit the county’sfunding contributionsto fire departmentsand rescue squadsinto two payments.
Meeting Thursday,supervisors agreed todistribute all thefunds now, as wouldnormally happen.County FinancialAdministrator DavidCox said the moneytypically goes out inlate July or earlyAugust.
Cox had recom-mended that theboard distribute halfthe funds now andhold the rest untilsupervisors see theresults of a study thatis examining thecounty’s fire and res-cue assets. That couldhappen in early 2014.
The 2013-14 budg-et for direct contribu-tions to fire and res-
Coeburn hires part-time town managerJENAY TATEEDITOR AND PUBLISHER
A college student active inWise County politics has gottenthe nod as new part-time townmanager of Coeburn.
Coeburn Town CouncilThursday voted 4-1 to hire RussellAndrew “Drew” Mullins of St.Paul to fill the position now beingheld by town Mayor Jess Powers.Mullins, who turns 22 in sevendays, attends the University of
Virginia’s College at Wise, wherehe expects to graduate in spring2014 with a history degree, con-centration in political science.
After reconvening from aclosed session during the specialcalled meeting, Powers soughtmotions for action. When no onespoke, Powers nominated Mullinsand got a quick second.
But councilman Jeff Kisermade a substitute motion to hirePhillip Michael Wenkerstern ofMartinsville.
With one non-local and twolocal candidates for the job, Kisersaid, “We have three people hereand all three have the sameamount of experience as townmanager — zero.”
But one has business experi-ence and an associate’s degree,one has a bachelor’s degree andtwo master’s degrees and one isstill completing his college stud-ies, Kiser pointed out.
FUNDS, PAGE 2
MANAGER, PAGE 2
PROGRESS
Sports| Page 1B| NNoott aa lloott ooff cchhaannggee aatt BBuurrttoonn.. Homespun| Page 4B| RRiiddee AAccrroossss AAmmeerriiccaa ggrroouupp ppaasssseess tthhrroouugghh aarreeaa..
TUESDAYAugust 13, 2013
Vol. 102 • No. 64
18 Pages
NORTON, VA 24273 USPS 120-120 $1.00
A Progressive Newspaper Serving Our Mountain Area Since 1911
the
Stuff the bus
Wells Fargo Bank in Norton last week raised $2,400 in cashand filled a school bus with supplies for city students in need.The cash included $1,000 from the bank and $1,400 fromcustomers. Above, Larry McReynolds of Oliver Coal Salespresents a donation to bank employees, from left, PatriciaHylton, Kathy Ringley, Judy Shortt, Wendy Deel and ReginaBrooks. Below, employees display school supplies stored inthe bank. Left to right are Shortt, Brooks, Hylton, Deel, BeckyOsborne, Ringley and Travis Bolling.
JEFF LESTER PHOTO
Health of Clinchis meeting topic
The state Departmentof EnvironmentalQuality will receive com-ments Aug. 22 on a waterquality restoration planfor the Clinch River andits tributaries in Wise,Scott, Lee Tazewell andRussell counties.
That will mark thestart of a comment peri-od extending throughSept. 23.
DEQ will conduct apublic meeting on thestudy Aug. 22 in theNorton CommunityCenter, starting at 6 p.m.
DEQ has been work-ing to identify sources ofbacterial contaminationand sources of pollutantsaffecting aquatic organ-isms.
The mainstem of theClinch River is impairedfor failure to meet therecreational use becauseof fecal coliform bacteriaviolations and violationsof the E. coli standard.
Bear Creek, FallCreek, Little StoneyCreek, Russell Creek,Staunton Creek, StonyCreek, Cove Creek, StockCreek, Copper Creek,Moll Creek, ValleyCreek, North Fork ClinchRiver, and BlackwaterCreek are impaired forfailure to meet the recre-ational use because offecal coliform bacteriaviolations and violationsof the E. coli standard.
Bark Camp Branch inWise County, Laurel
Creek in Russell andTazewell counties, aswell as Thompson Creekin Tazewell County areimpaired for failing tomeet the aquatic life use(benthic impairment)based on violations of thegeneral standard foraquatic organisms.
Bark Camp Branch isalso impaired for failureto meet the aquatic lifeuse based on violationsof the pH water qualitystandard.
During the study, thesources of bacterial con-tamination and pollu-tants impairing theaquatic community havebeen identified and totalmaximum daily loads, orTMDL, developed forthe impaired waters. Torestore water quality,contamination levelsmust be reduced to theTMDL amount. A TMDLis the total amount of apollutant a water bodycan contain and still
CLINCH, PAGE 2
Castlewood principal hired for Norton ElementaryJEFF LESTERNEWS EDITOR
Norton Elementary and MiddleSchool has a new principal.
Meeting Thursday, the city schoolboard voted to hire Gina Wohlfordfor the position recently vacated byScott Kiser, who became WiseCounty schools’ director of technolo-gy.
Wohlford has served as principalat Castlewood Elementary Schooland Copper Creek ElementarySchool for one year.
A Castlewood resident, Wohlfordwas assistant principal at Castlewoodfor five years, while also serving asattendance officer, discipline coordi-nator and 21st Century CommunityLearning Center grant director.
She taught pre-kindergarten andfirst grade at Lebanon Elementaryfrom 1995 to 2007.
Wohlford was owner and program
director of Stair Step Daycare from1993-95.
She has been a presenter at sever-al early childhood education confer-ences in Southwest Virginia andnortheast Tennessee.
Wohlford is a 1992 graduate ofClinch Valley College. She earned amaster of education degree as a read-ing specialist from East TennesseeState University, and is pursuing adoctoral degree in early childhoodeducation from ETSU. u
FUNDING
Wise County’s 2013-14fire and rescue budgetincludes:
RESCUEr Line of duty: $12,200.r Appalachia, Big
Stone Gap, Coeburn,Pound, Wise, Valley:$28,000 each. BUTCoeburn’s funds havegone to the fire depart-ment because the town nolonger has a rescuesquad.
r Norton: $15,500.r Castlewood: $3,000.V Sandy Ridge: $7,000.r Dante: $1,500.r State 2-4-Life pass-
through: $35,000.
FIREr Line of duty: $12,200.r Appalachia, Big
Stone Gap, Coeburn,Pound, St. Paul, Wise,Norton, Valley: $28,000each.
r Sandy Ridge:$21,000.
r County fires: $7,800.r State fire program
pass-through: $75,000.r Dues and association
memberships: $15,000. u
DEQ will hear
comments on
the study Aug.
22 in the Norton
Community
Center, starting
at 6 p.m.
Gina Wohlford
has spent her 18-year
public education
career in Russell
County schools.
u Andrew Mullins
Seven physicians who have enrolled in the osteo-pathic family medicine residency program created byWellmont Health System recently participated in awhite-coat ceremony at Lonesome Pine Country Club.
They are the third class to have joined this program,which now has about 20 residents and is nearing themaximum of 24 Wellmont has been approved to enroll.
“This is excellent news for those who live and workin Southwest Virginia and shows the value of startingthis program in Southwest Virginia,” said David Brash,Wellmont’s senior vice president of business develop-ment and rural strategy, in a press release. “Youngphysicians are finding this program an attractive routeto refine the skills they need to practice in rural areas,including our own. This program has greatly impactedour region’s quality of life and will continue to enhancethe delivery of care in the coming years.”
