27

LOUISVILLE, KY. (AP) —Arch Coal Inc. says it willscale back operations at twocoal miningcomplexes inKentucky andV i r g i n i a ,trimming thework force bymore than100.

The St.Louis-basedcompany saidFriday thecutbacks willaffect theCumberlandRiver andHazard mining complexes.

Company spokeswomanKim Link said the decisionwas due to “ongoing coal mar-ket challenges.”

She said the curtailed oper-ations will cost about 110 jobs— about 65 of them companypositions and the rest contrac-tor jobs not controlled byArch.

The Cumberland Rivermining complex is in WiseCounty and Letcher County,Ky. The Hazard Mining com-plex is in Perry County, Ky.

Link says those eligibleworkers who are laid off willbe offered severance pack-ages.

She says the two complex-es still employ nearly 500workers. u

KATIE DUNNSTAFF WRITER

WISE — County CommonwealthAttorney Ron Elkins remembers whenthere “used to be a lot of fuss” because onebusiness in Wise County sold syntheticdrugs.

That business model has now expanded.Elkins said last Friday that 11 stores coun-tywide now sell synthetic drugs, primarilysynthetic marijuana. It’s a growing trendthat law enforcement and county officialsdesperately want to stop.

State law bans certain chemical com-pounds found in synthetic marijuana and so-called “bath salts.” Manufacturers have cir-cumvented these restrictions by removingbanned compounds and substituting themfor others not listed in the statute, leaving

law enforcement little legal recourse. Elkins hopes when Virginia’s General

Assembly reconvenes in January it will takesteps toward approving an approach nowused by the federal government that makesit illegal to manufacture or use any drugthat mimics another. Elkins cannot prose-cute violations of federal law, only local andstate laws. The only instance when the fed-eral statute might apply is if the FederalBureau of Investigation or DrugEnforcement Administration decided to

Coal Country Classic ride was Sunday.Cyclists tackled hills and braved heat!Virginia-Kentucky’s 100th fair over.But Best Friend festival this week.Six more days of events await!Be sure to check them all out.Battle of the bands tonight.Sr. citizens day tomorrow.

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’tstop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.

— Ferris Bueller, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

d Felon rightsGov. Bob McDonnell announced thathe will automatically restore civilrights to non-violent felons who haveno pending felony charges uponcompletion of their sentence, proba-tion or parole, and upon payment ofall court costs, fines, restitution, andcompletion of court-ordered condi-tions. Read more about McDonnell’sdecision on page 2.

d Movie NightRainy weather and wet grass forcedthe town of Wise yesterday to cancelits first summer movie night. Weather-permitting, the movie “The Lorax” willbe shown tonight starting around8:30 p.m. at Big Glades CommunitySquare.

d All about moneyWise County Public Library will pres-ent Wise County native RonDickenson “Home Town PaperMoney” at 2:30 p.m. this Saturday.Dickenson will display part of his per-sonal collection and explain the sig-nificance of the local historic banknotes and how our region played apart on the national stage regardingthe country’s monetary history. DonGreen, executive director of theNapoleon Hill Foundation, will alsobe signing his new book, “EverythingI Know About Success I LearnedFrom Napoleon Hill.” Read moreabout these events on HomespunPage 4B.

d Barbecue contestsPound and Wise are preparing tohost barbecue competitions later thissummer. Pound’s event will be June21-22 and Wise’s July 13. There arestill slots available for folks interestedin competing. Find out more aboutboth events on Page 5.

d RAMThe Health Wagon and its numerouscommunity partners are planning thisyear’s Remote Area Medical healthoutreach at the Wise CountyFairgrounds. The annual event takesplace July 19-21 and offers all sorts ofmedical and dental services to theuninsured, the underinsured and oth-ers who can’t pay for care.Volunteers are needed to help withthe event. For more, call 276/328-8850.

In June 1988, 27

Wise County

businesses had

applied to sell

lottery tickets

through the state’s

new lottery

program. See 25

years ago Page 2.

J U S T A

MinuteKatie Dunn

STAFF WRITER

Arch Coaljob cuts affect 110

Vote set on synthetic drug ban

W.Va. town enjoys ‘unbelievable’ success GLENN GANNAWAYPOST NEWS EDITOR

GILBERT, W.VA. — No one minded thatthe Saturday-afternoon diners at Wally’sRestaurant came as they were — hot anddusty, as one said.

The hungry outdoorsmen had just comefrom riding their all-terrain vehicles.Gilbert has seen “unbelievable” growth inits economy because of the trails, part of thethe Hatfield-McCoy system. Gilbert’sRockhouse Trails total approximately 90miles, with routes occasionally adjusted toavoid active coal mining sites.

ATVs were parked two-deep in front ofWally’s. They were highly visible around

town, as were the lodges built to house theinflux of ATV riders and tourists.

“Gilbert gets it,” said Jack McClanahan,who was enthused to hear about Appalachiatown leaders’ Saturday visit to the WestVirginia community. “They know wheretheir bread is buttered. Doctors and profes-sionals come from all over the easternUnited States.”

Gilbert, which has a population of 475,now has 240 motel rooms — and because ofthe demand, visitors are limited to onenight, McClanahan said.

McClanahan is a Southwest RegionalRecreational Authority board member.SRRA is currently developing its SpearheadTrails system in an attempt to replicate the

success enjoyed by southeasternKentucky’s Hatfield-McCoy trails. The firsttrail loop, in the St. Paul-Virginia City area,is expected to welcome riders beginningthis summer. McClanahan said the schedulecalls for the Pocahontas trails to come next,followed by the Dickenson/Buchanan andPennington Gap trails.

The Pennington Gap system, withLeeman Field as its trailhead, is expected toeventually include about 80 miles of trailsalong Stone and Black mountains.Appalachia leaders, who also “get it,” envi-sion one day tying in to the Penningtontrails.

KATIE DUNN PHOTOS

Festival time

SUCCESS, PAGE 3

DRUG, PAGE 8

u A cyclist ridingthe Coal CountryClassic’s 25-mileroute crests Fox

Gap on GuestRiver Road

Sunday. Twenty-nine riders com-

pleted the inaugu-ral ride, which

included a 25- and70-mile option.The Lonesome

Pine Cycling Cluborganized the

ride, which washeld in conjunc-

tion with Norton’sannual Best

Friend Festival.

PROGRESS

Sports| Page 1B| LLaaddyy SSppaarrttaannss’’ rruunn eennddss iinn ssttaattee sseemmiiffiinnaallss.. Homespun| Page 4B| CCiittyywwiiddee yyaarrdd ssaallee ccoommiinngg uupp..

TUESDAYJune 11, 2013

Vol. 102 • No. 46

18 Pages

NORTON, VA 24273 USPS 120-120 $1.00

A Progressive Newspaper Serving Our Mountain Area Since 1911

the

u The LOVEworks display will be stationed in the city ofNorton’s municipal parking lot all week as part of theannual Best Friend Festival. The festival’s theme this yearis “Love is...” The traveling display comes from theVirginia Tourism Corporation and is sent to family-friendlytourism events that draw at least 500 people. The signpromotes the message: ‘Love is at heart of every Virginiavacation.’

KATIE DUNNSTAFF WRITER

WISE — Saying that Greg Cross lovesbarbecue might be a bit of an understate-ment.

Cross, who is organizing barbecue com-petitions in Pound and Wise this summer,remembers discovering his passion forgrilling and barbecuing in his early teens.His uncle built a grill and customized smok-er and catered coal company parties, oftenwith Cross in tow.

Cross, who serves as Wise County’s litterprevention and recycling coordinator, inher-ited his uncle’s grill and now also occasion-ally caters events.

His uncle and that customized grillhelped Cross discover a passion for grilling,especially barbecue.

He is now a certified judge on two profes-

sional circuits, the Kansas City BarbequeSociety and Memphis Barbecue Network.This means Cross travels to professionallysanctioned competitions and gets to eat lotsand lots of barbecue. “I’ve always loved itand it’s something I’ve always had a passionfor,” he said last Thursday.

