May 24, 2004
May 30 am It's holiday time. Enjoy
it
May 30 am And something to ponder
Click 916.
May 29 am We have a lost dog America.
See ADVISORY page to see if you can help.
May 29 am This is the weekend to
sit back, picnic, and visit with friends, this is Memorial Day weekend,
the opening of summer. For many, we're not quite ready for summer, storms
and cool temps keep us a few weeks behind.
May 29 am After a dandy season and
post season, the Clay High baseball team went down 4-0 ending their state
tourney hopes Saturday evening.
May 29 am from this past week....
May 29 am Rain, storms, power
outages, thunder, lightning galore. During Monday's Commission meeting,
lame duck Commissioner Mathew Bragg was nowhere to be found. County employees
came a month closer to layoffs, two in each department has been decided
based on budget cuts.
May 29 am Late Wednesday night,
three thugs were nabbed stealing from the kids of Clayberry from the Dundon
Ball Park concession stand. Good police work by green shirts Bailey, Light,
Stephenson, and county black shirt Delk sent David Stone, Jason Triplett
and Chris Pritt to the slammer. After one of the creeps squealed, two more
criminals were picked up for their part in destroying the concession stand
a week earlier.
May 29 am After 12 or more years
of "being in the system" our High School seniors graduated Saturday morning.
Some received one last dose of D Hall politics earlier in the week
during commencement practice.
May 29 am Clay County's only source
of news and views made it to the news stand FRiday evening. 20 pages of
info found no where else.
May 29 am As the week ended,
we remembered those that have already gone on and saw images of aging soldiers
in DC during the unveiling ot the WW II monument. The heroes of the great
war have almost muted the disgrace our country is muddling through around
the world.
May 29 am Thinking of W's war....
Iraq's water, sewer systems, and power supply remains in shambles as do
the schools, businesses and hospitals. There is one segment which is operating
well above pre-war days. That's the right, Iraq's oil production is exceeding
production from 14 months earlier.
May 29 am And how about some famous
quotes: Having sex is like playing bridge. If you don't have a good
partner, you'd better have a good hand." Woody Allen
May 29 am "Bisexuality immediately
doubles your chances for a date on Saturday
night." Rodney Dangerfield
May 29 am "Sex is one of the nine
reasons for incarnation. The other eight are unimportant."
George Burns
May 29 am "There are a number
of mechanical devices which increase sexual arousal,
particularly in women.
Chief among these is the Mercedes-Benz 380SL." Lynn Lavner
May 28 pm Doyle Cecil
Lewis Jr., see FUNERAL page
May 28 pm This first weekend of
Summer is pretty tough to handle. Last night the power was off for parts
of the county as wind nearly blew us off the map. By this morning, 7 counties
in the state were declared disaster areas by Gov Bob Bob Bob. Just
before dark this evening, the rain came again making driving treacherous.
May 28 pm 20 pages of the best news
and views in the county hit the news stand late this afternoon. With the
power off last night, getting the thing to print was slowed waaaay down.
May 28 pm Did you know: 1 out of
every 75 men in this country are behind bars. 68% of those incarcerated
are members of racial or ethnic minorities.
May 28 pm Saturday morning, Clay
High will be holding their Graduation Ceremonies. Best wishes to the seniors
and make it a safe weekend too. Oh by the way, it's now safe to dress as
you want!
May 28 pm You might have noticed
Paul Hopkins of Hop's Auto has been building a new garage beside his car
lot. Stop by and check out some great deals next time you're in the Valley
Fork area.
May 28 pm And the big news!!!!!!!!!!
Law enforcement picked up Calvin Cottrell and Jason Boggs. Both are believed
connected to the vandalism and destruction of the Little League
concession stand at Dundon 9 days ago. Give those badges one "Ata
Boy" next time you see them.
May 28 am Birthday greetings to
Paul Myers. Happy Naval Day
May 28 am Last night the storms
tore through Clay. Lightening and thunder galore. No reports on damage.
Flood warnings went out around 10 pm.
May 28 am From last night's
scanner traffic: 11:01 House fire possible entrapment; Gary Smith's
residence on Little Italy Road. 11:07pm Occupants are out. Need ambulance
ASAP; 11:17pm gas line ruptured, call the gas company; 11:22 house
is 3/4 engulfed now; 11:30pm tanker 32 on scene.
May 28 am We've got a new business
opening in the old Seneca Grill building on Main Street. Kat Communications
is the name. They offer: tanning beds, DVD and Video rentals; X Box and
PS2 games and puter repair. After last night's storm, many may be needing
repairs. Give em call at 587- 2246
May 28 am If all goes well, the
Communicator will hit the news stands today around 4pm.
May 27 8:30pm Over the scanner from
the National Weather Service, Tornado watch for Clay County until 1 am.
Close the shutters!!!!! Get ready for a big one!!!
May 27 , 2:30pm The CCHS Regional
baseball game slated for Friday night at Summersville has been changed
to TONIGHT TONIGHT at 7:30. CCHS will
take on Bridgeport at the Frank Loria field in Clarksburg City Park.
If we win this game, we're heading to the state tourney. GO CLAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 27 am This morning at
10 the Clean Up the Elk Group meets at the Work for WV office near Spread
Park. Volunteers are still needed. 40 miles of river is a big job!
May 27 am The CCHS Regional game
from yesterday has been rescheduled for Friday night in Summersville. Action
starts at 6:30pm One win away from going to the state tourney
May 27 am Nice dairy treats and
goods eats at B and B Dairy Bar across from Spread Park. They're open to
10 pm nightly. Try the strawberry milk shakes!
May 27 am We received a dandy chatter
that was signed by J Legg. We want to run it but that ain't good enough
. If J Legg is reading this site, please send over your name to be added
to the chatter and a tele number so we can confirm. The Communicator comes
out tomorrow.
May 27 am Last call to add to CLASSIFIED
is noon today. Get em in quick.
May 27 am And talk about a storm.
We got it yesterday. Mid afternoon the skies went black, the winds whipped
up and the rain followed by hail followed by more rain. Trees went down.
Hail bigger than golf balls covered areas around the Town of Clay. Paige
Willis' front yard was solid white with ice. Jim Knotts said the hail sounded
like a jack hammer at work in front of his Clay Lumber Co store. Internet
and tele service went down for a spell. The National Weather service issued
an advisory for 48 WV counties including Clayberry.
May 27 am There was another storm
yesterday. We got a bunch of emails from people over our post on CCHS Principal
Phil Dobbins sentencing graduating seniors to d hall for showing up for
commencement practice Tuesday in halter tops and hiney's hangin out.
Look below for the complete run down. On second blush maybe "dumbarss award"
was a bit harsh. Maybe a "What was he thinking" award would have been a
better choice of words. Or maybe, a "out on a limb and ready to get chopped
off" award could have been used.
May 27 am With that being
said, the message is still clear, the seniors have completed all their
work, the grades are in, and if they show up skimpily clad, tough, they're
out of there and must be given a diploma, d hall or no d hall threat! And
for the ones that sought legal help, good for you and good thinking.
May 27 am We saw some dandy police
work Wednesday evening late. Green Shirts Light, Bailey, and Stephenson
along with Deputy Delk were out looking for a stolen 4 wheeler in the
Dundon area just before midnight. Bailey was checking the Little League
Ball field concession stand door when Stephenson heard noises in
the brush. One young man took off heading to the river. Delk did the walking
on water thang and nabbed Chris Pritt as he crossed Buffalo Creek.
May 27 am With Pritt, Jason Triplett
and David Stone in custody, the badges made them clean up their mess and
apologize to Little League officals for being dirt bags before taking them
to Central Regional Jail.
May 27 am The three thugs spent
the night in the slammer and were arraigned on the video conference link
Thursday morning around 9 am. Magistrate King set bond at $9500. The three
remained in jail as of 5pm Thursday evening.
May 27 am Just 7 days ago, the concession
stand was ramp sacked and nearly destroyed by thugs. Wednesday night's
break in left the place in better shape but still damaged. When locals
say the badges set on the butts and do little... not so this time. Three
offenders nabbed and jailed! Full details and pics in Friday's Communicator
.
May 27 am By the way Deputy Kevin
"Walks on Water" Delk is one of the officers slated to be laid off July
1 due to budget cut backs. The other is newbee Chad Sizemore. Now might
be a good time to call your County Commissioner and let them know, law
enforcement is needed now more than ever in Clayberry.
May 27 am The Tonya Salisbury murder
trail scheduled for next Tuesday has been rescheduled for later this summer.
May 27 am For the complete list
and picture of each of our 802 service men and women killed in W's oil
war, Click LIVES
LOST.
May 27 am What's got
the White House in the grease of late is the release of many now famous
pictures of abuses in Iraq. Sec of Defense Rummy has come up with a way
to lesson future glitches in leadership. His plan is to make digital cameras,
video cameras, and cell phones with picture capabilities illegal for service
personnel. Click HIDE
IT BEFORE IT HURTS AGAIN for the complete story
May 27 am Bored at work. We've got
a game to mess around with. After clicking the link below and it comes
up, move your mouse to the man at the bottom of the screen and click. When
the penguin slides down the ice, click the guy again and watch how far
the penguin goes. If the penguin hits a land mine, he flops a little further.
Best distance we've been able to attain is 885 feet. Click HAVE
SOME FUN and waste some time. Turn down the volume button so no one
knows you're goofing off at work!