The new residents and their medical schools are:r Dr. David Bhola, Nova Southeastern University
College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.r Dr. Menalin Ganal, Touro University College of
Osteopathic Medicine, Vallejo, Calif.r Dr. Zehra Hussain, University of North Texas
Health Science Center, Fort Worth.r Dr. Dwayne Likens, University of Pikeville
Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine, Pikeville,Ky.
r Dr. Veronica Robinson, A.T. Still University Schoolof Osteopathic Medicine, Mesa, Ariz.
r Dr. Joshua Yeary, Lincoln Memorial University-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine, who previ-ously worked as a lab technician at Hancock CountyHospital in Tennessee.
r Dr. Anthony Yount, LMU-DCOM, who previouslyworked as an emergency department nurse at HancockCounty.
The family medicine residency lasts three years,and all the osteopathic physicians except Dr. Yount arein their first year. He transferred to the program here
and is now in his second year of residency.“We are thrilled with this class of physicians and are
grateful they have chosen our program to advancetheir medical careers,” said Dr. Maurice Nida,Wellmont’s director of osteopathic graduate medicaleducation and an osteopathic physician with WellmontMedical Associates. “All of them come from impressivemedical schools and will provide excellent medicalcare under the guidance of experienced physicianswho have graced our region with their expertise.”
As they complete their residency, these seven physi-cians will deliver care at Mountain View RegionalMedical Center, Lonesome Pine Hospital and Lee
Regional Medical Center. They will also receive someof their specialty rotation training at Holston ValleyMedical Center and Bristol Regional Medical Center inTennessee. In addition, they will treat patients at theWellmont Osteopathic Family Medicine ResidencyClinic at 295 Wharton Lane, Norton.
The residency program was formed in 2009 withLMU-DCOM as the academic sponsor. The programbegan accepting physicians in 2010.
Four residents have graduated from the program sofar, and another is set to finish her training in February.Two of them have established practices with WellmontMedical Associates in Southwest Virginia. u
r Powell River Project officials were reaching out toofficials in other states to gauge interest about growingthe research venture into a regional center to study abroad range of questions raised by surface mining incentral Appalachia.
r A visit from Secretary of the Interior Donald Hodelhad prompted criticism from Wytheville state Sen.Daniel Bird. Hodel was in Wise County campaigningfor congressional candidate John Brown. Bird had criti-cized Hodel’s appearance and pointed to Hodel’sopposition to clean coal technology programs whenHodel served as secretary of energy. Less than adozen picketers from the Dickenson County CitizensCommittee had also gathered in front of the NortonHoliday Inn. The group had sought stronger regulationof the surface effects of underground mining, particu-larly from longwall mining.
r The National Labor Relations Board had dis-missed unfair labor practice charges filed by PittstonCoal Group against the United Mine Workers ofAmerica regarding the union’s calling of “memorialdays” in May and June.
r A groundbreaking ceremony for a planned shop-ping center in Norton’s eastern corridor was to beheld. Stores slated to anchor the center includedWalMart, an Ingles supermarket and Goody’s clothingstore.
r The Virginia-Kentucky District Fair was set to cele-brate its 75th anniversary the following week. u
PAGE 2 Tuesday, August 13, 2013 The Coalfield Progress Norton, Virginia 24273
This Week in
Years Ago. . .2255
AUG. 11, 1988
Local History
cue units is more than $450,000. There appears to be some inequityin how the money is allocated, and supervisors may want to adjustthe amounts after getting the study results, Cox said.
An extra benefit is that splitting the payments would more close-ly match the county’s cashflow from tax collections, he noted.
But District One Supervisor Ronnie Shortt said some depart-ments are concerned about their own cashflow if the payments aresplit.
That may affect some departments, Cox agreed. Supervisorscould look at these situations individually next month or wait untilfiscal 2014-15 to make any changes, he said.
Shortt said he doesn’t want to put undue stress on any depart-ments.
District Three Supervisor J.H. Rivers said he’d like to go aheadand pay out the full amount, and consider any formula changes inthe next fiscal year.
Shortt agreed. A lot of departments depend on getting county pay-ments at a particular time of year, he noted.
Rivers added that once the study is done, the county will needtime to get the results distributed to everyone who has an interest inthem.
District Three Supervisor Virginia Meador agreed with makingpayment now, if it wouldn’t change the approved 2013-14 budget.
County Attorney Karen Mullins said the fire and rescue units thatget county funds know a formula change is coming. The question ishow to make distribution more equitable, she said.
District Four Supervisor Robby Robbins and County
Administrator Shannon Scott noted one unusual circumstance:Coeburn Fire Department has been receiving rescue squad funds
for the town in the absence of a rescue unit, which ceased to existseveral years ago.
While the fire department is not transporting patients, it does pro-vide some rescue services, they said.
Robbins expressed concern at the possibility that Coeburn’s firedepartment would stop receiving rescue funds.
Shortt said he has no problem with giving the Coeburn depart-ment that money. He only brought it up because other people haveexpressed concern, he said.
District Four Supervisor Dana Kilgore said the study’s goal is toimprove services, not to penalize anyone. Shortt agreed.
On a motion by Rivers, the board agreed to distribute the pay-ments now.
The county distributes cash donations to fire departments andrescue squads. Also, the county pays into Virginia Line of Duty Actbenefits for both groups, and pays fire departments’ fire associationdues and membership costs. Further, the county distributes state 2-4-Life funds to rescue squads.
STUDYAt Wise County’s request, the state Department of Fire Programs,
Department of Forestry and Office of Emergency Medical Servicesare studying several aspects of local fire and rescue units: Servicelevels, staffing, governance, accountability training, safety, opera-tions, administration and communications. The study request result-ed from concerns voiced by the Sandy Ridge Rescue Squad abouthow funds are distributed and about related issues. u
r FundsFROM PAGE 1
meet water quality stan-dards.
The comment periodwill be from Aug. 22 toSept. 23. Notice of thismeeting appears in theAug. 12 Virginia Register.
Fact sheets are avail-able on the impairedwaters from the contactsbelow or on the DEQ website at http://www.deq.vir-ginia.gov/Programs/Water/WaterQualityInformationTMDLs.aspx.
For more information,contact: MarthaChapman, DEQSouthwest RegionalOffice, 355-A DeadmoreSt., P.O. Box 1688,Abingdon, Va. 24210-1688.
You can also email [email protected] or call 276/676-4800. u
r ClinchFROM PAGE 1
u Seven physicians and leaders of the osteopathic family medicine residency programpose after the recent white-coat ceremony. They are, left to right, Drs. Maurice Nida,Zehra Hussain, Veronica Robinson, Anthony Yount, David Bhola, Menalin Ganal, DwayneLikens, Joshua Yeary and Thomas Roatsey.
WELLMONT PHOTO
Medical residencyprogram gets new participants
Based on candidate interviews andqualifications, Kiser said he thoughtWenkerstern was the best candidate. Hismotion failed for lack of a second.
With no further discussion, Councilvoted 4-1 to hire Mullins.
ON THE JOBMullins was already on the job
Monday morning, filling out paperwork and getting ready for the night’sregular council meeting. The town ofCoeburn has a great staff who canaddress anything he needs as he’s get-ting his bearings, Mullins said.
While being local certainly didn’thurt his chances for selection, he said,“what really set me apart is the brightfuture I see for the town, my plans forthe future of Coeburn.”
Mullins’ plans center on more com-munity involvement, he said. Heplans to continue promotingCoeburn’s new cruise-in event on thefirst and third Saturdays of the
month, he said, and wants to buildweek-night events for everybody inthe community. One idea is incorpo-rating a movie night downtown duringwarm weather.
Mayor Jess Powers said Mondaythat Mullins impressed council mem-bers during his interview with hisintelligence, maturity, communicationskills, easy-going personality and hisvisionary presentation on the future ofCoeburn. Mullins knows the town, thecounty and the people on council,the mayor said, “and was visionaryin ways the other candidates werenot.”