This past weekend Cross traveled toAsheville, N.C., for an event. The farthesthe’s ever traveled is Nashville, Tenn. Heestimates he probably judged between fiveand six events a year, although he hopes tonotch seven to eight this year.

Prior to becoming a judge, Cross thoughtabout competing. A trip to Galax about fiveyears ago — the second professional contesthe ever attended — changed his mind. Crossremembers arriving and seeing team trail-ers that cost more than his home and teamswho wore jackets emblazoned with sponsorslike Budweiser, Kingsford and KCMasterpiece. Barbecue competitions are abigger deal than you might think, he said.

For example, the barbecue events inPound and Wise are offering winners a$1,000 and $1,500 prize, respectively. The

County supervisors thisThursday are expected to vote on a proposed ordinance that, ifapproved, would prohibit the saleof synthetic drugs in the county.

The St.Louis-basedcompanysaid Fridaythe cut-backs willaffect theCumberland River andHazard miningcomplexes.

Barbecue judge brings culinary passion home OOnn PPaaggee 55

Greg Cross, a certified

barbecue judge on two

professional circuits, is helping

organize two barbecue

competitions — in Pound

June 21-22 and in Wise July 13.

JUDGE, PAGE 5

r Coeburn Town Manager Terry Gibson and

Norton Del. Jack Kennedy were planning to ask the

state transportation board to advance plans to build

a Coeburn bypass. The Virginia Department of

Transportation had released its tentative six-year

road improvement plan, which called for the

bypass to be built three years later than initially

hoped.

r Residents living near the proposed location for

a wastewater treatment plant in Coeburn had voiced

concerns to the Coeburn-Norton-Wise Regional

Wastewater Treatment Authority about the site.

r Three of Wise County’s four hospitals had

reported operating losses during recent years. The

Virginia Health Services Cost Review Council had

revealed that only Norton Community Hospital had

reported profit for 1984, 1985 and 1986.

r One business in Norton and 27 in Wise County

had applied and been tentatively approved for state

lottery ticket sales. No one in Virginia was licensed

yet to sell tickets, but there were hopes that lottery

ticket sales would bring in about $200 million annu-

ally for the state treasurery. u

PAGE 2 Tuesday, June 11, 2013 The Coalfield Progress Norton, Virginia 24273

This Week in

Years Ago. . .2255

JUNE 9, 1988

Local History

Governor acts on rights restoration Gov. Bob McDonnell announced

last month that he will automaticallyrestore, on an individual basis, civilrights to non-violent felons who meetspecific conditions.

According to the governor’s office,non-violent felons who have no pend-ing felony charges can become eligi-ble for rights restoration upon com-pletion of their sentence, probation orparole, and upon payment of all courtcosts, fines, restitution, and comple-tion of court-ordered conditions.

“When someone commits a crimethey must be justly punished,” saidMcDonnell, a former prosecutor andattorney general. “That is why, dur-ing my time in the General Assemblyand as both attorney general and nowgovernor, I have championed majorreforms to ensure that sentences are

appropriately set by law to punishthose who commit serious offensesand to ensure that those convicted ofoffenses serve the sentenceimposed.”

“However, once these individualshave served their time and fully paidfor the offenses they committed, theyshould be afforded a clear and fairopportunity to resume their lives asproductive members of our society,”McDonnell said in a press releasefrom his office. “America is a land ofopportunity and second chances; aland where we cherish and protectour constitutional rights. For thosewho have fully paid their debt fortheir crimes, they deserve a secondchance to fully rejoin society andexercise their civil and constitutionalrights.”

McDonnell asked Secretary of theCommonwealth Janet Kelly to meetwith stakeholders over the next 45days and develop the appropriateadministrative procedures associatedwith the transition, within legal con-straints, from an application-basedsystem to an automatic system.

“As Americans, we believe in sec-ond chances and we believe in theright to vote,” said Benjamin ToddJealous, president and CEO of theNAACP. “This is a great step forVirginia and we look forward to work-ing with the commonwealth and ourstate conference on expanding thevote. Anyone who has made a mis-take, done their time and paid theirdebt to society should be able to jointheir neighbors at the voting booth.”

The restoration of civil rights does

not include the restoration of theright to possess or carry a firearm,which can still be done by applicationto the appropriate circuit court.Individuals with violent felony con-victions are not affected by thischange and will need to go throughthe application process for review asis currently the case.

With the governor’s announcedchanges, the following prior compo-nents of the restoration process fornon-violent felons are eliminated:

r Two-year waiting period to beeligible;

r Application process;r The governor’s subjectivity

regarding application decisions; and,r Misdemeanor charges and con-

victions will no longer be a factor forrestoration. u

The 100th Virginia-

Kentucky District Fair

is now over following

a week of events

including multiple

concerts, a

motocross

competition, and

the Miss Va-Ky

District Fair

Scholarship Pageant.

This year’s queen,

Allie Boggs, is

pictured top left.

RODDY ADDINGTON PHOTOS

FFaaiirr wwrraappss uupp

GLENN GANNAWAYNEWS EDITOR

Ed Wolfe’s fascination withrailroads led him into a secondcareer as a scholar and author,and that work has won theAppalachia native a prestigiousaward.

Wolfe’s 2010 book, SouthernRailway Appalachia Division,recently won the 2012 George W.and Constance M. Hilton BookAward presented by the Railwayand Locomotive HistoricalSociety.

Wolfe, a 1968 AppalachiaHigh School graduate, earnedhis bachelor’s degree in geologyand master’s degree in mineral-ogy from Virginia Tech and relo-cated to the Pittsburgh area,where he has worked for 37years. But Wolfe also developedinto what his friend Ron Flanarycalls a “beast” in the field of rail-road history.

Wolfe cites Flanary as aninfluence and mentor. Flanary,himself a published rail histori-an, has also been an able assis-tant, sharing photos for Wolfe’sbooks as well as helping Wolfenetwork with other rail scholars.A Flanary painting graces thecover of Wolfe’s book about theAppalachia Division.

“Ron has been out takingtrain pictures since he was 10 or11 years old or even younger,”Wolfe said via telephone. “Backin high school, I’d be headed outon a date or something and seeRon standing over by the rail-road tracks with his camera.

Now I wish I’d been standingthere with him.”

Wolfe had a more personalinterest in railroads. His latefather, Hugh Wolfe, was a con-ductor on the Interstate line.

“Dad worked on theInterstate Railroad out ofAndover,” Wolfe said. On his vis-its home, Wolfe said, his fatherwould tell him railroad stories —where a wreck occurred, wherea tipple was located — while thetwo rode around. “That got meinterested and I started digginginto the Interstate where dadworked,” he said.

Wolfe saw his rail interest as“just collecting information,”but Flanary suggested he do abook on the Interstate, a projectWolfe began in 1994. “Then

from there I thought, maybe I’lldig into this a little more,” hesaid. “That’s what led me todoing several books on the rail-roads back home.”

One reason Southern’sAppalachia Division is fascinat-ing, he said, is the time andeffort it took to build the linefrom Bristol to Appalachia:“how mountainous the terrainwas, especially once you gotover there approaching theBristol area; you’ve got prettygood grades through there. Itwas a tough piece of railroad —there were a lot of slides comingin and a lot of maintenance wasinvolved,” he said.

The division, which ran fromBristol to St. Charles viaAppalachia and to Mountain

City, Tenn. via Elizabethton, hadits beginning in the 1850s andlasted until 1985. The Society’sawards committee calledWolfe’s book “outstanding,” not-ing that it represents an emerg-ing sub-genre of railroad historythat covers both railroad andregional history.

“I wasn’t aware of being nom-inated or considered, then threeor four months ago, the railroadhistorical society asked me tosend copies to three peoplewhere I was being consideredfor this,” Wolfe said. “If you lookat the names of the people whohave won this in the past, there’spretty prestigious people . . .mine doesn’t belong with thosepeople.”

Wolfe said the award goes tobooks with strong historicalaspects. “I think that’s probablythe reason it ended up winningthe award,” he said. “It’s not formy writing ability or anythinglike that, but there’s an awful lotof history” of the first 50 yearsor so it took to build the rail-road.

Wolfe has been working on ahistory of the Norfolk andWestern line from Bluefield toNorton. The railroad was calledthe Clinch Valley line. He hopesto have the book out beforeChristmas.