May 26 pm Last night green shirts
and black shirts arrested Chris Pritt, Jason Triplett, and David Stone
after they broke into the Dundon Ball Field concession stand and stole
a bunch of food items. Full details and pics late tonight.
May 26 pm In the mean
time, we've received some comments from this morning's posts. Read below
to catch up on life in Clayberry. One emailer commented that Graduation
could be real exciting this Saturday if the seniors all showed up in halter
tops, short shorts, and other skimpy clothing. Wonder if CCHS Principal
would then try some other gestapo tactic like baring them from graduating
or some other horse crap.
May 26 am Not sure how many local
clickers will be able to read this morning's posting. Last night around
9:15pm, the wind, rain, and thunder boomers hit! The potato wagon was rumbling.
May 26 am Last week was the final
day of school for Clay County High School seniors. All tests done, all
books turned in, all grades recorded, all everything complete. The graduating
class of 2004 was done with 12 years ( maybe 13 for some) of public education.
May 26 am Yesterday the graduates
returned to the school to practice graduation exercises. With the temperature
in the 90's and the humidity even higher, some of those seniors showed
up in some pretty skimpy outfits. ... sort of hangin out! After the practice
exercise, Principal Phil Dobbins told the offenders, they would have to
report to D Hall today for 2 hours or THEY WOULDN'T GET TO GRADUATE!
Some of the more thinking seniors knew Dobbins was completely over the
line, without any authority to stop anyone from graduating and headed to
a local attorney's office for advice! What was Dobbins thinking????????????
May 26 am What a dumbarssss!!!
Read this kids: TITLE 126 TITLE 126 LEGISLATIVE RULE
BOARD OF EDUCATION SERIES 42 Assuring the Quality
of Education: Regulations for Education Programs (2510)
126-42-1. General. 5.25. Diploma - Formal documentation
and recognition that a student has satisfactorily completed the graduation
requirements of the state and county school district 5.35.
Graduation Requirements - Graduation requirements are the number of required
and elective units of credit that must be earned by a student in order
to be graduated from high school. A diploma is the document that
is awarded to a student to verify completion of these graduation requirements.
(See Sec. 6.4.13)
Someone please read this to Dobbins. See what it says
Phil? Graduating is just a formality, the work has been done.
May 26 am And Phil, as a matter
of fact, seniors don't have to come to school one day after completing
graduation requirements! Don't believe us? State School Superintendent
Dave Stewart said the same thing!!!!! Click STEWART
SAYS PHIL IS OVER THE LINE to see for yourself.
May 26 am In related school
stuff, can a parent tell the local school, they don't want their
kid tested with all the other kids? Although artfully worded , the
answer is Yes! Click NO
TO TESTING to see what Dave Stewart said on this topic.
May 26 am Gosh if Dobbins
thinks he has the power to stop a kid from graduating after completing
all the required work, what if the kid said I refuse to say the Pledge
of Allegiance? Most likely, off to D Hall the student would go. Of course,
no student, no person has to stand, sit.... and recite the pledge . Click
State
Code to see for yourself
May 26 am Our Mister Dumbarss of
the Week award goes to CCHS Principal Phil Dobbins and graduating seniors,
.... tell him to stuff that detention hall crap where the sun don't shine!
May 25 pm Don't forget
tonight the Health Dept. Board meets in regular session at the Health Dept.
building on Main Street. Free and open to the public.
May 25 pm If your interested in
the Town's plans to improve water lines, pumps, and storage tanks heading
to Roane County, there's some new info on the WV Public Service Commission
web site, Click WON'T
COST A DIME MORE for details.
May 25 pm Last night a dodge pick
up was tampered with and the owners military ID and other papers were swiped.
Later in the evening, the scanner lady asked for an officer to go back
to the man's high street apartment location. According to 911, the guy
had earlier called for the Town's Chief of Police and couldn't locate anyone.
May 25 pm Around 3:20pm
yesterday the call went out for emergency service crews to respond to a
vehicle half way submerged in the Elk one mile South of the Camp Creek
bridge. 20 minutes later , over the scanner, we learned no one was in the
red colored vehicle.
May 25 pm Here in Clayberry, locals
wonder if the badges are doing or trying anything to curtail the increased
thugery. One lady openly wondered why the many security camera tapes aren't
being used to apprehend the juveniles. Another person noticed blood on
glass shards and wondered why DNA evidence couldn't be used to round up
the culprits.
May 25 pm Yesterday the CCHS Baseball
team beat Oak Hill 3 to 1 and is now just one game away from advancing
to state tourney action. Go Claaaaaay!!
May 25 pm Clay Jr. League kept their
undefeated status by beating Summersville last night 12 to 2.
May 25 pm So what the heck
is the Family Resource Network... FRN? That was question raised yesterday
during the County Commission meeting. FRN is one of the quasi government
agencies rarely heard from except when money flows their way. Yesterday
Jerry Linkinooooger and Lynn Romano asked the CCC to cover the cost of
insurance for the group... $3000 to $5000 per year. No decision made.
Full details this Friday in the Communicator.
May 25 pm So what do we know about
FRN? 10 years ago when the agency formerly known as CAEZ was being organized,
the Family Resource Network (FRN) was to receive $260,000 to set up a pre-school
program for the county. Didn't happen. Then superintendent Jim Dawson grabbed
and spent the federal dollars within the school system 6 month before the
funds actually arrived in the county. With no money, FRN never really got
going.
May 25 pm For those thinking
Clay County may sometime soon have it's own 911 response center, forget
it. According to Commissioner Sams, there just isn't enough $ to support
such a switch from the Nicholas County 911 operation.
May 25 pm Something to raise an
eyebrow... During yesterday's Commission meeting, a state auditor provided
the elected ones with her annual findings. Concerns were raised over attorney
Wayne King NOT providing reports on court monies held in escrow. Not that
this was new, according to the CPA, King the CCC has been written up in
the past over the same issues.
May 25 am Sunday evening,
our band of young thugs went after the Dollar Store beside the Clay Post
Office. The guess is: they came in through the roof and existed through
the front door after busting it to smithereens. No other details
May 25 am Last night a Dodge pick
up was broken into and the owner's military ID was swiped. Around 11:45
pm last night, over the scanner came word that other stuff was also swiped.
The 911 lady told the green shirt on the other end: The victim had called
the Town of Clay Chief of Police seeking assistance and was unable "To
get ahold of him"
May 25 am As a follow up on Town
employee Hawkie Keener getting arrested on DUI charges, Mayor Jarrett said
he had told the Hawkster, if you ever get a DUI charge, I will FIRE
you!!!! Keener blew a .14 on the drunkalyzer. IN WV, .08 is legally drunk
May 25 am Hawkie Keener was
seen driving the Town pick up yesterday
May 25 am Check back mid morning...
too sleepy to finish.
May 24 am John Ralph Patterson,
73, of Groves Creek, see FUNERAL page.
May 24 am Happy Birthday to Punk
Green. And just around the corner Birthday wishes extended to Tammy Cottrell
Dalton .
May 24 am This morning at 10 our
county Commission meets in regular session. Nothing big listed on the agenda.
About the only thing of interest... After loosing in the Sheriff race May
11th, will Commissioner Mathew Bragg attend today's decision making assembly?
May 24 am Tomorrow evening at 7,
the Clay Board of Health meets at the Health Dept. on Main Street. With
a complaint coming from Sue Parsons, might be a good meeting to attend.
May 24 am Who won the
Apple Blossom Battle of the Bands contest? Answer: Winner was "Crystal
Mountain" band from Glen, WV. They Were southern rock style band.
May 24 am Most people know Darrell
Keener as "Hawkie". Usually seen on Main Street pushing a broom or cutting
weeds, Hawk is the Town's maintenance man. Green Shirt ML Bailey
arrested Keener Saturday evening for DUI. Guess who went Hawk's bail? Answer:
Chief of Police and Town Mayor Arthur Jarrett!
May 24 am How
many members of the Bush Administration does it take to replace a
light bulb? The Answer is SEVEN: (1)
One to deny that a light bulb needs to be replaced, (2)
one to attack and question the patriotism of anyone who has questions
about the light bulb, (3) one to blame the previous administration
for the need for a new light bulb, (4) one to arrange the invasion
of a country rumored to have a secret stockpile of light bulbs,
(5) one to get together with Vice President Cheney and figure out
how to pay Halliburton one million dollars for a light bulb,
(6) one to arrange a photo-op session showing Bush changing
the light bulb while dressed in a flight suit and wrapped in an American
flag, (7) and finally one to explain to Bush the difference
between screwing a light bulb and screwing the country
May 23 am Time is flying by. How
could it be the middle of May 2004 already? From this past week, some highlights....
May 23 am After crashing his 4 wheeler
last Saturday, rescue workers located Randy Schooner in deep woods last
Sunday evening. It was touch and go for Schoony with his body all but shutting
down after surgeons amputated his left arm. Happily we report, it appears,
our ex senator has turned the corner and is recovering from his ordeal
May 23 am And the money flowed this
week as politicians handed out $20,000 in Budget Digest dollars to the
Ambulance Service & the Town of Clay ($1000), and made promises , more
$ are coming to Clayberry
May 23 am Sports wise, Clay High
Baseball is heading to Regional Competition after making mince meat of
the competition this week. Our Lady Panthers just couldn't quite pull it
off during sectional action this week and are now out of playoff action.