Recognizing that Coeburn andother towns in Wise County face finan-cial struggles, Mullins said he will tryto promote business growth downtownand all over Coeburn.
Being accountable, efficient andcost-conscious are priorities Mullinssaid he brings to the position. “I willlook for savings,” he said, “and mak-ing sure we’re getting the best workfor our money.”
At the same time, he said, he wouldbe looking for ways to generate newrevenue. “You’ve always got to planahead,” Mullins said,” and find uniqueways to differentiate yourself . . . fromother towns.”
He acknowledged being “a littlenervous” as he approaches the town’stight budget “but I guess who wouldn’tbe.”
The part-time job is a 30-hour perweek position, which permits him toalso juggle completion of his collegestudies.
Mullins said the key message hewant to send to Coeburn residents isthat “my doors are open for anythingthey want to talk about.” Mullins saidhe has a “friendly approach” to localgovernment and doesn’t want citizensto be afraid to come to town hall andtalk to him.
While he is employed by town coun-cil, Mullins notes he works for the cit-izens of Coeburn,
Most of his family lives in theCoeburn area, he said, “and I know
the dynamics of each section.”People living in Flatwoods, for
example, may have different wantsand needs than those in Maytown,Riverview or Bondtown, he noted.
Mullins is a St. Paul High Schoolgraduate and honors student wholaunched an unsuccessful campaigntwo years ago to unseat Wise CountyBoard of Supervisors District 2Republican Dana Kilgore.
Powers noted that Mullins’ run foroffice included a door-to-door cam-paign that helped introduce him to cit-izens and issues in and aroundCoeburn. While he did not win,Powers said, “he did well for a collegestudent running against an incum-bent.”
Mullins worked as an intern for for-mer U.S. Sen. Jim Webb in 2009, is amember of Coeburn Kiwanis Club andvolunteers at Lay’s Hardware.
Powers assumed town managerduties about six months ago aftercouncil terminated former town man-ager Loretta Mays. u
r ManagerFROM PAGE 1
Norton, Virginia 24273 The Coalfield Progress Tuesday, August 13, 2013 PAGE 3
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© 2013, American HometownPublishing, Inc. The Coalfield Progress ispublished twice weekly on Tuesday andFriday at 725 Park Ave., Norton, Va. Allrights reserved. Contents may not bereproduced without permission of thepublisher. Subscription Rates By Mail: InNorton and Wise County — 1 year, $52.Market area (excluding Norton and WiseCounty) with ZIP codes starting with 242,415, 416, 417 or 418 — 1 year, $67. Allother locations — 1 year, $84. POSTMAS-TER: Send address corrections to TheCoalfield Progress, P.O. Box 380, Norton,Va. 24273. Fax: 276/679-5922.
BRIEFLY
County board makes appointmentsWISE — County supervisors Thursday appointed John McCarroll Jr.
to a four-year term on the Community Policy and Management Board.McCarroll, program manager with Commonwealth Catholic Charities,replaces Talitha Fowlkes, who resigned her position with the agency.
Supervisors also made these reappointments:r Mountain Empire Community College Advisory Board: Roy
Dennis Sturgill, another four years.r Wise County Tourism Committee: April Burke, Stan Botts and
Roddy Addington, another four years.r Community Criminal Justice Board: David Cox, another two years.
Supervisors honor county treasurerWISE — County supervisors Thursday passed a resolution honoring
county Treasurer Delores Smith for receiving the Treasurers’Association of Virginia’s President’s Award for 2013. The award recog-nizes outstanding leadership and dedicated service. Smith is president-elect of the statewide association and will be hosting its 84th annual con-ference in Wise County June 18-21, 2014. u
County okays justicecenter paint job
WISE — County supervisors have agreed to spend up to$35,000 for exterior paint and directional signs at the countyjustice center.
County Industrial Development Authority ExecutiveDirector Carl Snodgrass told supervisors Thursday thatupgrades to the former Wise County Christian School buildingare nearly complete. The building’s list of current and futuretenants includes the sheriff’s department, 911 dispatch, emer-gency operations, the magistrate’s office, the county registrarand the litter control office.
Snodgrass said some exterior work remains to be done,including installation of awnings and grass seeding.
Snodgrass asked supervisors to consider allocating up to$35,000 to paint the outside of the metal building and installdirectional signs.
County Financial Administrator David Cox noted that grantfunds are being sought for part of the cost.
Supervisors agreed that the building’s exterior needs spruc-ing up, now that interior construction is nearly done. u
Mountain Man Challenge to test athletesLooking for a physical
test beyond the typical5K run? The MountainMan Challenge might bethe thing for you.
The Big Stone GapKiwanis Club is present-ing the Mountain ManChallenge at Bullitt Parkon Sept. 21. Events willinclude a Black Bear 5K(3.1-mile) run along theGreenbelt.
But the other mainevent, The Grizzly, willput athletic types to thetest.
The Grizzly consists ofa 3-plus mile obstacleand off-road course fromwhich participants will
try to return without hav-ing all three of their flagscaptured.
Runners in TheGrizzly will wear a flagbelt with the three flagsfrom the start line.They’ll take on three beardens, which they mustnavigate without havingtheir flags captured. TheGrizzly winner will be theindividual who finisheswith the fastest time andthe most flags intact.
The day’s activitieswill also include a SwampDonkey CornholeTournament for non-run-ners.
Pre-registration forthe Black Bear 5K is $20,which includes a T-shirt.Race-day registration is$25. Pre-registration forThe Grizzly is $25(including T-shirt) or $30on Sept. 21.
Event day registrationbegins at noon, with the
Black Bear race at 1 p.m.and The Grizzly at 2p.m.
Kiwanis memberRyan Witt said the civicclub came up with theidea as a way to do some-thing positive for thearea.
“We have been brain-storming for a couple ofyears and discussing anevent we could put onthat would incorporateseveral different groups,be a positive for the area,and potentially grow intoan annual attraction forWise County,” Witt saidvia email.
Pending a successful
first attempt, the Kiwaniswill add a post-racereception and possibly aconcert next year, “andsee where it goes fromthere,” Witt said.
Witt described TheGrizzly as “more of anextreme run (including)some mud, some obsta-cles, some streamcrossings, three BearDens where partici-pants will be waiting totry and take runners’flags . . . and some sur-prises.”
Pre-registration canbe done now at thewww.werunevents.comwebsite. u
The Big Stone Gap Kiwanis Clubis presenting the event at Bullitt
Park on Sept. 21.
State adoptsnew ginsengregulations
R I C H M O N D(AP) — Virginia hasadopted new regu-lations aimed atensuring that wildginseng survives inthe state.
The VirginiaDepartment ofAgriculture andConsumer Servicessays the regula-tions address con-cerns voiced by the U.S. Fish and WildlifeService that the state’s practices weren’tadequate.
The changes include pushing back theopening of the harvesting season from Aug.15 to Sept. 1.
Only ginseng that’s at least 5 years oldcan be harvested. The regulations also pro-hibit harvesting wild ginseng that hasfewer than four stem scars on its rhizomeor has fewer than three prongs.
Ginseng dealers can only buy uncerti-fied dry wild ginseng root from Sept. 15through March 31.
The regulations don’t apply to peoplewho harvest wild ginseng on their ownland. u
The changes
include
pushing back
the opening of
the harvesting
season from
Aug. 15 to
Sept. 1.
Dickenson County wantsSpearhead Trails accessTERESA MULLINSSTAFF WRITER
CLINTWOOD — Nowthat the first section ofthe regional SpearheadTrail system is open,Dickenson Countysupervisors are hopingto have a local accesspoint.
