August 2011
 

Aug. 31 a Worder (Warder) Holcomb, 103 of Holcomb Ridge Lizemores, see OBITUARY page

Aug. 31 a  Carl R. Edwards Sr., 94, of Fola, see OBITUARY page

Aug. 31 a Happy Birthday wishes to Laura Beth Miller, Sandy Stewart, Jane Cook, Rachel Truman, and coming very soon, Terri Lively Allen. Belated wishes to 6 million year old Mike King.

Aug 31 a Remember watching girl roller derby on the TV? It's back and Kanawaha County has a team of rock em sock em, nicely endowed Roller Derby Girls. A couple of em are coming to the local radio station this evening at 6:30 to promote an upcoming contest. Listen in online or on 101.7 FM tonight for the Sports Circus Show with Josh and Brian.

Aug. 31 a Not sure what happens to time but finally, here comes some updates.

Aug. 31 a Last Saturday the Apple folks hosted a Kiddie Pageant at the CCHS. The little curtain climbers were all dressed in their finest with smiles galore. It was happiness wall to wall.. almost

Aug. 31 a During the contest two Mom's got in a fight with a Pageant Director. So serious was the altercation, Badges showed up and arrested both females on assault and battery charges.

Aug. 31 a Dumb Dumb Dumb!!!

Aug. 31 a Johnny Morris was indicted for selling drugs in 2010. His case worked its way thru the Court system with the trial slated for yesterday. No trial was held.  Instead all charges were pitched. There is an ever so slight chance that down the road, Morris could face a trial. But don't count on it.  For all intents and purposes , he's once again a free man ready to continue life.

Aug. 31 a This time around both the Green Shirt and Prosecutor's office screw ups were cited as  the reason the case was tossed.

Aug. 31 a  There are certain standards law enforcement must use when a confidential informant (CI) is used. Stuff like: searching the person before placing the electronic wire, following the person to the drug bust site, 2 Badges watching the transaction, following the CI back to the office, and then searching the person  again for the drugs. All that amounts to something called chain of custody for the illegal substance.

Aug. 31 a  Our local Green Shirts did not follow that protocol in the Johnny Morris bust. The procedure was so screwed up, questions came up during Tuesday's hearing as to whether the info could have been admitted to Court even if the CI had been found.

Aug. 31 a Now for the Prosecutor's side.

Aug 31 a  After month's of planning leading up to the trial date, the Prosecutor did next to nothing to find Ashley Burch, the confidential informant. With the lady living in FL, warrants could have been executed. They weren't according to Court.

Aug. 31 a Even with Burch back in the county a couple weeks back, nope, nothing was done.

Aug. 31 a Defense guy Wayne King and Judge Facemire expressed serious issues with the "minimal" performance.

Aug. 31 a  The Waynester should receive an Emmy for his stellar court room passion for the beat in the dirt, tried by the media, Johnny Morris. King went on and on to get his client to walk out without ANY chance of the case coming up again. Instead, the Court did the "without prejudice" thang meaning, if the Prosecutor's office gets off their butts someday, the case could be looked at again.

Aug. 31 a  Trying to put on the best spin, and arrest warrant has been issued for the wayward Burch lady. The warrant was issued over some petty picking her nose in public citation signed by the one time Town Badge, Jack Brown. "Chicken Shirt" charge was the word used by the Waynester as he told Facemire , Brown was untrained, unskiled,  and uneducated in the ways of Badgemanship.

Aug 31 a Get a cup of coffee, there's more. First a knowledge break.

Aug. 31 a It doesn't sound good but during this season of big red tomato sandwiches, try this. Fresh wheat bread smothered with peanut butter and topped with an inch thick slice of tomato. Darn good!

Aug 31 a Now back to the news.

Aug. 31 a The lead story in the Communicator deals with Jay Carper getting his hind end fired from the Health Dept. Since that edition, we've had a chance to talk with a couple from that agency including Jay Carper.

Aug. 31 a  Carper was unwilling to say much of anything. Questions like, what are the grounds for getting fired? Porn at work?  According to the one time Director of Nursing, "that will all come out during a publicly held civil service hearing" which has already been demanded.

Aug 31  a Not getting much from Carper but after talking with others.. some updates

Aug 31 a Carper was caught using the Dept of Health internet service for viewing inappropriate web sites. The company internet system is monitored by the State of West Virginia.

Aug 31 a Did you know that there are really two internet services at the Health Dept. There is the one that the state monitors and restricts and there is a wireless system that is completely unrestricted. A half dozen or more laptop puters within the agency can use that service as they darn well please.

Aug 31 a A Greivance hearing? Jay has used that benefit before. He was so successful  12 months ago during a civil service greivance hearing, then Director Linda Klotzback resigned and walked out the door within days of the findings being made public.

Aug 31 a Carper's angle back then was, how can you get in trouble when there is NO, none, zero, policy to discipline by. Back then, our local Health Dept had no formal, signed by each employee, policy and procedure manual.

Aug 31 a The Health Dept is so screwed up, we doubt they've come up with a P & P manual since the last public display of poor management. Carper beat em up during that administrative hearing and he could easily do it again. That's what happens when leadership is lacking. We have that a lot in Clayberry.

