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DAILY NEWS“In The hearT Of The TrIllIOn DOllar COalfIelDs”

WEATHER

cloudy with showers. high 59. low 48.

Vol. 100, Number 8 THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013 50 cents daily/$1.00 Sunday

Father, 4 children killed in rural Ky. house fireChad Abshirestaff writer

JONANCY, Ky. — An early morning blaze at a ru-ral eastern Kentucky home killed four children and their father on Wednes-day and left the mother severely burned when she attempted to save her chil-dren from the flames.

The small home in southern Pike County caught fire around 2:30 a.m. according to Ken-

tucky State Police Trooper Tony Watts.

Pike County Coroner Russell Roberts said the bodies of the five victims were found in the home’s living room, where they had been sleeping near an electric space heater. The child’s mother was taken to the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexing-ton with severe burns.

A relative who lived nearby said she woke up early Wednesday morning

to find the house fully en-gulfed by flames.

“There was nothing I could do,” Glema Blair, the children’s great aunt who lives nearby, said. “I got second-degree burns just getting close to it.”

Just after the fire start-ed, Blair ran to the home and saw the children’s mother, Tammie Tucker, and Tucker’s father, James Tucker, attempting to get inside.

“She was trying her

best,” said Blair, who was fighting back tears in an interview with The Associ-ated Press.

Hospital spokeswoman Julie Phillips said Tam-mie Tucker was in critical condition Wednesday af-ternoon.

The family had switched from heating with wood to an electric heater and it was the only heat source in the house, James Tucker said.

Blair said Tucker lived

in the home with the chil-dren’s father, Billy Wilfong. The two weren’t married but had been together for about seven years, she said.

Blair identified the chil-dren as 5-year-old Dakota Lee; 4-year-old Tyler Lane; 2-year-old Cheyenne and an infant, Emily, who was 6 months old. She said she watched the kids often and said they loved to play outside and watch TV to-gether.

“They were good kids, you couldn’t ask for no bet-ter,” Blair said.

The coroner said the bodies would be taken to the medical examiner’s office in Frankfort, and it could take several days for positive identifications. The infant was found with-in a foot of the father, and all the victims were within about two feet of each other.

Rape suspect escapes, found in LexingtonJack Lattacivitas news service

PRESTONSBURG — A Floyd County man, indicted for first-degree rape, who escaped custody last week, has been ar-rested again after being discov-ered in Lexington.

Local authorities with the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office say David Slone, 39, of Way-land, indicted for first-degree rape escaped from the Floyd County Justice Center some-time late Thursday evening and was considered dangerous to citizens.

Slone was arrested by Lexington Police in Fayette County at approximately 9 a.m. Saturday. In addition to the warrant for his escape from Floyd County on Thursday, Slone was also charged with receiving stolen property in Fayette County.

According to officials, Slone was found in possession of a car that had been reported stolen in Lexington earlier that morning. While being ques-tioned by police about the ve-hicle, a warrant check revealed the warrant for Slone.

At this time Slone is lodged in the Fayette County Deten-tion Center and steps have been taken to insure that he is returned to Floyd County.

According to Robert Caudill with the Floyd County Sheriff’s Department, Slone had been transported Thursday from the Floyd County Detention Center to the Justice Center to attend a hearing. Slone was kept in a separate holding cell for his own protection from other inmates, Caudill said. Bailiffs who transported the prisoners back to the jail appar-ently forgot Slone was being detained separately, and left

the inmate behind. Jailers did not notice Slone’s absence, and did not know he was missing until later that evening during a head count.

Caudill said the jail reported Slone missing sometime after midnight Thursday, by which time Slone had already stolen a change of clothes, dumped his orange jumpsuit, made a phone call, and fled the Justice Center. Caudill said phone re-cords indicate that a call was made after business hours from the Justice Center, but said that it was unknown if Slone was picked up by an accomplice, or simply took to the streets of Prestonsburg.

“We discovered his orange jumpsuit and sandals and stuff in a downstairs maintenance area,” said Caudill, who added that Slone’s escape was a “per-fect storm” of errors by authori-ties, and luck by accused.

Jailer Roger Webb told Times staff on Friday that the jail normally does a head count, but was delayed due to an “exceptionally large court date,” and over a dozen new prisoners being booked into the jail.

“We got him ready and sent

TVHS to conduct anti-bullying programChad Abshirestaff writer

HUNTINGTON — A Mingo County school will be par-ticipating in an all-day event with an intention to “start the conversation” about bullying and responsible behav-ior.

Tug Valley High School, along with schools in Cabell, Lincoln, Logan, Mason and Wayne Counties, will take part in bullying prevention activities on Friday, as local boards of education kick off the “It Does Matter” initia-tive.

A West Virginia Department of Education program, “It Does Matter” is aimed at addressing bullying in schools. The Friday event is designed to provide a starting point for positively affecting school climates in the counties served by RESA 2.

Students will participate in activities designed to edu-cate students about what constitutes bullying behavior and how to combat bullying. They will also learn tips on how to be a positive influence for others and to maintain self-esteem.

Tug Valley Principal Johnny Branch told the Daily News that the school would be having a variety of events between 8 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. that day, such as, “a school motivational assembly, classroom activities, art and per-formance projects, and several other items. Students will be making special pledges to encourage fair treatment for all and will participate in a banner signing.”

More information on the campaign can be found at it-doesmatterwv.com.

Poll results: A resounding no to new gun lawsChad Abshirestaff writer

On Dec. 14, 2012, a nightmare be-came reality when a man fatally shot 20 schoolchildren and six adult staff members and wounded two others at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

Since then, the search for answers has been the top priority virtually everywhere, including Capitol Hill, where lawmakers have been looking at gun control within the nation.

On Wednesday, Vice President Joe Biden heard personal stories of gun violence from representatives of vic-tims groups and gun-safety organiza-tions as part of drafting the Obama

administration’s response to the shooting.

“I want to make it clear that we are not going to get caught up in the

notion (that) unless we can do ev-erything we’re going to do nothing,”

Jones gets key committee assignmentsChad Abshirestaff writer

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Sen. Ray S. Jones II, (D-Pikeville), was re-cently appointed to several key committees, including the Sen-ate Appropriations and Revenue Committee.

The senator said that his as-signments line up well for the 31st district which he has repre-sented since 2001.

“I am in a position to deliver for my district,” Jones, who rep-resents Johnson, Martin and Pike Counties, said. “During my ten-ure in Frankfort, I have focused on bringing money home to East-ern Kentucky for roads, bridges, water lines, sewer lines and new schools. These committee assign-ments will allow me to be an even

greater force in selecting projects and allocating funds.”

In addition to Appropria-tions and Revenue, Jones was reappointed to Transportation; Natural Resources and Energy, Judiciary committees and the En-ergy Special Subcommittee. He was also appointed to the Senate Budget Review Subcommittee on Economic Development and Tourism, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection and Senate Budget Review Subcom-mittee on Transportation. He will serve on these committees for the next two years.

“I have a seat at the table in mapping out the state’s road plan; working on the state’s spending plan; looking at legislation deal-ing with the drug problem; craft-ing legislation that effects energy

and natural resources, and de-veloping economic development strategies,” Jones said.

The legislature convened at noon Tuesday for a brief organi-zational session, which will con-clude Friday. Legislators will re-turn to Frankfort Tuesday, Feb. 5, to continue the 2013 Legislative Session.

“Though we will not be dealing with a budget, this session will still include some very important legislation,” Jones said. “During the weeks ahead, we will be look-ing at numerous issues that could have an impact on the lives of our Kentucky men, women and chil-dren. I encourage the citizens of my district to keep in touch with me because their input will be im-portant as I make decisions that could influence new laws.”

submitted photoSen. Ray S. Jones II, (D-Pikeville), took the oath of office when the Kentucky General Assembly convened Tuesday in Frankfort, Ky. Jones has represented the 31st senatorial district since 2001. He was re-elected to that seat in Novem-ber. Shown with Jones is his son, Grayson.

See FIRE | 3

See ESCAPE | 3

See GUNS | 3

Advertisement

Notice is hereby given that Delbarton Mining Company, 119 North South 2 Rd, PO Box 1098, Holden, WV 25625 has a permit on file with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for the surface mining of approximately 28.83 acres and has submitted an application to the DEP, 1101 George Kostas Drive, Logan, WV, 25601 for renewel of Article 3 Permit Number U502699 to Coal Underground in the No. 2 Gas seam of coal. The operation is discharging into Pigeon Creek of Tug Fork River and Right Fork of Trace Fork and Trace Fork of Pigeon Creek of Tug Fork of Big Sandy River and is located 2.6 miles, north of Delbarton and 5.4 miles north of Delbarton in Lee/Hardee District of Mingo County, Longitude 82º 5’ 45” and Latitude 37º 44’ 40” (Coordinates from USGS Topographic Map).Surface of the area associated herewith is owned by: Delbarton Mining Company 119 North South 2 Rd, P.O. Box 1098, Holden WV 25625; The Forest Land Group, LLC P.O. Box 1155 Lebanon, WV 24266and the mineral associated herewith is owned by: Delbarton Mining Company 119 North South 2 Rd, P.O. Box 1098, Holden WV 25625; Scarlet Development Corporation P.O. Box H, Holden, WV 25625-1810and the mineral within 100 feet of the permit area is owned by: Delbarton Mining Company 119 North South 2 Rd, P.O. Box 1098, Holden WV 25625; Scarlet Development Corporation P.O. Box H, Holden, WV 25625-1810Surface of the area within 100 feet of the permit area is owned by: Delbarton Mining Company 119 North South 2 Rd, P.O. Box 1098, Holden WV 25625; The Forest Land Group, LLC P.O. Box 1155 Lebanon, WV 24266; CSX Transportation 333 West Vine Street, Suite 310 Lexington, KY 40507Written comments and/or requests for an informal conference of the permit renewal application shall identify the applicant and application number and will be received by the Permit Supervisor at the DEP address above until 2/16/2013, or thirty (30) days from the date of final publication. A copy of the application will be available for review until 2/16/2013, or thirty (30) days from the date of final publication in the DEP Regional Office located at the address above AND in the Mingo County Clerk’s Office(s) during normal business hours.DEP Telephone Number: 304-792-7250 Permit Number: U502699

12/27, 1/3, 1/10, 1/17

LEGAL ADVERTISEMENT

Notice is hereby given that Glen Alum Operations LLC, 3910 Glen Alum Road, Wharncliffe, WV 25651 has a permit on file with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for the surface mining of approximately 104.35 acres and has submitted an application to the DEP, 1101 George Kostas Drive, Logan, WV 25601, for renewal of Article 3 Permit Number O502792 to operate and maintain a refuse disposal facility. The operation is discharging into Unnamed Tributaries of Alum Creek of the Tug Fork River and is located 3.0 miles, northwest of Wharncliffe in Stafford District of Mingo County, Longitude 81º 59’ 35” and Latitude 37º 34’ 55” (Coordinates from USGS Topographic Map).

Surface of the area associated herewith is owned by: Hickory Gap Partnership, P. O. Box 1109, Beckley, WV 25802 and the mineral associated herewith is owned by: Hickory Gap Partnership, P. O. Box 1109, Beckley, WV 25802 and the mineral within 100 feet of the permit area is owned by: Hickory Gap Partnership, P. O. Box 1109, Beckley, WV 25802 Surface of the area within 100 feet of the permit area is owned by: Hickory Gap Partnership P. O. Box 1109, Beckley, WV 25802

Written comments and/or requests for an informal conference of the permit renewal application shall identify the applicant and application number and will be received by the Permit Supervisor at the DEP address above until February 16, 2013, or thirty (30) days from date of final publication. A copy of the application will be available for review until February 16, 2013, or thirty (30) days from date of final publication in the DEP Regional Office located at the address above AND in the Mingo County Clerk’s Office(s) during normal business hours.

DEP Telephone No: (304) 792-7250 Permit No.: O50279212/27/12, 1/3/13, 1/10/13, 1/1713

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2 ■ THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013 WILLIAMSON DAILY NEWS

Obituaries

Carmen HuntCarmen Hunt, 91, of

Pinsonfork, Ky., passed away Tuesday, January 8, 2013, at the Williamson Memorial Hospital.

She was born October 23, 1921, in Pike County, Ky., the daughter of the late Tom and Edna May Hunt.

She was also preceded in death by her husband, Homer Hunt; daughter, Carla Brown; son, Larry Hunt; two brothers; and four sisters.

