The Greatest Gift...
Local Kiwanians Construct Deck For Heritage Hall Residents

by Brandon Dye
Staff Reporter
      No longer confined to their rooms or the hallways, the residents of Heritage Hall Nursing Home on Slate Creek are now enjoying the great outdoors.
      Up until a few days ago, the residents home on Slate Creek had only the hallways to stroll during their leisure time. And, time outdoors once meant standing just outside the home's backdoors.
      Due to the close proximity to the highway, the residents of Heritage Hall could not go anywhere else for recreation or leisure.
      Heritage Hall Administrator Pat Lambert says it was tough to see all of the residents having no easily accessible place to enjoy the fresh air.
      "They were just cooped up in here all the time," Lambert says. "They could go outside, but there wasn't enough space for them to get out and have the freedom."
      She says she hoped to replace the grassy area with a large deck area for the residents to have more freedom outdoors, as well as enjoying the fresh air and getting out into the sun for a little while.
      The grassy space at the back of the nursing home is sloped downward, Lambert says, which was not easy to maneuver in wheelchairs. Also, if the grass is wet, it can be dangerous for residents to travel farther away.
      "It was very limited for residents," Lambert says. "They had a patio but it had no coverage [for rain and sunshine]."
      After attending a meeting of the Grundy Kiwanis Club, Lambert brought up the subject to the members as a community project, which enthused the members, particularly Grundy Kiwanis member Jon Rife.
      "We were just talking about other projects with him and I just happen to mention it to him," Lambert says. "I said it would be great to have something there [at the nursing home.]"
       Planning for the Heritage Hall Nursing Home deck began in May 2007. And, the group agreed to begin construction with a completion goal of the fall in mind. However, plans fell short and the goal of completion by fall 2007 became impossible.

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.

Coal Haul Road Plan Approved for 2008-09
Over $6.5 Million in Improvement Projects Eyed

by Scotty Wampler
News Editor     
      A paving project at Osborne Mountain and the ongoing Rt. 604 extension effort top the list of road improvements identified in the 2008-09 county Coal Haul Road Plan.
      Around $6.5 million has been allocated for county road projects in the upcoming fiscal year.
      Of the revenue sharing projects approved last week, state routes 604 (road extension) and 629 (one mile of new pavement) both were funded in the amounts of $500,000. Additional roads included in the revenue sharing improvement plan are 643 (Hurley Elementary/Middle School turning lane; $100,000), 610/460 (intersection curve removal; $100,000), 603 (Foxfire, one mile of new pavement; $400,000) and 629 (Aus Keen Mountain, one mile of new pavement; $400,000).
      The revenue sharing projects in the Coal Haul Road Plan total $2 million. The new roads plan was approved during a recent meeting of the board of supervisors on the motion of Knox Supervisor Terry Hall. Prater Supervisor Steve O'Quinn provided the second. Hurricane Supervisor William P. Harris represented the lone vote of dissent. 
      In March the board defined a priority list of revenue sharing projects for the coming year, with the major expenditure being a long-awaited curve removal project on Rt. 80 in Council. The "rockwall curve" project would absorb $1 million, half of the revenue sharing budget. That project, which Harris has long lobbied for, was not included in the final plan.

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.