Aug 31  a  One guy told us, Hold it!, Jay is a state employee and state employees have to follow state policy guidelines.

Aug 31 a Well... wrong!

Aug 31 a Like school teachers funded by the state, both teacehers and health employees are county employees. Just look at their pay checks.

Aug. 29 a We're polishing off the final week of the last month of summer. Public meeting wise, not much this week. Court wise, maybe.

Aug. 29 a Johnny Morris is charged with selling drugs on the Go Mart parking lot. He's scheduled for trial Tuesday morning. Not sure what will happen since no jury is scheduled for that day, but... our guess, the confidential informant, the key witness, remains unwilling to testify. No testimony, no case.

Aug. 29 a The norm is for the Green Shirts to have two undercover folks at each scene. Two deep in case anything happens and especially, things work out much better in a court of law. Word on the street has it, the states didn't follow their own policy in the Morris case.

Aug. 29 a In this land of little, Clayberry doesn't even rate following protocol. That's just our guess clickers.

Aug. 29 a The ace cub reporter is addicted to watermelons. This summer he has averaged eating the juicy gems about one a day.

Aug. 29 a Three cannonball sized were purchased Saturday at the Farmer's Market and gobbled up within 24 hours. Sunday afternoon a trip to Foodland revealed.... none of any kind or size were available. Road side vendors won't return to the county until mid week.

Aug. 29 a The guy is now going thru watermelon DTs. It's a pitiful sight .

Aug. 28 p Billy Boggs, see OBITUARY page.

Aug. 28 p All eyes are on Big Irene which appears to have pooped out but not before zapping the power to hundreds of thousands along the East coast. It was 6 years ago this week that Katrina hit New Orleans and the cover up of man made failings got underway. Today there are 30% fewer living in the Big Easy.

Aug. 28 p Clayberry's own Carl Wilson II lives in Shalloote North Carolina. Carl reports: Hurricane Irene pretty much was a no show here in our area of NC.  We had a little wind and some rain, about 4 inches total. My biggest problem was the amount of leaves and pine boughs I have in my front lawn.  I have a few tree limbs down in the backyard, not enough to fill my wheelbarrow.  On Thursday I had completed my shopping and had plenty of food on hand, 12 gal of gasoline and the generator had been started and filled.  So, I suppose I am ready for the next hurricane to move in our direction.

Aug. 28 p We had some interesting stuff go on in the last seven days or so.

Aug. 28 p After saying his defense attorney provided less than stellar service, Henry Stutler asked to withdraw his guilty plea for sexual assault of a child. At issue is evidence not provided the defense team along with a victim saying somebody with some other nickname as the perpetrator.

Aug. 28 p The sentencing of Kenneth Crites was delayed while Prosecutors make sure sentence is accepted and provided Jamie Morris , another in the drug triangle. Smart move on Samples' part.

Aug. 28 p The latest edition of The Communicator came out this week. The lead story covers to ouster of Health Dept Director of Nursing Jay Carper. Just a few days after publishing, some came to us and said, we ought to rethink what's happening.

Aug. 28 p For years the Health Dept has been riddled with little groups working to oust opposing forces. Sometimes it's the Director that gets the boot. At other times its been the Board itself pulling the load to topple a Director.

Aug. 28 p Jay has been right in the middle of the politics within the agency. There are those that think, this time, his detractors got their way. What if someone used Carper's password and user name to gain access to web sites not allowed. Could this be a set up? Interesting angle!

Aug. 28 p The problem with this county is, lack of leadership. For instance

Aug. 28 p Its been 9 months since social service provider Capitol Resource Agency (CRA) left COunty Clay. That's 9 months of reduced services for one of the most needy places in the state.

Aug. 28 p Now we're hearing word of another agency ready to reduce much need staffing.

Aug. 28 p So far this year, Clayberry has had nearly 100 child neglect, abuse, assault, cases. In addition to Badges and prosecution, DDHR child protective services (CPS) workers have to step in quickly and get the kid kids away from the danger.

Aug. 28 p Very often, the reaction time and follow up paperwork have been lacking.

Aug. 28 p For the last several months, there have been four vacancies in the County Clay  CPS division. The positions are much need in this county.

Aug. 28 p It's common, when positions go unfilled, the positions are taken to other areas.

Aug. 28 p Without county leadership writing letters, making phone calls and applying pressure, we can expect those four much needed slots to head over to Braxton County.

Aug. 28 p But what the heck.. if the County Commission is unwilling to fight to keep the Green Shirt barracks  situated in the center of the county, why should we expect them to so anything to keep CPS workers on t he job in this county?

Aug. 28 p It's a lot easier to get photo ops for adding a roof to the old Danny Baird hardware building.

Aug. 28 p  Four years ago the local radio station built the Clay County Welcome Center beside the station. Complete with night light, tourism brochures, and flush toilet, the sit down facility was a much needed addition for all those partaking of the downtown area. More recently, the place really went thru the toilet paper during Saturday morning Farmer Market days and evening music shows..

