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BY JENAY TATEEXECUTIVE EDITOR AND PUBLISHER
WISE — Civil War scholar Brian Willsused images of the Confederate flagdepicted throughout history to put currentcontroversy into perspective last week.
His was the first academic lecture ofthe school year, University of Virginia’sCollege at Wise history professor BrianMcKnight told the standing-room-onlycrowd of 150 or more in the college’s stu-dent center last Wednesday night, Sept. 2.Given the ongoing and increasing conflictover race in this country and the mostrecent debate over the Confederate battleflag, the college decided to bring in“someone who knows” to initiate discus-sion.
Wills taught history at UVa-Wise for18 years, departing in 2010 to become thedirector of the Center for the Study of theCivil War Era and professor of history atKennesaw State University.
Talking is important, Wills would tell
the audience following his lecture,“Flying in the Face of History — TheConfederate Flag Controversy.” An earlyimage in his collection was of a dozenConfederate flags that were among thoseflown from 1861-1865, with Willsreminding listeners that there were manyConfederate and Union armies, not justtwo single forces at war. He said theConfederate battle flag actually emergedat the urging of two battlefield leaderswho were alarmed upon seeingConfederate forces mistakenly firingupon one another, confused by the differ-ing flags.
The visual history included artists’ ren-derings of battles and historic episodes,archival and contemporary photographs,editorial cartoons, musical song sheets,religion, flags in movies, television andfashion, all with Wills’ historic context.
His visual history lesson drew the dis-tinction between the Confederate flag —
■ WEATHER PAGE 3 ■ OBITUARIES Page 4 ■ OPINION Page 6 ■ SPORTS Page 1B ■ IN TOUCH Page 3B ■ CLASSIFIEDS Page 6B
WEDNESDAY ■ SEPTEMBER 9, 2015
USPS 684-350
$1.00The
CLINTWOOD, VA. VOL. 33, NO. 72
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Wills, who taught history at UVa-Wise for 18 years, noted thatConfederate troops marched under several different flags — untilconfusion over the mixed banners caused forces to mistakenly fireupon one another, prompting the creation of a single battle flag.
Chamber to host candidate forum this monthThe community will have a chance to
hear what candidates in the upcomingDickenson County general election haveto say about some local issues at a Sept.28 forum.
The event, hosted by the DickensonCounty Chamber of Commerce, willbegin at 6 p.m. at the Dickenson Centerfor Education and Research, Happy Valley
Drive, Clintwood. On this year’s countyballot will be all five seats on the board ofsupervisors and school board, plus all fiveconstitutional offices: sheriff, treasurer,circuit court clerk, commissioner of rev-enue and commonwealth attorney.
Chamber President/CEO Rita Surratt isasking the public to submit questions forthe candidates by Sept. 23. Submitted
questions will be reviewed by the cham-ber’s public affairs committee and a mem-ber each of the local Democrat andRepublican parties for approval.
Participating candidates will be askedthree questions each at the forum, saidSurratt. One question will be sent to thecandidates in advance; the other two willbe drawn by a moderator from a box con-
taining the approved questions.Candidate questions may be submitted
to the Dickenson County Chamber ofCommerce at [email protected] or P.O.Box 1990, Clintwood, Virginia. Surrattsaid names of those who submit the ques-tions will not be announced at the forum.
For more information, contact thechamber at 276/926-6074.
Agriculturefield day
More than 600
Dickenson and Wise
county fourth graders
last week enjoyed a trip
to the Coalfield
Agricultural Center,
where they learned about
various aspects of local
agriculture. At right, a
student pets an alpaca
as classmates look on.
At the station, among the
most popular at the field
day, students learned
about the different ways
people can use alpaca
fiber. Read more about
the event on Page 5.
Breaks Parkplanning annualNature Weekend
Nature lovers can partic-ipate later this month in avariety of activities aimedat showcasing ecology,geology, birds of prey, elkand more at BreaksInterstate Park.
The park, located on theVirginia-Kentucky borderand accessed on Route 80between Haysi and ElkhornCity, Kentucky, will host itsfourth annual NatureWeekend Sept. 18-20.
“This event gives us theopportunity to showcasethe rich natural resourcesprotected within the bound-aries of Breaks InterstatePark,” park superintendentAustin Bradley is quoted ina news release.
PLANNED ACTIVITIESOn Friday, Sept. 18,
beginning at 4:30 p.m., vis-itors can enjoy a raptor pro-gram hosted by MitchWhitaker of the LetcherCounty CooperativeExtension 4-H YouthDevelopment Raptor
Rehabilitation Program.Whitaker will have a livedemonstration with anassortment of rehabilitatedhawks and owls. A triviaprogram, “NatureJeopardy,” will begin at 6p.m.
A birding hike will kickoff activities on Saturday,Sept. 19 at 8 a.m.
From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m,geologist and author TonyScales will be available tosign copies of his booksabout Breaks Park andNatural Tunnel. Also at 10a.m., join naturalist JohnTierney for a hike duringwhich he will identify anddiscuss medicinal plants.
At noon, JamesStapleton will host a streamecology class, giving chil-dren and adults alikehands-on experience in col-lecting and identifyingaquatic bugs. This informa-tion will be used to deter-mine the health of a stream
Scholar examines Confederate flag history
PHOTO BY TIM COX
PLEASE SEE FLAG, PAGE 8
Morningblaze
A late summer
sunrise paints
the sky above
Long Ridge with
fiery shades.
PHOTO BY
WAYNE
BROWNING
PHOTO PROVIDED BY DICKENSON COUNTY EXTENSION OFFICE SEE BREAKS, PAGE 5
SUBMITTED BY EDITH FAYE REDDENDICKENSON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY VICE-PRESIDENT
Oral history plays an important part in the compilationof one’s family genealogy. This type of documentationcan take many forms — audio recordings, video record-ings, or handwritten transcripts. Oral histories can bedetailed, in-depth stories, or simple everyday memoriesof one’s family.
Rachel Mullins, a member of Dickenson CountyHistorical Society, shared memories of her grandmother,Annie Clay Stanley, with her daughter, Kathy Dingus,which Kathy included in her book, Dancing on theMountaintops. Both Rachel and Kathy have given us per-mission to use this story. The following story is inRachel’s own words as presented to Kathy.
***
MEMORIES OF MAMMY(ANNIE CLAY STANLEY)
Mammy, as we all called her, was fun loving. Sheloved to tell ghost stories to all of us children and scareus to death. Her favorite stories, and ours, were “FireDancing Under The Floor” and “Raw Head and BloodyBone.”
She was short in stature, but I remember her hands.They were to me, as a small child, large. She wore longdresses all the way to her ankles, and long sleeved. Shealso wore long aprons, pinned at the shoulder to herdress; and I remember on cold winter mornings, shewould set me in her lap and wrap me up in her apron. Herhair was long and thin; and she wore it straight back in aplaited bun, just like my own mother, Ferbie StanleyMullins, did.
I remember her chewing tobacco that came in a longtwist; or if it was some they had raised, she just chewedleaves twisted together.
I spent most of my early childhood with her. She wasalways working as she was left with nine children toraise. Her husband, Alfred, died at an early age. She wasalways good to me and the rest of her grandchildren. Inever saw her mad or upset; she was always patient.
She cooked on a wood stove; and on cold wintermornings, she would open the oven door and let me setmy plate on the oven door and eat so I would be warmand the food would stay warm as well. A wooden box waskept behind the cook stove to store the wood.
