August 2007 News

Aug 30 pm Junior B. Ohse, 71, formerly of Maysel, W.Va., see OBITUARY page

Aug 30 am Clark Tawney, 91, of Wallback, see OBITUARY page

Aug 30 am From the email bag: Please let it be known that Clay County Junior Varsity beat the Oak Hill Red Devils 14-6 on Mon. Aug.27. The Junior Varsity have their next home game on Sept.24 against Herbert Hoover,(the school not the late president) at 6:00.

Aug. 30 am No new updates until we get the Communicator out the door Friday afternoon.

Aug. 30 am On the 13th Greenlee Properties Sales Associate Dave Derby was told the company was closing down the Clay office. New contact information is now posted on Dave's home page button.

Aug. 30 am Think it's bad here in Clayberry, click this link for the 5100 Boy Scout leaders tossed from leadership for allegations of sex abuse.

Aug. 30 am Surely there's something good we can say.....

Aug. 30 am We have a new school in operation. It's pretty. It's large. It has a library but no librarian.. has a nice music room but no music teacher. Oh darn there we go with bad stuff again. Since we're on the subject, many parents are all upset over longer bus rides to the nice school.

Aug. 30 am Let's try again. Otto Brown is about ready to reopen his Main Street Clay barber shop after two years of retirement.

Aug. 30 am The old gas station across from CCB is ready to open as a tire shop.

Aug. 30 am The deadline for the Big Apple Karaoke contest is this Friday. See EVENTS page for details. Lots of money and prizes.

Aug. 30 am We haven't talked about fluoride in the water supply for sometime. Clay Town Council voted several months back to start flouriding the water supply once a new pump is installed. Hasn't happened yet but....

Aug. 30 am How about some new info. Stuff like: The new American Dental Association policy recommending infant formula NOT be prepared with fluoridated water. The CDC's concession that the predominant benefit of fluoride is topical not systemic. CDC data showing that dental fluorosis, caused by fluoride over-exposure, now impacts one third of American children. Major research indicating little difference in decay rates between fluoridated and non-fluoridated communities. A Harvard study indicating a possible link between fluoridation and bone cancer. The silicofluoride chemicals used for fluoridation are contaminated industrial waste and have never been FDA approved for human ingestion.

Aug. 30 am In a small mid-western conservative town, a saloon owner started construction on a new building to open up his business. The local Baptist church started a campaign to block the saloon from opening with petitions and prayers. Work progressed right up till the week before the opening when a lightning strike hit the saloon and it burned to the ground. The church folks were rejoicing after that, till the saloon owner sued the church on the grounds that the church was ultimately responsible for the demise of his building. The church vehemently denied all responsibility for the building’s demise in its reply to the court. As the case made its way into court, the judge looked over the paperwork at the hearing and commented : “I don't know how I'm going to decide this, but as it appears from the paperwork, we have a saloon owner that completely believes in the power of prayer, and an entire church congregation that doesn't.”

Aug 30 am more

Aug. 29 am Interested in doing a yard sale this Saturday? Might be the last chance before cold weather to bring in some easy money. The radio station in downtown Clay is hosting one Sept. 1st. Call the station if you're interested 587-8353 or email wyap@frontiernet.net

Aug. 29 am Thinking about getting a tatoo? See the ADVISORY page before doing so.

Aug. 29 am Jim Knotts is the talk of the town. One group says no way, he didn't do it. The other group says they knew the stuff was going on for years. To clear thangs up, Jim Knotts has a total of 48 felonies now lodged against him broken down into the three listed categories below.

Aug. 29 am The police report dates the first instances back to 1991 and with a 10 year old girl. Specific dates are noted in the complaint along with mention of written letters to the female relative. A hand writing sample was also taken with the results, conclusive.

Aug. 29 am He was video arraigned around 10:30 am Tuesday. Mr. Knotts made it out of Central Regional Jail sometime after 4pm Tuesday after posting a $240,000 bond. What that really means is $24,000 (10% cash) to get released.

Aug. 29 am Expect a hearing sometime in the next 19 days. Some are saying that additional charges will be filed on incidents with another young lady.

Aug. 29 am Do you have allegations? Might be a good time to talk to the Green Shirts.

Aug. 29 am Whatever the outcome, guilty or not, Jim Knotts' life (and family) will never be the same.

Aug. 29 am A few days back, he was in Canada fishing with a buddy. This week, his life is all changed.

Aug. 29 am Full details in Friday's Communicator

Aug. 28 early am It could be your neighbor, the guy next door. A nice lookin house and a well kept yard are no indications of what's really going on.

Aug. 28 am Here in Clayberry rumors come and go. Some persist. With the exception of one person who claims to have seen first hand, the stories on Jim Knotts have been just that, rumors and nothing more.

Aug. 28 am That changed Monday evening when James Lester Knotts was arrested on three charges: sexual abuse; sexual assault, and incest. He was taken to Central Regional Jail and booked at 10:40pm Monday evening.

Aug. 28 am Born in 1949, Knotts is the long time owner of a local hardware store and senior member of the Clay County Business Development Authority.

Aug. 28 am Although convicted of nothing, some rumors, ugly ones, can be true. This may be one of them.

Aug. 27 pm Chessie Irene Taylor of Elkhurst, see OBITUARY page

Aug. 29 pm Roscoe Falls of Ivydale, see OBITUARY page

Aug. 27 am The School Board will hold their rescheduled meeting tonight at the new Valley Dale Elem School. Agenda items include the selling of land behind Clay Middle School and Valley Fork Elem. The full agenda is here.

Aug. 27 am Happy 60th anniversary to Ted and Ruth Shafer of the Clendenin Herald.

Aug. 27 am From our roving reporter: On Saturday August 25, 2007 the Clay County Panthers Intermediate Football took on the Braxton County Redskins...The Panthers Flag team won with a score of 24 to 6...Panthers C-team won with a score of 18 to 0...Panthers B-team won with a score of 22 to 8...And the Panthers A-team put a great defensive game but fell short with a score of 0 to 6...GREAT job to all the teams and the coaches

Aug. 27 am A lot of you check out the regional jail system web site. Here's the link to the state prison system. To see who's where, for how long, mug shot, and release date, just click here. Want to try it out but don't know anyone in the big slammer? Type in John Smith.

Aug. 26 pm From the email bag: CONGRATULATIONS TO MISS EMILEA HOLCOMB CLAY COUNTY GOLDEN DELICIOUS FESTIVAL LITTLE MISS APPLE BLOSSOM 2007

Aug. 26 pm From last week...

Aug. 26 pm Fall flowers were planted... here and there the first fall golds and yellow were seen ... the remaining petunias grew all "leggy" ... one guy was seen cutting down 10 foot tall sunflowers .. the grass is all wirey ... those new yard lights from last June are now leaning and weed whacked to death with some not working.... tomato vines withered ...and Gene King was once again seen sitting on the front scoop, bare footed and drinking coffee Sunday morning. Fall is here.

Aug. 26 pm Teachers went back to work and readied schools for another 10 months. Parents smiled.