Clay Jr. League continued its perfect season this week defeating
Campbells Creek (18-0) and Clendenin as the week ended Saturday.
Slimy pukes disrespected hard working volunteers Thursday night by destroying
the Dundon ball field concession stand.
May 23 am The reign of terror continued
in the county as a stolen S-10 pickup was recovered this week as thugs
played havoc with Morgan Gibson's outdoor pop machine. Rumors have it that
volunteer Town Cop Buckshot Butcher may be back on the job soon after resigning
6 weeks ago.
May23 am County Republicats hosted
Monty Warner during the Lincoln Day Dinner Friday afternoon.
Later Friday night strong winds and heavy rains knocked out power in parts
of the county. The Valley Fork area remained without electricity Saturday
morning.
May 23 am And from this past week,
something we hardly ever get a chance to report. A new business. The Craft
Mall, in Two Run, opened its doors!
May 23 am As the week was coming
to an end, word was beginning to spread, our Central Appalachia Empowerment
Zone (CAEZ) would be changing its name as the ten year old Prez Clinton
idea geared down. So what has changed in the ten years since CAEZ came
to Clayberry? With the exception of the school system receiving $468,000.00,
nothing. Millions of dollars later, not one new non government job in the
county!
May 23 am Finally, Dubbya's Oil
War continued to take the lives of young men and women as scandalous conduct
in Iraq prisons made evening news top of the hour headlines.
May 22 am This is the last day to
get rid of those old tires. See EVENTS page.
May 22 am Last night the winds howled
followed by heavy duty rain just long enough to shut down electrical service
(9:00pm) for parts of the county. Most customers had service restored by
10pm. Trees were reported down along Rt. 4 above Spread Park with DOH crews
responding.
May 22 am Around 70 showed up for
last night's Lincoln Day Dinner at Clay High. A well received Monty Warner
provided the keynote address. Clay County's own and Attorney General
candidate Hiriam Lewis also attended the event kissing hands and shaking
babies.
May 22 am Yesterday Senators Love
and White handed out $20,000 in Budget Digest dollars to the Ambulance
Service and $1000 to the Town for Police equipment. It's anticipated that
another $20,000 will make it's way into Clayberry for emergency services
this summer. Around $45,000 is needed to purchase a new ambulance.
May 22 am Mayor Jarrett was asked
Friday if he planned to hire back Buckshot Butcher as Chief of Police.
Jarrett said no decision had been made but phone calls had been made on
Butcher's behalf. Watch for Bucky to be back on the job by Memorial Day
weekend.
May 22 am Yesterday afternoon, Clay
High split a double header and moved on to Regional Competition. More pictures
late tonight on the action. As of late last night, no word on the
CCHS girl's softball game in Ritchie County.
May 22 am And sadly we report the
damage done to the Dundon Field concession stand. The turds broke thru
the steel door with a cinder block and stayed just long enough to cook
a hot dog before destroying everything in sight. Catsup from ceiling to
toll phone. They even left the freezer door wide open to ensure a total
loss of frozen items.
May 22 am Police made it to the
scene by mid afternoon to begin the investigation. In the mean time volunteers
have one H*** of a mess to clean up. After weeks of hard work raising money
for the kids, those profits are all gone as restocking has to be done.
May 21 pm Late last night criminals
slithered to a new low as street thugs vandalized the concession stand
at Dundon Little League field. With no money to be found, the thugs threw
food and supplies left and right. About everything inside the building
was a total loss. Just after lunch, Green Shirts were called to investigate
the pathetic situation. Looks like the Birds of a feather have been seen
Walkering together so to speak.
May 21 pm The girl's sectional softball
tournament slated for Wesleyan has been changed to the Ritchie County field
with action beginning at 3 this afternoon. GO CLAY
May 21 pm Boy's CCHS baseball sectionals
open at 3 at Maysel Park if the weather cooperates.
May 21 pm We've provide a late night
post this evening on new Budget Digest money presented today. Check back
then.
May 21 pm For those finding it hard
to get WYAP radio to play n your computer, we've added a quicker easier
link. Walk over to the WYAP button on the home page and click listen now.
Once connected, book mark the station on your player window. Yesterday
over 300 people around the world tuned in for local news and programming!
May 21 am Darrell B. Taylor,
80, see FUNERAL page
May 21 am Arnold W. Ramsey,
94, see FUNERAL page
May 21 am Don't forget, tonight
Monty Warner is coming to Clayberry. See EVENTS page for details.
May 21 am Our Randy Schoonover made
the front page of the Gazette yesterday. Schoony crashed his ATV 6 days
ago and had half the county looking for him last Sunday. He was found around
8:30 Sunday evening. Since being hauled out by rescue crews, it's been
rough. Schoony lost an arm and remains in very serious condition at CAMC.
Keep the prayers coming, he needs all the help he can get.
May 21 am Last night around 9pm,
fire "consumed" a trailer in the Bomont section of the county before fire
fighters could get on the scene
May 21 am Police Blotter :
a wrecked S-10 blazer was towed in last night that had been stolen and
turned up in Ovapa again.
May 21 am Central Appalachia Empowerment
Zone finally got their web site up and running. click CAEZ
for a look. And by the way, the Mullins Delicious Apple was not discovered
on Peter's creek.
May 21 am And the word is
just seeping out on the street. Looks like Mayor Arthur Jarrett will rehire
Buckshot Butcher as the Chief of Police shortly. According to state code,
the only job a mayor can fill without Council approval is the Chief of
Police slot.
May 21 am Wih text books already
put away and the educational process all done for another year, our
2004 Gold Star for the poorest reason for an award ceremony goes to the
school system. Earlier in the Spring big awards were handed out for kids
eating breakfast. Click POOR
REASON for details.
May 21 am Herscehl Shamblin ran
and lost his bid for school board May 11th. Might want to check his web
site out for future plans. click 2006
now.
May 20 am Last night over the scanner:
Guy with a gun.... both in the bedroom; 11:04pm "He's a little
calmer now, he still has the gun; 11:29pm Unit #2: Everything is 10/4 here,
we'll be here a little while longer; 11:29pmUnit 5: We're clear on Punkin
Ridge, the male subject has left for the night.
May 20 am Somewhere around 11:24
another call came for law enforcement to the High Street apartments in
Clay where a fight was ready to break out
May 20 am Have you noticed little
public meeting coverage this week? Monday night's School Board meet was
without incident while Tuesday's Family Resource Network was a bust. A
few showed up but not meeting was convened.
May 20 am There really hasn't been
any real reason to send the kids off to school for the last three weeks
other than to get them out of your hair. Since the West Test before spring
break, other than movies, field trips, play time and parties little education
has been accomplished or even attempted. Yesterday was the last day for
Clay High seniors with acceptable attendance. The pikers remain behind
to sit through end of the year tests. Many wait with baited breath to see
if they will pass Bruce Cunningham's class and get to graduate next Saturday.
May 20 am Tuesday night the Clay
High base ballers put it all over Calhoun and moved closer to clinching
the sectional title. Next game , this Friday evening at Maysel Park.
May 20 am The Lady Panthers
will play against Ritchie County on Thursday, May 20th at 2:00pm at Weslyan
College. The winner of this game will be the Region 2 Champs and
will advance to the state play-off. This is sure to be a great match-up.
We hope you can come out and support the Lady Panthers! GOOD LUCK
LADIES!
May 20 am Just added over on the
ADVISORY page is an article from the Daytona BEach newspaper. Very
scary clickers as we slide down that slippery slope.
May 19 am just got this via
email: The CCHS Lady Panthers played their Region 2 playoff game in Braxton
Co. today. They played against the Richwood Lady Jacks. The
Lady Panthers played an awesome game. The outstanding performance
by the entire Lady Panther team, gave them a 2-0 victory over the Richwood
Lady Jacks! This is the first time in Clay County's Softball history,
that they have won a Regional title! The Lady Panthers will play
in the second round of Regional play on Thurs. or Friday (not sure of date,
time, team playing) (I should know by tomorrow afternoon and will pass
on the information to you when I receive it.) This second round of
Regional games is only one win from playing in the state finals!
I hope everyone will Come out and show their support for these fine young
ladies!! The Lady Panthers would like to wish Kacie Taylor get well
wishes....We MISSED YOU KACIE!
May 19 am Today is "Boycott the
Pump" day in WV. Don't buy any gas today! Since Jan 1 2004,
gas prices have risen $52 cents on average
May 19 am Word is that Randy Schoonover
isn't doing well. Family members said dialysis is being used. Prayers and
thoughts extended to the Schoony family.
May 19 am Don't forget, this is
the week to get rid of your old tires and NOT OVER THE HILLSIDE EITHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
See EVENTS page
May 19 am From the email
bag, thugs continue their match through out the county. Here's what we've
got: Last Friday night little creeps ripped out those pretty flowers on
Main Street beside the Dollar Store; Bullard's Exxon robbed again, that
makes 6 times!!; 2 tractor/trailers stolen from the Big Otter park
and ride; Monday night Elk Power Co trucks vandalized and the office
broken in to; Clay Furniture's pop machine was over turned sometime Monday
night! The little thugs are rampant in Clayberry!
