When Sandy McCracken was a girl growing up in Hurley, Santa Claus didn't visit her house.
  "We didn't have anything at Christmas time," McCracken says. "We didn't even have a Christmas tree."
  Through the years, her memories of those times have reminded her to consider those less fortunate during the holiday season.
  "I had a really hard time with that as I'm sure a lot of poor children do," she says. "I just didn't understand why Santa visited other people's houses, but he didn't visit mine."
  And while she still recalls watching the members of her extended family opening their presents, McCracken says she hasn't held it against jolly old St. Nick.
  As a cheerful old man who delivers gifts to good little boys and girls while they're fast asleep on Christmas Eve, she says he has come to symbolize everything that is right about the season of giving.
  Today, she is the proud owner of almost 70 Santa Claus figurines.
  After her son D.J. was born in 1987, McCracken's holiday spirit was slowly awakened. But, it all started the year before his birth.
  In December 1986 as her pregnant belly grew, she remembers her unborn son's gifts neatly wrapped and lying under the tree. For some reason, that memory sticks out in her mind and brings a smile to her face whenever she thinks of it.
  The next year, those happy memories grew as she watched her son's bright eyes staring at the twinkling Christmas lights and colorful presents.
  One Christmas, she recalls, just before D.J.'s uncle was to arrive as Kris Kringle, a plane flew overhead with its red flashing light shining. The child was ecstatic at the sight of that red light, believing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was guiding Santa's sleigh to his house.

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.

by Cathy St. Clair
News Editor
  Buchanan County School Board members agreed last Monday to seek bids for the replacement of a failed retaining wall on the J.M. Bevins Elementary School property.
  Board members okayed a resolution seeking bids for replacement of the wall and further okayed language which will allow the school system to negotiate with the low bidder on the project.
  The motion to approve seeking bids on the project was made by South Grundy School Board Member David Thornbury and was seconded by North Grundy School Board Member Don Newberry. The vote was unanimous.
  Board members also agreed to accept a low bid for replacement windows at Council High, Grundy High and Hurley High from Holston Glass Company. The combined bid was for a total of $1,039,538, which was $123,462 below the school board estimate. Holston Glass was the only bidder on the project.
  Knox School Board Member Clarence Brown made the motion to accept the low bid and Prater School Board Member Bill Crigger made the second. The vote was unanimous.

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.

by Cathy St. Clair
News Editor  
  Work on the six-year road plan is already underway, but it is unlikely a single project will be added to the plan in the Bristol District, Commonwealth Transportation Board Member James Keen told members of the Buchanan County Board of Supervisors last week.
  Keen noted the Bristol District had 82 percent of its funds coming from the federal government and tied to specific projects, with the state providing the remaining 18 percent of funding for projects identified in the plan.
  A big part of those funds, he said, represent Appalachian Regional Commission monies earmarked for the Coalfields Expressway.
  The lack of change in road funding, he said, comes at a time when buying power has decreased by 40 percent since 1946; when the number of licensed drivers has increased 34 percent; and when the percentage of vehicle miles traveled has increased 79 percent or more. At the same time, he said, usage of mass transit services has also increased.
  As the General Assembly convenes next month, Keen added, "this is an important time for us as they look at the situation and address it."
  South Grundy Chairman Roger Rife said one of the things he could not understand was something he had read recently regarding the gas tax and comments that consumption has gone down.
  "It's hard for me to believe that gas consumption is down," Rife said.
  Keen said the bottom line is that VDOT as a whole needs more maintenance money.
  He added that snow removal is only a small part of what the department does and he also noted he was pleased at recent changes in the original state streamlining plan which will now see the Big Rock area headquarters office remain open.
  In other business, board members agreed to accept a low bid of $39,885.85 from J&J Contractors for work on Beninger Road. The bid was within 10 percent of the engineering estimate for the road.
  Board members also heard from Contractor Carey Addison and property owners  regarding a drainage issue on the former bowling alley property now owned by Noah Horn Well Drilling.
  They indicated to the board they were open to suggestions on how to handle the drainage issue which apparently turned water over on the Horn property when an earthen berm was created alongside the road.
  In the end, board members took no action, after Assistant County Attorney Lee Moise suggested the matter involved what appeared to him to be a private property dispute; however, they did refer the group to Virginia Department of Transportation Resident Engineer Conrad Hill to determine if the road fell under state jurisdiction.