3

d Accident detailsRelatives of Austin Bowmanwrite this week to expressthanks for the support shownduring their recent tragedybut also to provide enlighten-ing details not yet reportedabout the accident thatclaimed the young boy’s life.See Opinion, Page 8.

d Couch to 5KTim Sykes, UVa-Wise assistantprofessor of health and physi-cal education, organized aCouch to 5K program inhopes it would unite the col-lege and surrounding commu-nity in a common effort toimprove people’s overallhealth and well-being. Seestory and photos, Page 2.

d RecoveryfestGiving up tobacco isn’t easy,but people who want to makea first step, or reinforce effortsthey’ve already made, canfind help at Saturday’sRecoveryfest Southwest.See story, Page 5.

dBudget hearingReminder that the WiseCounty School Board will holda public hearing on its pro-posed 2013-14 budget at 6p.m. on Tuesday, April 23.

d Hosting historyPowell Valley National Bankwill host the Wise CountyHistorical Society in the lobbyof its Wise office from 9 a.m.until noon Thursday, April 27,so the public can come byand learn more about thesociety and request a familygenealogy from the society’sextensive genealogy data-base. The event is part of thebank’s 125th celebration.

d Blood driveWellmont Health System’sMarsh Regional Blood Centerwill conduct a public blooddrive Tuesday, April 23, from 1-6 p.m., at Valley View FreewillBaptist Church in Clintwood.As many as three lives maybe saved each time a persondonates blood – and an indi-vidual’s blood donation toMarsh Regional stays local tohelp people in this region.

d Griffith staffRep. Morgan Griffith’s NinthDistrict staff will be availableto meet with the public onFriday, April 26, from 2-4 p.m.at the Big Stone Gap federalcourthouse, third floor, room303. That morning from 10until noon, staff will be at theDickenson Center forEducation and Research inClintwood.

New 3D printers open

a world of possibilities

for manufacturers,

scientists, designers,

anyone with a dream.

See Page 10.

J U S T A

MinuteJeff Lester

NEWS EDITOR

CrisisReport sayslocal Rxdrug abusealarmingGLENN GANNAWAYPOST NEWS EDITOR

A large majority of drugcases in Lee, Scott, Wise andDickenson counties involvethe abuse of prescriptiondrugs, according to a reportreleased Wednesday by theU.S. attorney’s office for theWestern District of Virginia.

And, according to thereport, the chief medicalexaminer for the state’s west-ern district has determinedthat drug deaths increased 41percent in western Virginiafrom 2007-11 and more than80 percent for the state since1999.

The report, “PrescriptionDrug Abuse in SouthwestVirginia,” contains recom-mendations from theSouthwest Virginia Prescrip-tion Drug Abuse Summit heldlast November in Wytheville.The Healthy AppalachiaInstitute at the University ofVirginia’s College at Wise, theUniversity of Virginia, andRadford University con-tributed data and recommen-dations.

The summit resulted fromofficials’ determination totake what U.S. AttorneyTimothy J. Heaphy called a“holistic approach” to com-bating prescription drugabuse.

“We cannot simply arrestand prosecute our way to safecommunities,” Heaphy notedin his introduction to thereport.

Noting that prescriptiondrug abuse is at crisis propor-

Involuntary manslaughter allegedTeen driver to betried as an adult

JEFF LESTERNEWS EDITOR

A Norton resident has beencharged with two counts of involun-tary manslaughter because of a July

2012 wreck that killed two of herpassengers.

Emily Francine Collier, 18, of7612 Kashmir Way, Norton, wasindicted Monday by a Wise Countygrand jury. If convicted, each chargecarries a penalty of up to 10 years inprison.