Aug. 28 p On Thursday, the tiny building had to be closed down and moved to make room for a large single wide trailer soon to be on the landowner's site.  No no, not politics this time around but merely the reality of life and the times at hand.

Aug. 28 p The radio group called the outhouse, the Clay County Welcome Center. We named it the Leonard Wilson Welcome Center in honor of Leonard's lackluster efforts while serving on the BDA.

Aug. 28 p Another piece of history is no more.

Aug. 28 p Lawn's lost their luster. Tomato vines are turning brown. Corn is being cut down, Kids are back in school. Football games were played. And, the temps changed to something much more bearable.

Aug. 28 p Fall is here.

Aug. 27 a If you want to see something cute today, head over to CCHS for the Big Apple Kids Pageant. While out and about, check out the fresh produce at the Farmer's Market in the radio station parking lot.

Aug. 27 a The first quarter looked real good. The second quarter looked almost as good. The second half of last night's CCHS Panther season opener, not so pretty, with Nicholas County putting the whammy on us big time. Got ugly.

Aug. 27 a Henry Stutler was indicted and plead guilty to sex abuse of children. That was a few months back.

Aug. 27 a Yesterday morning, before Judge Jack Alsop, Stutler asked to withdraw that guilty plea. He said he was not guilty of the charges. Testimony brought out some interesting notes.

Aug. 27 a  The victim was an under the age of 6, a female. Her prevoious testimony included the name of the perp, someone nicknamed Poppy. Stutler said he didn't know who Poppy is, was, but his nickname is Nig Nig.

Aug. 27 a  Also, defense attorney Wayne King worked very hard to make sure the court knew there was other testimony received by DHHR that was not provided his client. Some of that information may include, recanting of facts with the finger of abuse pointing to someone else.

Aug. 27 a  Alsop ordered that all the new stuff shall be provided him for a review. In the mean time, Stutler remains locked up.

Aug. 27 a  Finally, on the Waynester, Stutler told the Judge he was not satisfied with the performance of King, that the barrister had neglected to seek out much information before the plea was recommended and accepted.

Aug. 27 a Next Tuesday, indicted drug seller, Johnny Morris is scheduled to have his day in court. With no jury called for next week, we think Morris may be off the hook.

Aug. 27 a With the normal problems of using a confidential informant, can't be found,  Johnny Morris may once again be a free person . Will know for sure on the 30th.

Aug. 25 a Can human activities cause earthquakes? According to the US Geological Survey, the answer is Yes. See for yourself.

Aug. 25 a  Results from Tuesday's County Commission meeting, well, they're limited.

Aug. 25 a Would have been nice for the elected to have included discussion on the planned move of the Green Shirt detachment from the center of the county to the Northern extreme at Big Otter.

Aug. 25 a The state is paying $450,000 for a place that was already under contract for $320,000. Add another $50,000 to upgrade the place for commercial use. Couple that with a steep , private driveway impassable during times of snow, and away from the population center, Yelp, something the County Commission should be talking about .

Aug. 25 a But, they're not.

Aug. 25 a A couple years back there was a big scare with Chinese tainted toothpaste.

Aug. 25 a Colgate Total: Made in U.S.A.; Colgate Baking Soda & Peroxide Whitening with Oxygen Bubbles Fluoride Toothpaste: Made in Mexico; Colgate Fluoride Toothpaste, Kids line: Made in Canada; Colgate Max Fresh: Made in Made in U.S.A.; Colgate Maximum Strength Sensitive: Made in U.S.A.; Colgate Sparkling White Fluoride Toothpaste: Mexico; Colgate Cavity Protection Fluoride Toothpaste: Made in Mexico ; Colgate 2 in 1 Toothpaste & Mouthwash: Made in the UK

Aug. 25 a Do dollar store style outelts sell out od date and non ADA approved toothpaste? According to snopes, the answer is Yes.

Aug. 25 a Tip:   To check to see if you are iodine deficient, just put a golf ball size smear of tincture of iodine on your chest. It should still be there in 24 hours. If not, you are deficient. It is an easy test and this usually enlightens people to the problem. Iodine is used by the whole body for health and if you are deficient, it can create lots of problems with all the organs, including the skin. The thyroid only uses about 3% of the iodine content in the body; the rest is used by all the other organs.

Aug. 24 a County Commission meets this morning at 10 am

Aug. 24 a The 20 page Communicator made it to the news stands Tuesday afternoon around 4pm

Aug. 24 a Not so with the prescriptions. They go in the mail this morning.

Aug. 24 a This edition includes a big long Police Blotter. Lead story covers the top secret, what happened to Jay Carper story over at the Health Dept. Juicy!

Aug. 24 a Clay High football kicks off this Friday evening. The local radio station plans to sportscast each of the 6 home games. To do so, they need sponsors. At $50 for the entire season, it's a pretty good deal. You get your name mentioned 4 times during each game plus during the regular 24 hour broadcast cycle. Call the station if you can help get our kids on the air. 304 587 8353.  Go Panthers!

Aug. 22 p Forgot to wish Elaine Dawson, Jesse Sizemore, and Ellie Davis Happy Birthday times 3 over the weekend.