My favorite meal was her gravy and batter bread.Batter bread was thin biscuit dough, poured into a castiron or heavy skillet and baked into a pone, like corn-bread. Mammy also kept a cast iron tea kettle full ofwater on the wood stove all of the time for coffee. Shehad a wonderful pie safe that Aunt Opal now has in herhouse.
Mammy had a table to set the wash pan and waterbuckets on. All of our bathing was done out of a washpan, and water was heated on the stove. All of Mammy’swater was carried from Osia’s (Osia Yates Stanley)house, as Mammy had no well of her own. On her kitchentable, she kept a glass pitcher with all of the silverwareshe owned. Her dishes were plain white with no patternas I remember.
A cast iron, pot bellied heater was used to heat the restof the house.
She washed clothes in a wash tub and with a washboard. Water was heated on the wood stove. Imaginewashing clothes for 9 children like that, and all the bedlinens as well. Mammy was neat as a pin and alwaysclean. She had iron bedsteads with feather mattresses. Tokeep all of us children off the beds after they were madeand clean, she would put rose briars down each side. Thiswas a common practice as feather mattresses were hard tocome by back then. They had to make their own.
As for the rest of the furniture, besides the beds, shehad wooden chairs with cane bottoms to sit in, the cookstove, heater, kitchen table, and washstand. There wereno couches.
Mammy raised what her family ate, and she alsoworked in the fields and garden for Aunty Dacie StanleyYates and Uncle Sib Yates to pay her rent.
She was baptized a Methodist as I remember, but shewent to church at the Old Regular Church House atLongs Fork.
She lived where Ronald Lee’s (Zella and WorleyMullins’ son) house is now in an old plank board house,with rough hardwood floors, with patches of linoleum inspots.
I always remember her as being “old” and I have nomemories of Alfred because he died shortly after mymom and dad, Ferbie and Oakley Mullins, were married.
When Mammy died, I was at Ocie’s house asleep, and
remember they came and woke meup to tell me she had passed away. Iwas about 11 years old at the time.Her body was kept at home untilburial. Mr. Poore was the “under-taker” or mortician at that time. Sheis buried beside her husband, AlfredStanley, at the Stanley Cemetery atLongs Fork, Dickenson County,Virginia.
***
The following genealogicalinformation was also found inKathy’s book. Julia Annie Clay wasthe daughter of William Giles Clayand Laurania Bentley Clay. She wasborn June 10, 1880, at Beefhide,Letcher County, Kentucky. Anniehad six siblings: Eliza; Rosa; NancyJane; Joseph Leonard Sr.; Virgie(Dolly); Lavina (Viney).
Annie Clay married Alfred L.Stanley on May 10, 1894, at LongsFork in Dickenson County. Theyhad the following children: Dacie;Sallie S.; Pearl (Pearlie), who diedas an infant; William Dewey; JamesCorbett; Ferbie Louranie; Dorcie;Woodrum; Opal; and Edith.
Julia Annie Clay died onFebruary 12, 1951, at her home atOmaha, Dickenson County.
Ferbie Louranie Stanley (1908-1986), the daughter of Annie &Alfred Stanley and the mother ofRachel Ann Mullins, marriedOakley Andrew Mullins (1905-1985) on February 26, 1926, inDickenson County.
***
Anyone wishing to help preservethe history of Dickenson County bysharing their family’s informationmay contact the Historical Societyat 276/926-6355. If no answer,please leave a message and one ofour volunteers will return your call.The Historical Society may also becontacted by email atdchs1880@yahoo. com. Our mail-ing address is P. O. Box 52,Clintwood, VA 24228.
Membership to the HistoricalSociety is open to the general pub-lic. Please contact us for informa-tion if you are interested in joiningour organization.
PAGE 2 ■ WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 ■ THE DICKENSON STAR
The Dickenson Star(684-350)
Published weekly, everyWednesday, at Clintwood, VA 24228
By AHP of Virginia.Periodical Postage Rate paid
at Clintwood, VA andat additional mailing offices
(ISSN #1081-1885).
POSTMASTERsend address changes to
The Dickenson Star, P.O. Box 707,Clintwood, VA 24228.
Subscriptions: $35 per year insideDickenson County; $53 in market
area; $64 elsewhere.
Member of Virginia Press Assoc.& National Newspaper Association.
PHONE (276) 926-8816
Oral histories important to document
Alfred and Annie (Clay) Stanley are pictured with their children. In the front, left to right, areEdith, Annie, Alfred and Opal. In the back, left to right, are Dorcie, Dacie, Corbett, Woodrum,Ferbie, Bill, and Sallie.
Annie (Clay)Stanley andher husband,Alfred Stanley.
Annie(Clay)Stanleyis buriedin theStanleyCemeteryat LongsFork.
Annie (Clay) Stanley with two of her brothers, some time in the1940s.
Anyone wishing to help preserve the history of
Dickenson County by sharing their family’s
information may contact the Historical Society at
276/926-6355. If no answer, please leave a
message and one of our volunteers will return your
call. The Historical Society may also be contacted
by email at dchs1880@yahoo. com. Our mailing
address is P. O. Box 52, Clintwood, VA 24228
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP)— Federal regulators haveheard from a divided crowdwho attended a public hear-ing on a proposed streamprotection rule.
The U.S. Office ofSurface Mining andReclamation has said theproposed rule overhauls aset of regulations that arethree decades old.
Under the proposal, coalcompanies would berequired to avoid miningpractices that destroy drink-ing water sources, perma-nently pollute streams,threaten forests and increaseflood risk.
Companies also wouldbe required to restorestreams and return minedareas to their previous usesand form.
The Lexington Herald-Leader reports that support-ers of the rule said duringThursday’s meeting that therule is long overdue whilethose who oppose it said thatit is unnecessary and wouldhurt an already strugglingindustry by increasing costsand taking away jobs.
“The impacts of thisover-reaching rule on oureconomy would be crush-ing,” said KentuckyAttorney General Jack
Conway, who was the firstof dozens to speak. He urgedfederal regulators to recon-sider.
“It will cripple the coal-mining industry,” said JoshPhillips, a miner fromHarlan County who nowworks in Indiana.
Environmentalists arguedthat the rules should go evenfurther and asked regulatorsto enforce provisions that areapproved.
“We have a terrible histo-ry of nice words on paperand failure to implement,”said Hank Graddy, an attor-ney who prepared commentson the rule for theCumberland Chapter of theSierra Club.
The HealthyAppalachia Institute atThe University ofVirginia’s College at Wiseis asking for the public’shelp to update the regionalstrategic plan for health.
The institute is workingwith the VirginiaDepartment of Health, theSouthwest Virginia HealthAuthority and regionalpartners on the Blueprintfor Health Improvementand Health-EnabledProsperity to support sus-tainable change inSouthwest Virginia.
Organizers are askingresidents of the coalfieldcounties, along with
Smyth and Washingtoncounties and the cities ofNorton and Bristol, to takea 10-minute communitythemes and strengthsassessment survey toimprove health inSouthwest Virginia. Thesurvey aims to identifystrategic issues and informthe formation of goals andstrategies to improvehealth in the region.
Gathering input fromcommunity membersthroughout SouthwestVirginia, this survey willbe used to develop astrong understanding ofcommunity concerns,strengths, assets, and per-
ception of quality of life.Access the online sur-
vey here:https://www.surveymon-key.com/r/HealthBlueprint2015.
