July 2008
July 31 p Crystal Gale Jones,
29, of Lizemores, see OBITUARY page
July 31 p Last winter Brenda
Baird sued Clay Development Corp (CDC) after being fired from the oft troubled
secret social service agency. Sometimes suits just fade away. Maybe not
this one. This afternoon employee depositions (statements) are being taken
in the County Commission room.
July 31 p No updates until we
get the Communicator out the door Friday afternoon around 4pm
July 31 a We're in shut down mode until
we get the paper out Friday afternoon around 4pm. No updates except important
stuff until then.
July 31 a Clay County West Virginia
is Yard Sale Central for the next three days. Check out the EVENTS page
for tons of bargain opportunities.
July 31 a For those considering a vacation
close to home, don't forget the JG Bradley Campground at Dundon. While
in the area, take a ride on the Fairmont railcar along Buffalo Creek on
the BC&G RR. 304 587-6055.
July 31 a Saturday night bring a lawn
chair and enjoy great West Virginia musicians at Summer Jam 08. This week
is the Coal Mountain Coon Hunters and Blue Maggie bluegrass.
July 31 a Bill Dunn with the Apple
Festival comes up with all kinds of different tourism ideas. His latest
idea is a bicycle and kayak race on the Elk River during Small Town America
Celebrates Labor Day. Check out the reaaaal prize money behind the
Pedal Paddle button on our homepage.
July 30 LATE p Please re-read
Ben Murphy's obit. The funeral time has been changed to 1pm Thursday.
July 30 p When you think of crusty
ole men, you have to think of Johnny Woofter. How old is he? So old he
was kicked out of the Army for having a dirty spear.
July 30 p Happy Birthday to grumpy
ole Johnny Woofter.
July 30 p After two days of trial,
it didn't take jurors but a little time to find Richard Snuffer guilty
of Wanton Endangerment times 2. Domestic battery charges were found
to be bogus with the jury saying not guilty. We'll have full details
in this Friday's Communicator but for now, a tidbit. County Badges and
Green Shirts arrrested Snuffer earlier this year after a 911 call of shots
fired. Badges went in the trailer and did a full search including a Jeep
parked outside without benefit of a search warrant nor Stuffer's OK.
July 30 p Mr. Snuffer is lodged in
CRJ. Expect an appeal.
July 30 p Deadline for submissions
in this Friday's Communicator is Thursday at 5pm. Email your events, notices,
classifieds and such now.
July 30 p Clay County's Summer
reading program over at Clay County Library stumbled big time Tuesday morning.
Instead of being open for all the little crumb crunchers, the Librarian
didn't show up on time. The kids were sent home with Tuesday's reading
program cancelled. According to a Library worker, the 08 Summer Reading
program will resume Thursday morning at 10 am. Bring the brats over
for some fun educational stuff. Free too!
July 30 a Keith L. Holcomb,
54, see OBITUARY page
July 30 a Benjamin G. (Ben) Murphy,
66, of Lizemores, see OBITUARY page
July 30 a Bobby Shamblin, 55,
of Wallback died July 29, 2008.
July 30 a Retta N. Metheney,
74, of Ovapa died July 29, 2008
July 30 a The Clay County Health Department
will be closed Friday, August 1, 2008 for the purpose of mandatory staff
cleaning.... I mean training.
July 30 a The Clay County Health Board
meets Thursday evening at 6pm in the NH Dyer building on Main Street.
July 30 a Ever been on jury duty and
the Judge says to report for service at such and such a time? Tuesday morning
a young man found out when Judge Jack Alsop says 9 am he mean 9 am. For
30 minute tardiness the first time and 15 minute late the second.... $40
fine.
July 30 a Did you sustain damage
from the June 4th storm. Last day to try and get some $$$ from FEMA is
August 15th. Info number is over on the ADVISORY page.
July 30 a Gary James is the name of
the guy that committedd suicide Sunday afternoon out near the Clay Nicholas
County line.
July 30 a The State vs Snuffer trial
continues this morning before Judge Alsop. Real interesting case to watch
too. It appears both sides are gingerly stepping around details not allowed
to be presented before the jury. Trial continues at 9 am but those of us
in the peanut gallery can show up later.
July 30 a We're trying real hard
to keep the house, dishes, carpet, clean and neat while the wifey is away.
So far not too bad. Haven't seen any ants yet on the counter top!
July 30 a Trying to make some improvements
while she's away.... the ace cub reporter decided it was time to clean
out a small fish pond right beside the house. With black, stinky, fish
poop filled water up to his crotch, the process of pulling out vines, rocks,
dead leaves from the bottom was well under way when all of a sudden, something
felt different. Deep in the bottom , with one hand, it felt like a turtle.
Bending even further down in the wa wa now with both hands, it was a turtle
about 10 inches across the back.
July 30 a Unfortunately little mister
bald guy couldn't tell the back end from the snapping end. With the fear
of Mr. Snapper taking a bite out of a hand, leg, or a aaaa crotch,
with one violent yelling thrust, in an instant, the turtle was tossed about
20 feet over into the driveway. With all appendages intact, the guy made
a hasty exit from the murky duties of pond cleaning.
July 30 a Now on the driveway, and
with a better view, turns out it was a turtle but one made of concrete
and once upon a time (10 years ago), it was a pond ornament at water's
edge.
July 30 a After checking to make sure
no one saw the tossing and yelling part, AW retreated to the house.
July 29 a Here's a good example of
trickle down economics. BP reported a 28
percent rise in second-quarter profit today, exceeding analyst expectations,
as crude oil soared to record levels and natural gas also made big gains.
Don't you feel better already?
July 29 a Each Summer the wifey heads
off for extra work duties leaving that ace cub reporter and son on their
own. Often life without wifey leads to disastrous results.
July 29 a Wifey left out Sunday. The
dishes were clean and put away. Clothes were nicely folded and stacked.
Fresh sheets were on the bed. And, the dog weighed in at 75 pounds.
July 29 a It's vacation time
for the next two weeks!
July 28 p Dave Derby retired from the
school system and got into real estate sales with Greenlee Properties.
When that firm closed its doors in Clay last August 13th, Derby was out.
Not so now. Derby is now selling for Bonnie Young Realty. Call Dave at
304 587-2502.
July 28 p With most in the county so
prejudiced they wouldn't vote for a black person if their life depended
on it, there's more than McLame on the ballot this Nov. The Mountain and
Green Parties are offering up President is Cynthia McKinney, and Vice-Presidential
candidate is Rosa Clemente.
July 28 p This site often notes the
lackluster leadership of many local officials. How about a nice jab at
Town Council where they are marching in lock step with blinders on to build
a new multi million dollars water plant to serve customers in Roane County.
July 28 p Our complaint is the lack
of interest in what they're buying. Other than nodding their head in agreement,
there have been no questions asked.
July 28 p Lets help them by providing
some questions they should ask. Stuff like: How does the price of this
plant compare with building a conventional water plant. How about operating
the thang, is a membrane plant cheaper than a conventional plant to operate?
What about the differences in chemicals and the quantities needed for operation.
July 28 p Sure don't want to leave
out the environmental friendliness of the plant. What about the solids
left over after making water, what are differences there? Are there any
of the plants currently in operation in West Virginia?
July 28 p Would a conventional
plant take up less space on the small building lot?