May 19 am So if you were moving
your family out of here, where would it be? According to a
recent poll conducted by the Employee Relocation Council:
Large markets: 1. Austin/San Marcos, TX 2. Middlesex/Somerset/Hunterdon,
NJ 3. Knoxville, TN 4. Harrisburg/Lebanon/Carlisle, PA 5. Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater,
FL 6. San Antonio, TX 7. Orlando, FL 8. San Jose, CA 9. Fort Worth/Arlington,
TX 10. Jacksonville, FL * Medium markets: 1. Boulder/Longmont, CO 2. Trenton,
NJ 3. Bremerton, WA 4. Tallahassee, FL 5. Evansville/Henderson, IN/KY 6.
Fort Meyers/Cape Coral, FL 7. Portsmouth/Rochester, NH/ME 8. Lexington,
KY 9. Santa Cruz/Watsonville, CA 10. Brazoria, TX * Small markets: 1. Yolo,
CA 2. Gainesville, FL 3. Athens, GA 4. Olympia, WA 5. Bellingham, WA 6.
Bryan/College Station, TX 7. Iowa City, IA 8. Cheyenne, WY 9. Nashua, NH
10. State College, PA
May 19 am And despite the pee poor
economic conditions in this county we have a new busines opening May 22.
The "Craft Mall" has taken up digs across from Fariview Baptist Church
in Two Run. Hours of operation, 10 to 4 pm
May 18 am As an update on Randy
Schoonover, we understand damage to his left arm was so extensive, it had
to be amputated. We also received this message from the family: The
children, grandchildren, parents and brothers of Randy Schoonover would
like to express our thanks and deepest gratitude to all the people who
volunteered their time to find him. Thanks to all the ones who prayed ,
sent food and phoned or supported us in anyway during this time. Special
thanks to the Clay, Big Otter and Lizemores fire departments. THANK
YOU FOR FINDING OUR PAPA. Hannah, JonJon and Jarrod.
May 18 am Lots of sports action
this week, the girl's softball team won their sectionals tournaments. Tonight
at Maysel Park Clay High gets into sectional tournament action. Clay Jr
League plays at Dupont Middle tonight. Come out and enjoy a ball game.
May 18 am Are there any Republicat
clickers out there??? See EVENTS page for Monty Warner coming to Clayberry
this Friday at CCHS.
May 18 am For those interested in
the proposed "Dam Sampson" planned for the Wallback area... from a Fola
Coal memo dated May 5th: all neccessary biological assessment info was
sent to the DNR April 26th; What ever a NPDES permit is, was submitted
April 29th; to widen the access road, property owners have been contacted
and appear to be receptive to widening the right of way to 100 feet;
and Triad Engineering has made some changes to the design of the dam to
insure better flow of water from the bottom of the impoundment and address
vandal and safety issues.
May 18 am What's all that mean?
Sounds like Clay County may actually get a lake built this summer!!!!
May 18 am For a fun site dedicated
to humorous english screw ups, click ENGRISH
now.
May 18 am For those wanting
more news than found here ( Imagine that!) Here's a web page portal for
the front page top stories from 44 major newspapers from around the world.
Click NEWSPAPERS
for a look see.
May 18 am And for those that just
can't get enough info, how about an absolutely free encyclopedia of news
and facts. Click Wikipedia
for a peek at the world.
May 18 am Want to check how fast
your internet connection really is? Click SPEEDTEST
and then click "speed tests" about half way down that page.
May 17 am We had lots of excitement
yesterday as search crews spent all day looking for the no where to be
found Randy Schoonover. A little after 8pm the lost in the woods ex Senator
was found and 3 1/2 hours later, was loaded into an ambulance and heading
to CAMC, General Division. Schoony turned up missing Saturday afternoon.
Play by play down below in gray
May 17 am Sheriff candidate Roger
Hunt didn't do too well last Tuesday. We noticed For Sale signs posted
on his Rt. 4 home 24 hours later. If anybody's interested, nice house
May 17 am Lots of new pictures have
been added to the PHOTO page this site.
May 17 am Our school baseball team
is kicking butt and heading to the sectional tournament this week. You
don't have to miss it either. Action starts today out at Maysel Park. Who
ever wins tonight takes on Clay Tuesday at 5pm
May 17 am Here's a link for BABES
FOR BUSH and on the other hand, here's the link for BABES
AGAINST BUSH. The second web site is easier to look at males clickers.
May 16 11:30 pm Last of the night
clickers and thanks for hanging in there too
May 16 11:30pm Happily we report,
Randy Schoonover was loaded in the ambulance at 11:21pm tonight and is
heading to Charleston General Hospital. Last report from one of the emergency
response workers, Schoony was more responsive and more alert. Good
news, guess he landed on his head!
May 16 10:42pm For our out of the
area clickers, we're listening to the scanner chatter as emergency service
crews transport ex Senator Randy Schoonover out of Devil's Den hollow in
the backcountry section of Leatherwood. Schoony missing since early
Saturday afternoon was found near dark this evening with his wrecked 4
wheeler on top of his lower extremities. Here's the latest.
May 16 10:42pm
Schoony still being transported out on ATV. Over the scanner (10:32): Call
Healthnet back and see if they can fly now. 10:33, someone out Wallback
way: It's clear out here I can see the stars; 10:34: Be advised they cannot
fly, too much haze.
May 16 10:42pm As a note: rescue
teams are sounding pooped out big time.
May 16 10pm Word came, Healthnet
cannot fly and Randy Schoonover will have to transported by ambulance from
Devil's Den. Over the scanner: OK. We're starting out with him. It's going
to be slow going."
May 16 10 pm Keep in mind, if you're
staying connected and watching the action, click the refresh button often
May 16 9:21pm Crews still trying
to get into Randy Schoonover some took the wrong turn out wrong holler.
Over the scanner: He's conscious but not very alert... Big bump on side
of head.... left arm has a bad burn...
May 16 8:55pm Fully in darkness,
ATV's going in to bring out Randy Schoonover from Devil's Den as ambulance
unit 18 waiting at the ball field. From the scanner, " I don't
know where that holler is, but I haven't found it."
May 16 8:55pm In the remote
back country, communications was at best choppy. Healthnet is in Huntington
but can respond.
May 16 8:40pm Around 8 pm
tonight, search crews were beginning to call it quits for the day. Since
early morning they were looking for ex Senator Randy Schoonover who disappeared
sometime Saturday afternoon on his 4 wheeler
May 16 8:40pm Around 8:30
tonight over the scanner came the call that Schoonover's ATV was found
as was Schoony.
May 16 8:40pm First word said
"Everything is OK" followed up with Clay Rescue truck in route and
Clay Ambulance. Randy's family heard the good news via CB traffic.
Healthnet was put on alert at 8:35pm.
May 16 8:40pm So where the heck
was Schoony? Somewhere past Leatherwood ballfield between Short Hollow
and Devil's Den.
May 16 4:15pm The man hunt
is on for Randy Schoonover. Through out the day emergency service crews
have been looking for the ex senator in the Lizemores area.
May 16 4:15pm
Details are sketchy at this time...... Volunteer fire fighters are combing
the area for the second time. Schoonover was last seen riding his four
wheeler in that section of the county.
May 16 4:15pm RANDY WHERE
ARE YOU????????????????????
May 16 4:15pm Anyone seen the 5'
5" tall, sandy headed 50ish man, please call 911.
May 16 4:15pm We'll get to the weekend
wrap up later today.
May 15 pm The Communicator
made it to the news stands Friday evening. All the best info on Clayberry.
Like: details on the civil suit against the former Town of clay employee
and a juicy wrap up on Primary 2004 and the precinct by precinct tally.
All for just 50 cents cheap!
May 15 pm After a long night
of making love, he notices a photo of another man on her night stand by
the bed. He begins to worry. "Is this your husband?" he nervously asks.
"No, silly," she replies, snuggling up to him. "Your boyfriend,
then?" he continues. "No, not at all," she says, nibbling away
at his ear. "Is it your Dad or your brother? ""he
inquires, hoping to be reassured. "No, no, no!!!" she answers.
"Well, who in the h*** is he, then?" he demands.
"That's me before the surgery."
May 15 pm The Apple Blossom Fair
is in progress out Maysel park way. EVENTS page has details of today's
Battle of the Bands.
May 15 pm Thursday night a public
hearing was convened by the DEP and Fola Coal at the Courthouse. The hearing
was mandated as part of a settlement deal from complaints filed by a private
citizen.
May 15 pm Around 25 or so attended
the informal event. Lots of comments came on how Leatherwood Creek use
to support all kinds of fish and when the small stream didn't run black,
brown and red. Others raised concerns on the species' of trees used during
reclamation. May 15 pm Patterson and crew were well versed and smooth with
their responses. The public seemed to know, with permit in hand, there
was little they could do to stop ripping the mountains apart.
May 14 am There have been
888 coalition deaths, 779 Americans, 59 Britons, six Bulgarians, one Dane,
one Dutch, one Estonian, 17 Italians, four Poles, one Salvadoran, 11 Spaniards,
two Thai and six Ukrainians, in the war as of May 13, 2004
May 14 am The rest of the world
is talking and viewing the grizzly beheading video. If you care to take
a look, remember it is honestly graphic beyond believe. Click SENSELESS
to view. For dial up clickers, it will take a while to spool.
May 14 am If you had trouble getting
on this site early Thursday, it wasn't out fault. Phone lines and DSL service
got wiped out Thursday early am. Service was restored around noon.
