2013 pride sections 5 - 6

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Sunday, September 29, 2013 Section V 1

CurrentsPieces of our puzzle:

DowntownsCountry roads

Vistas

Home fields

Horizons

Photo by Donald Dav i s

Room with a view...Donald Davis, left, and Kenneth Gray, right, explored Bluefield’s Beacon Cave in the late 1950s. The photograph above shows one of the large rooms they came upon during theirjourney into the Bluefield underground. Davis photographed this area while Gray assisted with placement and know-how of working with flash photography in total darkness.

Beautiful and mysteriousWater runs through caves in Four Seasons Country

By BILL ARCHERBluefield Daily Telegraph

BLUEFIELD — Water inthe two Bluefields is amysterious attractions.

Most locals know that thereare several major springs onEast River Mountain thatbring water into the city, butstreams seem to appear anddisappear almost in the blinkof an eye.

Although its on the westernfringe of the Appalachian

Mountain Range’s Valley andRidge section, the region iswell known locally for itskarst topography. The term“karst” comes from the Krasregion of eastern Italy andwestern Slovenia. In a karstarea, underground water cancarve impressive channelsthrough the mostly lime-stone/calcium carbonaterocks and leave massiveunderground rooms that aremore commonly called caves.The limestone/calcium car-

bonate rocks of the regionalkarst area date from 5.3-2.6million years ago.

Most local builders are wellaware of the potential forsinkholes in the region. Someyears ago, a classroom atGraham High School wasclosed when a sink hole devel-oped. The Appalachian regionhas a great many karst cavesystems including theMammoth Cave system inKentucky that is more than350 miles long. Professor

William B. White of theGeosciences department ofPennsylvania State Universitynoted: “Taken as a whole, theAppalachians are one of theworld’s great karst areas.”

In 1957, Kenneth Gray, aninventive student at BluefieldCollege, started cataloguingthe various cave entrances inthe Bluefield area, exploredthem and followed thestreams that weave in and outof the surface. He grew up onCumberland Road in a home

across from Bluefield HighSchool. “I found 26 caves onCumberland Road,” he said.“There were a lot of them.”

Then as now, the bestknown of the local caves isthe Beacon Cave, so namedbecause it’s easiest accesspoint was located near theBeacon Drive-in, a popularyouth gathering place locatednear the present sit ofBluefield IntermediateSchool. However, there areseveral access points to the

Beacon Cave in that generalvicinity.

“The big one starts whereCole Chevrolet is now,” Graysaid. Gray loves to talk aboutthe complex cave systemsbeneath Bluefield, but heremains hesitant to be toospecific. “That stuff was therefor millions of years,” he said.“We didn’t want kids gettingin there and destroying it.They had to close that

Caves, 2

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2 Section V Sunday, September 29, 2013

Photo by Kenneth Gray

Water world... Kenneth Gray came upon this 30-foot waterfall on one of his explorations of Bluefield’s Beacon Cave in the late1950s. The light on the back of the wall came from a flashlight. Since Gray made the photograph in total darkness,he used the flashlight beam to help him aim his camera.

entrance where Cole Chevroletis because people came upthere and dumped their house-hold wastes in there.”

During his explorations, Grayfound many beautiful thingsincluding a lake and a 30-footwaterfall. “The first time I wentinto the lake, I rode across it inan inner tube,” Gray said.“There’s a big room in the cavethat is about 40 feet high, andthat beautiful waterfall thatdrops 30 feet. There are stalac-tites and stalagmites in there.”

Both stalactites and stalag-mites develop in limestonecaves. The stalactite is aboveand hangs from the ceiling likean icicle while a stalagmitebuilds from the floor upwards. Ifthey meet and connect, they arecalled a column, according toJim Loy’s post on the Internet.Stalactites and stalagmitesgrow in pairs when slightlyacidic water dissolves limestoneand drops downward. Somewater can evaporate on its wayto the floor, and the remaininglimestone forms the stalagmite.

Gray worked with the VirginiaTech Cave Club to map two andone-half miles of the BeaconCave that emerges atLeatherwood Farms and flowsinto the Bluestone River. Sincehe has a comprehensive under-standing of all of the caves inthe area, he has assisted in afew cave rescues when amateurspelunkers have become lost inthe caves.

As part of his exploration, hediscovered large rooms separat-ed by as much a 75 foot drop. Inorder to determine if two largerooms were connected, heplaced a candle at the deepestpoint he reached, left the caveand re-entered from another

location. “Underground in acave where there is no light, acandle burns really bright,” hesaid. “When we saw it, we knewthe two caves were part of thesame system.”

Gray thinks the local cavescould have had commercialpotential, but residential, com-mercial and public constructionin the area compromised someof the easiest access points.Some caves like Mammoth inKentucky and Carslbad Cavernsin New Mexico still drawtourists. However, nearbyOrgan Cave located on U.S.Route 219, in GreenbrierCounty, not far fromRonceverte, has been regis-tered as a National NaturalLandmark since 1973, but hashad challenges in recentdecades to keep tourists flowingin. Organ Cave is the thirdlongest cave in the state andwas mined for nitre during theAmerican Civil War.

“There was only one place inthe Beacon Cave where it wasreal pretty, but it’s beendestroyed,” Gray said. “It’s stillan interesting cave.”

Gray has also visited CollegeCave located on College Avenuenear the Bluefield College cam-pus as well as other caves inthe region. He has also tracedthe flow of water as it goesunder several city streets. Hewas only 19 years old when hestarted exploring the regionalcaves, but the undergroundworld has always fascinatedhim.

Gray worked for a time atGrubb Photo and delivered pre-scriptions for GoodykoontzDrug Store, but he spent 32years designing undergroundmine machinery for JoyManufacturing from 1966 to1999.

— Contact Bill Archer [email protected]

Caves...Continued from 1


KNOXVILLE, Tenn. —

There is a statue on thebanks of the Tennessee

River in the heart of Knoxvillethat honors a pivotal momentin the history of the UnitedStates and the Cherokee peo-ple.

The statue commemoratesthe July 2, 1791, signing of theTreaty of Holston, that wasaimed at the civilization of theCherokee people with thehope of assimilating them intothe society of Europeancolonists who had recentlywon independence fromEngland.

The Cherokee in the

Carolinas and Virginiaentered the AmericanRevolution as allies of theBritish, but were soundlydefeated by the Colonialforces who destroyed severalCherokee villages in theprocess. That devastationmade the promise of peacewith the European settlersappealing. The Treaty ofHolston established terms ofhow the Cherokee and theUnited States would interact,with hopes that Native peo-ples would no longer need alarge amount of huntinglands, and would becomefarmers.

While civilization and assim-ilation may have been the out-ward promise, land specula-

tors were eager to acquireland in the unsettled interiorof the continental U.S., as aninvestment in the future. Foryears, the British crown haddictated policy related togrowth of the North Americaninterior, and the new federalgovernment had less experi-ence in dealing with specula-tors.

The headwaters of the NorthFork of the Holston River rep-resents a pastoral setting fora mighty river that has playedsuch a pivotal role in thenation’s history. SeeingHolstein cattle cooling theirhooves in the river inTazewell County, Va., seemsfar removed from the mightyTennessee that it meets in the

modern city of Knoxville,Tenn., site of the 1982 World’sFair.

In the same breath, therural origins of the ClinchRiver at the Divides nearSpringville, Va., seems worldsapart from the city of OakRidge, Tenn., that wouldbecome a key component inthe Allies battle against the

Axis Alliance. The federalgovernment used the poweravailable from existingTennessee Valley Authoritydams to transform the ruralTennessee countryside into amodern city of Oak Ridgewhere the so called “SecretCity” helped gather the ingre-dients to develop the mostpower weapon in the history

of mankind — the atomicbomb.

It was the power of therivers that made it possiblefor the Oak Ridge scientists toharvest the power of the atomand to change the course ofhistory. It’s a remarkablestory.


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Staff photo by Bill Archer

Treaty of Holston... The North Fork of the mighty Holston River has its origins with a pair of Tazewell County, Va., streams in the western section of the county. The statue shown above was negotiatedon July 2, 1791, on the banks of the Tennessee River near it’s confluence with the Holston in what is now the city of Knoxville, Tenn. The treaty established that the Cherokee tribeswere to fall under the protection of the United States.

From Tazewell to Tennessee:Water power changes the course of history


Power from water...When a group of scientists led by Albert Einstein wrote a letter to President FranklinRoosevelt in 1939 expressing fears that the Germans would unlock the power of theatom bomb before the U.S., Roosevelt set a plan in motion that would result in the cre-ation of the ‘Secret City,’ Oak Ridge, Tenn., on the banks of the Clinch River. Usingpower from dams of the Tennessee Valley Authority, Oak Ridge scientists collected ura-nium for the first atom bomb. The headwaters of the Clinch are in Tazewell County.


BOISSEVAIN, Va. — Inthe fall of 1936, a groupof about 200 coal min-

ers received an unusualaward from Pocahontas Fuel,Inc. Each of the minersreceived a medal in recogni-tion of their efforts in thecompletion of one of the mostchallenging engineering featsever tackled in NorthAmerica.

Because they worked indarkness hundreds of feetbeneath the earth’s surface,few people except for the coalminers, their families andclose friends know anythingabout their accomplishment.However, what they did dur-ing the height of the GreatDepression had a directimpact on the course of worldhistory through the balance ofthe 20th Century.

This story is all about water.While water represents anessential life-giving force onearth, its presence in under-ground coal mines can repre-sent an expensive obstacle inthe mining process. Mostunderground mines arealways damp, but minesbeneath drainage can have asignificantly adverse impacton the mining process.

Not all of the rain that fallson earth gets channeled intostreams for transportation tothe seas of the world. A greatdeal of water finds its wayunderground where it weavesits way through layers of rockstrata, collecting in pools, orjoining with steams that oftenflow in limestone deposits toform great undergroundrivers. For centuries, rural

homeowners have drilledwells hundreds of feet under-ground to tap into pools ofconstantly replenished andpurified water.

Underground coal miningalmost always takes placebelow drainage. While a cool,moist environment is a con-stant, mines driven againstthe natural flow of waterunderground can presentspecial problems to coal min-ers and mine operators. Sincewater is not a commercialproduct of coal mining, it isconsidered an expense justlike rock and other materialscleaned from coal in thepreparation plant.

Commercially viable large-scale underground coal min-ing came into its own insouthern West Virginia in thelate 19th and early 20th centu-ry. Prior to that time, techno-logical limits including venti-lation and water control wereprohibitive in terms of sinkingdeep shafts, and thus, sus-taining mine workings on anygiven heading. The distanceof transportation eitherunderground or aboveground, is a key factor inmeasuring expense in coalmining.

By the end of the firstdecade of the 20th Century,mine engineers were well onthe way to solving ventilationproblems that had plaguedthe industry since its incep-tion, bringing great loss of lifeto coal miners everywhere.However, moving increasinglylarge volumes of waterproved an even greater chal-lenge due to limitations onpumps as well as collectionsystems at the time.

Several smaller companies

merged into the PocahontasFuel Company in 1907, and atthe time, operated 11 under-ground coal mines on 22,000acres of property located inMcDowell, Wyoming andMercer counties in WestVirginia and Tazewell County,Virginia. The oldest of thecompany’s mines was locatedin Pocahontas, Virginia, andwas opened in 1882. Duringthe coming decades, PocaFuel opened other operationsin coal camps with strangesounding names like Anawalt,Jenkinjones, Amonate,Itmann, Sagamore, LickBranch and Boissevain.

By 1920, mine mechaniza-tion was revolutionizing theindustry with the advent ofmachines like the JonesCoaloader developed circa1915 by Pocahontas Fuel vicepresident James ElwoodJones and the O’Toole MiningMachine, developed circa1919 by Colonel EdwardO’Toole general superintend-ent of the U.S. Steel mines inGary Hollow, McDowellCounty. Still, coal operatorscouldn’t reap the full benefitof their increased productivitywith coal miners standingknee-deep in water all thetime.

Pocahontas Fuel had strug-gled with its drainage prob-lem since 1907, and about adecade later, the companygathered some of the indus-try’s top mine engineerstogether to examine the prob-lem. The cost associated withpumping water at theBoissevain Mine was almostequal to the cost of extractingcoal. In 1915, the company

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Great underground river: 20th century man-made marvel

File photo

Making tracks...An unidentified coal miner is shown here in one of the tunnels of the 18.6 mile-longdrainage system that drains more than 400 million tons of coal in the Pocahontas No. 3.seam. Work on the project started in the fall of 1931, and was completed in 1936.

Marvel, 14

File photo

A job well-done...Coal miners are shown here leaving the No. 35 Mine on Jacob’s Fork near Bishop, Va., in1936 after finishing the last connection of the drainage project.


And it comes out here... The 186 mile drainway empties into Dry Fork near Amonate from this exit point in arural site in McDowell County.

By BILL A R C H E RBluefield Daily Te l e g r a p h

PE T E R S TOWN — S i n c eit was coal — and morespecifically the huge

deposit of metallurgical coalthat is now called thePocahontas No. 3 Seam —that triggered the great coalrush of 1882, it’ssignificant tonote that longbefore pioneercoal barons likeJenkin Jones,Isaiah We l c h ,John Cooper andJohn J. Lincolna rrived in thearea, about halfof the “original”Pocahontas coalseam wasalready gone.

The huge 11-12-foot thick coalseam exposednear thePo c a h o n t a sExhibition Mineis the south-w e s t e rn mostpoint of a bowl-like deposit ofvegetation thatwas depositedsome 360 millionyears ago duringt h eC a r b o n i f e r o u sPeriod of the latePaleozoic Era.The Po c a h o n t a sNo. 3 seam coalis a product ofthe lateC a r b o n i f e r o u sPeriod that isalso referrer tot h ePe n n s y l v a n i a nS u b s y s t e m .

During the past131 years, coalminers have done a prettygood job of mining the easy-t o-get reserves of thePocahontas No. 3 seam.H o w e v e r, geologists reallyd o n’t know how far west thePocahontas No. 3 seamextends yet. A few years ago,

one well-known area coaloperator speculated that itcould go all the way to theMississippi River, but at adepth that isn’t reasonable tomine with existing methods.

So where did the other halfof this huge bowl of coal gobefore Dr. Thomas Walker andhis team of explorers identi-

fied it in 1750?The answer issimple. It fol-lowed the pathof least resist-ance on its wayto the sea in theg e o l o g i c a lprocess called,“ t r a n s p o r t a t i o n . ”

By definition,transportation isthe movement ofmaterial acrossthe Earth’s sur-face by water,wind, ice org r a v i t y, accord-ing to a post on“A b o u t . c o m ,G e o l o g y. ”Tr a n s p o r t a t i o nincludes thep h y s i c a lprocesses oftraction (drag-ging), suspen-sion (being car-ried), saltation(bouncing) aswell as thec h e m i c a lprocess of solu-tion or dissolv-ing in water.When water car-ries small por-tions of rocks tothe sea, theprocess is called“washing,” andwind doing thesame thing iscalled, “w i n n o w-i n g .Tr a n s p o r t a t i o n

and weathering are the twophases of erosion.