Carmen was a retired school teacher with the Pike County Board of Edu-cation having taught at several schools until she was 77-years-old. She was also a member of the Sha-rondale Church of Christ.

Survivors include her son, Kenneth (Nikki) Hunt of Belfry, Ky.; brothers, Gary Hunt of San Antonio, Texas, and Jim Hunt of Panama City, Fla.; sister,

Ruth Gerber of California; 14 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren; and a host of family and friends.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Jan-uary 11, at the R. E. Rogers Funeral Home Chapel with Bob Werntz officiating. Entombment will follow in the Johnson Memorial Park Mausoleum, Pikev-ille, Ky., with grandchil-dren and friends serving as pallbearers. Visitation will be held after 6 p.m. Thursday at the Funeral Home Chapel with special services at 7 p.m.

R. E. Rogers Funeral Home of Belfry is in charge of arrangements. Online condolences at www.re-rogersfuneralhome.com.

Frank WelchFrank T. Welch, 78, of

Sidney, Ky., passed away Tuesday, January 8, 2013, at the University of Ken-

tucky Medical Center in Lexington, Ky.

Frank was born October 30, 1934, at Neon, Ky., the son of the late R. H. and Bertie Hubbard Welch.

He was also preceded in death by his brother and sister-in-law, R. H. Welch Jr. and Lavenna Welch; his father and mother-in-law, Layton and Armilda Smith; niece, Linda Gaye Ison; and sister-in-law, Maggie Smith.

He was a longtime edu-cator in Pike County hav-ing been Principal of Bel-fry High School from 1971 - 1998; Superintendent of Pike County Schools from 1998 till he retired June 30, 2006; he was also Pres-ident of KHSAA Board in 1986, Kentucky State Secondary Principal of the Year, KASSP in 1988, Out-standing Alumni Award Hall of Fame - Morehead State University in 1999, Kentucky State Super-intendent of the Year in 2004, Top Ten Superinten-dent of the Nation in 2005, Superintendent of the Year by KSBA Dupree Award in 2005, Honorary Doctorate Degree from Pikeville Col-lege in 2005, received the Teachers Who Make a Dif-ference Award - University of Kentucky Department of Education, member of the Pikeville Rotary Club and the Sidney Missionary Baptist Church.

Survivors include his wife, Geraldine Welch of Sidney, Ky.; daughters, Melody (Rob) Coyle and Claudine (Billy) Bar-row both of Lexington, Ky.; grandsons, Clayton

Thomas Coyle, Tanner Layton Barrow and Brady Alexander Barrow all of Lexington, Ky.; brother-in-law, Claude P. (Marga-rette) Smith of Huddy, Ky.; brother, John H. Welch of Lexington, Ky.; sisters, Ida Allen and Pearl Goode both of Neon, Ky. and a host of nieces, nephews and friends.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, January 12, at 11 a.m. at the Belfry High School Auditorium with Shawn Ward officiat-ing. Burial will follow in Smith Cemetery, Sidney, Ky., wth Rob Coyle, Billy Barrow, Clay Coyle, Brady Barrow, Tanner Barrow, Johnny Williamson, Greg Coyle, Scott Hickey and David Lester serving as pallbearers. Honorary pall-bearers will be Men of the Sidney Missionary Baptist Church, Claude Smith, John Welch, Paul Dotson, Joe Goode, Mark Brewer, Dan Scalf, Phil Scalf, John Astor Welch, Bennett Welch, Jerry Tolliver and Kirby Ison. Visitation will be held from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday in the Belfry High School Auditorium. There will be a special service at 7 p.m. Thursday night.

In lieu of flowers, dona-tions can be made to the Sidney Missionary Baptist Church.

R. E. Rogers Funeral Home of Belfry is in charge of arrangements. Online condolences at www.re-rogersfuneralhome.com.

Evelyn FarnumEvelyn Farnum, 55,

of Right Fork of Laurel Creek, was taken from this life at her residence on De-cember 30, 2012.

She was born June 14, 1957, at Williamson, the daughter of the late Zan White and survived by her mother Christine McCoy White of Laurel Creek.

In addition to her father she was preceded in death by her brother, Walter White.

Those left behind to cherish her memories in-clude her mother, Chris-tine White; sister, Reva (Mike) Lowe; son, Ricky Ferris; and daughter, An-drea (Reggie) Evans; four grandchildren that con-sumed her life, Kendrick, Braydun, Ethan and Myla. She was a loving Nana who will never be replaced. She was a full time nana to Myla who she had with her every day. Evelyn was a loving daughter, sister and mother who always had a smile on her face . Her grandchildren were her life and it was evident from her sharing pictures and stories of them. She will also be sadly missed by her aunts, Donna Gail Hatfield, Eileen (Halcy) Hatfield, and Brenda Sue (Arnold) Hensley and a very special uncle, Roger (Wanda) McCoy.

Memorial services will be held Friday evening Jan-uary 11, 2013 from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. with services starting at 6 p.m. at the Victory Christian Center at Lenore. The Rev. Terry Blankenship will be offici-ating.

Online condolences can be made at ChafinFuneral-Home.Com.

George Kirk Jr.George “Duke” Kirk Jr.,

68, of Columbus, passed away Tuesday, January 8, 2013, at Grant Medical Center.

He was born July 29, 1944, in Williamson, to the late George Luther Sr. and Mary Elizabeth (Smith) Kirk.

The family will receive on Friday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Oliver-Cheek Fu-neral Home, 420 W. Main St. Ashville, OH with a fu-neral service at noon Satur-day, January 12. Burial will follow in Byers Cemetery, Jackson County, Ohio.

For those who wish me-morials may be made to the funeral home to help on burial expense.

Maxie NormanMaxie Farley Norman,

of McCarr, Ky., and Hun-tington, passed away Sun-day, January 6, 2013, at her home in Huntington.

Maxie was born Sep-tember 23, 1912. This past September marked a most extraordinary event as she celebrated her 100th birth-day.

She was the daughter of the late Robert Farley and the late Jessie DeHart Far-ley.

She was preceded in death by her husband, W. P. “Dock” Norman; and a daughter, Betty Jo Nor-man; son-in-law, John C. Baker; grandson, Ronald Lee Vipperman; and great-granddaughter, Maddie Grace Rucker; sisters, Mae Boyd, Josephine Beckett, Fonnie Hall, Ethel Varney and Jean Farley; and broth-ers, Charley, Henry and R. L. Farley.

She is survived by two daughters, Emogene (Rob-ert) Vipperman and Lo-retta Norman Baker; three grandchildren, Brenda Rucker, Bill Vipperman and William Norman Baker; nine great-grandchildren, Todd and Shawn Rucker, Jodi Wright, Heather Scov-el, Jeremy Vipperman, Ja-son and Adam Vipperman, Sarah Cusack and Rebekah

See OBITUARIES | 3

ADVERTISEMENT

Notice is hereby given that Consol of Kentucky, Inc., 1000 Consol Energy Drive, Canonsburg, PA 15317, has submitted an application to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Division of Mining and Reclamation located at 1101 George Kostas Drive, Logan, WV 25601 for an article 3 permit for the surface disturbance of approximately 112.25 acres in order to surface mine in the Clarion and 5-Block, and all associated splits and riders seam (s) of coal and mine within 100 feet of Route 3/12, beginning at a point of 0.35 miles Northeast of its intersection with Route 3/7 (Laurel Creek) to a point .04 miles North, for which a public hearing may be requested.

The proposed operation will discharge into Unnamed Tributaries of/and Laurel Fork of Pigeon Creek Fork of the Tug Fork River of the Big Sandy River and Unnamed Tributaries of/and West Fork of Twelvepole Creek of Twelvepole Creek, all of the Ohio River and is located 1.0 (miles) South of the Dingess in the Harvey District of Mingo County, Longitude 82°10'09" and Latitude 37°51'30" (Coordinates from USGS Topographic Map).

Written comments and/or requests for an informal conference of the surface mining application shall identify the applicant and application number and will be received by the Permit Supervisor at the DEP address above until 2/23/2013, or thirty (30) days from date of final publication. A copy of application will be available for review until 2/23/2013, or thirty (30) days from date of final publication in the DEP Regional Office located at the address above AND in the Mingo County Clerk's Office during normal business hours.

DEP Telephone No: (304)792-7250Permit No: S-5005-10

Surface of the area associated herewith is owned by:

NAME ADDRESS

Mingo Oil & Gas Company P.O. Box 1437, Williamson, WV 25661

Cotiga Development Company, LP P.O. Box 1956, Williamson, WV 25661

Surface of the area within 100 feet of the permit area is owned by:

NAME ADDRESS



Samuel Spaulding P.O Box 2, Dingess, WV 25671

Raymond Spaulding Rt. 2, Box 2613, Dingess, WV 25671

West Virginia Dept. of Transportation Building 5, 1990 Kanawha Blvd., East Charleston, WV 25305

*and the mineral associated herewith is owned by:

NAME ADDRESS



*and the mineral within 100 feet of the permit is owned by:

NAME ADDRESS



6038

1976

1/3, 10, 17, 24

THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013 ■ 3WILLIAMSON DAILY NEWS

Baker; and 14 great-great-grandchildren. Also surviv-ing is one sister, Virginia Nichols; and one brother, Roy James Farley.

Maxie was a member of Enon Baptist Church at Blackberry City. She owned and operated Nor-

man’s Grocery for many many years, where she serviced the many needs of others in her community. Her life has been full. She savored much, family, good friends, good times and a loved one’s touch.

Funeral services will be conducted at R. E. Rogers Funeral Home, Saturday,

January 12, at 11 a.m. with Jerry McCoy officiating. Burial will follow at Ander-son Hatfield Cemetery. Fam-ily will be receiving friends on Friday, January 11, from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. at R. E. Rogers Funeral Home.

Online condolences at www.rerogersfuneral-home.com.

From Page 2

Obituaries

From Front...

CalendarJan. 11

The Tug Valley Shrine Club will meet at the Wil-liamson Masonic Lodge. All Masons who would like to join the Shrine should attend this meeting. Upcoming fun-drasiers, the poker run, car show and other projects will be discussed.

Jan. 12The Lyrick Talent Quest

will be held at the Mountain Arts Center in Prestonsburg, Ky., from 5:30 p.m. until 11 p.m. on a first-come, first-served basis. For more infor-mation, call 304-928-5085 or on Facebook at Lyrick Promo-tions, LTD.

Jan. 16.There will be a blood drive

at the Roy F. Collier Commu-nity Center from 1:30 p.m. un-til 4:30 p.m. on the Kentucky Blood Center Bloodmobile at 1200 Main St. in Inez, Ky.

The Williamson Housing Authority will conduct its regular board meeting at 3:30 pm at the Victoria Court Of-fice 1612 West Sixth Ave., Williamson, WV. The meet-ing is open to the public

Jan. 18Stone Heritage will holds

its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the Appalachian first

response conference room. The meeting is open to the public.

Jan. 19The Disabled American

Veterans Chapter #141 Bel-fry, Ky., and its Auxiliary, will have its regular monthly meeting starting at 2 p.m. at the Belfry Courthouse. All members and honorably dis-charged veterans, and their spouses, are welcome to at-tend.

There will be a blood drive at the Kimper Volunteer Fire Department from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on the Kentucky Blood Center Bloodmobile at 104 Fire Station Rd. in Kim-per, Ky.

OngoingThe Pike County Health

Department is offering free diabetes management classes. There are various dates and times available including one Saturday during January 2013 at the Pike County Health De-partment. For more informa-tion, call Paula Compton at 606-509-5503. Free diabetes self management classes are also offered to business and worksite wellness programs.

Southside Elementary School will conduct a pre-school story hour program for children between 2 and 4-years-old and not currently

enrolled in school. For more information, call the school at 606-353-1284.

Narcotics Anonymous meets Sunday at 3 p.m. and Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Harry L. Joyce Community Center.

The West Virginia Army National Guard is taking ap-plications for qualified appli-cants only. Applicants must be between the ages of 17 - 35 unless they have prior mili-tary service. No drug viola-tions of felonies, meet height and weight requirements, be a high school graduate, or have completed the ninth-grade. We offer up to $50,000 student loan repayment, state and federal tuition assistance, medical, dental and life insur-ance and a part-time career with the opportunity to be-come full-time. For more in-formation, call recruiter SSG Donna Smith at 3047 201-3196 or email her at [email protected].

