Pike Authorities Investigate Shooting of Seven Horses
Three Dead, Four Are Injured

by Cathy St. Clair
News Editor 
  Three horses belonging to a Breaks Stable horse owner are dead and four others are recovering from injuries sustained in nearby Kentucky after they were shot -- some of them multiple times -- last week by an unknown shooter.
  Investigation to find who is responsible for the slaughter is continuing by the Pike County Sheriff's Department.
  Detective Richard Ray said it appeared the horses had been shot with a .22-caliber gun. He said it was unclear at this point whether the weapon used was a handgun or a rifle.
  Trish Hayes, who brings the horses to the stable operated at the Breaks Interstate Park every summer, was alerted by a friend Thursday that something was wrong with her horses when the friend called her to tell her the herd had been moving and come down the mountain sweaty and agitated. She also reported it appeared some of the horses were bleeding.
  Hayes said she went to the home, about six miles away, at the edge of dark Thursday to find a bloody trail of hoof prints leading to the herd. Tire marks indicated the shooter apparently gained access to the site by vehicle.
  Hayes said as she followed the bloody trail, she found some of the horses which had fallen. One had been shot in the gut, another, in the head and one, through the eyes.
  Hayes said her herd -- 28 horses in all -- were wintering on a strip job site at Beaver, Ky., just outside of Elkhorn City, Ky., when seven of them were shot.
  One horse she said had about 15 rounds in it; and another was shot six times. One was shot in the throat and may not live, she added.
  Minx, Odie and Ghost died and Blondie and Moody Blues are still touch and go as to whether they will survive, Hayes said. Two others, Red and Sparky, were also shot, but are expected to survive.
  Hayes complimented the efforts of Pike County, Ky., veterinarian Joey Collins for his efforts to help the horses wounded in the shootings.
  She said the horses have wintered at the Beaver location for the past 17 years.
  Ray said the sheriff's department is investigating the matter and he said the department welcomes information from anyone who might know who is responsible for the shootings. Confidential information may be called in to the sheriff's department at 1-606-432-6260.
  Ray said the area where the horses were being pastured also used to be a landfill, which has since been reclaimed and turned into pastureland.
  "We hope that by getting the word out, someone will know what happened and give us a call," Ray said. "It's such a terrible thing."
  "A lot of people in the community are outraged," Hayes added. "I've never seen anything like this . . . it's beyond cruel."

Attorney Denied Chance to Address DSS Board
Chairman Takes Newspaper to Task for Coverage