All 750 copies of hisAppalachia Division book aregone, Wolfe said, with a distribu-tor buying the last 21 books hehad about a month ago. A feware still advertised in train mag-azines, he said. u

Appalachia has alreadybegun putting some of thepieces in place. The townseveral years ago passedan ordinance allowingATV use on town streets.It has also developed atraining course in what isknown as “Soggy Bottom.”

As McClanahan saidTuesday, the trails’ impacton Gilbert has been“unbelievable.”

But, as AppalachiaTown Manager FredLuntsford said followingSaturday’s road trip, “see-ing is believing.”

Luntsford, along withcouncil members JohnTull, Mayor Jay Swineyand Teddie Collins Jr.,members of the town’sSpecial ProjectsCommittee and others,learned about the Gilbertmiracle from MayorVivian Lovingood andPolice Chief MikeRasmussen before andafter the two officials’ par-ticipation in a Patriots Dayceremony and motorcycleride.

Rasmussen moved toGilbert because of thetrails. He and his wife areavid bikers and ATV rid-ers and relocated fromcentral New York state toWest Virginia after a visit.

Lovingood herself isone of the property own-ers to accommodate visi-tors by building lodges orcabins.

The people of Gilbert,Lovingood noted, are veryhospitable to the visitors.“People here just treatthem really, really well,”she said. And the visitorsreturn the favor by buyinggas and food, staying inthe motels and lodges —camping is also available

— and using ATMmachines.

Another key toGilbert’s success as anoutdoors destination isthat it is centrally located,allowing visitors to get tofive other Hatfield-McCoysystems within 30 min-utes. “They can be here aday and there a day,”Lovingood said.

Lovingood said theHatfield-McCoy system,which is now more than700 miles, has only fiverangers, with one assignedto Gilbert’s Rockhousesystem because it’s sopopular. The Rockhouse,or Browning Fork, system,lies between Gilbert to thesouth and the town ofMan, where the trailheadis located, to the north.

And, Rasmussenadded, the rangers “stayvery busy with accidentson the trails. I’d say therewill be two or three today.”

Responding to a ques-tion about the negativeimpact of so many riders,Rasmussen noted thatlocal people cause moretrouble than visitors:“they don’t want to buythe permits; they want to

race,” he said.While Gilbert often

found itself at “the lowend of the totem pole” inregional affairs before thetrails, the town was actual-ly well off because of coal,Lovingood said.Benefactor Larry JoeHarless built the 65,000square-foot communitycenter that bears hisname. The center is withina mile of the RockhouseTrails entrance and is thegathering point for thetown’s Trailfest, whichdraws about 3,000 peo-ple.

“We want to beGilbert,” said DennisMcClain, who made thetrip with fellow SpecialProjects members TonyPhipps and Joshua Bates.“We want to be that hub.”

“I think we can learnby what they’ve done,”Swiney said. “We’re in adifferent situationbecause we want to devel-op a trailhead and growinto the system comingdown” from Pennington.

That growth willdepend on town leadersworking with state andfederal politicians includ-

ing Del. Terry Kilgore andU.S. Rep. Morgan Griffithas well as landownersalong the envisionedroute, Swiney noted.

“If we can get that onesmall section to start offand show this is going towork, we can grow fromthat,” Swiney said. u

Norton, Virginia 24273 The Coalfield Progress Tuesday, June 11, 2013 PAGE 3

THE INTERNSHIP PG-13

DAILY: 2:30 • 5:00 7:30 • 10:00 PM

IRON MAN 3 3D PG-13

DAILY: 1:45 • 7:15 PM

Cinema CityStadium Theatres

JUNE 7 ~ JUNE 13 • 2013

Located in Downtown Norton, VAnortoncinema.com

Movie Hotline 276-679-4252

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DAILY: 2:30 • 4:45 7:00 • 9:30 PM

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ADVANCED SHOWING 6/13THU: MIDNIGHT

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© 2013, American HometownPublishing, Inc. The Coalfield Progress ispublished twice weekly on Tuesday andFriday at 725 Park Ave., Norton, Va. Allrights reserved. Contents may not bereproduced without permission of thepublisher. Subscription Rates By Mail: InNorton and Wise County — 1 year, $52.Market area (excluding Norton and WiseCounty) with ZIP codes starting with 242,415, 416, 417 or 418 — 1 year, $67. Allother locations — 1 year, $84. POSTMAS-TER: Send address corrections to TheCoalfield Progress, P.O. Box 380, Norton,Va. 24273. Fax: 276/679-5922.

r SuccessFROM PAGE 1

Kids Central conducts security assessment The Virginia State Police recently con-

ducted a physical security assessment ofKids Central, Inc.’s classrooms and proper-ties.

The nonprofit corporation’s board ofdirectors requested the assessment to identi-fy potential security risks and elicit recom-mendations for improving security at its loca-tions.

Classrooms in Esserville, Norton, BigStone Gap, Pound, Appalachia, Coeburn,Wise, Clintwood, Clinchco and Haysi wereincluded in the assessment. Kids Central pro-vides Head Start and Early Head Start pro-grams in Wise and Dickenson counties andthe city of Norton.

The survey checked facilities’ entranceand exit doors, windows and other accesspoints. Lighting, parking lots and landscap-

ing were also scrutinized for possible hidingplaces or entry points. State police verifiedemergency procedures and supplies at eachcenter and evaluated employees’ knowledgeof those procedures.

Officers recommended Kids Central con-tinue efforts to improve policies and proce-dures associated with security threats and

continue to involve parents in the safety ofcenters.

It was also recommended that entrancedoors be equipped with numerical locks andthat windows and other doors be fitted withwarning devices and outside cameras. Itwas further recommended that the corpora-tion enlist in public warning programsrelated to registered sex offenders andweather. It was also recommended that addi-tional exterior lighting be installed at severalcenters and that playground areas besecured.

Kids Central President Will Sturgill indi-cated in a statement that the corporation willwork toward meeting these goals. “It is ourdesire to ensure the safety of our childrenand staff at all times and we have set, as a pri-ority, this goal for our company.” u

Classrooms in Esserville,Norton, Big Stone Gap,

Pound, Appalachia,Coeburn, Wise, Clintwood,Clinchco and Haysi were

included in the assessment.

Corrections & clarificationsThe Coalfield Progress believes in setting the record

straight. We print corrections that come to our attentionand clarifications that make the news more understand-able. Direct questions to Jeff Lester, news editor,jlester@coalfield.com, or phone 679-1101, extension 235.

Because of incorrect information provided to thenewspaper, the Friday, May 31, edition carried a storyrequiring correction, “West Norton ElementarySchool alumni meet May 18.” The Norton AmericanLegion Post No. 243 is named after World War II vet-eran Darrell “Shifty” Powers. The Norton Korean WarVeterans Chapter No. 250 is named in honor ofCharles “Beecher” Thacker, the first Wise Countiankilled in action in Korea. We regret the error. u

Rail book wins prestigious awardl

Local rail

historian Ron

Flanary did the

cover painting

for Ed Wolfe’s

book, which

recently won a

prestigious rail

scholarship

award.

(Cover photo

courtesy

of Ron Flanary.)

CHARLESTON, W.VA.(AP) — Alpha NaturalResources is planningto idle an undergroundmine in Boone County.

About 160 workerswill be affected by theclosure of Alpha sub-sidiary IndependenceCoal’s Justice No. 1Mine near Uneeda anda related cutback ofoperations at the near-by Liberty ProcessingPlant.

A spokeswoman forthe Bristol, Va.-basedcompany said Fridaythat officials will meetwith miners next weekto discuss pay and ben-efits for those impact-ed.

The CharlestonGazette reports that thecompany cited lowprices for steel-makingcoal for the move.

Alpha acquired themine when it purchasedMassey Energy in June2011. Federal recordsshow the mine pro-duced about 750,000tons of coal last year.

The mine also wastargeted for increasedsafety enforcementafter the Upper BigBranch Mine explo-sion. u

MARY ROXIE DOTSON

Mary Roxie Dotson, 85, of Wise, passed awaySunday, June 9, 2013 at the Heritage Hall HealthCare Wise.

