Buchanan Bar Association Holds Service to Remember Pat Hale

by Cathy St. Clair
News Editor
  The life and work of retired Judge Pat B. Hale was remembered last Thursday during a memorial service hosted at the Appalachian School of Law by the Buchanan County Bar Association.
  Bar Association President Janice Davis served as moderator of the brief program and presented Hale’s daughters, Commonwealth Attorney Sheila Tolliver and Teresa Seitz, with an engraved silver plate memorializing his years of service. Also in attendance was Hale’s brother, Bob.
  Grundy Attorney Tom Scott gave the invocation, remembering Hale for his commitment to the law and his service on the bench to the people of Buchanan County as a general district court judge.
  He asked for comfort for the family present and for friends as well.
  Long-time Grundy Attorney H.A. Street addressed the gathering, remembering when he first met Hale.  
  “It’s a real honor to be here,” he said. Street said he remembered Hale from the time Hale was a boy of age 10 or 12, noting the two met at church camp. 
  And he said when Hale came back from law school, he began practicing law in the office in which Street, F.H. Combs and Rink Combs were located.
  “He was an interesting person and he had a wonderful sense of humor,” Street said. “He never bragged or boasted.”
  Later, Hale became a district judge and sat on the bench in Buchanan County.
  He served his country in Korea and was trained as a motorcycle rider, Street said, remembering a time when Hale came back to Grundy and showed people a thing or two about how to ride a motorcycle.
  “He had a dry wit,” he said.
  Street noted there was a bond between attorneys that made them extended family in the community.
  “Pat was always very quiet and didn’t have a lot to say, but he was a man with deep feelings and assets when you got to know him,” Street said. “While we are not members of a blood family here today, we are members of his law family and we have sorrow at his loss and we also grieve his passing.”

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New Principals Named, 2 Transferred
Board Approves Retirement for 21 Veteran Educators

by Cathy St. Clair
News Editor
   Two new principals were named and two others were transferred last Wednesday during a meeting of the Buchanan County School Board.
  Sandra Sue Cook, the student coordinator at Buchanan County Technology and Career Center, was named the new principal at that school, replacing Sue Dotson, who retired.
  Sandra Cole, principal at J.M. Bevins Elementary School was transferred back to Twin Valley Elementary-Middle School as principal to replace Harris Crumpton, who retired.
  Deborah Estep, principal at Council High, was transferred to J.M. Bevins to replace Cole.
  Karen Taylor, a biology teacher at Council High, was transferred to the principal’s post at Council, replacing Estep.
  The personnel issues approved at Wednesday’s meeting were all “approved as presented” with little discussion and none of the names were announced during the meeting.
  After this newspaper suggested that those in the room attending the meeting might like to know what was being approved since they did not have the benefit of an agenda packet with the names in them, the board agreed to make a list available after they were approved.
  Additional transfers approved saw Vicki Stacy moved from the central office technology supervisor post to Grundy High School as a teacher and saw Shelia Hess reassigned from the central office data coordinator and financial assistant post, to include new duties as technology supervisor.
  Other transfers okayed saw Holly Stacy moved from J.M. Bevins Elementary to Hurley Elementary-Middle; Mary Davis and Miranda Blankenship, both from Russell Prater Elementary to Riverview; Rhonda Seitz, from Riverview to Grundy High; Scott Embrey, from Riverview to Hurley Elementary-Middle; Angela Cooper from Riverview to Grundy High; and Bill Christian from Grundy High to the BCTCC new EMT program.
  Several resignations were accepted, including those from Chastity Robinson, art, at Twin Valley Elementary-Middle; Meranda Graves, chemistry, at Grundy High; and Orpha Woods, nursing at BCTCC.
  It was noted a resignation received from Greg Rowe, as head coach of the Grundy football program had been withdrawn and that Rowe would continue in that position for the coming school year.

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Scholl Board Allows Company to Withdraw Bid on Company Paving
Project Goes to Next Low Bidder

by Cathy St. Clair
News Editor
   After some discussion, members of the Buchanan County School Board agreed to allow a paving contractor to withdraw his bid for paving jobs at Council.
  The action came last Wednesday during a meeting of the board during which a letter from Carl Vandyke Jr., of Vandyke Construction, asking to be relieved from the paving job was considered. In support of his request, he said he had “unknowingly made a mistake in figuring the cost of the job.”
  In a letter to the board, Vandyke noted he had been experiencing extreme pressure due to illness and the death of his father. He asked the board to consider releasing him from his award as the low bidder on the project.
  School Board Attorney Tom Scott told board members they had several options: one being to relieve Vandyke of the contract award and to award the bid to the next lowest bidder; two, to refuse to relieve Vandyke from the bid and to require him to do the paving;  or three, to file a demand on his performance bond if he declined to do the work
  South Grundy School Board Member David Thornbury asked on how many jobs  Vandyke was the low bidder, noting to his recollection it was four or five.
  “Is he cancelling the other three,” he asked.
  It was noted he only asked to be relieved of the Council bid.
  “So, he’s just cherry picking projects?” Thornbury asked.
  Prater School Board Member Bill Crigger said he knew Vandyke’s father had died and he made the motion to relieve Vandyke of the project and to award it to the next lowest bidder.
  It was noted that the difference in the two bids was $4,060.
  Hurricane School Board Member Willie Sullivan seconded the motion.
  North Grundy School Board Member Don Newberry said he had sympathy for Vandyke, but asked if the board let Vandyke out of the low bid, what would the board do the next time a contractor found he had underbid a project.
  “It goes back to comments made on other decisions,” Crigger said. “I guess, case by case.”
  In the case at hand, Crigger said he knew Vandyke’s situation.

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