From Arizona to Alaska, James Rife, formerly of Lester's Fork in Hurley, has made a living of seeking the stories behind things.
  Whether he is researching the wartime experiences of individual veterans or investigating environmental litigation cases, his job as a public historian is more of a thrilling search for truth than the stereotype it provokes in one's mind.
  He recently returned from the latter, where he concluded his research for the U.S. Indian Health Service.
  Just prior, he visited the Apache and Tohono O'odham reservations in Arizona, where he conducted oral histories.
  It's all a part of a history project for the IHS, which will compile its findings in The 1957 IHS Gold Book. Set to be published in 2007, the book spans the U.S. Public Health Service's role in the healthcare of American Indians and Alaska Natives and marks its 50th anniversary.
  The IHS recruited the services of History Associates Incorporated, where Rife works as a historian, to research records at the National Archives, Library of Congress, National Library of Medicine and university archives with Indian health-related records. And, though the records tell a fascinating story, they are incomplete at times, he said. Much of the work of the IHS was carried out in distant rural locations by government and tribal programs, whose work may not have reached the official record system.
  For that reason, Rife says, "You gotta go to where the Indians are. They say that you can't write about Indians without talking to them and that's true."
  When he visited the Apache Reservation at San Carlos and the Tohono O'odham Reservation at Sells and San Xavier in Arizona for the first time, he says one of his initial thoughts was concerning the shards of glass that laid sprinkled across the desert floor.
  It was a curious sight, he says, until he realized the strong sentiments behind them.
  Though reservations were created to provide the American Indians with community-owned homes, they also symbolized the American Indians' struggles against English settlers.
  "It became their prison and that's their method of rebellion against it," he says.
  Regardless of their mixed emotions for the U.S., Rife says those he encountered displayed amazing pride for their heritage and the country where they live.
  "Despite their troubled history with the United States, they're probably some of the most patriotic people I've ever met in my life," he says.

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by Cathy St. Clair
News Editor
  Grover Allen Dales, Jr., who first announced almost a year ago he would seek the Democrat nomination for sheriff, announced Monday he is withdrawing from the race.
  Dales said he had accepted a job with Jewell Smokeless Coal Corporation effective December 29, 2006 and as a result, indicated he would not seek the nomination for sheriff.
  "I think I'm doing the right thing for myself and my family in the long run," Dales said.
  He extended his thanks to the Democrat Party and Chairman Vern Presley, as well as to others who had already expressed their intent to support him in his bid for the Democrat nomination.
  Dales said he would not endorse any of the other remaining candidates for the spot, adding he was not sure who else might come out to seek the nomination.
  "The job with Jewell was just too good to turn down," Dales said.
  "I had a lot of good ideas and things that would have been good for the sheriff's department, and I hope whoever gets in will work with the surrounding counties and the sheriffs there and have good relationships with them in other counties and across state lines."

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  Motorists driving near the Philip Morris headquarters on I-95 north in Richmond may notice a new billboard featuring a speedometer showing the difference between life and death on Highway Safety Corridors.
  This is part of the Virginia Department of Transportation's (VDOT's) 2006-2007 Highway Safety Corridor campaign being carried out with a $200,000 federal safety grant to raise awareness of the corridors.  Three Highway Safety Corridors have been designated on interstates in Virginia since the program's inception in 2003.
  A segment of I-81 from Ironto to Salem and segments of  I-95 in Richmond and I-95 in Prince William County have been identified as Highway Safety Corridors because of their higher-than-expected crash rates and crash severity, including injuries and fatalities. Motorists who speed in Highway Safety Corridors can be fined up to $500. Fines for criminal offenses such as reckless driving or driving under the influence in these corridors could cost as much as $2,500.
  "Highway Safety Corridors have been established to raise awareness and reduce crashes on Virginia 's most crash-prone stretches of interstate," said VDOT Commissioner David S. Ekern. "This is about saving lives. It's going to take enforcement, driver education and engineering working together to reduce the number of crashes."
  Virginia State Police will pay extra attention to enforcing the speed limit in these corridors. Special days of increased enforcement will be announced early next year. 
  Another round of safety corridor awareness advertising will begin in early 2007. Commuter buses traveling through Prince William County 's I-95 corridor and those along I-81 from Roanoke to Blacksburg will carry the same "life and death" speedometer ads advising motorists to use caution in the Highway Safety Corridor. Also, fans attending Virginia Tech home football games in the fall or listening to the statewide Virginia Tech radio network will see and hear reminders about the I-81 Highway Safety Corridor.