The Blueprint forHealth Improvement andHealth-Enabled Prosperitywas developed in 2009 inpartnership with theSouthwest Virginia HealthAuthority. The blueprintoutlined 20 goals andobjectives to improve thehealth of the region. Theblueprint has increasedawareness and progresstoward improving popula-tion health.
For more information
or for those who wouldprefer to complete thissurvey by phone, pleasecontact Margie Tomann at276/376-4882 [email protected] copies of the surveyare also available forgroups or organizationsthat want to participate.
★ WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 9Lonesome Pine Soil andWater Conservation DistrictBoard, 10 a.m. at the CoalfieldAgricultural Center, Route 83,Red Onion Mountain.(Administrative SecretaryBobbi Rasnick, 926-6621)
★ THURSDAY, SEPT. 17Dickenson County Board ofPublic Welfare, 11 a.m. in theDepartment of Social Servicesbuilding, Brush Creek Road,Clintwood. (Director SusanMullins, 926-1661)Clinchco Town Council, 7 p.m. at town hall. (835-1160)
★ TUESDAY, SEPT. 22Dickenson County TourismCommittee, 1 p.m. at various
locations throughout the coun-ty. Call for this month’s site.(Rita Surratt, 926-6074)Dickenson County Board ofSupervisors, 6 p.m. in the cir-cuit courtroom, second floor ofthe county courthouse,Clintwood. (Clerk Teresa Lyall, 926-1676)
★ WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 23Dickenson County SchoolBoard, 5 p.m. at the schoolboard office, 309 Volunteer St.,Clintwood. (Clerk RebaMcCowan, 926-4643)
★ TUESDAY, OCT. 6Haysi Town Council, 7 p.m. inthe first floor meeting room oftown hall, Main Street. (Clerk,865-5187)
THE DICKENSON STAR ■ WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 ■ PAGE 3
Cinema CityStadium Theatres
SEP 4 ~ SEP 10 • 2015
Located in Downtown Norton, VAnortoncinema.com
Movie Hotline 276-679-4252
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
INDICATES A NO PASS FEATUREN P
TUESDAY FAMILY NIGHTALL MOVIES - ALL SHOWS
$5.50 for 2Dand $7.50 for 3D*
* Exceptions may apply.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
- - - NOW PLAYING - - -
Transporter:Refueled
PG-13
Sinister 2R
No EscapeR
A Walk in the WoodsR
War RoomPG
Ricki and the FlashPG-13
PixelsPG-13
We Are Your FriendsR
MinionsPG
Hitman: Agent 47R
Straight Outta Compton
R
FOR F E ATURES& S H O W T I M E S
276-679-4252nortoncinema.com
Schedule subject to change.
N P
N P
N P
N P
N P
TOPS & BOTTOMS
“ROCKY DAYS” • FRIDAY 11TH & SATURDAY 12TH
*Limit one per customer,while supplies last.
Good 9/11 & 9/12/15 only.
Two Days Only! ✪ Lots of special sale pricing on Rocky boots & apparel
✪ WDXC will be doing a live radio remote on Saturday!
✪ Saturday, we will be giving away six pair of bootsbetween 11:00 AM & 4:00 PM! - Come enter to win!
✪ Free Rocky cap or Rocky gloves tofirst 50 customers!
✪ Hot dogs & refreshments
Ironclad 6"Waterproof Steel-Toe
$59.99*
$180 Value
2 7 6 - 9 2 6 - 6 8 9 0
Easily transfer prescriptions, even if on auto refill!
CONVENIENT DRIVE THRU
Pharmacists: Jon Suther land & Patr ick McCartyPharmacy Techs: Denise Wagner , Pr isc i l la Prater , Donna Stacy
Courtney Nelson & Maranda Ramey
Flu shots available!
West EndPharmacy
Jan’s Fabrics3 miles east of Haysi on Dickenson Highway
865-410828th Anniversary Sale!
Burlap - $2.00 yardLarge selection cotton prints - $3.00 yard
Check out our other in-store specials!
Lots of markdowns under the tent! $1.00 per yard fabrics$2.00 per yard fabrics
Sale Thursday September 10th through Saturday September 12th
37th Annual Wise County Famous Fall Fling
Oct. 10 & 11, 2015Wise, Va
– Craftsmen Wanted –Arts & Crafts
✰ Crafts
✰ Music
✰ 5K Race
✰ Kids Korner
✰ Senior Day
✰ Anything Apples
Sponsored by Wise Business Association
276/328-6842wisefallfling.com
Good chance for much needed rain
BY WAYNE BROWNING★ NATIONAL WEATHER OBSERVER
Following a wet summer it might besurprising to some that rainfall is nowneeded, with a below average trendobserved in most places during the pastfew weeks. A shift to above averagetemperatures in September has aideddrying amid a pattern that has so far fea-tured only hit-miss downpours of rain.
An approaching cold front and a dis-turbance over the southeastern USAwill combine to enhance rain chancestoday into Thursday. The potential forheavy rainfall will exist but definingwhere that would fall exactly was diffi-cult as of this Labor Day writing. Achance for something tropical in natureto form over the Gulf of Mexico willalso need watching this week into nextweek.
Although this dip in the upper air jetstream will not be long-lived, rain-clouds and a shift to northerly airflowwill drop temperatures back to earlyautumn readings. Friday could be thecoolest daytime period, especially if fogand low clouds hang tough over themountains in wake of this cold frontalpassage. This will be dependent upontiming and might vary by a day or so.
The ArcticOscillation, an indeximportant during win-ter, is forecast tobecome negative incoming days. DuringSeptember it does nothave the same type ofweather impact as itdoes during winter. Aninteresting trend; how-ever, is the twostrongest El Nino's prior to this current one, during 1982and 1997, featured September's that were dominated by apositive phase of the Arctic Oscillation and subsequentlyhad milder than average winter temperatures across thisregion. Combine this with the forecast trend of warmestwater temperatures shifting west into the central PacificOcean over time and it becomes yet another factor sup-porting another winter that is colder, or trends colder, thanaverage.
Long Ridge of Sandy Ridge: 32.92
Clintwood NWS: 36.16Norton Water Plant: 44.30
Big Cherry Dam: 45.25
YEAR-TO-DATE PRECIPITATION (IN INCHES)
*NATIONALWEATHER
SERVICEFORECAST
from theCharleston,WVForecast Office
Wednesday:Showers likely
& possibly athunderstorm.High near 80.
WednesdayNight: Showerslikely & possiblya thunderstorm.Low around 68.
Thursday:Showers likely
& possibly athunderstorm.High near 78.
ThursdayNight: A
chance ofshowers.
Low around 62.Friday: Achance ofshowers.
High near 77.
OBSERVATIONS RECORDED SEPT. 1-7 AT 7 A.M. DAILYE-mail weather reports to [email protected] site address:http://www.highknoblandform.com/
CLINTWOOD ■ ELEVATION 1560 FT.NWS OBSERVER WAYNE BROWNING
LONG RIDGE ■ ELEVATION 2650 FT.OBSERVERS WAYNE AND GENEVIE RINER
Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat Sun MonPrec .00 .00 .00 .00 .20 00 THigh 82 84 86 84 85 85 83Low 57 58 59 59 59 59 56
Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat Sun MonPrec. .65 .00 00 .00 .00 N/A N/AHigh 81 83 84 83 84 N/A N/ALow 62 65 67 66 65 N/A N/A
Crooked Road communitymeeting scheduled
The Crooked Road will hold a community inputmeeting on the 2015 and 2016 Mountains of MusicHomecoming events at Breaks Interstate ParkConference Center on Tuesday, Sept. 15 at 6 p.m.