The off-highway vehi-cle trail system’s firstsection, dubbed“Mountain View,” windsthrough parts of Wise,Dickenson and Russellcounties, with the trail-head located in St. Paul.
County IndustrialDevelopment AuthorityDirector CharlotteMullins updated super-visors on the project atthe board’s July 23 meet-ing.
Chairman andErvinton DistrictSupervisor David Yatessaid he believes it isimportant DickensonCounty have a trailheadto the Mountain Viewtrail, so the county cancapture “spill-overmoney” generated by thesystem.
Mullins, a member ofthe Southwest RegionalRecreation Authority, istrying to find an adapt-able site within the coun-ty. However, she said
trailheads are best locat-ed near towns so thatrevenue from hotels,restaurants and conven-ience stores can be cap-tured.
ABOUT THE TRAILSThe Mountain View
trail winds behind theVirginia City powerplant across the moun-tain onto Sandy Ridge,eventually circling backto the trailhead, Mullinssaid.
But the trail that willmost benefit DickensonCounty, “Coal Canyon,”has not yet been com-pleted, Mullins said in alater interview. That trailwill wind through partsof Dickenson andBuchanan counties.
Mullins is currentlyworking with extractionindustries to see wherethe trail can be locatedwithout disturbing min-ing and gas operations orconstruction of theplanned Coalfields
Expressway.The Spearhead trails
have three types of trailswith varying degrees ofdifficulty, so both noviceand experienced riderscan be accommodated.
Less than one monthafter the Mountain Viewtrail opened, more than370 permits had beenpurchased for it, Mullinsnoted. Permits arerequired to use the trail.
Mullins said ridersmust have a helmet andmust display the permiton their helmet. Thetrails are policed bysecurity to ensure thoseriding have a helmet,required safety equip-ment, and a permit.Citations of $100 eachwill be issued to those inviolation, Mullins said.
Permits are $35 thisyear and will be $50 nextyear because the trailswill be open for a fullyear. A one-day permit isavailable for $15,Mullins said. u
The trail that will most
benefit Dickenson County,
‘Coal Canyon,’ has not
yet been completed.
MARY EMILY DOTSON COLLEY
Mary Emily Dotson Colley, 99, died Saturday, Aug.10, 2013 at Owensboro Center in Owensboro, Ky.
She was born Aug. 5, 1914 on Caney Ridge,Dickenson County, and lived in Clintwood and Norton,until 2007 when she moved to Owensboro to be with herdaughter, Elizabeth Anne Smothers Gaston.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Elmer T.Colley; her parents, Estace and Laura Ball Dotson, andthree brothers: Otis, Kenneth and Clarence Dotson.
Other survivors include her son-in-law Thomas E.Gaston, Owensboro; four step grandchildren: PamelaGaston, Charlestown, Ind.; Thomas Gaston, Jr., SanFrancisco, Calif.; Theodore Gaston, St. Joseph, Mo.; andPatricia Chism, Owensboro; seven step great-grandchil-dren. Among other survivors are Emily’s “special chil-dren,” Jane and Jimmy Dorton, Norton, Kay Verlande,Ephrata, Pa., Amanda and Kathy Cornett, Concord, NC,and Mildred Branham, Clinchco; nieces Nancy Bond,Greenwich, Ohio, and Susie Fleming and Daisy Rose,both of Clintwood; nephews Tim Dotson, Mansfield,Ohio, and Palmer Dotson, Abingdon.
Funeral services will be held Thursday, Aug. 15 at 7p.m. in the Clintwood Funeral Home chapel. Familywill receive friends beginning at 5 p.m. Family andfriends are requested to meet at the funeral homeFriday, Aug. 16 at 10 a.m. to proceed to Powell ValleyMemorial Gardens for a graveside service beginning at11 am. Family and friends will serve as pallbearers.
Online condolences may be sent to the family atwww.clintwoodfuneralhome.com.
CLEO M. ELLIOTT
Beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmoth-er, Cleo M. Elliott, 81, passed away Sunday, Aug. 11,
2013, after a longillness.
Born in Norton,to the late Troy andNaomi Mullins,Cleo was knownfor her unendingcompassion forothers and was
often referred to as having never met a stranger. She graduated from Wise High School in 1949, with
honors. Cleo left her mountain home at the age of 20with her husband and two children, moving to thePeninsula where she was blessed with four more chil-dren and where she lived for the rest of her life.
Cleo worked for several years at the MaidaDevelopment Plant in Hampton and as a waitress formany years at the Rebel Drive-In Restaurant inHampton.
After raising six children, she went on to pursue herdream and received a degree in nursing. She retiredfrom Riverside Hospital after many years of dedicatedservice.
She was preceded in death by her husband ThomasJ. Elliott Sr., sons James G. Elliott and Steven P. Elliott,her sister, Mary Smith and infant grandson ChristopherBrian English.
She is survived by three sons, Thomas J. Elliott Jr.and wife Fely of Las Vegas, NV, Joseph D. Elliott andwife, Cindy of Poquoson, and William T. Elliott and wifeCharlotte of Hampton; one daughter, Susan C. Englishand husband William of Hampton; her brothers, JosephT. Mullins of Kingsport, Tenn. and James Mullins ofMorehead, Ky.; her sister, Peggy Dean and husbandPete of Norton; 12 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchil-dren, and a multitude of nieces, nephews and otherextended family.
A funeral service will be conducted at 2 p.m.,Thursday, Aug. 15, in the R. Hayden Smith FuneralHome chapel in Hampton. Interment will follow inHampton Memorial Gardens. The family will receivefriends from 7-8 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home.
LENNY D. ‘BUCK’ GILLIAM
Lenny D. “Buck” Gilliam, 56, of Appalachia, passedaway Tuesday, Aug 6, 2013, at the HuffCreek Mine near Holmes Mill, Ky.located in Harlan County.
He was a coal miner, and a memberof the United Mine Workers ofAmerica. Lenny was of the Baptistfaith.
He was preceded in death by hisfather, E. M. Gilliam, brothers, Randy
Gilliam and James “Joe” Gilliam.Lenny is survived by his mother, Pearl Stanley
Gilliam of Appalachia; his wife, Belinda Gilliam ofAppalachia; his son, Lenny Gilliam, Jr. of Appalachia;two daughters, Hannah McFadden and husbandMathew of Wise, and Sasheena Mitchell of the home;his grandchildren, Hailea, Sadie, Lanie, and AddisonGilliam and Layla McFadden; his brother, Larry andfiancé, Cheryl Kilgore, of Kentucky; two sisters, ConnieFalin of Big Stone Gap, and Sherry Gilliam ofAppalachia.
Lenny was a proud coal miner since 1975 who lovedhis family deeply, as well as his fellow coal miners. Heespecially loved his dog, Khloe. He was a beloved son,husband, father, grandfather, uncle, and friend. He wasknown to many as the best miner man around who tookgreat pride in his work. He could always be counted onfor a joke or laugh and never ceased to see the humor inlife. He will be forever missed, but never forgotten.
The family received friends Friday, Aug. 9, from 5 to8 p.m. at Gilliam Funeral Home, Big Stone Gap. Funeralservices followed at 8 p.m. in the chapel of the funeralhome with Pastor Tony Nunley ministering.
Graveside services were held Saturday at 3 p.m. atHall Cemetery in Stanleytown. Pallbearers were JoePorter, Mike Rose, Rick Roberts, Travis Gilliam, LarryGilliam, Lenny Gilliam, Jr., Mathew McFadden, andMike Falin. Honorary pallbearers were Billy RayPerson and the members of the Huff Creek Mine.
GEREVA JAMES HUNNICUTT
Gereva James Hunnicutt, 67, of Norton, passed awayFriday, Aug. 9, 2013 at Mountain View Regional MedicalCenter.