She was a member of the First Church of God inWise. She was preceded in death by her husband,Veldon D. Dotson; her parents, James and CloraPippin Robinette and brothers and sisters, GilmerRobinette, Lloyd Robinette, Irson Robinette, MabelHamm, Maxie Hicks, Etta Weymouth and GoldieKern.

Surviving are a son, Robin Dotson and wifeKaren; a daughter, Linda Burgess and husbandGary; grandchildren, Matthew Dotson, SarahDotson, David Burgess and wife Rachel and KellyLewis and husband, Bryan; one great-granddaugh-ter, Brittany Frazier; a sister-in-law, Dot Dotsonand a host of other relatives and friends. Also spe-cial thank you to her caregivers, Donna Robertsand Helen Conner.

Funeral services will be conducted 7 p.m.Wednesday, June 12, in the Sturgill Funeral HomeChapel, Wise with Pastor Ben Murphy officiating.The family will receive friends 5 p.m. until time ofservices.

Graveside committal services and burial will beheld at 11 a.m. Thursday, June 13, in the WiseCemetery. The family and friends will meet at 10:30a.m. Thursday at the funeral home to go to thecemetery in procession. Please visit www.sturgill-funeral.com to leave online condolences for thefamily.

KENNETH R. HURT

Kenneth R. Hurt, 82, passed away Thursday,June 6, 2013 at the Genesys Convalesent Home inGrand Blanc, Mich.

He was of the Old Regular Baptist Faith and wasa former employee of N.A. Woodworth.

He was preceded in death by a daughter, ConnieHurt; his parents, Charlie and Murzie Hurt; and abrother, Leo Hurt.

Surviving are a son, Ronney Hurt and wife Annof Poca, W. Va.; three granddaughters; four grand-sons; ten great-grandchildren; a brother, VencilHurt of Michigan; two nieces, Deborah Petracichand Shari Matkin; and a host of other relatives andfriends.

Funeral services for Kenneth R. Hurt were con-ducted at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 9, at the SturgillFuneral Home Chapel in Wise, with Rev. JoelCantrell officiating. Burial followed in the WiseCemetery. The family received friends from 1 p.m.until time of services. Please visit www.sturgillfu-neral.com to leave online condolences for the fami-ly.

MARY GLENN JENKINS PASSMORE

The memorial service for Mary Glenn JenkinsPassmore will be on Saturday, June 15 at the SalemPresbyterian Church in Salem, Va. at 1 p.m. Rev.Will Robinson will officiate.

ALLEN JESSE PROVANCE

Allen Jesse Provance, 71, of Wise, went to bewith the Lord on Sunday, June 2, 2013.

Affectionately known as “Big Al,” it was appar-ent that he never knew a stranger. His witty senseof humor and joking nature was evident to all. As aNavy veteran, he traveled abroad and especiallyenjoyed his assignment in Spain.

He was an avid motorcyclist and rarely missed agreat opportunity to gather in Sturgis, S.D. to meetup with those he had gotten to know over the past50 years to discuss his latest project.

Generous at heart, he faithfully served the WiseCounty community through working and volunteer-ing countless hours for the Lonesome Pine Officeon Youth Development as well as the Wise CountySheriff ’s office.

Surviving are his beloved brother, John W.Provance of Pennsylvania and “Lucky” hisDachshund; and a host of other relatives andfriends.

Al’s wishes were not to conduct a memorial serv-ice, so in lieu of flowers and cards please makememorial contributions to Lonesome Pine Office on

Youth Development, P.O. Box 568 Big Stone Gap,VA 24219-0568 to help a cause that he was surelypassionate about. Please visit www.sturgillfuner-al.com to leave online condolences for the family.

Sturgill Funeral Home, Wise, is in charge ofarrangements.

AMANDA LEE ROBERTS

Amanda Lee Roberts, of Norton, passed away inthe wee hours of Friday, June 7, 2013 at HolstonValley Medical Center, in Kingsport, Tenn.

She was a cherished member of the Powell Rivercommunity that she dearly loved. Amanda was alongtime employee of pediatrician, Dr. ParmodSapra. In this capacity she touched the lives ofmany people with her kindness, patience, and devo-tion. She will be missed tremendously.

Mother, Joyce Reilly Roberts, preceded her indeath.

She is survived by her loving and beloved son,Andrew Day and his wife Daphanie, of Norton, andher grandchildren Patrick, Allie, and Aaron, ofwhom she was extremely proud. Also surviving areher father, James Roberts, Norton, her siblingsSuzanne Hall, Sharps Chapel, Tenn., Judi Orelland her husband, Harry, Beaverdam, Va., JohnRoberts and his wife, Sallie, Ellicott City, Md.,Cathy Henson, and her husband, Ned, Ashland,Va., as well as several loving nieces, nephews,two grand-nieces, and one grand-nephew. Inaddition, she leaves behind many preciousfriends.

The family received friends from 5-7 p.m.Sunday, June 9, at the Hagy & Fawbush FuneralHome chapel. Services were conducted at 7 p.m. inthe funeral home chapel with Donnie Culbertsonofficiating.

Online condolences may be made by visitingwww.hagyfawbush.com.

BOBBY D. SKEENS

Bobby D. Skeens, 62, of Pound, passed awayFriday, June 7, 2013 at his home.

He was of the Freewill Baptist faith and was aformer drill operator for Humphries Enterprises.

He was preceded in death by his parents,Howard and Mildred Kilgore Skeens and an infantsister, Dorothy Skeens.

Surviving are his loving wife of 25 years, RosaStrouth Skeens; three daughters, ChristinaBlackburn of Christiansburg, LeAnn Dorton-Dealof Pound and Lori Shelton and husband David ofWise; a son, Corey Dorton and wife Tracy ofMuskegon, Mich.; eight grandchildren, AshleeDeal, Tyler Blackburn, Cody Dorton, ElizabethDorton, Jaelan Blackburn, Matthew Shelton,Nathaniel Shelton and Emma Shelton; a very spe-cial friend, Randy “Pooh” Bolling; a brother, WayneSkeens of Wise; a sister, Shelby Johnson ofMeadowview; and a host of other relatives andfriends.

Memorial services for Bobby D. Skeens wereconducted at 7 p.m. Monday, June 10, at the SturgillFuneral Home Chapel in Wise, with Pastor ChrisStrange officiating.

The family received friends from 5:30 p.m. untiltime of services.

Please visit www.sturgillfuneral.com to leaveonline condolences for the family.

FELICIA LYNN STRICKLAND

Felicia Lynn Strickland, 40, of Richmond, our“Smiling Angel” passed away on Friday, April 5,2013.

She is survived by her father and stepmotherWilliam and Marian Dickenson; her mother

Victoria Dickenson; her hus-band, Kenneth Strickland;daughters Ashley, Breanna,and Felicia; stepdaughterLatisha; son James; grandson,Aydyn; step grandchildren Z-riona and Xinque; sistersHeather and Tammy; brotherRoy; and step brotherChristopher.

She was preceded in deathby her brother Jimmy; step grandfather andgrandmother Sidney and Loretta Maggard; 10nieces and nephews; and three great nieces andnephews.

Services will be held Saturday, June 15, at noonat Dickenson Cemetery on Indian Creek with Rev.Danny Baker officiating. u

PAGE 4 Tuesday, June 11, 2013 The Coalfield Progress Norton, Virginia 24273

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Rastafarianinmate cuts hairto get transfer

RICHMOND, VA. (AP)— A Rastafarian inmatewho spent more than adecade in segregationfor refusing to cut hishair has relented.

The RichmondTimes-Dispatch reportsthat 35-year-old Ras-Solomon Tafari cut hishair so he could bemoved from WallensRidge State Prison,where he was beatenlast year and suffered astroke. He said his con-finement in a small cellmade it difficult for himto use his four-pointcane to continue hisrecovery.

Tafari says he wastold he could be trans-ferred if he compliedwith Virginia’s inmategrooming policy. Afterhe cut his hair, he wastransferred to anotherprison where manyinfirm and elderlyinmates are held.