Aug. 26 pm Town Council held a special meeting where they discussed how great a Municipal Court would be for town coffers. Around the conference table were smiles and nods of affirmation. They neglected to mention: the cost of medical treatment when they pick up local drunks; or how about the mental hygiene cases where the Town would have to pick up the tab for lengthy stays; nor did they talk about juvy's requiring out of county transports back and forth. And then there's the lawsuits associated with those mistreated.

Aug. 26 pm Without a doubt the Town will need a new cruiser to make all those runs. They'll need at least one $25,000 a year Badge. Other than turn the Town into a speed trap, KA CHING!, that's a lot of new expense to pay for with parking tickets. One look at Clendenin and we can see what happens when law enforcement and municipal courts go astray.

Aug. 26 pm Sure seems like a night watchman three nights a week would be a lot cheaper and take care of the needs of 600 people.

Aug. 26 pm Saturday morning pretty little guys participated in the Big Apple "tots" pageant.

Aug. 26 pm Saturday night a huge crowd filled the old Fas Chek parking lot for the final WYAP Summer Jam of the year. Tiffany Farmer and "Elvis" brought the crowd out of their seats.

Aug. 26 pm Sunday just before noon, over the scanner, a call for Badges to respond to a guns and knives, Scanner: One person has already been slashed., some kind of domestic where a daughter's boy friend was after the Mom. Badge Slack responded. Green Shirt 319 was seen roaring thru town with lights on to offer back up. Over the scanner: Jerry Scarberry tore up the house.

Aug. 26 pm With school starting Monday , Summer is over.

Aug. 26 pm It was a good one.

Aug. 25 am From the email bag: To Emilea Holcomb and Jorden Brown. You girls Show'em what you got, give it your best, let's see you rock that stage. Good Luck Saturday at the 2007 Apple Festival Pageant. From The Holcomb's

Aug. 25 am Like green beans? Better check out the ADVISORY page.

Aug. 25 am Right after the last Communicator came out, Thomas Holcomb was back in the can. We talked to Mr Holcomb this week. He said he was working off an earlier driving while suspended conviction.

Aug. 25 am This morning over at the CCHS mini auditorium, all the little kiddies will be competing for Apple Festival honors. Glad way to beat the heat and see cute kids. See EVENTS page for details.

Aug. 25 am Don't miss Elvis tonight at Summer Jam in the Fas Chek parking lot.

Aug. 25 am With the heat index near 100 last night, the Panthers took it on the chin against Nicholas County

Aug. 25 am The first day back to school is Monday. The School system has just 2 days left to get the nearly completed Valley Dale Elem school ready. Will they make it??

Aug. 25 am Friday morning thugs tried to get into a locked car behind the Farm Store. A day earlier thugs made off with a nice lookin blue and white SUV.

Aug. 25 am Saw something Friday. There was a little OPEN sign at the BC&G Railroad Welcome Center at Two Run

Aug. 24 am Rev. Lanty Phillip Workman, 70, of Wallback, WV, see OBITUARY page

Aug. 24 am The VFW has a new web site. Check it out.

Aug. 24 am Tonight the CCHS Panthers take on Nicholas County in the season opener. Kick off 7:30pm. For those far away, listen in worldwide on WYAP. Joe Jelich and Linda McKinney will be handling the on air duties. GO Panthers!

Aug. 24 am Get your dancing shoes on. In addition to Tiffany Farmer, Elvis is coming to the last Summer Jam of the 07 concert series. Music starts at 7pm sharp in the Ole Fas Chek parking lot in downtown Clay. Bring a lawn chair and have some fun, free too!

Aug. 24 am One more note on the Town setting up a Municipal Court. If they jail somebody, they have to pay the $48.50 per day jail bill. That could get expensive reaaaaaaal quick. Currently the county is paying over $30,000 per month in jail bills.

Aug. 24 am 104 degrees yesterday and more of the same expected today.

Aug. 24 am For those want ta be singers, the big Apple is offering a $1000 first prize in the Karaoke contest. See ADVISORY page for details.

Aug. 24 am A man breaks into a house to look for money and guns. Inside, he finds a young couple in bed. He orders the guy out of bed and ties him to a chair. While tying the homeowner's wife to the bed the convict gets on top of her, kisses her neck, then gets up and goes into the bath room. While he's in there, the husband whispers over to his wife: "Listen, this guy is an escaped convict. Look at his clothes! He's probably spent a lot of time in jail and hasn't seen a woman in years. I saw how he kissed your neck. If he wants sex, don't resist, don't complain.. do whatever he tells you. Satisfy him no matter how much he nauseates you. This guy is obviously very dangerous. If he gets angry, he'll kill us both. Be strong, honey. "I love you!"

His wife responds: "He wasn't kissing my neck. He was whispering in my ear. He told me that he's gay, thinks you're cute, and asked if we had any Vaseline. I told him it was in the bathroom. Be strong honey. "I love you, too."

Aug. 23 am Goldie Rettie Gibson, 85, see OBITUARY page

Aug. 23 am Clay Town Council held a Special meeting Tuesday evening to discuss Llyn Drake's plan to establish a Municipal Court and Judge. The hour long gathering shed light light on the high costs and complexities of launching such a judicial system.

Aug. 23 am Drake made it clear she would rather be a Municipal Judge ($450 per month ) than an elected Council person ($100).

Aug. 23 am Everyone around the table appeared in favor of the new Court. Mayor Brown's reservations on whether the Town could find the start up dollars ($1550). Before the Court can get under way, another costly department has to be set up, a police department.

Aug. 23 am Ms Drake was against the public knowing much about the soon to be voted upon Municipal Court ordinance. During the meeting, she said they would just pick it apart.

Aug. 23 am Did we mention they also have to hire a town attorney for Court duty?

Aug. 23 am County Commission met Wed morning.

Aug. 23 am 911 guy Pat Beets made a presentation that disputed much of what Earl Elliot from the Lizemores FD set a couple weeks back. Elliot said the 911 radios do not work in many parts of his end of the county nd said the poor communications system was the reason for no responses on several call outs.

Aug. 23 am Oh Contrar said Beets who showed color maps indicating where the radios work and don't work. After crunching 911 run sheets from the Lizemores FD, long long delays were found after 911 dispatchers "toned" the department.

Aug. 23 am Ambulance employees received 28 cents per hour pay increases during the CCC meeting.