She was the widow of Warren Harding Hunnicuttand was a daughter of the late Robert and Hannah Ruth(Gilliam) James. Her grandmother, Electa GlassGilliam preceded her in death, as did an infant sister,Lora Ann James, and two brothers: Roy Allen Jamesand Leon James.
Surviving are her daughters (and their spouse):Kimberly Ann Hunnicutt, Wise, Pamela (David)
Mullins, Wise, Georgeanne (Ronald) Mays, Norton; hergrandchildren: Warren Alexander Hunnicutt, AdamDavid Allen Mullins, Kelsey Rebecca Mullins, ZacharyKeith Allen Mays, Holden Isaiah Hunnicutt, and DanielBryson Mays; a brother, Morris James, Coeburn, and asister, Nola Jones, Kingsport, Tenn.
The family received friends from 5-7 p.m. Monday,Aug. 12, at the Hagy & Fawbush Funeral Home inNorton. Funeral services followed at 7 p.m. in thefuneral home chapel with David Mullins officiating.The family will have private committal services.
Online condolences may be made by visitingwww.hagyfawbush.com.
ANNETTE MEADE HYLTON
Our mother, Annette Meade Hylton, 92, of Pound,went home to be with the Lord on Aug., 10, 2013 withher family by her bedside.
Mrs Hylton was a Christian of the Baptist faith andwas a lifelong member of Ferbie Chapel Church.
Mom enjoyed being with her family and was wellknown for her fried apple pies. She was always sewing,quilting and crocheting for her family and friends. Herhome was always warm and inviting. It was home awayfrom home.
Annette worked several jobs outside the homeincluding Tennessee Eastman, Prince William CountySchools, Wise County Schools and the Pound FabricHouse. She was dearly loved and will be greatly missedby all.
Annette was preceded in death by her husband,Goffery Hylton; her parents, John and Winnie (Stanley)Meade; her sisters, Trula Coxe, Gertie Baker andThettie Robinson; and her brothers, Roy Meade, LexieMeade, Joseph Meade and Garcie Meade.
Survivors include her daughters Becky Stanley andhusband Larry, and Phyllis Stapleton and husbandCharlie, all of Pound; her sons, Dwight Hylton and wifeJayne of Woodbridge, and Michael Hylton and wifeWanda of Pound; nine grandchildren, Steven Hylton,Stacy Hylton Nobles, Junior Hylton, Kimberly HiltonCollins, Talitha Stanley Sarhan, Twana Stanley, TalenaStanley Epling, Tonya Boggs Crabtree and RonathanBoggs; 10 great-grandchildren; a sister, Lettie Parris ofEast Lake Weir, Fla.; a brother, J. C. Meade and wifeLois of Limestone, Tenn.; several nieces, nephews andcousins; special friend, Lester Robinson; and a host offriends and loved ones to morn her passing and cherishher memory.
We deeply appreciate the excellent care given by Dr.Shamiyeh and also Linda and Freda of WellmontHospice. The compassion was above and beyond ourexpectations.
Funeral services were conducted at 7 p.m. Monday,Aug. 12, in the Sadie Baker Memorial Chapel with Rev.Lester Robinson and Rev. Chris Strange officiating.The family received friends from 5 p.m. until time ofservices.
Graveside services will be conducted at 11 a.m.Tuesday, Aug. 13, at the Meade Cemetery (behindFerbie Chapel) in Pound, where Ronathan Boggs,Steven Hylton, Junior Hylton, Shane Stapleton, JasonStapleton and Sherman Collins will serve as pallbear-ers. Family and friends are asked to meet at the funeralhome by 10 a.m. to prepare to go in procession to thecemetery.
Baker Funeral Home in Pound, is serving the fami-ly of Annette Meade Hylton.
View our recent obituaries at: www.bakerfuneral-homepound.com. u
PAGE 4 Tuesday, August 13, 2013 The Coalfield Progress Norton, Virginia 24273
Only$700 Each
Includes theobituary & poemlaminated into a
3 1/4” x 9” bookmark.
Several Poemsto choose from.
CallBill Endean679-1101
Market re-opensu The Wise County/Norton Chamber of Commerce held a rib-
bon cutting Aug. 5 for the re-opening of Bob’s Market in Big
Stone Gap. The market recently was purchased by David
Adkins, Kara Goins Adkins and Rick Mullins. Left to right are
chamber Executive Vice President Rick Colley; chamber
President Dan Minahan; former market owner Bob Hartley;
David Adkins; Kara Goins-Adkins; and Rick Mullins.
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TTUUEESSDDAAYY,, AAUUGG.. 1133WWiissee CCoouunnttyy SScchhooooll BBooaarrdd(Judy Durham, Clerk, 328-9421or 328-8017) meets at 6 p.m. inthe Education CenterConference Room A.WWiissee CCoouunnttyy PPuubblliicc SSeerrvviicceeAAuutthhoorriittyy meets at 6 p.m. in thePSA office boardroom, locatedat 5622 Industrial Park Rd. inthe Esserville industrial park. BBiigg SSttoonnee GGaapp TToowwnn CCoouunncciillmeets at 7 p.m. in councilchambers at the town hall.WWiissee CCoouunnttyy RReeddeevveellooppmmeennttaanndd HHoouussiinngg AAuutthhoorriittyy (MontySalyer, 395-6104) meets at 4:30p.m. at the John VandiverCommunity Center in Coeburn.
WWEEDDNNEESSDDAAYY,, AAUUGG.. 1144LLoonneessoommee PPiinnee SSooiill aanndd WWaatteerrCCoonnsseerrvvaattiioonn DDiissttrriicctt (BobbiRasnick, 926-6621) meets at 10
a.m. at the district office inClintwood.
TTHHUURRSSDDAAYY,, AAUUGG.. 1155NNiinntthh DDiissttrriicctt DDeevveellooppmmeennttFFiinnaanncciinngg IInncc.. (Darlene Hagy,276/619-2251) meets at 2:30p.m. at the Herb House, VillageShoppes, 107 Pendleton Street,Marion.CCuummbbeerrllaanndd AAiirrppoorrttCCoommmmiissssiioonn (Donnie Rose395-2029) meets at 7 p.m. atthe Lonesome Pine Airport.
MMOONNDDAAYY,, AAUUGG.. 1199NNoorrttoonn SSoocciiaall SSeerrvviicceessAAddvviissoorryy BBooaarrdd (LibbyFleming, 679-2701) meets at 5p.m. at the Norton SchoolBoard office.
TTUUEESSDDAAYY,, AAUUGG.. 2200NNoorrttoonn CCiittyy CCoouunncciill (Fred L.Ramey Jr., 679-1160) meets at 6p.m. in Council chambers.PPoouunndd TToowwnn CCoouunncciill (LindaMeade 796-5188 or 796-5747)meets at 6 p.m. at the town hall,North River Road.NNoorrttoonn RReeddeevveellooppmmeenntt aanndd
HHoouussiinngg AAuutthhoorriittyy BBooaarrdd ooffCCoommmmiissssiioonneerrss (John E. Black,679-0020) meets at 6:30 p.m. inthe Regency Towers communi-ty room (200 Sixth Street). WWiissee CCoouunnttyy IInndduussttrriiaallDDeevveellooppmmeenntt AAuutthhoorriittyy(Annette Underwood 328-2321)meets at 5 p.m. in the confer-ence room of the county admin-istrator’s office in the WiseCounty Courthouse. u
NORFOLK (AP) —Environmental activistshave sued the federalgovernment over theexports of Appalachiancoal to Europe and Asia,arguing it approved a $90million loan guarantee toone company withoutconsidering the implica-tions for air and waterpollution along the trans-portation route.
