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The
HINTON NEWS
(Continuing the Hlnton Dally News & The Weekend Leader)
Home of the W. Va. Water Festival
Volume 96 No. 42
Hinton, West Virginia Tuesday Feb. 2, 1999
40 Cents
Sheriff Charged in Domestic
Battery Complaint
By Fred Long
Summers County Sheriff John
Plumley Jr. was arrested Thursday
and charged in a domestic battery
complaint made by his wife, Vicki
Sue Plumley, that afternoon.
According to the criminal
complaint, filed in Magistrate Court
.re Magistrate Bill Jeffriee, the
dent allegedly occurred on Dec.
15, 1998, around 9:00 pro, while the
two were "preparing to go to sleep"
and "engaged in a verbal
confrontation" at their home in
Marie.
Following the verbal
confrontation, the complaint alleges,
Sheriff Plumley "became irate,
jumped up, grabbed her by the
shoulders and began bouncing her
offthe bed, putting the victim in fear
for her safety."
The charge, a misdemeanor,
carries a possible fine, upon
conviction, of up to $500 and, or, one
year in jail or both, Jeffries said.
All that is required by the statute
is "physical contact" from one family
member that would put another
family member in fear for their life
or safety, Jeffries said, explaining
that hitting the victim, or injury to
the victim wu not required.
J'eies could not y Why Ms.
Plumley waited several weeks to
make the complaint, but said it
might have been because of
Christmas and not wanting to
disrupt the holiday season for the
children.
Ms. Plumley, who is Magistrate
Court Clerk, yesterday, declined to
comment on the allegations. Sheriff
Plumley was not in his office
yesterday and could not be reached.
Plumley was not incarcerated for
the charge, Jeffries said. He was
released on his own personal
recognizance with the condition that
he have no contact with his wife.
Both Jeffries and Magistrate
James E. "Wootie" Beasley have
removed themselves from hearing
the complaint in order to "prevent
any appearance of impropriety" on
their part, Jeffries said, because
both are personal friends of the
family. County Prosecutor Mike
Turner is also expected to remove
himself from the case for the same
reason.
A special prosecutor and
magistrate from outside Summers
County will be appointed to hear the
complaint.
Senior State Trooper Mark
Painter filed the complaint against
the sheriff when Ms. Plumley
approached him with the allegation
around 2:00 pm Thursday afternoon.
Plumley was arrested at his home
about three hours later.
Disney Featuring John Henry
In celebration of Black History
Month, Disney has announced that
it will be broadcasting a 30-minute
special on John Henry, the legendary
steel drivin' man from Summers
County.
The feature will be shown Feb.
2nd. and 13th. at 7:00 p. m. on the
Disney Channel.
The film depicts John Henry, a
larger-than-life tale about an
African American hero born with a
hammer in his hand. The story
details the life.of John Henry who
journeys from cotton country to the
wilderness where he finds men of all
colors working together to build a
great railroad,
Top animators from Walt Disney
Animation Feature Studios, based in
Orlando, Florida, visited Hinton and
Summers Cunty last July, said
Carla Leslie, who hosted the film
makers. At that time, they visited
the Hinton Railroad Museum, the
John Henry Wood Carving Exhibit,
then traveled to Talcott's John
Henry Days Festival, where they
took in live demonstrations of work
done during the building of the
Great Bend Tunnel, performed by
historian, Bill Dillon and others.
Since that time they have been
working on the development of the
John Henry story to make it into an
animated film, she said.
Hinton Receives $22,000 Grant
Mayor James A. Leslie has been
notified that the City of Hinton is
the recipient of a $22,000
Community Partnership Grant
awarded by Governor Cecil
Underwood.
The grant, prepared and
submitted by the City of Hinton, will
assist in the development of Phase
one of the feasibility study and
engineering design of assisted living
units in the former Hotel McCreery,
and install utility services to the
city's new Public Works Building.
Community Partnership Grants
support community enrichment
projects that provide a better living
environment and, or, expand
economic development
opportunities.
