Mercer County Story Archives - Page 12 of 12 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Concord Charlie Agrees with Punxsutawney Phil for Groundhog Day Prediction

The last few weeks, most of West Virginia has endured bitter cold and snowy weather. Many residents were hoping the famed furry friends would bring predictions of an early Spring.

On Groundhog Day, Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania predicted six more weeks of winter after seeing his shadow. But French Creek Freddie emerged from the West Virginia Wildlife Center in Upshur County and did not see his shadow. According to Groundhog Day tradition, that means an early spring.

Perhaps the dispute can be settled with the folk tale friend, Concord Charlie.

The Groundhog friend in Athens shared his predictions to interum president Dr. Kendra Boggess via cell phone.

“You came out yesterday (Groundhog Day, Feb. 2) and you saw your shadow,” she confirmed with Charlie. She then told the furry forecaster, “Go back in your burrow.”

The Concord Charlie tradition was originated in 1978 by the late Professor R.T. “Tom” Hill. As chairman of both the geography department and the Appalachian Studies program at Concord, Hill started the Groundhog Day Breakfast as a means to celebrate a bit of Appalachian heritage and highlight the program.

Concord tradition shares the spotlight with the Grand Groundhog Watcher, an individual who has positively impacted life and culture in West Virginia.

This year, Greg Puckett, a native southern West Virginian, 1993 Concord graduate, and one of professor Hill’s former students is the recipient.

“He taught me a lot about Appalachian tradition and Appalachian culture and Appalachian studies,” Puckett said. “That sort of got me involved in a lot of the different things and a lot of the levels and understanding our rich history and what it means.”

Puckett is Executive Director of Community Connections and a key player with the local Creating Opportunities For Youth (COFY) community coalition. His work includes substance abuse prevention efforts among young people and their families.

Concord University student Tyler Jackson contributed to this story.

Jessica Lilly can be reached at 304.384.5981, or by email jlilly@wvpublic.org. You can also follow her on twitter: @WVJessicaYLilly.

For updates from West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s statewide news team, follow @wvpubnews.

Could a Checklist Save Your Child-Athlete's Life?

Last year, state legislators passed a bill requiring the Secondary School Activities Commission to draft rules aimed at preventing youth concussions. The legislation came as the national spotlight was shed on long term head injuries NFL players were suffering.

In West Virginia a 17-year-old football standout from South Harrison High School died after collapsing on the sidelines. The running back was unable to come out of a medically induced coma while undergoing surgery to remove a blood cot from his brain.

Whether it’s a concussion, a broken bone, or heart attack one program is meant to better prepare medical professionals before the big game begins.

High schools across southern West Virginia tested what’s called the Friday Night Medical Timeout during the 2013 football season.

“We’re playing game where obviously there can be injuries there can even be catastrophic injuries and we owe it to our athletes to be on top of our game,” athletic trainer at Princeton high school Keith Bowling said.

Princeton High school was one of several high schools across Southern West Virginia to use what’s called the Friday Night Medical Timeout. It’s a kit that basically includes a checklist and a video.

The idea is to “maximize the time and minimize the chaos” by bringing health care support staff for both teams together before the game to discuss things like equipment location, hand signals, ambulance location and more.

Dr. Jim Kyle is the EMS Director of Region one and creator of the Medical Timeout.

“Is there a backboard on the sidelines if you have a downed athlete that needs to be placed on the backboard and transported,” Kyle said. “If a concussion occurs and there is a brief loss of consciousness how do you remove the facemask to make sure that you can observe the athlete closely and prepare for an airway if needed.”

Keith Bowling says preparation and anticipation of the ‘what ifs’ is important for health officials to understand early. Bowling says the program was a helpful addition to game preps at Princeton.

“When an athlete goes down on the field we can’t be standing around at that point and time trying to figure out how we’re going to take care of them or what are we going to do,” Bowling said.

The Friday Night Medical Timeout is a product of The Kyle Group that will be available for purchase in February.

Fake Mine Foreman Sentenced

A Mercer County man who falsified mandatory mine safety reports while employed at several West Virginia mining operations was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison.

Craig Belcher, 37, of Bluefield, W.Va., pleaded guilty in July to providing a false statement, representation and certification in a Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) document.

Belcher’s sentence was handed down Monday by Senior United States District Court Judge David A. Faber in Bluefield.

According to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s office, Belcher was hired to work as an underground mine foreman in January of 2009 at Spartan Mining Company’s Road Fork No. 51 mine in Wyoming County.

In February 2009, Belcher was hired to perform mine foreman duties at Frasure Creek’s Mine No. 15 located in Fayette County.

Belcher also performed similar foreman duties in May 2009 at Pay Car’s Mine No. 58 in McDowell County, and, in July 2010 at Double Bonus’s Mine No. 65 in Wyoming County.

Belcher signed pre-shift and on-shift reports which indicated that he had properly examined particular sections at each mine. Belcher was not certified as a foreman when he completed the mine reports.

Belcher also falsified information on pre-shift and on-shift reports by using foreman’s numbers that did not belong to him.

The investigation was conducted by MSHA. Assistant United States Attorney Blaire Malkin handled the prosecution.