Aug. 23 am At the request of Gov. Joe Manchin, Department of Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox today issued a memorandum to all Division of Highways (DOH) District Engineers and Managers directing an immediate review and inspection of all structures similar to the I-35 W bridge that tragically collapsed in Minneapolis on Wednesday. The state of West Virginia currently owns and maintains approximately 7,000 bridges. Of that number, 18 fit into the category of “similar structure” to the I-35 W Bridge. Those bridges are: Heartland Bridge, Clay County – WV 16; New River Gorge Bridge, Fayette County – US 19; Kevin Ritchie Memorial Bridge (both structures), Fayette County – US 19; Stonecliff Bridge, Fayette County – US 25; Gypsy Bridge, Harrison County – US 19; Shinnston Bridge, Harrison County – US 119; Sharples Deck Truss Bridge, Logan County – US 119/22; Paul E. Prunty Bridge, Marion County – I-79; William Lee Prunty Bridge, Marion County – I-79; Cornelius Charlton Bridge, Mercer County – I-77; Bluestone Bridge, Mercer County - I-77; Harmony Grove Overpass Bridge, Monongalia County – WV 45; Cheat Lake Bridge, Monongalia County – I-68; Corporal Thomas Bennett Bridge, Monongalia County – I-79; Hughes Bridge (both structures), Nicholas County – US 19; P.G. McDonald Memorial Bridge, Raleigh County – I-64; Burning Springs Bridge, Wirt County – County 35/9; Walker Deck Truss Bridge, Wood County - WV 7

Aug. 22 am From the email bag: Brian Cutlip a Happy 25th Birthday and Jillissa Ryan Happy 18th Birthday

Aug. 22 am CONGRATULATIONS TO MICHAEL AND CRYSTAL (MURPHY) BOARDMAN!!! Crystal gave birth to their son, Michael Ray Boardman, II, on August 21, 2007, at 12:45 p.m. at Thomas Memorial Hospital. "Little Michael" weighs 6lb 8oz and is 14 1/2" long. Both mother and child are doing well. Congratulations, Crystal and Alexia

Aug. 22 am In newspaper land, it's been rough..... Last week , without internet service until late in the week, we postponed the Communicator until Monday the 21st. On Monday the folks we contract with to print the paper were having problems of their own. The pictures were so dark, we rejected the paper. Tuesday afternoon a much better lookin rag made it to the news stands.

Aug. 22 am Just as Commissioner Slinky recommended a couple months back, pick up a copy for pure value. The best entertainment in the county are our public officials and meetings!

Aug. 22 am While putting the paper to bed and making several trips back and forth, the web site was a neglected. Lets get started again.

Aug. 22 am Today is the first day back to school for teachers. Summer is all gone for another 10 months. Kids are enjoying their last few days of freedom. Look around, notice anything... Some of the trees are already showing golds and reds.

Aug. 22 am Residents on Clinic Road got all fired up when they found out why their water service went dry. Seems the school administration decided to fill up the water storage tank at the new Valley Dale Elem school without telling anybody. Sucked the system dry!

Aug. 22 am How about some help clickers. the community radio station plans to broadcast the CCHS Football games. To do so, they need five sponsors at $50 per sponsor to make it all happen. Call the station at 587-8353 if you can help.

Aug. 22 am Friday evening is the first home game for the Clay High Panthers. Kick off is 7:30pm You can hear the game on 101.7FM with Linda McKinney and Joe Jelich announcing the action.

Aug. 20 am From the email bag: My mommy wanted to see if you would post two birthdays on your site for two very important people in our life. My MeMaw Ellie Davis of Ivydale will be 60 on Aug. 20 and my daddy Jesse Sizemore of Clay will be 46 on Aug. 20.

August 20 am There' suppose to be a School Board meeting tonight at 6pm at the new almost completed Valley Dale Elem. School. Can't prove it by the School Board web site. Although promises were made to post the agenda as required by state code, it ain't happening clickers. Guess with the LEvy passed they don't have to worry about the public for several more years.

Aug. 20 am Man did we ever have the thunder boomers and lightning last night!

Aug. 20 am No new posts until we get the Communicator out the door around 4pm today.

Aug. 19 am Happy Birthday Marjorie Dale Mullins.

Aug. 19 am From the last week or so......

Aug. 19 am Those pesky ACLUers are at it again. Now they want the Shrub to tell us where he gets his power to bust the constitution and listen into our telephone and emails. Those dirty B**!!##s.

Aug. 19 am Credit Meltdown: While the Govt assured us the economy is robust and everything is fine, it got scary this past week. Banks ran short of $ after runs on major banks was seen. Instead of money, some were handed bank IOUs. Old timers told stories of similar assurances from the government during the depression. Even Walmart's CEO is saying publicly what Clayberry has known for decades, we're out of money.

Aug. 19 am We've been running on credit cards for years. Watch the number of people buying a pack of smokes or a loaf of bread on credit. While you're watching, notice how many $3.00 purchases are denied. We are maxed out.

Aug. 19 am The Spin: Dubbya has had to eat his words and refocus his war language over and over. Before the last election he started using "benchmarks" as a way of calculating progress with his oil war. Now he ain't.

Aug. 19 am How can we sleep now that Carl Rove left the White House. How can the world keep spinning?

Aug. 19 am Hundreds more died in Iraq this past week as civilian casualties soared. There have been 4,003 coalition deaths -- 3,705 Americans, two Australians, 168 Britons, 13 Bulgarians, one Czech, seven Danes, two Dutch, two Estonians, one Fijian, one Hungarian, 33 Italians, one Kazakh, one Korean, three Latvian, 21 Poles, two Romanians, five Salvadoran, four Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, two Thai and 18 Ukrainians -- in the war in Iraq as of August 17, 2007, according to a CNN.

Aug. 19 am Here at home Telford Chevy employees were given pink slips Monday morning the county's only new car dealer shut its doors for the last time. The deal for Dave Pierson (85%) and Ric Tanner (15%) to buy, failed. The hope is some out of county car dealer will come in and reopen the place.

Aug. 19 am With that closing the county lost 10 or more jobs. Also on Monday, Greenlee Property on Main Street, closed its doors. Owner Mike Greenlee said finances and a weak housing market forced the immediate closure of the Clay and one other branch store.

Aug. 19 am Domino effect... How sudden was the decision. Real sudden. Delta Communications, publishers of the Communicator and this web site, are also housed in that same building. Faced with utilities being cut off in less than 48 hours, quick action was needed. After negotiating, Delta will remain at their Main St location until after the Apple Festival. Most utilities were restored by the Wed am deadline. Not so with the internet.

Aug. 19 am This web site was down for nearly three days. Finally Andy Haynes came thru with his wireless service.

Aug. 19 am Without internet service until Friday afternoon, The Communicator was held up until Monday.

Aug. 19 am The loss of Telford\s and the Greenlee office are sure signs of our struggling Clayberry economy.

Aug. 19 am On the plus side, and with the county looking a little shaggy around the edges, word came that Otto Brown is considering reopening his barber shop on Main Street.

Aug. 19 am Storms ripped thru the county leaving many communities without power and tele service. By Friday afternoon, most services had been restored.

Aug. 19 am With summer behind us, the pool closed. Kids were seen this past week in long sleeve shirts, new sneakers, and carrying back packs. No it wasn't that cold but with new school clothes purchased, they were trying out the new duds. Every kid (and teacher) in the county know exactly how many days of freedom are left before school starts up again.

Aug. 19 am To open a new school, at least the tele, water, sewer, and kitchen have to be operational. School system personal at the new Valley Dale Elem are holding their breath and opening up a can of hustle in an attempt to be ready for the little snot lickers next week.