Tafari is one of sever-al Rastafarian inmateswho’ve been held in seg-regation for refusing tocut their hair for reli-gious reasons. u

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Alpha idlesW.Va. mine

About 160 workers

will be affected by the

closure of Alpha

subsidiary

Independence Coal’s

Justice No. 1 Mine near

Uneeda and a related

cutback of operations

at the nearby Liberty

Processing Plant.

TTUUEESSDDAAYY,, JJUUNNEE 1111WWiissee CCoouunnttyy SScchhooooll BBooaarrdd (Judy Durham, Clerk, 328-9421 or 328-8017) meets at 8 p.m. in the EducationCenter Conference Room A.WWiissee CCoouunnttyy PPuubblliicc SSeerrvviiccee AAuutthhoorriittyy (Danny Buchanan,679-1263) meets at 6 p.m. in the PSA office boardroom,located at 5622 Industrial Park Rd. in the Esservilleindustrial park. BBiigg SSttoonnee GGaapp TToowwnn CCoouunncciill meets at 7 p.m. in councilchambers at the town hall.WWiissee CCoouunnttyy RReeddeevveellooppmmeenntt aanndd HHoouussiinngg AAuutthhoorriittyy(Monty Salyer, 395-6104) meets at 4:30 p.m. at the JohnVandiver Community Center in Coeburn.

WWEEDDNNEESSDDAAYY,, JJUUNNEE 1122LLoonneessoommee PPiinnee SSooiill aanndd WWaatteerr CCoonnsseerrvvaattiioonn DDiissttrriicctt(Bobbi Rasnick, 926-6621) meets at 10 a.m. at the districtoffice in Clintwood.

TTHHUURRSSDDAAYY,, JJUUNNEE 1133NNoorrttoonn CCiittyy PPllaannnniinngg CCoommmmiissssiioonn (Winfred Collins 679-1160) meets at 7:30 p.m. in Council chambers in theMunicipal building in Norton.WWiissee CCoouunnttyy BBooaarrdd ooff SSuuppeerrvviissoorrss Annette Underwood328-2321) meets at 6 p.m. in the board room of the WiseCounty Courthouse.

MMOONNDDAAYY,, JJUUNNEE 1177NNoorrttoonn SSoocciiaall SSeerrvviicceess AAddvviissoorryy BBooaarrdd (Libby Fleming,679-2701) meets at 5 p.m. at the Norton School Boardoffice.

TTUUEESSDDAAYY,, JJUUNNEE 1188NNoorrttoonn CCiittyy CCoouunncciill (Fred L. Ramey Jr., 679-1160) meetsat 6 p.m. in Council chambers in the Municipal buildingin Norton.PPoouunndd TToowwnn CCoouunncciill (Linda Meade 796-5188 or 796-5747) meets at 6 p.m. at the town hall, North River Road.NNoorrttoonn RReeddeevveellooppmmeenntt aanndd HHoouussiinngg AAuutthhoorriittyy BBooaarrdd ooffCCoommmmiissssiioonneerrss (John E. Black, 679-0020) meets at 6:30p.m. in the Regency Towers community room (200 SixthStreet). WWiissee CCoouunnttyy IInndduussttrriiaall DDeevveellooppmmeenntt AAuutthhoorriittyy (AnnetteUnderwood 328-2321) meets at 5 p.m. in the conferenceroom of the county administrator’s office in the WiseCounty Courthouse.

TTHHUURRSSDDAAYY,, JJUUNNEE 2200NNiinntthh DDiissttrriicctt DDeevveellooppmmeenntt FFiinnaanncciinngg IInncc.. (DarleneHagy, 276/619-2251) meets at 2:30 p.m. at the HerbHouse, Village Shoppes, 107 Pendleton Street, Marion.CCuummbbeerrllaanndd AAiirrppoorrtt CCoommmmiissssiioonn (Donnie Rose 395-2029) meets at 7 p.m. at the Lonesome Pine Airport.

MMOONNDDAAYY,, JJUUNNEE 2244CCooeebbuurrnn TToowwnn CCoouunncciill wwoorrkksshhoopp t 6:30 p.m. at 413 FrontStreet. u

contests Cross judges can carry asmuch as a $20,000 prize for the win-ning team, and the grand champi-onship a $500,000 prize.

Cross recalled being in awe ofthe Galax competitors. He quicklyreconsidered entering the contestand instead decided to quiz contest-ants about their technique and pos-sibly enter the following year. Atsome point, a contestantapproached and asked Cross whyhe was asking so many questionsand whether he planned to enter thecompetition.

Cross replied that he had thoughtabout it, but decided against doingso. The man then suggested Crossconsider judging if he didn’t want tocook.

Cross had found his calling. Hetook the appropriate classes and forabout four years now has been ajudge. Last week, he offered someinsight into what he considers when

judging. Choosing a winner isn’t solely

based on taste, though it is the pre-dominant factor. Cross said on bothprofessional circuits other consider-ations are given to how the food ispresented and its tenderness. Mostpeople assume tenderness means ameat is so tender it melts in yourmouth, he said. But barbecue judgesare searching for good consistency.Meat that falls off the rib bone isconsidered overcooked, he

explained. Instead, judges want themeat to separate cleanly from thebone when they bite into it. Thebone’s coloration also yields infor-mation about whether the meat istoo dry, and the coloration of thefood and juices can also be indica-tors of its quality.

Depending on the circuit, Crossjudges several types of barbecue.The Memphis circuit believes theonly true barbecue is pork, so hetastes a lot of whole shoulder,whole hog and ribs. The Kansascircuit offers more variety, with

chicken, beef brisket, pork and porkribs.

The Pound and Wise events willoffer a little bit of everything, andCross said he hopes bringing hisculinary passion to the county willhelp foster more tourism and a newtradition. Pound’s Bar-B-Que,Bluegrass & Bikes will be held June21-22 and Wise’s Chillin’ andGrillin’ in the Glades will be heldJuly 13. u

Norton, Virginia 24273 The Coalfield Progress Tuesday, June 11, 2013 PAGE 5

r JudgeFROM PAGE 1

Cross said he hopesbringing his barbeque

culinary passionto Wise County

will help foster moretourism and

a new tradition.

Pound, Wise to host barbecuecontests, music and moreKATIE DUNNSTAFF WRITER

If barbecue, musicand motorcycles soundlike the perfect combi-nation, plan to check outtwo new events later thissummer in Pound andWise.

Greg Cross, WiseCounty litter preventionand recycling coordina-tor, is helping organizetwo barbecue competi-tions for the towns.Pound’s competition willbe June 21-22 andWise’s July 13.

Cross, who judgesprofessional barbecuecontests, has wanted tobring a professionallysanctioned event to thecounty for some time,hoping it will foster

more tourism and a funnew tradition. Theupcoming competitionsare not professionallysanctioned, but if theygo well, Cross hopes topursue a professionalevent.

Each town’s competi-tion is open to 15 teams.Cross said Thursday thatsix or seven slots arestill available in eachcontest. Current regis-tered competitors rangefrom professionals toamateur backyardgrillers, and Cross said

all skill levels areencouraged to enter. Thewinner of the Poundevent will take home$1,000, and the winnerof the Wise event $1,500.

The Pound event,Bar-B-Que, Bluegrass &Bikes, will be held at theformer Pound HighSchool. Beside the bar-becue contest, other fes-tivities will include amotorcycle show andgames and bluegrassmusic. For more infor-mation and an eventsschedule, visit www.bar-

b q u e b l u e g r a s s a n d -bikes.com or call276/393-0737.

The Wise event,Chillin’ and Grillin’ inthe Glades, will be heldalong East Main Streetand coincides with thetown’s summer concertseries. The KentuckyHeadhunters will per-form following the bar-becue contest at 7 p.m.at Big GladesCommunity Square.Other festivities includea pickin’ porch, kids cor-ner, motorcycle cruise-in, Miss BarbCUTIEbeauty pageant, and acornhole competitionthat carries a $200 prize.For more information,visit www.chillinand-grillinintheglades.comor call 276/393-0737. u

The winner of the Pound event

will take home $1,000, and the

winner of the Wise event $1,500.