Southern W.Va. Transit Service Gets New Facility

A public transit service in southern West Virginia has a new location. An official opening ceremony is planned for Friday morning.

The vehicles of the Bluefield Area Transit, or “B.A.T.” buses, now have a new ‘cave’ to call home… of a sort.

The construction of the administrative and maintenance facilities for BAT is now complete. The public transit program serves Mercer and McDowell counties with routes into Bluefield, Princeton, Athens and Welch.

The new facilities on John Nash Boulevard in Bluefield, are more than 14,000 total square feet, with more than 5,000 square feet serving as administrative offices.

The project cost nearly $3.9 million and was paid for by a federal State of Good Repair Grant administered by the West Virginia Division of Public Transit.

Danhill Construction Company of Gauley Bridge worked on the project.

Parents of Children with Special Needs Lean on Each Other

Often referred to as, ‘the greatest job in the world’, taking care of a child with special needs can be challenging for parent. Parents of children in Mercer County have formed their own support group.

Living in rural areas often means living significant distances from medical specialists, and sometimes treatment. For example the best form of treatment for Autism is applied behavioral analysis. While there are limited specialists across the state, there is not a single specialist south of Charleston in West Virginia.

Support groups are no different. There are very few in the region.

“Unfortunately where we are in a very rural area there’s not a lot of access to support groups like you would see in bigger cities,” Carla Poseno said.

Carla Poseno is the Vice President of the K.I.D.S Project.

“So what we decided to do is make an all-inclusive special needs support group to work in the community,” she said.

While the support group is meant to help parents and caregivers of children with special needs, the group is also to help remind the children that they are kind, important, determined, and strong … which is what the “KIDS” in “K.I.D.S Project” stands for.

“It’s really helped me because my daughter is kind of my full time job,” she said. “Best job on earth but at the same time it can be stressful.”

Poseno knows that raising a child with special needs isn’t always easy.

“Sometimes it can be hard it can be stressful,” Poseno said. “You have sleepless nights there are days that sometimes you are lucky to get a shower because your child needs so much from you.”

“It’s worth the fight to fight for your kids when they have special needs.”

Children with various diagnoses and disabilities are all welcome and so far parents of children with special needs that range from autism, to spina bifida, to bipolar have attended meetings.

Kristal Jones, coincidentally a McDowell native, is the president of the group.

“The very first meeting it struck me that this is something that we really need in our area,” Jones said.

The group is also a place for parents and caregivers to share resources and advice. Jones’s daughter has A.D.H.D.

“If you don’t request certain things they may not know that your child needs that additional help on testing per say,” she said.

The group meets every fourth Monday of the month at Princeton Public Library. The next meeting on December 30, however, will be at the Glenwood Green Valley Fire Department. The K.I.D.S project is hosting a holiday party for families with members with special needs.

'There Is a Change in the Air' in This Southern W.Va. Town

A town in Southern West Virginia is rolling up its sleeves to revitalize downtown. The goal is to turn the main street in Princeton into a safe place to socialize, shop, and grow. Residents basically decided to stop complaining about the rundown reality, and do something to change it.

The Princeton Renaissance Project began about six months ago. It’s a vision to create an attractive economically vibrant downtown. Most of the work is focused on Mercer Street, an area with a reputation for drug trafficking and prostitution. Those projects include:

Festivals and events: The crew at the Riff Raff Arts Collective, a gallery on Mercer Street in Princeton organized and hosted the Altogether Arts Week for the past five years. The event includes a parade, sidewalk painting, and more. Volunteers with the project have also organized outdoor movie viewings, and in October, tricks or treat on Mercer Street.
Restoring the historic Lavon Theater
The Princeton Community Improvement Commission created a grant program to help renovate storefronts. Businesses can apply for up to $2,000 for storefront renovation.
Relocating Princeton City Hall from the corner of Courthouse Road to the former First Community Bank building on Mercer Street.
Artist Alley: The project blocked off more than 20 spaces on two walls separated by a narrow strip of rough pavement. Any artist was able to cover a section of the wall with a masterpiece. After a few final touches the alley will be a 24 hour outdoor art gallery.
Circle time: business owners, non-profit representatives, citizens, and sometimes the city manager meet once a week to discuss new ideas to make the Princeton Renaissance a success
Eight paid mural artists to help cover some buildings

“It’s pretty cool because I’ve been wanting to paint this town for years and years and years,” Patch Whisky, one of the paid artists helping spruce up Mercer Street.

“I was wanting to paint that building five years ago when I was trying to open up an art gallery downtown here,” Whisky said. “They wouldn’t let me do it for free. Now they’ve had to pay somebody a lot of money to paint whatever they’re painting on there right now. But it’s definitely changed.”

“There is a change in the air.”

Wisky’s work can be found across the east coast in cities like Charleston South Carolina, Miami Florida and now his hometown Princeton.

“The whole idea is to give people a good reason to come back down to Mercer Street,” Sam Franz said during a circle time meeting. “Lots of fun. I’m surprised at how eager all the local businesses are to get out and help us with this.”

“We’ve got the arts, and we have education, government, non-profit and just the regular folks all pulling together,” new city manager Elke Doom said, “to bring us back to I can’t say the old glory, but a whole new Mercer Street.”