July 28 p Most of us don't give
a rat's tail about operations, we just went wa wa that's fit to drink.
More questions could come on what can be done to make the wet stuff less
chemical tasting, what about using peroxide or something to control odor
and improve the taste?, how about using some kind of carbon contactors
to reduce the nasty stuff?
July 28 p And the great enchilada,
what about a road trip or even a phone call to talk with operators and
customers of one of those nearby plants? Sure would be more reassuring
if Council used that muscle between their ears for ore than a hat rack.
July 28 a Richard Eugene Snodgrass,
68, of Clay, see OBITUARY page
July 27 p We're polishing off the last
Sunday in July. Where has the Summer gone.
July 27 p On the national front, John
Edwards appears to be in the grease complete with a
mistress and "love child". Wonder why national news isn't covering
the guy that comes across as Mr. Perfect. Wonder if Edwards is still a
front runner for a VP clot.
July 27 p Hold on to your savings.
More
banks failed last week with the Feds stepping in. All of us have read
the blocky lettering FDIC and think savings are safe. Did you know that
when the IndyMac bank was closed two weeks ago, the bail out of that one
bank took almost 25% of the FDIC reserves? Bet you didn't!
July 27 p With Afgan heating up and
taking American soldiers one after another, there have been 4,438
coalition deaths -- 4,124 Americans, two Australians, one Azerbaijani,
176 Britons, 13 Bulgarians, one Czech, seven Danes, two Dutch, two Estonians,
one Fijian, five Georgians, one Hungarian, 33 Italians, one Kazakh, one
Korean, three Latvian, 22 Poles, three Romanians, five Salvadoran, four
Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, two Thai and 18 Ukrainians -- in the war in Iraq
as of July 25, 2008, according to a CNN count.
July 27 p Last Wednesday, County Commission
voted to consolidate Queen Shoals, Clay County, and Clay Roane PSDs into
one colossal conglomerate. They think the move will save money and correct
all the water problems in County Clay. Putting the cart before the horse,
they seem to have overlooked the recommendations of a WV PSC rep two weeks
ago who urged shutting down the Procious Water Plant and getting better
management as priorities. Overlooking the
1.7 million gallons of water lost (leaks) per month in QSPSD and CRPSD
systems, CCC appears H bent on pressing the issue.
July 27 p Consolidation rarely works
in effeciency and dollar savings. Take for instance the Fed mandated telephone
company consolidations. Boy that sure has saved a bunch of money. Or say
the airline mergers of which ALL subsequently went into Bankruptcy. Are
there more or fewer flights out of airports now?
July 27 p Too make matters worse, Town
Council is proceeding with the building a new high dollar water plant.
Without one Council person ever visiting a new tech "membrane"
plant or even doing a basic Google search of the technology, they're all
on board with the final boat anchor for municipality.
July 27 p Much like the bill of goods
sold Council during the building of the sewer plant 13 years ago, with
blinders on, they won't even listen to other suggestions, any suggestions.
July 27 p Wednesday afternoon Melissa
Postelwait left Family Law Court and immediately started duking it out
with another lady in the Courthouse elevator. Hearing the commotion, Sheriff
Holcomb opened up a can of pepper spray and let em have it. The fight stopped
but the spray managed to clear out the upper floor of the Courthouse and
bring in the ambulance crews.
July 27 p Trying to get the fumes gone,
our Top Badge hit the down button sending the elevator dow to ground level.
When the doors opened there, the same gas filled the hallways and emptied
the place there.
July 27 p Postelwaite was charged with
battery and assault on an officer. The last time MP was in the news, she
was found guilty of slapping the stuffins out of her fellow Clay Roane
PSD Boardster, Susan Beard. MP was given a fine and ordered into anger
management classes. Guess the classes didn't take!
July 27 p Tommy Young Jr was found
not guilty of stealing a John Deere dozer back in the fall of 06. Some
are calling him teflon Tommy and suggesting shoddy court room work. That's
not what we saw... Instead, defense attorney Wayne King made strong inroads
pointing out discrepancies with initial police work and the dates they
and witnesses noted in the official court record.
July 27 p Keep in mind, Young Jr has
nine felony charges against him over in Roane County.
July 27 p Kids and their animals came
together for the Friday , Saturday, Clay County Youth Agricultural Fair
out at Clay County Park at Maysel.
July 27 p Saturday evening Magistrate
Mitchell King was seen over at the Summer Jam looking fit and fiddle with
a brand new pacemaker takin care of business. Though not exactly high stepping
to the music, good to have seen him out and about.
July 27 p Mrs Wilson was also over
at the Jam where she reported husband Carl was lookin and feeling much
better with a hospital discharge date set for Monday July 28th.
July 27 p Happy Birthday wishes extended
to Commissioner Peter Triplett today, the day he got his belly button.
July 27 p For those that haven't been
to Clayberry, now's the time to visit a quiet little place without one
stoplight and beautiful mountain roads perfect for weekend or week long
vacation fun.
July 26 p Walter R. Elliott,
76, of Adonijah Community, Lizemores, see OBITUARY page
July 26 a Today the Youth Agriculture
Fair continues over at Clay County Park at Maysel. Later Saturday evening
it's Blues night at Summer Jam. Wear your sunglasses, got to be cool you
know, and take in some great West Virginia musicians like Harold Allen
and Terri Lively plus a brand new group called Tommy's Triple Threat Blues
Revue. A night for gruitar licks and more. Cake walks at 6:30 with Summer
Jam going on the air at 7pm sharp. Bring a lawn chair, free too.
July 26 a We're still receiving calls
and emails on: What happened to the site. Just tell those in withdrawal,
type in clayberry.org and they're good to go.
July 26 a Just getting reconnected,
welcome back PL and JJ
July 25 p How about it? Come see what
makes Clayberry so special. Come visit County Clay. How about this weekend?
July 25 p Got an update on Carl Wilson
Sr from Jr. who says Dad: is doing much better; should get back home from
the hospital sometime next week, and intravenous antibiotics are now kicking
in and the prognosis is looking good. As soon as Carl Sr starts talking
grumpy, we'll know he's on the mend!
July 25 p Next time you see Ed the
UPS man, ask him about the big bear he came across just North of teacher's
bottom curve on Rt 4. Big un!
July 25 p Clay County made regional
attention via TV-3 concerning the County Commission's vote to continue
consolidation of our three PSDs. Commissioners Triplett and King say the
change will not raise customer rates. Commissioner What's his name says
consolidation is the best thang since canned soup. Link has lots of experience
with consolidating things, schools for instance. In each case there was
NEVER a penny saved.
July 25 p Of the 418 water providers
in West Virginia, there's only 2 PSD's with higher water rates than Clay
Roane PSD at $60.53 for 4500 gallons of the wet stuff. Queen Shoals PSD
ranks 24th highest in the state at $47.99 for 4500 gallons. How expensive
is the most expensive provider, Clay County PSD?We can't even find Clay
County PSD on the official
listings page on the WV Public Service Commission web site! Our
guesstiment is :$60.74 for 4500 gallons and even worser, a minimum rate
of $41.10 per month.
July 25 p Have you ever seen water
rates go down? With Queen Shoals at $47.99 and Clay Roane at over $60,
think Clay Roane rates will go down. If Clay County PSD is $60.74, will
they lower rates to QSPDS levels? Got some beach front property at
Maysel too
July 25 p Switching gears...