Workforce West Virginia will take all new unemploy-ment claims at its office at 300 Prosperity Lane, Logan, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Please arrive 30 minutes pri-or to complete an application. This does not affect the in-tenerate office in Williamson DHHR office on Wednesdays from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m.

“They could’ve been overcome by that smoke and just went into like a deep sleep,” Russell Roberts said. “They just couldn’t make it out.”

Doug Tackett, Pike County Emergency Ser-vices Coordinator, said hot spots still marked the house as of early Wednes-day afternoon.

“They haven’t even start-

ed the recovery yet,” Tack-ett said. “It was a hot one, yes indeed.”

“It’s probably been the worst we’ve had in this area in a long, long time,” Watts said.

By Wednesday after-noon, a makeshift memo-rial had gone up at the site of the single story frame home on a narrow, serpen-tine road that leads up the hillside. Red flowers and four blue balloons deco-rated the memorial and

included a collage with pic-tures of the father and the four children.

County Judge-Executive spokesman Brandon Rob-erts said there’s been no similar fatal fire in the county in recent years.

“I can’t remember a whole family perishing in a fire in my lifetime,” Bran-don Roberts said. “It’s just, ‘Oh God.’”

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

From Page 1

Fire

him over to the court, and they overlooked him, or he hid out on them or something,” Webb said. “By the time all this stuff is said and done, we got around to our head count and discovered he was missing.”

Slone is awaiting a court date to answer to indict-ments of first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy, persis-tent felony offender, retali-ating against participant in a legal process (3 counts),

second-degree disorderly conduct, menacing, and third-degree terroristic threatening (2 counts). This is his second time escaping from custody, having been charged with second-degree escape in 2009 in Jefferson County.

According to court records, Slone had previously been charged and convicted of three counts of theft by unlawful taking, third-degree burglary, two counts of criminal posses-sion of a forged instrument,

possession of marijuana, pos-session of drug paraphernalia, fleeing or evading police offi-cer, two time persistent felony offender, providing false name to police officer, burglary, aggravated assault, receiv-ing stolen property, wanton endangerment, and resisting arrest.

The victims of Slone’s most recent crimes were reportedly notified of his escape, but not until sometime after 8 a.m. Fri-day morning, eight hours after he was reported missing.

From Page 1

Escape

Biden said. “It’s critically important (that) we act.”

The meeting was part of a series Biden is holding this week to build consen-sus around proposals to curb gun violence.

President Barack Obama wants Biden to deliver policy proposals by the end of the month. Obama has vowed to move swiftly on the package, which is expected to include legisla-tive proposals and execu-tive action.

On Dec. 19, the Daily News asked its readers to give us their opinion on the matter of gun control in our online poll, with the question:

“In the wake of the Con-necticut school shooting, do you support the propos-al of new gun laws?”

Votes have since been tallied and the results showed that people were overwhelmingly against the proposal of any new gun control laws, with 65 percent of participants feeling that way.

Another 30 percent of polltakers did support proposing new gun laws, while 5 percent were un-sure and 1 percent did not care either way.

Current West Virginia gun laws are as follows for both long guns (rifles and shotguns) and handguns:

• Permit to purchase re-quired — No to both.

• Firearm registration — No to both.

• Owner license re-quired — No to both.

• Carry permits issued — No to long guns, yes to handguns. (West Virginia is a “shall issue” state for concealed carry.)

• Open carry permitted — No to long guns, yes to handguns (Open carry is generally permitted, but some local restrictions still exist.)

• State preemption of local restrictions — Yes to both.

• “Assault weapons” law — No to both.

• NFA (National Fire-arms Act) weapons re-stricted — No to both.

There are no prohibited

firearms by State law and private sales of firearms, including handguns, are legal and do not require the seller to perform a background check. It is however, unlawful to sell firearms to a prohibited person. Purchasing from dealers require a check through the National In-stant Criminal Background Check (NICS).

West Virginia also has a castle doctrine, enacted April 10, 2008, a law that states that “reasonable and proportionate force may be used to protect one’s self or another from an intruder or attacker while lawfully in one’s residence or that of another.”

In other words, a person has no duty to retreat if in the home.

“Reasonable and pro-portionate force, including deadly force, may be used against an intruder or at-tacker by one not engaged in unlawful activity in any place other than a home or residence where the person reasonably believes the intruder or attacker in-tends to kill or inflict seri-ous bodily harm; establish-ing that use of reasonable and proportionate force to defend oneself is a full and complete defense civilly to an action brought by an intruder or attacker based upon the use of such force; and exceptions,” the bill states.

Kentucky gun laws are similar to West Virginia’s, with minor differences:

In the Bluegrass State, open carry is permitted for both long guns and handguns without a per-mit or license; there are state preemption of local restrictions; and Kentucky has no peaceable journey laws.

While not having a castle law, Kentucky does have a stand-your-ground-law, which is similar but states that a person has no duty to retreat, regardless of where an attack takes place.

The Kentucky State law reads:

“(1) The use of physical force by a defendant upon another person is justifi-

able when the defendant believes that such force is immediately necessary to prevent:

(a) The commission of criminal trespass, rob-bery, burglary, or other felony involving the use of force, or under those circumstances permitted pursuant to KRS 503.055, in a dwelling, building or upon real property in his possession or in the pos-session of another person for whose protection he acts; or

(b) Theft, criminal mis-chief, or any trespassory taking of tangible, mov-able property in his pos-session or in the posses-sion of another person for whose protection he acts.

(2) The use of deadly physical force by a defen-dant upon another person is justifiable under subsec-tion (1) only when the de-fendant believes that the person against whom such force is used is:

(a) Attempting to dispos-sess him of his dwelling oth-erwise than under a claim of right to its possession; or

(b) Committing or at-tempting to commit a burglary, robbery, or other felony involving the use of force, or under those circumstances permitted pursuant to KRS 503.055, of such dwelling; or

(c) Committing or at-tempting to commit ar-son of a dwelling or other building in his possession.

(3) A person does not have a duty to retreat if the person is in a place where he or she has a right to be.”

While there is no right or wrong answer to the question of supporting or not supporting the pro-posal of new gun laws, the topic will certainly remain a subject of debate for law-makers.

Our readers are invited to participate in the Daily News’ next poll, which can be found right now at wil-liamsondailynews.com:

“How do you feel about the new MTV reality show ‘Buckwild,’ a program about young people in West Virginia? Is the show good, bad, harmless, or do you have no opinion?”

From Page 1

Guns

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Editorial

Lesser evilAin’t enough,Back someoneWho’s got the

stuff.It’s hard for me

to vote against an incumbent D e m o c r a t i c president — es-pecially after those eight abys-mal years with George W. Bush at the helm. In-deed, it seemed unlikely to me that any sentient creature could vote for a Repub-lican president in 2012.

Yet despite Mitt Rom-ney’s heartless tendencies, President Barack Obama didn’t get my vote either. I feel there are certain mini-mum standards that any president, regardless of party, should be required to meet. Unfortunately, he didn’t.

As a veteran who has put his back into advancing peace, to me the foremost of these obligations is to tamp down that worst evil of all — war. Sure, Obama nabbed the Nobel Peace Prize for his “efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and coopera-tion.”

But he turned out to be just another empire-happy U.S. president. Like oth-ers before him, he’s eager to leverage Washington’s overwhelming military might to promote Western influence and corporate profit. He let our war for oil in Iraq fester too long. He expanded the war for natural gas in Afghanistan. He essentially started un-declared wars in Libya, Yemen, Somalia, and Paki-stan. What was the Nobel Committee thinking?

Our president also flunked the torture test. No civilized nation should tolerate torture for any rea-son, let alone as a tool of war. Nonetheless Obama failed to prosecute a single case among America’s fat crop of admitted torturers from the Bush adminis-tration. This discomfort-ing neglect of the Eighth Amendment (the one bar-ring cruel and unusual punishment) has black-ened our country’s moral reputation while fertilizing global sprouts of terrorism for which our people pay a hefty price.

Part of that price is the growing web of surveil-lance. Eavesdropping and entrapment have become the government’s routine tools for holding protest at bay. Personal phone con-versations, travel records, and emails are no longer safe to presume private.

(If you don’t believe me, go ask Gen. David Pe-traeus.)

D i s s e n t -ing organi-zations can’t even oper-ate without the threat of infiltrators, harassment, and provoca-teurs.

Whi s t l e -b l o w e r s , those un-sung cham-pions of t r a n s p a r -

ency, are also casualties of this administration, despite the hyped passage of the Whistleblower Protection Act. During Obama’s first term six individuals were charged with violating the 1917 Espionage Act. Prior to his 2008 inauguration, only three had been con-victed of espionage in our entire history. Also alarm-ing is the ongoing crusade against heroes of openness Bradley Manning and Ju-lian Assange, for revealing the government’s dark po-litical secrets.

Nor could I overlook the White House’s fondness for drones. Not only has this new weapon become our go-to tool for assas-sinating foreign targets, but hundreds of inno-cent civilians continue to be killed or wounded by these unmanned aircrafts. Such misguided efforts to eradicate our enemies have instead turned countless noncombatants in those troubled lands into our bit-ter adversaries.

There were two reason-able options for voters like me besides Romney and Obama. The Libertar-ian Party nominated Gary Johnson, New Mexico’s former Republican gover-nor. He opposed both ag-gressive military wars and the War on Drugs. And the Green Party nominated Jill Stein, whose Green New Deal would rein in Wall Street and corporate politi-cal money while protecting the environment.

Unfortunately, she didn’t make it onto the ballot here in supposedly free Con-necticut. Former Virginia lawmaker Virgil Goode of the Constitution Party was on the ballot too, promis-ing to do all those antiso-cial things that conserva-tives do, but he wasn’t an option for me.

Ultimately, I was one of 1.2 million who voted for the anti-war Johnson, whose presidential bid set a new Libertarian record despite being blacked out by the mainstream media

Don’t blame me if Obama disappoints

When this cometh to pass“And when this cometh to

pass, (Lo, it will come) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.” (Eze-kiel 33:33)

The Lord called Ezekiel to be a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore he would hear the word from God’s mouth, and warn the people.

When God said to the wicked “O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if he does not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die”, but his blood will He re-quire at Ezekiel’s hand. If the prophet warns the man to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity, but Ezekiel has delivered his soul.

In the twelfth years of their exile, a man who had escaped from Jerusalem came to Eze-kiel and told him that the city had fallen. The people living in

the ruins in the city will fall by the sword, those who live out in the country the Lord will give to the wild animals to be devoured, and those in strongholds and caves will die of a plague.

The Lord will make the Land a desolate waste, and her proud strength will come to an end, and the moun-tains of Israel will become des-olate so that no one will cross them. Then they will know that God is the Lord, when he has made the land a desolate waste because of all the detest-able things they have done. (33:29).

The Lord also told Ezekiel that his countrymen were talking about him by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying, “Come and hear the message that has come from the Lord.” God said that the people come to Ezekiel as they usually do, and sit before him to listen to his words, but they

do not put them into prac-tice. With their mouths they express much love, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. They hear the words, but they do not do them.

This happens sometimes in our own day when the

minister preaches a wonder-ful sermon, and the members make comments about it, but they do not practice the lesson taught. Like Ezekiel, the min-ister continues to preach the Word and leaves the results up to God, that a prophet has been among them.

Poem: When God’s people are disobedient,

He seeks to bring them back into the fold,

And sometimes they must suffer,

In God’s Word we are told.So may we learn a lesson,That the Lord would have

us know,He wants us to love and

serve Him,Wherever we may go.Dear Father, Please help us

to be the Christian people you call us to be. For Christ’s sake. Amen.

End mountaintop removal coal miningI remember the first

mountaintop removal coal mining site I ever saw. Those images of Kayford Mountain in southern West Virginia have never left my mind — a barren landscape where there was once lush forest. And right around the destroyed site, homes where people were trying to live despite having the world blown up next door.

In mountaintop removal coal mining, a common practice in Appalachia, min-ing companies literally blow the tops off mountains to reach thin seams of coal. They then dump millions of tons of rubble and toxic waste into the streams and valleys below the mining sites.

As President Barack Obama’s second term begins, Americans are looking for more leadership on clean energy and an end to pollution that harms public health and contributes to climate disruption. Now is the time to eliminate mountaintop removal coal mining. It devastates com-munities, endangers public health, and irrevocably destroys the natural wonder

of the Appalachian country-side.

This practice has dam-aged or destroyed nearly 2,000 miles of streams, and threatens to destroy 1.4 mil-lion acres of mountaintops and forests by 2020.