Aug. 19 am And the wifey made the news Saturday. Nada Waddell hit a hole in one after a 120 yard drive on the 9th hole over at Sandy Brae Golf Course.

Aug. 19 am Thinking back over the summer, how hot was it? It was so hot the birds have to use potholders to pull worms out of the ground. It was so hot the potatoes cook underground, so all you have to do is pull one out and add butter. It was so hot the trees were whistling for the dogs.

Aug. 19 am A middle-aged couple had two beautiful daughters but always talked about having a son. They decided to try one last time for the son they always wanted. The wife got pregnant and delivered a healthy baby boy. The joyful father rushed to the nursery to see his new son. He was horrified at the ugliest child he had ever seen. He told his wife, "There's no way I can be the father of this baby. Look at the two beautiful daughters I fathered! Have you been fooling around behind my back?" The wife smiled sweetly and replied, "Not this time!"

Aug. 19 am From Rodney: I knew a girl so ugly that she was known as a two-bagger. That's when you put a bag over your head in case the bag over her head comes off. I knew a girl so ugly they use her in prisons to cure sex Offenders. My wife is such a bad cook, if we leave dental floss in the Kitchen the roaches hang themselves. I'm so ugly I stuck my head out the window and got arrested for Mooning

Aug. 17 am tap tap tap... it's 5 am Friday morning. we're back.. sorta anyway

Aug. 17 am This has been a tough week here in Delta land. The landlord dropped the bomb we got ta move on Monday. With a 36 hour notice, we had to act fast to put the building utilities in our name. Previously (for the last 3 3/4 years) the utilities were part of our rent package. With electric, water and sewer now in our name, we can once again pinch logs, wash hands, and read a book. DSL takes longer to get installed and up and running. We're still working on that. Without DSL, those jail site searches, bankruptcy proceedings and Public Service Commission inquiries came to a halt. Our hope is, the DSL at the office will be restored soon. In the mean time....

Aug. 17 am To do web updates, we've moved a puter back to the ace cub reporter's abode and can now receive emails and update the web. Note: Without DSL at the office, our homepage web cam is still down.

Aug. 17 am As for moving the office, it's coming as soon as a new location is found. Thanks everyone for offering suggestions. We're still looking.

Aug. 17 am And Kevin, No the Feds didn't come in and make off with our puters!!

Aug. 17 am Three days without internet has been tough. That ace cub reporter was seen sitting at his desk, staring at a No Connection Available window Thursday with tears in his eyes. A crowd formed outside the office window to watch the pitiful sight.

Aug. 17 am Out guess is, work productivity around the nation improved while this site was down.

Aug. 17 am If you check back we'll have an update later this morning. Thanks for the emails, suggestions and patience. We are once again limping along with mispelt and grammer challenged updates on the land of little Clayberry.

Aug. 17 am Due to no DSL or electric last night, The Communicator is coming out Monday afternoon. Deadline for notices, classifieds, events, etc., is Saturday evening. Email now.

Aug. 17 am Herbert “Jackie” Page Keith, 72, see OBITUARY page

Aug. 17 am Know Harold Allen? the Blues Man? He's playing tonight down at Taylor Books on Capitol Street in Charleston. Good tunes start at 7:30pm.

Aug. 17 am Know Holy Cow? That's Keith Lahti and Mike Acuri. There playing at Capitol Roasters on Summers St in Charleston, 8:30 pm

Aug. 17 am Storms ripped thru Clayberry Thursday night. Parts of the county went without utilities most of the evening. That came after a day where we saw temps up around 104 degrees!

Aug. 17 am Thomas Holcomb was indicted on several felony charges over a June 5 2005 incident at Big Otter Food Mart. The two day trial ended Thursday around 5 pm. The jury found him guilty on just one count.

Aug. 17 am Remember the incident? 26 months ago Holcomb and friends pulled into the Food Mart/Exxon station followed by Jody Miller and Jonathan Sizemorein in a car. Sam Murphy was also there. According to Holcomb, Sizemore pulled out a big club and beat the crap out of Holcomb's vehicle followed by a shooting spree with a pistol. In defense, Holcomb rammed the Sizemore/Miller car and shoved it across the parking lot nearly smashing Sizemore. Holcomb was the one arrested.

Aug. 17 am He testified Thursday morning that with bullets flying and after getting hit with the club several times, he acted only in self defense. After referencing the time Sam Murphy blew his guts out with an assault weapon, the jury believed testimony and found him guilty of just one charge. Ever seen anyone happy after being found guilty of a felony. Holcomb seemed that way. Here's why..

Aug. 17 am During the trial, one juror on the panel did not have her name listed on the jury pool. Holcomb feels that may be good enough to demand a new trial and this time, on just the one charge of destruction of property.

Aug. 17 am So what swayed the jury in favor of Mr Holcomb? Mr Holcomb himself. During his testimony he was very believeable and kept referring to a "video". That store video was never shown during the trial. References to that mysterious video appear to have swayed the 7 women and 5 man jury.

Aug. 17 am During closing arguments, his attorney Wayner King, also got all fired up over Prosecutor Samples objections to that "video" item.

Aug. 15 am Get your coffee cup, this is going to take a while. First the good news..

Aug. 15 am Belated birthday wishes to Noni Carte.

Aug. 15 am From the email bag: OH No The Big 3-0 to our daddy Tim Casto, Love Hannah, Colton and Noah...on Aug. 15th

Aug. 15 am From the email bag: If you can, would you wish trucker Matthew Gray a happy birthday on you site on August 15? He will be 31 and is an East Coast trucker out of Virginia who always takes his lap top and wi fi operation with him. He lives on the road in the truck for weeks at a time, and although he is a resident of Waldorf, Maryland, he spent many happy childhood days with his grandfather (now deceased) at Wallback. Butch Gray is his uncle. Matthew tries to keep up with events in Clayberry by viewing your website every chance he gets. Thank you for your consideration

Aug. 15 am From the Apple folks: Applications available for the Golden Delicious Festival kids & Mrs pageant at Elk Power and Clay Furniture. Must be postmarked by Aug. 18th. Pageant will be held at the CCHS Auditorium beginning 10 am. Admission is $3.00

Aug. 15 am CCHS Golf News is posted over on the ADVISORY page.

Aug. 15 am Now the bad news. How bad is it in Clay. Well, we don't even have a barber shop.

Aug. 15 am On Monday Telford's Chevy handed out pink slips to all employees. Tuesday only the owner was left at the county's only new car dealership. Driving by, the place looked dark. As for Dave Pierson taking over and rekindling the business.. not going to happen.

Aug. 15 am From US Bankruptcy Court: .... Based upon the representations by Counsel, the Court does hereby ORDER that the motion to sell assets and the objection of General Motors Corp shall be continued until Aug. 15, 2:30pm, at Bankruptcy courtroom A... and that the cash collateral order entered May 25 2007 is amended to extend its terms to Aug. 15th...

Aug. 15 am In addition to Telford's gone, Greenlee Property (103 Main St) closed down their office. The decision came Monday mid morning. Talking to the owner, business is tough and he had to close down two of his offices. All utilities at 103 Main Street will be shut off by Wednesday afternoon. The building will be sold ASAP.