But why should the geologi-cal transportation of coal haveany significance? Well, to aBluefield native, Dr. Ronald N.Bone, who took a shine to dia-

monds when he was reading apamphlet on minerals of We s tVirginia. He was intrigued tol e a rn that a 12-year-o l dMonroe County boy, William P.“Punch” Jones, had discov-ered a bluish-white diamondweighing 34.48 carots whileplaying horseshoes with hisfather in April 1928. ThePunch Jones Diamond wasthe largest alluvial diamondever found in North Americaat the time.

Bone read the geologicalpamphlet circa 1948, and pur-sued other interests until 1985when he came across anotheralluvial diamond that hadbeen found about 70-75 milesfrom Peterstown and 15 yearsearlier than the JonesD i a m o n d .

In 1913, J.S. “Straws”Gillespie was plowing a fieldat his farm about three milesfrom U.S. Route 460, onPounding Mill Branch Road,”according to an article pub-lished in the November 1996edition of “Virginia Minerals”titled “Diamonds in Vi r g i n i a . ”According to Bone, StrawsGillespie “noticed a suddenflash,” reached down andpicked up a raw diamond.According to the article in“Virginia Minerals,” Gillespiekept the diamond in his pock-et for a year, sold it to aTazewell jeweler named H.W.Pobst, who had JR. Wood &Sons of New York cut thes t o n e .

Wood set the cut stone —now weighing .83 carat — andset it in a ring that theGillespie family bought backfrom Pobst circa 1920. Pa l m e rC. Sweet, author of the article,said that in 1995, the Gillespiediamond ring was still in thef a m i l y.

According to Bone, in 1999,he and his wife drove to theBland County side of EastRiver Mountain, sifted sandthat they gathered frombeneath a Tu s c a r o r aSandstone ridge and foundtwo diamonds.

“Geologically speaking, dia-monds are a special volcanic

event,” Bone, 75, wrote in aletter to the Bluefield DailyTelegraph. “They come (frommore than) 120 miles deepand do not resemble commonvolcanic eruptions with differ-ent types of lava in greatamounts. Typical volcanoeshave shorter roots and aremuch hotter than diamondp i p e s . ”

He explained that diamondscome up from within the earthin a pipe with a matrix of ironand magnesium rocks calledKimberlite. “Today it is recog-nized as coming from a cra-tonic area, the oldest parts ofa continent,” he wrote. “Otherpieces of land were plasteredaround the cratons and wereslightly younger. The sedi-ments between cratons arefused together and called a

shield. Diamond pipes outsidecratons in these areas arecalled Lamporite pipes.”

A fter years of researchingthe formation of diamonds,Bone said that he is ready tomake some reasoned assump-tions. He stated that his arti-cle — of which some portionshave been used here — thatthe top of East River andPeters mountains have theLamporite pipes. “Severalpipes may erupt in the sur-rounding area and only a fewcontain diamonds,” he wrote.

“It is time to go far back ingeological time,” he wrote.“The Silurian time beginsaround 438 million years ago.Under the Silurian period liesa long period calledOrdovician. During this peri-od, a big ice age began which

greatly lowered oceans andinitiated a vast extinction ofthe small plant and animalspresent in the oceans.

“At this time, a large landmass called Baltica wasapproaching eastern Americaundergoing subduction ande v e n t u a l l y, Baltica rammedinto the east coast,” he wrote.Subduction is a term that isused to explain the geologicalprocess of plate tectonicswhen one tectonic plate goesbeneath another plate. InC a l i f o rnia, the Pacific plate issubducting beneath the NorthAmerican plate. Bone wrotethat extreme pressurescaused the Taconic Mountainsto rise up to 10,000 feet, withdrainage heading westward.

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Are there diamonds in those hills?

Staff photo by Eric DiNovo

Diamonds in the hills...The historical marker in Peterstown marks the location where Grover C. ‘Punch’ Jones found an alluvial diamond weighing 34.48 carats. The discov-ery of the Jones Diamond and the Gillespie Diamond in Tazewell County, Va., prompted Dr. Ronald N. Bone to search for other alluvial diamonds inthe vicinity of East River Mountain.

Retired professor believes precious gems are on East River Mountain

During thepast 131 years,coal minershave done apretty good jobof mining theeasy-to-getreserves of thePocahontas No.3 seam.However, geol -ogists reallydon’t know howfar west thePocahontas No.3 seam extendsyet. A fewyears ago, onewell-knownarea coal oper -ator speculatedthat it could goall the way tothe MississippiRiver, but at adepth that isn’treasonable tomine withexisting meth -ods.

Diamonds, 14

6 Section V Sunday, September 29 , 2013

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Local teacher helps unlock region’s secrets


Relics...Joyce Buchanan, a Tazewell County educator, harvested the crinoid fossils in the WestGraham Section of Bluefield, Va.


Natural science...Joyce Buchanan has had a lifelong interest in the study of natural science, and hasworked tirelessly in more recent years to increase public awareness of the region’sdiverse watersheds and of the need to protect the region’s vital water resource.

Prehistoric pastBy BILL A R C H E R

Bluefield Daily Te l e g r a p h

BLUEFIELD — As achild, Joyce Buchananenjoyed hearing the sto-

ries that her father told aboutbuilding a road over the top ofEast River Mountain.

“He could never understandwhy there were sand banks onthe top of East RiverMountain,” Buchanan said.“There are several sandbanks on the mountain andothers in the northernfoothills. This area was verydifferent millions of years ago,but the fossil evidence is alla r o u n d . ”

Buchanan taught biology,c h e m i s t ry and the earth sci-ences in Tazewell CountySchools for 29 years, and aft e rretiring nearly 20 years ago,she has pursued her passionfor understanding the naturalprocesses at work in the worldaround her. Along with thelate Clyde Bowling, Buchananworked hard to promotegreater understanding of thevarious watersheds ofTazewell County, Va., as wellas to defend and protect therare aquatic life in the region’ sstreams including theTennessee Heel SplitterMussel and more.

“The Clinch River has moredifferent mussels than all ofEurope,” Buchanan said.“More than any other streamaround here.”

Her studies in the earth sci-ences gave her an ability todetect subtle differences inthe rock strata around herand to pick out fossils — someof which have proven to berather rare finds that haveshed new light on some of thegeological processes atworked to shape the moun-tains of her community in thetwo Vi r g i n i a s .

“You can come upon a lot oflimestone with re-calcified fos-sils in them,” she said. “Someyears ago, I was lookingaround on the ground at aspot in West Graham(Bluefield, Va.,) when I cameupon fossils that I recognizedas the stems of crinoids,” shesaid. “They’re small andround. Some people call themIndian beads because NativeAmericans used them to makenecklaces out of. They’re stillaround today and they havebeen on earth since 300 to 400million years ago.”

Crinoids are marine animalsthat live in both shallow aswell as ocean depths of 3 andone-half miles or more. Oft e ncalled “sea lillies,” they areattached to the sea floor bystalks. Most modern crinoidsare free swimmers, butancient crinoids were mostlyattached to the ocean floor bystalks. The fossils Buchananfound are parts of crinoidss t a l k s .

Buchanan wanted to learnmore about her crinoid find inWest Graham, so she sent afew of them to theSmithsonian Institute. Those

fossils eventually made it tothe desk of Dr. David L.M e y e r, who was then workingas a research specialist withthe Smithsonian Tr o p i c a lResearch Institute, GaletaMarine La b o r a t o ry in Balboa,Canal Zone.

Meyer earned his Ph.D. fromYale University in 1971, ands e rved with the Smithsonianuntil 1975 when he accepted aposition on the faculty of theUniversity of Cincinnati. Hisresearch while with theSmithsonian resulted in thepublication of an article,“Living Crinoids of theCaribbean,” and his researchhas put UC at the forefront ofgraduate level paleontologyprograms in the U.S. “Dave isone of the world’s experts onliving crinoids, the spectacular‘feather star,’ one of which,‘ D a v i s t e r,’ is named for him,”according to a UC web sitethat details faculty achieve-m e n t s .

Meyer received Buchanan’ sletter and fossil samples onAug. 6, 1974. In his responsedated Aug. 22, 1974, heexpressed his appreciation toBuchanan for sending him thecrinoid stem plates. “In mypresent work with living un-stalked crinoids and othermarine invertebrates, I don’ tget to see much fossil materialand I really appreciate receiv-ing these fossils from you.

“I regret that I can’t give youa name for the species ofcrinoid that produced thesefossils probably 300-400 millionyears ago,” he wrote. “Yo usee, many ancient crinoids aswell as some living ones, havestem plates of the kind youhave found, and it is usuallyquite difficult to associatestems with particular crinoids p e c i e s .

“What is usually needed isthe fossilized crown of thecrinoid which the stem sup-ported above the sea bottom,”he continued. “However, theseare among the rarest of inver-tebrate fossils since they usu-ally fell apart into countlesssmaller plates before theycould become fossilized.There are some ancientcrinoids which had very dis-tinctive stem plates — ovalshaped or having projectingspines — and when thesestems are found with thecrown, then they can be recog-nized as to the species whenlater found separately.

“Some of these very distinc-tive types of stems have beengiven scientific names apartfrom the actual crown,” Meyerwrote. “But then when theyare later found with thecrown, the crinoid ends upwith two names!Nevertheless, these distinctivefossils can be of value as indexf o s s i l s . ”

Buchanan was thrilled tol e a rn more about her We s tGraham discovery, and inorder to add to her collection,she showed her elementarystudents what the crinoid fos-sils looked like, told them

where they might safelysearch for them and sentthem out to find more. Shepaid a penny-per-fossil bountyon the ancient fossils and herstudents wound up findingenough to almost fill a cigarbox. Meyer wrote more aboutwhy he is fascinated withc r i n o i d s .

“I have recently been study-ing the micro-architecture ofthe crinoid skeleton with afriend of mine at theUniversity of Michigan, Dr.Brad Macurda,” he wrote. “Weare using the scanning elec-tron microscope to take somestriking 3-dimensional photosat high power which reveal anamazingly complexm i c r o s t ructure which resem-bles a lattice or ‘monkey-bars.’We are beginning to examinew e l l - p r e s e rved fossil materialin hopes of studying the sames t ructure we see in the livingc r i n o i d s .

“In this way, we hope tostudy the evolution of thecrinoid skeleton and the myri-ad ways in which the crinoidshave adapted to their environ-ments and mode of lifethroughout their history,” hewrote. “I will examine the fos-sils you sent me to see if anys t ructural details are pre-s e rved. One plate does appearto show concentric growthrings which are very interest-i n g . ”

Meyer wrote that heenclosed a copy of his articleon living crinoids of theCaribbean, and added that hehoped to go to the Indo- Pa c i f i cregion soon where they areeven more prolific.

“Crinoids are fascinating tome and I find that trying tounravel their evolutionary his-t o ry is very rewarding to me,”he wrote. “Thus, I am espe-cially delighted to hear fromsomeone who has also foundcrinoids and other fossils to beof interest. Thank you againfor writing and I would behappy to examine any otherfossils you might comea c r o s s . ”

Meyer still works at UC. Hisbook about rocks and fossils ofthe Cincinnati area, “A SeaWithout Fish,” (IndianaUniversity Press 2009) is well-respected in both professionaland amateur scientific com-m u n i t i e s .

“This is a very interestingarea to live in,” Buchanansaid. “The St. Clair Fault goesright through our GrahamRecreation Park and theregion is known for its karstt o p o g r a p h y. I grew up onCumberland Road inBluefield, and everyone knewabout the Beacon Cave in theFeuchtenberger field. Therewas a pond there that just dis-appeared. It went down intothe karst limestone depositt h e r e . ”

Buchanan said that she hasnever lost her love of studyingher surroundings and her pas-sion for unlocking the myster-ies of the area’s prehistoricp a s t .


BL U E F I E L D, Va . — T h elate Clyde W. Bowling,who passed away earli-

er this year on April 24, at theage of 101, spent the lastq u a r t e r- c e n t u ry of his life ded-icated to improving conditionsfor the people of his homec o u n t y. Bowling was passion-ate about helping young peo-ple, as evidenced by his 30years of serving as a BoyScout leader, and the 40 yearshe served on the Ta z e w e l lCounty Tr a n s p o r t a t i o nCommission. However, he wasequally committed to protect-ing and preserving the envi-ronment, and one of the lastgreat projects he devoted histime and efforts to before ageslowed him down a bit, wasthe protection of the variouswatersheds that are connect-ed to Tazewell County.

Of course, Bowling was anardent protector of the vari-ous species of fresh watermussels in the Clinch Riversystem, but he had an incredi-ble grasp of all the water-sheds in Tazewell County.During an informal conversa-tion one day, Bowling recalledthat a flood during the mid-1950s that hit the We s tGraham Section of Bluefield,Va., particularly hard, causedhim to find out why thewaters backed up so quicklyand what could be done toprotect the downstream areasas well.

During the 1990s, Bowlingand Joyce Buchanan, also ofBluefield, Va., a retired educa-tor and a fellow member ofthe Mountain DominionResource Conservation andDevelopment Area (R.C.& D.)educated themselves, thenattended public meetingsthroughout Tazewell Countyto explain the importance ofTazewell County’s role in pro-tecting the region’s freshwater resources.

“ Tazewell County is part offive major watersheds — theHolston, Clinch, Levisa, BigSandy and Bluestone rivers,”Buchanan said. “There’s alsoa sixth watershed in the coun-t y. There’s one little streamthat goes east out of Burke’sGarden that joins Wolf Creekin Bland County and entersthe New River at Narr o w s ,Va .

“ We don’t receive anyw a t e r,” Buchanan said. “Wegive it all out. We’re right hereat the Tennessee Va l l e yAuthority divides, where atthis point, the water flowswest into the Tennessee Riversystem. Our waters also floweastward into the Bluestonewhich joins with the NewRiver and later, becomes theKanawha River at GauleyB r i d g e . ”

The “hydrologic units” ofTazewell County are quite an

impressive arr a y. The listincludes: Upper Wolf Creek;Lower Wolf Creek/Clear Fo r k ;Upper Bluestone River;Bluestone River, Laurel Fo r k ;Upper North Fork HolstonRiver; North Fork HolstonR i v e r, Laurel Creek; NorthFork Holston River, Wo l fCreek, Tumbling Creek;Upper Clinch River; ClinchR i v e r, Indian Creek; ClinchR i v e r, Middle Creek; ClinchR i v e r, Swords Creek, Le w i sCreek; Little River; Dry Fo r k ,

Jacobs Fork, Horsepen Creek.“At Amonate and Bishop,

our streams go north,”Buchanan said. “InTannersville, you have thestart of the Holston River. TheBeaver Pond Stream picks upat Le a t h e rwood Fa rms, flowspast Bluefield College andthrough Lotito Park thenmeets with Whitley’s Branch.Wrights Valley Stream meetsthat stream under the rail-road near Dudley’s Fu n e r a lHome. We have a lot of

streams in Tazewell County. ”All of the Tazewell Countywaters eventually join theOhio River.

