GOP Mass Meeting Set Saturday

  No additional candidates have thrown their hats in the ring with the Buchanan County Republican Party, whose deadline was May 14 for pre-filing for Saturday's GOP mass meeting.
  To date, incumbent Sheriff Ray Foster is the only Republican candidate who has filed for sheriff.
  Tamara Neo has filed to seek the nomination in the race for Commonwealth's Attorney.
  Josephine Blankenship has filed to seek the nomination in the race for commissioner of the revenue.
  Republican supervisor candidates include Terry Hall, Knox; and Steve Hamro III, Garden.
  None are opposed in their bids for the GOP nomination to the offices they are seeking.
  Currently, there are no announced Republican candidates for circuit court clerk, treasurer or supervisor in the Prater, North Grundy, South Grundy, Hurricane or Rocklick districts.
  The Buchanan County Republican Party will select candidates for the November county election at its mass meeting May 19 at 1 p.m.
  The meeting will be held at Riverview Elementary-Middle School, where candidates for constitutional offices and the board of supervisors will be chosen.
  Any offices for which no candidate has pre-filed will be left open until June 12 with hopes of locating a candidate by that time, according to Buchanan County Republican Party Chairman Jerry Lester.
  "We hope to have a full slate of candidates," Lester said.

County to Help Develop Local and Regional Water Supply Plan

by Cathy St. Clair
Special to the Mountaineer  
  Buchanan County will work with its neighbors to develop a local and regional water supply plan.
  Members of the Buchanan County Board of Supervisors agreed to the regional effort last month on a motion by Hurricane Supervisor William P. Harris and second by Knox Supervisor Pat Justus. The vote was unanimous.
  The Virginia General Assembly mandated the development of local and regional water supply plans statewide and the State Water Control Board has developed regulations to implement the planning process.
  Specifically, Buchanan County will work with Dickenson, Russell and Tazewell counties and the towns of Grundy, Clinchco, Clintwood, Haysi, Cleveland, Honaker, Lebanon, Bluefield, Cedar Bluff, Pocahontas, Richlands and Tazewell to develop the plan.
  Grant funds are available to help offset some of the costs incurred by localities related to the development of the plan.
  It is noted that by working together regionally, a sensible approach to developing a water supply plan is possible, adding watershed boundaries do not follow political boundaries. Further it is noted there will likely be cost savings to all participating jurisdictions.
  Buchanan County is required to complete a local water supply plan that fulfills the regulations by November 2, 2009 and a regional water supply plan by November 2, 2011.

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.

Board Suspends Stipulation With UACP to Allow Hiring of Staffer
Resident Says Some Can't Afford Effects of New EMS Ordinance

by Scotty Wampler
News Editor
  A stipulation requiring employees of the University of Appalachia College of Pharmacy to live in Buchanan County was lifted last week to allow for the hiring of a new professor for the school.
  UACP Dean Sue Cantrell approached the board of supervisors asking for an agreement between the county and the school to be forgiven in the case of an applicant who recently sought employment for the position. Cantrell told the board the applicant's wife still needed to complete three years of residency while finishing her education, and the closest location for her to do so based on her particular field of study was the Johnson City area. The commute from Buchanan County and back every day, Cantrell reasoned, would be too great of a burden on the family.
  The applicant, she said, had agreed to make living arrangements somewhere between the county and the Tri-Cities area. She was only asking the board to lift the stipulation, she said, because she felt the college had an opportunity to hire a very high-quality applicant for the position.
  "Is it that hard for us to find faculty?" South Grundy board member Roger Rife asked.
  "I don't think we'll have this quality or caliber of an applicant every day," Cantrell responded.

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.