C O A L F I E L D

CALENDARO F P U B L I C M E E T I N G S

pinionO PROGRESSCoalfield

the

Page 6 N O R T O N , VA , 2 4 2 7 3Tuesday, June 11 , 2013

U O T A B L E Q U O T E S

Q ‘Errors of opinion may be toleratedwhere reason is left free to combat it.’

Editor and PublisherJenay TatePublished byAmerican Hometown Publishing Inc.

T H O M A S J E F F E R S O N

L E T T E R SG A N N A W A Y

McAuliffebest choiceon our CFXTO THE EDITOR:

Over my years of serviceon the Wise County Boardof Supervisors, I alwaystried to take care of my con-stituents’ roads and high-ways.

The CoalfieldExpressway is finally aboutto begin construction inPound and run to Grundybecause of the support ofmany people, Democratsand Republicans.

Because of Democratsand Republicans comingtogether in Richmond thispast winter, we will be ableto build the CoalfieldExpressway because theycame together on a trans-portation plan.

One candidate for gover-nor places the future of theCoalfield Expressway indoubt by his stubbornefforts to repeatedly kill it.

Ken Cuccinelli tried toblock every attempt to passa state transportation planthat would build the newhighway from Pound toGrundy.

If you are loyal to theregion, and want a highway,then start supporting TerryMcAuliffe to succeed BobMcDonnell as our nextVirginia governor. u

EDGAR MULLINSPOUND

Olympic debates a welcome relief TOM PURCELLGUEST COMMENTATOR

Washington, D.C., is in the grip ofscandals, the economy is stumbling anda host of other challenges are weighingme down — which is why I prefer todwell on more obscure subjects, suchas a battle raging behind the scenesover the 2020 Olympics.

According to the Toronto Star, theInternational Olympic Committeeshocked the world recently when itdropped wrestling from its list of coresports for the 2020 games — in favor ofother sports more likely to interestyounger viewers.

Well, the wrestling folks aren’t goingdown without a fight. Wrestling is com-peting with seven other sports for a sin-gle 2020 opening: baseball/softball(baseball, cut in the past, is fighting fora new spot), squash, inline speed skat-ing, sport climbing (rock climbing),wakeboarding (a form of water skiing),karate and wushu (kung fu fighting).

Personally, I think any of these eightsports would make for a great Olympicevent. Sure, I might prefer racquetballover squash, but baseball is a greatAmerican-invented sport, inline speedskating is a blast to watch, rock climb-ing is scary and exhilarating, wake-boarding is hugely entertaining, andwho doesn’t want to see karate andkung fu fighting?

Besides, the choices could be plenty

worse.Yahoo News reports that, with the

popularity of TV dancing contests, someare pushing to add ballroom dancing tothe Olympic roster.

Sure, ballroom dancing requires ath-leticism and finesse. It is an art formcelebrated by American greats GeneKelly, Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire.

Then again, any American “sport” inwhich you can blow out a knee by trip-ping over the buffet table probablyshouldn’t quality as an Olympic event.

That brings us to pole dancing —that’s right, pole dancing. According tothe British newspaper TheIndependent, some hope this “sport”made popular by women who shed their

clothes in smoky bars can one daybecome an Olympic event.

I’d pay good money (again) to seethat.

Which brings us to bowling.Chuck Pezzano of The Record, a

New Jersey newspaper, says the bowl-ing people have made several attemptsto have their sport added to theOlympic roster over the years. Duringthe 1936 games, they staged exhibitionsand tournaments. Though well-received, bowling did not make the cut.They staged another exhibition at theSeoul Olympics in 1988, also withoutresult.

Bowling “features men, women andchildren, (and is) well organized inmore than 100 bowling federationsaround the world. There are no barriersbecause of size, age, sex or language.Rules are fairly simple . . . A countrywith thousands of bowling centers or anation with one can develop a team oran individual to qualify for one of theevents, despite limited budgets,”Pezzano writes.

Better yet, bowling requires tremen-dous balance and stamina — only a truecompetitor can drink three pitchers ofbeer and still bowl a perfect 300.

Still, bowling has made little head-way toward becoming an Olympic sportand is not likely to.

In any event, as America’s capital

P U R C E L L

According to the Toronto Star,

the International Olympic

Committee shocked the

world recently when it

dropped wrestling from its

list of core sports for the

2020 games — in favor of

other sports more likely to

interest younger viewers.

PURCELL, PAGE 7

JOE GANDELMANGUEST COMMENTATOR

There’s good news and bad news inthe twin terrorist outrages, the horrificrunning over and hacking to death of aBritish soldier and the BostonMarathon bombings. The good: intelli-gence agencies had some of theseyoung terrorists on their radar. The badnews: having them on the radar did lit-tle good since the murderers still suc-cessfully completed their plannedbutchery.

Woolwich, a district in South EastLondon, was recently the scene for anew kind of brutal terrorist act whenMichael Adebolajo, 28, and MichaelAdebowale, 22, reportedly Muslims ofNigerian descent, ran their vehicle overoff-duty British soldier Lee Rigby, 25.They then proceeded to jump out andhack him to death in broad daylightwith meat cleavers.

A bystander captured video imagesthat zipped through the internet and tel-

evisions worldwide, fulfilling one ofdemocracies’ nightmares. There wasAdebolajo, minutes after butchering thefather of one, holding a knife and meatcleaver in his bloodied hands, declar-ing: “you people will never be safe.Remove your government, they don’tcare about you.” Bright, red blood couldbe seen literally flowing down thestreet. The two killers waited nearly 20minutes before police came and theywere shot and injured.

Was the wait a coincidence or part ofa plan to send a message? Not known

yet. Did Adebolajo come out of the blueas the world’s latest terrorist symbol?That is known and the answer is . . .“no.”

Questions are now swirling aroundthe British news media and inParliament after reports indicatingAbedolajo was most assuredly not astranger. According to reports, Britishintelligence agencies knew for morethan two years that Abedolajo had tiesto Al Qaeda. The BBC: “the UK ForeignOffice confirmed it had given consularassistance to suspect Mr. Adebolajowhen he was arrested in Kenya in 2010.Mr. Adebolajo’s childhood friend, AbuNusaybah, also told BBC Newsnightthat MI5 had once asked Mr. Adebolajoto work for the agency, but that he hadrejected the approach.”

That has yet to be confirmed, but it’sclear Adebolajo was not just a blip onintelligence agencies’ screens. Hereportedly tried to enter Somalia to joinup with extremists there twice.Meanwhile, so far 10 persons have been

arrested in the Woolwich murder inwhat some fear could be a new terroristtactic: suddenly pounce on and murdera symbolic victim to gain media cover-age. These days, it seems, everyonewants audience share.

In the case of Boston Marathonbomber-killer Tamerlan Tsarnaev, CBSNews correspondent Bob Orr reportedthat the FBI had interviewed him in2011 at the request of a “foreign gov-ernment” now said to be Russia. Thereason: to see if he had any extremistties. But the agency didn’t see any link-age. According to Fox News, a distrust-ful Russia withheld critical informationfrom the FBI that could have led theFBI to act to avert the tragedy.

The girlfriend of one of three menbrutally killed in a Waltham, Mass.apartment, a killing in which TamerlanTsarnaev is increasingly a suspect, toldthe Boston Globe that Tsarnaev toldthem the FBI had put him on a terrorist

GANDELMAN, PAGE 7

Intelligence agencies missed warnings

China hasus overpork barrelGLENN GANNAWAYPOST NEWS EDITOR

Could animal husbandry eventuallylead to World War III, sort of like thetangle of treaties that contributed to thestart of World War I?

The question becomes more pressingevery day, especially for we Virginians,who seem to be spending more timethese days chewing the fat about tradewith China than we do eating, which issaying something, considering thatVirginia’s obesity rate is in the top 20among states.

A while back, Gov. Bob McDonnellvisited China. One of his goals was tocoax the Chinese into lifting thatnation’s ban on Virginia poultry prod-ucts, thereby stirring up a little businessfor the Old Dominion.

