Buchanan Group Eyes Uses for Old Whitewood Building
RDA Officials Tour School

by Cathy St. Clair
News Editor  
  When Belinda Honaker looks at the old Whitewood Elementary School, what she sees are the possibilities.
   A community center, a daycare center, an assisted living home, even a bowling alley . . .  or  maybe even all four might co-exist under the same roof, Honaker said when talking about the project possibilities.
   Developing those possibilities into a concrete plan of action is not only something she’s been thinking about, but something she is actively working toward with the help of others in the Whitewood community including her husband, Alan; sister, Judy Horn; and other members of Buchanan Youth Outreach, Inc., a three-year-old non-profit organization.
   Last Thursday, representatives of the Rural Development Association and the Cumberland Plateau Planning District met onsite with Honaker and BYO representatives to discuss the possibilities and to determine what steps need to be taken to turn them into reality.
   Sally Hammer and Gary Farmer, of the RDA, walked through the building with local supporters to get a firsthand look at its condition and to hear Honaker and BYO plans for the building.
   Gerald Collins, maintenance supervisor for the Buchanan County Public School System, said the building is structurally sound, although he told RDA officials it needed a new roof.
   Hammer and Farmer both indicated that it would also need to be determined the amount of asbestos present and what part of the building is in the flood zone.
   Hammer noted that to make the project a success, the group needs to do several things and one of the first, she said is getting the Buchanan County Industrial Development Authority behind the project as the loan and grant applicant. Due to the relatively young age of the non-profit organization, she said, any applications were more likely to be successful in the county’s name and a lease-management agreement could then be worked out between the county and BYO, she suggested.
   The group is currently working with the IDA under the understanding they have at least a year to try to find a use for the building,  but is on notice that in the event the county finds a business interested in locating at the site, then BYO’s involvement would end.
   In considering the overall proposal, Hammer said with the county’s endorsement, a block grant and RDA money might be available for the assisted living component; RDA money might be available for the day care center component and she said money for a feasibility study might also be available.
   “The first thing you have to have is a feasibility study,” Hammer said, “especially for the assisted living piece. No one will fund that without proving that there is a market for it.”
   Hammer said the key thing BYO volunteers need to realize about the process is that it will take a lot of time, a lot of effort and ultimately, a lot of money to make the renovations needed to the old building.
   “I’m telling you the reality,” she said.
   Hammer added that a project the magnitude of what BYO is talking is likely to cost in excess of $10 million.
   Honaker said she realized it would be costly, adding a contractor who had already looked at the old building for the group had suggested it would likely take about $3.5 million just to get the building up to code. That cost, she said, would including a new roof, electrical and furnace work.
   Hammer said most of the projects in which RDA is involved were now costing in excess of $100 per square foot. Buchanan County Economic Development Director Craig Horn, who was also present for the building walk-through and meeting, noted that building costs had gone up more than 100 percent of what they were three years ago.
   “If you feel this is something the community will support, then we’re gonna try to do it,” Hammer said. “You have to prove to us that it is a project you’re going to stick with and do, but you can’t do a project of this magnitude without local government and state government support. It’s a great concept and would be wonderful to do. It’s a nice old building and it needs to be preserved.”

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.  

Area Man Convicted of Illegal Dumping

   A Wolford man was recently convicted of illegal trash dumping after failing to clean up a dump site where he allegedly disposed of several large household items.
   Herbert Belcher, 29, dumped nearly "half a load" of household appliances and furniture, including a couch, according to county Litter Officer Richard Lee.
   "Basically what the guy did was clean his house out," Lee alleged.
    While patrolling the area in August, Lee noticed the offending dump near the former D.A. Justus Elementary School site at Hurley. He immediately confronted Belcher about the incident.
   "I warned him about it," Lee said, adding Belcher was allegedly given two weeks to clean up the dump site to avoid charges being filed. Lee said Belcher was warned a summons would be issued if the problem wasn't taken care of. Upon returning to the area two weeks and one day later, Lee said the site still had not been cleaned up. Belcher said he "hadn't had time," according to Lee.
   Illegal dumping charges were then filed against Belcher on August 16 for failing to comply with Lee's request that he clean up the site. Belcher failed to appear at his court hearing last Thursday, where he was convicted of the charge and fined $250 plus court costs, Lee said.
   Lee said fines for illegal dumping in Buchanan County will likely increase soon, considering the board of supervisors this year voted to allow civil charges to be applied for those offenses. Those cases, when filed, will carry a fine of up to $5,000, according to Lee.
   In addition, cameras are being installed in "hot spots" around the county in an attempt to catch illegal dumpers, he said.
   "The county really wants these places cleaned up," he added.

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.