Aug. 22 p Delegate Dave Walker's gold dome update is now posted over on the ADVISORY page

Aug. 22 p  The ace cub reporter took the weekend off and relived memories from old during his 40 year high school reunion. 40 years ago, those long tanned legs, smooth silky skin, chests that just wouldn't quit.... well, 4 decades has worked on all of us.

Aug. 22 p A bunch of those folks got old and shrunk up. Some even went bald.

Aug. 22 p A bunch of us stood around with our guts sucked in trying our best to turn back the hands of time. The only thing it got the Mel Gibson look alike was a heck of a severe backache for the last 36 hours.   Details in Tuesday's Communicator.

Aug. 22 p Deadline for submissions is tonight around 5pm. Email your stuff now please.

Aug. 22 p With the Apple Festival just around the corner, downtown Clay is sprucing up. Some are painting while others are cleaning windows. The first of the yellow mums are blooming. Word has it, even the wind destroyed road sign on Main Street will be removed before the Big Apple kicks off in three weeks.

Aug. 22 p Check out Terri Lively Allen's Big Apple video on YouTube.

Aug22 5:10am  No school at H  E White Elem today due to power outage. Stay home HE Whiters only.

Aug. 19 a With a light drizzle coming down, you can feel the change, Fall is in the air. Soon we'll be complaining about cold weather as much as we've complained about hot weather. It's now dark before 9pm.

Aug. 19 a New River Community College is offering a bunch of interesting little classes from a couple near by locations. Check out our ADVISORY page for more.

Aug. 19 a It was a rough start yesterday for the school system when three buses broke down. Afternoon return trips weren't much better with little kids unable to find the right big yeller for the return trip.

Aug. 19 a We goofed yesterday morning when we said the first brats get on their bus at 6:30 am. On second look, the time for little ones to get on the bus is 6:15am.

Aug. 19 a People opposed to school consolidation often fight over official govt travel times for buses. Here's a little secret. When a child gets on a bus for school and has to transfer to a second bus for the total commute, the combined time is NOT written down as total travel time. Each ride is  recorded separately thus making travel time appear much shorter.

Aug. 19 a If you're looking for graveyards and burial times etc., here's an online portal with many cemeteries reporting their business. Once over there just click the state you seek.

Aug. 19 a  Jamie Morris mostly (and a couple others) managed to screw up a good part of the Apple Festival, motorcyle parade and display. Between Jamie and the Sheriff stopping the entire parade to yell at one rider, it was an embarrasment for the county. Two wheelers were banned from the event.

Aug. 19 a With Morris in the slammer for mental evaluation during this year's Big Apple, motorcyles are back. See ADVSIORY page for the latest.

Aug. 18 p  On Friday Gene King turns 600 years old. Tell him Happy Birthday

Aug. 18 p Back on the 10th Clay Roane PSD issued a Boil Water Order for parts of their service area. That BWO was lifted on the 16th.

Aug. 18 p This morning some Moms cried as their toddlers crawled on the bus and headed off to school. Others said , good riddance.

Aug. 18 p Official start time for the earliest bus riders this year, 6:30am. With many kids not getting back home until after 6pm, that makes a pretty long day for pre schoolers. Heck, that's a long day for anybody!

Aug. 18 p You can hear about anything on the street. We go by the info on official jail web sites. For those wondering...

Aug. 18 p Child sex abuser Jim Knotts remains in CRJ with a projected release date of Nov 11 2014.

Aug. 18 p According to the Bureau of Prisons dot gov site, 45 year old Telford Cruikshank Jr remains in a Maryland prison with an Oct 21 2011 release date.

Aug. 18 p  Can't help but think about something Jay Carper said during an early Summer Health Board meeting. With the Board in an extended secret time and all in the peanut gallery ready to bolt for the door, Jay did. As he was leaving the room, he jokingly told the crowd, if they fire me, somebody box up my stuff and I'll come and get it.

Aug. 18 early a  With parents wondering about bus schedule changes, new meal times, new start times at the high school and more, kids return today for a new year of education attempts. Check out the school web site for updates.

Aug. 18 early   Welcome Back

Aug. 18 a Got this Burley Bragg email from a clicker: Burley was one of the good guys. ...  My favorite Burley caper was when he was arrested for serving liquor without a license.  He said that the liquor was free - the customers were paying for sitting on the stools at the bar!  He was one of a kind!\

Aug. 18 a Early early Wed morning, Green Shirts arrested Joshua Tanner and Kristin Melrath on meth and burglary charges.

Aug. 18 a For those planning on squirrel hunting this year, here's the web link to the regs.

Aug. 17 a Burley Bragg was one Clayberry's most colorful characters. Some thought he was living in some different world when he spoke. Quite the opposite was true. Like when he mailed the fake anthrax to a VA center. He was just trying to get their attention and medical care for himself. It worked but those actions did cost him a few months in the slammer.

Aug. 17 a Like when he talked about Big Foot. The Lone Ranger will be missed

Aug. 17 a   Burley Ralph Bragg, 82, of Ivydale, see OBITUARY page

Aug. 17 a  Get your coffee cup . We've got a pretty lengthy update this morning.