Along with the rivers andstreams, Buchanan pointedout that the fresh wateraquatic life in TazewellCounty is also important. “Wehave the Tennessee HeelSplitter Mussel here,” shesaid. “The Clinch River hasmore of a variety of freshwater mussels than all of therivers in Europe,” she said.

“Clyde did most of his workwith the R.C. & D.,”Buchanan said. “Now, it’s notfunded.” She said that JackAsbury is currently theTazewell County representa-tive on the R.C. & D., butwithout funding, it is challeng-ing to launch an on-goingeffort to increase publicawareness of the importanceof the many watersheds thatcome out of Tazewell County.


DB


Tazewell County waters feeds 6 systems of the Ohio River


Watershed Awareness...Tazewell County is located in a unique position geographically, at a strategic location for several important watersheds. Some Tazewell Countystreams flow east, with some joining the New River and others joining the Bluestone River. Some Tazewell County streams flow north and becomeparts of the Levisa and Tug forks of the Big Sandy River, while other streams flow west to join the Tennessee Rivers. All of Tazewell’s waters ultimate-ly enter the Ohio River, and become part of the Mississippi River. The photo here is on the U.S. Route 460 H. Paul Buskell Memorial Bridge over theClinch River between Richlands and Cedar Bluff, Va.


POINT PLEASANT —

West Virginia’s largestr i v e r, the Kanawha

R i v e r, is formed in Fa y e t t eCounty by the joining of theGauley and New Rivers.H o w e v e r, two million yearse a r l i e r, there was anothergreat river — the now extinctTeays River —that started inessentially thesame placefrom the northand westwardd r a i n i n gfoothills of theA p p a l a c h i a nM o u n t a i nRange, thatc a rved out apath for civi-lization to fol-low into themid-section ofthe NorthAmerican conti-n e n t .

Any examina-tion of curr e n t scoming froms o u t h e rn We s tVirginia ands o u t h w e s tVirginia has tostart with theTeays, althoughit no longer car-ries any appre-ciable waterthrough most ofits course.People familiarwith the centralpart of We s tVirginia arefamiliar withthe Te a y sValley — the broad mile-wideswath of level land betweenSt. Albans and Huntington.

“It’s good for farmland inthat part of the state, and itwas good for highway engi-neers when they built I-64from St. Albans toHuntington,” Ron Mullennexsaid. Mullennex is senior vicepresident, Special Serv i c e swith Marshall Miller &Associates, based inBluefield, Va., and is acknowl-edged as one of the foremostgeologists of the southernWest Virginia coal fields.“Some of the valley is stillthere from where it started atthe mouth of the Gauley, butmost of it was wiped out dur-ing the Pleistocene epoch.”

The Pleistocene epochstarted about 2,588,000 yearsago and continued until about11,700. The epoch is notablefor a number of reasonsincluding the fact that mod-e rn humans came into their

own right during that periodand colder temperatures ofthe epoch that gave rise to itsbeing known as the Ice Agehad a pronounced impact onplant and animal species onearth.

Humans proved to be morecapable of adapting to dra-matic changes in their envi-ronment, and were therefore,more likely to survive the

advances of theglaciers thatchanged thetopography ofn o r t h e rn We s tVirginia and theentire Midwestof the UnitedS t a t e s .

“The Te a y sused to be asystem thatdrained thewhole northernpart of ourM i d w e s t , ”Mullennex said.As early as1838, Dr.S a m u e lPr e s c o t tHildreth of Ohiohad written forthe firstG e o l o g i c a lS u rvey of Ohiothat, “Greatchanges haveevidently beenmade in thedirection of allof our water-courses beforethey found theirpresent levels.”H o w e v e r, itwould takeanother 65years forPr o f e s s o r

William G. Tight of DenisonUniversity to speculate thatthe Teays Va l l e y, while notc a rrying a significant amountof water from St. Albans toHuntington, was actually partof the great river that drainedOhio, Indiana and Illinois.

According to a Nov. 29, 1983New York Ti m e s article onthe “Great Lost River,” Tightnamed the extinct riverTeays, for a West Virginia vil-lage named Taze. However,Tight could just as likelynamed the extinct river forTazewell since Ta z e w e l lC o u n t y, Va., still provides ahead water site for twostreams that help make upthe New — the BluestoneRiver that forms at theDivides in Tazewell Countyand Wolf Creek that flowsfrom Burke’s Garden, Va . ,into Bland County, Va .

The glaciers that drovesouthward during thePleistocene also shaped the

course of the Ohio Riverwhen the melt-off began atthe end of the Ice Age. TheOhio is a southward-flowingr i v e r, unlike the Teays thatflowed north and west. As aresult, the region’s northwardflowing rivers and streamsincluding the BluestoneR i v e r, Elkhorn Creek, the Tu gand Levisa forks of the BigSandy River among others,according to Mullennex.

“The other take on it is cli-mate change,” Mullennexsaid of the natural forces thatchanged the region’s waterdrainage patterns. “Prior tothe Ice Age and that dramat-ic event that brought a greatdeal of change to NorthAmerica, the waters fromthis region flowed north andwest. Now, because of thatclimate change issue, wehave waters running to thes o u t h . ”

According to Mullennex,there’s another interestingaside in the natural power ofclimate change that came asa result of the Ice Age. “Aways north of where the Ohiocrosses the old Teays Riverin Huntington, there was onepart of the drainage systemthat went north and was partof the St. Lawrence Riverdrainage system,” Mullennexsaid. “To d a y’s Ohio River sys-tem used to go north. Therewas a divide near Po i n tPleasant where the watersdrained into the St. La w r e n c esystem. The sheet of icet u rned that system and got itall headed south.”

There is, however, a moreancient big picture geologicalfeature in our region thatalso vanished during the lastIce Age — the Great InlandSea or We s t e rn InteriorS e a w a y. The east central por-tion of North Americaremained high and dry dur-ing the Cretaceous Pe r i o d ,but a large lowland area bor-dered by the Rocky MountainRange to the west and theAppalachians to the eastf o rmed a huge basin wherewaters from the Arctic Oceanmixed with waters from theGulf of Mexico to form a salt-water sea that spread about600 miles in width at itsl a r g e s t .

Near the end of theCretaceous period, about 145million to 66 million yearsago, the waters of NorthAmerica’s inland sea beganto recede in a southerlydirection. As the water reced-ed, the northern continentalbreach sealed — preventingadditional Arctic Sea waterfrom entering. In time, thes o u t h e rn portion of the seaalso closed, blocking the

Atlantic Ocean waters fromentering as well.

The waters of the seareceded until they were final-

ly trapped in a low-lyingbasin, including an area ofwhat is now Saltville Valley inSaltville, Va. As the glaciers

in the final stages of the IceAge receded, animals like

DF


Natural forces at workA closer look at the Teays River and the Great Inland Sea

C o n t ri buted photo by Marcus Constantino/C h a rleston Daily Mail

The Beautiful River...Bluefield native Marcus Constantino was recently honored by the West Virginia Press Association for his photograph of a fisherman on the Ohio River nearHuntington. Millions of years ago, the now extinct Teays River cut a swath through West Virginia from Charleston to Huntington. The Ice Age altered the course ofrivers in West Virginia, where water from the mountains of southern West Virginia once flowed into the northern Midwest states, they now flow into the Gulf ofMexico. The Teays River bed made construction of I-64 between Charleston and Huntington easier than most interstate highway construction in West Virginia.

The Pleistoceneepoch startedabout 2,588,000years ago andcontinued untilabout 11,700.The epoch isnotable for anumber of rea -sons includingthe fact thatmodern humanscame into theirown right dur -ing that periodand colder tem -peratures of theepoch that gaverise to its beingknown as theIce Age had apronouncedimpact on plantand animalspecies on earth.

Forces, 14

OB



Lake effect...The Bluestone Lake is a manmade flood control reservoir on the New River near Hinton. At normal levels, the lake impounds a 10.7-mile area of the New and Bluestone rivers. Thelake is normally 2,040 acres, but it can grow to as much as 36 miles long as a flood control pool and extend into Giles County, Va.

Bluestone Dam has interesting history


Concrete Project...The Bluestone Dam is 165 feet high and 2,048 feet long and was authorized by a Presidential Executive Order in 1935. Private companies questionedfederal authority in creating the flood control dam, delaying construction for more than a decade. The dam was completed in 1949.


HI N TON — The bignews in recent weeksrelated to the

Bluestone Dam has involveda progress report on the 10-year project by the U.S. Arm yCorps of Engineers toincrease the dam’s efficiencyand to improve its flood con-trol capacity. The project thatstarted in 2010 will involvemaking improvements to thedam to enable it to handlemaximum flood challenges.

From the federal govern-ment’s standpoint, the mis-sion of the Bluestone Damhas always been about floodcontrol, but that hasn’ talways been what the generalpublic wanted for the water-w a y. In the 1880s, there was amovement afoot to clear achannel in the New River tomake it navigable for flat-bot-tom river boats. On June 30,1880, a report on the riverindicated that the New Riverwas 50 feet wide and 2 feetdeep from Hinton Landing toHubbard’s Ripple. At thetime, officials reported a hopethat the river could have thesame kind of a channel fromHubbard’s Ripple to theMercer County line, an addi-tional 12 and one-half miles.

While putting riverboats onthe New River didn’t workout, private companies start-ed working up the idea ofbuilding a hydroelectric damat the confluence of theBluestone and New rivers. By1910, residents of Hinton hadcommissioned a set of draw-ings for the dam project withthe hope of attracting an elec-tric utility company to get

Bluestone, 11

involved in the project.Appalachian Power Co., hadimmediate interest in thep r o j e c t .

The federal govern m e n ttook the position that the U.S.had control over the develop-ment, and after nearly a quar-ter century had passed,President Franklin DelanoRoosevelt’s administrationexpressed the opinion that aBluestone Dam would helpcontrol flooding on the New,Kanawha and Ohio Rivers,and improve navigation onthe Kanawha, according toi n f o rmation on theHuntington District, U.S.A rmy Corps of Engineersweb site.

The administration alsobelieved that the sale of elec-tricity produced at theBluestone Dam andR e s e rvoir would help offsetthe cost of construction. OnSept. 12, 1935, Pr e s i d e n tRoosevelt ordered theS e c r e t a ry of War to beginc o n s t ruction on a multi-pur-pose dam at the BluestoneR i v e r. The Corps ofEngineers established anoffice at Hinton in 1936, andtwo area CivilianC o n s e rvation Corps campswere set up near the dam site

to provide clearing and initialp r e p a r a t i o n s .

APCO opposed the project,claiming that the New Riverwas not a navigable waterw a y,according to the narr a t i v eabout the dam constru c t i o nproject on the HuntingtonDistrict’s web site. The gov-e rnment and APCO battledthe question out in the courts,with the Corps of Engineersfinding evidence that the NewRiver had been used as a navi-gable river since the early1 8 0 0 s .

The Corps gathered evi-dence of the News use fortravel including documenta-tion that Chief Justice JohnMarshall led a delegation onthe New River in 1812 to deter-mine what improvementscould be made to use the riverfor steamboat travel. In 1819,the Virginia General Assemblycommissioned a survey of theriver that included a 55-miletrip from the Greenbrier Riverto the mouth of Sinking Creek,and a Civil War veteranrecalled that the ConfederateA rmy used the New River totransport supplies. The Corpsalso produced documents indi-cating that steamboats andkeelboats had traveled theNew River.

Still, the West Vi r g i n i aPower Co., a subsidiary ofA P C O, sought an injunctionagainst condemnation of the

properties needed for thedam. The West Vi r g i n i aPower Company prevailedagain with the Fourth DistrictCourt of Appeals upholdingthe District Court’s ru l i n gthat the New River wasn’ tnavigable, but on Dec. 16,1940, the U.S. Supreme Courtof Appeals overturned thelower courts rulings, andthus, supported the constru c-tion of the Bluestone Dam.

The ruling has had animpact far greater than thec o n s t ruction of the BluestoneDam. The ruling “prioritizedfederal control over then a t i o n’s waterways, and theactual or potential commerceexercised on those rivers,”according to the HuntingtonDistrict’s web site. The U.S.Supreme Court refused torevisit its decision, and onN o v. 11, 1941, the Corpsannounced that it wouldadvertise for bids on the proj-e c t .

A month later, world eventswould change the constru c-tion time table as the federalg o v e rnment marshaled itsresources to fight World Wa rII, and build a super secretweapon before the enemydid. The government sus-pended work on the dam in1944, resumed constru c t i o nin 1946 and completed theproject in 1949.

The Bluestone Dam and

R e s e rvoir was the scene of atragedy on March 31, 1949,when five workers were killedas they tried to place the 230-foot long center span of theBluestone High Level Bridgein place. The bridge was nec-e s s a ry to replace the stateroad leading to Pi p e s t e mthat was underwater whenthe dam was completed.

At the time of its constru c-tion, the Bluestone Bridgewas the highest bridge in thestate, and only lost that des-ignation when the New RiverGorge Bridge was built. Thespan buckled and foldeddownward, falling 150 feet asthe workers were connectingthe second span to the third.The victims of the tragedy

were John Albert, 38, ofRadford, Va., Eddie Brown,29, of Romney, C.S. Rigney,32, of Dublin, Va., Virgil A.Thomasson, 42, of Pr i n c e t o nand Paul Saunders, 39, ofR a d f o r d .

The bridge was completedin December of 1949.

— Contact Bill Archer atb a r c h e r @ b d t o n l i n e . c o m

OF



Work underway...Work started in 2010 on a $300 million improvement project designed to make the structure safer and improve the dam’s efficiency. Among other improvements, workers areinstalling new anchors in the dam to help the dam meet new federal maximum flood standards that were developed following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers announced the improvement project in 1999 and has projected the completion will be in 2020.

Bluestone...Continued from 10


Water ways...Water from the Bluestone Dam continues on the course of the New River until it joinsthe Gauley River to form the Kanawha River. The Kanawha follows the course of theancient Teays River until it reaches Charleston, and veers northward to Point Pleasantwhere it joins the Ohio River.