No word yet on whether that particu-lar chicken has come home to roost, orgone to China to roost, or maybe gottenlost somewhere in the vicinity ofKrakatoa. But now we are told that aChinese “pork giant” — I keep trying tovisualize a pork giant, but all my impov-erished imagination can come up with isa plate of ribs — is trying to acquireVirginia-based Smithfield Foods.

The proposed deal is worth at least$4.7 billion and, according to pressreports, would be the biggest acquisitionof a U.S. company by a Chinese compa-ny. It must be approved by regulatorsand shareholders.

But the acquisition isn’t sitting wellwith some politicians. Of course, all thatrubber chicken politicians eat on thebanquet and campaign circuits doesn’tsit well with them either, but they shouldjust get out and take more walks.

Del. Bob Marshall, a ManassasRepublican, wrote an open letter toSmithfield’s CEO warning that econom-ic, food safety and national security —yes, yes — perils would result from thesale of America’s largest ham producerto China’s Shuanghui International.

Marshall’s letter says that Shuanghui,the giant pork . . . excuse me, pork giant. . . has a poor safety record. The compa-ny, the delegate wrote, bought pigsraised on an outlawed additive, clen-buterol. (What’s clenbuterol? I dunno.Google it and find out.)

Last year, Marshall wrote, Shuanghuiribs were found to contain maggots (myimaginary ribs never contain maggots)and its sausages had excessive bacteria.Last February, Marshall wrote,Shuanghui sausages were found to con-tain black threads (“hey, ma, get thesewing kit . . .”).

Also, Marshall pointed out, two exec-utives at Chinese baby food companieswere executed for selling product con-taining an industrial chemical thatcaused the deaths of six children andleft about 300,000 ill.

What baby food companies?Apparently Shuanghui wasn’t one ofthem. After all, Shuanghui’s a really bigpork giant. Of course, Marshall was try-ing to illustrate the widespread safetyconcerns about Chinese food manufac-turers. But as sad as those children’s

GANNAWAY, PAGE 7

G A N D E L M A NQuestions are now swirling

around the British news

media and in Parliament

after reports indicating

Abedolajo was most

assuredly not a stranger.

BOB LEWISAP POLITICAL WRITER

RICHMOND, VA. (AP) —In Virginia’s statewideand legislative primariestoday, some intrapartyscores will be settled.

Democrats will picktheir nominees for lieu-tenant governor frombetween state Sen. RalphNortham and formerObama White Housetechnology chief AneeshChopra, and for attorneygeneral between stateSen. Mark Herring andFairfax lawyer JustinFairfax.

But the real bad bloodis lower on the ticket,where seven Houseincumbents — five ofthem Republicans — rep-resenting 112 years ofcombined legislativeexperience face nomina-tion challenges fromnewcomers who believethey’ve broken faith with-in their parties.

Among Republicansfacing primaries isHouse Speaker BillHowell and three com-mittee chairmen: Del.Joe May, who heads theT r a n s p o r t a t i o nCommittee; Del. BeverlySherwood who chairs theAgriculture Chesapeakeand Natural ResourcesCommittee; and Del.Bobby Orrock, chairmanof the Health Welfare andInstitutions Committee.

Their challengers areconservatives who takeissue with the party’s leg-islative lions supportingbills that rankle theRepublican Right. Butthe unifying issueappears to be their sup-port for the recentlypassed first overhaul of afailing state transporta-tion funding formula in27 years.

Among Democraticchallenges, none is asheated as the one thatpolitical newcomerEvandra Thompson, a 30-year-old banker whoworks in a northernRichmond suburb, iswaging to deny RosalynDance a fifth term in theHouse.

Her motivation is sim-

ilar to those of theRepublicans in that sheconsiders Dance, a for-mer Petersburg Mayor,an apostate to her partybecause she voted withRepublicans on severalkey issues. These includea state takeover ofPetersburg’s failing pub-lic schools, a Republican-written budget that didnot provide for Medicaidexpansion, and aRepublican ambush-styleeffort to redraw stateSenate districts to benefitthe GOP and break astalemate in which eachparty now holds 20Senate seats.

Payback?Sure. But that’s what

primaries are about: areckoning within a politi-cal party to determine itsdirection. And the chal-lengers are almostalways those who aremore ideologically drivenand who argue that theincumbent is too cozywith the opposing party.

And its importance ismultiplied in a time whenthe art of politically driv-en redistricting intendedto maximize the strengthof a majority party is ele-vated to a science by evermore powerful technolo-gy. It is capable of synthe-sizing precinct-by-precinct voting resultswith census data on themost minute level andrendering intricategeopolitical boundarieswhere a desired partisanoutcome is virtuallyguaranteed.

Because of that, dis-tricts have become sosolidly Republican orDemocratic that incum-bent legislators worrymore about a June chal-lenge from activists inthe outer flanks of his orher own party than gen-eral election fights inNovember, and it furtherbalkanizes a legislatureincreasingly riven byreflexive partisanship.

“We can’t just keepelecting people becausethey’re incumbents,” saidlongtime GOP loyalistand first-time challengerDave A. LaRock, who haswaged a determined fight

to unseat Joe May, whowon his seat in theVirginia House 20 yearsago when Republicanswere still a minorityaccustomed to beingshoved around byDemocrats.

“Joe May has been inthere a long time and theDemocrats don’t opposehim for a good reason:They’re satisfied with hisvotes for their policies,”LaRock said.

That’s stretching it.May, a high-tech inventorand manufacturer who isamong the GeneralAssembly’s wealthiestmembers, has a votingrecord that’s heavilyweighted toward hisparty’s initiatives. But inthe rare cases when he’sgone his own way, it wason issues that make theconservatives see red. Heopposed the repeal ofVirginia’s one-handgun-purchase-per-month law,and he opposed the 2012bill that would have man-dated a vaginally intru-sive ultrasound exambefore women couldundergo abortions.

But what outraged his

Republican detractorswas his support for thebipartisan transportationbill that increases a hand-ful of taxes to generatemore than $1 billion ayear in additional rev-enue to maintain thestate’s deteriorating58,000-mile network ofroads and jump-startVirginia’s moribund roadconstruction program.The bill split HouseRepublicans betweenthose who feared thatworld-class highwaygridlock would crippleeconomically vibrant butoverbuilt northernVirginia and HamptonRoads, and anti-taxhawks such who labeledthe bill, pushed byHowell and RepublicanGov. Bob McDonnell, asthe largest tax increase inVirginia history.

Across the aisle,Dance had already disil-lusioned some fellowDemocratic delegatesbefore she committedwhat Del. Joe Morriseyand state Sen. HenryMarsh considered anunpardonable heresy bysiding with the GOP on

the surprise Senate redis-tricting bid that evensome Republicans reject-ed because of its notori-ous bushwhack tactics.

On Jan. 20, Marsh, aRichmond Democrat andlong-serving black law-maker, was away toattend the inaugurationof President BarackObama. With theDemocrats down a seatand the GOP holding a20-19 one-day numericaladvantage, they amendeda House bill that previ-ously made only smalltechnical corrections tolegislative lines withoutwarning and with limiteddebate and muscled itthrough on a strict party-line vote. Its advantagesto the GOP would haveeasily given Republicansan additional three seats.

The bill died in theHouse when SpeakerHowell ruled the Senate’samendments were notgermane to the originalbill, but the damage wasdone when Dance spokein a private DemocraticCaucus meeting and innewspaper interviews insupport of the Senate

amendments. Morrisseywas livid.

“I became outragedthat there are twoRosalyn Dances — onethat goes back toPetersburg and pretendsto be a Democrat’sDemocrat and one in theHouse that votes with theRepublicans. I said,`Enough is enough,”’ hesaid. “But I decided toeither say nothing at allunless I go do somethingabout it, so I did.”

He began looking torecruit potential chal-lengers. Three cameforth last winter andThompson survived asthe consensus challenger.She also carries into theprimaries rare endorse-ments of sitting legisla-tors, Morrissey andMarsh.

Dance did not respondto repeated telephoneand email requests forcomment. u

Bob Lewis has coveredVirginia government andpolitics for TheAssociated Press since2000.

deaths are, the delegateand the rest of us oughtto be careful about guiltby association, one of thecommonest, dumbest,most destructive quirksof the human mind.