Aug. 17 a Charlotte Hanshaw was indicted last Spring for burning down a building near Procious in 2010 as well as destruction of property. Both are felonies.

Aug. 17 a Shortly after 10 am Tuesday morning, Ms Hanshaw plead guilty to the destruction of property charge.  She told the court she was drunk as could be and was just walking her often wondering dog outside that building. She never even admitted to being on the porch of the place.

Aug. 17 a  Back on June 5th Black Shirt Robert Belt crashed his cruiser on Main Street in route to a car wreck scene. Belt  hit the gas pedal and the blue light button but failed to employ the siren. Within three seconds, Belt came in contact with a vehicle driven by a Blankenship subject and wound up taking out a power pole before spinning sideways out of control down Main Street for about 60 feet. Belt was slightly injured. That was the second crash of Black Shirt mobile in a just a few days.

Aug. 17 a In an attempt to lesson county insurance premium increases, a few days later, Ronald "Bubby" Blankenship was issued a failure to yield to an emergency vehicle citation causing the wreck.

Aug. 17 a Instead of paying the ticket, Blankenship plead not guilty and is fighting the charge. Tuesday afternoon was his hearing time.

Aug. 17 a Almost immediately, the defense attorney asked that everything be dismissed. She said that there could be no failure to yield to an emergency vehicle charge since Belt was acting, driving, unlawfully. According to state code, for the SUV to be an emergency vehicle he needed to have both his blue lights and siren in use. He didn't. Nobody is arguing that point. That's fact.

Aug. 17 a The Oh Brother response from Asst Prosecutor Dan Dotson was, that law applies to everybody but badge mobiles.

Aug. 17 a What we think happened that day was, with the gas pedal on the floor and just as Belt was zooming past a slow moving Main Street vehicle, Blankenship turned near the Dollar Store parking lot. Without the audible alert, Bubby never saw anything coming his way.

Aug. 17 a Magistrate Boggs read and reread that part of the code before halting the hearing and saying he would take the dismissal request under advisement. Hearing will be rescheduled for Late Sept.

Aug. 17 a For the last few days we've been providing coverage of the employee that got caught using Clay Health Dept computers for porn. Based on his own words, we put the finger on Director of Nursing, County sanitarian, Smoking Czar, Jay Carper as the dummy that was caught and is now no longer working at the agency.

Aug. 17 a The biggy from yesterday was last night's special meeting of the Health Board where most of their time was spent behind closed doors. Jay was not in attendance for the gathering. As a matter of fact, his name was never spoken by a Boardster.

Aug. 17 a  What was mentioned was a breach of network security that was caught by the folks that operate and maintain the Health Dept's system down in Charleston. Those gurus monitor all sites visited and know who is going where because each puter user has to log in with a password and user name. Examples of unlawful viewing includes porno and gambling site use during the work day. An investigation report has been forwarded to the Clay Health Dept.

Aug. 17 a By the way, it's not the first breach of use policy. On another occasion, our local agency lost use of the web for an entire week.

Aug. 17 a Without any mention of Carper's name by a Boardster and the guy not in attendance, one curious observer at the meeting asked, If someone calls and has a question about septic systems, who should they ask for. Board Chair Joyce McLaughlin: Talk to Director Jeff Smith.

Aug. 17 a Another question came: If there is a question about the smoking ban, who do they talk to? This time McLaghlin just pointed at the Director.

Aug. 17 a And finally, this question was asked: Is Jay Carper an employee here. On the edge, Joyce, "We are not discussing that!"

Aug. 17 a You can't tell me if Jay Carper is employed here?  Joyce, "You'll have to ask the Dept of Personnel."

Aug. 17 FYI: the DOJ is the newer name for State civil service employees. The Clay Health Dept are all civil service employees and have been since Director Nancy Fortner was ousted many years ago.

Aug. 17 a Without saying his name, they said a mouth full. Long time Health Dept star, Jay Carper is out of there at least for 30 days. Most likely the lad is gone forever. The heir apparent for the top slot is no more.

Aug. 17 a Around the county, some are saying Carper has already resigned from duty. We doubt that since only current employees are allowed civil service grievance procedures and rights.

Aug. 17 a  Among Clayonians, How Stupid, comes from the population.

Aug. 17 a There's not a person on earth that expects privacy on even the home puter. Office puters and office networks are even worse.  To enjoy porn even on lunch break, well, that's dumb. If Carper used a company credit card for those pleasures, that's even dumber. As an educated, thinking, leader, the question begs, WHAT WAS HE THINKING ????

Aug. 17 a As for the reports of Badges escorting Carper from the office on Monday Aug. 8th or any formal investigation by the Feds (Aug. 5th), we don't know  But..............

Aug. 17 a Altogether now: HOW STUPID!!

Aug. 15 a All good things must come to an end. Such is the case for the Summer 2011. In Clayberry, it actually feels cool this morning with a touch of drizzle in the air. Teachers reported back for duty this morning with opening day  blah blah blah administration speeches at the ready.