July 25 p The Clay County school system
has a way of creating jobs to fit their needs. When a special person needs
a special place, a job is created. How do they make sure the special person
gets the cushy job? They tell all others interested, do not apply. Those
in the system, those wanting to move up anyway, know, don't mess the big
boys plan for special inside deals.
July 25 p Up at our new elementary
school, Valley Dale Elem., there's been a power struggle between secretary
Mickey Boggs and Principal Pam Mullins. For some reason, secretary Ms Boggs
thinks she should be, educated to be, trained to be, in charge.
July 25 p To separate the warring
parties, the county administrators created a first of it's kind, new secretarial
III slot at Clay High. The job posting is over on the
school web site. The idea was for Mickey Boggs to be the only applicant
and her get the un-needed job.
July 25 p Someone forgot to tell Boggs
about the plan. The coffeehouse crowd says Boggs has no intention of taking
the cushy job.
July 25 p What ta do What ta do.....
July 24 p Happy Birthday CCHS
VP Michelle Samples.
July 24 p The jury started their deliberations
around 11:15 this morning in the State vs Tommmy Young Jr case. Young was
charged with Grand Larceny and conspiracy to commit a crime. Considering
they were provided a lunch break, it didn't take 'em long. By 1:20 today
they had decided Young Jr was Not Guilty of stealing a logging company
John Deere 650 dozer but Guilty of conspiring with Jeremy Salisbury to
do the crime.
July 24 p Tommy Young Jr remains out
on bond with sentencing set for Sept 15th.
July 24 p Don't start calling him Teflon
Tommy...there are other charges pending in Roane County.
July 24 p Details coming Friday.
July 24 a The Summer is zooming by
and most of us are still waiting for those great big red tomatoes so large,
one slice fills a piece of bread.
July 24 a Red Cross Blood Drive this
afternoon. See EVENTS page for details
July 24 a Get well wishes extended
to Magistrate Mike King who's in the hospital with ticker problems.
July 24 a Yesterday the County
Commission voted to proceed with consolidating all three Public Service
Districts into one mega mess. Questions came on how such a move could save
money. Clay County PSD Chair Greg Fitzwater spoke out with concerns of
higher water rates county wide if consolidation is implemented.
July 24 a Mention was made that consolidation
would be the first step for West Virginia Water Co to take over the entire
county. They're already serving customers in the Queen Shoals section.
July 24 a Commissioner Pete Triplett
said , consolidation couldn't help but reduce costs. Fran king was absent
from duty Wednesday.
July 24 a Commissioner Slinky
was 100% in support of consolidation. He has a long history of consolidating
schools while in the school system. During each school closure hearing
came word on how much the county would save by the shut down community
school. To date, no savings have been realized. The School system's budget
is now $20,000,000 to serve 2100 students.
July 24 The State vs Tommy Young Jr
trial is in progress before Judge Alsop. The case stems from a Fall 06
bulldozer stolen from the Swandale area ending up down in Elkiew. Jeremy
Salisbury and Young Jr were nabbed for the caper. Salisbury turned state's
evidence and put the finger on Jr.
July 24 a Not sure if the trial ended
Wed or not. Around 2pm the place was gassed.
July 24 a Over in Family Law Court,
Melissa Postelwait got in a brawl in the elevator with another woman. To
separate the fight, Sheriff Holcomb hosed them down with pepper spray.
Unfortunately the fumes carried through out the Courthouse emptying it
for several minutes. Coughing, including Randy, was heard everywhere.
July 24 a Fans will employed to disperse
the odor while maintenance crews mopped out the elevator.
July 24 a Always good fun over at the
Courthouse!
July 23 a Hildreth June Frame,
76, see OBITUARY page
July 23 a The old Elk Valley
Hardware and Post Office buildings are located right beside the Courthouse
on Main Street. Several years ago there was talk of the County Commission
buying the two structures for government offices. After dragging their
feet for years, the Clay Fire Dept purchased the two properties with plans
for building a new firehouse. With new construction costly and the site
being a terrible location for the firehouse, once again the county is talking
about buying the old buildings. At least that's what we think will be discussed
during Wednesday's 10 am County Commission meeting.
July 23 a The best part of the meeting,
Ambulance Director Bev Kings butt chewing, may be held behind closed doors,
secret time. They can do that if and ONLY if Director King asks to do so.
July 23 a About two years back
we switched to clayberry.org as our web site URL. We kept the old claywestvirginia.com
name and mirrored it to the clayberry site. Some are emailing they can't
see this site while using the old name. Sorry, it's time to switch to clayberry.org.
Pass the word please
July 23 a From the email bag:
A black St. Bernard was found at Harrison. Anyone wanting info on
the dog or just wants it, give me a call 286-4222
July 22 p Betty June Kirk, 71,
see OBITUARY page
July 22 p This morning,
all the fresh, new, indictees, said "not me" to Judge Jack Alsop. That
includes Jim Knotts charged with 129 felonies and the guy that stole Sheriff's
Holcomb Tahoe last Jan.
July 22 p The latest Communicator includes
the background criminal complaint on the Knotts case, the juicy details
from last Thursday's Town Hall meeting (raising sewer rates & maybe
more), and all the other stuff on Clayberry found no other place.
July 22 p The biggy meeting of the
week may be Wednesday morning when the County Commission meets at the Courthouse,
10am. There they plan to get into consolidating all the water PSDs into
one gigantic, impossible to control, conglomerate.
July 22 p Natalie Cole, stage
name: Natalie Logan, from Procious is making quite a name for herself in
the country music world. Here's a link to her review on ICM
.
July 21 Late p The Communicator
is now on the news stands ready to keep you informed on all the happenings
in Clayberry West Virginia
July 21 Late p Count em! 28 pages of
news and views second to none.
July 21 Late p Tuesday morning Judge
Jack Alsop will convene Arraignment Day. Look for all em to say, Not Guilty.
July 21 a We said no new posts
until the Communicator gets to bed but this one is important
July 21 a How important is water safety
for you and your child. Tonight the Clay Swimming Pool begins swimming
lessons. See EVENTS page for details.
July 20 p While the site was down .....
July 20 p Happy 19th Birthday
wishes extended to Ronnie Lee Rogers II of Ivydale
July 20 p Happy Birthday to Denise
Duffield
July 20 p Happy 3rd Birthday to Ryan
Sizemore
July 20 p From the last few days, a
wrap up or two
July 20 p Early last week Frank Bullard's
brick home and garage at Maysel burned to the ground. The interesting part
was how the place burned. The entire place is gone including a breezeway
separated two car garage. Nothing is left. Zip. The State Fire Marshall's
SUV was spotted in town later that same day. Sure leads to speculation.
July 20 p The biggy of the week came
from the Spring Grand Jury where a handful of individuals were indicted.
The felony winner has to go to Clay County business leader Jim Knotts coming
in with 129 indictments. Most likely a new record for our county. Knotts
stands charged with sex charges against a minor. We checked Friday afternoon
with the County Clerk's office to see if Mr Knotts had resigned his position
on the Clay County Business Development Authority. Most people would, Knotts
hasn't.
July 20 p Mid week all internet connections
to the world were severed when lines and station at Gauley Bridge were
messed up. WOrd spread we would be without the www for three days. Fortunately,
the outage lasted less than one day.