Aug. 15 am Talk about short notice.... that leaves sales man Dave Derby in a pinch, forced to either drive to the Spencer office for work or find another line of employment, Derby moved all his stuff out of the office Monday afternoon

Aug. 15 am The Communicator office, the printing operation and office supply business, are also housed in that same building. That company was told Monday afternoon: you got ta go. Options include: buy the place or short term rent and immediately transfer the utilities by Wednesday am or else, you'll be in the dark! Talk about a crappy week!

Aug. 15 am Here's out game plan clickers. We plan to stay put for 30 days while we look for another location. We were able to get electric, water and sewer changed over on Tuesday. Not so with DSL service. It takes longer than 36 hours notice to get ANY DSL service hooked up.

Aug. 15 am Web site updates are done from the office. What does all this mean to you clickers? With no office DSL, no new updates to Clayberry.org. The web site will be dead for a few days. Since we email the Communicator over to Spencer for printing, no email this Thursday night and no near award winning newspaper this Friday.

Aug. 15 am Here's what we're looking at in the way of DSL: Andy Haynes still has the wireless ISP in downtown Clay which might work for the short term. If we move out of the three block area of service, it won't work. The satellite service "Wild Blue" is available and affordable but will take a while to hook up. Frontier also has a couple day lag time to get hooked up and since we have to move in the next couple weeks, (Translation: can't sign up for a long term agreement), the cost is out of sight.

Aug. 15 am People have been emailing: Why no updates!!!!!!!!!!! Truth is we are beside ourselves. We're scrambling to keep the bathroom working and lights on all the while looking for a new place to set up shop.

Aug. 15 am Did we mention this has been a pretty crappy week so far?

Aug. 15 am New posts when we get DSL once again. Until then, you're on your own clickers!

Aug. 12 pm Happy 4th Birthday to HUNTER SIZEMORE

Aug. 12 pm From the last seven days.....

Aug. 12 am With bridge collapses and mine disasters, less attention has been given to the oil war. Almost as if, there wasn't a war in progress. Sunday morning four American soldiers were killed in combat action. Saturday two more were taken. I>

Transfer interrupted!

Congress has been unable to do anything, nothing, in the way of bringing the troops home.

Aug. 12 pm There have been 3,981 coalition deaths -- 3,683 Americans, two Australians, 168 Britons, 13 Bulgarians, one Czech, seven Danes, two Dutch, two Estonians, one Fijian, one Hungarian, 33 Italians, one Kazakh, one Korean, three Latvian, 21 Poles, two Romanians, five Salvadoran, four Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, two Thai and 18 Ukrainians -- in the war in Iraq as of August 10, 2007, according to a CNN

Aug. 12 am In the Appalachian Mountains of Clayberry, it was a hot week. The heat index, the feels like factor reached 124 degrees Wed. Around the county, shade was in short supply. We made tomato sandwiches, and kids enjoyed their summer break at the pool and in the Elk River. Two kids were injured at the pool as they used the high dive.

Aug. 12 pm Last Tuesday Town Council met. During the meeting Council person Llyn Drake made her pitch to become the first Municipal Judge as she laid plans to set up a Municipal Court with little, almost zero, public notice. Also from the meeting, before starting the new water plant project, Council will ask the WV PSC for a rate increase.

Aug. 12 pm Tuesday evening the CAEZ announced the coming of a new tax service in Clay. With the help of a mini loan, Penny Pincher Service will soon be in operation.

Aug. 12 pm County Commission met Wed morning. There the newbee Commissioner asked for the thumbs up to apply for a GKVF grant that would pay, repay the Board of Education, for items already in place and operating. It's didn't go so well for the new guy with Fran and Pete raising big concerns over misleading claims in the already submitted application. Either the Linskter didn't know what was in the application (Someone else wrote it); or, he got caught fudging for dollars.

Aug. 12 pm Also from that meeting, the public now knows our dog warden no longer picks up animals. After questioning, what do you do about stray dogs? Call the Sheriff.

Aug. 12 am Sounds like the OB (one bullet) method of dog control in Clayberry.

Aug. 12 pm Wed afternoon the Housing Authority met. There they approved passage of by laws and said they would make one more attempt, a fresh start, with Encore Management before moving to plan B. They're asking the ever so resistant Encore group to come to Clay for a set down meeting during the last week of this month.

Aug. 12 pm This weekend a band of volunteers went to work cleaning, waxing, and painting, at HE White Elem. Junk was tossed out. Other stuff was put in working order. The place was a mess. Why so much hard work? One volunteer said with a new Principal (and custodian) coming, they wanted the place to look good, a fresh start.

Aug. 12 pm The first public activities of the 34th Annual Apple Festival got underway with Golden Delicious Pageants. The CCHS Mini Auditorium was packed with parents, grand parents, and other relatives as they watched the contestants go thru their paces. Jami Womack was selected as the 07 Apple Queen.

Aug. 12 am Sunday morning Mayor Brown and crew (That's the Clay Fire Dept and maintenance men) were back at it trying to clean our the storm sewers in downtown Clay. Under 90 plus degree sun baked conditions, they finally dislodged a big chunk of cinder block from one of the mainlines and VuWaLaaa... the drain was once again open, ready for a big down pour! Chalk it up as a success for Team Brown.

Aug. 12 pm Little kids with deep tans and sun burns rode bikes, Without shirt or shoes, they enjoyed their last couple weeks of freedom before that dirt "S" word starts up. Where did summer go?

Aug. 12 pm Check back often for the best in news on the 342 square miles we call home, Clayberry, West Virginia.

Aug. 11 pm Roxie Rogers West Nutter, 96, of Bickmore, see OBITUARY page

Aug. 11 am Belated from the email bag: "Happy Birthday to the Communicator's #1 fan in Boydton, VA...Dave Metheney!" from "The Aunties" & Sis

Aug. 11 am Belated from the email bag: I'd like to wish my "favorite aunt" Freda Coad a happy happy 53rd birthday on Friday, August 10th! I am also very proud of her because this month makes 11 months since she quit smoking! Congrats and keep up the good work! Crystal, Mark & Kaylynn Coulter

Aug. 11 am Hello Jack Moss in Bolivia NC.

Aug. 11 am Get well wishes extended to Terry King.

Aug. 11 am Two in county events tonight.... the outdoor music show Summer Jam will be featuring Paul Cottrell and High Mt Bluegrass plus John Truman's Flashback band. Free too! Over at the High School at 7pm is the Apple Festival Pageant.

Aug. 11 am Nearby is the West Fork Fireman's Bluegrass Festival

Aug. 11 am Get out and have some this weekend. You deserve it clickers!