The lawsuit filed inU.S. District Court in SanFrancisco says communi-ties near the mines, portsand railways that connectthem are all affected, andthe U.S. Export-ImportBank was required toreview the environmen-tal impacts of its financ-ing decision under theNational EnvironmentalPolicy Act.
The bank provided aloan guarantee last yearto Xcoal Energy &Resources, headquar-tered in Latrobe, Pa., butshipping from ports inBaltimore and Norfolk,Va., to Japan, South
Korea, China and Italy.Chesapeake Climate
Action Network says citi-zens affected by toxiccoal dust, heavy traintraffic and noise shouldhave a say over how theirtax dollars are spent.Other plaintiffs are theCenter for InternationalEnvironmental Law,Friends of the Earth,Pacific Environment,Sierra Club and WestVirginia HighlandsConservancy.
The National MiningAssociation called thecase “a nuisance lawsuitreplete with hyperbole”and based on sweeping,inaccurate and undocu-mented claims.Spokeswoman NancyGravatt said the intentappears to be to frightenthe public and cause theindustry economic harm.
Railroads have beenhauling coal for morethan 100 years withoutharming public health orthe environment, shesaid, and technology has
reduced coal dust loss byat least 85 percent.
“They grossly exag-gerate what ‘science’ hassaid about coal’s environ-mental impact,” Gravattsaid, “while wholly ignor-ing its beneficial impacton hundreds of millionsof people in the devel-oped world sufferingfrom energy poverty asdocumented by the WorldHealth Organization.”
While U.S. coal con-sumption has declinedgradually for severalyears, overseas exportshave risen.
The environmentalgroups contend thebank’s failure to accountfor environmentalimpacts and continuedinvestment in coal alsoundermine the spirit ofPresident BarackObama’s recentlyannounced climate actionplan.
They want a judge toorder the bank to preparean environmental impactstatement for the Xcoal
loan guarantee in hopesthat will create a prece-dent for future financingdecisions.Environmentalgroups have been suingcoal operators fordecades but have recent-ly broadened their tac-tics.
Earlier this year, theybegan suing the ownersof former strip mines,claiming they were neversufficiently reclaimed
and continue to pollutewaterways.
The new lawsuit opensyet another front for theirlitigation.
It is not, however, thefirst time environmentalgroups have targetedbanks. For several yearsthey’ve held protestsaimed at pressuring bigbanks into cutting offfunding for mountaintopremoval mining.
PNC Bank announcedin 2010 it would no longerfund mountaintopremoval projects, whichthe industry considerscost-effective but whichcritics say destroy theenvironment. PNC’sdecision followed similaractions by other biglenders, such as Bank ofAmerica, Citi and JPMorgan Chase. u
Norton, Virginia 24273 The Coalfield Progress Tuesday, August 13, 2013 PAGE 5
Norton/Wise, VAFriday, August 16
Wal★Mart Parking Lot10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Big Stone Gap, VAFriday, August 30
Wal★Mart Parking Lot10:30 am - 4:30 pm
Lawsuit targets pollution from coal exports
COALFIELD
CALENDAR OF PUBLIC MEETINGS
PETER FUNT
Ownership changes at TheWashington Post and Boston Globe havemany people speculating anew aboutthe future of newspapers. But whateverhappens to these great publicationsprobably won’t mean much to you, me,or the paper that carries this column.
The Globe and WaPo, both of whichI’ve written for in the past, are betwixtand between. They’re not quite as bigas The New York Times or Wall StreetJournal, which have muscled their wayinto charging high cover prices anderecting successful paywalls, whileoperating as true national dailies. Yet,they’re not as small as hundreds oflocal papers across America that facedifferent challenges in coverage andmarketing.
All papers, big and small, share thesame history: people used to buy morecopies than they do now and relied onnewspapers for hard news, plus classi-fied ads and other ingredients that wereexclusive to print. And most papers,regardless of size, will share a similarfuture: a digital world in which con-sumers get content electronically andpay a fair price for quality news cover-age.
The problem is the present. What’sthe best strategy for the next decade orso? Should newspapers allow the print-to-digital conversion to evolve naturally,or should they take steps in coverage,staffing and pricing to try and speedahead — perhaps before the market-
place is ready?For large regional dailies, like the
Globe and WaPo, the situation is press-ing. Print circulation is dropping fast,and digital formats have not picked upenough of the slack. Yet, the cost ofproperly covering all of New England,in the case of the Globe, and all of gov-ernment and the Washington region, inthe case of the Post, is enormous.
There are about two dozen U.S.dailies with circulation of 250,000 orhigher that fall into this general catego-ry, but few have the staffing demandsand coverage mandates of the Globeand WaPo. The Denver Post, for exam-ple, with circulation over 400,000, cov-ers a wide, yet manageable territory inthe Rocky Mountain West. It strives forsolid reporting, but its writers andcolumnists don’t have to compete on thenational stage like those in Boston andD.C.
It’s likely that the Globe’s andWaPo’s new owners will continue theevolution that has already begun —closing far-flung bureaus and narrow-ing the focus. Digital operations arealso likely to be improved, especially at
the Post, where the website has beenpainfully slow to develop. JeffreyBezos, the founder of Amazon, certainlyhas the smarts to fix that.
In my view, Bezos and the Globe’snew owner, John Henry, who also ownsthe Red Sox, should immediately joinforces and market their content jointlyto all digital subscribers outside 100-mile zones around Washington andBoston. They should reach out to theSan Jose Mercury News, which pro-duces nationally significant coverage ofSilicon Valley, and perhaps to the LosAngeles Times, for its entertainmentindustry content. Together, the fourpapers could offer digital content for asingle subscription price that wouldattract a sizeable national audiencewithout affecting each paper’s ability tooperate locally.
And where does that leave thousandsof smaller dailies? In pretty good spots,actually, provided they don’t cut backon local coverage and don’t overpriceor under-deliver on the print versionuntil the market is ready for digital.
Smaller papers tend to promote theirwebsites more and more, without actu-ally changing them to meet the needs of24/7 readers. Too many sites still usethe printed paper’s production cycle asan online format. In fact, the modelshouldn’t be print, it should be all-newsradio. Few local papers are staffed tocover, say, a power outage at 3 a.m., butthey should be.
TO THE EDITOR:
Our coalfield neighborpenned a letter blasting TheCoalfield Progress, falselymaking a partisan accusa-tion of backing one of thecandidates for governorover the other.
Nonetheless, it is impor-tant to take exception, notonly to one false accusationbut others contained there-in, namely the characterassassination of TerryMcAuliffe.
Terry McAuliffe has 21years of residency inVirginia, including lengthyconnections to many peoplein Wise County and Norton,touting the region’s coalindustry, transportation andhealth care concerns.
McAuliffe is about asmuch of a Virginia “out-sider” as the letter writer.
Admittedly, TerryMcAuliffe may be an “insid-er” if you count his lengthypersonal friendship withformer President BillClinton and formerSecretary of State HillaryClinton. He chaired
GLENN GANNAWAYPOST NEWS EDITOR
Back in elementary school, as Ivaguely remember it, a teacher wastrying to generate some interest in thewondrous workings of electricityamong us 9-year-olds.
At one point, the teacher, trying toget a response from one of the littlefellows who lived up a Scott Countyholler — Ivan was his first name —asked him how his family used elec-tricity at home.
The little fellow’s reply is as memo-rable as just about anything from myfirst school years.
“Ain’t got no juice,” the boy said.The boy, you’ll understand, said
exactly what he meant. He didn’tshape his thought into any sort of agrammatically correct form. What hemeant, and what he said in his ownway, was that his home didn’t haveany electricity, so (such was the impli-cation) he wasn’t able to answer anyof the teacher’s questions about thatmarvelous commodity. Period.Paragraph. End of story.