July 20 p During that outage we decided
to switch this site to a faster server on the IX Web Hosting service. Instead
of happening quick, Internet Gods took over and left us un-updatable for
three days. Things were back to better by Saturday afternoon.
July 20 p Thugs were at work Wednesday
night late. Four tires were poked with an ice pick style instrument and
destroyed on a new looking church van parked in the Farirew Baptist Church
parking lot. How much lower can you get? Slimy pukes are among us!
July 20 p Thursday evening Clay Town
Council and the Mayor convened a Special Town Hall style gathering to grease
the tracks for higher somethings in the near future. Earlier, Llyn Drake
proposed implementing a business and occupation tax. During this hearing,
she said she would be against such a move. Earlier Joyce Gibson proposed
an employee tax on each worker in the municipality. During the July 17th
hearing, when the subject came up, she stayed moot and allowed others to
poo poo the notion.
July 20 p The 90 minute long
gathering brought out over 30 folks with reps from at least 11 area
businesses. Up front you could see and hear the tension between Recorder
Drake and Mayor Brown as they disputed the other's comments. From the peanut
gallery came two main desires. One, stop the bickering and grow up elected
leaders. And, two, before you come up with some cocka mammy idea of raising
anything, get your numbers in order and show us the $$$ shortfall .
July 20 p Results from the meeting,
Council is going to raise sewer rates some amount and they backed down
from the head tax and B&O burden. Did they hear what the taxpayers
told them. The stuff about putting in writing how much they need... doubt
if that happens. Will Council and the Mayor bridge the great divide?
With Council raising wages, giving rate increases to others, hiring new
people, and sending Drake off for Municipal Judge training for a
position we don't even have, the answer is, not anytime in the near future.
July 20 p During the meeting,
Ms Drake referred to Clay County's award winning Communicator as a source
of mistruth. She said nothing in the paper was true, it was all concocted
up, not a word of truth there!
July 20 p About the Communicator being
inaccurate... The problem is, the paper is so accurate, it embarrasses
them, that's the problem.
July 20 p Friday evening a horse trailer
containing two horses was found in the middle of I-79. Big Otter Fire Dept
and the Humane Group responded. According to Marna Killingsworth, the trailer
had been stolen. George Jones from BOVFD took the two animals to his home
for safe keeping.
July 20 p Tomatoes are turning
red. Blackberries are ripe. Mild peppers are nearly mature. Honey is being
robbed. Kids are running in cut off jeans and bare foot. The Swimming Pool
is open. Sunshine and whot weather returned to Clayberry for the
second weekend in a row.
July 20 p Summer time is the
right time to come visit the Great Nation of Clay. There's no place like
home.
July 20 p We're in typing mode
for Monday's Communicator. That's the newspaper endorsed by Clay County
Commissioner Slinky. No updates until the rag gets out the door sometime
Monday afternoon. You're on your own for 24 hours clickers.
July 19 LATE Now loaded on a
little quicker server, after three days of waiting, we're back.
July 19 LATE Unfortunately during
the propogation time, we lost some of the postings from the old web server.
July 19 LATE weekend update coming
Sunday mid day including the stolen trailer out on I-79 with two horses
inside.
July 18 p The clayberry web site
is hosted by a Kentucky based company, IX web hosting. Normally an outstanding
service complete with techies that speak Appalachian dialect, they've dropped
the ball this time. When the Internet was down Wednesday, we thought it
would be a good time to migrate to a faster server at IX. The two day migration
process was to have started Thursday mid day. Then it was to start late
late last night. Didn't happen. During such server space changes, we are
unable to update.
July 18 p Until those Ky folks
get started with their three day old promises, we'll add some new pics
and postings.
July 18 p Communicator comes out Monday
around 3pm. Deadline is Saturday mid day for submissions.
July 18 p Last night over 30 people
including 11 business owners, attended the Town Hall style Town Council
hearing held at the Courthouse. With many breathing down their backs, Council
told the world they were NOT in favor of adding a new B&O tax
(Llyn's idea) to the struggling 54 businesses nor were they in favor of
adding a head tax (Joyce's idea) on each person employed in the municipality.
July 18 p Council wants more money
to operate the log factory which has operated in the red (over $80,000)
during each of the last two years.
July 18 p When asked how much they
really need to become solvent again, there was no answer. When asked how
much it would take to break even once again, they had no answers. As a
matter of fact, Mayor Brown and Recorder Drake had different figures on
how much the poop factory actually lost during the last two years.
July 18 p Those in the peanut gallery
offered many suggestions on what to do.
July 18 p No decisions made other forming
a committee to make recommendations. Truth is, the WV PSC will tell Council
how much sewer rates have to be increased. Our guess, instead of the current
rate of 1.8 % of the water bill, the new rate will be much closer to 3.5%
of the monthly wa wa bills.
July 18 p During the meeting, it was
learned that the water plant is doing quite well with well over a
$150,000 surplus in the bank. Lets see now, the wa wa plant is in the black
by over $150,000. The Log Factory is in the red by $80,000 +.
July 18 p Seems like the solution would
be: Lower water rates a little and raise sewer rates a little. Those living
in town would see no difference in monthly expenses and the county PSD's
who buy wholesale water from the Town would realize some breathing room.
July 18 p Never happen!
July 17 a NOTICE: Some time today
the info on this site will be moved over to a less congested server. That
process will begin late this afternoon. Once moved, there will be a certain
lag time with the internet Gods switching to the new location. Don't get
excited, you don't have to do a thing except sit on your thumbs for a day
or two. While the change over is talking place, we will be unable to update
the site. Be patient.
July 17 a Without a doubt the most
important meeting of the month, maybe the year, happens this evening
at 6pm when Clay Town Council and Mayor Jack Brown ask that everybody with
an interest in the Town's future show up at the Courthouse to voice their
views on how the town can get more money out of your pocket for municipal
coffers.
July 17 a During recent Council
meetings suggestions have included: a new weekly employee tax, raising
sewer rates, implementing a B&O tax on all local businesses, and selling
your first born children.
July 17 a During those regular meetings
of Council no one has mentioned or put in writing , how much money the
Town really needs, where the Town is needing the extra $$, nor where they
can cut expenses.
July 17 a For those that harp and complain,
if you don't attend this evening's Town Hall style meeting at the Courthouse,
keep your pie hole shut forever more.
July 17 a It's official, the terrorists
have won the war. Now the Feds can arrest you, a full blooded American,
put you in the slammer WITHOUT telling you why and
keep you there forever! Not just someone thought to be a bad guy, anybody.
July 17 a Lets see now: Wholesale prices
for goods before they reach consumers rose by 1.8 percent in June ; Food
costs were up 1.5 percent, the biggest increase since January, Wholesale
energy prices shot up 6 percent, Retail sales were up just 0.1 percent
in June, the worst showing since February, and the Labor Department said
wholesale inflation, driven by skyrocketing gas and food costs, rose by
9.2 percent for the 12 months ending in June. And, there are still people
that think Dubbya is doing a good job. Here's the whole
lowdown.
July 17 a Here's the list of the top
10
banks most likely to fail.
July 17 a With all this going
on, Patterson
New Jersey officials are so worried about saggy baggy pants, they're
working on a law where kids can be arrested for such apparel.
July 17 a Change of plans clickers.