This scene repeats all through Appalachia — and it’s not just the barren wasteland and explosions that affect Appalachian families. Mountaintop re-moval coal mining pollutes waterways and allows toxic heavy metals such as cadmi-um, selenium, and arsenic to leach into Appalachia’s local water supplies. And the danger isn’t limited to drinking water. Mountain-

top removal also causes air pollution that affects communities for miles around. Many of the toxins that pollute mountain-top removal sites are carcinogens.

This practice is linked to an increase in the rates of cancer, heart disease, kidney disease, birth defects, and other issues.

It’s time for Obama to put our nation on the path to securing energy from clean, renewable sources that don’t destroy com-

munities and harm public health.We can fight climate disruption and

create millions of jobs by ending our fos-sil fuel addiction. The first step is to stop mountaintop removal coal mining.

Meanwhile, our leaders in Appalachia must start a real dialogue about diversify-ing the region’s economy and preparing for a future beyond coal. Our changing energy landscape is creating fear and un-certainty among many in the coalfields, and our decision-makers need to lead by charting a path forward, ensuring families in the region have a sustainable economic path, rather than clinging blindly to the past.

The clean-up settlement that motivated Patriot Coal to give up mountaintop re-moval mining is only a first step in the process that will ultimately end this kind of mining while ensuring that compa-nies are responsible to the communities they’ve harmed and the people they em-ploy. But we can’t do it without the EPA’s leadership.

What will be Obama’s legacy on this destructive practice? Will eight years of his administration pass without an end to America’s most shameful form of environ-mental destruction? Or will Obama and the EPA take bold steps to end mountain-top removal coal mining?

■ An Upward Look

Mae Stallard

William A. CollinsSyndicatedColumnist

Mary Anne HittSyndicatedColumnist

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PO BOX 1660Williamson, WV 25661

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4 ■ SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2012 WILLIAMSON DAILY NEWS

Editorial

They say the first of anything is amazing, like a movie for example, but the second year, or in movie terms the sequel, can never match up to the original.

Sounds legit, but it isn’t in this case. Mind blowing, I know, but as Kurt Angle would say, “It’s true, it’s true!”

My second year at Mingo Central High School or MCHS for short is so much more amazing than my first. Sure, it’s only my second week as a senior and I have easy classes, but that’s not it.

Although both of them contrib-ute to my stress levels, neither is the oh-so-awesome component that makes this second trip up the mountain worth it.

Embrace yourselves for the most cliché line ever! I warned you.

It’s friendship!Simply hanging out with your friends and creating mem-

ories is what school and life itself is about. It’s enjoyment. As I type this, it’s only been 2 weeks so some of you are thinking that this comic book loving teenager is jumping the gun, but you’re incorrect (Queue buzzer sound!).

What better way to do so than to walk you through my life at MCHS? There is none, so no Google searches need-ed. Luckily you get to skip the prologue of my horrible years prior to arriving at MCHS, but they’ll be some tidbits I’m sure, as well as some key notes from my first year at this amazing school.

I can truly say it’s one of the best things to ever happen to me in my life and in this journey, you’ll see why.

A sequel better than the original

■ Mingo Central News

Cody CroaffGuest

Columnist

2 great heroesHero.That word — hero — gets used

an awful lot in America today.People talk about sports heroes

and movie heroes and comic book heroes. It’s used so much it some-times loses its meaning.

West Virginia lost two great heroes last week: Corporal Mar-shall Bailey and Trooper Eric Workman. These two men had dedicated their lives to keeping us safe. They got up every day-and a whole lot of nights-and put on the reassuring green uniform of the West Virginia State Police. Every day, they stood on the line that separated good from evil, and risked everything to make sure the evil couldn’t hurt the good. These two men sacrificed their own safety to protect the rest of us. That’s what I call a hero.

They both did it willingly. They could have picked an easy job, a safe job, a job behind a desk. Instead, they picked the hardest job. They choose a career with long nights on the road, calls at all hours, and danger around every corner, always a split second away. They lived and worked with the knowledge that any call, any stop, could be the one that went wrong.

Why did they do it? All I can say is that police work is more than a job. It’s a calling. There are certain people, special individuals, who have something inside of them that the rest of us don’t. They have a drive to serve, a passion to protect, and a belief in sacrifice. They don’t do it for the money, and they don’t do it because it’s com-fortable-they do it because they are called. I call those people heroes, and Corporal Bailey and Trooper Work-man were heroes.

What happened in Clay County was absolutely ter-rible. It’s still hard to understand; there just aren’t any words for a tragedy like this. Corporal Bailey left behind three children, and Trooper Workman was just beginning his life. I can’t imagine the pain their families are expe-riencing right now. As I told them earlier this week, I hope they are able to find comfort knowing both men are in a better place. And, they couldn’t have gone in a more honorable way.

Joanne and I continue to keep these folks in our prayers, and ask you to do the same. May God wrap his arms around the families of the two great heroes, and may God bless the law enforcement officers across our state who work each and every day to make sure we are safe.

Earl Ray TomblinGovernor of West

Virginia

■ Manchin’s Message

Taking care of our veteransOne of the

most important things I can do as a United States Senator is to connect the people of our great state with the right resources to help solve their prob-lems. In that spirit, my office has hosted doz-ens of meetings and programs with experts in the areas of small business growth, caring for your ag-ing loved ones and keeping our promises to our veter-ans.

This week, my office was honored yet again to help our veterans, and we hosted four public meetings across West Virginia to con-nect our service members and their families with the benefits they need and de-serve. I am proud that I was able to partner with leaders from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance, who came together to deliver vi-

tal information and assistance to West Virginia veterans in need.

As Governor, and now as your U.S. Senator serving on the Senate Armed Services Com-mittee, honor-ing our veterans is a top priority. West Virginians who have put their lives on the line for the free-

doms that we enjoy each and every day deserve the best jobs, education, hous-ing and medical care that we can provide. Making sure that veterans get the help they need is one way we can show our thanks for their service and sacrifice.

Too often, veterans, fam-ily members and caregivers feel that their problems are unique and they must go it alone. Our young wom-en and men who are just coming home from today’s battlefields face serious challenges that don’t just affect the veteran, but their whole family. That is why I

am so eager to host these meetings and give veterans a chance to learn firsthand what opportunities and sup-port are available to them right in their communities.

My office’s work on behalf of our veterans doesn’t stop at these outreach meetings, though. I am working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to end the unem-ployment crisis among our veterans. That is why, with my friend Senator Mark Kirk, a Republican from Il-linois, I launched the Con-gressional Veterans Jobs Caucus. The caucus has grown to include 33 Sena-tors and 22 members of the House of Representatives. We started the “I Hire Vet-erans” project to reduce the dire unemployment prob-lem faced by our veterans.

I have also offered mea-sures to ensure that military families have a voice on the Military Compensation and Retirement Moderniza-tion Commission, expand mental health assessments to all service members and increase career counseling services for service mem-bers who separate from the

military – and I will always keep these commitments at the top of my priority list.

As I have said so many times before, we need to set our priorities based on our country’s values. As Americans and as West Virginians, I know our top priorities are honoring our veterans, keeping our prom-ises to seniors, ending our dependence on foreign oil, getting our fiscal house in order and creating thou-sands of new jobs.

So, if you know of vet-erans in need, or a family member struggling with a loved one, please encourage them to contact my office. There is no better way to show gratitude to our veter-ans than to ensure that they get the help they need.

These outreach events are just one small way to say thank you. I thank those veterans who were able to attend this week’s events, and I thank all veterans for their patriotism and sacri-fice. I also thank their fami-lies for their unwavering support and commitment to this great nation of ours.

Sen. Joe Manchin

Visit us online atwww.williamsondailynews.com

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NationBiden meets with gun-safety, victims groupsJulie PaceDarlene SupervilleAP White House Correspondent

WASHINGTON — Vice Presi-dent Joe Biden on Wednesday heard personal stories of gun violence from representatives of victims groups and gun-safety organizations as he drafts the Obama administra-tion’s response to the shooting at a Connecticut elementary school. He pledged that action would be taken.

“I want to make it clear that we are not going to get caught up in the notion (that) unless we can do ev-erything we’re going to do nothing,” Biden said. “It’s critically important (that) we act.”

The meeting was part of a series Biden is holding this week to build consensus around proposals to curb gun violence after the Dec. 14 shoot-ing in Newtown, Conn. Twenty school children were killed.

Biden meets Thursday with the National Rifle Association and other gun-owner groups. Meetings with representatives of the video-game and entertainment industries also are planned.

President Barack Obama wants Biden to deliver policy proposals by the end of the month. Obama has

vowed to move swiftly on the pack-age, which is expected to include legislative proposals and executive action.

Participants in Wednesday’s meeting with Biden included the Brady Campaign to End Gun Vio-lence and groups from Arizona, Illinois and Wisconsin, states with spates of gun violence that garnered national attention, including the shooting in Arizona of then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Also present were two survivors of the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech that killed 32 people, as well as a stepfather of a victim of last July’s massacre at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., in which a dozen people were slain. Attorney General Eric Holder also attended.

Dan Gross, the Brady Campaign’s president, said afterward that the meeting was “very productive and actually inspiring.” He said the ad-ministration is trying to figure out how to save many others from los-ing their lives to gun violence, not take guns away from lawful owners.

“Words like comprehensive and broad don’t mean taking guns away from law-abiding citizens,” Gross said as he stood on the White House driveway with some of those

who shared their stories with the vice president. “This is not a debate around the Second Amendment.”

But as the shock and sorrow over the Newtown, Conn., shoot-ing fades, the tough fight facing the White House and gun-control back-ers is growing clearer. Gun-rights advocates, including the powerful NRA, are digging in against tight-er gun restrictions, conservative groups are launching pro-gun initia-tives and the Senate’s top Republi-can has warned it could be spring before Congress begins considering any gun legislation.

“The biggest problem we have at the moment is spending and debt,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch Mc-Connell of Kentucky said this week. “That’s going to dominate the Con-gress between now and the end of March. None of these issues will have the kind of priority as spend-ing and debt over the next two or three months.”

The killing of 6- and 7-year-olds at Newtown’s Sandy Hook Elementary School appeared to stir a deep reac-tion from the White House and Cap-itol Hill. Obama pushed gun control to the top of his domestic agenda for the first time and pledged to put the full weight of his presidency

behind the issue. Some Republican and conservative lawmakers with strong gun-rights records also took the extraordinary step of calling for a discussion on new measures.

But other gun-rights advocates have shown less flexibility. The NRA has rejected stricter gun leg-islation and suggested instead that the government put armed guards in every U.S. school as a way to curb violence. A coalition of conservative groups is also organizing a “Gun Appreciation Day” to coincide with Obama’s inauguration this month.

The president hopes to announce his administration’s next steps to tackle gun violence shortly after he is sworn in for a second term on Jan. 21.

Obama wants Congress to rein-state a ban on military-style assault weapons, close loopholes that al-low gun buyers to skirt background checks and restrict high-capacity magazines. Other recommenda-tions to the Biden group include making gun-trafficking a felony, get-ting the Justice Department to pros-ecute people caught lying on gun background-check forms and order-ing federal agencies to send data to the National Gun Background Check Database.

Some of those steps could be tak-en through executive action, with-out the approval of Congress. White House officials say Obama will not finalize any actions until receiving Biden’s recommendations.

Gun-rights lawmakers and out-side groups have insisted that any policy response also include an ex-amination of mental health policies and the impact of violent movies and video games. To those people, the White House has pledged a comprehensive response.

“It is not a problem that can be solved by any specific action or single action that the government might take,” said White House spokesman Jay Carney said. “It’s a problem that encompasses issues of mental health, of education, as well as access to guns.”

In addition to Biden’s meetings this week, Education Secretary Arne Duncan will meet with parent and teacher groups, and Health and Human Services Secretary Kath-leen Sebelius will meet with mental health and disability advocates.

The White House said other meetings are also scheduled with community organizations, business owners and religious leaders.

US tax code longer than Bible — without good newsStephen OhlemacherThe Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Too intimidated to fill out your tax return without help? Join the club.

At nearly 4 million words, the U.S. tax law is so thick and compli-cated that businesses and individuals spend more than 6 billion hours a year complying with filing re-quirements, according to a report Wednesday by an independent government watchdog.

That’s the equivalent of 3 million people working full-time, year-round.

“If tax compliance were an industry, it would be one of the largest in the United States,” says the report by Nina E. Olson, the National Taxpayer Ad-vocate.