by Scotty Wampler
Staff Reporter  
  Tazewell attorney Shea Cook, hoping to address the Buchanan County Department of Social Services Administrative Board Monday night prior to the hiring of a new director, was flatly denied the opportunity to do so.
  "No," Board Chairman and Knox District Board Member Tolbert Prater bluntly stated following Cook's request, adding the board would announce the result of its hiring decision following closed session. Later in the meeting, Prater accused two reporters of publishing erroneous information regarding the board's January 15 meeting.
  "I'd like to have the opportunity as a taxpayer to address the [board] before you go into closed session to decide who the new director is," Cook persisted, after which Prater turned to Board Attorney Verne Presley to ask whether he could allow Cook to speak although he wasn't identified on the meeting agenda.
  "Mr. Chairman, it's certainly up to you," Presley said. "You're the chairman of the meeting."
  "That will be denied," Prater then stated. "We'll go into closed session."
  "I'd like to make an objection and have my objection noted for the record," Cook said firmly. "Had I been offered the opportunity to address the board, I would've challenged the qualifications of the board insofar as the appearance of a conflict as far as the membership of the board. Insofar as the political affiliations of some of the members of this board; and the right of the people of Buchanan County to have a director chosen by a process that is not ripe with political favoritism. I don't live here. I'm a taxpayer in the Commonwealth, and I believe the majority of the funding for this agency comes from the Commonwealth in general."
  Cook continued, "I do have an interest just like every member, every citizen of Buchanan County, to ensure that the best qualified individual serves as the director of this agency and every other agency in the county."
  Cook then made reference to the process of finding a director that stemmed back to last fall when a DSS interview panel compiled a ranked list of candidates for the vacant position, with the board's eventual choice, Judy Holland, reportedly ranked fifth out of five by that panel. Holland was appointed to the position of director on a 5-1-1 vote Monday night (see related story, this issue).
  "This is the third time, or at least the second time, that this process has taken place in order to pick a director," Cook said, "and it seems that the process is being changed in order to get the result that is desired, rather than the result that creates the most qualified individuals, and that's a concern that I have ... a concern that a good number of people in Buchanan County have."
  "Well, let me tell you this," Prater said, "if you wanted to speak, you should've gotten on the agenda."
  "I don't expect the board to consider what I said in the decision-making, but I just wanted, on the record, the nature of my objections," Cook responded.
  Prater; and Hurricane District Board Member Ruby Ratliff Hale both expressed displeasure with Cook's comments, with Hale saying, "I don't appreciate you saying that we aren't qualified." Prater also stated he didn't appreciate Cook's statement regarding the board's political affiliations.
  The board then entered closed session to discuss the applicants for the position, with Prater District Board Member Paul Hayes voting "no" during the roll-call vote taken to enter the closed-door discussion.
  While the board conducted business in closed session, Cook addressed the media in attendance in the waiting area of the county DSS office and further explained his position regarding the process of selecting a director.
  "There was a real effort made to identify a candidate who was qualified," he said, adding there was a "transparent" process last year to find appropriate applicants. "What was wrong with that process?" he asked. "Nobody has offered an explanation as to why that was faulty."
  After approximately 40 minutes, the board re-entered open session and voted to make Holland the director.

Early Retirement Incentive to Be Offered Again
Permanent Adoption of Plan Examined by School Board

by Cathy St. Clair
News Editor  
  An early retirement incentive plan will be offered to school employees again this year due to action approved by the Buchanan County School Board last Tuesday.
  Board members agreed to offer the incentive this year after a motion to implement it on a permanent basis failed.
  In discussing the matter, North Grundy School Board Member Don Newberry said he thought the plan should be considered and South Grundy School Board Member David Thornbury proposed the offering be made permanent.
  Prater School Board Member Bill Crigger said he did not think the board could obligate future boards with the plan by passing a motion to adopt it permanently, however, Thornbury suggested if future boards didn't want it, they could take action to rescind it.
  Crigger said he did not feel comfortable adopting the plan on a permanent basis until the school board attorney, who was not present at that time, agreed the action could be taken by the board.
  Newberry seconded Thornbury's motion to offer it permanently .
  As discussion continued, Knox Chairman Clarence Brown suggested he hoped the motion would fail so the board could bring it up again to offer it for this year and later revisit whether it could be made permanent.
  The motion to make it permanent failed 4-3 with Thornbury, Newberry and Hurricane School Board Member Willie Sullivan voting "yes" and Brown, Crigger, Rocklick School Board Member Rhonda McClanahan and Garden School Board Member Steve Hamro III voting "no."
  The motion to adopt the plan for the current year alone passed unanimously on a motion by Newberry and second by Thornbury.
  The school system's early retirement incentive requires professional staff to have 30 years of experience with 10 years of it in Buchanan County, including the five years immediately preceding retirement. Prospective retirees must also be currently covered by the Virginia Retirement System.
  There are two options offered -- one which allows the employee to receive health insurance until he or she is eligible for Medicare -- or the other which allows employees to age 58 to receive 18 percent of their final salary until the time they reach Medicare eligibility; to age 62, 20 percent of the final salary until the time they reach Medicare eligibility; or to Medicare eligibility, 25 percent of the final salary until they reach Medicare eligibility.
  Employees planning to take advantage of the program must file an application for retirement by May 19.

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