May 14 am You missed a great night
of fun Thursday evening. DON'T LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN!!!!
Today the Apple Blossom Fair continues out Maysel Park. Come out and have
some fun. Details on the EVENTS page of Saturday's Battle of the Bands.
May 14 am Tonight Clay Jr. League
takes on the Summersville team in Summersville. Action starts at 6pm. Come
out and support our undefeated team of hitters.
May 14 am The Communicator comes
out this afternoon around 4pm. Front page lead is a story on arson in Widen,
drug capitol of the county. Also some details on the stormy past of 54
year old Glenn Tanner and John Hively plus tons of election coverage
May 13 am Virginia Hess
Cottrell, 79, of Wallback, see FUNERAL page
May 13 am Ronald Lee
Summers, see FUNERAL page
May 13 am Virginia R.
Mullins, 66 of Clay, see FUNERAL page
May 13 am Election coverage
pretty much consumed us for the last few days. Time for some 'puter housekeeping.
May 13 am See Advisory page for
details on one of Ivydale's finest from the Braxton Citizen News
May 13 am Election morning, Widen
was ablaze, literally. click MORE
ARSON for details from TV 8 which ran the story Wed afternoon.
May 13 am Yesterday a new
record was set for this site. On Tuesday 989 folks clicked to have a look
. Wednesday brought 1294 including 160 brand new visitors. Thanks for stopping
by Clayberry and come back often.
May 13 am in
the upstairs courtroom, there's a public meeting on mountain top removal
and Fola Coal. Here's your chance to have a say in the future of Clayberry.
More info on the EVENTS page.
May 13 am
the Apple Blossom Fair opens out Maysel Park. The three day event starts
out with a big time Gospel Sing featuring Clay County's own, Adam Burdette.
Full details on the EVENTS page now.
May 13 am From secret
criminal background investigations, to a high school teacher handing out
campaign signs during the school day, to one candidate offering to hand
over $1000 to each area fire department if he got elected, to what went
on Election eve and night. It'll all be in this Friday's Communicator.
May even be some commentary on stuff like: Ben Murphy lost in the School
Board race with 553 votes while Randy Holcomb won the Demorat nod for Sheriff
with 551 votes. And how did Beth Cercone come from out of nowhere to take
a seat from incumbent Rick Tanner on the Board. Should be nice!
May 12 am Around 1:15 this
morning, Widen precinct made it to the Courthouse. Primary 2004 was completed.
And what an election it was.
May 12 am Through out the night,
the lead changed back and forth. In the end, incumbent Assessor Suzie Legg
went down in flames as Teresa Lane garnered 1226 votes to Legg's 1158.
With vote in hand, it looks like Teresa will have a job to go to today
May 12 am Another real battle was
the County Commission race where Fran King edged out newcomer to politics
Brian Holcomb. Ms King - 961 votes; Brian 788. Current Sheriff , Harald
Fields, also a candidate for Commission, ends his time in office this Jan
and came in a weak third (498 votes). Ms King faces a challenge in the
Nov. General election by Mountain Party candidate Andy Waddell.
May 12 am We've got us a deomorat
nominee for Sheriff. His name is Randy Holcomb. Pretty much from the time
the first precinct came in, Holcomb out distanced the 10 other challengers.
Number two vote getter was Donny Triplett with 325 votes followed by Mathew
Bragg- 288; Jim (James) Paxton with 257; Joe Morris - 221; Morgan Gibson
with 200. We'll have the figures in this Friday's Communicator, but
without a doubt, this contest was one of the most expensive affairs this
county has ever seen. As the night ended, Randy said we could even call
him Sheriff Poopy if he beats Republican challenger Dave Mullins this Fall.
May 12 am Hands down winner in the
Prosecutor's race, Jim Samples with 1130; Barbara Schamberger -862; and
Wayne King with 433.
May 12 am No change in the Magistrate
office this time around, Jeff Boggs with an even 1300 votes; Mike King
- 1148.
May 12 am And finally from the race
that was, we have a new school board member. Ousting appointed incumbent
Rick Tanner, Beth Cercone will take a seat this June. Top vote getter was
RB Legg - 1348; Gene King - 1268; Kim Sams - 1084 and Ms Cercone with 959
nods. King and Legg will have a four year term while Cercone and Sams will
have a 2 year hitch filling unexpired terms.
May 12 am With over 40 candidates
in the race this time, it was great!!!! Most worked their butts off. The
county could have it's first woman Commissioner ever and once again
we have two women on the School Board.
May 12 am A the clock approaches
2:45 am, don't look for any new posts until late Wed evening.
May 12 12:30am Update Remember
for the latest, hit the refresh button clickers.
May 12 12:30am Update
In the School board race, three spots are taken, Gene, RB, and newbee Kim
Sams. Fourth place ain't quite so clear. With his home precinct already
reporting, incumbent Rick Tanner is leading challenger Beth Cercone 611
to 558, Cercone's home area has not reported in as of this posting.
May 12 12:30am Update
It's neck and neck in the County Commission race between Fran King and
Brian Holcomb. With 4 precincts to go, Fran King with 603 to Brian's 507.
May 12 12:30 am Update
And the nod goes to Randy Holcomb for Sheriff. Holcomb has to go up against
Republicat challenger Dave Mullins in the fall.
May 12 12:30am Update One
more update coming clickers. Expect it about 1:15 am.
May 11 11:15 Update We got
a horse race clickers...
May 11 11:15 Update In the
Assessor's race challenger Teresa Lane is ahead. With 7 precincts in, Teresa
Lane 566; incumbent Suzie Legg 512
May 11 11:15pm Update Ditto
for the County Commission race. It's neck and neck. Fran King with 359
to Brian Holcomb's 373.
May 11 11:15 pm Update More
around 12:00pm
May 11 10:30 pm Update
NOTICE TO get the newest postings on this page you need to hit the
refresh button at the top of our browser
May 11 10:30 pm Update The
Courthouse is abuzzz as four precincts have been counted and made public.
First in was Town of Clay followed by Lizemores precinct.
May 11 10:30 pm Update In
a nutshell, Fran King is ahead by 7 votes in the County Commission race
with Brian Holcomb a strong strong second. Harald Fields is waaaay back.
No problem for Magistrate's Boggs and King as challenger's Whiteley and
Taylor distant. This one is called, King and Boggs in that order.
May 11 pm 10:30pm Update
School Board race is very interesting with Gene and RB out front. Kim Sams
in third and incumbent in a solid 5th place. Since there are four slots,
as of 10:30pm Gene, RB, Kim Sams and BETH CERCONE in fourth.
May 11 10:30pm Update The
Prosecutor's race is all but over with Jim Samples out pacing Barbara Schamberger.
We're calling this one, Samples.
May 11 10:30pm UPDATE Next
post around 11:30pm
May 11 7:30pm Update
We'll post all evening as our election coverage continues.
May 11 7:30pm Update
Polls close in 15 minutes. Based on the vehicles seen at three polling
places: Light voter turn out
May 11 7:30pm Update
Just after midnight last night, Schamberger for Prosecutor sign seen ripped
to pieces in Queen Shoals. 2:30 am this morning. Sheriff candidate Mathew
Bragg seen stapling signs together readying for election day. 3:10am Schamberger
sign at Valley Fork painted defaced with red paint.
May 11 7:30pm Update All last night,
small groups kept coming into and leaving Go Mart at Two Run, Election
Central. Just before midnight last night, Wayne King for Prosecutor sign
seen in flames just above the county line on Rt. 4.
May 11 7:30pm Update
This morning at 7:45 am call came in to County Clerk's office: Officer
needed at Clay Middle School Polling Place. 911 called. 2 deputies
walked into the Courthouse and were redirected to Clay Middle. There Jimmy
"Shakey" Legg was seen driving away speedily.
May 11 7:30pm Update
Here's what happened. Shakey went to vote at the Maysel Precinct where
he was told he wasn't properly registered to vote. Heated up, Legg headed
to the County Clerk's office where potty mouth was heard left and right.
May 11 7:30pm Update
His next stop was Clay Middle where he stood in line waiting to vote with
Vice Principal Jim Haynie nearby. With more foul language spewing from
Legg, Haynie told him to stop the potty mouth. Irate, Shakey Legg took
a folding chair and whopped Haynie up side the head before fleeing.
May 11 7:30pm Update
Officers had a talking to Shakey shortly there after. In the early afternoon
a much more subdued Jimmy Legg finally got to vote at Clay Middle School.
No apologies were heard.
May 11 7:30pm Update: If you
want to hear live coverage of tonight's election click the home page button
WYAP . On air reports hourly.
May 11 pm 7:30 pm Update
Head over to the Courthouse this evening for some real fun.
May 11 1:30pm Update. Clayberry
was pretty wild this morning with politicians riding here and there with
signs plastered all over their vehicles. Brian Holcomb chose to campaign
via horse and buggy down Main Street.
May 11 1:30pm Update
Vandals worked political magic in the dark of the night. Sheriff candidate
Morris had several signs defaced while other politicos put up new signs
reading reading "Any body but Scott Legg for Sheriff".
May 11 1:30 pm We're just getting
the first reports of a chair bashing incident at the Middle School polling
place. Will provide coverage as soon as we firm up the "Shaky" details.
