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HINTON NEWS
(Continuing theHinton Daily News & The Weekend Leader)
Home of the W. Va. Water Festival
Volume 90 No. 6
Hinton, West Virginia Tuesday June 4, 1991
25 Cents
Board Could Have Cost School System
$8 Million High School
By Fred Long
Although Summers County was
rated #6 in the state as the county
with the greatest need for a new
high school; apparently, the county
missed out on getting $8 million in
state money because of an inconsis-
tent local Board of Education.
The plan had already gained the
top ranking in the six county Re-
gional Education Service Agency
(RESA 1) and was scheduled to go to
the state School Building Authority
(SBA) when board member Bill Dil-
lon, in his first official action as
president, placed the item on the
Board's July 12th agenda and ar-
gued to pull the application from
competition, saying he wanted
"public input." For the past 7 months
Dillon, along with member Bill
Mathews, consistently voted against
the new high school plan, both say-
ing they did not agree with its con-
selidation elements. But on July 1
new nrd Noel gaze
them the edge over members Bud
Shanks and John Lilly and for the
first time they were in the majority.
The motion to pull the application
came from Mathews and Nsely sec-
onded. Dillon cast the majority vote
to pull Summers County from the
race; and, according to an SBA offi-
cial, that vote may have cost the
county state funding for a new high
school.
"We didn't want another MeDow-
ell fiasco," Ciacy Williams, SBA
Executive Director, told The Hinton
News, Thursday, when questioned
why Summers County's application
failed to gain support even though it
was rated one of the highest in the
state for having the "greatest need"
for a new high school.
According to SBA records, ob-
tained air citing the Freedom of
Information Act, a state wide plan-
ning review team, working for the
SBA, placed Summers County 6th
out of 26 projects vying for facilities
money under the second round of
state funding. Ohio Countyeume in
dead last on that list, and was origi-
nally removed, "but was added back
to (the) list because it was the #1
project in RESA VI," the document
states.
Summers County was ranked #I
in its area RESA, but a year ago
MeDowell County (one of the six
counties in RESA 1) came in first
place and received $6,000,000. "We
had to take it back," Williams said,
"because they tried to change their
plan aRer getting the money." For
members of the SBA, Williams said,
"that became an issue to some de-
ree."
Like Summer County, McDowell
County's plan included consolida.
tlon; but, unlike our Board the
McDowell County Board of Educa-
tion supported its plan from the
beginning; and, up until the time
they got the money, "everything wen t
smooth," said the secretary for
McDowell County's School Superin-
tendent.
McDowell County's plan called for
closing two high schools and consoli-
dating them in one new high school
constructed with SBA money. One
of the old high schools would be
turned into a middle school and the
other high school would house stu-
dents consolidated from 4 elemen-
tary schoolsin the county. But when
it came time to implement the plan
county residents that did not want
to see their schools closed created
such a public outcry that the Board
tried to change the plan to remove
consolidation. The SBA didn't go
along with them and took the money
away, later sending it to another
county.
Apparently most of the SBA
membership did not want to see a
repeat performance in Summers
County.
For nine months, between No-
vember 9, 1989 and August 2, 1990,
Summers County's plan for a new,
modern, high school near the Career
Center, at Brooks, was kicked around
by the members ofthe county School
Board.
The plan, a comlrehensdve facili-
ties plan for the entire county that
went through three changes before
reaching its final form, called for
converting the present high school
into an all county middle school for
grades 6 - 8 when a new high school
is built. The Forest Hill school and
Pipeetem school would be closed and
the Sandstone junior high and Tal-
cott junior high consolidated with
the students at the middle school in
Hinton. .....................
At the outset the plan was met
with strong opposition from Board
member Bill Dillon when he refused
to attend the first Board meeting on
the facilities plan., thereby prevent-
ing a quorum and any official action.
Dillon said he refused to attend the
meeting because of the consolida-
tion elements in the plan. With
three members attending, members
Bud Shanks and Billy Joe Lilly,
Dillon knew he would be out voted
so, to prevent the vote from taking
place, he skipped the meeting.
During a workshop meeting on
November 13, 1989, Dillon called
the money "bait" to force consolida-
tion. Board member Bill Mathews
called the money "black mail."
The following nigh t the Board met
for the first time to take official ac-
tion and rejected the plan on a 2 -2
vote. Dillon and Mathews voted
against it. Shanks and Billy Joe
Lilly voted for it. John Lilly, board
president, was on vacation and
couldn't attend.
When Lilly returned he called a
special meeting and on November
21,1989 the plan was approved by a
3 - 2 vote. Dillon and Mathews voted
against it while members Shanks,
Billy Joe Lilly and John Lilly were
for it.
That application came in #3 in
RESA 1 with McDowell's plan #1.
The money went to McDowell and
county adm/nistrators began re-
working its application.