The days of most tax-payers sitting down with a pencil and a calculator to figure out their taxes are long gone, Olson said. Since 2001, Congress has made almost 5,000 chang-es to U.S. tax law. That’s an average of more than one a day.

As a result, almost 60 percent of filers will pay someone to prepare their tax returns this spring. An additional 30 percent will use commercial soft-ware. Without the help, Olson says, most taxpayers would be lost.

“On the one hand, tax-payers who honestly seek to comply with the law often make inadvertent errors, causing them to either overpay their tax or become subject to IRS enforcement action for mistaken underpayments,” Olson said. “On the other hand, sophisticated tax-payers often find loopholes that enable them to reduce or eliminate their tax li-abilities.”

Olson ranks complexity as the most serious tax problem facing taxpayers and the Internal Revenue Service in her annual re-port to Congress. She urg-es lawmakers to overhaul the nation’s tax laws, mak-ing them simpler, clearer and easier to comply with.

Momentum is build-ing in Congress to over-haul the tax code for the first time since 1986. But

Washington’s divided gov-ernment has yet to show it can successfully tackle such a task.

President Barack Obama and Republican leaders in Congress say they are onboard, though they have rarely seen eye to eye on tax policy. They struggled mightily just to avoid the year-end fiscal cliff, passing a bill that makes relatively small changes in the nation’s tax laws.

Undaunted, the top tax writer in the House says he is determined to pass reform legislation this year.

“This report confirms that the code is 10 times the size of the Bible with none of the good news,” said Rep. Dave Camp, chairman of the House and Ways and Means Commit-tee. “Our broken tax code has become a nightmare of loopholes and special interest provisions that create added complexities and costs for hardworking taxpayers and small busi-nesses.”

“Comprehensive tax re-form will make sure every-

one is playing by the same rules and help businesses create more jobs and in-vest in their workers,” Camp said.

The general formula for tax reform is widely embraced on Capitol Hill: Eliminate or reduce some tax credits, exemptions and deductions and use the additional revenue to pay for lower income tax rates for everyone. There is, however, no consensus on which tax breaks to scale back.

That’s because Ameri-cans like their credits, de-ductions and exemptions — the provisions that make the tax law so com-plicated in the first place. Would workers want to pay taxes on employer-provided health benefits or on contributions to their retirement plans? How would homeowners feel about losing the mort-gage interest deduction?

Those are the three big-gest tax breaks in the tax code, according to con-gressional estimates. To-gether, they are projected to save taxpayers nearly $450 billion this year.

Conn. moves cautiously on guns in Newtown’s wakeMichael MeliaThe Associated Press

HARTFORD, Conn. — A month after the New-town school tragedy, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is moving cautiously on gun control in Connecticut, a relatively liberal Northeastern state that nevertheless has a strong gun culture and is home to some of the nation’s best-known firearm makers.

Gun control advocates and their allies in the state Legislature want to pass new restrictions on weapons while passions are still high over the Sandy Hook El-ementary shooting rampage Dec. 14 that left 20 chil-dren and six women dead. But they are bracing for strong opposition.

Gun owners have packed statehouse hearings in re-cent years to oppose measures that would tighten the state’s gun laws. And gun manufacturers such as Colt Manufacturing Co., which traces its history to a Hart-ford factory that Samuel Colt opened in 1855, have threatened in the past to leave Connecticut, taking hundreds of jobs with them, if certain requirements became law.

Malloy, a Democrat, became choked up when he mentioned Newtown in his State of the State Address on Wednesday, saying: “Let us do everything in our power to ensure that Connecticut never again suffers such a loss, that we take real steps to make our kids and our communities safer.”

He offered no specific proposals, instead noting that an advisory panel he set up last week will issue recommendations in March on gun control, mental health treatment and other issues arising from the Newtown massacre.

Betty Gallo, a lobbyist for Connecticut Against Gun Violence, said the state has an opportunity to become a national model on gun control. She said she under-stands the governor is taking a comprehensive look at what could prevent another tragedy, but she and oth-ers worry about opposition.

“There are people who have gun manufacturers in their town who are truly worried about constituents’ jobs,” Gallo said. “We expect problems with retailers and manufacturers.”

In addition to West Hartford-based Colt, Connecti-cut is home to the gun makers Sturm, Ruger & Co. and Mossberg & Sons. None of the companies re-sponded to requests for comment.

Also, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a trade association, is based in Newtown, only a few miles from the scene of the Sandy Hook shooting. A spokesman, Mike Bazinet, said it is taking part in the gun control dialogue led by Vice President Joe Biden but has not gotten involved on the state level.

“If we were asked to participate in any process that has as its goal the reduction of violence and the pro-tection of our children, we as an industry would be pleased to take part in that process,” Bazinet said.

Connecticut, whose Legislature has long been con-trolled by Democrats, ranks among the states with the most stringent gun control laws, but proposals to make them stronger have run into strong resistance.

In 2009, a bill to require gun markings to make them easier to trace was dropped after Colt vice presi-dent Charlton Chen warned that the company would consider leaving if it became law. “Let us not make a mistake with the unintended consequences of driving businesses and jobs out of Connecticut,” he said.

More recently, gun owners turned out in force at the Capitol last March to oppose legislation banning large-capacity ammunition magazines, such as those later used by gunman Adam Lanza in the Newtown massacre. The measure failed.

Robert Crook, executive director of the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen, said he has 35,000 members who represent a small portion of the 180,000 people with pistol permits in the state. He said 350 of them were prepared to testify last year against the bill ban-ning large-capacity magazines.

He said school security should be a bigger priority than gun control, noting that the Newtown shooting was carried by a troubled young man who took his mother’s weapons and was not a gun owner himself. But Crook added: “We’re open to any rational sugges-tions that make common sense.”

White House says ‘no backup plan’ to debt ceilingJim AbramsThe Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The White House is dismissing suggestions to sidestep Con-gress to meet the nation’s debt obligations, declaring that it is Congress’ responsibility to pay the bills of the United States.

President Barack Obama’s adamant stand that he will not negotiate with Con-gress over raising the nation’s borrowing limit and Republican demands that a debt ceiling vote be linked to spending cuts have prompted a creative outburst of alterna-tives to driving the country into default.

Under one proposed scenario, pushed by a number of House Democrats, the president could invoke the 14th Amend-ment, a post-Civil War change to the Con-stitution that states that “the validity of the public debt of the United States…shall not be questioned.”

Another proposal would take advantage of a legal loophole meant for coin collectors and have the Treasury mint platinum coins that could be deposited at the Federal Re-serve and used to pay the nation’s bills.

“There is no plan B. There is no backup plan,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday. “There is no alternative to

Congress raising the debt ceiling.”The government has already reached

its $16.4 trillion borrowing limit and by late February or early March the Treasury Department will run out of ways to cover debts and could begin defaulting on gov-ernment loans.

As of Wednesday 21 Democrats, led by Rep. Peter Welch of Vermont, had signed a letter urging Obama to invoke the 14th Amendment that they say gives him the authority to raise the debt ceiling without going through Congress. The Democrats said in a letter that they would support the use of any authority, including the consti-tutional provision, to prevent the nation from going into default, an event that some economists predict could trigger a global recession.

The Democrats, in their letter, said they fully supported Obama’s position that rais-ing the debt ceiling will not be subject to negotiation. “Threatening default on our nation’s debt is an economic weapon of mass destruction that will have immedi-ate and catastrophic consequences for the economy as well as America’s standing in the world,” they said.

Welch, in an interview, told The Associ-ated Press said he understood that the pres-

ident might not want to embrace the 14th Amendment alternative at this point, when it might appear to be a power grab. But “if there is the ultimate act of congressional ir-responsibility by having the United States default on its obligations, we encourage the president to rescue the country.” He said ultimately the courts would have to decide what authority the amendment confers on the president.

The coin idea has been mentioned by such economists as Paul Krugman, a columnist at The New York Times, and Donald Marron, the director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.

Carney, reiterating a position the White House has taken for some time on the use of the 14th amendment, said Wednesday: “We just don’t believe that it provides the authority that some believe it does.”

He did not explicitly reject the trillion dollar coin idea and directed reporters to ask Treasury about the idea. But when pressed he insisted that insisted that “Con-gress needs to pay the bills that Congress racked up.”

And as he left the White House briefing room, he added: “I answered it thoroughly, at length, with great detail. And I have no coins in my pocket, nothing.”

Wall Street gains as earnings flow in; Boeing upSteve RothwellAP Business Writer

NEW YORK — Stocks rose on Wall Street Wednes-day after U.S. corporate earn-ings reports got off to a good start.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 61.66 points to 13,390.51, its first gain of the week. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 3.87 points to 1,461.02, and the

Nasdaq composite rose 14 to 3,105.81.

Having rallied after a last-minute resolution stopped the U.S. from going over the “fiscal cliff,” stocks are facing their first big challenge of the year as companies start to re-port earnings for the fourth quarter of 2012. Throughout last year, analysts cut their outlook for earnings growth in the period and now expect them to rise by 3.21 percent,

according to data from S&P Capital IQ.

“Maybe earnings expecta-tions were a little too low,” said Ryan Detrick, a strate-gist at Schaeffer’s Invest-ment Research. “You don’t need to have great earnings, you just need to beat those expectations” for stocks to rally, Detrick said.

Early indications were decent. Aluminum maker Alcoa reported late Tuesday

that it swung to a profit for the fourth quarter, with earn-ings that met Wall Street’s expectations. The company brought in more revenue than analysts had expected, and the company also pre-dicted rising demand for aluminum this year as the aerospace industry gains strength. Alcoa is usually the first Dow component to re-port earnings every quarter.

A6


DAILY NEWSTHURSDAY,

JANUARY 10, 2013 SportSPikeville outshoots Belfry, 79-59Kyle LovernSports [email protected]

GOODY, Ky. – Pikeville hit on 11- of- 18 from be-hind the arc and defeated Belfry 79-59 Thursday at BHS gym.

Belfry got behind early and trailed 23-12 after one quarter of play. They fought back and cut the lead to 31-28 late in the second quarter, but the Panthers went on a 6-0 run to end the half and led 37-28 at halftime.

Ethan Rowe fired in four 3-pointers and had 14 points by halftime. Ray Ka-songa, a 6-foot-6 pivot-man from Canada, also scored 14 points in the first two quarters. Jacob Hamilton chipped in nine in the opening half.

Brett Charles had 10 first half points for the Pi-rates, while 6-foot-5 Tony Messer added seven.

Pikeville got good play from freshmen guards Blaine May and Steven Silvers in the second half and led 60-46 after three quarters. May is the son of

Denny Paul May, a former Belfry standout guard, who was an assistant coach un-der Raymond Justice.

With about 2:00 left in the game, Belfry trailed by 20 and Pikeville burn up the final seconds of the clock to head home with the victory.

Rowe finished with 26 points, connecting on seven 3-pointers and he had nine rebounds. Ka-songa finished with 23 points and he pulled down 15 boards. Hamilton was also in double figures with 15 points, Silvers scored eight, Ryder Johnson four and May three for PHS coach Bart Williams.

Pikeville, now 9-7 on the season, hit 28-53 from the floor for 58 percent, hit-ting 11 3-pointers and a hot 61 percent from behind the arc. They were 12-20 at the free throw line for 60 percent. The Panthers committed 10 turnovers.

Belfry dropped to 7-4 on the season. Charles was the high point man for coach Randy Casey with 17 points, while Josh Rob-inson had 14 and Messer

13. Messer pulled down nine rebounds, one short of a double-double. Camer-on Johnson had six points, Sean Hurley five, while Trinity Carr and Nick West came off the bench

and each scored a basket for BHS.

The Pirates were 24-58 from the floor for 41 per-cent and 3-18 from 3-point land for 16 percent. They made 8-13 at the charity

stripe for 61 percent. BHS only had 10 turnovers.

Belfry returns to action tonight traveling to Al-len Central. They take on East Ridge in another road game on Saturday night.

Score by quarters:PHS … - 23 14 23 19 - 79BHS … - 12 16 18 13 - 59Scoring:Pikeville (9-7) - May 3, Silvers 8, Johnson 4, Hamilton 15, Rowe 26, Kasongo 23.Belfry (7-4) - Hurley 5, West 2, Carr 2, Robinson 14, Charles 17, Johnson 6, Messer 13.