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decided to drive a drainageshaft 18,000 feet fromBoissevain to Jenkinjones.

Although engineers estimat-ed the job would take sevenyears to complete, minersworking from both minescompleted the job in abouttwo years. As a bonus, thecoal mined during the tunnel-ing process was “the industrystandard” of metallurgicalcoals. Therefore, the coalextracted in the process had ahigh commercial value.

At that time, Po c a h o n t a sFuel had a reputation as amajor player in the globalenergy/steel production mar-ket. The company negotiatedan exclusive contract in 1909to provide all the coal for thec o n s t ruction of the Pa n a m aCanal, and landed lucrativecontracts to supply the U.S.Navy with “GenuinePocahontas Smokeless Coal”during World War I.Pocahontas coal fueled all theships in the U.S. Navy duringthe Spanish-American Wa r,and was the major supplierfor the steel industry from1926 until before World War II.

Less than five years aft e rthe completion of the 3.4-milelong drain way fromBoissevain to Jenkinjones,Poca Fuel engineers starteddiscussing a much larger proj-ect that would open up ane n o rmous coal reserve. A pairof major acquisitions in 1923and ’24, sidetracked thatdevelopment for about a half-dozen years, but in the fall of1931, Pocahontas Fuel gavethe order for work to start onan 18.6-mile long drainagetunnel system that woulddrain more than 12,000 acresunderlain by a known reserv eof 190 million tons of coal from

the Pocahontas No. 3, No. 4and No. 5 seams.

“ We’re the Saudi Arabia ofcoal,” Daniel Smith, form e rpresident of Bluefield-basedPocahontas Land Company,now retired said. Po c a h o n t a sLand is a wholly owned min-eral resource managements u b s i d i a ry of the Norf o l kS o u t h e rn Corporation.Pocahontas Land owns morethan a million acres of landthat, if it were contiguous,would be larger than the stateof Rhode Island.

“The early miners were nec-essarily unconscious of thevast area one company mightlater control, and could havehad no thought of the possibil-ity of removing the water fromso many acres of land by sucha simple manner,” accordingto the text of a pamphlet com-memorating the project pub-lished by Pocahontas Fuel in1936. “Unconsciously, theywere making plans and doingwork on something that waslater to be of untold value.”

The work was started withthe No. 35 Mine at JacobsFork, between theVi r g i n i a / West Virginia bordertown of Bishop to the westand Amonote to the east. Theactual discharge point for the

project is at the head of aremote valley betweenVallscreek and Amonate on ad ry branch near the headwa-ters of the South Fork of theTug Fork of the Big SandyR i v e r. It seems so far awayfrom anything, that its pristineoutward appearance is decep-tive of the Herculean task thecoal miners accomplished tocreate the system.

With the No. 35 Mine under-w a y, miners at the No. 5 Minein Jenkinjones started diggingon a westward heading inJune of 1932. Since the No. 5header is located 2.7 milesunderground, engineers antic-ipated that coal miners wouldencounter a great deal ofwater from the start. “Strangeas it may seem, very littlewater was encountered, andat no time did it cause particu-lar delay in the work,” accord-ing to the text of the pam-p h l e t .

The project representsmuch more than a tunnel.Roof conditions were bad, sominers had to install steelsupports to keep the channelopen. Railway tracks werelaid to remove coal and rock,and elaborate air ventilationsystems were installed. Thevolume of materials removed

in the project could revealratios as high as 10 to 1. Fo rexample on the No. 35 Mine,45.1 miles of entries were dug,removing 724,640 tons ofmaterials to create 4.1 milesof the drainage system.

Mining commenced at theNo. 36 Mine at Dry Fork inSeptember of 1934 and workon a 5,500-foot section to con-nect Boissevain toJenkinjones was launched inJune of 1935. “It is hard tocomprehend such long dis-tances could be driven alongthe coal seam without a greatdeal of ditching and grading,”according to the pamphlet. “Inaddition to the unknown valueof drainage, miles of this vastarea have been conclusivelyproven, and the owners cannow figure with reasonableexactness the future of theirmining operations.”

Pocahontas Fuel brought thecoal miners and engineerswho completed the projecttogether on June 13, 1936 for abrief ceremony. A few monthsl a t e r, the company orderedmedals struck, personalizedand presented to each personwho worked on the project.The coal miners removed 1.3million tons of coal and rock,but in the process, freed a sin-

gle known coal deposit of 190million tons that could bemined at a constant rate and apredictable expense.

While the Boissevain andPocahontas mines worked outin the mid-1950s, Po c a h o n t a sFuel (later CONSOL) minedcoal from Bishop at the newNo. 34 Mine starting in 1943until the early 1980s; fromJenkinjones until the mid-1980s; and from Amonate untilthe late 1980s. Coal minerswho worked those mines saythat while the volume of waterchanges, its presence is con-s t a n t .

At that critical moment inh i s t o ry, with Hitler and the

Nazis (1933) getting bolder inG e rm a n y, Benito Mussoliniand the Fascists (1922) inpower in Italy and EmperorHirohito and his military gov-e rnment controlling Japan(1936), the so-called FreeWorld was facing some mightychallenges. Yet at that sametime, American coal minershad placed the world’s richestdeposit of pure energy in thehands of its nation.

America had the power andenergy to create and fuel awar machine like none otherever assembled in world histo-ry. That power was coal.


OB


Marvel...Continued from A-1

According to Bone, aSilurian period layer of stoneat the top layer of Peters andEast River mountains, “is as e c o n d a ry diamond depositand is called Tu s c a r o r aSandstone,” he wrote. “Itextends northward and thedeposits become thicker.Seneca Rock is composed ofTuscarora Sandstone.”

Bone claims that the westside of the Tu s c a r o r aSandstone produced theJones and Gillespie dia-monds. “On the east drainage

Potts Creek runs into theJames River, leaving the dia-mond found in Richmond,”Va.,” he wrote. The DeweyDiamond, a 23.75 carat dia-mond was found in Richmondin the flood plain of the JamesRiver in 1854, by BenjaminMoore who sold the stone toCaptain Samuel W. Dewey.

“As sea levels went back ton o rmal, the Tu s c a r o r aSandstone began to extendinto Virginia,” Bone wrote.“Plant life was developing inthe sea and iron oxide waslain down,” he wrote. “At thistime geologically, some primi-tive plant life was progressingalong the coast of the sea,

and remained barren of life.”According to Bone, after the

Taconic Mountains weref o rmed, Baltica moved backto Europe and a new oceanstarted forming. That newocean started to subductbeneath the eastern coast ofNorth America until the landmass of Africa and SouthAmerica crashed into theTaconic Mountains. “So muchpressure existed that the noww o rn down Ta c o n i cMountains acted like a plowand rock layers folded, leav-ing the valley and ridge sec-tion of Virginia,” Bone wrote.

Bone said that on the west-e rn side of Peters and East

River mountains, “have astring of Tu s c a r o r aSandstone boulders a littledistance from the top,” hewrote. “Both sides of themountain could be prospect-ed. The west side probablyhas greater erosion of the(sandstone), but conditionsdo exist. Any streams drain-ing the west side can disap-pear underground near thebottom. A layer of dolomitesimilar to limestone has beenetched into caverns. This iscalled Karst topography, andOrgan and Beacon caves arethe best known.”

Bone said that he exploredthe Beacon Cave in 1954

when he was still in his teens.“It’s an extensive cave with ahuge break about 200 feethigh,” he said during a tele-phone interv i e w.

While he wanted to becomea geologist, Bone studied psy-chology in college and taughtat area colleges includingWest Virginia We s l e y a n ,Alderson-Broaddus andBluefield College. He alsotaught briefly at RichlandsHigh School.

“I would like for more peo-ple to know there are dia-monds up there,” he said. Hepointed out that most dia-monds are industrial gradeand are worth less that it

would cost to get them cut.The Jones Diamond onlybrought $74,250 when it wassold in 1984 throughS o t h e r b y’s auction house inNew York, according to the1996 article published in“Virginia Minerals.” Boneadded that 9 out of 10 dia-monds are of industrialgrade, and only 10 percentcan be cut as gems.

“I think it would be a funhobby for people to getinvolved in,” Bone said. “Itmight be the start of anothertourist development in thearea,” he said.


Diamonds...Continued from A-1

Mastodons, Wo o l l yMammoths and others col-lected around the brine-lay-den section of the disappear-ing inland sea to consumesalt. The trails that the ani-mals used as they traveled toSaltville provided pathwaysfor exploration for the first

human settlers of the regionwho used the ice-coveredtrail to cross from Asia intoNorth America across theBering Straight. Artifactsfound in Saltville indicatethat Native Americans werelikely living in the area aslong ago as 14,000 years ago.

During more historic times,the brine waters that filllarge salt caverns beneathSaltville played a significant

part in the American CivilWar just 150 years ago. At thetime, salt was an importantingredient in preserv i n gmeats — a high protein sta-ple food. With a much moresophisticated navy at thestart of the war, Union forceswere able to bottle up south-e rn ports and keep the southfrom exporting the kinds ofpre-war seasonings neededto preserve meats.

As the war wore on, theConfederacy was forced tolook inward for salt reserv e s ,and Saltville’s brine wellsworked to supply the south-e rn states with salt. Near theend of the war, AfricanAmerican slaves from theConfederacy were conscript-ed to work in the salt worksto boil down the brine to pro-duce salt. Union arm i e sattempted to destroy the salt-

works in 1862, ‘63 and ‘64, butthe first two invasionattempts were headed offbefore troops reachedSaltville. Confederate defend-ers held off Union invaders ina battle at Saltville on Oct. 2,1864, but on Dec. 20, 1864,Union soldiers invaded thetown and damaged the salt-works, although they wererestored to working order ina short period of time.

Geological processes areconstantly at work — shap-ing, tearing down and re-shaping the world. Themountains of southern We s tVirginia and southwesternVirginia provide an interest-ing crucible for examiningnatural forces and learn i n gabout the earth’s fascinatinggeological history.


Forces...Continued from 9

Clean water benefits Oakvale communityEditor’s note: The following

story appeared earlier thisyear in the Bluefield DailyTelegraph, but has importancein the context of waterresources in the region and istherefore included here almostin its entirety.


OAKVALE — Aug. 23,was a rainy day inMercer County, but the

people of Oakvale who gath-ered ito celebrate the comple-tion of Phase IV A of theMercer/Summers Wa t e rProject considered it to be ared letter day for the commu-n i t y. The completion of theproject means that 370Oakvale area residents nowhave clean drinking water intheir homes.

“I’m very proud of this,”Pamela Browning, managerof the Oakvale Road PublicS e rvice District said in herwelcoming remarks at thec e r e m o n y. She said that themost important lesson shel e a rned during the processwas: “I do not take for grant-ed the water that comes outof my faucet.”

Browning wasn’t alone inher excitement over the com-pletion of Phase IV A. SeanGraves, director of operationsof West Virginia AmericanWa t e r, recalled growing up inthe small Putnam Countytown of Buffalo without hav-ing clean drinking water. “Inthe mid-’90s we got water, ”he said. “It is a privilege tos e rv e . ”

Stacy Fo w l e r, P.E., project

manager with StaffordConsultants Inc., also relateda personal story about theimpact that clean drinkingwater has on a community.He said that his wife is froman urban area of Florida, butwhen she accompanied himto another similar ceremony,she was moved by the waythat the community washappy about clean drinkingw a t e r, but also for havingwater for fire protection.

“Thank everyone,” Fo w l e rsaid, and added that he is

ready to “move on to PhaseIV B,” he said.

“Most of what I do is intan-gible,” William Winfrey II, awell-known Mercer Countya t t o rney said. He explainedthat people come to himseeking help for their legalproblems and he helps them,but it’s not the same thing asmaking a difference in a com-m u n i t y. “Now, when I drivethrough your community andsee a fire hydrant, I can pointto that and say: ‘That’sg o o d . ’ ”

Kevin Meadows,Community DevelopmentSpecialist II of the We s tVirginia Development Officecongratulated the community.“I see, every day, the need forwater all over the state,”Meadows said.

S h e rry Adams, project man-ager of the HuntingtonDistrict, U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers, expressed thanksto U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W. Va., for his on-going com-mitment to the program.“ Without him, this project

w o u l d n’t be,” she said. Sheadded: “We get to see thisfrom beginning to the end. Itmakes us feel good to see thefaces of the people this proj-ect will serv e . ”

“In order to do a water proj-ect in West Virginia, you haveto want a water project,”Kimberly Gross, regional rep-resentative of Gov. Earl RayTomblin said. Reading fromTo m b l i n’s prepared remarks,Gross said: “Changes willbring a better quality of life tothe citizens.”

David Cole, director of theRegion I Planning &Development Council repre-sented Rahall at the ceremo-n y. He read from Rahall’sremarks that recapped thedevelopment of the projectduring the past nearly twoyears. Rahall wrote thatwhen the valve is turn e d ,“there will be many finger-prints on it.”

Mike Browning, regionalrepresentative of U.S.Senator Joe Manchin D-W. Va., said that he learn e dthe importance that a watersystem can make to a com-munity when he interv i e w e da mayor of Gilbert about theirnew water project. Browningwas a reporter at the time.He read Manchin’s remarksthat indicated that a waterproject “is an investment inour people and it’s future.”

Through no fault of his own,Gene Buckner of the MercerCounty Commission, under-stood that the ceremony wasscheduled for noon, anda rrived moments after thef o rmal valve turning. “This isa great thing for the commu-n i t y,” Buckner said.

H.C. Wa rren, chairman ofthe Oakvale Road PSD saidthe project cost about $7.2million. “Residents werehooked up as soon as thes e rvices reached theirhomes,” he said. “They’ r ehooked up and served withw a t e r. ”

Browning said that con-s t ruction on the project start-ed in the fall of 2011 and wascompleted in June.


Staff photo by Jon Bolt

Clean Water...David Cole, Stacy Fowler, Sherry Adams, H.C. Warren, Kevin Meadows, Kimberly Gross, Mike Browning, JohnPentasuglia and Pamela Browning are shown here turning the valve to ceremonially bring public water services for the$7.2 million Oakvale Road Public Service District water project in Oakvale.


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Sunday, September 29, 2013 Section VI 1

HorizonsPieces of our puzzle:

DowntownsCountry roads

Vistas

Home fieldsCurrents

Hope for regional growth buildsStaff photo by Jon Bolt

Now open...One of the area's most anticipated new businesses, Sweet Frog was the first to occupy a new set of storefronts in Princeton completed this summer.

By CHARLES OWENSBluefield Daily Telegraph

PRINCETON — A slowlyimproving nationaleconomy is prompting

renewed hope for regionalgrowth.

Already, pockets of develop-ment are being reportedacross Mercer and Tazewellcounties. And officials arehoping to see bigger econom-ic development and tourismprojects take root in the not-too distant future.

