Chamber Banquet Tickets Now On Sale

by Cathy St. Clair
News Editor  
  Tickets for this year’s Buchanan County Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet which will feature Dr. Carl Hurley, dubbed "America's funniest professor," as the guest entertainer are on sale now at the chamber.
  The number of tickets still available is limited, so those planning to attend are urged to reserve their tickets with the chamber now.
  This year’s annual banquet is planned for Thursday, December 7 and will be held at Riverview Elementary-Middle School.
  Dinner will begin at 6:30 p.m. to be followed by the 2006 induction of the Buchanan County Hall of Fame nominee and the naming of the 2006 citizen volunteer of the year and chamber volunteer of the year.
  Tickets are $25 each, which includes dinner and the entertainment by Hurley to follow.
  Hurley grew up in the Appalachian mountains of Eastern Kentucky and now resides in Lexington, Ky.
  Hurley believes humor is the best carrier for his message.
  He holds a bachelor of science degree and a master’s degree in industrial education from Eastern Kentucky University and a doctorate in education from the University of Missouri.
  A short biographical sheet on Hurley noted he spent several years as an educator in Kentucky and for eight years was a professor of education at EKU at which time he also coordinated the university’s secondary education program.
  He became a full-time speaker and entertainer several years ago and has been featured on what was formerly the Nashville Network; and has made numerous appearances on the Bill Gaither Homecoming Series and Public Television.
  His humor is heard regularly on the XM Satellite Network on Channel 151.
  He holds the professional designation of Certified Speaking Professional and was inducted by his peers into the National Speakers Association CPAE Speakers Hall of Fame. He has also been inducted into the EKU Alumni Hall of Fame and received an honorary doctorate from EKU.
  Ticket information is available by calling the chamber at 276-935-4147.

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.  

Pre-Hearing Conference Set On CONSOL Discharge Permit

   A pre-hearing conference to consider issues likely to be raised at an administrative review hearing on whether the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy erred in its decision to grant CONSOL Energy a permit to discharge mine water from the Buchanan No. 1 mine into the Levisa River at Poetown is set for Wednesday, November 29.
  The pre-hearing conference will be held at DMME's offices in Big Stone Gap and is scheduled to get underway at 10 a.m.
  Nine petitions formally contested the decision.
  At the pre-hearing conference, DMME Public Information Officer Mike Abbott said, the hearing officer, Thomas J. McCarthy, a Pulaski attorney, will address the issues and questions to be raised at the formal hearing and determine the format for that hearing. The pre-hearing conference will also facilitate the exchange of witness and exhibit lists between the parties.
  Once the issue gets to the formal administrative hearing stage, Abbott noted those who requested the formal hearing will be allowed to present their cases to the hearing officer as to why they think DMME erred in its decision to grant the permit.
  "The hearing is not like the informal meeting we held earlier and is not an opportunity for anybody to just come in and speak," Abbott said previously.
  The petitioners who filed to contest the DMME action to grant the discharge permit include the Tom Mullins for the Town of Grundy; Lee Moise and Mickey McGlothlin for Buchanan County; Grundy Attorney Mickey McGlothlin as an individual; Gentry, Locke, Rakes and Moore on behalf of the Big Vein Companies; Jeannie Keen, of Vansant;  Commonwealth Attorney Sheila Tolliver; Venable LLP on behalf of Wellmore Coal Company, LLC; and Brian Buniva, of LeclairRyan on behalf of CONSOL.
  Those individuals and companies will be afforded an opportunity to speak at the hearing.
  DMME will be represented in the proceedings by Assistant Attorney General Sharon Pigeon.
  "There will be testimony taken and witnesses can be cross-examined," Abbott previously explained of the administrative hearing procedure.
  Anyone else wishing to speak who has not already filed an appeal may still file a petition to intervene all the way up until the day of the proceedings, Abbott said.
  The petition must include a statement as to why the person asking to intervene has an interest in the outcome and where required, a showing of why his or her interest is or may be adversely affected.
  Petitions to intervene may be mailed to DMME, c/o Gavin Bledsoe, P.O. Drawer 900, Big Stone Gap, VA 24219.

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.