Hinton Becomes Part of National
Association of Manufacturers'
Exclusive, New Site Selection Network
The City of Hinton has a new
avenue for attracting traditionally
hard-to-reach companies in search
of plants and facilities thanks to its
participation in the new National
Association of Manufacturers
(NAM) Site Selection Network.
The City of Hinton is among an
exclusive group of 300 communities
given the opportunity to market to
NAM's 14,000 members who utilize
the Association's free service to
locate sites that match their project
criteria, according to Ron Jones,
Director Economic Development for
West Virginia Power.
"Our involvement in this network
represents a unique opportunity to
expand our lead-generating
capabilities," says Jones. "We will be
Myths and
Facts About
Sexual Assault
This column is the eleventh in a
series intended to refute some of the
commonly believed myths about
sexual assault. These myths are
deeply rooted in American society
help prevent sexual assault and rape
from being seen for what they are -
crimes of violence intended to
ominate, control, degrade and
oit the victim. It is estimated
that sexual assault occurs every
seven minutes in the U. S.
MYTH: Rape is a women's
problem.
FAC. This myth ignores the fact
that while the overwhelming
majority of sexual offenses have
been committed by men against
women, men have also been the
viqms of sexual assault.
marketing directly to real corporate
projects instead of prospects - and
that is certainly a plus."
The City of Hinton is
participating in the SSN through
UtiliCorp United's alliance with
NAM. The partnership combines the
strength of UtiliCorp United's
LocationOne Economic
Development Services and the
LocationOne Information System
database with NAM's SSN.
West Virginia Power services
26,000 electric and 24,000 gas
customers in West Virginia and is a
division of Kansas City-based
UtiliCorp United. UtiliCorp is an
international electric and natural
gas company with 2 million energy
customers and operations across the
U. S. and In Canada, Great Britain,
Australia, and New Zealand.
REACHH Coffee
House to Feature
Athens Songwriter
The REACHH Community Coffee
House will make a comeback on Feb.
12th. with a Valentine's Day theme.
Acoustic guitar will be featured at
this month's Coffee House, with
singer/songwriter Gary Meadows of
the Athens area performing,
accompanied by Michael Meadows
on lead guitar, Danny Meadows on
base and Mike Hill on vocals. Gary
describes the band's repertoire as
covering "a whole era of music,"
running the gambit from blues to
new alternative.
"We always have a good time at
the Coffee Houses," Gary told
REACHH Coordinator Peggy Rosei.
"I wrote a song inspired by the
Clothesline T shirt display (against
violence) that I saw at REACHH,
and hope to play it on the 12th. Gary
expressed his appreciation for this
opportunity to play some of his
original tunes in a comfortable,
relaxed and appreciative setting.
"With all the recent growth in the
programs and services that
REACHH offers," Peggy noted, "our
staff has been so busy that we
haven't had a Coffee House in over
a year. Valentine's Day seemed like
a perfect time to revive this popular
tradition, and Gary seemed like the
ideal performer."
REACHH, through it's original
offices in Avis and the Family
Resource Center, has been providing
a growing range of services to
support individuals and families in
Summers County for the past seven
years.
"Children and youth of all ages
are always welcome at these events
Peggy added. "Our House" features
a playroom with a wealth ofteys and
games to keep them entertained."
' The Feb. 12th. Coffee House will
begin at 7:30 pm at the REACHH
House, which is located at 176
Pleasant St. in Hinton. A donation
of $2.50 per person will be requested
at the door, with children under 12
being admitted free. Donations will
'also be requested for refreshments.
For additional information contact
REACHH at 466-4659.
Bluestone Dam Celebrates
50th. Anniversary
U. S. Army Corp. of Engineers
Resource Manager David Eskridge
and his staff, along with a group of
city and county leaders, state park
and tourism representatives, have
been meeting recently to plan events
commemorating the 50th.
anniversary of the Bluestone Dam,
which wa officially declared to be
finished in Jan. 1949.
"We have been extremely pleased
to get an outstanding pledge of
support from many key people of our
county and are excited to be
planning a number of events for the
Bluestone Dam in 1999" said
Eskridge. "We are all working
together to plan a year of celebration
for the anniversary."