“I continue to think verypositively of this side of thecounty — just because of thehighway system that we haveand Exit 9,” Robert Farley,executive director of thePrinceton-Mercer CountyChamber of Commerce, said.“There is still property onExit 9. I still think the countyis just right on the verge ofsomething really big happen-ing.”

However, growth in thecounty has still been tem-pered in recent months dueto the national economy, andcontinued uncertainty overthe looming fall implementa-tion of the Affordable CareAct, also commonly known as

Obamacare.“When we do industry visits

that is one of the largest top-ics right now,” Mercer CountyDevelopment AuthorityExecutive Director JanetBailey said of the new healthcare law.

“I don’t think there is anyquestion that businesses arelooking at that very diligent-ly,” Marc Meachum, presi-dent and chief executive offi-cer of the Greater BluefieldChamber of Commerce, saidof the new health care law.“Now there has been a 12month extension for busi-nesses to comply, which isimportant. What businesseslack now and have lacked fora number of years is certaintyfrom our government. Notjust with the Affordable CareAct, but taxes and all costsassociated with doing busi-ness. And until there is somecertainty, a business is hardpressed to expand, open newlocations, or whatever.”

Despite the continueduncertainty surrounding thenew health care law, discus-sions are continuing with anumber of business Staff photo by Jon Bolt

In Princeton...With a high daily traffic flow, Stafford Drive in Princeton still offers prime locations for growth-minded area businesses.Growth, 6

OB

2 Section VI Sunday, September 29, 2013

‘It will be built’Staff photo by Eric DiNovo

More construction needed...Lawmakers contine to push for federal funding for highway projects.

Highway supporters continue to press for funding to complete projectsBy CHARLES OWENSBluefield Daily Te l e g r a p h

BLUEFIELD — A bridgeto nowhere inBluefield. An unusable,

and non-paved, four-lane seg-ment in Welch. A proposedt w o-lane scenic parkway inl i m b o .

Has all hope been lost forthe completion of the KingCoal Highway, CoalfieldsExpressway and theShawnee Parkway? Notaccording to area highwaysupporters, who are stillpressing for additional feder-al and state dollars to contin-ue construction on the futuref o u r-lane corr i d o r s .

An unfinished section of theKing Coal Highway in MercerC o u n t y, which ends abru p t l ynear the twin interstatebridges high above StoneyRidge in Bluefield, is a pointof particular frustration toarea officials. The hope is toconnect the bridge and thef o u r-lane corridor with Route123, thus creating a usablesection of the King CoalHighway near the MercerCounty Airport. However, itwill take an estimated $66.9million in federal funds tobuild the additional 2.39 milesof the local Interstate 73/74/75c o rridor in Mercer County.

“It’s going to take sometime, but it will be built,”King Coal Highway Au t h o r i t yExecutive Director MikeMitchem said. “It’s a reallyimportant highway. I thinkthere is a large cry out therefrom the public wanting itdone. Without infrastru c t u r eyou don’t have economicdevelopment. And it (theKing Coal Highway) alsotakes a lot of people out ofthe flood zone. I think fundingwill come.”

“I’ve been around enough tosee a pattern developinghere,” Coalfields ExpresswayExecutive Director RichardBrowning added. “The feder-al people are asking thestates and local people tocome up with highway moneyon their own now. That’s real-

ly hard for us to do on ourown now. We can’t toll and wec a n’t raise the gas tax. Thefeds really need to step upand come up with a nationalplan for transportation tokeep us going into the 21stc e n t u ry. ”

Members of the King CoalHighway Authority havemade repeated requests forfederal funding assistance.Their last trip to Wa s h i n g t o nwas just earlierthis year, andincluded meet-ings with U.S.Rep. NickRahall, D-W. Va . ,U.S. Rep.Shelley MooreCapito, R-W. Va . ,and staff mem-bers represent-ing U.S. Sen.Joe Manchin,D-W. Va., andU.S. Sen. JayR o c k e f e l l e r, D-W. Va. Duringthe trip theyrenewed theirrequest for the$66.9 million infederal fundsneeded to cre-ate a usablesegment of theKing Coal Highway in MercerCounty linking the four- l a n ec o rridor with the ChristineWest Bridge.

“I don’t feel like the moneycoming back to the states ispork,” Mitchem said of thea u t h o r i t y’s request for mil-lions in federal funds for theWest Virginia leg of the futureInterstate 73/74/75 corr i d o r. “Ifeel like the money comingback to the state is for thepeople. Because it’s their taxm o n e y. And that’s what isgoing to build the roads.We’ve already waited too longn o w. I think it’s time we act.”

The delegation of Mercer,McDowell, Mingo and Wa y n ecounty officials also request-ed $20 million to help buildthe long-planned interchangeof the King Coal Highway andthe Coalfields Expressway atthe Indian Ridge Industrial

Park in We l c h .The authority also is

requesting $158 million fortwo segments of the KingCoal Highway in MingoC o u n t y, including a 5.3 milesection from Mary Ta y l o rMountain to BuffaloMountain and $18 million forthe Sharon HeightsConnector near Gilbert.

The authority also is seek-ing another $77.3 million for

the To l s i aHighway seg-ment of thefuture I-73/74/75c o rr i d o r. TheKing Coal andTolsia highwaysrepresent theWest Vi r g i n i ac o rridors ofInterstate 73/74.

Mitchem saidthe authoritymembers alsocontinue topress for statefunding assis-tance as part ofG o v. Earl RayTo m b l i n’s BlueR i b b o nH i g h w a yC o m m i s s i o n ,which is lookingat ways to raise

additional state revenue forroad maintenance, repair andc o n s t ruction. Mitchem saidthe authority also will applyfor future funding pools fromthe Tr a n s p o r t a t i o nInvestment GeneratingEconomic Recovery (orTIGER) funds as theybecome available.

The King Coal Highway isproposed to extend some 95miles through Mingo, Wa y n e ,Wyoming, McDowell andMercer counties with theTolsia segment fromWilliamson to Huntingtonextending another 55 miles.

The news has been slightlybetter for the West Vi r g i n i asegment of the CoalfieldsE x p r e s s w a y. The stateDivision of Highways agreedearlier this summer to allo-cate $3 million in state fund-ing to match a $5 million

TIGER grant. That combinedwith $12 million in additionalsources — mainly unusedfunding allocated to theCoalfields Expressway — willallow for the start of con-s t ruction on a new $20 millionsegment of the roadway inWyoming County.

“Because we have alwaysrelied on special appropria-tions, we never had access toany discretionary monies thatthe state got for road build-ing,” Browning said. “Wehave finally moved into Iguess what is called the A- l i s tnow where we are gettingsome of those discretionaryfunds. I say that in hopes thatthe U.S. Congress will startdoing their jobs and come upwith some money to help usbuild some of this highway. ”

The work is expected tobegin this fall creating a two-mile, grade and drain sectionof the Coalfields Expresswayfrom West Helen to CountyRoute 12/1. The contract isone of four separate projectsplanned to connect We s tHelen to Mullens in Wy o m i n gC o u n t y.

“ We need an additional $80million to get all the way toMullens to complete anotherusable section,” Browningsaid. “So we are looking at$100 million to get the roadfinished down to Route 54 soit can be tied into Mullens.The contract they are lettingbrings the road into Wy o m i n gC o u n t y. This is the first four-lane segment into Wy o m i n gC o u n t y. And it will be finishedat grade. Nothing will be use-able until we get down toMullens, and pave it all theway back to where it endsnow at Slab Fo r k . ”

Browning said just a littleover four miles of theCoalfields Expressway is cur-rently finished and in use bymotorists in Raleigh County.

Browning said members ofthe Coalfields ExpresswayAuthority are still workingwith the McDowell CountyEconomic DevelopmentAuthority and a local coalcompany to help create a

usable segment of the road-way in Welch near the IndianRidge Industrial Park. Theauthority hopes to completethe project at a savings ofmore than 40 percent for thestate with the help of the pri-vate partner coal company.

Browning said the EDA hasalready leased coal toS o u t h e rn Minerals, and thecompany could still mine coalas part of a possible public-private partnership whilealso leaving additional coalbehind for future generations.

“The coal company gets thecoal, the EDA gets flat land,and we get a highway, ”Browning said. “Every o n ewins. We’ve got a very goodteam of open-minded people,along with our DEP in thestate, and our office of sur-face mining people who wantto do this. We just have to fig-ure out how to do it withinthe rules. I’m optimistic. I’mv e ry optimistic we will get itd o n e . ”

The Coalfields Expresswaywill extend 62 miles in lengthand connects the city ofBeckley with theVi r g i n i a / West Virginia stateline where it intersects withthe Virginia alignment for theCoalfields Expressway. TheWest Virginia segment of theCoalfields Expressway willextend through Raleigh,Wyoming and McDowellcounties. In Virginia theCoalfields Expressway willextend another 51 miles fromPound in Wise Countythrough Dickenson andBuchanan counties. Theroadway also is known asU.S. Route 121 IN Vi r g i n i a .

In neighboring Vi r g i n i a ,slow progress continues onthe Coalfields Expressway —thanks in part to a successfulpublic-private coal synergyagreement with AlphaNatural Resources. AlphaNatural Resources andRapoca Energy are partner-ing in Virginia to build ther o a d w a y. However, only at w o-mile section of theCoalfields Expressway inVirginia has been completed

to date in Buchanan County.That rough grade section wasfinished in the summer of2011, according to an earlierAssociated Press report.

The CommonwealthTransportation Board wasasked earlier this year totake up a proposed realign-ment of the CoalfieldsE x p r e s s w a y. TheC o m m o n w e a l t hTransportation Board alsoagreed last year to allocateanother $120 million in stateand federal funds toward thedevelopment of the CoalfieldsExpressway in SouthwestVirginia as part of its six-yeartransportation plan.

Virginia Gov. BobMcDonnell also announced inlate June that theC o m m o n w e a l t hTransportation Board wasmoving forward with plans todevelop the related U.S.Route 460 Connector PhaseII project in BuchananC o u n t y, a project that willlink the CoalfieldsExpressway to Ke n t u c k y.

The U.S. Route 460Connector Phase II is a 6.2-mile four-lane, limited accesshighway located between theU.S. Route 460 ConnectorPhase I, which is under con-s t ruction near the BreaksInterstate Park, and the pro-posed Route 121 (CoalfieldsExpressway) interchange inBuchanan County.

The Shawnee Parkway — ascenic two-lane roadway — isproposed to extend 22 milesfrom Ghent in RaleighCounty to the mountaintopridges of Mercer Countybefore it ultimately connectswith the King Coal Highwaynear Crumpler in McDowellC o u n t y. So far only 1.22 milesof the Shawnee Pa r k w a yhave been constructed in theGhent area of RaleighC o u n t y, bringing the roadwaywithin striking distance ofthe Mercer County line.

H o w e v e r, the project alsoremains stalled due to a lackof state and federal funding.

— Contact Charles Owensat [email protected]

An unfinishedsection of theKing CoalHighway inMercer County,which endsabruptly near thetwin interstatebridges highabove StoneyRidge inBluefield, is apoint of particu -lar frustration toarea officials.

By CHARLES OWENSBluefield Daily Te l e g r a p h

BLUEFIELD — A l t h o u g hc o n s t ruction was completedearlier this summer on theinterpretative walkway phaseof the project, the future ofthe project formerly known asthe Colonial Interm o d a lCenter project remains uncer-t a i n .

The so-called “Railroad andCoal Heritage InterpretativeWa l k w a y” is envisioned bycity officials as a prelude tothe much-larger“Roundhouse Square” inter-modal center project. Thewalkway contains signageexploring Bluefield’s historywith the railroad and coali n d u s t r i e s .

“What you will see is a prel-ude of the transportation huband interpretative plaza,” CityManager Jim Ferguson saysof the interpretative walkway.“So the interpretative walk-way is a prelude to the trans-portation hub and interpreta-tive plaza. And then you willhave the pods around it thatare there to market for pri-vate investment.”

The signage and walkway isproposed to be incorporatedinto the Roundhouse Square,a large-scale transportationhub with pods for future busi-nesses growth in the down-town area. However, the finalproject will take millions morein additional federal dollars tocomplete. And so far only$600,000 has been secured forthe development by U.S. Rep.Nick Rahall, D-W. Va .

But the city is still activelysearching for grant, state andfederal funding for the proj-ect, according to Fe r g u s o n .

“By the end of this fall, it willbe a construction-ready proj-

ect,” Ferguson said. “When allof the design and engineeringis completed, and all of thearchitectural (work) is com-plete, we will be pursuinggrant funding, and moneyfrom the federal (govern-ment) and states. We can thengo and say we have a con-s t ru c t i o n - a n d - s h o v e l - r e a d yproject. We can go with thisand get some financial sup-port to move forw a r d . ”

The $600,000 secured byRahall is being used for engi-neering anddesign work onthe larger proj-ect, as well asthe interpreta-tive walkwaysegment. Thename of theproject was offi-cially changedto the“ R o u n d h o u s eSquare” on July2 9 .

H o w e v e r, allfive incumbentBluefield Boardof Directormembers whocame up withthe idea of theC o l o n i a lI n t e rm o d a lC e n t e r, andadvocated itsd e v e l o p m e n t ,are now gone.Two opted not to seek re-elec-tion, and the remaining threewere defeated in June duringa “clean sweep” of the board.

The new city board, whichtook office on Aug. 1, is com-posed of Mayor Tom Cole,Barbara Thompson Smith,Ellen Light, Chuck McGongleand Mike Gibson. It is not yetclear if the five new boardmembers will fully support

the project, or seek a newdevelopment for the site.

During earlier editorialboard session interviews bythe Daily Telegraph with thecandidates, several of the newboard members had questionsor concerns about the project.Some felt the site of the for-mer Colonial Theater, MatzHotel and Princeton Av e n u eParking Garage should beactively promoted now fornew economic developmentand growth — as opposed to

waiting foradditional fed-eral dollars tobe released forthe interm o d a lc e n t e r.

The new cityboard will haveto carefullyreview the proj-ect, Mayor To mCole said.

“It would be aproject that theboard is goingto review withthe outgoingboard and theconsulting firmthat is engagedin that project,and review thebenefits orreview what isthe impact that(project) wouldhave on our

community before we wouldmake a decision,” Cole said.

Cole said the new boardmembers also must considerthe likelihood of if and whenadditional federal funds willbe available for the project.

Rahall said he is interestedin working with the five newcity board members on theproject formerly known as theColonial Intermodal Center.

Rahall said he read a candi-date profile story in the DailyTelegraph where some of thenewly elected board membersdiscussed their questions orc o n c e rns about the project.