May 11 1:30 pm Update Special
note for those wanting immediate election results tonight. You can hear
election coverage on WYAP tonight . Just click the WYAP button on the home
page. We'll post election results around 10pm, midnight, and finals around
3 when the dust settles.
May 11 1:30pm GET OUT AND
VOTE.
May 11 am Early "Jack" McGlothlin
Sr. of Harrison, see FUNERAL page
May 11 am Clay County PSD meets
this morning at 10 am across from the Courthouse on Main Street.
May 11 am If you didn't check this
site yesterday afternoon, be sure to slide down to the pm post in red below.
Done it?.... OK. With Mr G potentially in the grease (all it takes
is one formal complaint sent to the Sec of State's office), the phone calls
have come in. So what's the difference between Gibson and Buckshot Butcher
saying (in that little paper over in Clay), he would donate back his $
if elected. What about all the other promises made over the years? Remember,
what makes something illegal? When a Judge rules!
May 11 am It's been a long 3 months
clickers. Never before in this county have so many people tried so hard
and spent so much to get elected to an office. From radio ads to outdoor
bill boards to web sites and web site advertising, the money has been spent.
May 11 am As late as yesterday afternoon,
politicians were still working hard to garner one more vote. Fran King
held up signs along Rt. 4 for most of the afternoon while high school teens
held up posters for Commission candidate Brian Holcomb just across the
way in the Go Mart parking lot. Barbara Schamberger used some kind of car
with 2 ladders strapped across the top with taped Schamberger for Prosecutor
signs in the downtown Clay area.
May 10 am Why aren't there clear
cut favorites this time around? Because the insider ,backdoor , slates
just didn't come together this year. With so many people running
and each candidate with so many family member supporters, the politicos
just didn't want to or couldn't apply pressure and twist arms to get votes.
The day of the old time slates may be a thing of the past!
May 10 am The closest we can get
to a slate is one marked "Courthouse slate" and slipped under our door
yesterday am. Take it for what its worth, for Sheriff, Donny Triplett;
Assessor Teresa Lane; County Commission, Harald Fields; Prosecutor Wayne
King; and get this, in the Magistrate's race, Mike King and Denise Taylor.
Others: Kerry, Erik Wells, Joe Manchin, Heckler,Warren McGraw and Mrs Randy.
May 11 am Isn't that interesting.
In the Magistrate and Assessor's race, It sure sounds like the insiders
couldn't hold on to Assessor Suzie Legg and sold the boat out on Magistrate
J Boggs too. Election night will sure be interesting. Here in small town
America, many many will head over to the Courthouse tonight to hear the
results as they come in. How about you? IF you're coming, don't wear a
hat. In the past, hats have been assaulted!
May 11 am Here's what we're planning
for the next 20 hours clickers. We'll do an early afternoon post around
1 today for those interested in something other than politics; start
covering the election returns around 10 pm, a post around midnight, and
then finally whenever the last precinct comes in, a final wrap up in the
wee wee hours of May 12th.
May 10 pm So what makes Clayberry
so special around election time? Our politicians of course!
May 10 pm Last week Sheriff candidate
Morgan Gibson went to Marlyn Starcher with the Big Otter Fire Dept. and
said, " If I get elected, I'll give each fire dept. in the county $1000.00"
Starcher told Gibson he wouldn't personally endorse ANY candidate but would
bring the offer to the Big Otter FD Board meeting and let them know.
May 10 pm We talked to Mr. Gibson
at 12:15 today and he confirmed the offer and felt it was no different
than any other politician making an election year promise.
May 10 pm After word got out of
the Gibson offer, last week, Sheriff candidate Joe Morris got hold of Starcher
and made a bigger offer. A short time latter, Morris phoned Starcher and
pulled the offer. It appears that Morris realized the "rotten fish " and
got away as far as he could.
May 10 pm When we talked to private
citizen Marlyn Starcher, he asked if we found out such a scheme was illegal,
he wanted to know.
May 10 pm Around 12:20 today we
spoke with Joan Casto with the WV Sec of State's office. Ms Casto said
such an offer by Morgan Gibson was illegal. Casto was asked twice:
Gibson did NOT offer the $1000 if they voted for him but offered to give
the three fire depts $1000 each if he got elected. Now, is that illegal?"
Casto said look at State Code 3-9-13 and 3-9-12. She said ANY promise of
$ wa a no no.
May 10 pm After talking with the
Chief Election officer with the WV SOS office, we phoned Mr Starcher back.
Starcher, upon hearing that the Gibson deal was illegal , said he would
not even bring it up during tonight's Big Otter Fire Dept Board meeting.
May 10 pm For those interested in
the WV State Code, here's 3-9-13: Buying or selling vote unlawful;
penalties. (a) It is unlawful for any person to offer or to
pay money or any other thing of value to any person as consideration for
the vote of the offeree or payee, as the case may be, to be cast for or
against any candidate or issue in any election held in the state. Any person
who violates the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of a felony,
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than five thousand
dollars or imprisoned for a period of not less than one year, nor more
than five years, or both. (b) It is likewise unlawful
for any person to accept or agree to accept money or other thing of value
as consideration for the vote of the acceptee, to be cast for or against
any candidate or issue in any election held in the state. Any person who
violates the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor,
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than one hundred
dollars nor more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned in the county
jail not more than one year, or both.
May 10 pm And could Morgan Gibson
get in deep doo doo? You bet!!! Here's 3-9-12: Improper influence
and bribery by candidates; penalties. Whoever, being a candidate
for any office, loans or gives, directly or indirectly, or offers or promises
to loan, or give, any money, or other thing of value, to any elector, for
the purpose of influencing or retaining the vote of such elector, or inducing
such elector to work or labor for the election of such candidate, or to
refrain from working or laboring for the election of any other candidate;
or to any person to secure or to retain the influence or vote of such elector,
in his behalf as such candidate, or to be used by such person in any way
to influence the vote of any elector, or of electors generally, for himself
or any candidate or ticket, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction
thereof, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars, or confined
in the county jail for not more than one year, or both, in the discretion
of the court.
May 10 pm Great big Happy Face to
Clay County Sheriff candidate Joe Morris for taking a second look at something
stinky and backing away. Great big Happy face to Marlyn Starcher
for abiding by the law and NOT being apart of something wrong.
May 10 pm Is it influence peddling
or vote buying? Back just a few years ago we had a County Commissioner
donate back his $ for Clay High School Scholarships. Two years ago, a lady
day running for Calhoun County Commission promise, if elected, she would
give her income to the three local fired departments and ambulance there.
May 10 pm Illegal or not,
does it pass the rotten fish test?
May 10 am And to get the week started
off.... An old man was sitting on a bench at the mall.
A young man walked up to the
bench and sat down. He had spiked hair in all different colors
Green, Red, Orange, Blue, and
Yellow. The old man just stared and stared. Every time the
young man looked, the old man was staring.
Finally
the young man said sarcastically, "What's the matter old timer never done
anything wild in your life?" Without batting an eye, the old man
replied, "Got drunk once and had sex with a peacock. I was wondering
if you were my son
May 10 am Our County Commission
meets this morning beginning at 10 am. Get out of the heat and watch our
elected ones work.
May 10 am Over the weekend Prosecutor
candidate Wayne King covered the county with colorful signs. Saturday night
someone tore Sheriff Candidate Roger Hunt's sign down near Wallback.
May 10 am After campaigning for
months and spending tons of money, Election 2004 is Tuesday. Without a
doubt the most important day for the taxpayer. Tuesday is the time we let
the elected ones know if we're satisfied with their work.
May 10 am Yesterday afternoon Clay
Jr League took on the Gilmer Gladiators and the Gilmer Bullfrogs in double
header action in Glenville. Both fell to defeat in the heat of the afternoon.
18 to 4 and 34 to 4. A nice day for the Clay kids!
May 10 am T Shirt quotes from
around the state: The liver is evil. It must be punished;
Rehab is for quitters.; And your cry baby, whiney-arsed opinion would be?;
The beatings will continue until morale improves.; Raft
Naked: It adds color to your cheeks.; Guys...Just because you
have one doesn't mean you have to be one.; Impotence...Nature's
way of saying "No hard feelings."; Jesus Loves You (but everyone
else thinks you're a jerk).; The proctologist called.
They found your head.; Wanted: Meaningful overnight relationship.;
A War Budget leaves every child behind.; Let me show you how
we do it in the trailer park.; and finally from a T Shirt worn by a very
lovely young woman last Sunday: Lick Bush in 04
May 9 pm It was a tough week
in Clayberry as politicos did their best to keep supporters together. Behind
the scenes rumors spread of vote buying. As of this morning, all unsubstantiated.
Some candidates commented that the election "was in the bag". Others provided,
"It's crunch time, time to step up the knocking on doors". Friday morning,
that Mel Gibson look alike, the rotund one, Andy Waddell filed for the
County Commission race on the Mountain Party. Whoever wins Tuesday's Primary
will face the probably the most hated guy in the county. Should be fun
in Nov.
May 9 pm To escape the onslaught
of candidate tele calls and visits, over 400 Clayonians voted ahead of
time at the Circuit Clerk's office. The number of independent voters, those
sick of both the Demorats and Republicats, grew to over 400.
May 9 pm Charleston newspapers polled
voters and found less than 20% knew the name of any candidate other than
Governor and 20% felt ALL politicians were crooks!