Aug. 11 am A young Chinese couple gets married. She's a virgin. Truth be told, he is a virgin too, but she doesn't know that. On their wedding night, she cowers naked under the sheets as her husband undresses in the near darkness. He climbs slowly and gently into bed next to her and tries to be reassuring. "My darring," he whispers, "I know dis you firss time and you berry frighten. I pomise you, I give you anyting you want, I do anyting - juss anyting you want. You juss ask. Whatchu want?" he says, trying to sound experienced and worldly, which he hopes will impress her. A thoughtful silence follows and he waits patiently (and eagerly) for her request. She eventually shyly whispers back, "I want to try someting I have heard about from other girls... Numbaa 69." More thoughtful silence, this time from him. Eventually, in a puzzled tone he asks her... "You want... Garlic Chicken with corrifrowa?"

Aug. 9 pm Teddie Jarrell, 73, of Procious, see OBITUARY page

Aug. 9 pm Irene Augusta Hardway Lambert, 88, of Strange Creek, see OBITUARY page

Aug. 9 pm Victor “Vic” Clyde Lambert, 88, of Strange Creek, see OBITUARY page

Aug. 9 pm Happy Birthday wishes to Myra Fitzwater

Aug. 9 pm We provided a lengthy post on Wed's Commission meeting. Much of that commentary centered on our newbee Commissioner spending Commission time working for the school system and maybe fudging, certainly enhancing, grant info. I know, I know, Slinky said some of the errors were just oversight BUT when the night time lighting at Clay County Park has been done and in use for months, such grant writing sure calls for a big Hmmmmmm....

Aug. 9 pm Of course, maybe such word twisting is nothing new. Might be worth a look to see if other questionable grants have been written and or awarded.

Aug. 9 pm In 1986, Mkele Mbembe was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Northwestern University. On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant seemed distressed, so Mbembe approached it very carefully. He got down on one knee and inspected the elephant's foot and found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it. As carefully and as gently as he could, Mbembe worked the wood out with his hunting knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot. The elephant turned to face the man, and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments. Mbembe stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled. Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away. Mbembe never forgot that elephant or the events of that day. Twenty years later, Mbembe was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his teenaged son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over to near where Mbembe and his son Tapu were standing. The large bull elephant stared at Mbembe, lifted its front foot off the ground, then put it down. The elephant did that several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man. Remembering the encounter in 1986, Mbembe couldn't help wondering if this was the same elephant. Mbembe summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing and made his way into the enclosure. He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder. The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Mbembe's legs and slammed him against the railing, killing him instantly.

Probably wasn't the same elephant.

Aug. 9 am Gaynel Duffield, 96, of Clay, see OBITUARY page

Aug. 9 am Get your coffee cup Chaz, this is going to take a awhile.

Aug. 9 am Clay Roane PSD meets tonight at 7pm in the County Commission (CCC) room. The agenda is posted over on the ADVISORY page.

Aug. 9 am From the email bag: Did you lose a puppy? We have it!! It showed up at our house about a week ago. It's a black male lab with a little white spot on his chest. He's a very friendly and playful puppy. Loves to fetch things. If you lost a black lab puppy recently, please contact us at 587-7096.

Aug. 9 am From the email bag: Please wish my sister, Debbie Cook from Ohio, a Happy Birthday on August 9th,from Dawn and her family.

Aug. 9 am For those afar.. the heat index was 105 Wednesday afternoon at 5pm. It is hot and sticky.

Aug. 9 am What's the talk around Clay these days? ANSWER: Tomatoes, the heat and, what are we going to do for a haircut now?

Aug. 9 am With both barbers leaving out unexpectedly last week, the county is already looking shaggier!

Aug. 9 am County Commissioner Slinky came to office in Jan on a platform of finding lots and lots of grant money for the county. Back in the Spring he made public a crime prevention grant he penned. Slinky thought the best way to keep teens out of trouble was to show Walt Disney style films at CCHS on the weekends. Most of the grant funds will go to school system employees including $6000 for a grant coordinator. That grant is commonly referred to as the popcorn and condoms grant.

Aug. 9 am During Wednesday's County Commission meeting, Slinky made public another grant he's working on. Mr. Slinky is asking the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation for $10,000 for additional wiring, conduit, and lighting work out at Clay County Park for the new baseball field. In the grant application our newbee Commissioner said the place was a public park, the new lighting system was not there, and all kids, boys and girls, had full use of the place. Once again the grant, if funded, would send the full $10,000 back to the school system.

Aug. 9 am Even with the Slinkster trying to be smooth as snot on a door knob, the wording put a kink in Fran's britches.

Aug. 9 am Commissioner Fran said girls were NOT allowed to use the ball field for games, nor little kids, and for that matter, since the field remained padlocked shut, how could the place be called a "public" park.

Aug. 9 am Then Pete got into it. Triplett questioned why they were requesting $ for projects already completed and in use. Part of the grant applications called for stuff to make the new ($78,000) lights operational. Triplett reminded the newbee that the lights ARE already operational and the CCC donated $20,000 on the project but the grant made NO mention of that donation.

Aug. 9 am Chomping at the bit Slinky tried to smooth smooth smooth smooth. Didn't work. Fran came back with other fibs in the application like, softball is not played at the field. Fran added that girl teams are always short changed in Clay, everybody knows it, and for Link to say anything otherwise.... ain't going to happen.

Aug. 9 am So frustrated, Slinky could be heard sighing out loud as he tried to salvage his plan (grant) to get $10,000 for the school system. It was interesting to watch the sparks fly!

Aug. 9 am Peter Triplett has a habit of reading the fine print. While Fran was getting her two cents worth in, Triplett was once again reading the fine print. When done, to Link: The ball field wasn't JUST for the CCHS baseball boys; they told us the bills were ALL paid; now you're telling us they haven't been paid; This grant is for lights already there; the CC gave $20,000; Now you're telling us the invoices aren't paid!!!!

Aug. 9 am I love a good Commission meeting!

Aug. 9 am Back to that padlocked field part. Since opening a couple years ago, the nice big fenced in ball field has been padlocked shut except when the high school team uses the field. According to the Fran, the state Road folks wanted to have a picnic and ball game out there and were told nope, no can do. One pudgy guy in the peanut gallery Wed said parents are taking their kids out there to play ball, are climbing over the locked gate to get on the field, and if an accident happened, how would an ambulance get the injured person off the field?

Aug. 9 am Opening another festering sore, in attendance Jay Carper stood and said he had volunteered to help with the CCHS wrestling program only to be told, we don't want you. According to Carper, CCHS hasn't had a wrestling champ in 20 years.

Aug. 9 am Slinky said the grant could easily be changed online and if Fran insisted, he would make the changes. She and Pete insisted.

Aug. 9 am Based on the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation cover letter attached to the hard copy, the grant has already been submitted.

Aug. 9 am If the grant was for say.. playground equipment for the county owned park, cool. That's not the case. The grant gives the school system a $10,000 windfall for stuff already purchased, paid for, installed and in use. One place on the grant application references $10,000 in donated labor from the CCHS Athletic Booster Club.

Aug. 9 am $10,000 in cash.... Wouldn't that go a long way toward the cash match for astro turfing the Sirk/Schoonover/Bradley football field!

Aug. 9 am Once again our retired School Superintendent, now County Commissioner, seems to be spending much of his time massaging words to say something bogus and give the school system more $. This time for stuff already paid for!