“I called most and left mes-sages with the new mayor,and all of the new city boardmembers within days of theirelection, and I said I lookedf o rward to working with themon this and other issues thateffect the city,” Rahall said.“So yes, I do look forward toworking with them.”

The intermodal vision wasb o rn following the collapse oftwo historic structures, andthe demolition of a third.

First the city’s old brown-stone structure, or the oldPeople’s Bank Building, par-tially collapsed on Nov. 19,2008. The entire stru c t u r e ,along with portions of adjoin-ing buildings, were laterr a z e d .

Then the near century old-six story Matz Hotel collapsedduring the early morn i n ghours of Feb. 27, 2009, leavinga sea of rubble alongPrinceton Avenue and down-town Bluefield. The collapseof the Matz also destroyed themarquee and front lobby ofthe Colonial Theater, a stru c-ture built in 1916. The MatzHotel — a landmark thatoccupied a prominent positionin Bluefield’s city skyline for98 years — was originallyerected in 1911.

Then the old Pr i n c e t o nAvenue Parking Garage, as t ructure built in 1975, wasdemolished in 2012 aft e rmonths of debate by city offi-cials over whether the stru c-ture should be renovated ordemolished. Although not apart of the intermodal site,the old Scott Street Pa r k i n gGarage was also demolishedby the former city board in2 0 1 2 .

With the exception of theweekly downtown flea market,the old Princeton Av e n u eParking Garage had beenlargely under utilized inrecent years. It was built inthe mid 1970s, but onlyenjoyed a few years of maxi-mum usage before the open-ing of the Mercer Mall in 1979.At that time, several largebusinesses — including J.C.Penney — relocated from thedowntown to the newlyopened Mercer Mall locatedoutside of the city. The old

p h y s i c i a n -owned BluefieldSanitarium also relocated toits present location on CherryStreet in 1980, adding to thegrowing downtown woes.

The intermodal center proj-ect envisions a central down-town transit hub with con-nected pads or lots forprospective business tenants.At least one prospective busi-ness has already expressedan interest in one of the podsites, according to CityManager Jim Ferguson. Theproject aims to increase foottraffic in the downtown area.

The preliminary master planfor the transit center wasunveiled in 2011 by Pa r s o n sBrinckerhoff, an engineering

f i rm from Lexington, Ky. ,selected by the city to developthe plans for the project.

According to the masterplan, the intermodal center,contained in an area betweenPrinceton Avenue, Fe d e r a lStreet, Raleigh Street andScott Street, would featurebuilding pads on which news t ructures could be built orshell buildings could be con-s t ru c t e d .

A plaza and a transit trans-fer center along Pr i n c e t o nAvenue also would be devel-oped for public buses as partof the proposal.

The building spaces also

OF



Checking it out...Jamie Danley and Tashawna Adkins read the signs along the Railroad and Coal HeritageInterpretive Walkway at Round House Square.

City continues to search for Roundhouse Square funding

Funding, 11

The $600,000secured by Rahallis being used forengineering anddesign work onthe larger project,as well as theinterpretativewalkway seg -ment. The nameof the project wasofficially changedto the“RoundhouseSquare” on July29.


BLUEFIELD — T h emetallurgical coalmined deep under the

mountains of Appalachia haspowered our nation ford e c a d e s .

But the still abundant fossilfuel that once helped to stopthe march of Hitler’s warmachine during World War II,and later went on to helpbuild the nation’s skyscrap-ers, is now under attack. Notby a competitive industry ora foreign enemy. But insteadby an administration inWashington that blames coaland other fossil fuels on cli-mate change.

Just earlier this summer,President Barack Obamaissued a presidential memo-randum — and thus bypass-ing congressional action — inlaunching the first-ever fed-eral regulations on carbondioxide emitted by existingcoal-fired power plants. Thenew rules are being enforcedby what critics say is ano v e rreaching federalEnvironmental Pr o t e c t i o nA g e n c y.

“I have no reason to thinkthat it is going to change,”Bill Raney, president of theWest Virginia CoalAssociation, said of thea d m i n i s t r a t i o n’s stance oncoal. “We have no recentexperience or any indicationin the permits (of a change inattitudes), and the EPA’ streatment of mining perm i t sis still very, very laborious.They are absolutely tram-pling upon state rights.”

Despite the challengingroad ahead, Raney remainsupbeat about the future ofc o a l .

Coal, after all, is stillresponsible for 97 percent ofall electricity generated inWest Virginia, and about 40percent of the electricityused in America.

“ S o u t h e rn West Vi r g i n i ahas the finest metallurgicalcoal in the world,” Raneysaid. “The bright spots in mymind is we have the finestcoal seams in the world, andcoal miners and managers inthe world. If anyone canmake it work, those peoplecan. There is such an empha-sis on safety. So our coal is alittle higher. It’s kind of gotthat good house-keeping sealon it. Because the quality isgood. We hope the customersaround the world will recog-nize that and will continue towant West Virginia coal andAmerican coal.”

Raney said coal is stillAmerica’s must abundantfossil fuel.

“America has more coalthan any other country in theworld,” he said. “You would

think everyone would bepulling on the same wagonand that everyone would bedoing everything to ensurethat coal is not used onlyt o d a y, but also in the future.It’s absolutely vital to steelmaking. We turned to it anddepended upon it in theindustrial revolution. We ’ v egot to preserve that.”

If the industry is to surv i v eand grow, attitudes inWashington will have tochange, according to Raney.

“ We are hopeful and guard-ed in the sense that the chal-lenges are immense,” Raneysaid. “But we’ve got to have abetter attitude and or betterphilosophy or behavior out ofWashington. And they’ve goto get to the point of encour-aging the use of coal, andmaking it better. And devot-ing the research dollars toi t . ”

Raney said recent com-ments by the Obama admin-istration about coal are a“affront” to the thousands offamilies in Appalachia whohave devoted their life tomining coal and transportingi t .

And now highway projects— such as a segment of theKing Coal Highway in MingoCounty — are being held upby the EPA because they arelinked to coal synergy agree-m e n t s .

“Those coordinated (roadc o n s t ruction and coal extrac-tion) projects save the stateg o v e rnments tens of millions

of dollars,” Raney said. “Butyet you can’t get the perm i t sto do that. You know what atremendous benefit it is tohave the corridors built inthe King Coal Highway, andthe highway infrastru c t u r ejust opens everything up.And for them to justabsolutely stonewall that — Ijust don’t really understand.It’s just anti-West Vi r g i n i aand anti-Vi r g i n i a . ”

Raney said the industrycontinues to recruit miners,including young miners.

“The thing we’ve got to dois we need anyone who wants(a job) to show up every d a y,work hard, pass a drug testand have some technicalskills,” Raney said. “Ourcompanies are doing every-thing they can to preserv eour skilled people. Becausewhen you get good employ-ees, you want to hang on tothem. “

Raney said excitement isbuilding for the upcomingcoal show in Bluefield thisS e p t e m b e r.

“It’s just a great time,”Raney said. “Our BluefieldCoal Show, as I’ve alwayssaid, is the greatest gather-ing of coal people, and skillfuland knowledgeable coal peo-ple in the country. This iswhere it all started and howwe built this country. Anda fter 150 years they are stillproviding the coal thatmakes our electricity ands t e e l . ”

The 20th biennial Bluefield

Coal Show sponsored by theGreater Bluefield Chamberof Commerce will be held atthe Brushfork NationalGuard Arm o ry on Sept. 11,12, 13 and 14.

“ We are extremely fortu-nate that all of the boothspace is taken, and has beenfor a number of months now, ”Marc Meachum, president

and chief executive officer ofthe Greater BluefieldChamber of Commerce, said.“And we actually have a wait-ing list of potential people.”

As in past years, showattendees and exhibitors willbe afforded an opportunity tosend electronic messages totheir lawmakers inWashington in support of thecoal industry.

“ We are working with theNational Mining Associationto do a letter writing cam-paign,” Meachum said. “Wewill set up a number ofexhibits where attendees tothe show and exhibitors cansend communications to ourelected representatives. Weare just fortunate that theshow continues with its popu-larity given the state of thei n d u s t ry. ”

Meachum said the BluefieldCoal Show has endured overthe years for a very specificr e a s o n .

“Bluefield continues to bethe heart of the coalfields,”Meachum said. “This iswhere it all started. And theBluefield Coal Show hasmaintained its position.Because we are right in the

middle of everything. We areinterested in seeing how ourattendance will be. Of courseattendance will come frommine operators and mineowners, and supply peopleand buyers. Plus a lot of rankand file miners — we allowthem to come to the show. ”

Meachum said the coali n d u s t ry will survive —despite the challenges it isfacing from Wa s h i n g t o n .

“ For a number of years, weare going to have to havecoal — it’s still too vital inthe energy mix of the coun-t ry,” Meachum said. “Wec a n’t stop mining coal. Andthe export market is stillgood. From a political stand-point, folks have to under-stand the significance of themining industry, and whatdoes in all of the states. Andhere in southern We s tVirginia and SouthwestVirginia it is absolutely criti-cal. Coal has to be a part ofan energy policy. But itappears that the curr e n tadministration is not as intune with that as they shouldb e . ”


DB


Coal continues to feel the pressure


On the tracks...Coal mined from the appalachian mountains rools through the Bluefield rail yard recent-ly.


BRAMWELL — The goodtimes just keep onrolling for the Hatfield-

McCoy Trail system.Now spanning more than 600

miles through seven southernWest Virginia counties, the off-road system is living up to itsoriginal billing as a newtourism and economic devel-opment engine for southernWest Virginia. The newest seg-ment of the trail system — thePocahontas Trail in Bramwell— has been open now for 14m o n t h s .

“ We are over 600 miles oftrails in seven counties andare getting ready to open upour eighth trail system — IvyBranch in Lincoln County, ”Jeff Lusk, executive directorof the Hatfield-McCoy Tr a i lAu t h o r i t y, said. “Ivy Branchwill get us up to 650 miles.We’ve had a great year. Ourp e rmit sales are up almost 7percent right now. So we arehaving another year ofg r o w t h . ”

The Hatfield-McCoy Tr a i lAuthority was created by thestate Legislature more than adecade ago for the purpose ofs e rving as a new economicdevelopment and tourismengine for southern We s tVirginia. Since that time theseven-county trail system hasbeen successful in attractingthousands of out-o f-town visi-tors each year to Mingo,

Logan, Boone, Wyoming andMcDowell counties. Those vis-itors in return spend money atlocal stores, convenience sta-tions, restaurants, camp sitesand motels providing a boostto the overall economy ofs o u t h e rn West Vi r g i n i a ,according to Lu s k .

The only stumbling block fac-ing the trail system to datehas been a lack of lodgingsites for the out of town visi-t o r s .

Although a number of entre-preneurs have stepped up todevelop smaller lodging facili-ties — along with a much larg-er ATV resort being developedat the old Bramwell HighSchool — there still isn’ tenough lodging sites withinclose proximity to thePocahontas Trail system tomeet the demand.

“ We’ve added approximately75 to 100 beds that were nothere prior to us opening up (inMercer County),” Lusk said.“But I see the need for morethan double of that. Anybodythat opens up a facility to pro-vide lodging for trail ridershelps us out. Every single bedis needed. But our supply anddemand curve is all out ofwhack. We really had hoped it(lodging facilities in MercerCounty) would have come a lotf a s t e r. ”

Lusk said the trail authorityalso would like to see a camp-ground, or new campsites,developed in Mercer County.In neighboring McDowell

C o u n t y, the Ashland Resorthas been proven to be a bigdraw for riders along theIndian Ridge trail segment.

Lusk said a new hotel ormotel along the trail — oreven in Bluefield — would alsobe a tremendous help.

“But we are growing upthere,” Lusk said of theMercer County trail.“ E v e rything in your area isgrowing. Pe rmit sales aregrowing. I think the future forthe Hatfield-McCoy Trail sys-tem in Mercer County is very,v e ry bright. We just need toget some places for people tostay and some more invest-ments for them when they geth e r e . ”

The eight current Hatfield-McCoy trail systems areRockhouse, Buffalo Mountain,B e a rw a l l o w, Indian Ridge,Little Coal, Po c a h o n t a s ,Pinnacle Creek, and IvyBranch. A second-trail systemis now being planned forMcDowell County that aims toconnect the cities of We l c h ,G a ry and Wa r.

The new trail system is inaddition to the existing IndianRidge Trail in McDowellC o u n t y, which also connectswith the new Pocahontas Tr a i lin Mercer County.

“”It’s a good network oftrails,” Lusk said of the pro-posed War trail system. “It willconnect the town of Wa r, thetown of Gary and the city ofWelch with almost 100 miles oftrails. It’s a big geographic

area to connect all three cities.It is actually our plan to con-nect it to Indian Ridge. That isphase two of the project. Thefirst phase is to connect thethree towns. When that con-nects with the Indian Ridgesystem, it will be greatbecause people will be able tocome in on the Mercer Countyside, put all of their stuff onthe ATVs, and hit four systemsat one time — Indian Ridge,Pocahontas, War Creek, Garyand Welch, Northfork,Keystone, Bramwell, Pi n e v i l l eand Twin Falls State Park. I’mexcited about it. We are goingto build it. It’s fully funded.”

Lusk said the new systemwill be named after the city ofWa r. Possible names underconsideration include Wa rr i o rCreek or Wa rrior Tr a i l .

While housing is still a prob-lem across the seven countytrail system, some progress isbeing made.

In fact, property sales haveincreased in and around theBramwell area since a branchof the Hatfield-McCoy Tr a i lsystem opened in 2012. MayorLouise Stoker said buyershave been acquiring proper-ties in her town that havebeen vacant for years. Andentrepreneurs have been buy-ing properties in the area aswell, including the form e rBramwell High School, whichis being converted into an AT Vl o d g e .

Stoker says town hall contin-ues to receive inquiries from

potential buyers.Lusk said the trail system

h as proven to be recession-proof.

“We are in a period ofgrowth,” he said. “We grew allthroughout the GreatRecession. We’ve actually

grown our permit sales everyyear since our inception. April1 marked our 30th straightcorridor of growth. That’sseven and a half years ofgrowth. We’ve grown everyyear, and we are still grow-ing.”

DF


Good times keep rolling on trailStaff photos by Eric DiNovo

Headed to the trail...Left, ATV enthusiasts prepare to ride the trails after stopping in Bramwell recently. Right, riders refuel at the Riverside Pop Shop before riding the Hatfield-McCoy Trail System.

prospects, Bailey said.“One company has looked at

the old Dean Company,”Bailey said of a potentialmanufacturing firm. “Thecompany is still talking toinvestors and state represen-tatives. We are working rightnow on another manufactur-ing company that may moveinto the Princeton area. Weare in the process of negotia-tions. It will be manufactur-ing. As you know manufactur-ing is the lifeblood of anycommunity.”

