A state Senate panel seeking to revitalize the struggling southern coalfields has awarded a $20,000 grant to a trail project.
At a Thursday meeting in Princeton, Senate President Jeff Kessler and task force members gave the grant to the Piney Creek Trail Committee.
The money will help build a hiking and biking trail starting from Beckley’s YMCA soccer complex, heading to the Raleigh County Airport, then down Piney Creek to the New River Gorge National River.
The panel’s funding went toward matching a $250,000 federal grant.
The Piney Creek Trail Committee is part of the Raleigh County Transportation Authority.
The state Senate’s Southern Coalfields Organizing and Revitalizing the Economy initiative, or SCORE, aims to diversify southern West Virginia. The panel plans to make recommendations before the January legislative session.
A state Senate panel seeking to revitalize the struggling southern coalfields will meet next week in Princeton.
The group’s third listening tour stop is set for Dec. 11 at 6 p.m. at the Fred Gilbert Activity Center in Mercer County.
The Southern Coalfields Organizing and Revitalizing the Economy initiative, or SCORE, aims to diversify southern West Virginia. The panel plans to make recommendations before the January legislative session.
Democratic Senate President Jeff Kessler’s 13-member task force will look at various ways to boost the coalfields.
Some include increasing tourism advertising, education and workforce development and retraining, redevelopment projects, agribusiness and rural development, better broadband Internet, expanded intermodal transportation, development of coalbed methane, and clean coal research and development.
Democrats will yield control of both legislative chambers to Republicans in January.
Senate President Jeff Kessler announced Wednesday that the third meeting of the SCORE task force is scheduled next week in Mercer County.
SCORE stands for Southern Coalfields Organizing and Revitalizing the Economy.
The SCORE task force is made up of state senators, with Kessler as Co-Chair, along with Sen. Mike Green of Raleigh County.
Members say the purpose of the effort is to enable the region to assess its current challenges, and gather ideas already underway on how to address those challenges, ultimately to take this information and propose legislation in January’s upcoming session.
Ideas discussed in the previous two meetings have ranged from workforce retraining to coal bed methane development, tourism advertising, agribusiness, better broadband Internet, and clean coal research and development.
Kessler says the panel needs to hear from the people of southern West Virginia.
The public forum is scheduled Thursday, Dec. 11 at 6pm at Fred Gilbert Activity Center in Princeton.
The second meeting of the SCORE task force met in Fayette County Tuesday night. SCORE, Southern Coalfields Organizing and Revitalizing the Economy, is an initiative aimed to give southern West Virginia much-needed opportunities to diversify the economy and strengthen communities.
Nothing was off the table as each person that chose to speak had two minutes at the podium.
Other areas of concern brought up by the community included:
drug abuse
aging population
disaster preparedness
quality child care
clean water
Suggestions from other speakers included:
renewable energy tax credits
selling water as a natural resource
funding water protection plans
resisting attempts to weaken environmental law
Ensuring the DEP is enforcing the laws
Some folks brought up investing in tourism marketing- something brought up by Co Chair of the Committee Senator Art Kirkendoll of Logan County and Senator Bill Laird of Fayette County.
“One of the things that are particularly significant in this senatorial district the tourism the natural beauty of the area. The Greenbrier Valley certainly the New River Gorge ,” he said.
A recent article in the Charleston Gazette points to a sharp decline in the rafting business, over the past few years.
And as lawmakers talk about investing more into marketing the tourism industry the state audit is questioning the ethics of the Hatfield and McCoy Authority which oversees some of the ATV trails in the state. The state auditor said it was operating as if laws didn’t apply to it.
The SCORE Committee plans to meet two more times. While the last meeting will be held in Logan County, the next location has not been established yet.
Credit Jessica Lilly
/
State lawmakers give brief remarks after hearing from community members.
Democratic Senate President Jeff Kessler says an initiative to revitalize the struggling southern coalfields will continue.
In a news release Wednesday, Kessler said a second listening tour stop is set for the evening of Nov. 18 in Oak Hill.
The Southern Coalfields Organizing and Revitalizing the Economy initiative, or SCORE, aims to diversify southern West Virginia. The panel plans to make recommendations before the January legislative session.
Early ideas range from workforce retraining to coal bed methane development.
A day earlier, Democratic Sen. Mike Green had said the initiative was on hold until Republicans decided its fate. Republicans won Senate control after last week’s election and one Democratic defection to the GOP.
Green is SCORE’s co-chairman.
Republicans also won the House of Delegates majority. Democrats won’t relinquish majorities until January.
As the state Senate shifts Republican, a Democratic senator says an initiative to revitalize West Virginia’s struggling southern coalfields is on hold.
Sen. Mike Green says the fate of the Southern Coalfields Organizing and Revitalizing the Economy initiative, or SCORE, is up to Senate Republicans. The Raleigh County Democrat is SCORE’s co-chairman. He lost re-election last week as Republicans took the majority.
Democratic Senate President Jeff Kessler assembled SCORE, which held one listening tour stop in Beckley last month. Green says additional hearings are on hold.
The 13-member panel aimed to recommend diversification ideas before the January legislative session.
Early concepts ranged from more tourism advertising, education and workforce retraining, to intermodal transportation and coal bed methane development.
Senate Republican leader Bill Cole didn’t immediately return a telephone message Tuesday.