Persons planning to attend are encouraged to RSVPto The Crooked Road at [email protected] orby calling 276/492-2409.
Ideas sought for regional health plan
Mine rule is praised, denounced
BY LARRY O’DELLASSOCIATED PRESS
RICHMOND (AP) —Eight days after two jour-nalists were fatally shotduring a live broadcast at aVirginia resort, severalDemocratic legislatorsproduced a petition withnearly 28,000 signaturessupporting expandedbackground checks forgun buyers.
The northern Virginialawmakers unveiled thepetition Thursday at anews conference inArlington. Del. PatrickHope, who organized thepetition drive, said he willsubmit legislation in the2016 General Assembly torequire universal back-ground checks for gunpurchasers — a proposalthat has been rejected inprevious sessions.Currently, private sales —including those conductedat gun shows — are notsubject to backgroundchecks.
“We can no longer juststick our heads in thesand,” Hope said in a tele-phone interview. “I knowuniversal background
checks won’t preventevery tragedy. But we alsoknow that people aredying every day.”
Hope and like-mindedlawmakers face an uphillstruggle in the GeneralAssembly. Since the 2007Virginia Tech shootings,legislators have actuallyworked to loosen gun reg-ulations — allowing con-cealed weapons permitholders to carry guns inbars and repealing thestate’s one-handgun-a-month purchase limit, forexample.
“Sooner or later, wereach a point where it’sour fault,” Hope said.
Gun control legislationhistorically is killed on anunrecorded vote in aHouse of Delegates sub-committee. Hope said theNovember election, whenall 140 legislative seats are
on the ballot, combinedwith growing public sup-port for “common-sensegun violence preventionlegislation” provides aglimmer of hope that thetrend can be reversed.
Philip Van Cleave,president of the VirginiaCitizens Defense Leaguegun-rights group, said uni-versal background checkswould be ineffective incombatting gun violence.
“Just about every massshooter in the last 10 yearshas passed a backgroundcheck,” he said.
Vester Flanagan legallypurchased the Glock hand-gun he used to kill his for-mer WDBJ-TV col-leagues, Alison Parker andAdam Ward, on Aug. 29 atSmith Mountain Lake.
Van Cleave said thateven if someone who isnot legally allowed to pos-sess a gun wants one, it’seasy enough to arrange astraw purchase or buy oneon the black market.
Del. Eileen Filler-Cornsaid no legislation canstop all gun crimes, butlawmakers should do asmuch as they can. She saidshe will reintroduce herpreviously unsuccessfulmeasure to prohibit any-one subject to a protectiveorder from possessing agun. A person who isdeemed a threat to anothershould not be allowed tocarry a firearm, she said.
Van Cleave said heopposes the bill becauseprotection orders areissued without prior noticeto the person who is sub-ject to the order.
“It’s the word of oneside,” Van Cleave said.“So you’re going aboutyour day, and now you’rea criminal because youhave a gun.”
Democratic Gov. TerryMcAuliffe and AlisonParker’s father, AndyParker, have vowed topress for tighter gunrestrictions.
The second annualSouthwest VirginiaOutdoor Expo kicks offthis weekend in Abingdonand will feature severallocal groups.
The free expo will beheld from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.on Saturday, Sept. 12, atHeartwood. The event isaimed at raising “aware-ness of the diverse outdoorrecreation opportunitiesthat are abundant acrossthe region,” according toits website. Last year’sinaugural event broughtmore than 1,000 visitorsand featured 67 vendorsfrom the region’s 19 coun-ties.
Twelve demonstrationswill be held this year onSaturday, Sept. 12. Elevenoutdoor excursions arealso set for Sunday, Sept.13.
Among the 89 vendorsset to be present at theexpo on Saturday with tiesto the local area are:
■ Appalachian Voices.■ Breaks Interstate
Park.■ The Clinch
Coalition.■ Clinch River
Adventures.■ Clinch River Valley
Initiative.■ Dickenson County
Tourism and Chamber ofCommerce.
■ Heart of AppalachiaTourism Authority.
■ High KnobConservation Agency.
■ Natural Tunnel State
Park.■ City of Norton.■ Pathfinders and High
Knob Outfitters.■ Pine Mountain
Scenic Trail.■ Rally Southwest
Virginia.■ Rocky Mountain Elk
Foundation: SouthwestVirginia CoalfieldsChapter.
■ Saint Paul Suites andCottages.
■ Southwest VirginiaClimbers Coalition.
■ Spearhead Trails.■ St. Paul Main Street.■ UVa-Wise’s
Southwest VirginiaCitizen Science Initiative.
■ Virginia CoalfieldEconomic DevelopmentAuthority.
■ Virginia Departmentof Conservation andRecreation — NaturalHeritage Program.
■ Virginia Departmentof Forestry.
■ Virginia State Parks.■ Wise County
Tourism.■ Wynn Cane Fly
Fishing.Live music, a disc golf
tournament and fundraiserfor the Carolina ClimbersCoalition — which recent-ly reopened and conservespublic rock climbing atHidden Valley nearAbingdon — will also befeatured Saturday.
See www.swvaout-doorexpo.com for moreinformation about ven-dors and event activities.
MARIBEL SUTHERLAND ELTONABINGDON
Maribel Sutherland Elton, 87, died Aug. 2, 2015 withher family by her side in Leesburg.
She was born July 15, 1928 in Clintwood to JoshuaHoge Tyler and EmmaSutherland.
Her early years were spentin Clintwood and Bedford.She graduated from MaryWashington College andreceived a master’s degree inlibrary science from PeabodyCollege. After receiving hergraduate degree, she movedto Germany, where sheworked for the Department ofDefense as a librarian at a
U.S. Army base. During her time in Europe, she traveled widely and
met her future husband, Charles. They wed in April 1959and soon relocated to Abingdon, where they lived for over50 years.
Maribel had a lifelong love of reading and books,working as a librarian for many years, and actively par-ticipating in various book clubs, where she made manywonderful friends. Her adventurous spirit, love of ani-mals, and sense of fun will stay with those left behind for-ever.
Her husband of 56 years, Charles; her twin brother,Hoge Tyler, of Fairfax; her daughter, CatherineGrossman, and grandson, Dan Grossman, both ofLeesburg, survive her.
The family will welcome friends and relatives at a vis-itation on Saturday, September 26, 2015, from 6-8 pm, atthe Main Street Chapel of Farris Funeral Service inAbingdon.
Memorial services will be held at the funeral home onSunday, Sept. 27, 2015 at 1:30 pm, with Dr. RobertCountiss officiating followed by a brief graveside serviceat Knollkreg Memorial Park.
Relatives and friends are invited to join the family atthe Jubilee House for a reception in honor of Maribel’slife immediately following the service.
Those wishing to express sympathy online may do soby visiting www.farrisfuneralservice.com and signing theonline guest register.
JACKIE YATES RAINESHAYSI
Jackie Yates Raines, age 80 of Dickenson Highway,passed away Monday, Sept. 7, 2015 at the home of Phillip
and Sandy Owens. Born in Dickenson
County, she was a daughter ofthe late Jerry Yates and RoxieDeel Yates Branham. She wasa member of SplashdamFreewill Baptist Church. Inaddition to her parents, herhusband, Walker Raines;brothers, Ervin, Donald Keithand Elder Jerry Yates Jr.; anda sister, Annette Yates Owens,preceded her in death.