One of the most immediate
projects, said Eskridge, is to create
a logo for the dam commemorating
the 50th. anniversary which will be
used for marketing purposes
throughout the year.
The contest is open to anyone
wishing to submit a design, he said.
The rules for the contest are
printed in conjunction with this
article and may also be obtained
from City Hall, the Summers
County Public Library or by mail.
Anyone wishing to have a copy of
rules mailed to them may call the
Dam at 466-1234 or City Hall at 466-
3255.
The winner of the logo contest will
receive a weekend getaway at a
State Park in West Virginia plus
$100 in spending money, 2nd. place
winner will receive $75 and the 3rd.
place winner will receive $50.
Deadline for submission is Apr. 13th.
During the year, tours oftbe dam
will remain the same with tour days
being Wed. and Thurs. at 1:30 p. m.
and Sat. and Sun. 2:00 p. m.
Memorial Day through Labor Day.
The Visitor Center at the Dam
will also be open. Pictures, history
and memorabilia are on display at
the Visitor Center.
Although a number of events are
still in the planning stages, the
official day for open house at
Bluestone Dam is set for Aug. 7th.,
during the West Virginia State
Water Festival.
Water Festival President Ralph
Wilson noted that he is taking a look
at adding back into the schedule of
events the popular fish fry, perhaps
in Bellepoint Park area below the
dam and some possible water
related events on Bluestone Lake.
Today, plans are underway by the
Corps of Engineers to make several
modifications to Bluestone Dam.
Consideration is being given to
placing a multi-level gated structure
on the face of the dam to release drift
and debris that frequently
accumulates against the dam. The
Army engineers are looking at
increasing the dam's capacity to pass
floodwaters. Also, the Corps plans to
anchor the dam into bedrock using safety requirements.
high tensile strength cables. These Bluestone Dam has long provided
mnswtll . brittg Buestone -r e erea ti on nitie s - and
Dam into conformance with the enhanced fishing and boating/
current engineering design and Continued on page 2
Greenville Bank Opening
Local Branch Office
By Fred Long
The Bank of Greenville, last
week, filed an application with the
Federal Reserve System for
permission to establish a branch
office in the Country Roads Plaza
shopping area.
Both Hinton backs recently came
under new ownership when, on Jan.
1, City Holding Company of
Charleston merged with Horizon
Bancerp Inc. of Becldey. Horizon
Bancorp owned the National Bank
of Summers while City Holding Co.
owned The First National Bank of
Hinton.
With the merger, City Holding
would have a monopoly on banking
in Summers County, prohibited by
Justice Dept. antitrust laws, and
City Holding had to liquidate one of
the properties.
The First National Bank of
Hinton was sold to Pocahontas
Bankshares Corp., headquartered in
Bluefield, W. "Ca. The transaction is
expected to be finalized in May.
The only change local residence
will see is a change in the names of
both backs, officials for both
institutions say.
The new name for the First
National Bank of Hinton will be
First Century Bank. The National
Bank of Summers will be renamed
City National Bank.
Both banks will remain
independent with no operational
changes and no local layoffs are
expected, officials said,
In the meantime the Bank of
Greenville's holding company,
Monroe Financial Inc., filed an
application for a branch office.
The opening is planned for May I
in the building in the shopping
center near Magic Mart, vacated by
the National Bank of Summers
when they constructed a new
building on Stokes Drive several
years ago.
If the application is approved, the
building will renovate for a two-lane
drive-through, four-teller branch
office with five Summers County
employees.
Two, presently working at the
Greenville bank will be transferred
to the new location and three hired,
according to Aaron Judy, bank
president and CEO.
The new office will also be a full
service bank, he said.
The Federal Reserve considers a
number of factors in deciding
whether to approve the application,
including the record of the bank's
perfor/nance in helping to meet local
credit needs.
Comments concerning the
application can be made in writing
to the Federal Reserve Bank of
Richmond, P O Box 27622,
Richmond, VA., 23261. Comments
can alse be made to the State Board
of Banking and Financial
Institutions. The address is
Commissioner of Banking, Capitol
Complex, Charleston, WV, 25305.
The comment period will not end
before Feb. 15.