A new application was drawn up
for the 1991 second round of funding
by using data gained from several
workshops, citizens committee meet.
ings that were held earlier and the
county's Comprehensive Educa-
tional Facilities Plan that was ap-
proved in 1986. The 1986 plan had
been developed by a 32 member citi-
zens advisory committee which in-
eluded county Board members, con-
tral office staff, a parent involved in
each county school that had been
selected by the principal, a member
from the Chamber of Commerce and
Senior Citizens, and others. Before
that plan was approved, nine public
meetings were held in 9 different
schools throughout the county. The
new plan basically followed the 1986
plan.
On March 8, 1990 a split vote by
the school Board approved the rs.
vised application. Dillon and
Mathews voted against it because it
included consolidation. Shanks,
Billy Joe Lilly and John Lilly were in
favor of it.
No further action on the applica-
tion for a new high school was held
until after Bill Dillon became presi-
dent of the Board on July 2. Ten
days later he put the application
before the School Board and they
removed it from compitition.
Twenty-one days later, one day
before the deadline, the Board met
for a special session and for the first
time in the long months since the
plan was first presented, Dillon and
Mathews said they were infavor of
it. Both-said they changed their
mind because "public input" sup-
ported the plan. Both had voted
against the plan each time during
the nine months that it had been
before them, but in three short weeks
both changed their mind. Dillon,
who said he would never approve a
plan that involved consolidation, said
the comments were in favor of the
plan "eight to two." He said he would
vote for the plan "regardless of what
I personally think" because the
majority of the comments were for it.
Mathews, who had called the money
"black mail" to force consolidation,
now said he was in favor ofconsoli.
detion for a new high school.
Mathews made the motion. It passed
4 - 1, Neely voted against it.
How convincing was this dead-
line vote to the SBA membership?
Summers County's plan had
gained the top spot in its RESA 1
and the 6th position among all the
projects in the state seeking the state
money.
Mercer County was in second
place with RESA 1 and 15th place
with the state ratings. The plan
called for a new consolidated high
school. They were awarded a grant
of $8,811,585.06. Monroe County
came in 3rd in RESA 1 and 17th on
the statswide team ratings. The
plan called for a new consolidated
high school. Although the county
did not meet the economies of scale
requirements they were awarded a
grant of $8,486,000, accordingto SBA
records.
At the same time an independent
study by an architectural firm em-
ployed by the SBA performed an
"On-site Evaluation" of Summers
County's project and ranked it "very
close, but just ahead of Monroe
County," the report performed by
Alhpa Aseodates, Inc. of Morgan-
town, said in its "Summary and
Opinion" on the project.
In addition, SBA staff members
had evaluated each project and pre-
pared a "working paper" to present
to the authority. A source with the
SBA office said Summers County
was recommended for funding;
however, Williams did not confirm
this.
The final process in the review
stages prior to awards was a 15
minute interview between Dillon,
Tassce and members ofthe Author-
ity.
=All of this was in order to accu-
mulate data," Clacy Williams said
Thursday. he SBAis notrequired
to use any of this (data) in issuing
awards. The awards are issued based
on their opinion and their decisions."
Obviously Summers County's first
place ranking in RESA 1 carried no
weight with the SBb_ Likewish the
county's ranking in the state carried
no weight. The opinon by the archi-
tectural firm was "not used," Wil-
liams said in reaching a decision and
the staff opinion was not relied on
heavily, he said.
The 15 minute interview, appar-
ently, was the most important step
in the 5 part process to obtain state
funding through the SBA.
"rm reasonably sure that they
were asked if the plan has the sup-
port of the Board," Willams said.
The plan, at that time, did have
the majority of the Board's support,
but when the SBA issued its awards
Summers County was not among
them.
Power Line Gets
No Support
From County
Commission
The Summers County Commis-
sion has gone on record opposing the
construction of a 765,000 high volt-
age power line, saying they could
find "no evidence of =any economic
value nor any redeeming features
for Summers County citizens."
The Commission, in passing a
resolution against the project, said
the county is dependent on tourism
as an economic base with its natural
beauty being the prime drawing
card." The line would be a =tremen-
dous eyesore."
Appalachian Power Co. plans to
build a 765,000 volt power line from
a transmission station near Oceana
in Wyoming County to a station near
Roanoke, Va.
The 110 rail e line would cost about
$1.5 million per mile and three ini-
tial study corridors selected by rs-
search teams from WVU and VPI
cut through Summers County.
The Commission is sending a copy
of its resolution to Gov. Caperton,
the Public Service Commission and
"if possible (will) issue a moratorium
to stop the construction on any and
all large power lines through or
within the boundary of Summers
County."
Area Business Offers Ice Cake
On-the-job training was fun for Anderson said the entire cake is
employees at The Dairy Queen, on made from start tofinish righthere.
the Hinton By-Pass, last week when we]rove had mine ple Uk if the
Chris Brake, with American Dairy
Queen, taught them the "art of fro-
zen cake decorating."