Survivors include two daughters, Kim (Blane) Owensand Vickie (Charles) Viers, both of Prater; three grand-daughters, Heather (Jody) Bowman, Kelly Jo (Bob)Lowery and Mandy Boyd; three great-grandchildren,Dillon Lowery, Hayley Owens and Emily Bartley; twosisters, Shelby Taylor and Myrna Barr of Richmond; anda brother, Greg Branham of North Carolina.
Funeral services will be conducted at 11 a.m.Thursday, September 10, 2015 at Haysi Funeral Homewith Pastor Danny Sluss officiating.
Burial will follow in Jackson-Owens Cemetery,Birchleaf. Family and friends will serve as pallbearers.
The family will receive friends after 6 p.m. onWednesday at the funeral home with a song service at 7p.m.
Online condolences may be sent to www.haysifuner-al.com.
PAGE 4 ■ WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 ■ THE DICKENSON STAR
Only$700 Each
Includes theobituary & poemlaminated into a
3 1/4” x 9” bookmark.
Several Poemsto choose from.
CallJo Hamilton926-8816
Hunts planned forNatural Tunnel,
other parksVirginia state parks, managed by the Virginia
Department of Conservation and Recreation, offerthe outdoorsman a variety of hunting opportunities,including reservation-only hunts and open hunting,
throughout the season.Hunters can reserve standsor zones on a first-come,first-served basis.
Upcoming hunts willinclude muzzleloader-onlyhunts at Natural TunnelState Park Nov. 9-10 andDec. 14-15, with the reser-vation period beginningSept. 9.
Also in SouthwestVirginia, muzzleloader-only hunts will take placeat Grayson HighlandsState Park Nov. 2-3, withthe reservation periodbeginning Sept. 3.
A special youth muzzle-loader hunt will be held atNatural Tunnel State Park
on Nov. 7 with the reservation period beginningSept. 9.
Muzzleloader and shotgun hunts will be held atNatural Tunnel State Park Jan. 22-23, with thereservation period beginning Sept. 9; and at ClaytorLake State Park in Pulaski County, Jan. 8-9, withthe reservation period beginning Oct. 8.
General firearms hunts will be held at GraysonHighlands State Park Nov. 16-17, with the reserva-tion period beginning Sept. 3.
Hunters may reserve preferred days and standsor zones for an advanced fee of $15 a day by call-ing the Virginia State Parks Customer ServiceCenter, 800/933-7275 (PARK). Reservations willbe accepted until all slots are taken at each hunt, upto two days prior to the hunt, provided that thehunter can complete the payment before the day ofthe hunt.
Open hunting is offered in designated areas ofGrayson Highlands and Hungry Mother in SmythCounty.
For more information about these and otherhunting opportunities and programs in state parks,or about camping or cabin reservations, call 1-800/933-7275 (PARK) or visit www.virginias-tateparks.gov.
For information on hunting licenses, hunter safe-ty education and hunting regulations, call theVirginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheriesat 804/367-1000 or visit www.dgif.virginia.gov.
Outdoor recreationexpo boasts local ties
Public input sought on trout stockingThe Virginia Department of
Game and Inland Fisheries andVirginia Tech’s Department of Fishand Wildlife Conservation have initi-ated a process to develop a statewidestocked trout management plan.
The plan is designed to providebroad guidance on policies foraddressing the complex managementchallenges and issues related to pro-
ducing desirable fishing experiencesfor stocked trout.
The draft plan can be found atwww.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/trout/management-plan.
Nine meetings to gather publicinput on the plan will be held acrossVirginia.
Meetings in southwesternVirginia will include:
■ Sept. 23: 7-9 p.m., U.S. ForestService office, 5162 ValleypointeParkway, Roanoke.
■ Sept. 24: 7-9 p.m., MountainEmpire Community College – 231Phillips-Taylor Building.
■ Sept. 30: 7-9 p.m., WythevilleCommunity College – Carroll Hall,Room 118, 1000 East Main St.,Wytheville.
Democrats unveil gun background check petition‘I know universal
background checkswon’t prevent everytragedy. But we alsoknow that people are
dying every day.’Del. Patrick Hope
For more
information
about hunting
opportunities and
programs in state
parks, call
1-800/933-7275
(PARK) or visit
www.virginias-
tateparks.gov.
The Dickenson CountyChamber of Commerce haslaunched a new website.
Designed by NathanYates of Forward ViewConsulting, the site,www.dickensonchamber.net, features a parallax
design, which creates afalse 3D effect.
The new websiteincludes a “Spotlight onBusiness” section, newslet-ters, and adds photos tobusiness listings with adescription and informa-tion submitted by the busi-ness owner.
The chamber will alsopromote shop at homecampaigns on the site.
Chamber President RitaSurratt asks members toreview their listings tomake sure information iscorrect and if they haven’t
sent a picture or descrip-tion, we ask that they dothat. Businesses that havenot submitted a photo areencouraged to do so, orSurratt may take one forthem.
“We want to promote allof our members andencourage new businessesto start up in DickensonCounty,” said Surratt.
“Gathering all the infor-mation, submitting contenthas been a long process,but we know all the efforthas paid off after seeing thechamber’s new website,”
she said, adding thatTabatha Smith at the cham-ber office contributedgreatly to the effort by con-tacting members to updatetheir information.
THE DICKENSON STAR ■ WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 ■ PAGE 5
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inside the park, and will berecorded in the park’s offi-cial flora and faunaspecies list. Participantscan anticipate getting wetduring this exercise, andshould wear appropriateclothing and footwear.
Saturday afternoon willbring a hike on theGeological Trail withTony Scales at 1:30 p.m., ageocaching program withChuck Ratliff at 2 p.m.,and an elk tour at 6 p.m.
Tony Scales will be onhand again Sunday, Sept.20 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.for a second book signing.Additional interpretiveprogramming is alsoplanned.
Elk tour tickets are $30for adults, and $15 forchildren 12 and younger.Seating on the bus is limit-ed; reservations arerequired.
For more informationor to make reservationsfor the elk tour, contactPark Naturalist CarlMullins at 276/865-4413ext. 3213or [email protected].
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Breaks
Agriculture is focus of fourth grade field days BY JEN DAVISDICKENSON COUNTY EXTENSION AGENT
Fourth grade students from Dickenson County andWise County enjoyed a trip to the Coalfield AgriculturalCenter for agriculture field days on Sept. 3 and 4.
Agriculture field days are hosted by the Dickensonand Wise County Extension offices. The field days are agreat opportunity for students to gain experience, under-standing, and appreciation for local agriculture. Morethan 600 students visited the center and spent the daylearning about gardening and animals.
Extension agents and volunteers managed education-al stations that focused on various farming and agricul-ture topics.
Several stations included live animals, which were
very popular with the students. A cattle station allowedstudents to see cattle and learn the different products weget from beef cattle. A poultry station taught studentsabout raising chickens and harvesting eggs. The sheepstation showed students the process of taking care ofsheep and discussed different cuts of lamb.
One of the more popular stations was the alpaca sta-tion provided by Double R Alpacas. Students had the
opportunity to pet an alpaca and learned the differentways people can use alpaca fiber.
A honeybee station explained the important role beesplay in agriculture.
Future Farmers of America students from RidgeviewHigh School were on site to provide fourth graders withinformation about FFA.
Other stations included horses, insects, dairy, soil andwater conservation, and a farm-to-table lesson thatengaged students in a discussion about how foods travelfrom farms to grocery stores.
The field days were an educational and fun experi-ence for everyone involved. The Dickenson CountyExtension office would like to thank all of the students,teachers, and volunteers who helped make the two daysa success.