Collier was 17 at the time of theJuly 8 crash, but her case was trans-ferred from juvenile court to circuitcourt so that she can be tried as an

adult.At around 3:40 a.m. that day,

Collier was driving a 2005Volkswagen Beetle with one frontpassenger and three rear passen-gers. They had just left HuddleHouse in Wise and were travelingsouth on U.S. 23 when the vehicleran off the road near the Esservilleintersection, hit a guard rail, over-turned and went down an embank-

CRISIS, PAGE 3

ALLEGED, PAGE 3

PROGRESS

Sports| Page 1B| EETTSSUU pprreesseennttss nneeww cchhaalllleennggee ffoorr CCaavvss.. Homespun| Page 6B| EElloosssseerr iiss CCiittiizzeenn ooff YYeeaarr..

FRIDAYApril 19, 2013

Vol. 102 • No. 31

26 Pages

NORTON, VA 24273 USPS 120-120 $1.00

A Progressive Newspaper Serving Our Mountain Area Since 1911

the

ON PAGE 3r Theft countsreturned against13 people.r Three facedrug, drivingindictments.

Thirty five runners attendeda ‘Runners United for Boston’ group run in downtown Norton onWednesday. Coeburn resident MissiGibson organized the eventto remember those affected by theBoston Marathon bombing that killedthree people on Monday.

Pound runner at Boston Back home, runners show support

City gets a lot from library, gives lessJEFF LESTERNEWS EDITOR

NORTON — The LonesomePine Regional Library system isdoing a lot to serve Norton resi-dents, system Director AmyBond advised city councilTuesday.

But at the same time, theamount of money Norton spends

per capita to support the librarysystem lags behind the averagefor local governments across thenine-library service region.

Bond provided an activityreport to council just as its mem-bers prepare to deliberate detailsof a proposed 2013-14 municipalbudget.

During last year’s prepara-tions for the current budget,

Councilman Mark Caruso pro-posed that the city eliminate ordrastically slash Norton’s $48,500yearly library contribution.Caruso said he was not convincedthe library system was providingadequate service to Nortonians.Later, he backed off his proposalbut called for a thorough review

Wise park designs getexcitement, questionsKATIE DUNNSTAFF WRITER

Designs for a proposed park with-in the town of Wise are beginning totake shape.

Thirty people attended a secondcommunity meeting about the parkon April 8 at Wise Town Hall, and thecounty Industrial DevelopmentAuthority discussed possible designelements at a meeting Tuesday.

But several elements suggestedby the local community might notmake the final cut.

An initial community meeting washeld in late February. Since that gath-ering, Virginia Tech students havecreated two possible concepts for the40-acre parcel once owned by thelate John C. and Carol PhippsBuchanan. Mrs. Buchanan’s estatelast year bequeathed her home andthe surrounding property in theBeverly Hills section of town to thecounty IDA. Buchanan requested theproperty serve as a sanctuary parkfor animals and birds, and she gave

KATIE DUNNSTAFF WRITER

Dale Riddle qualified twice forthe prestigious Boston Marathon,but it wasn’t until this year that hedecided to run the 26.2-mile race.

Riddle, who lives in Pound andworks for Maxim Engineering,crossed the finish line in 3 hours, 40minutes, less than half an hourbefore two bombs exploded within12 seconds of one another at 2:50p.m. near the Boylston Street finishline.

Three people died and more than180 were injured in the blasts. As oflate Wednesday, no arrests had been made, but sev-eral national news agencies reported that investi-gators were pursuing several promising leads.

Riddle, 54, had just finished changing clothesnear the finish line when he heard the first explo-sion. People near him were initially confused, hesaid. Someone asked whether there was an activeconstruction site nearby. But when a woman men-tioned the explosion appeared to have come from

the finish line, everyone realizedwhat had happened.

“It was an extremely loud blast,and in the main part of the city, Iwouldn’t really expect a blast likethat to be anything other than abomb,” Riddle said in a phone inter-

view Wednesday from Portland,Maine, where he was vacationing.

Riddle couldn’t see much mayhemfrom where stood, but said everyonewas panicked and running franticallyin different directions. He remem-bers following a crowd away from thefinish line. He ended up in nearbyBoston Common and Public Gardenwhere he waited a while, unsurewhere to go next. His vehicle, with his

cell phone and money, was parked near the finishline, and Riddle was unable to access it until thefollowing morning. “I found out that I couldn’t getback to my car because that area was blocked offbecause of its proximity to the blast,” he said.