May 9 pm During Tuesday's Town Council
meeting, it became public, one time TOwn water clerk Tammy Duffield was
in the grease. Mayor Jarrett informed Council that a lawsuit had been filed
against Duffield. Jarrett is asking the Court to force the young lady to
repay over $6000.00 stolen during her 14 months on the job which ended
in the fall of 2002.
May 9 pm Our appointed Prosecutor
Daniel Grindo let the world know, Mayor Jarrett was fibbing when he said
the Prosecutor's office refused to bring criminal charges against Ms Duffield
May 9 pm Despite threats by the
WV PSC, Clay Roane PSD made it clear, they want no part of operating or
maintaining Queen Shoals PSD. Also from Thursday's PSD meeting, the Amma
Left hand water line project is now slated to go to bid THIS JUNE. Some
in the cloud spoke out and said they would believe it when they see it!!
May 9 pm Crime wave wise, it continued.
Truck stolen in Wallback. Glass doors busted out in Lizemore.
May 8 am We made it thru another
week of stealin', stabbin's, and politicians here in Clayberry. The weekend
is suppose to warm and dry. Perfect for out of doors. Enjoy every minute
folks.
May 8 am Just got word that Lizemore
Exxon had its front door knocked out Wed night. One more sign of out of
control youth in our neck of the woods.
May 8 am. Last weekend we went a
full 48 hours without a vehicle being stolen. Keep your fingers crossed
clickers and your keys in your pocket!
May 8 am Don't forget. You can vote
today in the Circuit Clerk's office until 5 pm. 400 others have already
done so. Several of those voters said they wanted to vote early just so
they could tell the politicians, sorry boys, you're too late.
May 8 am Get your car washed this
morning over at Go Mart, Two Run. Nice day for a car wash and for a good
cause too.
May 8 am In the latest edition
of that near award winning publication, The Communicator, came mention
of republicat Dave Mullins escorting demorat Lloyd Jackson around Clay
during his recent whistlestop campaign tour. Sheriff candidate Mullins
was pretty "miffed" Thursday night as he spoke to that ace cub reporter
for the Communicator. When asked if Mullins' skin was paper thin, boldly
he said his skin was as thick as shoe leather!! Always trying to simmer
down a pot ready to boil over, Mullins was also asked if his blood pressure
was OK. Sounded like Dave said something about fearing for his temper if
anything else was published. We tink Dave was peed juuuust a wittle.
May 8 am When you're in the Two
Run area, tune your radio to 101.7. WYAP-LP is experimenting with a tiny
little transmitter gizmo. Look for full 100 watt service near the
end of May. For those wanting to hear the community based non profit
station, walk over to their web site www.clayfm.com
and listen in world wide.
May 7 am Hysel Carris Workman, see
FUNERAL page
May 7 am Lost your horse? One nice
looking horsey was found yesterday walking around a grave yard on Punkin
Ridge. If it's yours, call 587-2635. They've got all the fertilizer they
need out there.
May 7 am Nice Mother's Day luncheon
TODAY at the Senior Center at Two Run. See events page for details.
May 7 am Over at Pratt, Clay Junior
League won both games in their double header last night, 20 to zip
and 18 to nothin'. Next time to see our undefeated sluggers at work, Sunday
afternoon as they take on Gilmer.
May 7 am Our crime wave continues.
Yesterday another truck was stolen from the Wallback park and ride. According
to our total, since last Fall, about 30 vehicles have been swiped in Clay
County and that doesn't count all the failed attempts.
May 7 am Two Reasons Why It's
So Hard To Solve A Redneck Murder 1. All the DNA is the same.
2. There are no dental records
May 7 am Last night's Clay Roane
PSD meeting was short (30 minutes) and sweet. No yelling, no controversy.
Jeremy Westfall was hired to replace Dale Deems at 6 bucks an hour. No
mention of needing a rate increase last night. That'll have to wait
until the Amma Left/Hand water line extension project gets started.
May 7 am There have been several
hold ups on the Amma Left/Hand project. Last night one more hurdle was
cleared as PSD Chair Postelwait made it public, look for bidding
by June 2004! from the back one lady yelled out, "I'll believe it when
I see it!"
May 7 am You might want to book
mark this link. For all latest on how we're making friends in Iraq click
They
Love Us Over There.
May 7 am Another good bookmark is
THIS
ONE from CNN and offers the official Oil War Toll in Iraq. Sadly, yesterday
was another very costly day as we dig deeper in the quagmire of Bushhood.
May 7 am So how many Demorats
are registered in Clay County? Answer: 5116 as of 3pm May 6
May 7 am There are 1266 Republicats,
423 with no party affiliation, 5 Libertarians, and 2 Mountain party members.
Just 2 years ago, there were only 300 or so with no party affiliation.
May 7 am How many people have come
in and voted ahead of time? As of 2:30pm Thursday, 315 plus another 65
voting by mail. According to Asbury, that's a bunch and they're still comin'.
May 7 am There's NO NO NO
excuse for not voting this year!!! Circuit Clerk Mike Asbury will have
his office open this Saturday from 9 to 5 to accommodate you. We may not
have a say in who the next President will be but locally your vote
counts. VOTE!!!
May 7 am So what are the candidates
doing this week? Scurrying around like mice! Last night as late as 10pm,
candidates were seen working the county. Even Gene King was out stapling
up signs way past his bedtime, 7:30pm. Down to just 4 days, for the most
part, there is little else to do.
May 7 am Give us a hand clickers..
we have yet to see any candidate slates. Surely to goodness by now, the
blue bloods have come up with something they can live with. Use the link
below and email what you know.
May 7 am Two Mexican detectives
were investigating the murder of Juan Gonzalez. "How was he killed?" asked
one detective. "With a golf gun," the other detective replied. "A golf
gun?! What is a golf gun?" "I don't know. But it sure made a hole in Juan"
May 6 am This afternoon's Business
Development Authority meeting has been canceled according to BDA member
Arthur Jarrett. At 7 this evening Clay Roane PSD meets in regular session
at the CDC building across from the Courthouse. Nothing too exciting on
the agenda but with this agency, anything could happen.
May 6 am We had a stabbing
Tuesday night near Two Run. Ambulance called.
May 6 am In the wee wee
hours Tuesday morning, a Tara Taylor subject was sent off to the slammer.
Over the scanner it sounded like she had violated home confinement conditions.
Deputy Delk was the arresting officer.
May 6 am Tonight is the big band
concert at the High School. See EVENTS page or call the school. Art
exhibits too!
May 6 am If you think you can get
away with buying your Mother a socket set, power screw driver, or
car ramps, we can tell you first hand, don't! Won't work! If
you plan to make it thru Mother's Day, you better get her a nice present
May 6 am And now .. lets talk Daniel
Grindo. Over the last 18 months we've pretty much given Clay County's version
of Perry Mason double H for a variety or reasons. We've seen the inexperienced
guy mess up many times, cost the county bucks, and even watched various
Judges chew his butt into little pieces. On each occasion, Mr. Gindo well...
deserved it.
May 6 am After watching the fellow
in and out of the Court room, we've never seen him or heard of him telling
a lie. That's on the plus side for the newbee. Keep that in mind
clickers.
May 6 am After yesterday morning's
post that Grindo refused to Prosecute and or even hear the Town's
position on going after criminal charges on ex Town employee Tammy Duffield,
we got a call!
May 6 am Now Grindo has never called
us or for that matter, given most even the time of day since Jan 2003 when
he accepted the appointed position. Grindo was real peed at Mayor Jarrett's
claims made during Tuesday's Town Council meeting. See posts below please.
May 6 am Grindo let us know
in no uncertain terms, what Jarrett said was " an absolute lie!" He went
on to say that he would tell us exactly what did happen! We plan to take
him up on the offer before the next Communicator comes out.
May 6 am After Grindo's call we
headed over to talk with Mayor King Arthur Jarrett around 3:30 Wednesday.
Jarratt too had received a call from the Prosecutor earlier in the
day. Jarrett did not back down from his claims made one day prior.
May 6 am He did some details, in
a nutshell: After waiting months and months on Ms Duffield to come
thru with her promise to pay back on her sticky finger itis, Jarrett, Duffield's
attorney Jerome Novobilski and Grindo met in the Prosecutor's office. The
meeting was several months back according to Jarrett. As he and Novobilski
were talking, and according to Jarrett, Grindo said he didn't want to hear
it nor would he prosecute the case! That's the part that Grindo said "was
an absolute lie."
May 6 am We pried some more out
of Jarrett Wed afternoon on the civil suit Town vs Tammy Duffield. The
mayor said he thought he had a deal with the one time water clerk
where she would come in, pay back the stolen funds, and the issue would
be resolved. That didn't happen and after one last date to pay back the
$6000+ came and went ( last Monday), he had Town attorney Barbara Schamberger
file the suit one week ago today.
May 6 am More as we get it and Yes,
we'll get Grindo's side of the story too.
May 6 am Speaking of sticky fingers,
Mr Randy Schoonover knows how to campaign. Monday evening around 7, he
was seen campaigning the front gate of the Mt Olive Correctional center.
May 6 am The only question on politicos'
minds: Who will be the next Sheriff? Answer: even the backdoor crowd doesn't
have an answer yet. The norm is for the slates to have been already drawn
up and the deal consummated. That hasn't happened this year clickers, The
back door negotiations continue.