Aug. 15 a  All the rug rats report back to the mill Thursday morning with one exception. 1st day of school at Lizemore Elem for grades K-5 is Monday, August 29; 1st day for Pre-K is Tuesday September 6

Aug. 15 a Construction continues over at Lizemore.

Aug. 15 a  While you're screwing off at work, check out this old timers dance video from You Tube. Pretty cool.

Aug. 15 a CCHS and CMS football schedules are now posted over on the ADVSIORY page.

Aug. 14 p In the last few days... the weather has changed from miserable to warm without the humidity, Moms have been dragging their brats about in search of new school clothes, and the school system has put the finishing touches on summer break clean up efforts.

Aug. 14 p With many indictees agreeing to plea deals, there's not much in the way of trials in the county. Like, just minutes before the trial was to start, David Lane pled to four felonies related to sexual abuse by a parent or guardian.

Aug. 14 p Joshua Riffe pled to three felonies. Kenneth Crites said guilty to one felony of conspiracy to set up a meth lab. Sentencing is set for Aug. 25 at 9:30 am

Aug. 14 p Candace Crites was set absolutely free as another victim of the govt just rounding up close relatives in an attempt to "wedge" information from those involved in criminal activities.

Aug. 14 p For those wondering if Johnny Morris will ever go to trial on selling drugs out of his vehicle. Yelp is the answer with trial now a go at the end of the month.

Aug. 14 p We broke the story of a govt worker getting caught using the agency's credit card to purchase porn.  When Green Shirts haul your butt off company property, you know you're in trouble. We didn't mention the guy's name other than to mention a special meeting of the Health Board on Tuesday the 16th.

Aug. 14 p With county sanitarian Jay Carper telling folks the planned food handler's class has been canceled for 30 days......   And, when asked a simple medical related question (he's also an RN), his response was, I can't answer anything for 30 days, there's little doubt Mr Carper is the guy that got caught buying porn on the Health Dept credit card.

Aug. 14 p Reports are now coming in that the FBI issued Carper a "letter of interest" on Aug. 5th.

Aug. 14 p Right now County Clay is saying, How stupid can you get!!!  If the Feds follow thru, Carper may make regional news outlets very soon.

Aug. 14 p This past week the Mel Gibson look alike took a few days off to explore the touristy destination spot of Mt Airey North Carolina. Down there, they've got their act together with attention to detail evident in every look see. Even during the mid week visit, the place was packed with visitors spending healthy amounts of $$$$.

Aug. 14 p As has been stated for years, for our tourism effort to grow, there needs to be a couple "anchors" to build around. For Mt Airey, AKA Mayberry, they did it with a friendly Main Street look and Snappy's Diner, Floyd's Barber Shop, and Wally's Service Station.

Aug. 14 p For us it has to be the old Courthouse, the Farm Store and the Henry Clay Hotel.

Aug. 14 p We lost an important cog in the Tourism wheel last week when the old Kitchen restaurant was sold to that little bitty out of county owned newspaper over in Clay. Never again will we have a place to head over to and rekindle memories of old.

Aug. 14 p School teachers report for duty Monday morning.

Aug. 14 p With Charlotte Hanshaw's arson trial coming Tuesday morning plus the Health Bd meeting slated for Tuesday evening, sure to be lots of juicy stuff coming our way.

Aug. 13 a Today is the big Apple Queen competition over at CCHS. The pageant itself is tonight at 7pm. There's something nice to do

Aug. 13 a Stop over at the Farmer's Market for big juicy tomatoes and watermelon's this morning. Yum Yum.

Aug. 13 a For our criminal info starved clickers...

Aug. 13 a For the last 15 months, the Jamie Morris, John Amos Morris and Kenneth Crites drug bust has been in the news cycle often. Jamie and Kenneth have already taken a plea on one felony and await sentencing. Jamie reports to jail Monday for a 60 day evaluation period with Kenneth facing sentencing Aug. 25th at 9:30am.

Aug. 13 a Kenneth Crites' wife was also arrested related to the Spring 2010 drug bust at Maysel. Her arrest didn't come until the Spring of THIS year. Get this, she was not at the scene when arrested but her purse was in  one of the trucks. She got arrested and spent 78 days in the slammer based solely on her purse being at the scene of the arrest.

Aug. 13 a During that 78 days, she lost custody of her kids and has been drug thru the media and court system cycles.

Aug. 13 a It's normal for a criminal's file folder to be a couple inches thick and full of all kinds of documents related to the findings of the case. Ms Crite's file folder has about one page of information. Actually little more that attesting that her purse was found in the truck.

Aug. 13 a Yesterday, all charges against her were dropped, the shackles were removed and she was allowed to walk out and try to restart her life.

Aug. 13 a Before walking clear, Asst Prosecutor Dan Dotson explained that Candance was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Aug. 13 a There is no way the Court, Badges, Prosecutor, can give Crites back those days in the slammer , loss of wages, and custody of her children. Although innocent of everything, the black mark will remain forever. Some things can not be returned and there's no 90 day warranty with the court system.