He learned from city subway workers that the

Government spend-ing on library services

is $30.66 per capitastatewide, $23.30 percapita in the regional

library service area,but only $11.93 per

capita in Norton.

u Wise County Citizen of the Year BonnieElosser, center, is flanked by BufordSturgill, left, and Ray Jones Jr., otherChamber of Commerce award winners. SeeHomespun, Page 6B, for details.

LIBRARY, PAGE 6

PARK, PAGE 6

MARATHON, PAGE 2

Honored

‘It was a mainpart of the city.I wouldn’t reallyexpect a blastlike that to beanything otherthan a bomb.’

Dale RiddlePound marathon

runner

KATIE DUNN PHOTO

Teen driver to betried as an adult

Gordon is an adultmale shepherd mixready for a foreverhome. Call theWise CountyAnimal Shelter,

679-6750. Check us out on face-book http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/norton.shelter.

d I want ‘em all, but . . .

KATIE DUNNSTAFF WRITER

WISE — Until six weeksago, Ken Hale had never donemuch recreational running.

Thanks to a six-week“Couch to 5K” entry leveltraining program, the 50-year-old Wise resident can now runalmost three miles and is con-sidering entering his first 3.1-mile race this fall.

Hale was one of 10 peoplewho met to run and walk on awarm Tuesday afternoon thisweek outside the PriorConvocation Center at theUniversity of Virginia’sCollege at Wise.

The program, which beganMarch 19, wraps up nextTuesday, and Hale said hefeels good physically and haslost weight since last month’sinitial workout. The toughestpart, he said, has been build-ing his endurance.

Timothy Sykes, assistantprofessor of health and physi-cal education at UVa-Wise,organized the program inhopes it would unite the col-lege and surrounding commu-nity in a common effort toimprove people’s overallhealth and well-being.

Sykes, a marathon runnerwho won the inaugural BlueRidge Marathon in 2010,launched the effort because henoticed there were no similarprograms being offered in thecommunity.

Twenty eight people attend-ed the initial workout, thoughthat number has nowdecreased to a handful eachweek. Most participants arecollege students and staff, butSykes hopes the overall com-munity will also get involved.He plans to hold the programagain this fall and next spring.

“I think the idea is in placeand in future years this couldbe something really fun andsuccessful for health and kindof a social community event,”he said.

Kimberly Crockett, 21, aUVa-Wise senior majoring inhealth and physical education,helped Sykes organize theweekly workouts. She said theparticipants — mostly collegestaff — who have religiouslyattended each workout pushthemselves each week. “I see

people do more and more eachtime, especially those whowork throughout the week attheir fitness,” she said.

Crockett, who plans to grad-uate this December, hopes theprogram will become a tradi-tion. “When the weather getsnice like this, it’s just a goodtime to come out and socializeand walk and be active,” shesaid. “It’s a good thing. Wehave walkers and runners, soit’s open to pretty much every-body.”

Participants normally meeteach week at the Ugly MugCoffee Shop in downtownWise, and Sykes said shopowner Greg Kress has been agracious host. Without his hos-pitality, the program might nothave attracted as many people,he said.

Participants walk or runalmost a mile from the coffeeshop to Central High School’strack, where they completetwo laps before returning tothe coffee shop.

Some people have gone far-ther than three miles whileothers stick to the 5K goal, saidSykes. The group began bywalking or running two milesand has gradually increasedthe number of minutes exer-cised each week. Most partici-pants walk, but Sykes saidsome people have added aminute or two of running totheir routines. Beyond the

Tuesday gatherings, Sykes hasencouraged participants tocontinue their routinesthroughout the week andoffered tips for how to gradu-ally increase their mileage.