Pundits jumped on thebandwagon before it hit adownhill stretch andpicked up speed. AWashington Post colum-nist pointed out that theproposed deal got a blackeye a few days after itwas announced when

about 120 people died ina fire at a northern Chinapoultry slaughterhousewhere workers were usu-ally locked in.

Which brings to mindthe Triangle ShirtwaistFactory fire, whichoccurred in New YorkCity in 1911 and killed146 workers. In that case,too, factory supervisorskept the doors locked.

Which, I suppose, onlymeans that the Chineseare about 100 yearsbehind us. But they’regaining ground quickly. u

goes into scandal overdrive and the country continuesto go to hell in a handbasket, I wish all eight compet-ing sports luck as they vie for a spot in the Olympics.

I will continue to follow their behind-the-scenesbattles closely, as they offer a welcome respite fromthe sorry state that America’s people, economy andpolitics are in these days. u

Tom Purcell is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review humorcolumnist. Send comments toPurcell@caglecartoons.com.

Norton, Virginia 24273 The Coalfield Progress Tuesday, June 11, 2013 PAGE 7

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r GannawayFROM PAGE 6

watch list and “we never took it seriously.’’Woolwich and Boston suggest a possible pattern

among intelligence agencies in several countries. Theyeither sit on potentially vital information about poten-tial terrorist security threats or balk at sharing it ortaking it to the next surveillance level. Democraciesmay soon have to seriously assess whether they needto re-calibrate that point of actionable intelligencewhen they demand cooperation between agencies andintelligence services to combat common threats.

Intelligence agencies need to ponder these missedwarning signs. This wasn’t just failing to connect thedots. This was failing to see the LINES. u

Joe Gandelman is a veteran journalist who wrote fornewspapers overseas and in the United States. He canbe reached at jgandelman@themoderatevoice.com.

r GandelmanFROM PAGE 6

Sparse Tuesday primaries serve intraparty payback

come into Wise County and regulate businesses that sellsynthetic drugs, he explained.

DIFFERENT APPROACHAs efforts to toughen the state’s stance on synthetic

drugs continue, Wise County is proposing anotheravenue to tackle the problem.

County supervisors this Thursday are expected tovote on a proposed ordinance that, if approved, wouldprohibit the sale of synthetic drugs in the county. Ifadopted, businesses would be prohibited from selling“incense, herbal incense, potpourri, bath salts, or anyother substance which a health inspector has reason-able belief is a controlled substance or prescriptiondrug,” according to the draft ordinance.

County Attorney Karen Mullins said last Friday thatif supervisors approve the proposal, it will represent adifferent approach for combating a problem that Elkinsreferred to as almost at “epidemic standards now.”

Rather than tackling the problem from a criminalperspective, Assistant Commonwealth Attorney KenLammers said the proposed regulation acts more like abusiness ordinance. Lammers, who helped draft theordinance, said stores selling these type substanceswould have to provide proof that what they are selling isnot illegal or meant to imitate an illegal substance.

Mullins added that packaging for a lot of these sub-stances contains a warning that the product is not forhuman consumption. Business owners have indicatedthis warning protects them in selling the product sincethey don’t have any idea how a customer might use thesubstance once leaving the store, she explained.

But the ordinance would allow a health inspector toexamine a substance, and if there is reasonable beliefthat a product qualifies as a “synthetic drug,” that prod-uct can be seized. The store owner bears the burden ofproving that the product isn’t a controlled substance.The purpose, said Lammers, is to try to make sellingsynthetic products unprofitable.

When asked whether business owners could arguethe ordinance violates their rights because it doesn’trequire concrete proof that they are selling the products

as synthetic drugs, Lammers said a lower standardmust be met for civil or health matters compared towhat the commonwealth’s attorneys office must proveto criminally convict someone. In this case, an inspectormust only have reasonable belief that the product isbeing sold as a synthetic drug. The county will probablybe in good shape if the ordinance is adopted, he said, butthere could always be a business that might challenge it.Elkins said that’s a chance he’s willing to take.

Lammers said there won’t be any criminal penaltiesassociated with the ordinance and no one will go to jail,although there might be a fine attached to it and theproducts could be seized. He said the county most like-ly won’t send anything it seizes for testing, but a busi-ness must prove the substance isn’t harmful or illegal.Otherwise, the products could be discarded after a cer-tain time period, which the draft ordinance notes asthree months.

“It’s more to bring shop owners in line so that they’renot selling harmful and unhealthful things, more than totry to punish them for having sold them,” he said. “It’sa proactive measure,” something that criminal lawoften cannot address. “In criminal law, we generallyreact. Someone does something and then we react to itand they get punished for it,” said Lammers.

GROWING PROBLEMElkins said there has been a drastic increase in syn-

thetic drug use countywide. He mentioned that he’sbeen to countless crime scenes in the past year wheresynthetic marijuana wrappers have been found insomeone’s personal belongings or trash. He still doesn’tunderstand why people take the drugs since they arenot regulated and there’s no way to know what chemi-cals are being ingested. It’s well-known how cocaine,Lortab and Oxycontin affect the human body, saidElkins, but there are no set ingredients in syntheticcannabinoids.

Prosecuting cases where there is belief that a busi-ness is selling synthetics is also difficult. Elkins said

because state law simply bans certain chemical com-pounds, it is impossible for law enforcement to test inthe field whether a substance is illegal. Police must pur-chase a product and then ship it to Roanoke for testing.If the product’s makeup contains chemicals on thebanned list, charges can be brought. Lammers addedthat these cases can take anywhere from three to sevenmonths depending on the lab’s caseload.

NEXT STEPSMullins hopes to continue working with the com-

monwealth’s attorney’s office and enlist aid from thecounty sheriff’s office, county health department, andpossibly state officials to implement the ordinance, ifapproved later this week.

Inspections might be done on a complaint basis, butthis detail remains to be worked out. The first step is toget something on the books and then an interagencypartnership will help implement the ordinance, shesaid.

“There are hurdles and it won’t be simple,” she said.“This ordinance likely won’t stop the sale of thesedrugs, but it is another way to combat it.” u

PAGE 8 Tuesday, June 11, 2013 The Coalfield Progress Norton, Virginia 24273

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Dickenson-Russell takes second in mine rescue contest The Dickenson-Russell Coal

Corporation: A-Team took home sec-ond place honors in the 28th annualGovernor’s Cup Mine Rescue andSafety Contest last Friday atSouthwest Virginia CommunityCollege in Richlands.

Fifteen teams competed in theevent, with Jewell Smokeless CoalCorporation: Black Team placing first.

The rescue and safety contest wasco-sponsored by the Virginia MiningAssociation, Virginia Department ofMines, Minerals and Energy, and thefederal Mine Safety and HealthAdministration.

Teams conducted rescue and recov-ery operations in a staged mine disas-ter scenario.

DMME Director Conrad Spanglerpresented trophies to the top threewinning teams. “Mine rescue contestspresent an excellent opportunity forrescue teams to practice their skills ina competitive environment, workingagainst the clock,” he said. “Practice

and dedication make the difference ifand when these teams are called out inan emergency to help other miners.”

Team members of the Dickenson-Russell team include Captain JerryStanley, Donald Duncan, John Tompa,Steve Linkous, Billy Weaver andDennis Honaker. Alternates included:Franklin Moore, Lannie Hart andGeorge Boardwine.

Lone Mountain Processing, Inc.:Lone Mountain Team won third place.

Other participants included CON-SOL Energy, Inc.: Black and RedTeams; Alpha Natural Resources:Southern Kentucky Mine Rescue;Jewell Smokeless Coal Corporation:Orange Team; Maxxim SharedServices: Blue and Gray Teams; TECOCoal Corporation: Blue and GrayTeams; Wellmore Coal Company: Redand Gray Teams; and Virginia SmallOperator Mine Rescue: Gold andSilver Teams.

DMME and MSHA staff judged thecompetition. u

u Dickenson-Russell Coal Co.: A-Team won second place in the28th annual Governor’s Cup Mine Rescue and Safety Contest lastFriday at Southwest Virginia Community College.

TIM COX PHOTO