Manufacturing jobs comewith more competitivesalaries and benefits, Farleyadded.

“You know we are a service-orientated community, and itwould be nice to get somemanufacturing in here to tryto stabilize the economy,”Farley said. “The manufactur-ing end of it brings in highersalaries and benefits whereaswith service orientated youare part-time without bene-fits. But even being serviceoriented — it is bringingmoney into your county.”

One challenge MercerCounty faces is a lack of“shovel ready” sites forprospective businesses andindustries, Bailey said.

However, some sites are stillavailable at the county’sindustrial parks. For example,two sites are currently avail-able at the TurnpikeIndustrial Park that wouldprovide a combined 13 acres.And the Virginia IndustrialPark has about 30 acres avail-able for development. TheBluefield CumberlandIndustrial Park has another50 acres that is still availablefor development.

Beyond manufacturing, newretail and big box chains alsocontinue to look at the area.

Bailey said representativesof Target and Home Depothave made multiple visits toMercer County, and are look-ing at sites in the Princetonand Oakvale areas, as well asa site near the Virginia stateline in Bluefield.

Bailey said a Target orHome Depot would serve as acatalyst to additional retailgrowth — adding that smallerstores and national chainswould be developed in a shop-ping center housing a Targetor Home Depot.

Farley said representativesof Target and Home Depotare still looking at propertyeast of Interstate 77 on U.S.Route 460. Representatives ofthe company have been in theMercer County area “a coupleof times” looking at sites,Farley said.

“This year they got water allthe way down to Oakvale, andthey didn’t have waterbefore,” Farley said. “Itstopped before at Walmart.”

That makes Exit 14 the nextarea ripe for growth in thegreater Princeton area,according to Farley.

“There is no question aboutthat,” Farley said. “The busi-nesses just seem like theywant to be near an exit. Afteryou get one (business at theexit) started, or somethingthere, then things start hap-pening. I believe that (Exit 14)will be the next one.”

But there is still some prop-erty available near Exit 9 aswell, including 200 acres ofland off of Halls Ridge Road.Bailey said several prospec-tive businesses have alreadylooked at the site. And the oldKmart property just off ofExit 9 also is still available fordevelopment.

Exit 1 in Bluefield continuesto face challenges, includingstate restrictions on bill-boards in Bland County. Butprojects are still underway atExit 1, including the construc-tion of the new Bluefield AreaTransit offices.

“I think anytime there is anynew construction particularlyright there that is visible asyou come off the interstate,folks are going to want toknow what it is,” Meachumsaid. “And I think it is a posi-tive that it is located outthere. It is certainly going tobe a nice addition with thenew construction. It’s a greatlocation right at the top of theexit. We’ve all said for a longtime that it would only takeon start-up business or start-ing businesses to go out thereand make that area reallyprosper. But available land (atExit 1) is a challenge. Whatlooks to be a lot of land goesup the mountain.”

Farley said the addition of anew campus of New RiverCommunity and TechnicalCollege on Mercer Street indowntown Princeton will pro-vide a big boost to the down-town area. The college isplanning to share the oldFirst Community BankBuilding with the city, whichwill also operate city hall outof the same structure.

And Farley said the stripmall that will house a newSweet Frog and three otherbusinesses is a sign of ongo-ing growth. Farley said thenew Dunkin Donuts project isstill a go for Princeton aswell. And new apartments arebeing constructed at Exit 9behind the Sleep Inn.

“They will be like theTowers on Stafford Drive,”Farley said of the new apart-ment complex. “I think 55 orolder.”

Bailey said all four of thesites in the new strip mall inPrinceton should be occupiedby year’s end. Although SweetFrog is confirmed, Bailey saidshe is currently not at libertyto identify the other business-es, but she adds that one is alocal company that is expand-ing.

Farley said the Hatfield-McCoy Trail system continuesto reap benefits for MercerCounty. In addition to bring-ing visitors and tourismgrowth to Bramwell, Farleysaid hotels off of Exit 9 contin-ue to see ATV traffic on week-ends.

“I’m positive about the econ-omy,” Farley said. “I think it’sjust on the verge of breakinglose. The Sheetz peopleapparently saw something inPrinceton, or certainly theywould not have invested whatthey invested. Other thingscome in gradually.”

A new housing developmentis planned at the St. Clairproperty in Bluefield, Va., andsmall business growth is stilloccurring in Bluefield,according to Meachum.

“Available property is still ata premium with the bound-aries that both the city ofBluefield and the town ofBluefield, Va., has,” Meachumsaid. “Without doing anyboundary adjustments, thecity and town sort of has theirhands tied. But there contin-ues to be some small busi-nesses opening up in the twoBluefields. There is a newmarket opening in the down-town. And they seem to bevery energetic folks. And Ithink probably one of themost exciting things particu-larly for the downtown areacontinues to be the work ofthe Bluefield PreservationSociety. I understand the cityboard did change the traffic

patterns on Commerce andRaleigh streets. And there isworking going on at theGranada. That’s a very dedi-cated, ambitious group of vol-unteers working on that. AndI really do believe they willmake it happen. They havethe energy and the drive, andhave received some funding.So I think that is very much apositive. And most of the busi-nesses or buildings out onCumberland Road are full —so they are occupied. Itseems like when somethingbecomes available out theresomeone else goes into it.And that holds true for SouthBluefield and the professionaloffices as well.”

With help from ATV ridersand Boy Scouts, MercerCounty’s tourism industryalso has received a boost.

“Tourism will continue to bea large industry,” Bailey said.“I look for that to reallyexplode in the next couple ofyears especially with the BoyScouts and the jamboree andthe Bechtel (Family NationalScout Reserve) farm. That isgoing to increase a lot oftourism in our area. I feelvery positive for MercerCounty. I think in the futureyou will see a lot of positivethings happen in both retailand service-related jobs.”

Bailey said investors alsocontinue to look at sites forcabins, campgrounds andlodging facilities to helpaccommodate the newHatfield-McCoy Trail.However, finding property forsuch housing and campingsites is still a challenge.

“There is lodging that isbecoming available withBramwell and the old highschool,” Bailey said of thenew ATV resort at the town’sold high school. “You are alsofinding investors that are buy-ing houses that are on themarket. And the little town ofBramwell is booming. Thereis a lot of opportunity therethat no one ever anticipatedwith the Hatfield-McCoy Tr a i land businesses are growing.”

“The hope is that once theseScouts get home their experi-ence in our area has beenv e ry positive, and they willwant to come back before thenext jamboree with their fami-lies and visit,” Meachum said.“ We think we had a greatopportunity that I think wetook advantage of to showcaseourselves to the rest of theU.S. There was lots of workdone in the Bluefield areamonths prior to the Scoutsgetting here. So we arepleased with that. I think thevisitors found themselves tobe very welcomed every w h e r ethey went. The old saying isthe first impression is themost important. Hopefully,they had a positive firstimpression of the area, andwant to come back. And onthe economic developmentside, I’m sure your story isgoing to have about theimpact of the Hatfield-McCoyTrail. It’s already increasedlodging in the two Bluefields,and again restaurants andconvenience stores and shop-ping (centers) all benefit fromthose folks coming in andstaying in the area. Bluefieldand Princeton has the mostlodging available. There aremore on weekends of course.Those are the people that arecoming any distance. We seethem going through townd a i l y. So that’s a big, big plusand that’s only going to getb e t t e r. ”

Just across the state line inneighboring Tazewell County,a number of tourism and eco-nomic development initiativesare continuing.

In Bluefield, Va., efforts todevelop the new BluefieldCollege School of DentalMedicine at the BluestoneRegional Business andTechnology Park are on a fasttrack. But that doesn’t meanother prospective industriesa r e n’t being recruited as wellto the industrial park.

“ We’ve had some prospectsthat have looked at theBluestone,” Margie Douglass,tourism and economic devel-opment director for Ta z e w e l lC o u n t y, said. “We continue tomarket it. We’ve actuallydeveloped a packet withregards to the Bluestone. It’sa marketing packet.”

Although one site at the parkwill be utilized by the dentalschool, Douglass said othersites are available and readyfor occupancy.

Also in Bluefield, Va., twoWest Virginia-side businesseshave recently relocated acrossthe state line border. We l l sFargo is now up and ru n n i n ginside of the old Kroger build-ing in Bluefield, Va. The com-pany brought 40 jobs with it toTazewell County. And theBluefield Automobile Clubalso recently relocated to theRidgeview Shopping Plaza inBluefield, Va., also creatingseveral additional jobs.

“ We don’t go over and pur-sue projects on the We s tVirginia side, but if they arelooking for sites we do want tokeep them in the area,”Douglass said.

Douglass said Ammars Inc.in Bluefield, Va., also is work-ing on an expansion project,along with Py o t t - B o o n eElectronics in Tazewell. Andofficials are hoping to beginc o n s t ruction soon on thePocahontas segment of thenew Spearhead Trail system.Funding for the Po c a h o n t a sleg of the Spreahead Trail isalready in place. Douglasssaid the only thing lacking is afinal land agreement beforeground can be broken. TheMountain View Trail segmentof the Spearhead system hada soft opening in St. Paul inWise County earlier this sum-mer. The Tazewell Countysection of the Spearhead Trailwill be developed in two phas-es over 53 miles in thegreater Pocahontas area.

In other developments,Douglass said Belk alsorecently opened a secondstore in the Claypool HillMall, and the Clinch RiverValley Initiative project con-

tinues to gain steam.The four county Clinch

River Valley Initiative seeksto enhance water qualitywhile connecting with outdoorrecreational initiatives.Tazewell, Russell, Wise andScott counties are collaborat-ing on the project.

“The Clinch River is one ofthe most bio-diversiveregions in the world, and theClinch River is the headwaters of Tazewell County,”Douglass said. “One of thegoals (of the initiative) isdowntown revitalization andentrepreneurship. And one ofthe goals is a state park andenvironmental education. Andthen another goal is to defineaccess points to where peoplecould have public access tothe river. There are placesalong the Clinch River likethe Daily Bread Diner, whichis a new restaurant locatedright at the Clinch River inPisgah.”

Douglass said the Back ofthe Dragon in Tazewell alsohas exploded into a majortourism draw for the county.About 6,000 people attendedthe “Awakening” program inJune, including 2,500 peoplewho traveled on motorcyclesacross the mountainous andwinding ridgeline dubbed“The Back of the Dragon.”

Douglass said people usingmotorcycles, sports cars andother off-road vehicles aredriving the mountainous routethroughout the year.

“It’s exciting when you seeall of these people coming in,”Douglass said of The Back ofthe Dragon. “So that’s been agood thing. We have alsoestablished tourism zones inthe county in the last year —primarily in the Tazewell areanear the Historic Crab OrchadMuseum and Pocahontas. It’san ordinance where the statehas given the localities theability to establish tourismzones, and they can provideincentives for tourism devel-opment and businesses thatdo tourism development. It’sby ordinance and actuallyPocahontas was one of thefirst localities to take advan-tage of the tourism zones.”

Douglass said tourism proj-ects also continue to grow inBurkes Garden.

“An Amish family hasopened up the Burkes GardenGeneral Store, and The Lo s tWorld Ranch is now open,”she said. “They give toursMonday through Friday, and

there is also a new greenhouse that has opened with anAmish family. ”

Douglass said visitors to TheLost World Ranch can seecamels, llamas and otherexotic animals.

In the town of Richlands,efforts to restore the historicrailroad foreman’s sectionhouse are continuing. Thes t ructure dates back to 1890,but has fallen into a state ofdisrepair in recent years. Thetown has been awarded$483,000 in federal transporta-tion funds to help with therestoration project. The totalcost of restoring the stru c t u r eis estimated at $662,276.

“I can tell you as far asRichlands is concerned, wehave gotten the grant for therestoration of the sectionhouse and it is moving for-ward,” Ginger Branton, exec-utive director of the RichlandsArea Chamber of Commerce,said. “The restoration that isgoing to take place is going tobe a tremendous asset toR i c h l a n d s . ”

Branton said the restorationof the section house is one ofthe last remaining projectsfrom the original downtownrevitalization plan, whichdates back to 1995.

“Now as people see thevalue of what’s happening inrelation to tourism develop-ment where the state itself isproviding additional incen-tives for these type of entre-preneur project to happen, itis coming to life now, ”Branton said.

Branton said another recentand positive development forthe town was the acquisitionof the health clinic atClaypool Hill by Clinch Va l l e yMedical Center.

“ E v e rything is going to stayintact,” Branton said. “Therew o n’t be any substantialchange other than the changeof ownership.”

Branton said the acquisitionof the health center by CVMCkeeps businesses and jobs inthe greater Richlands andClaypool Hill area.

“I don’t think any of usshould be in the business oflosing business, and I thinkwe need to do whatever ittakes for our businesses to becontinually successful,”Branton said. “I’ve alwaysbeen of the mindset that smallbusiness is what drives thiscountry.”


OB


Growth...Continued from 1


GRUNDY, Va. — TheCommonwealth ofVirginia continues to

invest millions in road con-struction across SouthwestVirginia.

The state’s investment intransportation comes at atime when federal highwaydollars are becoming increas-ingly difficult to secure. Thelargest local projectannounced so far this year isa $108 million coal synergyplan for the U.S. Route 460Connector Phase II project inBuchanan County.

The agreement is unique inthat it will allow the state tosave more than 50 percent onconstruction costs throughthe use of a private partnercoal company, which will cre-ate the rough grade road bedwhile extracting coal.

The announcement of theapproval of the design-buildcontract was made in lateJune by Gov. Bob McDonnell.McDonnell traveled toBuchanan County on Aug. 10to formally launch the project.

The design-build contractwas awarded to BizzackConstruction for phase two ofthe connector project to com-plete the next 6.2 miles of thesection to rough grade. Thefirst phase of the project cost$113 million, and phase twowill cost an additional $108million. When all of the workis finished, two of the tallestbridges in the Commonwealthwill be located in BuchananCounty.

The CommonwealthTransportation Board author-ized Virginia Department ofTransportation CommissionerGreg Whirley to award andexecute the $108 milliondesign-build contract in Juneto construct the road bed.When the work on the phasetwo connector project is com-pleted, only 13 miles willremain to complete the four-laning of U.S. Route 460 fromChristiansburg to theKentucky state line.

“This contract creates anopportunity to save over 50percent in the construction ofthe rough grade road bed forthis new section of U.S. Route460 using coal synergy,”McDonnell said in the earlysummer announcement.“When the Route 460Connector is completed, it willbring significant benefits tothe area, including trans-portation improvements, jobsand economic development."

The U.S. Route 460Connector Phase II is a 6.2-mile four-lane, limited accesshighway located between theU.S. Route 460 ConnectorPhase I, which is under con-struction near the BreaksInterstate Park, and the pro-posed Route 121 (CoalfieldsExpressway) interchange inBuchanan County.