“If this motivates at leastone participant to go throughthe months of May and Juneand continue these exercisehabits on a frequent basis, fouror five times throughout theweek, that’s kind of my mainmission here,” he said, “to atleast impact a small populationof the Wise community and getthem to change their mindsetand implement and integratephysical activity into theirdaily lives.”

This week, the group

swapped its regular route topreview the course for anupcoming 5K at the college. Acouple of participants, includ-ing Norton resident TerryPugh, plan to participate in theApril 27 SGA Student Leader5K and 1-mile fun walk.

Pugh, 52, began runninglast June and logged five 5Ksin 2012. She has attended twoor three of Sykes’ workoutsand said she came to get fitand prepare for more 5Ks.Beyond next weekend’s race,Pugh hopes to run an upcom-ing race at Milligan College inTennessee, as well as 5Ks thatwill be held at Norton’s BestFriend Festival, Wise’s FallFling and Pound’s Heritage

Days. Pugh said a desire to keep

off the 65 pounds she’s shedinspired her last year to startrunning. “I do it to lose weight,it’s a good stress reliever and Ilove being outdoors,” she said.

Pugh jogs and walks herway through races and said thetoughest part are the uphillportions. The best part, shesaid, is the finish line whencheering spectators give herthat extra “burst of energy” tofinish the race. u

For more information onnext Saturday’s UVa-Wiserace, visit the websitewww.uvawise.edu/sga or call276/376-3430.

PAGE 2 Friday, April 19, 2013 The Coalfield Progress Norton, Virginia 24273

transit system had been shut down because of thebombings, so Riddle walked more than two miles backto his hotel and stayed there until the following morn-ing. Then he walked back to the parking garage and col-lected his vehicle.

Riddle has run recreationally most of his life. Hisfirst race was the Eastman Road Race in Kingsport,Tenn., in 1997. He has also run numerous marathons,including the Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon andGrandfather Mountain Marathon in Boone, N.C.

Even if he qualifies for Boston again, Riddle isunsure he will run the race, especially given this week’sevents. “I’m kind of glad, in a way, that I did run it andmade it through all right because I guess I’m kind of

worried that Boston is not going to be the same fromnow on,” he said. Time will tell, but Riddle saidMonday’s tragedy is sure to be remembered for years tocome.

LOCAL RUNNERS UNITEBack in Virginia, some local runners reflected on this

week’s horrific events by holding a “Runners United forBoston” group run Wednesday evening.

Missi Gibson, 41, of Coeburn, organized the run and35 participated, each wearing a race bib that read “4-15-13 Boston.” They ran a route through downtown Nortonthat included one-, two-, three- and six-mile options.

Gibson has been running for two years and finishedher first marathon, Yuengling Shamrock Marathon, lastmonth. She said she was devastated and heartbrokenabout Monday’s attack and wanted to hold Wednesday’srun to send a message that runners won’t be deterred bythe bomber’s actions. She also hoped the event wouldshow solidarity for fellow runners unable to cross thefinish line in Boston.

“Aside from the people that were injured, just toknow the dedication and time that you have to put intothat marathon training and the sacrifice, it’s just a phys-ical pain that you have to go through to push your bodyto that limit,” she said, and then to be right at the finishline and have that taken away is horrible.

Daniel Dotten, 42, of Wise, saw Gibson’s posting onFacebook and thought it seemed like a good way tohonor those affected by the bombings. “It’s a chance toshow some support for those people even if it’s in asmall way,” he said. Dotten has run two marathons.

Gibson said the group plans to continue its weeklyruns and will meet each Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the oldBig Lots parking lot behind the stone wall downtown,

BOSTON ALUMNI REFLECTTwo prior Boston finishers also shared their thoughts

about this week’s attack.Tim Sykes, an assistant professor of health and phys-

ical education at the University of Virginia’s College atWise, ran Boston in 2006. “Boston holds a near and dearplace in my heart,” he said Tuesday. “It’s one of themost amazing sporting events, in my opinion, that wehost here in the U.S., and to see such a tragic event hap-pen is really, really sad.”