The Communicator is NOT coming out Friday afternoon. Instead , look for
Clay County's award winning newspaper MOnday afternoon. Deadline for submissions
extended until Saturday afternoon.
July 17 a Hey, this time it ain't our
fault. Turns out the early morning person that handles the pre printing
duties is going to be off this Friday.
July 16 p SPECIAL NOTE CLICKERS: Web
server site change beginning Thursday, July 17 at 3pm. During the propagation
process, this site may be unavailable until the Internet Gods get it all
sorted out. Also, during the web server change, we can't update the site.
Hopefully, when this process is completed, pages will load faster and the
site will be more stable . Not better, just more stable
July 16 p Tuesday night at 11:02pm
the entire Frontier Tele Co internet service went down. Those using Frontier
for an ISP were left out on the limb with no connectivity. As of 2pm today,
the service appers to be back up and running
July 16 p SO what happened? From the
email bag: just letting you know the internet outage was do to a car wreck
in gauley bridge. The fire crews cut the fiber on verizons end. It was
not a frontier problem.
July 16 p Just talked to a lady on
Elkhurst Road who says her satellite internet service , Wild
Blue, has been doing well without down time even during all the rain
storms in June.
July 16 p Here's the list of Spring
Grand Jury Indictments.
July 16 p David Ramsey 9 counts including
DUI 3rd plus grand larceny, fleeing an officer, assault while attempting
a felony, assault on an officer, and destruction of property.
July 16 p Timothy Joshua Beard
5 counts of uttering
July 16 p William Collins 3 counts
including arson first degree
July 16 p Rick Bishop 3 counts burglary
arson and destruction of property
July 16 p Sharon Naylor welfare fraud
July 16 p And and and a BIG apology
to James Lester Knotts (Jim) . Yesterday we reported him indicted with
128 felonies. We were sooooooooooooooo wrong.
July 16 p James Lester Knotts with
129 felonies all relating to sexual assault on a minor. Last Fall, Knotts
was arrested on 40 some counts and was released on Bond ($240,000). Where
the new charges came from, we don't know. He remains out on bond
at this time.Dan Dotson remains the Special Prosecutor in the State vs
Knotts case.
July 16 p Judge Jack Alsop will handle
this term of Court. Arraignment Day for the new indictees is set for Tuesday
July 22 beginning at 9 am when they will all (most likely anyway) say,
Not me Judge, I didn't do it!
July 16 p Nobody believes us but, we
plan to publish the latest edition of The Communicator this Friday. Deadline
for story, classified,chatters, obituaries, and such is Thursday afternoon
at 5pm. Email em in right away
July 16 p From the email bag:
My husband, being unhappy with my mood swings, bought me a mood ring
the other day so he would be able to monitor my moods. We've discovered
that when I'm in a good mood, it turns green. When I'm in a bad mood, it
leaves a big frickin' red mark on his forehead. Maybe next time he'll
buy me a diamond!
July 15 p Clay County business man,
Business Development Authority member and pillar of the community, Jim
Knotts had a bad day today.
July 15 p The Clay County Grand Jury
indicted Mr Knotts not once or a dozen times but 128 times!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 15 p The indictments stem from
sexual assault, abuse by a parent of guardian charges filed in August 2007.
Green Shirt JT Portillo was the investigating officer.
July 15 p Complete list of indictments
coming Wednesday sometime
July 15 a Augusta Mae Canfield,
81, of Harrison, see OBITUARY page
July 15 a Sunday's weekly wrap up included
mention of banks failing as well as serious Fannie and Freddy problems.
Are we ready to see runs on banks? Already happening
out West. Read the link closely. Here's a line or two from the LA Times
article: ..... an estimated 10,000 IndyMac depositors who had a collective
$1 billion over federal insurance limits. In an unusual move, the FDIC
said it would give those customers access to 50% of their uninsured deposits.
Any additional payments would be made only if the sale of IndyMac assets
proved sufficient.
July 15 a Gulp!
July 15 a From the email bag: CAEZ
of WV will hold a Special Meeting on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 11:00 a.m.
at the CAEZ Office.
July 15 a Here's the latest on FEMA
relating to disaster assistance due to June 4 09 storm damage
July 15 a 778 applications have been
filed in the affected area. $2 million has been paid out in
the declared disaster area
July 15 a There have been 610 inspections
but just 19 in Clay County
July 15 a There are 7 inspectors working
in the field.
July 15 a Do you have storm damage
from the June 4th storm. Give em a call today. Free money just for a phone
call. Info on ADVISORY page
July 15 a People keep asking, what's
happening with the 48 felony charges lodged against local business owner
and BDA member, Jim Knotts. According to Circuit Court Clerk Mike Asbury,
the charges came over from Magistrate near the end of last year;
the charges are still hanging there; and, he didn't know when the case
would progress.
July 15 a Spring Grand Jury convenes
later this week.
July 13 p A couple notes from
the last seven days
July 13 p Hurtin for gas money? Having
trouble paying your food bill? In trouble with credit cards? Things are
about to get worse. The first news surfaced on yet another financial crisis
where the Feds
took over one bank and may well have to do the same with Freddie
and Fannie. The problem appears to be regulators not regulating. Who
gets the new infusion of tax dollars? Not the mortgage holder but... you
guessed it, the regulators who created the problem.
July 13 p Lets see now, Dubbya has
been in office for 7 1/2 years and aren't things lookin rosy
July 13 p Shelly Moore Capito sent
out campaign literature last week. In the glossy piece she asks voters
to prioritize their concerns. The oil war in Iraq was not listed
as an important issue.
July 13 p There have been
4,430 coalition deaths -- 4,116 Americans, two Australians, one Azerbaijani,
176 Britons, 13 Bulgarians, one Czech, seven Danes, two Dutch, two Estonians,
one Fijian, five Georgians, one Hungarian, 33 Italians, one Kazakh, one
Korean, three Latvian, 22 Poles, three Romanians, five Salvadoran, four
Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, two Thai and 18 Ukrainians -- in the war in Iraq
as of July 11, 2008, according to a CNN count.
July 13 p We often gripe about local
government agencies not following open meetings law. This past week WVU
made the headlines when they held a meeting without proper public notice,
faulty agenda. The purpose of their secret time was also called into question.
July 13 p Wonder why your water bills
are outrageous? Mid week all three public service districts
in the county met with the County Commission and a West Virginia Public
Service Commission rep. Center of the meeting was Clay Roane PSD losing
1.7 million gallons of wa wa each month and doing so for many many months.
Sadly, instead of centering on fixing the leak problem, much of the meeting
time was devoted to consolidating the water service providers into one
colossal mess.
July 13 p A short lived but powerful
down pour sent water everywhere it wasn't suppose to go Wednesday evening.
Main Street flooded over sending wa wa into the NAPA store, a church, and
Homestead Builders office. The culprit... poor engineering of a 4 by 8
box culvert at the nearly complete hollow filling back street bridge. Yelp,
brand new and going to cause the Town headaches for the next century!
July 13 p Over in Roane County, the
Newton Community Center Board of Director spent a big part of the winter
in a court battle. At issue was the long standing management versus a new
bunch wanting to take control and make something of the place. After a
costly ($10,000) court battle, the newbees won. Under the new Board the
place has come alive with events and returned to being the hub of the community.
Something similar may be happening in Clayberry.