May 6 am And now some humor from
the Welfare Office: A woman walks into the downtown welfare office,
trailed by 15 kids... "WOW," the social worker exclaims, "Are
they ALL YOURS???" "Yep they are all mine," the flustered momma
sighs, having heard that question a thousand times before. She says,
"Sit down Leroy." All the children rush to find seats.
"Well," says the social worker, "then you must be here to sign up.
I'll need all your children's names." "This one's my oldest--he is
Leroy." "OK, and who's next?" "Well, this one he is Leroy,
also." The social worker raises an eyebrow but continues.
One by one, through the oldest four, all boys, all named Leroy.
Then she is introduced to the eldest girl, named Leighroy!
"All
right...,"
says the caseworker, "I'm seeing a pattern here...Are they ALL named
Leroy?" Their Mumma replied, "Well, yes--it make it easier.
When it is time to get them out of bed and ready for school, I
yell, 'Leroy!' An' when it's time for dinner, I just yell 'Leroy!' an'
they all comes a-runnin.' And 'if I need to stop the kid who's
running into the street, I just yell 'Leroy' and all of them stop.
It's the smartest idea I ever had, namin' them all Leroy."
The
social worker thinks this over for a bit, then wrinkles her forehead
and says tentatively, "But what if you just want ONE kid to come,
and not the whole bunch?" "Ah, that's so easy," said the momma. "Then
I call them by their last names.
May 5 pm During yesterday's
Town Council meeting, the elected ones were brought up to speed on the
lawsuit filed by the town against Tammy Duffield. Mayor Jarrett informed
those in attendance, he was tired of fooling around waiting on the one
time employee to come thru with her promises of paying back the town for
the $ stolen 2 years ago. $6200 was identified back then as removed from
water accounts. A fraud audit from 18 months ago confirmed that figure.
May 5 pm Sticky fingers are always
bad but worstest of all, before filing the civil charges, Mayor Jarrett
went to our illustrious Prosecutor, that's Dan Grindo, and asked for criminal
charges. Jarrett told Council that Grindo would not even listen to what
he had to say. Sounded like Grindo all but said, get lost pukes, I don't
have time for you.
May 5 pm Back before Duffield
resigned, Council met in secret where according to Betty Murphy, water
clerk Duffield admitted to the theivery of public funds and wanted but
two things. One, for this not to be made public and two, for her not to
be sent off to jail.
May 5 pm Well, number 2 hasn't happened
yet.
May 5 pm We'll get to posting
last night's CAZ meeting late this evening.
May 4 am The Communicator made it
to the news stands yesterday afternoon. 28 pages f the best juice 50 cents
can buy. Get him while they're hot!
May 4 am Are you loking for
a job? See CLASSIFIEDS now
May 4 am Today Clay Town Council
meets today at 4 pm as does CAEZ. The full CAEZ Board meets at 6pm
May 4 am Two years ago Town Recorder
Betty Murphy reported an obvious theft in the water account books. Big
Murph said it was plain as black and white. A secret time was called with
Tammy Duffield. A few days later Dyffield resigned. Since then little
has been done to return the money in public
May 4 am That has now changed.
Last Thursday the Town file a suit against Ms Duffield seeking over $6000.
May 4 am Watch for this afternoon's
meeting to be a good one.
May 4 am Keep your eyes open and
watch the various campaign signs go up and then the next day POOOF
they're gone.
May 4 am Who's on which slate? Who
sold out who to get on a slate? The deals are in the works now. Election
2004 is in high gear!
May 3 am Greetings there early morning
clickers. We have a big week of public meetings ahead. Tonight our
School Board meets at 6pm. Tommorrow Clay Town Council convenes at 4 as
does the Economic Development Committee of the CAEZ. The full CAEZ board
meets at 6pm Tuesday evening.
May 3 am More as the week gets going.
May 3 am Care to see some background
on school board candidate Rick Tanner? Click BACKGROUND
to see it all. Did you notice the bio stats that Tanner is a substitute
teacher? Hmmmm, I thought you couldn't be an employee of the school system
and a Board member at the same time?
May 3 am Well you're right. 2 seconds
before Tanner was appointed to the Board, he resigned as a substitute
teacher. Pretty slick don't you think?
May 3 am Here's a link that
shows all the WV candidates and their backgrounds. click SEEN
ENOUGH for now!
May 3 am You might want to book
mark this link, Shows all the stats in the Iraw war. click, NOT
VERY NICE TO LOOK AT.
May 3 am Last week volunteers worked
like dogs to prepare the food for yesterday's HE White Elem school Ramp
Feed. Over 800 people came and spent their money during the annual affair.
The school PTO gained over $7000 from the event. That's the event that
almost didn't happen.
May 3 am Last week the Queen
Shoals area was under a Boil Water Order which forced the volunteers to
haul all the water they used. With the BWO lifted Friday, wouldn't you
think everything would be good to go? Not so. The water supply was so filthy
and dirty, the workers didn't dare take such a gamble and continued to
bring in safe usable water.
May 3 am The Communicator should
be on the news stands around 4pm today!
May 2 am Think RAMPS. See EVENTS
page for the best darn ramp feed in the county! Today! Yum Yum good
May 2 am Before the weekly wrap
up, the Queen Shoals PSD Boil Water Order was lifted two days ago according
to Chair Jim Kearns. It's safe to drink the stuff again
May 2 am And now the week that was
...
May 2 am Last Monday the County
Commission meeting went past quietly. Other than OKing a new Litter Control
Officer ( Dawn Whiteley) with citation powers, nothing remarkable other
than Commissioner Bragg bringing in his recently killed turkey dripping
blood everywhere
May 2 am Despite Commissioner Bragg's
statements Monday, Clay County's own Jerry Bird jumped from the State Road
Asst. top spot over to the WV PSC in Charleston... a much safer job during
this election year.
May 2 am Our online survey revealed
Fran King and Harald Fields are the front runners in the 2004 County Commission
race.
May 2 am Despite our local leaders
saying the educational system is second to none, official stats indicate
our high schools graduates are less than prepared for the rigors of college.
With less than 1/2 actually going to college, almost 50% of those CHS kids
required remedial ed classes just to get started! 30% of the 2002
Clay High grads did not return to studies after their second semester
May 2 am Despite predictions from
the coffee house crowd, preliminary hearings were held for Sam Murphy and
Marty Thompson. In both cases, probable cause was found. Asst. Prosecutor
Barry Keorber bailed out of the Prosecutor's race and took a job in Elkview.
Now what are we going to do until Jan 2005???
May 2 am The Communicator was held
up Friday afternoon with the new publication date set for May 3 around
4 pm
May 2 am Yesterday morning Tudor's
Biscuit World was packed as Supreme Court Justice Warren McGraw passed
thru the county and pressed the flesh. Local hopefuls rubbed elbows and
made the rounds, replaced damaged signs, put up new signs, and went door
to door.
May 2 am And finally, Dubbya's oil
war continued to sour. Pictures were made public of cruel prisoner treatment
in Iraq. Have
a Look.
May 2 am The death toll grew. In
April we lost 113 good strong young men and women. In March 2004, the toll
was 52. To date, 3864 have been seriously wounded. To see the realty of
such, click, Never
the same again. The era of censureship expanded Friday night as the
country was not allowed to see the faces of the 509 Army, 115 Marines,
11 Navy, and 8 Air Force personnel killed in Iraq. You can click, They're
gone.
May 1 am Queen Shoals PSD
customers BOIL YOUR WATER!! This is the 9th day of the Boil Water Order.
May 1 am Big News. Supreme
Court Justice McGraw is planning a visit to Tudor's Biscuit World this
morning between 7:15 and 7:45am. McGraw may be in for the run of his life
with Chamber of Commerce backed Jim Rowe challenging the incumbent.
May 1 am Delegate Dave Perry
is coming to Clay today at 11 am. Perry's expected to bring a $4000 Budget
Digest Grant to WYAP-LP radio station at Two Run. Ahhhh campaign season
in full bloom!
May 1 am Asst. Prosecutor Barry
Keorber let it be known Thursday that he was resigning from the Clay County
Prosecutor's race April 30th. Keorber would have been out of work July
1 due to budget cutbacks. He has taken a job in Elkview with the EMS folks
( we think).
May 1 am Earlier this week,
Paul Dobbins of Procious had his day in Court. Dobbins wanted his water
connection fee returned to him after waiting years for service along his
section of the county. The service never happened. The Court ruled that
Clay Roane PSD does NOT have to return his deposit. Head of the Clay Roane
PSD pack Melissa Postelwait may be the smartest one of the bunch. Postelwait
was band leader for extending water service to the Punkin Ridge area. Last
time we heard, Ms P had not paid her own tap fee!
May 1 am Yesterday in Magistrate
Boggs Court, probable cause was found in the Marty Thompson meth lab case.
Thompson was found to have a meth lab and cultivating pot April 13 2004.
We'll provide full coverage in the next edition of the Communicator ( Monday)
but first some juice.
May 1 am Our new green shirt
in the county , Trooper Richard Stephenson, busted Thompson just 2 days
into his career. Yesterday defense attorney Jerome Novobilski worked on
Stephenson reaaaal hard.... asked every question four different ways trying
to crack open the newbee's testimony. Didn't happen. Stephenson held tight.
Didn't squirm around any either!
May 1 am Don't set at home on your
duff clickers! Be sure to check out the EVENTS page for all
the good stuff going on in the county.