Coal Heritage Trail Route Proposed for County

by Cathy St. Clair
News Editor
   If all goes as planned, Buchanan County will be added as a part of the Coal Heritage Trail traversing the region, according to members of the Buchanan County Tourism Committee.
   Brian Moore, a member of the committee, noted the 97-mile trail already travels through portions of West Virginia, but plans are being made now to extend it through the coalfield counties of Buchanan, Dickenson, Russell and Tazewell.
  "Right now, we're working on coming up with a proposed route for it," Moore said of how the trail will travel through Buchanan County.
  He noted area residents will be asked for their input on the trail during a public information meeting planned October 26 at 6:30 p.m. in the board of supervisors meeting room of the Buchanan County Courthouse.
  "We plan to have it designed by 2008," Moore said of the trail route through Buchanan County.
  The Coal Heritage Trail is designated as a National Scenic Byway by the Federal Highway Administration.
  Grant funding may be available to allow development along the trail and might include things such as scenic overlooks or stops, Moore said.
  Places in the county which residents think should be included on the trail or designated as places to visit near the trail are what the group is seeking input for next week.
  "Buchanan County is basically the heart of the coalfields," Moore said.
  He said ways to take advantage economically of the tourism potential for the trail should be explored and might include anything from the development of bed and breakfast places along the route to other tourist stops.
  Moore said plans are for tourism committees in Tazewell, Buchanan, Dickenson and Russell counties to meet in mid-November to come up with proposed routes through those counties.
  "It's an opportunity that will benefit not just Buchanan County, but it may benefit individual property owners who want to make a small income on the side," Moore said, referring to their potential to display crafts or woodworking skills at locations along the trail.
  A website on the trail as it now is in West Virginia gives an overview of it and urges visitors to "experience life in the coal camps and to see the physical remnants of the coal boom," which it states "furthered the industrialization of America."
  Visitors are also urged to tour the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine and to visit Bramwell before going on the trail described as a scenic byway. Currently, visitors are directed to visit Bluestone Lake, the Twin Falls State Park, Pinnacle Rocks State Park and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. they are also given information on Camp Creek State Forest, south of Beckley, WV; the New River Gorge, R.D Bailey Lake and the Welch, WV Courthouse and World War I memorial.

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Board Lends Support to Breaks Cabin Plan

by Scotty Wampler
Staff Reporter 
  An effort to build five upscale cabins at Laurel Lake in the Breaks Interstate Park got a nod of approval from the Buchanan County Board of Supervisors last Thursday.
  The board unanimously passed a resolution in favor of the project.
  A total of $1.4 million is being sought for the construction, with half of those funds already secured thanks to the Dickenson County IDA, according to Breaks Park Manager Carl Mullins.
  The park commission is attempting to secure the remaining funds from the Virginia Coalfields Economic Development Authority.
  "They're going to be really nice cabins," Mullins said.
  According to the resolution, the cabins are expected to provide accommodations for large groups of eight to 10 people, as well as provide as many as 10 seasonal jobs and two permanent full time positions.
  Mullins said the funding will allow for the construction of five initial cabins and the infrastructure for an additional five, which he hopes to secure funds for in the near future.
  The commission is currently looking at log cabin and cedar siding-type cabins, he added. Most of the cabins will provide three or four bedrooms each, he said.
  Construction will begin as soon as the project is advertised for bid and awarded, Mullins said, which will occur immediately following the acquisition of the remaining funds.
  The board is confident the project will be an additional drawing card for visitors to the region, according to the resolution.

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Board Urged to 'Put Politics Aside' in Hiring of DSS Director
Tazewell Attorney Addresses Supervisors; No Action Taken

by Cathy St. Clair
News Editor
   The need to put politics aside in selecting the next director of the Buchanan County Department of Social Services and a request to publicly disclose the results of interviews with the candidates was requested earlier this month by Tazewell Attorney Shea Cook.
  Prefacing his remarks to the Buchanan County Board of Supervisors by noting he is not a Buchanan County resident, but that he is a taxpayer and regularly works with social services in his caseload, Cook  told board members the next DSS director should be chosen on the basis of who is most qualified
  He asked board members to disclose the results of the interviews conducted with candidates and he further suggested the board needed to follow a ranking decided by that interview committee in making the recommendation on who should be hired for the post.
  Cook said as he understood it, the top three candidates being considered by the board included long-time social services employee Tammy Fields; Judy Holland, who is the wife of former DSS Director Tom Holland, who is currently a member of the DSS Advisory Board, but who has indicated he will step aside if his wife is chosen for the post; and a candidate from Gate City.
  “Whoever is the most qualified ought to be recommended to W.J. Caudill (the county administrator and administrative board for the department), who makes the decision,” Cook said.
  In asking for the release of the rankings and interview results, Cook suggested the taxpayers and the voters “need to know if you’ve selected . . . recommended . . . the most qualified individual.”
  Cook said if the board of supervisors strayed from the rankings provided them by the interview committee, then the public needed to know the criteria the board used in overriding that ranking.

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