July 13 p The Big Otter Community building
is about the only place to have a public meeting in t he Northern end of
the county. Nice looking white building complete with food service kitchen
and a couple meeting rooms. For the most part the place stays empty with
the exception of Friday night music shows.
July 13 p Last Thursday night the Big
Otter Community Center Board met. There am outsider group wants to take
over the reigns or at least have some say in growing the place. Bitter
feelings and potty mouth (Hollie Cunningham for instance) was heard. Look
for this skirmish to turn into a Court battle soon.
July 13 p Big Otter by
laws require all Board members to be members of Otter Lick Church
or be Christian in faith. Here's an interesting little nugget....
By laws can say about anything. No problem there except, much of the group's
funding comes from government grants like the old Budget Digest fund. Anybody
else see a problem with tax dollars going to a non profit that doesn't
allow people on the Board based on personal religious convictions?
July 13 p For the first Saturday in
weeks, Clayberry had bright sunshine and hot weather. It was great!
July 11 a All around good guy Dave
Derby turns 60 today. Happy Birthday wishes of 60 more productive years!
July 11 a We've made it to another
weekend. Hopefully this one will be dry for once in 6 weeks. The rain is
great for tomatoes but not the toes.
July 11 a Check out our EVENTS page
for fun stuff to do like.... tonight's Bingo with the BC&G
July 11 a Learn CPR Saturday morning
and then hear great West Virginia musicians at Summer Jam Saturday night
beginning with cake walks at 6:30pm.
July 11 a Ohhhh So you don't
like down home grown music? Try the pool party!
July 11 a Thursday morning's
post gave insight into why Clay County lags so far behind the rest of the
world, we can't even keep water in water lines. From the email
bag: Well what doesn't leak has to be boiled. What's the point?
Seems to me it all needs to be turned off and start over. Everybody needs
a standby well anyway and no one in the county government is interested
in that ugly thing called Progress. Why heck if there was reliable
water in the county it might attract business. Just a Thought. Yes
you can use my name! Vicki Lane
July 9 a Get your coffee. This is going
to take a while
July 9 a Tuesday evening FEMA announced
that homeowners that sustained storm damage during the June 4th blast can
now apply for Federal assistance. Dial 1 800 621 3362.
July 9 a According to Field Rep Bill
Lindsey, FEMA has already paid out $1,70,052 to those affected by the storm
in the 16 counties declared disaster area.
July 9 a 548 homes have been inspected
for damage as of noon Wed. Guess how many claims have been filed from Clayberry?
Answer: 0 Here's your chance clickers
to get back some of your hard earned tax dollars. Dial 1 800 621 3362 today
July 9 a Wed mid day, quietly,
the County Commission called together Boardsters from the Clay Roane, Queen
Shoals and Clay County PSDs for a meeting with long time WV Public Service
Commission Rep, Dave Foster. The 90 minute gathering brought out in the
open many serious problems with water service in the county. Jim
Kearns from Queen Shoals PSD said they were at wits end with all the water
leaks and tight budget.
July 9 a About as soon as the meeting
got underway, you could feel the tension between QSPSD and Clay Roane.
There's been a long time rift between the two water providers
for years, decades.
July 9 a What's the problem? QS PSD
is losing over 400,000 gallons of water each month. That's 400,000 that
they are paying for and not selling to customers.
July 9 a Problem number 2 is Clay Roane
PSD which has many leaks throughout their system amounting to a loss of
800,000 gallons of the wet stuff last month. Some months even more than
that!!
July 9 a Between the bickering, long
time public servant Dave Foster strongly recommended two things.
Get better management and shut down the out dated Procious Water Plant.
Commissioner Fran King asked him about consolidating all three county PSDs.
Foster said he was in favor of that. He emphasized five times (at least)
the two two key points, shut down the Procious plant and get managment/organization.
July 9 a Employees from the Procious
plant were against closing the place citing job loss. Foster explained
the cost of labor, chemicals, and utility costs rendering the small plant
an obsolete money drain.
July 9 a We'll stop here for a second
clickers. Does any of this sound familiar? It should. The 1.7 million gallon
a month leak is nothing new. As a matter of fact, last winter Foster was
at a Clay Roane PSD meeting and told them the same thing. He even had a
plan back then on how to find the costly water leaks. Since last
winter, very little of the plan was implemented by the PSD.
July 9 a Queen Shoals PSD with its
175 customers, buys wa wa from Clay Roane PSD. According to Commissioner
Fran King, last month, some customers on the QSPSD system had water service
just a few days during the entire month!
July 9 a Instead of figuring out how
to stop the monster leaks, much of the meeting was spent complaining about
decades old rivalries and rehashing a 2001 plan to consolidate all three
PSDs as if that in some way would cure the problems and leaks.
July 9 It won't!
July 9 a Foster said the plant could
be shut down and Clay Roane could buy from the Town of Clay where water
can be purchased for HALF the cost of what it takes the Procious Plant
to make the wet stuff.
July 9 a Commissioner King felt Clay
Roane PSD could save $10,000 a month by buying from the Town of Clay and
closing the Procious facility.
July 9 a Commissioner Triplett read
over the figures and discovered serious discrepancies in what Clay Roane
was reporting and saying.
July 9 a If you had a widget store
and someone was taking half your product without paying, could you stay
in business? Of course not! That's the same thang with both PSDs. They
are losing over half their product and have been for months, years actually.
Instead of fixing the problem, they just go crying to the WV PSC who provides
a rate increase. Clay Roane applied for a rate increase four months
ago !
July 9 a CCC was ready to adjourn the
meeting without solving the real problem, water leaks. Finally, Dave
Foster said he would once again come up with a plan to find the pesky leak
problem.
July 9 a Meeting over and ready for
another month of 1,700,000 gallons of costly treated water ending up in
the dirt somewhere.
July 9 a Here's the problem with consolidation.
Queen Shoals has $20,000 in the bank while Clay County PSD ended last month
with over $27,000 in the black. Clay County PSD will end up taking over
the other PSDs. Add to the many leak problems, heavy heavy debt load within
Clay Roane PSD . It's that debt load , the old bills that have to
be paid before anything else, that drives up monthly bills at Clay Roane.
Queen Shoals is debt free.
July 9 a Based on comments and nods
yesterday, County Commission has every intention of reacting and moving
ahead with the consolidation plan instead .
July 9 a The fix? The only fix is:
Queen Shoals PSD has to purchase water from West Virginia Water Co which
is already serving customers in that end of the county. Roane County customer
have to be turned over to Roane County where the Spencer water plant can
handle them. With those 425+ customers gone, if you do the math,
the Town of Clay can serve the remaining Clay Roane PSD customers and do
so WITHOUT the need for a new $5 million water plant!
July 9 a It's not too late to solve
the long term problems ! Has anyone seen any time when consolidation
saved money and stream lined an operation? Don't say school consolidation..
don't say the airline industry. Someone email and let us know when consolidation
of anything resulted in lower prices.
July 9 a Changin gears.
July 9 a Everyone has heard the story
of Sheriff Holcomb arresting a bank robber with one hand while the other
was taking care of the call of nature. Then there was the guy that ran
off with Holcomb's Tahoe a few months back. Our Sheriff was able
to hang on to the speeding away Tahoe with a Twinkie in one hand and shoot
the windows out with the other hand.