This month also brings back tough memories forSykes and his wife, Sarah, for another reason. Sarahattended Virginia Tech at the time of the April 16, 2007,mass shooting that claimed 32 lives.

“I think the great thing about Americans and peoplein general is we’re resilient and we get together just likethey did in Blacksburg, and I know that will happen inBoston,” said Sykes. “I’m sure they’ll band together andget through this, but it is sad that we now have to bewatching our backs at a national sporting event likethat.”

Wise resident Michael Abbott, who ran the 100thrunning of Boston, said he was shaking as he watched

coverage of Monday’s terrorist attack on TV. “I was thinking about running by those same two

spots when you turn the corner on that final leg and youcan see the finish line,” he said.

The final eight or 10 blocks of the trek is a time of ris-ing excitement. “To be in sight of that finish line and beso euphoric about things, I just can’t imagine” havingthe race interrupted by an explosion, he said.

“Of course, after 26 miles you’re tired too,” Abbottsaid. “That fellow they showed on the video (who col-lapsed near the finish line when the bombs exploded),he’s my age. He said the concussion knocked himdown.” After a 26-mile run, Abbott said, “it takes just afeather to knock you down. I’m proud of the old boy —he got up and finished.”

Runners, Abbott said, are a certain kind of peoplewho recognize the effort it takes to cross the finish line,no matter what, by saying “at least he finished.”

But the bombs marred a day that is the culminationof years of effort and dedication.

“The thing people don’t realize is you have to quali-fy for the Boston Marathon, so all those people haveworked and worked and worked to qualify at some othermarathon that’s certified . . . and to suffer that after allthat amazes me,” Abbott said.

The Boston Marathon, Abbott observed, is “veryhospitable and it allows somebody like me to run inthe Super Bowl of my sport . . . to qualify and every-thing and have something like that to happen is justtragic.” u

Post News Editor Glenn Gannaway contributed tothis report.

u At top,Missi Gibson

of Coeburnorganized

the run andleads a

group of run-ners on a

loop throughdowntown

Norton. r Atright, Wise residents Daniel Dotten, 42,

center, and Coby Addison, 27, right, and others join the pack.

Couch to 5K: Program inspires fitnessl Participants in a six-week ‘Couch to 5K’training program begintheir workout Tuesday atCarl Smith Stadium atUVa-Wise.

d Below, Tim Sykes, farright, and Jordan Colemake their way up a hillnear the Science Centeron campus. Sykes, UVa-Wise assistant professorof health and physicaleducation, organizedthe program in hopes itwould unite the collegeand surroundingcommunity in a commoneffort to improvepeople’s overall healthand well-being.

KATIE DUNN PHOTOS

KATIE DUNN PHOTOS

r MarathonFROM PAGE 1

u Runners participating in a ‘RunnersUnited for Boston’ event in NortonWednesday pray before taking off on a loopthrough downtown.

ment. Collier and fourpassengers were thrownfrom the vehicle. Killedwere Jerald KevinJohnson, 17, of Wise, andAustin Joseph Bolling, 15,of Wise.

Jeremy Houston Vires,17, of Norton, was treatedfor injuries and released.

Ajay Johnson, 17, thebrother of Jerald KevinJohnson, was not ejectedfrom the car. He wastreated for injuries andreleased.

Collier was airlifted to

Holston Valley MedicalCenter.

According to statepolice, the car was mov-ing at high speed, and noone was wearing safetybelts.

Other indictmentshanded down Mondayinclude:

r Andrew ScottLawson, 22, McReynoldsTrailer Park, Lot 3,Coeburn: Nine counts ofcarnal knowledge of a 14-year-old girl, each pun-ishable by up to 10 years.

According to the com-monwealth attorney’s

office, this case beganwith a complaint by thegirl’s parents and wastransferred from generaldistrict court. Accordingto the original complaint,the girl admitted to inves-tigators that she andLawson had been havingsex. The charges indicatethis was going on duringJuly and August 2012.