Aug. 9 am And finally from Wednesday's CCC meeting. The vote was to reappoint that ace cub reporter back on the Housing Authority meeting for a full term instead of just 30 days. Once again Slinky voted no. Wonder why that guy is sooooooo against the Mel GIbson look alike? Sure am glad he's already made public his endorsement and support of Clay County's near award winning newspaper, the Communicator.

Aug. 9 am After their baby was born, the panicked father went to see the obstetrician. "Doctor," the man said, "I don't mind telling you, but I'm a little upset because my baby daughter has red hair. She can't possibly be mine." "Nonsense," the doctor said. "Even though you and your wife both have black hair, one of your ancestors may have contributed red hair to the gene pool." "It isn't possible," the man insisted. "This can't be, our families on both sides had jet-black hair for generations." Well," said the doctor, "let me ask you this, How often do you have sex?" The man seemed a bit ashamed. "I've been working very hard for the past year. We only made love once or twice." "Well, there you have it!" The doctor said confidently. "It's rust."

Aug. 8 am Happy Birthday wishes to Nada Waddell.

Aug. 8 am Today the County Commission meets at 10 am. Big two page agenda to cover! The Housing Authority meets at 1pm in the CCC room. Both meetings are open to the public.

Aug. 8 pm Town Council had a big meeting Tuesday evening. Highlights....

Aug. 8 am Two years ago Council was told their new water plant should be completed by Dec 07. Last year word came that bidding for the project would be completed in the Spring of 07 and construction underway by this Winter. On Tuesday the project engineer said there were many hurdles to clear before bidding could be done. Stuff like permitting, health dept. OKs and a Rule 42 ordinance. For those that have had their head in the sand, a Rule 42 is the code word for requesting a PSC endorsed water rate increase. Since the town provides wholesale water to Clay Roane and Clay County PSD, such an increase could affect the entire county. Yes, even Queen Shoals PSD.

Aug. 8 am That new Town water when approved will be the third rate increase in five years. True, prices are going up on everything.....but, it's the sewer plant operation dragging down Town finances. Just last month the Town had to borrow from water accounts to pay sewer plant bills. During the last rate increase, the last Mayor said the wa wa plant didn't really need and increase. He added that the sewer plant was the problem but he was afraid to ask for another increase on that operation.

Aug. 8 am That new water plant was funded in 1998. The dollars set aside to build that plant were based on 1997 cost estimates. Heck, if that new elementary school started out at $4m and ended up at $8 m, just think what building materials 10 years out of date will do for water rates. Get the Crisco.

Aug. 8 am New Council person Llyn Drake has hiring a Municipal Judge and setting up a Municipal Court on fast track. During Tuesday's Council meeting, Drake handed out copies of an ordinance she prepared to establish such a municipal court. After passing out copies to the group, Drake "announced" the ordinance. Announced?

Aug. 8 am Translation: Only one vote of the Council will be needed for passage instead of two public votes; the ordinance will NOT be printed in a newspaper before voting by Council; the ordinance will NOT even be read in public before voting, and, Drake made it clear, she wants to be the Judge (additional pay)

Aug. 8 am With all heads nodding in agreement, a quote: It's a money maker for the town!

Aug. 8 am Interestingly enough, Tuesday's meeting agenda made no mention of such an ordinance vote nor did it even mention the Municipal Court, Municipal Judge, would be discussed. So much for the public knowing what the public body is up to in advance.

Aug. 8 am More later Wednesday.

Aug. 7 pm Mary E. Nugen, 90, see OBITUARY page

Aug. 7 pm How hot is it? So hot you have to close your eyes to make it down the sidewalk!

Aug. 7 pm From the email bag: A girl asks her boyfriend to come over Friday night to meet, and have dinner with her parents. Since this is such a big event, the girl announces to her boyfriend that after dinner, she would like to go out and make love for the first time . The boy is ecstatic, but he has never had sex before, so he takes a trip to the pharmacist to get some condoms. He tells the pharmacist it's his first time and the pharmacist helps the boy for about an hour. He tells the boy everything there is to know about condoms and sex. At the register, the pharmacist asks the boy how many condoms he'd like to buy, a 3-pack, 10-pack, or family pack. The boy insists on the family pack because he thinks he will be rather busy, it being his first time and all. That night, the boy shows up at the girl's parents house and meets his girlfriend at the door. "Oh, I'm so excited for you to meet my parents, come on in !" The boy goes inside and is taken to the dinner table where the girl's parents are seated. The boy quickly offers to say grace and bows his head. A minute passes, and the boy is still deep in prayer, with his head down. 10 minutes pass, and still no movement from the boy. Finally, after 20 minutes with his head down, the girlfriend leans over and whispers to the boyfriend, "I had no idea you were this religious." The boy turns, and whispers back, "I had no idea your father was a pharmacist."

Aug. 6 pm Our School Board is not known for keeping the public informed. 'been that way for a long time. Sometime today, they finally posted tonight's meeting agenda.

Aug. 6 pm You'll notice on the school's web site mention of WesTest scores. After several days of spinning the numbers, watch for Spinmeister Kenneth Tanner to come up with an "angle"

Aug. 6 pm Media provides the statistics on how bad things really are in Clay. From college going rates, to having to take bone head courses in college, to childhood pregnancy rates... number of smokers, obesity... we rank at the bottom of the pile in many many categories.

Aug. 6 pm In addition to all that, now we're going to look shaggier! We just lost our last barber. Clayberry is barberless. Two weeks ago Larry Herald was evicted from his Main Street Clay location. Now the Barber located across from the Clay Co Bank bailed out. Saturday Mike was here working away just fine and POOF!

Aug. 6 pm Today, his building is all cleaned out except for a broom and garbage bag. All gone, not a barber left in the county.

Aug. 6 am Euel Lee Wilmoth see OBITUARY page

Aug. 6 am We've got a full week of meetings this week.

Aug. 6 am Normally the School Board meets the first and third Monday evening at 6pm. You can't tell it by their web site nor the front door of the meeting place.

Aug. 6 am CAEZ meets this Tuesday at 4 and again at 6pm

Aug. 6 am County Commission meets Wed morning at 10 am.

Aug. 6 am The Housing Authority meets Wed at 1pm in the CCC room.

Aug. 6 am Get out and enjoy a public meeting. Lots of fun and doesn't cost a thang!

Aug. 6 am New job listings are on the JOBS page this site

Aug. 6 am There was hope that the Dundon Bridge Ski Slope would be completed enough to allow the removal of the concrete barriers and stoplights before the 34th Annual Apple Festival in Sept. Getting word now, that ain't going to happen. Talk about traffic snarls!!

Aug. 6 am Those coming from Rt 4, the only alternative route for a car is over Blue Knob Rd and down at the Swinging bridge. If anyonw has other routes into town from Rt 4, please email. We'll post.

Aug. 5 am By the way, the answer to that last online quiz was Niagara Falls. Good job clickers.