July 9 a And now.... Last night, after
the big Main Street Clay flood, soaking wet, Top Badge Holcomb was in the
Fas Chek parking lot with a monster, whopper size, Subway sandwich. He
had the thing unwrapped and up to his mouth when a kid in a little S-10
Blazer squealed thru the parking lot heading for the main drag. With a
mouth full of sandwich, and a handful of sandwich in his right hand,
Holcomb turned on the blue lights, took off, and nabbed the kid in
short order. He never dropped a crumb in the seat!
July 9 a Can't you hear him telling
the do badder, Wev Me Your Thivers Wicense and Wegistration ard.
July 9 a 23 year old Dustin Blancet
spent the night in jail on a felony charge.
July 9 a "Mr. Clark, I
have reviewed this case very carefully," the divorce Court Judge said,
"And I've decided to give your wife $775 a week,"
"That's very fair, your honor," the husband said. "And every now and then
I'll try to send her a few bucks myself."
July 9 a While shopping for vacation
clothes, my husband and I passed a display of bathing suits. It had been
at least ten years and twenty pounds since I had even considered buying
a bathing suit, so I sought my husband's advice. "What do you think?"
I asked. "Should I get a bikini or an all-in-one?"
"Better get a bikini," he replied. "You'd never get it all in one."
July 8 p The Boil Water Order for Hartland,
Bickmore and South was lifted around 1pm this afternoon.
July 8 p From the email bag:
Misty (Tanner) Jones (she works in the Assessor's Office) was diagnosed
with Leukemia over the weekend and is in the hospital at Memorial.
She has a long road ahead of her. Please keep her and her family
in your prayers. Thank you!
July 8 p Just when we think the rain
will end... Clayberry had another rain storm mid morning today.
July 7 p The latest edition of
the Communicator is now on news stands in five counties and in the mail
for prescribers. In this edition, insight into Town Council readying to
raise any and every tax burden on local businesses and municipal dwellers
plus the nutso Business Development Authority thinking it's OK to break
the law and keep their financials from being published in media outlets.
Lots of July 4th Celebration pictures too.
July 7 p A man was
telling his neighbor in Sun City Center , 'I just bought a new hearing
aid. It cost me four thousand dollars, but it's state of the art. It's
perfect.' 'Really,' answered the neighbor. 'What kind is it?'
'Twelve thirty.'
July 7 p A little old lady was sitting
on a park bench in The Villages, a Florida Adult community. A man walked
over and sits down on the other end of the bench. After a few moments,
the woman asks, 'Are you a stranger here?' He replies, 'I lived here
years ago.' 'So, where were you all these years?' 'In prison,'
he says. 'Why did they put you in prison?' He looked at her, and
very quietly said, 'I killed my wife.' 'Oh!' said the woman. 'So
you're single...?!'
July 6 p Goldie Myrtle Procious
Samples, 100, of Procious , see OBITUARY page
July 6 p John Franklin
Scott, 72, of Clay, see OBITUARY page
july 6 p We're working on Monday's
Comunicator. No updates until it's out the door.
July 6 a Town of Clay water users,
there is a BOIL WATER ORDER in place as a result of Friday night's big
time main line water break in front of the Courthouse. A section of the
old ductile iron pipe ruptured . Saturday night repair crews were working
in the Maysel Manor area repairing plumbing problems.
July 6 a No weekend wrap up this time
around, we're still trying to dry out from Saturday's monsoon storms. In
between the gully washers, much of the Independence Celebration schedule
was dampened but not stopped. Not so the parade which nearly drowned a
Firecracker Queen riding in a convertible.
July 6 a The final day of the event
gets underway today with a Gospel Sing beginning at 1pm. Bring a lawn chair
and enjoy great Clay County talent including Adam Burdette, Christa Ramsey,
and the Remnants.
July 6 a If you have some close up
photos from Saturday's activities, please email today so we can print them
in Monday's Communicator. Seems the ace cub reporter's camera went South
when it filled with rain water.
July 5 a Limited updates during the
Celebration now in progress
July 5 a Right after the
fireworks, right after the crowds left downtown, a main water line broke
turning Main Street and Courthouse Square into a flowing lake. Crews were
on the scenes before 11 last night digging up the street in search of the
break. Water service was severed for parts of downtown Clay South.
July 5 a As of this posting (1am)
no Boil Water Order issued by the Town BUT, to be safe, don't take any
chances.
July 5 a For those living afar, you
can peak at our Independence Weekend Celebration by going to the wyap.com
web site and clicking on a web cam. One is pointing out from the stage
onto the dance floor ahhh, parking lot
July 4 p Loretta Kay Salisbury,
61, of Clay, see OBITUARY page
July 4 p Emma Lucille Gillespie,
94, of Procious, see OBITUARY page
July 4 a Happy Fourth of July to each
and every. During this holiday weekend, limited posts as we take in the
family fun during the Independence Weekend Celebration in downtown Clay.
July 4 a From Clay Roane PSD:
BOIL WATER ADVISORY HAS BEEN LIFTED. DATE: July 3, 2008 TIME: 1:10
PM Boil water advisory that was placed for Elkhurst Road, Camp
Creek, Bomont, and From Camp Bridge to County Line Area (PWSID#3300806),
on June 30, 2008 has been lifted. For further information please
contact Clay-Roane Public Service District at 304-548-5209.
July 4 a See JOBS page
July 4 a Second poorest county in the
second poorest state and....
July 4 a Last week the School
Board held an early early morning meeting without proper public notice.
The purpose was to approve the Somber Super's employment contract and new
salary. A FOIA request turned up his new salary and untaxed add on's. That'll
cost you 70 cents in Monday's Communicator.
July 4 a The BDA meet last night. Sadly
we report zero progress made by our appointed eco dev leaders. It was a
total waste. Full details in Monday's newspaper.
July 4 a One bit of news came from
the gathering from CAEZ's Big Lup. According to the Director, that new
technical college will be offering heavy equipment operators classes. Also,
the school wants Clayonians to fill out a survey form. Here's the online
version of the survey.
July 4 a Last call for Saturday's parade....
Do you have an old car? Horse, kid in a wagon, dancin girls? We'd love
to have you in Saturday's parade at 1pm. Staging area for the parade is
the old Starcher Furniture building around noon:30.
July 4 a Time to party.
July 2 p Dorothea M. Ward, see
OBITUARY page
July 2 p From the email bag:
I want to wish my niece Karley Duffield of Lizemores a Very Happy
10th Birthday, On July 2nd We all love you Kar.
July 2 p First a note: RT Sizemore
has a sign up at Dundon mentioning his blueberries are ready. Fortunately
for him and unfortunately for the rest of us, the first customers picked
him out. Son Dan Sizemore says more berries will be ready this weekend.
July 2 p Someone asked today if horses
were allowed in the July5th parade in downtown Clay. The answer is Yes.
A parade ain't a parade without that certain aroma. It's America!!
July 2 p Now for the unimportant stuff....
July 2 p Tuesday evening's Town Council
meeting was newsworthy. As for hiring someone to do the books and get everything
straightened out, they hired a $60 per hour CPA to get the job done. Side
note. Oh Yes, Town Recorder Llyn Drake was very upset for the web site
comments about her wanting to hire someone to do her job. How mad? She
was blue around the gills. But, as expected, she got her way.