"I've been training people through-
out a two state area for 18 months
and the people here are doing terri-
fic- super," Brake said. =They can
make a cake, decorate it, and have it
ready for the customer in 16 min-
utes. I'm really impressed with their
work."
After making an investment of
$22,000, Leonard Anderson, owner
and manager of the Dairy Queen,
said he believed the frozen cakes
would become a feature item for the
store. "This is an expansion of our
business, he said. "Fhis is some-
thing that people will buy and take
home for a birthday or an anniver.
sary. We would like to get 24 hours
notice because on Mother's Day or
Valentine's Day we could get orders
for 300 or more."
cakes are delivered here frozen. We
do everything from making the ice
cream all the way through to the
decorating."
The cake is made with layers of
chocolate and vanilla Dairy Queen
products that, after being poured in
a mold, is placed in a .blast freezer
that goes down to 40 degrees below
zero,"said Anderson. Vnenit comes
out of that freezer it is like a brick."
In between the chocolate and vanilla
is a layer of chocolate cookie crunch
andhot fudge. The decoratingcomes
next.
"We can put anything on the cake
that anyone would want. Right now
we have over 1,000 different designs,
but a person could bring us any
design and we can put it on the cake.
Really it's unlimited what you can
do.
Another new item will be checo- •
late cones and a mixture of half
chocolate and half vanilla.
95 Seeks Court Action
Against SBA
By Fred Long
A petition seeking civil action
against the School Bull dins Author-
ity (SBA) has been signed by 95
county residents and will be pre-
sented in the Kanawha County Cir-
cuit Court in the very near future,"
Hinton attorney David Ziegler said.
"I'm going to appear before the
Judge of the Kanawha County Court
and ask him to accept the petition
demanding the SBA to show cause
why Summers County was not
funded," Ziegler said.
The petition, which is still gain-
ing signatures, will probably he
, presented before the end of the month
and Z/eg]er said people that wantod
to be included on the petition should
stop by his office at llO James St.
Late last month Ziegler was asked
to represent a citizens group, Sum-
mers County Friends of Education,
a voluntary association, to find out
why Summers County's application
for state money to build a new high
school was turned down when grants
were awarded last January.
The association, headed by Char-
les Schrader, president, and Ca]lie
Vines, secretary/treasurer, wants to
know why Summers County's plan
in every prioritization known to the
Petitionars," was rated ahead oflmth
Mercer and Monroe County, which
were awarded grants, and Summers
County went without funding.
The petition claims the SBA`Vio-
latod" state law .by not going by
priority in funding projecte."
The petition will ask the court to
set a date for a hearing with the SBA
to answer the petition and "issue an
order prohibiting" the SBA "from
disbursing any funds within its
control until this matter is resolved."
The petition also seeks an order
trrn the court "compellinbe' the SBA
"to fund the project submitted by
Summers County" if the court finds
in favor of the petitioners.
The petition alleges that "personal
animosity between State Superin.
tendent Henry Marccki, who is also
chairman of the SBA, and County
Superintendent Jim Tassos may
have been the reason why the county
"was denied funding..."
Summers County's plan was the
#1 priority in the six county KESA 1
and the #6 priority in the statewide
ratings. Sixteen projects were
awarded grants totaling $107.8
million after each underwent a 5-
step selection process: 1) review at
the county level and inclusion in the
county facility plan, 2) review by the
RESA, 8) recommendation by the
SBA Review Team, 4) review by an
architectural team and 5)interviews
of county repmstntativesby the SBA.
EcoTheater To Perform At
Pipestem State Park
Pipestem State Park has again
invited EcoTheater to perform at
the Amphitheater every Thurs. eve-
ning from June 20 through Aug. 22,
at 8:00 p.m.
Performers this year will include
Kathy Jackson from Hinton, Judy
Walker, Lama Vanover, Jenny Ann
Calhoun, Father Jim Plavin and
Barge McGhee from Mullens, and
Marhta Aabury-Faulkner from
Lewishurg.A new troupe ofprs-teen
performers from Hinton will be
L-ldngEcoThoator debut with
the adult companies.
In addition to Maryat Lees "Ole
Miz Decoy" and some John Henry
scenes, other locally written oral
history based scenes will be pre-
sented, including the humorous
ales from Trout , the chilling
Zona's Ghost and the story of hew
a town was named in "Ethel Hinton
Speaks'. West Virginia's EcoTheater
presents only original material in-
digenous to the Appalachian area.
EcoTheater has again been ap-
proved as a sponsor for a Governor's
Summer Youth Program, and soon
twelveyoungsters will begin to write
their own original scenes to he pre-
sented in Aug.
Call EcoTheater at 645-2443 for
current information on Pipestem and
other performances.
EcoTheater is a nonprofit corpo-
ration sponsored in part by The
National Endownmont for the Arts
and the W.Va. Hties Council,
and by contributions from friende
and family.