Photos by Kyle Lovern | Williamson Daily NewsBelfry senior guard Brett Charles (12) is shown going in for a layup as Pikeville’s Jacob Hamilton (12) tries for the block Tuesday night at the BHS gym. The Panthers defeated the Pi-rates in a fast-paced game.

Sean Hurley (3) of Belfry High School is trying to get this shot off as Pikeville’s Blaine May (4) tries to defend the shot. The Panthers came into Pond Creek and outshot the Pirates to head home with a 79-59 win.

Mingo Central tops River View, 66- 49BRADSHAW — Mingo Central

got back on the winning track as they defeated River View on the road 66-49 Tuesday night.

The Miners got off to a slow start, but started shooting better in the second half.

“We got a lift from our bench, Mallie May, Garth Simpkins and Trevor Cline gave us some good minutes,” coach Brad Napier said. “We started off slow and didn’t shoot the ball well. Our defense was not that strong in the first half either.”

“We just need to get more con-sistent,” he added. “The long break between games during the holidays hurt us. I’m glad we are getting back to playing two or three games a week. Hopefully we can get into rhythm.”

The Miners have a big weekend coming up. They will host Tolsia on Friday and Wayne on Saturday, both sectional opponents. Mingo Central defeated Tolsia earlier in the season. The Rebels defeated Scott on Tuesday night. The Sky-hawks were ranked No. 1 in Class AA and edged by Mingo Central back in December.

“Right now we are tied with Scott as the No. 1 seed in the sec-tional,” Napier said. “This is a big game for us Friday night with Tol-sia.”

Alex “Booger” Lee led Mingo Central with 20 points, while Aus-tin Banks followed with 14. Mar-qus Cunningham added seven and Julius Hatcher six points.

The Miners only hit 10-20 at the free throw line for 50 percent. The also committed 22 turnovers against River View.

Tyree Baker led River View with 18 points, while Taylor Dehaven had 11 and Tony Clevenger 10.

Score by quarters:RVHS … 13 9 12 15 – 49MCHS … 12 12 15 27 – 66Scoring:River View (0-9) – Tony Clev-

enger 10, Dakota Collins 4, Taylor Dehaven 11, Zack Morgan 3, Tyree Baker 19, Jordan Wilson 2.

Mingo Central (5-3) –Austin Banks 14, Julius Hatcher 6, Chase Hatfield 4, Mallie May 3, Alex Lee 20, Trevor Cline 2, Garth Simpkins 2, Marqus Cunningham 6, Paul Hawks 2.

PREP ROUNDUPPoca 53, Wayne 29

Poca used a 14-6 third-quarter run as the Class AA No. 3 Dots downed Wayne on the road.

Noah Frampton exploded for 20 points for Poca (8-1) while Cam Cottrill chipped in 11. Brett Jus-tice had 10 points for the Pioneers (2-4).

Wyoming East 75, Summers Co. 68

Four players scored in double figures as Wyoming East knocked off visiting Summers County.

Josh Tunstalle had 17 points, Austin Canada and Brett Bowling each scored 14 and Cody Lester

finished with 13 points to lead the Warriors (7-1).

For Summers County (5-3), Taron Ayers led all scorers with 34 points.

Chapmanville 68, Lincoln County 36

Mackenzie Martin recorded a double-double with 23 points and 17 rebounds as Chapmanville earned a victory.

Kenny Plumley also netted 20 points for the Tigers (5-4). T.J. Arbaugh had 13 points for Lincoln County (6-5).

Greenbrier East 60, Logan 53 Rondale Watson posted a dou-

ble-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds for Class AAA No. 4 Greenbrier East.

Bryce Woodliff contributed 14 points for the host Spartans (10-0). C.J. Williams scored 12 points for Logan (2-6).

Cross Lanes 51, Regional Christian 41

Grant Humphreys poured in 19 points as Cross Lanes Christian (6-7) won at home.

Ben Stafford netted 18 for Re-gional Christian (0-7).

Tolsia 61, Scott 57No details on the scoring re-

ported.

Kyle Lovern is the sports editor for the Wil-liamson Daily News. Comments or story ideas can be sent to [email protected] or [email protected]

■ Kyle’s Korner

Danny Browning hangs up whistle

If he would write a book, he could fill it with hun-dreds of in-teresting sto-ries from his 38 years as a basketball of-ficial.

D a n n y Browning of Gilbert hung up his striped shirt and whistle three years ago and retired as a b a s k e t b a l l referee.

The sports enthusiast also ran up and down the football field as a football official for 32 years.

“I never dreamed I would do it for that long,” Browning told me after stopping by the William-son Daily News office.

“I had some great times and some crazy times,” Browning said.

There is an old ad-age that you need thick skin to be an official and Browning agrees that is certainly true.

He was on a football officiating crew for sev-eral years that included the late John Preece of Kermit and Grant Preece, the current Mingo Coun-ty Clerk.

John Preece was also a longtime basketball of-ficial and former basket-ball coach at Kermit High School.

“John was really some-thing and he always kept us laughing,” Browning said.

The crew was officiat-ing the Kiwanis Senior Bowl game back in 1981 when a bat flew down un-der the lights and landed on a lineman’s helmet.

Preece saw it and went over trying to smack the bat off of the helmet.

The player had no idea what the referee was do-ing. He finally picked up the football and killed the bat by smashing the bat with the pigskin on the side of the player’s helmet.

That is just one of the many stories and memo-ries Browning can tell.

Browning’s son Rob was a standout basketball here in Mingo County back in the 1980s. He is now a high school coach in North Carolina.

His wife Martha was a

long time ed-ucator in the county and is still a substi-tute teacher.

B r o w n i n g still helps with the Twin Rivers Senior All-star game held every spring at the Harless Cen-ter in Gilbert.

Dan Brown-ing has logged hun-dreds of miles in southern

West Virginia going from gym to gym and to football fields on Friday nights.

His whistle on the court and the field will be missed.

SHORT STUFF:There are only four

college football coaches in history with four or more national champion-ships and two of them are from West Virginia. Nick Saban, who just coached Alabama to another BCS title, and John McKay, who coached at USC both were born and raised in the Mountain State. That is pretty cool when you think about it.

Saban was born in Fair-mont, while McKay was born in the now-defunct town of Everettville in Monongalia County. Sa-ban played at old Monon-gah High School, while McKay played at the old Shinnstown High School.

… Former Belfry High School principal and Pike County Superintendent of Schools, Frank Welch, passed away this week. Welch was a class act and was a strong supporter of high school sports, espe-cially the Belfry Pirates.

… Marshall freshman guard Kelvin Amayo plans to transfer to an-other school. Marshall announced Amayo’s deci-sion Monday night in a news release. Amayo says he wants to be closer to home. The Newark, N.J., resident and Marshall didn’t identify the school.

He played in three games after becoming eligible in December, averaging 2.7 points per game.

Kyle Lovern is the sports editor for the Williamson Daily News. Com-ments or story ideas can be sent to [email protected]

Kyle LovernSports Editor

No. 5 Bears face No. 1 Cumberlands tonightPIKEVILLE, Ky. – Despite

winning all four games since the last poll and running its win streak to eight, the Uni-versity of Pikeville fell one spot to No. 5 in this week’s ratings.

The Bears, 15-1, did so de-spite gaining four total points in this week’s 2012 - 13 NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. They have 254 ratings points, hav-ing carried 250 in the Dec. 10 poll.

Tonight, the Bears will play the newly-minted No. 1 team in the country when the Uni-versity of the Cumberlands comes to the East Kentucky Expo Center. The Patriots are also 15-1 on the season, but are 6-0 in the Mid-South

Conference. Pikeville’s lone loss came to MSC member Campbellsville on Nov. 15.

Cumberlands snagged seven of the 11 first-place votes and 276 ratings points, 11 more than second-place Columbia (Mo.), which took the four re-maining top nods thanks to a 16-0 worksheet to this point in the season. The Cougars were sixth in the latest poll.

For Cumberlands, the poll marks its first appearance in the top spot since a one-week stint on Dec. 8, 2008, and the NAIA reports it to be only the second time the school has ever been No. 1.

The nation’s only other unbeaten team also made a big leap, as Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) rose eight places to

No. 3 thanks to an 18-0 re-cord. Previous No. 1 Oklaho-ma Baptist, 14-2, is No.4 this week, only four total points in front of the Bears.

Only one other Mid-South school picked up votes this week. Lindsey Wilson is 15-2 on the season and ranked 14th this week, down six plac-es after last Thursday night’s loss at Shawnee State.

Georgetown, 11-4 overall but only 2-4 in the league, had appeared in 78 straight polls before falling out on Dec. 4. This week, the Tigers didn’t get a single vote.

2012 - 13 NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll - (Jan. 8)

RANK LAST WEEK SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES)

2012 – 13 RECORD TOTAL POINTS1 2 Cumberlands (Ky.) (7) 15-1 2762 6 Columbia (Mo.) (4) 16-0 2653 11 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 18-0 2644 1 Oklahoma Baptist 14-2 2585 4 Pikeville (Ky.) 15-1 2546 10 William Carey (Miss.) 13-2 2297 3 Lee (Tenn.) 13-1 2218 5 Westmont (Calif.) 12-3 2189 14 Science & Arts (Okla.) 8-2 195T10 22 Montana State-Northern 15-2 186T10 15 Cal State San Marcos 13-4 186T10 24 Texas College 13-2 18613 18 Evangel (Mo.) 11-4 17114 8 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 15-2 16615 19 Concordia (Calif.) 11-3 15816 16 Xavier (La.) 13-3 14817 17 Bethel (Tenn.) 14-2 14318 7 Westminster (Utah) 13-3 12819 9 Rogers State (Okla.) 12-4 12720 NR Emmanuel (Ga.) 15-2 11721 RV SAGU (Texas) 12-3 9422 22 Oklahoma City 8-2 8123 21 Faulkner (Ala.) 14-3 7824 RV Culver-Stockton (Mo.) 14-3 6125 RV John Brown (Ark.) 12-3 60

BoysThursday, Jan. 10Belfry at Allen CentralFriday, Jan. 11John Preece Shootout at Tug ValleyGreater Beckley Christian at Tug ValleyTolsia at Mingo Central

Saturday, Jan. 12Beflry at East RidgeAshland Paul Blazer at Tug ValleyWayne at Mingo CentralGirlsThursday, Jan. 10Mingo Central at Belfry

Friday, Jan. 11John Preece Shootout at Tug ValleyGreater Beckley Christian at Tug ValleySaturday, Jan. 12John Preece Shootout at Tug ValleyRiver View at Tug ValleyWayne at Mingo Central

■ Area Basketball Schedule

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WilliamsonDAILY NEWS

Legals

Notice to Creditors and Benefi-ciaries

Notice is hereby given thatsettlement of the estate of thefollowing named decedents willproceed without reference to afiduciary commissioner unlesswithin ninety days from the firstpublication of this notice suchreference is requested by aparty in interest or an unpaidcreditor files a claim and goodcause is shown to support ref-erence to a fiduciary commis-sioner.