Aug. 5 am From the email bag: WHEN YOU SEE TRACY KEEN OUT WISH HIM A BIG HAPPY 36TH BIRTHDAY FOR AUGUST 4TH....WE LOVE YOU TRACY FROM YOUR FAMILY

Aug. 5 am It's a hot sticky Sunday morning in Clayberry . August is here. Shady spots are in short supply. Clayonians are knee deep in red tomatoes. What the drought didn't take, those yellow ears of corn, dipped in butter are wonderful. Cucumbers soaked in that vinegar mixture... yum yum.

Aug. 5 am No update this weekend, for that ace cub reporter, it's time to celebrate a 26th anniversary with a big store bought meal and a movie with the wifey.

Aug. 5 am With the storm sewers plugged up, last Sunday's heavy downfall backed up in the streets.

Aug. 5 am This Sunday morning town crews, including the Mayor, worked on cleaning the drains. Hawkie Keener was seen up to his neck in the sewer scraping out crud. The Clay Fire Dept. manned the high pressure hoses in an attempt to straighten out the impossible. Their efforts MAY help. Truth is, the Town needs about a gazillion dollars in new drains and 12 inch storm drains.

Aug. 5 am We've made it clickers. Kookla Fran and Ollie have been at a conference all weekend and the county didn't fall apart!

August 5 am The Farmer's Market over at Dundon continues today. This is the second effort for the BC&G to get something new, a Farmer's Market, started in the county. Guess what? It might be working. There were about 5 or 6 booths during the July expo. This time, there's 9 booths including some farm fresh squash, cucs, beans and cabbage for sale.

August 3 pm Joseph Albert Truman, 79, of Duck, see OBITUARY page

August 3 pm With all its typos and other short comings, The Communicator made it to the news stands today around 4pm. Lead article covers all the details from bomb blasts two years ago, and the guilty plea of Donnie Welch. 20 pages of good reading.

August 3 pm Catching up... Happy Birthday to Avis Rose down at Procious.

August 3pm Happy 5th year Anniversary to Roy from Holly

August 3 pm A little late but... Happy 9th Birthday to Hali Simmons Aug. 2

August 3 pm This first weekend of August if filled with opportunities to save some money. Yard Sales are on every corner in every neighborhood. Scary as it may sound, many of those buyers are in search of back to school clothes.

August 3 pm Something special Saturday night during WYAP's Summer Jam concert series. Tomorrow night is Blues night. Be sure to wear your shades and be cooooool. Delta Blues from Harold Allen and Terri Lively and Jazzy stuff from Holy Cow and Dixie Moons. Absolutely free too!

August 3 am Harry G. Duffield, Jr., 65, of Procious, see OBITUARY page

Aug. 3 am We have links to three Clay County related blogs over on the LINKS page. You might better bookmark them in your favorite folder. Come Sunday, we're going to delete those three links from this site.

Aug. 3 am The Communicator has three working puter monitors were giving away. If you're in need of a good monitor, stop by the office at 103 Main Street, right across the street from the DHHR building. First come first served. Someon>

Transfer interrupted!

about 4pm Friday.

Aug. 3 am Happy Birthday wishes to Linda McKinney

Aug. 3 am Today is also the Widen Warrior's birthday. It's black Friday for Steve Butler as he turns the big 50. They're having a big birthday party for the aged one Friday evening, 6pm, at Roy David's house on Peach Orchid. Everyone's welcome.

Aug. 3 am It's all down hill from now on Widen Warrior!

Aug. 3 am Virginia Adkins is heading off to Iraq Sunday. The very best of wishes for a safe journey abroad and a speedy return home after service. Don't be a hero and keep your head down!

Aug. 3 am From the email bag: If you want to get some good pics of bridge structure crumbing and fatigue go to King Shoals Public access area Rt 4 on the Elk. Last time I was up there, we went swimming there, if you go down to the river and walk south about 300 yards or so there is a creek bed that runs under Rt 4 . Walk under there and you will see rotted beams, concrete spalling, large areas missing. I wonder if the state ever inspects these small bridges? Thought with the Minneapolis news today, this might make a good story or at least telling pictures.

Aug. 3 am Yikes!

Aug. 3 am As for the latest online question .... you clickers are just too darn good. Many of you came up with: sandals, socks, sneakers, shoes, stockings, slippers, stilettos, snow shoes, spikes. Shackles isn't exactly what we had in mind nor was the stuff stepped on in a barn yard. Very cute clickers!!!!!!!!!!

Aug. 3 am Here's our last one folks. What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backward? Email your response.

Aug. 3 am It was an all new Business Development Authority meeting Thursday night. The agenda called for exact stuff to do and they did it. Newbee Mike Boggs made a presentation on alternative ways to finance development projects in the county. No one was yelled at nor was anyone cut off in mid sentence. Full details in Friday's Communicator

Aug. 3 am My final week of bachlorhood ends Friday evening at 6pm. Wifey returns. Tried to get the kid to vacuum before she gets back. "got the eyes rolling in head routine and a No. This five days went much better with no ants crawling, opossums running, and taking the garbage out before maggots formed, really helped with the smell.

Aug. 3 am Eating on paper plates makes a big difference. Not so with omelet leftovers left on a ceramic plate for three days. Even the dog couldn't lick off all the stuck lumps.

Aug. 3 am No new posts until we get the Communicator out the door sometime late Friday afternoon.

August 1 pm Happy 26th anniversary to the lady that has put up with the Mel Gibson look alike for 26 years, Nada Waddell. Wifey is again away on a field trip in Morgantown for the week. Here's the audio from the impromptu sing her fellow teachers sang to her today. That's Nada in red..

August 1 pm Two more days of bachlorhood here in Clay. Now on day three.. the bread is getting

"crunchy", the dog is lookin thinner, and the kid keeps yelling, " There Ain't No Food, I'm Hunger!"

August 1 pm The answer to this morning's online quiz is Asparagus and rhubarb. Way too many correct answers.

August 1 pm 2nd Online Quiz: Name 6 or more things that you can wear on your feet beginning with the letter "S."

August 1 am Happy 10th Birthday Samantha Murphy

August 1 am It sounds so late into summer... August

August 1 am Here in Clayberry, the tomatoes are red. Many of us are filling up on tomato sandwiches. One two inch thick slice of beef master covered with mayo on fresh wheat bread. Juice runs down both sides of your mouth. You know you've had enough when those little bumps form on the inside of your mouth , but you keep eating anyway. Summer time pleasure second only to fresh corn on the cob smothered in butter, real butter not that fake plastic crap called margarine.

August 1 am The new and improved Clay County Business Development Authority meets Thursday at 5pm. New and improved???? Yelp. Check out their agenda on the front door of the Courthouse. Every voting item is listed so the public knows what's going on. How wonderful.

August 1 am Here's our online question clickers: Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted every year. What are the only two perennial vegetables? Email response.

August 1 am Washed the dishes! Nope, didn't lick them clean, actually washed them. Day three of bachlerhood and no creatures crawling around the kitchen. Still having problems washing and drying clothes. When you stuff that dryer clear full, it takes about 5 hours to dry the stuff.