Little Ivan made himself “perfectlyclear.” I’ve not heard much about himover the years since those early schooldays, but he should have gone intopolitics, a field which suffers from aperennial drought of plain speakerswho can also think instead of calcu-late.
All of us who have spent most ofour lives in this little north-southtrending range of mountains and val-leys known as Central Appalachia areaware that our manner of speech isconsidered quaint, incorrect, and a lit-tle funny by the great masses, washedand unwashed, that populate thenation’s power centers.
Well, any dialect sounds quaint anda little funny the first time it ticklesthe ear of the speaker of anotherdialect. My mother was a native ScottCountian who lived several years inAlexandria in northern Virginia,where her manner of speech was verynoticeable. They probably told her shetalked funny. Maybe all of usAppalachians should go into stand-upcomedy and make a mint on the preju-dices of others. (As a matter of fact,that seems to be happening, what withthe proliferation of hillbilly TV showslike “Duck Dynasty.”)
But it’s the idea of a dialect being“incorrect” that needs to beaddressed. Who gets to say that onemanner of speech is right and all oth-ers wrong?
Well, it’s a power trip, for one thing.Controlling language (and informa-tion) has been a hallmark of power foreons. Similar to today’s mass societies,in which being a member of a bureau-cracy — I’m not just talking aboutgovernment bureaucracies here, mylittle libertarian friends; I include cor-porate and all other institutionalbureaucracies — means being able tocompile and disseminate information,a young man in ancient Egypt aspired
pinionO PROGRESSCoalfield
the
Page 6 N O R T O N , VA , 2 4 2 7 3Tuesday, Augus t 13, 2013
U O T A B L E Q U O T E S
Q ‘Mistakes are the portals of discovery.’Editor and PublisherJenay TatePublished byAmerican Hometown Publishing Inc.
J A M E S J O Y C E
L E T T E R SG A N N A W A Y
Terrywill bebettergovernor
LETTERS, PAGE 7
Post, Globe sales point to futureF U N T
FUNT, PAGE 7
WILL DURST
Once upon a time, there was a littlered hen who lived on a farm past thewoods. She was friends with a bossy butpolitically connected pig, a grovelingsheep who worked as a flunky for thevillage and a scared little mouse whospecialized in running away and hiding.Hey. Sometimes your friends are who-ever lives on the farm next to you.
One day the little red hen foundsome seeds. Since everyone was busy,she planted them and, lo and behold,not long after, a large field of wheat layright behind the back porch. A funnythought came into her head that shecould use the wheat to bake somebread. Lots of bread. Enough bread thatshe and her buddies could retire com-fortably by selling it to animals on theother farms in her village.
So she formed an LLC with herfriends. After all the papers weresigned, and paws and wings and hooveswere shook, a party was held and all the
animals on the farm attended. The doggot drunk. Finally, it was time to gatherthe wheat and the little red hen wentaround to each of her friends to see whowould help.
Citing confusion over stalled con-gressional action on the agriculturalbill, the pig demurred, maintaining thiswas not a good time. It was a big farm.The sheep’s lawyer, the duck, urgedcaution, not wanting to offend theirgood friend, the pig. The mouse wasunavailable for comment but the hen
heard toenails on the floor of his holelike someone was scurrying away fromgrave danger. So the hen gathered thewheat by herself.
Needing help to grind the wheat, thelittle red hen once again approachedthe pig, who declined, not wishing toexacerbate the generally explosiveunion situation. The sheep couldn’t pos-sibly commit without first consultinghis foreman, the horse, who was vaca-tioning in Aruba. According to aninformed source, the mouse was in con-ference with the duck and not to be dis-turbed. So, the hen ground the wheat.
Sadly, the grinding took so long thehen lost the option on an industrial ovenshe had lined up in the valley. Warily,she went to the pig, but he had alreadyleased his oven space to a Chinese bak-ery concern. The sheep was waiting fora similar yet intrinsically different offerand didn’t dare tie himself up. Anunnamed staff member intimated themouse was compiling evidence to sup-port a harassment charge against the
cat. The hen eventually got a grantfrom the feds for an alternative produc-tion plant and baked many loaves ofbread keeping all the profits for herself.
The pig and the sheep sued forbreach of promise, winning the entirebaking operation as a settlement. Themouse never knew what was going on.The hen got revenge of sorts when thepig, who had sheared the sheep in ahostile takeover, was jailed by the mulewho found moose pellets in the crust ofthe sourdough.
The dog scored big by selling a fic-tionalized script of the whole affair toNetflix as a 12-part miniseries in whichthe hen appeared in a cameo as a sexyyet conflicted FDA inspector possiblysuffering from Asperger’s Syndrome.The end. u
Will Durst is a political comedianwho has performed around the world.He is a familiar pundit on televisionand radio. Email Will at [email protected].
Watch out when lawmaking descends on the farm
Plainspeechis stilleffective
GANNAWAY, PAGE 7
D U R S T
According to an informed
source, the mouse was in
conference with the duck
and not to be disturbed.
The problem is the present.
What’s the best strategy for
the next decade or so?
President Clinton’s re-election campaign andHillary Clinton’s presi-dential bid in 2008.Unfortunately, those cre-dentials earn him dislikefrom a few partisans.
During the Clintonyears, there was debtreduction, job creation,record corporate successstories, expandedexports, and a robusthousing and bankingmarket. If TerryMcAuliffe can bring thattype of leadership toVirginia, why would vot-ers not want it?
Terry McAuliffe is forcoal miner jobs, for thepublic-private construc-tion of the CoalfieldExpressway, for theexpansion of Medicaid tocover thousands of WiseCounty and Norton citi-zens previously withouthealth care insurance,and he backs greaterinvestment in coal tech-nologies. Terry is COAL-BLUE.
On the other hand, theRepublicans offer us“PINKSLIP Ken” whowould take $31 million inannual thin-seam coalminer job support awayand leave hundreds of theregion’s elderly and dis-abled without health care.We can’t afford“PINKSLIP Ken.”
TIMOTHY BOWMANNORTON
TerryknowsAsianmarketsTO THE EDITOR:
Ken Cuccinelli wantsto make a scene aboutTerry McAuliffe’s invest-ments to bring an electriccar manufacturing busi-ness from China toAmerica and his efforts toexport biomass to Europeso as to lessen the need toconvert coal-fired powerplants to gas.
But Cuccinelli has noidea how to grow coalexports to China fromVirginia.
While Cuccinelli hasno inkling of “the price oftea in China” — TerryMcAuliffe has served asone of former PresidentBill Clinton’s tradeambassadors to Asia andMcAuliffe has made sev-eral business trips toChina over the years.
When coal companieswant to ramp up coalexports to China andthroughout Asia, it wouldonly make common senseto have Terry McAuliffeas governor — a man whohas significant trade anddiplomatic experience inChina and Asia.
Partisans will seek tosmear McAuliffe withsigns and slogans, butthis year is different: the
anti-coal employmentcandidate is KenCuccinelli and manyalready know his opposi-tion to coal productionand employment incen-tives.
ROSE MARY HOLBROOKCOEBURN
Attackson Kenare notaccurateTO THE EDITOR:
Who knows best andwho would be the best forthis state’s next governor?
If you have been read-ing the Coalfield Progressthe last few weeks therehas been two or three let-ters to the editor appear-ing every week telling ushow good TerryMcAuliffe is for the coalindustry and how badKen Cuccinelli is againstcoal. It appears to me thatthis dirty dozen or sohave gotten together anddecide to write theseridiculous things aboutKen.
