SwVCC Officials Hope to Seat New Prexy by May

by Scotty Wampler
Staff Reporter 
  Southwest Virginia Community College should have a new president in place by May, college officials announced at a press conference Friday.
  Dr. William Snyder, former president of Wytheville Community College, is serving as interim president until a replacement is found for the retired Dr. Charles King.
  In a recent visit to the college, Virginia Community College System Chancellor Glenn DuBois reviewed the process for selecting a new president and invited the college community to identify the college's top priorities over the next five years. Those priorities were incorporated into advertisements that announced the position to potential candidates in national media, including the Chronicle for Higher Education and the Community College Times.
  A search committee is being formed consisting of three members of the SwVCC board, two community college presidents and several vice presidents and other senior system staff. The committee will then screen and conduct interviews with potential candidates and recommend a number of semi-finalists to DuBois.
  After thorough background checks, the State Board for Community Colleges will certify three to five finalists, who will visit the campus for final interviews. The tentative schedule for finalists to visit the college to meet with faculty, staff, students and the community, as well as interview with the College Board, is April 26-27.
  Snyder said the candidate "meet-and-greet" events will be held individually, and the public is welcome to attend.
  Around 80 applications are expected for the position, Snyder added, with the list being quickly trimmed to 40 or 50 after it is determined which applicants meet the minimum qualifications.
  A final candidate is expected to be selected and announced in early to mid-May.
  Snyder, having assumed the role of interim president January 3, said he is happy to assist SwVCC in its search for permanent leadership.
  "It's been very interesting for me to follow in the footsteps of Dr. Charles King," Snyder said. "It's been my pleasure to be selected to serve as interim president."
  Before May, Snyder said he hopes to finish various projects already underway at the college, and create a smooth transition to the next president.

School Board Taps Brown as Chairman; McClanahan, Vice Chair

by Cathy St. Clair
News Editor  
  Knox District School Board Member Clarence Brown Jr. was named chairman of the Buchanan County School Board Tuesday during the re-organizational meeting of the board.
  Rocklick District School Board Member Rhonda McClanahan was named the vice chairman.
  Brown was chosen as chairman by unanimous vote on a motion by Prater School Board Member Bill Crigger and a second by Hurricane School Board Member Willie Sullivan.
  In selecting a vice chairman, South Grundy School Board Member David Thornbury made a motion to name North Grundy School Board Member Don Newberry as vice chairman.
  Garden School Board Member Steve Hamro III made a motion to name McClanahan as vice chairman.
  A roll call vote saw Crigger, Hamro, McClanahan, Sullivan and Brown vote for McClanahan and Thornbury and Newberry vote for Newberry.
  Newberry congratulated McClanahan on her selection as vice chairman.
  Brown accepted the chairman’s post, telling fellow board members he appreciated the opportunity to serve and further that he appreciated the past efforts of chairmans before him.
  Specifically, he recognized the past chairmanships of Hamro, Sullivan and Crigger.
  “I’d like to see the board this year step forward to do things for the children,” Brown said. “I’d like to see it move forward.”
  He cited a list of past accomplishments by the board in the past three years, including the passage of a drug testing policy, improved salary scales for school personnel, building project accomplishments, new buses including activity buses, a new and improved attendance policy, science labs, playground equipment, computers, a better retirement plan, improved coach and bus driver salaries, and networking of computers at the schools.
  “Sometimes we get a lot of comments, but I think by accentuating the positive, you will see the board over three years has done a tremendous job,” Brown said.

For more of the story, see the print edition of the Mountaineer, on sale at newsstands now.  To subscribe to the Mountaineer, call 276-935-2123 today.

Hurley Medical Clinic Bid Awarded... Again
Supervisors Clear Up Funding, Federal Terminology Issues

by Cathy St. Clair
News Editor  
  A bid to construct the Hurley Medical Clinic was awarded again Monday and members of the board of supervisors agreed unanimously to increase the amount of gap funding the county is willing to provide on the project to a total of $126,000.
  The project was recently rebid a third time and negotiated after it was rejected the first time as too high and awarded a second time after negotiations. The second bid award was then rescinded after it became apparent language related to federal wages required by a federal grant received for the project had not been included in the bid specs. The project was then re-advertised and bids sought again.
  J&J Contractors, who had already started work on the project after the second bid was awarded to the company, halted work on the project at the county's request until the formal bid process could be completed again.
  J&J won the bid the third time around with a negotiated bid of $675,812.68.
  J&J was the only bidder in the third round of bidding.
  A $550,000 federal grant was received for the project, leaving gap funding of some $126,000. The supervisors had previously agreed to spend up to $95,000 of county money on the project, but Monday's action increased that amount to $126,000.
  Assistant County Attorney Lee Moise noted the negotiated bid was a little higher than the last time, due to increases in building material costs which have continued to climb during the period in question from advertisement to award.
  Moise noted the county would check to see if there was a possibility of any other type of grant funding being secured for the project to provide the gap funding needed before the county expends funds of its own.

For more of the story, see the print edition of the Mountaineer, on sale at newsstands now.  To subscribe to the Mountaineer, call 276-935-2123 today.