Irene FeltyDated this 27th day of Dec.,2012

Jim HatfieldClerk of CountyCommission of Mingo County

1:3,10

notice of trusteeʼs sale

Notice is hereby given by theundersigned Successor Trust-ee, in accordance with the pro-visions of that certain Deed ofTrust, dated January 29, 2004,made by Granville Vance (alsoknown as Grandville Vance)and Treva Vance, as Grantor,and Thomas A. Zamow, asTrustee, of record in the officeof the Clerk of the CountyCommission of Mingo County,West Virginia, in Trust DeedBook 366, at page 261 (the“Deed of Trust”), securing re-payment of indebtedness evid-enced by a Variable Rate Con-sumer Note, Disclosure andSecurity Agreement, datedJanuary 29, 2004 (the “Note”),payable by Granville Vanceand Treva Vance to the orderof First Community Bank, N.A.,now known as First Com-munity Bank, a Virginia bank-ing corporation, in the originalprincipal amount of$29,074.50, plus interest there-on, and all renewals, exten-sions and modifications of theNote, and all other indebted-ness arising under the Deed ofTrust and the Note.Pursuant to authority grantedin the Deed of Trust, FirstCommunity Bank, the ownerand holder of the Note se-cured by the Deed of Trust, ap-pointed Richard M. Francis, aresident of Kanawha County,West Virginia, to serve as Suc-cessor Trustee, by that certainAppointment of SuccessorTrustee dated December 11,2012, of record in the afore-said Clerkʼs office in TrustDeed Book 440, at page 255.First Community Bank, theowner and holder of the Notesecured by the Deed of Trust,has notified the SuccessorTrustee that Granville Vanceand Treva Vance are in de-fault under the terms of theDeed of Trust and the Note,and has requested, in writing,that the Successor Trustee sellthe real property described inthe Deed of Trust at publicauction, in accordance with theterms of the Deed of Trust andapplicable law.TAKE NOTICE that the under-signed Successor Trustee willoffer for sale at public auctionon the 22nd day of January,2013, at 11:00 a.m., EST, atthe front door of the MingoCounty Courthouse, 75 EastSecond Avenue, Williamson,West Virginia, all of that parcelof land, together with the build-ings and improvements there-on and the appurtenancesthereunto belonging, situate inHarvey District, Mingo County,West Virginia and being moreparticularly bounded and de-scribed as follows (hereinafter,the “Real Property”):PARCEL NO. 1: "Beginning ata cucumber tree in a Hollow, acorner to the Herb Vance land;thence running West 162 feetto a rock; thence North up thehill to the top of a ridge to aMaple tree; thence East 162feet to a rock with an X there-on; thence South down the hillin a straight line to the begin-ning corner, containing threeacres more or less."; and be-ing the same real estate con-veyed to Grandville Vance andTreva Vance, husband andwife, by a deed dated July 20,2000 from Grandville Vanceand Treva Vance, husbandand wife, of record in the of-fice of the Clerk of the CountyCommission of Mingo County,West Virginia, in Deed Book377, at page 349.PARCEL NO. 2: BEGINNINGat a cucumber in a hollow acorner to the Herb Vance landrunning north up the hill astraight line to a rock marked Xon a ridge, thence east withthe said ridge to a hickory acorner to the Herb Vance land,thence S.W. down the bill intoand with a hollow to the begin-ning corner containing abouteight and one-half acres moreor less; and being the samereal estate conveyed to Grand-ville Vance and Treva Vance,husband and wife, by a deeddated August 27, 2001 fromNim Vance, of record in the of-fice of the Clerk of the CountyCommission of Mingo County,West Virginia, in Deed Book383, at page 612.PARCEL NO. 3: BEGINNINGat a stake on the westernboundary of that certain three(3) acre tract described in thatcertain deed from StandardVannatter, et ux., to GrandvilleVance, et al., dated June 29,1962, of record in the Office ofthe Clerk of the County Com-mission of Mingo County, WestVirginia, in Deed Book No.149, at page 362, which saidbeginning point is on the north-ern edge of the dirt road run-ning through said three (3)acre tract; thence running in anortherly direction, up the hill,and with the western bound-ary of said three (3) acre tract,225 feet, more or less, to alarge hickory, marked with redpaint, at the edge of a flat;thence running in a westerlydirection with the edge of saidflat, 225 feet, more or less, to alarge maple (approximately 12inches in diameter), markedwith red paint; thence runningin a southerly direction, downthe hill, in a straight line, 225feet, more or less, to a largerock in the northern edge ofsaid dirt road, and marked withrd paint; thence running in aneasterly direction and with thenorthern edge of said dirt road,225 feet, more or less, to thepoint of BEGINNING; contain-ing one (1) acre, more or less;and being the same real es-tate conveyed to GrandvilleVance and Treva Vance, hus-band and wife, by a deeddated July 20, 2000 fromGrandville Vance and TrevaVance, husband and wife, ofrecord in the office of the Clerkof the County Commission ofMingo County, West Virginia,in Deed Book 377, at page349.The street address of the RealProperty to be sold is, upon in-formation and belief, Rt. 1 Din-gess Road, Dingess, West Vir-ginia 25671.terms of sale

The Real Property will be soldfor cash in hand on the date ofsale, or under any different,other or additional sale termsas the Successor Trustee, inhis reasonable discretion, de-termines to be appropriate oradvisable. The sale shall befurther subject to the following:1. Real estate taxes delin-quent, due or payable or to be-come due and payable, all ofwhich shall be the responsibil-ity of the purchaser;2. Any statutory lien or liensthat may affect the subjectproperty;3. All covenants, conditions,restrictions, reservations,easements and rights-of-wayappearing of record in thechain of title to the property, orwhich may be visible from aphysical inspection of the sub-ject property;4. All liens and encumbrancesof any nature whatsoever, in-cluding, without limitation, li-ens for real estate taxes, incin-erator, sanitary and sewercharges, having priority overthe deed of trust referred toherein.5. The purchaser at the saleshall be responsible for payingthe costs of recording the Suc-cessor Trusteeʼs Deed and thetax imposed by the State ofWest Virginia on the privilegeof transferring real property(the cost of the tax stamps tobe affixed to the Deed).6. All of the property to be soldwill be sold “AS IS, WHEREIS” in the present condition andwith all faults and defects, ifany, and without any warrantyor representation, express ofimplied. The Successor Trust-ee shall be under no duty tocause any existing tenant orperson occupying the RealProperty to vacate said prop-erty. The Successor Trusteewill deliver a trusteeʼs deed tothe purchaser without any cov-enant or warranty (express orimplied) in the form prescribedby W. Va. Code § 38-1-6. TheSuccessor Trustee makes norepresentations and war-ranties about the title to thereal estate to be conveyed. Ifthe Successor Trustee is un-able to convey insurable ormarketable title to the pur-chaser for any reason, pur-chaserʼs sole remedy is returnof deposit.7. The undersigned SuccessorTrustee expressly reserves theright to reject any and all bids,and the right to adjourn thesale from time to time withoutnotice other than oral proclam-ation at the time and place ap-pointed for the sale. Such ad-journment may be for a periodof time deemed expedient bythe beneficial owner, and shallnot be construed to be awaiver of the right to make thesale contemplated by this No-tice.Additional terms of sale maybe announced prior to the sale.Any inquiries regarding thissale may be directed toRichard M. Francis, Suc-cessor Trustee, 600 QuarrierStreet, Charleston, West Vir-ginia 25301, telephone (304)347?1116.DATED: December 27, 2012.__/s/ Richard M.Francis_______________Richard M. Francis, Suc-cessor Trustee1:10,17

Legals

notice of trusteeʼs sale

Notice is hereby given by theundersigned Successor Trust-ee, in accordance with the pro-visions of that certain Deed ofTrust, dated January 29, 2004,made by Granville Vance (alsoknown as Grandville Vance)and Treva Vance, as Grantor,and Thomas A. Zamow, asTrustee, of record in the officeof the Clerk of the CountyCommission of Mingo County,West Virginia, in Trust DeedBook 366, at page 261 (the“Deed of Trust”), securing re-payment of indebtedness evid-enced by a Variable Rate Con-sumer Note, Disclosure andSecurity Agreement, datedJanuary 29, 2004 (the “Note”),payable by Granville Vanceand Treva Vance to the orderof First Community Bank, N.A.,now known as First Com-munity Bank, a Virginia bank-ing corporation, in the originalprincipal amount of$29,074.50, plus interest there-on, and all renewals, exten-sions and modifications of theNote, and all other indebted-ness arising under the Deed ofTrust and the Note.Pursuant to authority grantedin the Deed of Trust, FirstCommunity Bank, the ownerand holder of the Note se-cured by the Deed of Trust, ap-pointed Richard M. Francis, aresident of Kanawha County,West Virginia, to serve as Suc-cessor Trustee, by that certainAppointment of SuccessorTrustee dated December 11,2012, of record in the afore-said Clerkʼs office in TrustDeed Book 440, at page 255.First Community Bank, theowner and holder of the Notesecured by the Deed of Trust,has notified the SuccessorTrustee that Granville Vanceand Treva Vance are in de-fault under the terms of theDeed of Trust and the Note,and has requested, in writing,that the Successor Trustee sellthe real property described inthe Deed of Trust at publicauction, in accordance with theterms of the Deed of Trust andapplicable law.TAKE NOTICE that the under-signed Successor Trustee willoffer for sale at public auctionon the 22nd day of January,2013, at 11:00 a.m., EST, atthe front door of the MingoCounty Courthouse, 75 EastSecond Avenue, Williamson,West Virginia, all of that parcelof land, together with the build-ings and improvements there-on and the appurtenancesthereunto belonging, situate inHarvey District, Mingo County,West Virginia and being moreparticularly bounded and de-scribed as follows (hereinafter,the “Real Property”):PARCEL NO. 1: "Beginning ata cucumber tree in a Hollow, acorner to the Herb Vance land;thence running West 162 feetto a rock; thence North up thehill to the top of a ridge to aMaple tree; thence East 162feet to a rock with an X there-on; thence South down the hillin a straight line to the begin-ning corner, containing threeacres more or less."; and be-ing the same real estate con-veyed to Grandville Vance andTreva Vance, husband andwife, by a deed dated July 20,2000 from Grandville Vanceand Treva Vance, husbandand wife, of record in the of-fice of the Clerk of the CountyCommission of Mingo County,West Virginia, in Deed Book377, at page 349.PARCEL NO. 2: BEGINNINGat a cucumber in a hollow acorner to the Herb Vance landrunning north up the hill astraight line to a rock marked Xon a ridge, thence east withthe said ridge to a hickory acorner to the Herb Vance land,thence S.W. down the bill intoand with a hollow to the begin-ning corner containing abouteight and one-half acres moreor less; and being the samereal estate conveyed to Grand-ville Vance and Treva Vance,husband and wife, by a deeddated August 27, 2001 fromNim Vance, of record in the of-fice of the Clerk of the CountyCommission of Mingo County,West Virginia, in Deed Book383, at page 612.PARCEL NO. 3: BEGINNINGat a stake on the westernboundary of that certain three(3) acre tract described in thatcertain deed from StandardVannatter, et ux., to GrandvilleVance, et al., dated June 29,1962, of record in the Office ofthe Clerk of the County Com-mission of Mingo County, WestVirginia, in Deed Book No.149, at page 362, which saidbeginning point is on the north-ern edge of the dirt road run-ning through said three (3)acre tract; thence running in anortherly direction, up the hill,and with the western bound-ary of said three (3) acre tract,225 feet, more or less, to alarge hickory, marked with redpaint, at the edge of a flat;thence running in a westerlydirection with the edge of saidflat, 225 feet, more or less, to alarge maple (approximately 12inches in diameter), markedwith red paint; thence runningin a southerly direction, downthe hill, in a straight line, 225feet, more or less, to a largerock in the northern edge ofsaid dirt road, and marked withrd paint; thence running in aneasterly direction and with thenorthern edge of said dirt road,225 feet, more or less, to thepoint of BEGINNING; contain-ing one (1) acre, more or less;and being the same real es-tate conveyed to GrandvilleVance and Treva Vance, hus-band and wife, by a deeddated July 20, 2000 fromGrandville Vance and TrevaVance, husband and wife, ofrecord in the office of the Clerkof the County Commission ofMingo County, West Virginia,in Deed Book 377, at page349.The street address of the RealProperty to be sold is, upon in-formation and belief, Rt. 1 Din-gess Road, Dingess, West Vir-ginia 25671.terms of sale

The Real Property will be soldfor cash in hand on the date ofsale, or under any different,other or additional sale termsas the Successor Trustee, inhis reasonable discretion, de-termines to be appropriate oradvisable. The sale shall befurther subject to the following:1. Real estate taxes delin-quent, due or payable or to be-come due and payable, all ofwhich shall be the responsibil-ity of the purchaser;2. Any statutory lien or liensthat may affect the subjectproperty;3. All covenants, conditions,restrictions, reservations,easements and rights-of-wayappearing of record in thechain of title to the property, orwhich may be visible from aphysical inspection of the sub-ject property;4. All liens and encumbrancesof any nature whatsoever, in-cluding, without limitation, li-ens for real estate taxes, incin-erator, sanitary and sewercharges, having priority overthe deed of trust referred toherein.5. The purchaser at the saleshall be responsible for payingthe costs of recording the Suc-cessor Trusteeʼs Deed and thetax imposed by the State ofWest Virginia on the privilegeof transferring real property(the cost of the tax stamps tobe affixed to the Deed).6. All of the property to be soldwill be sold “AS IS, WHEREIS” in the present condition andwith all faults and defects, ifany, and without any warrantyor representation, express ofimplied. The Successor Trust-ee shall be under no duty tocause any existing tenant orperson occupying the RealProperty to vacate said prop-erty. The Successor Trusteewill deliver a trusteeʼs deed tothe purchaser without any cov-enant or warranty (express orimplied) in the form prescribedby W. Va. Code § 38-1-6. TheSuccessor Trustee makes norepresentations and war-ranties about the title to thereal estate to be conveyed. Ifthe Successor Trustee is un-able to convey insurable ormarketable title to the pur-chaser for any reason, pur-chaserʼs sole remedy is returnof deposit.7. The undersigned SuccessorTrustee expressly reserves theright to reject any and all bids,and the right to adjourn thesale from time to time withoutnotice other than oral proclam-ation at the time and place ap-pointed for the sale. Such ad-journment may be for a periodof time deemed expedient bythe beneficial owner, and shallnot be construed to be awaiver of the right to make thesale contemplated by this No-tice.Additional terms of sale maybe announced prior to the sale.Any inquiries regarding thissale may be directed toRichard M. Francis, Suc-cessor Trustee, 600 QuarrierStreet, Charleston, West Vir-ginia 25301, telephone (304)347?1116.DATED: December 27, 2012.__/s/ Richard M.Francis_______________Richard M. Francis, Suc-cessor Trustee1:10,17

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Bonds, Clemens rejected; no one elected to BB Hall of FameRonald BlumAP Sports Writer

NEW YORK — Steroid-tainted stars Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sam-my Sosa were denied entry to baseball’s Hall of Fame, with voters failing to elect any candidates for only the second time in four decades.

