8/9/2019 Front Page The Herald-Dispatch, March 15, 2010

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C MY K 50 inch

n NCAA makes final picksfor the Big Dance.

By BILL ROSENBERGERThe Herald-Dispatchbrosenberger@herald-dispatch.com

H U N T I N G T O N Although the spring seasondoesnt officially start untilMarch 20, one season alreadyis under way: pothole sea-son.

And with the flurry of win-ter weather, especially in Feb-ruary, the roadways sure tookquite a hit thisyear.

I know the weather has alot to do with it, said Hun-tington resident John Hamer,who lives in the 300 block of11th Avenue.

Hamer said the stretchof 11th Avenue he lives on,between 1st and 5th streets, isparticularly bad this year.

Its like driving on themoon, he said. I go out ofmy way not to drive that road.I avoid it, and I think a lot ofother people do, too. It just

beats up your car.Road crews from

the city of Hun-tington and theWest VirginiaDivision of High-ways have been

out patchingsome holes,

said CityStreet

Supervisor Lucian Kimler.He said crews already have

used about 125 tons of coldpatch since mid-February. Butcold patch, he said, isnt prettyand it doesnt last.

On Monday, the hot asphaltplant the city works with isscheduled to open, meaning

major pothole repairs will bestarting soon.Kimler is asking residents to

be patient this year, as crewswork along the citys 170 milesof roadways.

Between the water, thesnow and the salt, its prob-ably one of the worst yearsIve seen (for potholes) sinceIve been here, he said.

He hopes a new schedul-ing system will help get pot-holes fixed more quickly and

Winter leaves pothole problem to plague roadways

Paid for by Committee to Re-Elect Kevin Craig. T.J. Obrokta, Jr., Treasurer.

Delegate

KevinCraigCaresAboutOurFamilies.

Paid for by Committee to Re-Elect Kevin Craig. T.J. Obrokta, Jr., Treasurer.KEVIN CRAIGKeep1 5 T H D I S T R I C T H O U S E O F D E L E G A T E S 208691

IndexBusiness 5C

Classifed 1D

Comics 8C

Crossword 3D

Editorials 4AHoroscope 5D

Lie 3C

Local 3A

B. Lucas 3C

Movies 4C

Nation 5A

Obituaries 2CSports 1B

Television 4C

www.herald-dispatch.com

Huntington, West Virginia

Vol. 110 No. 74

Tournament chosen for MUMarshall to play Western Carolinain CollegeInsider.com TournamentSports / 1B

Gray skies and sprinkles

4835Weather / 6A

Neal Jeffrey shares power of positiveFormer All-American and San DiegoCharger brings positive message to townLocal / 3A

MONDAYMarch 15, 2010

Book festival tofeature GlassCastle authorThe Ohio River

Festival of Bookswill feature NewYork Times best-selling author and

journalist JeanetteWalls. She will bethe guest speakerfrom 6:30 to 8 p.m.Saturday, April 10.Life / 3C

Govt to startcashing inSoc. Sec. IOUsFor the first timesince the 1980s,Social Security isprojected to pay outmore than it col-lected. However, allthats left in the nestegg is $2.5 trillionin IOUs from thefederal government.Region / 2A

Northeastmops up from

wind, rainThe region moppedup Sunday follow-ing a bout with highwind and heavyrains that uprootedtrees, left hundredsof thousands with-out electricity andkilled five people.Nation & World / 5A

Champion Publishing, Inc.

Task force undertakes jobof changing areas attitude

SERVING

THE TRI-STATEFOR

YE A R S

March Madness

By TOM BREENand LAWRENCE MESSINAThe Associated Press

CHARLESTON The West VirginiaLegislature has just finished its 60-dayregular session, but there are signs it hasplenty more to do this year.

Gov. Joe Manchin has not ruled out call-ing lawmakers back to ensure the statequalifies for federal Race to the Top edu-cation funding. The House and Senate alsoproved unable during the just-completedsession to tackle the massive unfundedliability for retireebenefits, mostly

health coverage,promised to publicemployees. Offi-cials estimate a $7.8billion gap betweenon-hand assets andthe promised ben-efits.

The states teach-ers are at the centerof both issues. Thegroups represent-ing them are brac-ing for a tough fightahead. They alsoappear ready tocompromise with Manchin and lawmak-ers on some key areas.

But they and others involved in thesetwo looming tasks differ on whether theLegislature should target both during thesame special session.

I think were going to have charter schools.I hope we deal with (retiree benefits), becausewe have to, said Judy Hale, president ofthe American Federation of Teachers-West

Sessionends, butconcernsstill loomRetiree, school issuesstill on table forstates lawmakers

Please see SESSION/6A

Photos by Mark Webb/The Herald-Dispatch

Executive Director o Ebenezer Outreach Inc. Yvonne Jones and Steve Willis, the pastor o First Baptist Church inKenova, pose or a photo at Huntingtons Kitchen on Sunday in Huntington. The two are encouraging residents tospeak out, stand up and become part o the Huntington Healthy task orce.

By BETH HENDRICKSThe Herald-Dispatchbhendricks@herald-dispatch.com

HUNTINGTON Hi, Im Hunting-ton, and Im out of shape.

Its that admission akin to the oneechoed at thousands of AA meetingsacross the country that Kenovapastor Steve Willis said area residentsneed to be ready to make.

We have got to quit saying Were notthat bad, and consciously say that weretired of being last or fifth or 10th fromlast. As long as last is in the sentence,we dont want to be there, he said.

The pastor of First Baptist Church inKenova and Yvonne Jones, executive

director of Ebenezer Medical OutreachInc., are encouraging residents to speakup and stand up and become part of the

Healthy Huntington meeting strives to changeoutlook on health, wellness in city, Tri-State

The Healthy Huntington task orce will convene its irst meeting at 5:30 p.m.Thursday, March 18, at Huntingtons Kitchen, 911 3rd Ave.

Mark Webb/The Herald-Dispatch

A vehicle veers into the oncoming lane to avoid a large group o potholeson McCoy Road on Sunday in Huntington. Road crews rom the city o Hun-tington and the West Virginia Division o Highways have been out patchingsome holes. On Monday, the hot asphalt plant is scheduled to open.

Please see TASK FORCE/6A

Please see POTHOLES/6A

n Roundup of tournament actionfrom Sundays games.

sports / 5B, 6B

Tell us whatyou think

What gradewould you give the2010 session ofthe West VirginiaLegislature? Visitwww.herald-dispatch.com andclick on the Newstab at the top ofthe page to findthe poll and recordyour vote.

Complete NCAA tournament brackets inside

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