July 2 p Remember the temper tantrums
in months past over Ms Drake wanting to be a Municipal Judge and setting
up a Municipal Court? While the Court never happened, there's other ways
to skin a cat.
July 2 p During the Council meeting,
the elected folks gave the green light for a $1000+ expense so the water
clerk and Llyn Drake to attend training sessions. The one training session
that Drake is attending is... you guessed it, Municipal Judge classes.
July 2 p That's municipal dollars being
spent for a position that does not exist in the Town of Clay.
July 2 p Down below is the post on
Hawkie Keener driving a town truck. Last night Council gave the thumbs
up for Keener to resume driving town vehicles. That vote came after Mayor
Brown said at least three times, he was not about to give Hawkie a key
to the 4 wheel drive. A miffed Brown told his fellow leaders: You'll have
to take me to court before I give him a key.
July 2 p Now of course this brewing
battle ain't over Keener's driving ability or him personally. Brown says
there is a serious liability issue. He went on to say he had a letter from
their insurance provider to back him up. Council met Tuesday. As of the
close of business today, Hawkie Keener has not been seen behind the wheel
of a "company" truck.
July 2 p As posted on this web
site and The Communicator over the years, the town has serious financial
issues with their 10 year old log factory. Last month Council loaned $20,000
to the stink factory to keep the place open. Those dollars are suppose
to be used to pay off way past due invoices.
July 2 p Last night Council agreed
to hold a public meeting to discuss with the public, the need to implement
a town B&O tax, a sewer rate increase, other tax increases, and/or
some combination of the death blow on local businesses.
July 2 p That public meeting will be
held July 17th, at the Courthouse, beginning at 6pm. Council felt the increases
in cost to live in this prosperous place would be more palatable if they
eased us into the new expenses. Get out the Crisco clickers!
July 2 p WIth Friday being a holiday,
The Communicator will be published Monday afternoon. Deadline for submissions
is Saturday 5pm. Email your stuff ASAP.
July 2 a from the email bag: For the
second time in two years, Clay's 9-10 All Stars have won the District 8
Championship and will advance to the state tournaments, which begin on
July 12th in Logan. There they will be one of 14 other teams
who will compete for the state title. Congratulations to the boys
and their coaches and good luck in Logan! The 9-10 All Stars would
like to say good luck to Clay's Junior League All Star team. They
will be playing in the State Junior League Tournaments in Barboursville
beginning July 19th!
July 2 a Go Clay!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 2 a We're getting a lot of questions
on the Small Town America Independence Day Celebration this 4th 5th and
6th. Complete details are on the ADVISORY page. Complete schedule is on
EVENTS page.
July 2 a Most asked: Yes Satchel Brown
will be there Friday night. Josh, Ike and Gary will be doing a full
set but unplugged, acoustic. Yes real fireworks Friday night at 9:15. You
have to dress up your dog and no a bandanna is not enough. Be creative!
The Karaoke contest is on with cash prizes.
July 2 a We'll provide a complete update
on last night's Council meeting later today.
July 2 a The Clay Ambulance Service
has a brand new truck and three others in service. Last night the one busted
up truck, minus a working headlight, was sent out on a run. Three trucks
in good working order and the one on a run had just one headlight.
Hmmmmmmmmm!
July 2 a During the last BDA meeting,
Katherine Knotts quit the Secretary position for about the third time.
In months past, Ms Knotts came under fire for improper or lack of, posting
the meeting agenda. When she quit in June, Jesse Sizemore took over the
job of posting the meeting agenda.
July 2 a In exemplary fashion, Jesse
did up the agenda and even emailed it to those members with online addresses.
Lots of items to go over was posted on the agenda.
July 2 Only one problem. The agenda
failed to include the name for the meeting, the location of the meeting,
the date of the meeting, and the time of the meeting. Other than that,
it was a fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine agenda
July 1 a Merley Marie (Moore)
Nichols, 87,of Lizemores, see OBITUARY page
July 1 a Orval Nicholas, 90,
see OBITUARY page
July 1 a Erma Josephine Ramsey,
77, of Clay, see OBITUARY page
July 1 a James M. “Andy” Anderson,
84, see OBITUARY page
July 1 a Here's something important
we forgot to post Monday afternoon. Sorry. BOIL WATER ORDER:
Boil Water advisory for Clay Roane Public Service District has been placed
on due to discolored water. The following area needs to boil their
water; Elkhurst Road, Camp Creek, Bomont, and From Camp Bridge to County
Line Area (PWSID# 3300806). DO NOT DRINK THE WATER WITHOUT
BOILING IT FIRST. Bring water to a boil, let it boil for one minute,
and let it cool before using, or use bottled water. Boiled or bottled
water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing
dishes, bathing and food preparation until further notice. Boiling
kills bacteria and other organisms in the water. For further information
please contact Clay-Roane Public Service District at 304-548-5209.
July 1 a First day of a new month and
the second half of the year and... it's still raining. This time last year,
we were four into a draught which lasted well into August.
July 1 a Today the CAEZ meets
twice. First the Eco/Dev committee gathers at 4pm followed by the full
Board at 6pm
July 1 a Clay Town Council
also meets today at the water plant beginning at 6. Meeting agendas can
give an idea of the entertainment value of what's to come. For instance....
Should those convicted of drunk driving be allowed to drive town vehicles.
July 1 a Mayor Brown is against
the idea citing insurance and liability concerns with Council (King Arthur
is the leader of this skirmish) pulling hard to get employee Hawkie Keener
back behind the wheel of a town pick up.
July 1 a A couple years back Hawkie
was found guilty (second time) driving his personal vehicle after a few
too many brews. He did everything that was required by law and now has
his driving privileges restored. Instead of allowing him to pilot a municipal
truck, Jack Brown pays the veteran employee a gas stipend for the use of
a personal vehicle. Arthur and others want Keener back in a
company truck.
July 1 a During the last Council meeting,
the elected folks went into a secret time to discuss a policy decision
. Ahhhh... such secret times are ILLEGAL for policy decisions.
Jul 1 a Also left over from the
last Council meeting, this time Town Recorder Llyn Drake is pushing for
a new hire, someone to do her job. For decades, the Town Recorder has been
responsible for handling the books, record keeping, and bill paying.
Seems to have worked out well until the last couple years under the control
of then Recorder, Dwana Murphy.
July 1 a Partial findings from the
last audit show screwed up recording keeping including dollars not adding
up in the correct column. A previous meeting conversation tried to put
the blame on a computer program software quirk. That software cost
$1000s and was to have been the cat's meow, bought to say time and for
it's accuracy.
July 1 a Now, Recorder Drake wants
to spend $1000s on more software PLUS hire someone (more $1000s) to do
the books, her job. Let's see, if someone else is hired to handle the record
keeping, that leaves $480 a month Drake with doing just the meeting
minutes for the once a month public meeting. Not bad $$$$$.
July 1 a New worker and costly software...
the added expenses can be used as a basis for a larger water rate increase
while in fact, the wa wa company has no need for higher rates..... truth
is, it's the log factory operation that's in need of higher rates.
July 1 a Tonight's Council should be
a dandy with the Mayor on one side of the battle and Council on the other.
Someone please bring some Rolaids for Jack's consumption. He's going to
need em
July 1 a There were more
nuggets on that agenda but for the life of me, I can't remember them. Crap!