Only last week, folksfrom Coeburn, Norton,Wise and Appalachia allhad letters about KenCuccinelli. I suppose theycould not find anyonefrom Pound to write anddistort the truth about Mr.Cuccinelli. They havepainted Terry McAuliffe
as the savior of the coalindustry and one who hasnever done anythingwrong and apparentlythey feel he is an angel indisguise.
Well now let us take alook at Terry boy here.He is definitely not abusiness man that knowsSouthwest Virginia. Hehas always been a BIGsupporter of BarackHussein Obama whenObama ran in his firstand second term. Obamapromised this countryand our state that hewould bankrupt the coalmining industry and gethis green gas. He has justabout succeeded that goalwith the EPA and TerryMcAuliffe’s help.
When the dirty dozenor so voted support forObama during his firstand second terms alongwith McAuliffe’s support,I never heard them com-plain about Obama beingagainst the coal industrywith McAuliffe’s support.When Obama ran a sec-ond term this dirty dozenor so knew that Obamaand McAuliffe wereagainst the coal industrybut . . . you guessed it,they never said a wordabout these two and I betthey said a lot aboutRomney and his runningmate. Did you know thatObama and McAuliffe donot like our governor andKen Cuccinelli becausethey stand for the good ofthis state and nation?
There is an old sayingthat if you asked for ityou will get it and ourcoal industry got it as ourminers are being laid offdaily. If McAuliffe is for
coal where has he beenthe past five years? Youcan thank Obama and hissupporters includingthese dirty dozen and thisfellow McAuliffe. I was acoal miner’s son andproud of it and the coalindustry has been the lifesupport of Wise Countyand Southwest Virginiaall my 77 years.
My friends if you readthis then don’t be fooledby such statements madeby foolish people whowant you to believe thatKen Cuccinelli is againstcoal because of opposi-tion to coal tax which heclearly believes is unfairand so do I.
One letter writer com-pares Ken to MarthaStewart when in fact theletter writer should beplaced in jail for an assig-nation of Ken’ character.Oh by the way, theSecurities ExchangeCommission she refers tohas now been tied to theIRS scandal. Also, whatabout the Benghazi scan-dal, the IRS scandal thatnow has connected theSEC to its long list of ille-gal activities, the NSAscandal, the gun runningscandal, Obama’s lavishvacations (a third onebegins this coming weekat Martha’s Vineyard).Oh my, how about theObamacare that is fallingapart, and the Democratliberals want to cram thehealth insurance programdown the throats ofAmericans. I was in theinsurance claims field forover 30 years of my lifeand I have never seenanything so stupid andridiculous as this pro-
gram. Also, Benghazi isalmost a year gone andwe still know nothing.Obama calls these thingsphony.
I believe that peoplewho write these lettersknow them to be untruebecause they want tostretch the truth so thatyou will vote for a partic-ular person or party.
In closing here iswhat is happening withthe liberal Democratparty in Washington. Wehave the LARGESTPOLICE FORCE in theworld. The CIA, SecretService, FBI, SEC, IRS,NSA, Homeland Security,military police all overthe world, city, county,state police, state DefenseForce, National Guard,etc. . . . BUT the federalgovernment is so big thatwe can’t stop two foreign-ers from killing andmaiming people inBoston, or a Army major(who is still getting paid),a confessed al Qaeda,who killed 14 soldiers inTexas, and injurednumerous others. We areso big and massive theright hand doesn’t knowwhat the left is doingbecause most don’t knowwhat they are doing.
NSA is spying on peo-ple but the people whorun these things are justdrawing big salaries. TheIRS is parting our taxmoney away. These dirty12 need to write aboutthose things instead ofmake false statementsagainst our good govern-ment run people. u
RAY WELLSNORTON
to become a scribe,which gave him anattachment to the rulingclass.
Our daily spoken com-munications with othersare often little powertrips, full of implied com-
mands. If the other per-son doesn’t speak as wellas you think you do, itjust makes it easier toexperience that thrill ofbeing more powerfulthan the other person.
In Shakespeare’s day,the rules for written lan-guage weren’t as rigid as
they’ve since become.And, like little Ivan, thecharacters of his playssay exactly what theymean: one of the lines inThe Comedy of Errors is
“First he denied in himyou had no right,” whicha grammar fascist wouldtell you contains a doublenegative and shouldinstead be written as
“first he denied you hadany right in him.”
Like Ivan,Shakespeare didn’t haveno juice, except where itcounted. u
Norton, Virginia 24273 The Coalfield Progress Tuesday, August 13, 2013 PAGE 7
The excitement innews depends on actionby the very big, like TheTimes or Journal, andthe much smaller, likeyour hometown daily.
The Globe and WaPoare newsworthy rightnow because a lot of jour-nalists care about them,as do readers in theNortheast. They don’tmatter much in theindustry’s larger schemeof things. u
Peter Funt’s new book,“Cautiously Optimistic,”is available atAmazon.com andCandidCamera.com.
rFuntFROM PAGE 6
r GannawayFROM PAGE 6
r LettersFROM PAGE 6
LETTERSPOLICY
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PAGE 8 Tuesday, August 13, 2013 The Coalfield Progress Norton, Virginia 24273
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Gun sales rise, firearm crimes dropRICHMOND (AP) —
Firearms sales in Virginiaare increasing while gun-related violent crimes aredeclining. Firearms salesrose 16 percent in 2012 toa record 490,119 guns pur-chased in 444,844 transac-tions, according to federal-ly licensed gun dealersales estimates obtainedby the Richmond Times-Dispatch. During thesame period, majorcrimes committed withfirearms dropped 5 per-cent to 4,378.
“This appears to beadditional evidence thatmore guns don’t necessar-ily lead to more crime,”said Thomas R. Baker, anassistant professor atVirginia CommonwealthUniversity’s L. DouglasWilder School ofGovernment and PublicAffairs who specializes inresearch methods and
criminology theory.“It’s a quite interesting
trend given the currentrhetoric about strengthen-ing gun laws and the pre-sumed effect it wouldhave on violent crimes,”Baker told the newspaper.“While you can’t concludefrom this that tougherlaws wouldn’t reducecrime even more, it reallymakes you question ifmaking it harder for law-abiding people to buy agun would have any effecton crime.”
But he cautionedagainst drawing any con-clusions that more guns inthe hands of Virginiansare causing a correspon-ding drop in gun crime.
Josh Horwitz, execu-tive director of theCoalition to Stop GunViolence, said that the realquestion is how manyguns are sold without a
background check.“In other words, if peo-
ple who buy those gunsand have a backgroundcheck, and keep thoseguns and don’t sell them,then you would not expectthat those guns wouldaffect the crime rate,”Horwitz told the newspa-per. “The important analy-sis is not the total numberof guns sold with a back-ground check, but ratherthe number of guns soldwithout a backgroundcheck.”
Virginia State Policeconduct instant back-ground checks on every-one seeking to purchase agun through a federallylicensed firearms dealerin Virginia. The newspa-per said it had askedBaker in 2012 to examinesix years’ worth of guntransaction data compiledby Virginia State Police
through the VirginiaFirearms TransactionCenter. He then comparedthe data with state crimefigures for the same peri-od. Baker recentlyreviewed updated trans-action figures obtained bythe newspaper and com-pared them with the yearshe originally examined.
Philip Van Cleave,president of the VirginiaCitizens Defense League,said that the data showthat most of the gunsbeing sold are “going todecent people”.
“That’s not going toaffect crime and, in fact,all those extra guns canactually work to lowercrime because those aregoing into the hands of(concealed) permit hold-ers or people using themto defend their homes,”Van Cleave told the news-paper. u