More than 600 area fourth graders
visited the Coalfield Agriculture Center
last week and spent the day learning
about gardening and farm animals.
Wild ginseng harvest season underwayRICHMOND, Va. (AP)
— Virginia’s four-monthwild ginseng harvest sea-son is underway.
The VirginiaDepartment of Agricultureand Consumer Servicessays the season runsthrough the end of the
year. The agency regulatesginseng harvest and salesin Virginia. WildAmerican ginseng is listedas a threatened species inthe state.
People planning to shipor transport ginseng fromVirginia in amounts
greater than eight ouncesper year must have it certi-fied by the agency.Individuals buying oraccepting ginseng for salemust obtain a license.
Only ginseng that’s atleast 5 years old can beharvested. Regulations
also prohibit harvestingwild ginseng that hasfewer than four stem scarson its rhizome or hasfewer than three prongs.
The regulations don’tapply to people who har-vest wild ginseng on theirown land.
SWCC cited as among top community collegesSouthwest Virginia
Community College wasranked number 10 in a com-parison of 670 communitycolleges in the nation by astudy completed by theonline personal financialresource company, WalletHub.
Only two colleges fromVirginia were listed as a top10 college in the survey.
Wallet Hub providestools and information to
consumers and small busi-ness owners in order forthem to make better finan-cial decisions and savemoney. The articleannouncing the college’sinclusion at the top of thesurvey can be found onlinea thttp://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-community-col-leges/15076/. The site pro-vides additional informa-tion about why Southwest
and other community col-leges were given their indi-vidual rankings.
The study looked at sev-eral important criteria: costand financing, classroomexperience, education out-comes, and career out-comes. Under each of thesegeneral headings was a listof specific issues, aboutwhich data was collectedand then analyzed.
The information used to
create these rankings wasobtained from the NationalCenter for EducationStatistics, the Center forCommunity CollegeStudent Engagement, theCouncil for Communityand Economic Research,and the American Institutesfor Research and OptimityAdvisors.
For more informationabout the college, go towww.sw.edu.
Chamber launches new website
Letters • Commentary • Personal Observations
PAGE 6
WEDNESDAY ■ SEPTEMBER 9, 2015
TheDickenson Star
The Dickenson StarPUBLISHED WEEKLY, EVERY WEDNESDAY BY AMERICAN HOMETOWN PUBLISHING, P.O. BOX 707, CLINTWOOD, VA. 24228 276-926-8816
★ Editor: Paula Tate★ Staff Writer: Teresa Mullins
★ Sports Editor: : Kevin Mays★ Advertising Representative: Candacee Sutherland
★ Bookkeeper: Georgette Hamilton
Stock market roller coaster ignites survival modeBY TOM PURCELL
After the wild stock market downs andups recently, I crawled out from under mydesk and began Googling plans for abackyard survival bunker.
You see, not being an economist orexpert about government debt and spend-ing, I have trouble grasping what is goingon in the world and when the next eco-nomic collapse will occur.
All I know is that our CongressionalBudget Office, a nonpartisan federalagency within the legislative branch ofour government, keeps warning the coun-try, as it did again last week, that we areon an unsustainable financial path.
Simply put, the CBO says our debt is
growing too fast. Whereas the historicalaverage level of publicly held debt overthe last 50 years was 38 percent ofAmerica’s gross domestic product, ourdebt-to-GDP ratio is now 74 percent andwill hit 103 percent in 2040.
To get back to historical debt levels,the CBO says, we’ll have to increase rev-enue by 14 percent or cut spending by 13percent. If we don’t, we will eventuallyface a real crisis.
Once creditors doubt our ability torepay our debt, interest rates on the debtwill have to increase to entice them to buy
it, and it will be “game on.”Some doomsayers predict this will
ignite the next economic collapse, whichwill make the 2008 collapse look like aday at a government-funded amusementpark. So I’m wondering about a bunker inthe countryside on the edge of the sub-urbs, where my home is located.
Unlike big, sophisticated, wired citieswhere people couldn’t survive a day iftheir Internet service went down, the peo-ple who live in the country can functionjust dandy without modern conveniences.
My neighbors know how to grow, trapand shoot their own food. They maketheir own bullets and are proficient withrifles.
They can boil water from the creek and
grow their own food. They can hand-felltrees and build houses that they makecozy with an abundance of firewood —and keep their bunkers warm as they pro-tect themselves from all the suburbanitesflooding to the countryside, looking forsome grub.
Most importantly, they know how tomake moonshine, one of America’s mostvaluable products. For years, moonshinehelped settlers convert their corn harvestsinto a valuable commodity that was asgood as gold — and might be again if thedoomsayers’ predictions come true.
If all heck breaks loose, my countryvillage would be fine. I’d still be able toamble down to the local watering hole
Purcell
BY MORGAN GRIFFITH★ NINTH DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE
Last week, I had the opportunity to visit a facilityright here in the 9th District that is making strides inhealth care innovation and improving patient care.
At the Radford Health and Rehab Center, some ofthe nurses will be wearing “smart glasses” as part oftheir wound care program. These glasses areequipped with a tiny camera, and will transmit a livefeed of images the wearer sees to the supervisingnurse. This will allow the supervisor to assist withassessing wound types and ensuring patients get themost accurate diagnosis and appropriate care.
Additionally, a supervising nurse will in essencebe “following” the nurse doing wound care, as if thatsupervising nurse were actually in the room. Thesupervisor can assess, evaluate, and assist nursesremotely, just as they might do in person.
We were able to watch from the Radford Healthand Rehab Center’s conference room as a wound wasbeing treated – a nurse in one room was advising atechnician in another how to treat it. It was remark-able.
Patients may opt out of this program, but with lesspeople in the room as a result of the smart glasses,their use by the nurse may make the patient feel lessnervous and more at ease.
The Radford Health and Rehab Center is the firstlong term care facility to use this technology, thoughapproximately 30 hospitals as well as BrownUniversity make use of smart glasses to assist intraining and improve their quality of care. Medicalschools and emergency services training programsalso use smart glasses.
While this technology is helpful in training med-ical students, it also seems to be beneficial to doctors.If doctors are able to see an image of a wound beingtransmitted to them from a long term care facilitysuch as Radford Health and Rehab, the doctor wouldnot necessarily have to travel to the facility to helpwith care. I can’t help but imagine that increasing theuse of this sort of technology could help to addressthe shortage of doctors, especially in more rural areas.
From time to time, I learn of developments inhealth information technologies that not only amazeme, but that are truly innovative and have a signifi-cant impact on advancements in medicalcare. Previously, I have discussed in this column aninternal medicine specialist at Toronto GeneralHospital and his team using an iPhone 4s, an $8 balllens, a flashlight, and double-sided tape to create a
Telemedicine makes strides in 9th District
G r i f f i t h
PLEASE SEE PURCELL, PAGE 7
★ Publisher/Executive Editor: Jenay Tate
PLEASE SEE GRIFFITH, PAGE 7 SEE COTTO, PAGE 8
Cotto
Race andthe CivilWar: The
differencesthat dividedthe regions
BY JOSEPH COTTO
We have heard muchabout the Civil War inrecent months.
The racially-motivatedslaying of eight blackchurchgoers in SouthCarolina broughtConfederate insignia to theforefront after the shooterwas photographed holdinga Rebel battle flag. Whatfollowed was the banner’sremoval from the warmemorial on PalmettoStatehouse grounds, retail-ers purging their inventoryof Confederate memora-bilia, calls for publicspaces to relieve them-selves of longstandingRebel monuments andrenewed racial tensions.
