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ASL
OFFICIALS
learned
this
week
that
the
law
school
has
been
granted
full
accreditation.
From
left,
(front)
are
Retired
Judge
Nicholas
Persin,
outgoing
chairman
of
the
board
of
trustees;
President
Lu
Ellsworth;
Incoming
Chairman
of
the
Board
of
Trustees/Grundy
Mayor,
Roger
Powers;
and
(back)
Charlie
Ellis,
Roger
Rife
and
Dawneda
Williams,
trustees. |
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ASL
Earns
Full
Accreditation
Law
School
Learns
Its
Application
Is
Approved;
Community
Applauded |
by
Cathy
St.
Clair
News
Editor |
|
The
Appalachian
School
of
Law
got
the
news
it
was
hoping
for
Monday
when
Dean
Jeffrey
Kinsler
received
a
call
from
the
American
Bar
Association
informing
him
ASL
has
been
granted
full
accreditation.
"Obviously,
this
is
the
most
important
day
in
the
law
school’s
history
and
it
gives
us
something
to
continue
to
build
upon
for
the
future,"
Kinsler
said.
"It’s
all
due
to
the
hard
work
of
countless
people
.
.
.
students,
faculty,
staff,
the
community.
It’s
been
a
long
process
and
it’s
very,
very
good
news."
The
news
was
what
law
school
officials
had
been
hoping
for
after
learning
in
late
April
that
the
ABA
Accreditation
Committee
had
recommended
ASL
be
granted
full
approval.
Still,
the
recommendation
did
not
become
official
until
this
past
weekend
after
a
vote
was
taken
by
the
ABA’s
Council
of
the
Section
on
Legal
Education
and
Admissions
to
the
Bar.
On
Sunday,
the
decision
was
finalized
and
accreditation
for
the
Southwest
Virginia
school
became
official.
Within
moments
of
learning
the
news
via
telephone,
it
was
posted
on
the
ASL
website.
The
message
was
simple:
"We
are
very
pleased
to
announce
that
the
Appalachian
School
of
Law
was
granted
full
accreditation
by
the
American
Bar
Association
on
June
12,
2006."
What
it
means
is
that
ASL,
which
has
been
provisionally
accredited
since
academic
year
2000-2001,
is
fully
accredited
and
as
a
result,
any
bar
association
in
the
country
looking
at
an
ASL
graduate’s
transcript
knows
that
graduate
has
completed
a
course
of
study
in
accordance
with
ABA
guidelines
and
requirements.
Further,
full
accreditation
is
a
sign
that
the
institution
as
a
whole
meets
ABA
guidelines
in
many
different
categories
upon
which
law
schools
across
the
country
are
judged
as
well.
It
is
viewed
as
a
mature
and
stable
step
that
law
schools
take
and
puts
them
in
the
category
of
becoming
nationally
rated
and
recognized
by
national
employers
and
law
firms,
according
to
Joe
Wolfe,
a
member
of
the
ASL
board
of
trustees.
"We’ve
now
got
that
stamp
of
approval,
Wolfe
said,
adding
that
achieving
full
accreditation
was
"really
a
dream
come
true."
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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.
|
3
Coal
Companies
File
Suit
Against
DMME
Action
Alleges
Agency
Hasn't
Followed
Its
Own
Rules
|
by
Cathy
St.
Clair
News
Editor |
|
Three
area
coal
companies
have
filed
suit
against
the
Virginia
Department
of
Mines,
Minerals
and
Energy
seeking
a
writ
of
mandamus
and
injunctive
relief
related
to
a
discharge
permit
filed
by
CONSOL
now
pending
before
that
state
agency.
The
complaint,
filed
Tuesday
afternoon
in
Buchanan
Circuit
Court
by
Ben
Street
for
Buchanan
Coal
Company
LLP,
Sayers
Pocahontas
Coal
Company
LLP
and
Yukon
Pocahontas
Coal
Company
LLP,
asks
the
court
to
compel
DMME
and
the
Division
of
Mined
Land
Reclamation
(DMLR)
to
discharge
their
statutory
and
regulatory
duties.
At
issue
is
the
manner
in
which
the
permit
was
filed
and
subsequently,
the
manner
in
which
a
May
informal
conference
on
that
permit
was
conducted
by
the
state
agency.
The
complaint
filed
Tuesday
suggests
DMLR
has
failed
to
enforce
its
own
rules
and
regulations
by
allegedly
failing
to
require
CONSOL
to
file
a
complete
copy
of
its
permit
application
with
the
Buchanan
County
Clerk’s
office
and
by
failing
to
require
CONSOL
to
file
all
amendments.
"The
absence
of
these
documents
at
the
local
level,
combined
with
the
DMLRs
failure
to
file
copies
of
previously
submitted
written
objections,
has
rendered
the
informal
conference
conducted
on
May
23,
2006,
a
procedural
nullity
and
wholly
ineffective
for
the
purpose
for
which
it
was
intended,"
the
complaint
alleges.
"The
DMLR
is
required
by
law
to
record
the
informal
conference.
.
.;
it
is
required
by
law
to
file
copies
of
written
objections
with
the
local
clerk’s
office;
it
is
mandated
by
law
to
require
applicants
to
observe
and
obey
its
regulations,
including
filing
complete
applications,
as
amended
with
the
local
clerk’s
office.
The
DMLR
has
failed
and/or
refused
to
perform
its
duties."
Specifically,
the
complaint
filed
asks
for
the
court
to
compel
DMME
to
"properly
advertise
and
reconvene
the
informal
conference
in
the
permit
application
process
at
issue."
It
also
requests
that
CONSOL
be
required
to
file
a
complete
copy
of
its
permit
application,
as
amended,
with
the
local
clerk’s
office
prior
to
the
informal
conference
and
for
DMME
to
be
compelled
to
record,
in
its
totality,
the
reconvened
informal
conference.
Further,
it
asks
the
court
to
require
DMME
to
file
a
copy
of
all
written
objections
filed
with
DMLR
within
30
days
of
the
conclusion
of
the
initial
four-week
public
notice
period
at
the
Buchanan
County
Clerks
office.
|
|
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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. |
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to the
Mountaineer
today
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