Bonds received just 36.2 percent of the vote, Clemens 37.6 and Sosa 12.5 in totals announced Wednesday by the Hall and the Baseball Writers’ Associa-tion of America. They were appearing on the ballot for the first time and have up to 14 more years to make it to Coo-perstown.

Craig Biggio, 20th on the career list with 3,060 hits, topped the 37 candi-dates with 68.2 percent of the 569 bal-lots, 39 shy of the 75 percent needed. Among other first-year eligibles, Mike Piazza received 57.8 percent and Curt Schilling 38.8

Jack Morris led holdovers with 67.7 percent. He will make his final bal-lot appearance next year, when fellow pitchers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine along with slugger Frank Thomas are eligible for the first time.

It was the eighth time the BBWAA failed to elect any players. There were four fewer votes than last year and five members submitted blank ballots.

“The standards for earning election to the Hall of Fame have been very high ever since the rules were created in 1936,” Hall of Fame President Jeff Idel-son said. “We realize the challenges vot-ers are faced with in this era. The Hall of Fame has always entrusted the ex-clusive voting privilege to the baseball writers. We remain pleased with their role in evaluating candidates based on the criteria we provide.”

Bonds, baseball’s only seven-time Most Valuable Player, is the sport’s sea-son and career home run leader. Cle-mens, the only seven-time Cy Young Award winner, is third in career strike-outs and ninth in wins.

“It is unimaginable that the best play-er to ever play the game would not be a unanimous first-ballot selection,” said Jeff Borris of the Beverly Hills Sports Council, Bonds’ longtime agent.

The previous two times the writers didn’t elect a candidate were when Yogi Berra topped the 1971 vote by appear-ing on 67 percent of the ballots cast and when Phil Niekro headed the 1996 bal-lot at 68 percent. Both were chosen the following years when they achieved the 75 percent necessary for election.

“Next year, I think you’ll have a rather large class and this year, for whatever reasons, you had a couple of guys come really close,” Commissioner Bud Selig said at the owners’ meetings in Paradise Valley, Ariz. “This is not to be voted to make sure that somebody gets in every year. It’s to be voted on to make sure that they’re deserving. I respect the writers as well as the Hall itself. This idea that this somehow diminishes the Hall of baseball is just ridiculous in my opinion.”

Three inductees were chosen last month by the 16-member panel consid-ering individuals from the era before in-tegration in 1946: Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert, umpire Hank O’Day and bare-handed catcher Deacon White. They will be enshrined during a ceremony in Cooperstown on July 28.

Bonds has denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs and was convicted of one count of obstruction of justice for giving an evasive answer in 2003 to a grand jury investigating PEDs. Clemens was acquitted of perjury charges stemming from congressional

testimony during which he denied us-ing PEDs.

Sosa, who finished with 609 home runs, was among those who tested posi-tive in MLB’s 2003 anonymous survey, The New York Times reported in 2009. He told a congressional committee in 2005 that he never took illegal perfor-mance-enhancing drugs.

The BBWAA election rules say “vot-ing shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sports-manship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.”

An Associated Press survey of 112 eligible voters conducted in late No-vember after the ballot was announced indicated Bonds, Clemens and Sosa would fall well short of 50 percent. The big three drew even less support than that as the debate raged over who was Hall worthy.

BBWAA president Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle said she didn’t vote for Bonds, Clemens or Sosa.

“The evidence for steroid use is too strong,” she said.

As for Biggio, “I’m surprised he didn’t get in.”

MLB.com’s Hal Bodley, the former baseball columnist for USA Today, said Biggio and others paid the price for oth-er players using PEDs.

“They got caught in the undertow of the steroids thing,” he said.

Bodley said this BBWAA vote was a “loud and clear” message on the ste-roids issue. He said he couldn’t envision himself voting for stars linked to drugs.

“We’ve a forgiving society, I know that,” he said. “But I have too great a passion for the sport.”

Mark McGwire, 10th on the career home run list, received 16.9 percent on his seventh try, down from 19.5 last year. He received 23.7 percent in 2010 — a vote before he admitted using ste-roids and human growth hormone.

Rafael Palmeiro, among just four players with 500 homers and 3,000 hits along with Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray, received 8.8 percent in his third try, down from 12.6 percent last year. Palmeiro received a 10-day suspension in 2005 for a positive test for performance-enhancing drugs, claiming it was due to a vitamin vial given to him by teammate Miguel Tejada.

The election leaves the Hall without both baseball’s career home run leader and its all-time hits king, Pete Rose. There were four write-in votes for Rose, who never appeared on the ballot be-cause of his lifetime ban that followed an investigation of his gambling while manager of the Cincinnati Reds.

Morris increased slightly from his 66.7 percent last year, when Barry Lar-kin was elected. Morris could become the player with the highest-percentage of the vote who is not in the Hall, a mark currently held by Gil Hodges at 63 percent in 1983.

Several players who fell just short in the BBWAA balloting later were elect-ed by either the Veterans Committee or Old-Timers’ Committee: Nellie Fox (74.7 percent on the 1985 BBWAA ballot), Jim Bunning (74.2 percent in 1988), Orlando Cepeda (73.6 percent in 1994) and Frank Chance (72.5 percent in 1945).

The ace of three World Series win-ners, Morris finished with 254 victories and was the winningest pitcher of the 1980s. His 3.90 ERA, however, is high-er than that of any Hall of Famer.

Two-time NL MVP Dale Murphy re-ceived 18.6 percent in his 15th and final appearance.

Marshall’s Bogaczyk named state Sportswriter of the Year

HUNTINGTON – Jack Bogaczyk, the veteran jour-nalist who writes for Herd-Zone.com and is editor of the Herd Insider publica-tion, has been named the West Virginia Sportswriter of the Year for 2012 by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.

Bogaczyk, who joined the Marshall University Athletics staff and Kindred Communications in mid-May, was voted the honor by in-state media (print and broadcast) who are members of the NSSA. Pre-viously a newspaper sports writer and editor for four decades, Bogaczyk writes “The Word on the Herd” for HerdZone.com, in ad-dition to his Insider editor

and column-writing duties.Bogaczyk’s work on

HerdZone.com further en-hanced a site that saw an increase of 19 percent in its unique visitors last year. He primarily writes fea-tures and columns focus-ing on Thundering Herd athletics.

“Jack has been a fabu-lous addition to our efforts in promoting the student-athletes of Marshall Uni-versity,” said Mike Ham-rick, Marshall’s Director of Athletics. “This award is a credit to a very deserving individual.”

The award is Bogaczyk’s third state NSSA honor in the last six years. He also was named state Sports-writer of the Year in 2007

and 2009 as sports editor of the Charleston Daily Mail. Bogaczyk, 62, also has been honored in his writing career by the Foot-ball Writers Association of America, the U.S. Bas-ketball Writers Associa-tion, the Associated Press Sports Editors and press associations in Virginia and West Virginia.

Keith Morehouse, veter-an sports director at WSAZ Television in Huntington, won the 2012 NSSA honor as state Sportscaster of the Year. It is the third (1999, 2007) state Sportscaster of the Year honor for More-house, who also is a Herd Insider columnist.(Herdzone.com)

Visit us online atwww.williamsondailynews.com

BLONDIE Dean Young/Denis Lebrun

BEETLE BAILEY Mort Walker

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE Chris Browne

HI & LOIS Brian and Greg Walker

FUNKY WINKERBEAN Tom Batiuk

MUTTS Patrick McDonnell

THE FAMILY CIRCUS Bil Keane

DENNIS THE MENACE Hank Ketchum

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CONCEPTIS SUDOKUby Dave Green

Thursday, January 10, 2013 COMICS/ENTERTAINMENT

Today’s Answers

HAPPY BIRTHDAY for Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013:

This year you make waves wher-ever you go. Your combination of high energy, strong intellect and charisma draws in many opportuni-ties for you. Others might see you as self-involved, especially your sweetie. Work on being more aware of others, and listen to feedback more carefully. If you are single, you attract many admirers who want to make you theirs. You’ll want to relate directly, but because of all the other activity going on in your life, you could find it difficult to focus on one person. CAPRICORN has endurance. Do not bet against him or her.

The Stars Show the Kind of Day You’ll Have: 5-Dynamic; 4-Positive; 3-Average; 2-So-so; 1-DifficultARIES (March 21-April 19)HHH Visualize and create more of

what you want. Your energy of late could be very challenging to a boss, older person or supervisor. Much is changing around the two of you. Use good sense, and remain responsible if you care about the long term. Tonight: Burn the midnight oil. TAURUS (April 20-May 20)HHHH You have the ability to

read between the lines right now. Use the information you are gathering for your own purposes. You might be stunned at what is occurring. Break past rigid thinking, and you just might like the outcome. Tonight: Relax and surf the web.GEMINI (May 21-June 20)HHHHH You have the capacity to

relate intensely to key persons. You know what your expectations are, but can you fulfill them? Share them with your inner circle, even if you get an odd reaction. Go with the flow. Tonight: Get to know someone better over dinner.CANCER (June 21-July 22)HHHH You are able to sway a sit-

uation in the direction you desire, but at what cost? A key person or boss could have a negative reaction to your manipulation. Be sure to test the waters first. At the same time, ask yourself whether it’s worth it. Tonight: Let others make the first move.LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)HHHH Put your best foot forward,

and remember how close you are to the weekend. If you can accomplish more than your usual workload right now, do so. Unexpected news could have you daydreaming. It’s OK to let your mind wander. Tonight: Off to the gym.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)HHHHH You see a situation

developing that could be demanding yet lots of fun. Think positively, but be aware as you walk into this sce-nario. A partner reacts to news. You are learning how unpredictable the people in your life can be. Tonight: Sort through your many ideas.LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) HHH You might be holding back

more than you realize. Allow your creativity to flow, and you will find solutions rather quickly. Let go of a preconceived idea. Once you do, you’ll see a new path. Reach out to a loved one at a distance. Tonight: Happily head home.SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)HHHH You will have to change

your tone or word choice in order to get through to someone. Demonstrate some flexibility when dealing with this individual. Your cre-ativity flourishes when brainstorming with a friend or loved one. Tonight: Let it all happen.SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)HHH Use good sense with money,

as you could cause yourself a mini disaster if you’re not careful. If you feel unsure of a situation or an offer, opt to hold off for now. You will know what to do in time. A family member could be confusing at best. Tonight: Revamp your budget.CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)HHHHH You are in your element,

yet you also could be overwhelmed by the hectic pace and the amount of people seeking you out. They know who has it together. Your intuition will guide you with a neighbor or close relative. Tonight: Check in with a friend who might be depressed.AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)HHH You might not like what you

are seeing. You could choose to say little and do more observing. Gather information that fits with your ideas, and perhaps seek out an expert for some feedback. After all, that is what you are looking for. Tonight: Time off from the hectic pace.PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)HHHHH You have always been

an intuitive sign, but you’re even more so of late. You’ll zero in on a problem and toss everything else in the air. Some friends might feel concerned, but it’s only because they don’t understand the importance of this readjustment. Tonight: Just don’t be alone.

Jacqueline Bigar is on the Internetat www.jacquelinebigar.com.

ZITS Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

Jacquelene Bigar’s HOROSCOPE

THE LOCKHORNS William Hoest

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