In late August, thosebelieving that Confederatemonuments should fall gottheir wish — at least in theUniversity of Texas.There, an outdoor statue ofJefferson Davis, the firstand last Confederate presi-dent, was taken down.
Rancor over any and allthings Rebel is rooted inthe idea that Confederatesseceded from the UnitedStates, proceeding to fighta war against it, becausethey wanted to preservelegalized slavery. Thatslave labor was allowed infour Union states, andremained permissiblethere even after the CivilWar ended, puts a dent inthis argument.
Parole review panel aimsto improve on system
BY GOV. TERRY MCAULIFFE
Editor’s note: This column was firstpublished Aug. 31 in The WashingtonPost.
In 1994, the Virginia GeneralAssembly abolished parole in the com-monwealth, requiring felony offenders toserve at least 85 percent of their sen-tences, with the potential to earn good-behavior credits toward an early releasedate.
Then-Gov. George Allen (R) and thelegislature believed abolishing parolewould prevent new felony offenses andreduce recidivism by keeping careercriminals off the streets. The legislationalso was intended to divert nonviolentdrug offenders from the criminal justicesystem into treatment, thereby reservingprison beds for the most violent offend-ers.
There is no denying that the abolitionof parole has been successful and thattruth in sentencing has strengthened theintegrity of our justice system. Virginiahas experienced lower crime rates andhas the second-lowest recidivism rate inthe country.
However, no policy is without flaws,and no program is above examination. Iagree with Allen, who recently said,“every governor should periodicallyreview policies in place in their State.”
Governors have no greater responsibilitythan ensuring that taxpayer dollars arespent effectively, with the greatest possi-ble return and benefits to the public. Thisis a trust I take seriously and that hasbeen a priority of my administration.
We ended ill-conceived plans toexpand Route 460, saving taxpayers$149 million. We reformed operations atthe Port of Virginia, which was losingmillions each month when I took office,and returned it to profitability in slightlymore than a year. We directed our agen-cies to ensure that their resources werededicated to the highest and best use.
Virginia spends more than $1.1 billioneach year on our corrections system. Thetime has come to evaluate our progress,identify opportunities to improve our sys-tem, build on our successes and maxi-
McAul i f fe
PLEASE SEE MCAULIFFE, PAGE 7
At $27,000 per inmate per year, we are spendingapproximately $243 million
annually to house nonviolent offenders.
and sing Willie Nelson tunes on karaokenight.
We’ll never run out of food. Wild turkeyand deer pass through my yard daily. All ofmy neighbors have deer meat stashed some-where within their houses and ingeniousmethods for powering electrical generators tokeep their freezers cold.
Some analysts say worry about a big eco-nomic collapse is overblown. They say thegovernment can inflate its way out of the situ-ation, which could significantly reduce thevalue of the amount our government owes —and punish people whose savings would alsobe significantly reduced. But that one soundsfishy to me.
In any event, I hope the big one never hap-pens — I hope the experts who keep meddlingwith our economy through zero interest-ratepolicies and expansion of the money supplydon’t unwittingly thrust us into the mother ofall breakdowns.
Still, when the stock market soars up anddown as it did last week, I find comfort insmoking and storing large batches of beefjerky, just in case.
— Tom Purcell, author of “Misadventuresof a 1970’s Childhood” and “Comical Sense:A Lone Humorist Takes on a World GoneNutty!” is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review humorcolumnist and is nationally syndicated exclu-sively by Cagle Cartoons Inc. Send commentsto Tom at [email protected].
sort of microscope that wasthen used to diagnose intes-tinal worm infections in stu-dents in rural Tanzania.
I am very intrigued by thissmart glasses technology, andam pleased to see suchadvancements taking placehere in our area. I have nodoubt that many more greatthings are to come from theFighting Ninth.
SERVING YOUA role of my office is to
serve as a liaison between theNinth District and the federalgovernment. My team and Iare willing and able to assistconstituents with legislativeconcerns, in communicatingwith a federal agency, sched-uling a Capitol tour, etc., andencourage you to be in con-tact with us should there beanything we can do. We haveestablished monthly travelingoffice hours throughout thedistrict at which a team mem-ber or I will be present. Aschedule of upcoming travel-ing office hours can be foundon my website, www.mor-gangriffith.house.gov.
We regularly receiverequests from constituents
dealing with the Departmentof Veterans Affairs, theInternal Revenue Service,Medicare, the Social SecurityAdministration, theDepartment of Labor (BlackLung issues), and many otheragencies. We can often inter-vene on a constituent’s behalfto answer questions, findsolutions, or cut through redtape. We also can assist youwith requesting or renewingpassports, requesting expe-dited processing of these doc-uments, and dealing withtravel visa issues.
Before we can obtaininformation about your situa-tion, we must provide theagency with your writtenauthorization. Completingour privacy consent form,which can be found on mywebsite, is one of the firststeps you must take in orderfor us to be able to assistyou. You may also obtain theform by calling or visitingmy offices or our travelingstaff office hours. Whenreturning this form to us,please take care to includeany pertinent informationand claim numbers we mayneed. Constituent servicessuch as these are typically
handled by members of myteam based out of ourAbingdon andChristiansburg offices. Youmay call or visit either loca-tion for assistance, or drop byour staff traveling officehours discussed above.
As always, you can callmy Abingdon office at276/525-1405 or myChristiansburg office at540/381-5671. To reach myoffice by email, please visitmy website at www.morgan-griffith.house.gov.
THE DICKENSON STAR ■ WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 ■ PAGE 7
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Notice of Electionsfor November 3, 2015
County Election - All Local Offices
Senate - 38th District - House of Delegates - 4th District
Soil and Water Director,
Special Election - Member Town Council Clinchco
Voter Registration & Absentee Deadlines
Last Day for Registration or Address ChangesTuesday, October 13, 2015 Voter Registration Office
2311 Dickenson Hwy. DMV Building 9:00 AM - 5:00 PMAbsentee Voting By Mail
Deadline to apply for an Absentee Ballot to be mailedTuesday, October 27, 2015 5:00 PM
Saturday In-person Absentee VotingSaturday, October 24, 2015 Voter Registration Office
2311 Dickenson Hwy. DMV Building 9:00 AM - 5:00 PMLast Day for In-person Absentee Voting
Saturday, October 31, 2015 Voter Registration Office2311 Dickenson Hwy. DMV Building 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
These hours are in addition to regular office hours which areMonday thru Friday, 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM.
Reba T. Childress, General Registrar2311 Dickenson Hwy. DMV BuildingPO Box 1306, Clintwood, VA 24228Phone: 926-1620 Fax# 926-8287
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6
Griffith
mize the return on our investment. I creat-ed the Commission on Parole Review, co-chaired by former attorney general MarkEarley (R), Secretary of Public SafetyBrian Moran and Secretary of theCommonwealth Levar Stoney, to examinethese issues and provide recommenda-tions to strengthen our system to the ben-efit of all Virginians.
One issue we must address is the num-ber of nonviolent offenders occupyingprison beds. While we have madeprogress in reducing this number, theDepartment of Corrections reports that9,000 offenders, representing 24 percentof its population, have no violent crimeson their records. At $27,000 per inmate
per year, we are spending approximately$243 million annually to house nonviolentoffenders.
Opponents of the Commission onParole Review, which I establishedthrough executive order, have said thisreview is unnecessary. I find it hard tobelieve that we could not spend a singledollar of that $243 million more effective-ly by investing in mental health or sub-stance-abuse services or with alternativesto sentencing such as drug courts or othersuccessful diversion programs.