The design-build contractwill use the coal synergy con-cept to provide a road torough grade at a reduction ofmore than 50 percent in costs,according to the governor’soffice. A second contractwould pave the road and com-plete the project for motoriststo use.

The coal synergy conceptreduces road building costssubstantially by using the coalcompanies’ larger-scale earthmoving equipment and con-struction techniques to pre-pare the road bed to roughgrade, thus allowing the com-panies to recover marketablecoal reserves during the roadbed preparation, according tothe Virginia Department ofTransportation.

In the meantime, construc-tion also continues on phaseone of the Route 610/Route460 Phase I Connector projectand the bridges that will beover Grassy Creek and Route610, or Grassy Creek Road.The phase one project isscheduled for completion in

the summer of 2015.Also in Buchanan County,

construction continues onphase three of the U.S. Route460 widening project. Co. Thethird phase of the Route 460widening project began in thespring of 2011 at a cost of$23.3 million. It is scheduledfor completion in April 2014.The 1.18 mile project extendsfrom Route 615 to RoyalCenter. It is scheduled forcompletion in April 2014.

When both phases II and IIIare completed, the four-laningof Route 460 from ClaypoolHill in Tazewell County toGrundy in Buchanan Countywill be completed.

The road widening projectsare indirectly tied to therecently completed multi-mil-lion dollar flood-control proj-ect in Grundy. More than 75families, non-profit organiza-tions and businesses wererecently relocated to the newredevelopment site across theLevisa River. A Walmartsupercenter, and other adjoin-ing businesses, are now openfor business at the newGrundy Town Center.

Several road and bridge con-struction projects also arecontinuing in TazewellCounty.

A bride repair project onRoute 61 in Tazewell County,which is located four mileswest of the Bland/Tazewellcounty line near Clear Fork

Creek, is slated for comple-tion this November.

Also in Tazewell County,

repairs to a bridge locatedover the Clinch River are con-tinuing, but should be com-

pleted in April 2014.— Contact Charles Owensat [email protected]

OF


Va. continues to invest in region’s roads


Ongoing construction...Construction continues on Phase II of the U.S. 460 Connector in Buchananon County. When complete in 2015, the project will have boast thetwo highest bridges in the state of Virginia.

By CHARLES OWENSand GREG JORDAN

Bluefield Daily Telegraph

PRINCETON — As farback as most folks canr e m e m b e r, flooding has

been a problem for the city ofPr i n c e t o n .

But commercial growthcombined with heavier trafficp a t t e rns have complicatedchronic flooding woes alongStafford Drive in recent years.And it’s not uncommon dur-ing periods of heavy rain fortraffic to be diverted, ordetoured away, from the state-maintained corr i d o r.

Many businesses and homesin the area also are impactedby high water. For example,residents of Princeton andLazenby avenues as well asthe Mercer County SeniorCenter on Trent Street havebeen dealing with floodingproblems for years.

Officials with the seniorcenter often have had toresort to putting sandbags attheir doors during storms toprevent water from seepinginto their lobby. But that couldall change in the not too dis-tant future.

While city officials were ini-tially planning to award a bidfor the engineering phase ofthe project in late summer,those plans were put on holdearlier this month when offi-cials learned that a govern-ment agency was alreadyplanning a study of Bru s hCreek, the waterway ru n n i n gthrough the Stafford Drivea r e a .

Michael Saffel, director ofthe Princeton Sanitary Board,said the Southern SoilC o n s e rvation District and theNational ResourcesC o n s e rvation Service arescheduling the study.

“They are in the planningstages of doing an analysis ofB rush Creek,” Saffel said inan interview earlier thismonth with the DailyTelegraph. “I guess it hasn’ tbeen done in many years.”

Silt and vegetation has builtup along the creek, limitinghow much water can movethrough it at one time.

“Those two in conjunctionare choking off Brush Creek,”Saffel said.

The study will not focus onStafford Drive’s flooding

issues, but it could impact theproblem by showing howwater could flow through thecreek more efficiently, Saffellsaid. Minimizing the floodingon Brush Creek could, in turn ,help reduce the flooding prob-lems on Stafford Drive.

Bids were opened on theengineering phase of the proj-ect in July, and city councilmembers met July 29 with thefive firms that submitted bids.The meeting with the contrac-tors was suggested by newlyelected city council membersJim Harvey and Jacqueline“Jackie” Ru c k e r, who suggest-ed that hearing from the engi-neering firm’s representa-tives would help them make ad e c i s i o n .

The Hugh I. Shott Jr.Foundation awarded a$250,000 grant to the city earli-er this year. However, citycouncil is still searching foran additional $250,000 inmatching funds needed tocomplete the actual projectc o n s t ru c t i o n .

U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W. Va., asked a number of stateand federal officials earlierthis year to help the city with

the flooding problem, includ-ing the U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers, the NaturalResources Conserv a t i o nS e rvices, the West Vi r g i n i aC o n s e rvation Agency and theWest Virginia Office ofEmergency Serv i c e s .

The city also continues toseek Small Cities Block Grantfunding for the project. Fiveprior Small Cities BlockGrant applications submittedby the city were rejected. Asixth grant application wassubmitted earlier this sum-mer.

Tragedy was narrowlyaverted in January of thisyear when an SUV carrying awoman and a child was sub-merged under water inPrinceton near the AthensCrossroads — an area locat-ed a few miles past StaffordDrive. Heavy rain hadswollen the creek runningalongside the supermarketparking lot at the AthensCrossroads when the SUVsuddenly went into the water.A child and woman were res-cued from the vehicle.


OB


Staff photos by Jon Bolt

High water...Vehicles ford the flood waters rising from the drainage ditches along Stafford Drive inPrinceton. Bedeviled by drainage difficulties, Stafford Drive and surrounding areasremain one of the most frequently flooded in the area.

Flooding woes continue to plague Stafford Drive

could be utilized by publicentities or private businesses,according to the preliminaryproject proposal. Another partof the master plan includesthe addition of a climbing walland an observation platformfrom which visitors couldview the neighboring Norf o l kS o u t h e rn rail yards. Such ano b s e rvation center for out oftown visitors to view the city’ shistoric rail yards has longbeen requested by some inthe city.

State Tr a n s p o r t a t i o nS e c r e t a ry Paul Mattox award-ed the city $120,000 in toll-rev-enue tax credits in 2012 tohelp offset local matchingfund requirements for theColonial Intermodal Centerproject. The approval of thetoll-revenue tax creditsallowed the city to expeditethe drawdown of the $600,000in federal funds secured in2009 by Rahall for the engi-neering and design of theproject. Those federal fundsrequired a $120,000 match inlocal dollars.

The idea for the interm o d a lcenter actually dates back to2007 when a group of local cit-izens got together to come upwith ways to promote eco-nomic development in thea r e a .

The idea was then present-ed to U.S. Sen. JayR o c k e f e l l e r, D-W. Va., and U.S.Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W. Va .Rahall’s office offered to help,but asked the city to come upwith a specific project idea forthem to help fund. City offi-cials said similar transporta-tion projects in Beckley andHuntington led to the form a-tion of the ColonialI n t e rmodal Center concept.


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The signs say...A local resident reads the historical information on thesigns on the Railroad and Coal Heritage InterpretiveWalkway at Roundhouse Square in Bluefield.

Funding...Continued from 3


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P R I N C E TON — A long-planned multi-purpose centerfor Mercer County is still on aslow path toward reality.

The list of potential sites forthe development is now downto three, according to MercerCounty DevelopmentAuthority Director JanetB a i l e y.

Stafford Consultants is cur-rently working to finalize asite analysis report for thethree proposed sites, whichwill be presented to the fulldevelopment authority boardin September. The three sitesinclude two pieces of proper-ty near Exit 14 in MercerC o u n t y, and the Le a t h e rw o o dproperty that extendsbetween Mercer andTazewell counties.

“The next board meetingw o n’t be until September, ”Bailey said. “We hope theywill be able to provide sometype of analysis (at theSeptember meeting) as towhich site to move forw a r dw i t h . ”

Bailey said the Exit 14 sitehas long been considered forthe project. The Le a t h e rw o o dsite in return — if ultimatelychosen — would allow offi-cials to utilize an Appalachian

Compact agreement negotiat-ed years ago back when JoeManchin and Tim Kaine werethe respective governors ofWest Virginia and Vi r g i n i a .Both Manchin and Kaine arenow U.S. senators.

“I think Exit 14 is probablystill the best site to go with,”Bailey said. “That’s what Ikind of feel like this analysiswill show. The Le a t h e rw o o dsite would take the projectinto both Virginia and We s tVi r g i n i a . ”

If a positive report is provid-ed in September, the nextstep would be finding addi-tional funding for the project.Bailey said that includese v e rything from grant fund-ing and budget digest dollarsto assistance from privatepartners and local founda-t i o n s .

The multi-purpose center isc u rrently envisioned as a54,000-square foot facilitywith an arena, barns and out-buildings for an equestrianc o m p o n e n t .

The project — oncer e f e rred to as an equestriancenter — is now envisionedas a multi-purpose facilitycapable of housing festivals,conventions, county fairs,local and national conven-tions and equestrian func-tions. The idea of the eques-

trian park, and now the multi-purpose center, dates back to2 0 0 6 .

And discussions about sucha concept began in 2004. Thefirst committee wasn’ tf o rmed until 2006.

As currently envisioned, themulti-purpose center couldbe utilized for every t h i n gfrom equestrian events to theannual coal show. At themoment, the National GuardA rm o ry in Brushfork is theonly facility in Mercer Countycapable of handling suchlarge gatherings. The multi-purpose center would belarger than the arm o ry.

H o w e v e r, the delay in mov-ing the development forw a r dhas largely centered aroundfinding a suitable site forsuch a project. The develop-ment authority and multi-purpose center committeeare seeking a site with atleast 400 acres of land for theproposed development. Atone point, seven differentsites were under considera-tion for the multi-purposec e n t e r.

Regardless of which site isultimately selected, Baileysaid officials believe thatadditional growth, includinghotels, motels and restau-rants, would follow such alarge-scale multi-purpose

c e n t e r.The equestrian park was

originally proposed as a jointventure between the countycommission, the city ofBluefield and the city ofPrinceton. It was originallyproposed on property jointlyowned by the two cities.H o w e v e r, the U.S. Arm yCorps of Engineers laterruled that the property inquestion would not work forthe equestrian park becauseit was located within the floodplain. The two cities are notdirectly involved in the newp r o p o s a l .

An updated market andfinancial analysis report onthe proposed multi-use cen-ter was presented to thedevelopment authority in2012 by Susan Sieger, presi-dent of CrossroadsConsulting Services. Thes u m m a ry of the analysisreport showed the marketdemand is still strong andthat equine activity still rep-resents a growing market forthe region.

The updated market reportalso found the project stillpresents a unique opportuni-ty to generate significant eco-nomic activity to the localand state economy, as well asresulting tax revenue for thejurisdictions, Bailey said.

Bailey said the multi-usecenter — and its equestriancomponent — has the poten-tial to attract visitors to theregion while also serving as a

catalyst for additional eco-nomic development andrecreational opportunities.



WELCH — Hoping tocapitalize upon agrowing volume of

out-of-town ATV visitors, offi-cials in McDowell County areputting a renewed focus ontourism-related projects.

Many of the off-road visitorsin the county are riding theHatfield-McCoy Trail, includ-ing the popular Indian RidgeTrail system near Ashland. Aresort and campground sitein the area has added to thepopularity of the system. Anda second Hatfield-McCoy Trailsystem that aims to link thecities of War, Welch and Garyis expected to increase ATVtraffic in the county.

“We are kind of focusing onthe tourism aspect and get-ting people here,” Peni

Adams, county economicdevelopment director, said. “Itwill get folks in here and letthem see the other opportuni-ties that are in the county foroutdoor entertainment.”

Along those lines a group ofinterns have been working inthe county over the summerto help develop a McDowellCounty Convention andVisitors Bureau. The EDAoffice also is still working totry to attract a national chainhotel or motel into the county.Adams said officials are alsoworking to develop a drivingtour of McDowell County thathighlights historical areasand local attractions.

“We are all kind of trying tothink tourism related,” shesaid. “And we don’t have any-thing in this county thatshows sort of the historicalplaces, and things on the

map. So we’ve gotten a grantthrough the Coal HeritageAuthority to design and devel-op what we are going to call adriving tour of McDowellCounty. And that should bedone by the end of September.It will have your lodging andall of your historical placesyou need to visit.”

In the meantime, Adamssaid officials are hoping moreentrepreneurs will developlodging and housing sites inthe county for the out-of-townvisitors. The county currentlyhas 12 lodging facilities,including two motels, a camp-ground and several bed andbreakfast facilities.

But beyond tourism, othereconomic development effortscontinue in the county.

Adams said officials are alsoplanning for the firstMcDowell County Expo to be

held on Oct. 4 and 5 in con-nection with the ongoingReconnecting McDowell cam-paign.

“We are mirroring it kind oflike the Bluefield BetterLiving Show and the Woman’sExpo,” she said. “It will be anice, high-quality event forMcDowell County agencies,or anyone that wants to comein and let people know what’sgoing on in McDowellCounty.”

Adams said county officialsalso are still working towardraising the funding necessaryto complete an expansionproject planned at theStevens Correctional Centerin Welch.

The expansion project willallow the county-managedcorrectional center to house144 additional state inmates.Adams said the county is

working to finance the $4 mil-lion project. A structure locat-ed behind the prison thatonce housed the nursingquarters at the old StevensClinic hospital would be reno-vated to help hold additionalinmates. The building wasrecently acquired by the EDA.

The old hospital located justoff of U.S. Route 52 in Welchwas converted into a prisonby the county in 2006. Thefacility can currently holdabout 322 inmates at onetime. The prison employsabout 150 people.

Adams said the county alsois continuing to work on therestoration of the old HoustonCompany Store in Kimball.The project includes thedevelopment of a coal her-itage museum inside of thestructure. Also in Kimball,Adams said the county is con-

tinuing to market the oldSuperior Wells site.

“Before they even put it onthe market, we had someonewho was interested in it,”Adams said.

A new health care facilityalso opened in the county dur-ing the summer.

Adams said Family HealthCare Associates out ofWyoming County purchasedthe old H.C. Lewis building atConey Island in Welch, andrenovated the structure into anew family health clinic. Alsoin Welch, Adams said a proj-ect to extend water and sewerto the Indian Ridge IndustrialPark has entered the secondphase of construction. Shesaid officials continue to showproperty at the industrialpark to interested parties.


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McDowell County begins to focus on tourism projects

Plans still underway for multi-purpose center in Mercer County

2013 pride sections 5 - 6

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