Aug. 12 a The ace cub reporter and family made it back home Thursday evening after a short vacation to North Carolina's wine country and home of the real Mayberry, Mt Airy. That part of NC is a total package for travelers. It's a place that our ever so fledgling tourism foundation should model itself after.

Aug. 12 a Will get to the details but.....

Aug. 12 a How many times have you heard a govt worker proclaim, they're worked to death and there just isn't enough time for the tasks at hand. Sometimes those tasks at, in hand, deserve a second look.

Aug. 12 a Not to say all govt workers are dumb bunnies, but some are.

Aug. 12 a Adult pornography is completely legal.  Online porn is a big part of the world wide wide. Maybe not something of common talk around the dinner table, but on your own time, there ain't no problem. Issues do come up if you're watching porn during work hours or worse yet, if  you make those charges on the company credit card.

Aug. 12 a How &&!!### stupid can you get! What were you thinking?????

Aug. 12 a Oh by the way, just out of the blue, there's a special meeting of the Clay County Board of Health slated for next Tuesday evening. Agenda items include, changes of internet use policy, employee policy manual, and a super secret behind closed door session on personnel.

Aug. 12 a  Yes there are times when innuendoes have to be employed.

Aug. 12 a  With fall in the air this morning (temp at 55), it's a great time to get away to Clay for a visit. No it ain't no Mayberry and never will be, but it sure is a great laid back place to take off your shoes and relax.

Aug. 12  a  Big Bluegrass Festival now in progress over at West Fork. The JG Bradley Campground would make a great home base to enjoy the music and tour this county.

Aug. 12  a

Aug. 11 2011 Brenda Lee Coleman, 39, of Clay, see OBITUARY page

Aug. 11 p  Clay Roane PSD issued a BOIL WATER ORDER for the Amma and Big & Little Pigeon Rd sections of the service area. Boil it first and they mean it, the main line broke.

Aug. 11 2011 Hello CWW in Woodbridge VA. Thanks for the email

Aug. 9 p Hello Denise in Colorado. Your Mom says Hello

Aug. 9 p Clay County's only locally owned and operated newspaper is now on the news stands. 20 pages of details on life in County Clay. There ain't no place like it and no newspaper better defining our ups and downs

Aug. 9 p  Today Jamie Morris was to have received his sentence after pleading guilty to one felony count of operating or attempting a drug mill.

Aug. 9p Defense artist Wayne King worked it hard to get Morris probation instead of jail time.

Aug. 9p After noting 20 some other arrests with 11 of em drug related plus infractions of bond requirements, Judge Facemire commented, there maybe other  things going on and watching the guy go down the drug culture path.

Aug. 9p Instead of sentencing Morris, the Court wants more info. Jamie Morris must report to prison for a 60 day evaluation period. After that report becomes available, then the Judge will decide his fate.

Aug. 9p Facemire noted that the court system should offer druggies something more than a revolving prison door where once back on the outside, the entire cycle begins again.

Aug. 9p Makes sense.

Aug. 9p Jamie has one last chance to stay clean and start fresh. Let's see if he blows it.

Aug. 9p  With a little cooler less humid weather expected, the ace cub reporter is going to take a couple days off from duty.

Aug. 9 p No updates until Thursday evening late.

Aug. 9 p  You're on your own clickers

Aug. 8 p Happy 57th Birthday to the wifey, Nada Waddell.

Aug. 8 p No were' not sleeping. We're working on Tuesday's Communicator.

Aug. 5 a Humidity is down. Temps aren't quite as high. A great time to come visit County Clay. Heck, bring a tent and spend the weekend over at the campground at Dundon!

Aug. 5 a Although school doesn't open for another couple weeks, the chatter is, back to school. Mom's are dragging their rug rats around in search of new threads for the new year.

Aug. 5 a  Got an update on not so good airplane pilot Elvis Dawson. When the first reports came after he crashed his ultra light a couple Sundays ago, the word was, non life threatening injuries. That didn't sound so bad.

Aug. 5 a Talked to one of Elvis' buddies yesterday. Turns out, Elvis is all screwed up with about every bone in his body messed, on a feeding tube, and breathing pipe. It's going to be a long recovery time for the fellow.

Aug. 5 a This is tomato sandwich time of year. One of those great big, red to the center, beefmaster monsters, cut about an inch thick and smothered in mayo on fresh wheat bread. It doesn't get any better.

Aug. 5 a When your mouth starts breaking out in those little bitty blisters, you know you're doing good!

Check out our EVENTS page for good stuff to do this weekend.

Aug. 5 a  Mark your calendars for Labor Day weekend in Clayberry when Ron Drake's Yard Dogs will be on the 101.7 FM Celebration stage in downtown. Great downhome music returns for the final Celebration of Summer.

Aug. 4 a Business Development Authority folks meet tonight at 5:30pm. Meeting will be held in the CCC room at the Courthouse. It's open to the public in air conditioned comfort. Bring your own popcorn.

Aug. 4 a Want to do something fun and learn something new? Check out the offerings from New River Community College now posted over on the ADVISORY page. Fly Fishing for Woman?