Improving outcomes for public safetyand better utilizing taxpayer dollars aretop priorities of my administration. Forexample, I recently increased salaries fordeputy sheriffs and correctional officers,which will improve retention and allow us
to keep our strongest officers in our com-munities and state and local public safetyfacilities.
There are other opportunities toachieve similar results, which is why Iestablished the commission. My decisionwas not motivated by politics or a desireto let violent offenders out of prison or anintention to reverse the 1994 decision.This is about looking out for taxpayer dol-lars while maintaining public safety. Asgovernor, it is my duty to ensure thatevery taxpayer dollar spent is generatingthe best possible return on investment.This is another important step in buildingthe new Virginia economy.
Unfortunately, the conversation aroundparole has become a platform for partisanpolitics, shifting attention from the real
issue: evaluating our policies and identify-ing areas where we can do better. Is thecommonwealth appropriately balancingits responsibilities to punish and to reha-bilitate nonviolent offenders?
With more than two decades of evi-dence and data, the Commission on ParoleReview is well-positioned to engage in thethorough, careful analysis necessary tocreate meaningful change. I am confidentthat with the strong, bipartisan leadershipand diverse membership of the commis-sion, I will receive a robust set of evi-dence-based recommendations inDecember that will protect public safetyand offer alternative sentencing optionsfor nonviolent offenders while keepingfaith with the original intent of the 1994legislation.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6
McAuliffe
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6
Purcell
Still, the narrative reignssupreme.
Just what really causedthe Civil War? Dr. PaulGottfried, who has writtenseveral books about politicsand history, is a retired pro-fessor of humanities.Considered one ofAmerica’s leading paleo-conservative thinkers, hehas strong views on whatspurred the fight betweenNorth and South.
“Although slavery wasnot a direct cause of the war,it did contribute to political,economic and cultural dif-ferences between the sec-tions that led to escalatingtensions,” Gottfried told me.“It seems unlikely howeverthat if the Southern stateshad been allowed to secede,their peculiar institutionwould have continued downto the present. I’m also notsure that Lincoln by invad-ing the South found the bestway to deal with the seces-sion.
“The number of lives thatwere lost and the devasta-tion of entire regions of thecountry in order to end thesecession were truly stag-gering. Were it not for theinjection of the race issue, Idoubt that Lincoln wouldstill be remembered fondlyas the president ‘who savedthe Union.’”
Gottfried later added thathe “would not deny thatslavery was an underlyingfactor in the drive towardsecession, but it would bewrong to treat that institu-tion as the only factor (giventhe fact that mostSoutherners andConfederate soldiers did notown slaves). Lincoln’s inva-sion of the South and thesubsequent depredation ofthe defeated region duringReconstruction were disas-ters, no matter what lies weare fed by retread Stalinistslike Eric Foner.”
Major-General PatrickCleburne was one of theConfederacy’s most gallantand insightful officers. TheAnglo-Irish immigrant had aview of Southern society farmore clear-minded than thenorm.
“Satisfy the [black] thatif he faithfully adheres toour standard during the warhe shall receive his freedomand that of his race,”Cleburne wrote not longbefore his death in battle.“Give him as an earnest ofour intentions such immedi-ate immunities as willimpress him with our sincer-ity and be in keeping withhis new condition, enroll aportion of his class as sol-diers of the Confederacy,and we change the race froma dreaded weakness to aposition of strength.”
Also: “It is said that slav-ery is all we are fighting for,and if we give it up we giveup all. Even if this were true,which we deny, slavery isnot all our enemies are fight-ing for. It is merely the pre-tense to establish sectionalsuperiority and a more cen-tralized form of govern-ment, and to deprive us ofour rights and liberties.”
The bottom line is thatslavery was the most obvi-ous difference betweenNorthern and Southernsociopolitical norms.However, other differencesplayed a role in setting eachregion against the other.
Northern states had aneconomy centered aroundmanufacturing and finance,with agriculture on the backburner. Southern states,meanwhile, were almostentirely agrarian. Yankeepoliticians often favored anevolving view of constitu-tional law, while Southernpublic servants were largelystrict interpreters. The Northneeded throngs of newimmigrants to remain afloat,but in the South, large-scaleimmigration would proveinjurious.
Simply put, the countrywas divided against itself.How could it stand?
— Joseph Cotto is a his-torical and social journalist,and writes about politics,economics and social issues.Email him [email protected].
PAGE 8 ■ WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 ■ THE DICKENSON STAR
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6
Cotto
the Stars and Bars, the flag of the Confederacy,which flew over Fort Sumter — and theConfederate battle flag, the Rebel flag, whichtoday is widely seen as the symbol of the South.It is the one being flown more and bigger thanever since it was taken down from where it flewover the South Carolina capitol after a raciallymotivated shooting in Charleston left nine dead.Wills’ visual history included pictures of thatflag and state troopers removing it that day.
But only during the civil rights era did theConfederate flag really come to the forefrontand tie to racism, Wills said. It means somethingnow, he said, that it has not meant in years past.The flag hasn’t changed, the people carrying ithave, Wills would say in response to a question.
McKnight asked Wills if he senses feelingsof alienation behind today’s abundance of peo-ple flying the Confederate flag.
Southwest Virginia was a very divided regionin the Civil War, Wills said. Here and elsewhere,Wills believes the battle flag has come to equateto rebellion. “It’s a way of making a statement,”he said.
Outrage following the Charleston killings has
spread, with other Civil War era monumentsnow under fire. Wills showed a picture of “theSouth’s Mount Rushmore,” in Stone Mountain,Ga., where images of Jefferson Davis, Robert E.Lee and Stonewall Jackson are chiseled intostone. There’s a move now to sandblast it away,he said.
In Memphis, Tenn., city fathers have voted toremove a monument to Civil War cavalry leaderNathan Bedford Forrest, known for his role inthe brutal Battle at Fort Pillow. Wills’ visual his-tory included a picture of that monument fol-lowed by one of the gravestone of a Forrestdescendant who gave his life in World War II.He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Sometimes, people can get carried away, hesaid.
“History is complex. It’s complicated. Youcan’t boil it down to one thing,” he said.
He’s been asked many times, if you tookslavery out of the mix prior to the Civil War,would it have happened? Wills said he’s toldpeople, “I just don’t think we’re going to fightover the protective tariff.”
The current national discussion, said oneaudience member, doesn’t touch on the viewthat the cause of the South in the Civil War was
not just about race but about class.Asked his thoughts, Wills said it does when it
comes to this — “If you are trying to deal withinequalities, you’re going to have to do morethan take away a flag,” he said. In his presenta-tion, Wills had shown an editorial cartoon whereone figure depicts racism and another standingnext to him says, “Don’t worry about him. I tookhis flag pin.”
“I don’t like white-washing history,” he said,adding that removing or obliterating images andreferences doesn’t advance understanding. “Iwould rather deal with it.”
Wills was asked to look forward 50 years andponder what kinds of symbols the country mightbe looking at upon reflection of the Civil War.
It’s too important a period of history to notdeal with it, Wills said, observing that emotionsbuild, then wane and feelings will change.
While he doesn’t know what the symbolsmight be, Wills said, “I’m not certain you cantalk about Gettysburg without that flag.”
Personally, Wills said, “I want them to see it,”whether it is flying out in public or in a museum,where that South Carolina flag is headed.
There are those who’d rather the subject justgo away, he said, “but I doubt it.”
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