2019: Year In Review
Commissioner Fran King was nippy napping
Newly elected Commissioner Connie Kinder took
her perch on the CCC
The old Kilroy's Discount Building went up in
smoke during the first week in Jan 2019
Also in Jan., on the 13th, fire took lives and
a home on Main Street
Jan 30th Cold Snap
The main drag to Elkhurst slid into the Elk the
third week of Feb 2019. That slide came after State Road workers tried
to make repairs with tons of boulders.
During the early Feb 2019 Sch Bd meeting, there
was no mention of tearing down the their recently purchased CDC daycare
building next door. Beside the structure was an excavator at the ready
for the destruction. A few days later the remains were torched.
On a cold dreary Feb., after years of wait,
the Feds nabbed a notorious community leader. Yell we know, our spelling
is pretty bad. Maybe Taylor is actually doing quilting in the big house!
Teachers flexed their muscles and made demands of their Legislature in 2019. They got some of what they were seeking but Mitch Carmichael pay backs proved to be H
WaWa service to the long thirsty Blue Knob community
came a step closer to reality in March 2019 with the pump booster station
nearly complete.
Also in March 2019, the Pentagon had egg on the face when this Glenville College brochure came out and Clayberry students were excluded from a nearly free, teacher education, degree. Why? Our local leadership failed to submit the Glenville program application in a timely manner. Later on in the year, our Pentagon got off their butt and provided the needed info to Glenville.
The new Wallback WalMart as we call it, opened
in March 2019. Located out in the middle of nowhere, few felt the place
would be successful.
Those folks were dead wrong. the place stays
packed.
Newt Bragg's old home went up for sale in March
2019. With a $99K asking price, few thought the place had a chance of selling.
Then came word that Clayberry was getting a new hiking trail, state park,
over the old railroad lines located right in front of the red wooden structure.
The Communicator broke the biggest story of the decade in April 2019.
The info came forward during a CAEZ meeting where the Director tried to
keep everything hush hush. It didn't work.
Spring came to County Clay. The first walls for
the new FEMA paid for bus garage went up.
Under the direction of Superintendent Joe Paxton,
the School Boardsters were able to keep most everything underwraps. From
test scores to a bus wreck, to tossing youngsters out of school, shhhh,
keep the public at arms' length. Top secret!!
The well organized Annual Easter Egg Hunt out at Clayberry Park brought out the rug rats even during mushy wet conditions.
By early April, the first of the delicious ramps
were ready for the skillet.
Small fries got out of the house and away from
electronic games for a new season over at Dundon Stadium
The old house beside the Clay County Public Library
was torn down and removed in April 2019. In its place will be parking spaces
and a much needed and long promised, river access point.
The strictly volunteer run Lake Sampson Fishin
Derby was held under beautiful Spring weather conditions.
A good time was had with all the curtain climbers
receiving a nice gift.
Clay County's Solid Waste Authority pulled off
another recycling day near the beginning of April where....
tons of trash and recyclable materials were hauled
from creeks, hollers, and road sides. It was a total success.
A late April Snow blanketed Clayberry.
New to the county, Elk River Getaway Service
opened for business in early May.
That's livery service owner/guide Steve Grau
at the ready for the 2019 season.
It was also an election year for the Town of
Clay. That's outgoing Mayor Jason Hubbard during a May Council meeting,
before the June election. Hubbard brought organization and structure to
out of control Town finances. He was also the guy that got the municipality
back on course during and after the Nov 8th media nightmare following racist
comments on the Ape in High heels.
Certainly one of the biggest stories of 2019. The headline said a mouth
full
Speaking of Ape in High Heels, here's a shot of Pam Taylor heading
into the Federal Courthouse in Charleston to be sentenced for stealing
from FEMA flood funds. That marked the end of a notorious era for this
County and Clay Development Corp CDC , now CSCS. For many , the 10 months
in Federal prison barely creased the surface of this leader of the family
clan.
During the first week of June, work crews finally showed up to start
upgrading Schoonove / Bradley Field. Although the football field received
no 2016 Great Wash Out damage, FEMA coughed up more than a million dollars
to improve educamation in Clayberry.
There's the Sch Bd all spruced up for the early May meeting at Clay
High
Gov Jim Justice came to County Clay May 8th to
make the announcement. According to Justice, we would receive a new long
skinny state park to contain a hiking, biking, horse back riding trail
called ERTS. A big section of the trail would be open by June 1 2020. Prosperity
is just around the corner!
By mid May, there was a huge mountain of dirt
at Schoonover / Bradley Field
Near the end of May, Steve Grau's Elk River Getaway
Kayak Livery business was open for his second year providing a much needed
tourism draw.
Here's the election results from the June 10
2019 Town of Clay election. New leadership was coming to the hamlet.
In June 2019, 911 Dispatch Center Director Denise
Holcomb was behind closed glass doors and in the grease. She was getting
fired from office.
That's new 911 Dispatch Director Becky Pritt
during the mid June 2019 Commission meeting.