Aug. 4 a For over a decade the Murder Mountain boys pillage the area in their quest to steal about anything not nailed down. Tommy Sr and Jr are already sentenced to lengthy slammer time. This week the youngest (and the last) of the Youngs, Jacob, plead guilty to felony stealing a General Pipeline truck and stealing from Geary Elem School just over the county line in Roane County.

Aug. 4 a 19 year old Jacob will serve a one to ten year sentence in the Anthony Youthful Offender facility for his unlawful ways.

Aug.  4 a With all the males locked up, the Young girls in foster care, the two dwellings on Murder Mountain burned to the ground, and taxes unpaid on the 50 or so acres, soon, we may have new owners for the place.

Aug. 4 a During the last School Board meeting, the most recent WesTest scores were made public. Once again the our schools came out substandard, dismal.

Aug. 4 a School systems like to say how much improved education is when kids are taught in a new high techy, high dollar, school. Of course there is no statistic to prove that theory.

Aug. 4 a "Mastery" of a subject means the student has a basic working knowledge, something useful learned and ready to be put to use. In Clayberry, where we spend $20m annually, the vast majority (65% in some subject areas) of ALL our students are WITHOUT such a level of performance.

Aug. 4 a Our newest school, the $8.5m Big Odor Elem, performed no better (worse in some areas) than the aging H E White Elem in Bomont.

Aug. 4 a Of course the best spin was put on the failings by school system leadership during the public meeting Monday night. When you hear the Superintendent say, "there's room for improvement" and "we have some work to do", you know there is a real problem.

Aug. 4 a Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.

Aug. 4 a Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don't have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a

quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.

Aug. 4 a Looking for a 'green' way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but is won't leave streaks and won't harm you fingers or fingernails while you clean.

Aug. 4 a Thanks AHR

Aug. 2 p  May Day May Day... We've got a new teacher coming to the county in need of a one bedroom apartment in the Lizemores area. Not looking for a trash hole but something clean, neat, maybe a garage apartment. Got one?  How about giving a call to Terri Reynolds at 1 740 391 4357.  She's got to be moved in by Aug. 15th, first day of school.  Thanks

Aug. 2 a Several years ago Doc Boggs moved back to Clayberry and built a very nice four bedroom brick home about a half mile off I 79 in Big Otter. When that one wasn't big enough, it was sold to Telford Cruickshank for around $300,000.

Aug. 2 a That home made the news when it was revealed the assessed value was less than $50,000. We pointed the finger at the Assessor Suzzie Legg as providing a sweet deal for the guy.

Aug. 2 a Pretty shocking and a head scratcher to say the least, in Feb 2010, now Assessor Teresa Lane made public that she uses "asking prices" on real estate brochures and web sites to determine tax rates.

Aug. 2 a That same home and 32 acres is back on the market for sale. The new price listed on Jeannie's Real Estate site is $450,000.

Aug. 2 a A quick check over at the Clay County Assessor's office shows that the $450,000 home is valued at just $180,000. That $180,000 is the actual value not the assessed value used to apply tax burden.

Aug. 2 a All this background this morning because the HurHerald web site is reporting the place is to be the new home for the West Virginia Green Shirt detachment to serve this county and Calhoun.

Aug. 2 a How's your tax bill? Some places seem to receive advantages over others.  Sure have to wonder how many other folks are getting preferential treatment in County Clay. When this long controversial place comes under state ownership, this county will lose all tax benefit.

Aug. 1 a  Hobert J. Adkins, 71, see OBITUARY page

Aug. 1 a Time is marching on, welcome to the new month

Aug. 1 a  Clay County's Board of  Education meets this evening at 6pm. Yelp, they even have their agenda posted online. The link is over on t he ADVISORY page

Aug. 1 a It's about time for the 2011 WesTest scores to be announced. Each time they do, they put the best spin on em.  Even with some pretty dismal scores last year and about average scores expected this year, the big spin is comin' soon

Aug. 1 a The School system is trying to get a 1/2 m Lizemores Elem construction project done by Sept 1. Asbestos is slowing the progress.

Aug. 1 a Lots of public meetings comin this week. Town Council, CAEZ on Tuesday to name a couple. Walk over to the ADVISORY page to see Clay Roane PSD and Library Bd meeting changes.

Aug. 1 a The reason we started a debt ceiling was to pay bills from WW I. The thang has been lifted 78, now 79 times.  It's been no big deal. Kind of like taking money from one pocket and putting it in the other. Dubbya the second did it 16 times while in office.

Aug. 1 a There was no crisis until the Republicrats made it!. After milking the process thru the media for weeks and weeks, the debt ceiling has been agreed on by the Republicrats. We can all sleep better tonight.

Aug. 1 a It's always the newspaper that makes public information, public. The HurHerald is reporting the Green Shirt detachment at Maysel may soon be moving the operation to the Northern end of the county to better serve this and Calhoun Counties. Recognize the new digs?

Aug. 1 a  Man in front of car gets tired. Man behind car gets exhausted.

Aug. 1 a With weeds taking over the garden, corn turning brown, pot copters hovering above, some good news. Big red tomatoes are now "in". Fresh sweet corn is here.