The complaint statesthat Lawson later admit-ted having sex with her.Lawson allegedly said shefirst told him she was 19,but admitted that he con-tinued having sex with

her after she disclosedher true age to him.

r Christopher CharlesBoyd, 31, a Wallens RidgeState Prison inmate: Onecount of maliciouswounding, punishable byup to 20 years.

r Raymond ClarkLane, 45, 3722Dungannon Rd. and P.O.Box 2693, Coeburn: Onecount of assault and bat-tery of a Coeburn policeofficer on Nov. 2, 2012,punishable by up to fiveyears.

r Carrie MagalineCollins, 29, 116 Modoc

Ave., Wise: One count ofchild endangerment, pun-ishable by up to fiveyears. u

tions nationwide, the report statesthat the Appalachian region is“particularly hard hit; the sparsepopulation of Southwest Virginiais impacted at alarmingly higherrates than the rest of theCommonwealth.”

Four prescription opioids —fentaynl, hydrocodone,methadone and oxycodone —were “wholly responsible” for53.8 percent of drug-only deathsin 2010, the report says.

Since the mid-1990s, accord-ing to the report, up to 85 percentof all drug cases in Lee, Scott,Wise and Dickenson countieshave involved prescription drugs.“These four counties are home toonly 1 percent of Virginia’s popu-lation, yet the Virginia StatePolice spent 25 percent of theirstatewide undercover purchasefunds buying prescription med-ications here in fiscal year 2011.”

“In Wise County,” the reportcontinues, “nearly 70 percent ofthe total police caseload is direct-ly related to drug abuse. Thereare approximately 2,000 activefelony cases in the region, thehighest in the state when com-pared to population.”

And whileinvesting in effec-tive treatment andrecovery pro-grams realizes a7-to-1 cost sav-ings, the reportsays, “the rurallandscape ofS o u t h w e s tVirginia makestreatment accessmore difficultbecause of geo-graphical andtransportat ionchallenges.”

The lack of sufficient inpatienttreatment facilities in SouthwestVirginia is a barrier, along withthe lack of payment to providersof inpatient substance abusetreatment by many insurance car-riers, including VirginiaMedicaid.

Another obstacle to treatmentand recovery is that some physi-cians and other health practition-ers receive little or no educationon the appropriate treatment ofchronic pain, substance abuseand addiction, according to thereport.

Prescription drug abuse alsohas a “profound” impact on the

economy, with onesummit speakergiving an exampleof 25 percent ofconstruction work-ers reporting usingdrugs. Of 10 ran-dom job appli-cants, summit pan-elists said, onlytwo will show upfor the job inter-view, five will notgive a correctphone number ontheir job applica-

tions, and three will not show upbecause a drug test is required.

The summit gave 10 recom-mendations:

r Increase law enforcementresources to investigate and pros-ecute illegal drug trafficking byadding DEA agents in SouthwestVirginia, increasing HIDTA(High Intensity DrugTrafficking Areas) designatedareas, and improving coordina-tion among all levels of lawenforcement, including the use ofdata management.

r Make better use of thePrescription Monitoring Programby requiring prescribers to use itand by making Virginia’s system

inter-operable with those of otherstates.

r Financially support existingdrug courts in Southwest Virginiaand expand the model to othercommunities.

r Improve the treatment andcare of addicted persons withmore inpatient, residential andfamily treatment centers.

r Require prescribers to beconsistently and thoroughlytrained in responsible pain man-agement.

r Improve public education onprescription drug abuse andaddiction in Southwest Virginiaby securing Drug FreeCommunity status from the Officeof National Drug Control Policy.

r Encourage employers to rec-ognize and treat prescription drugabuse in the workforce.

r Increase the availability ofemployer-provided addictiontreatment.

r Use employee assistanceprograms as a recruiting tool toattract new industry to SouthwestVirginia.

r Support regional coordina-tion in job recruitment andemployee development that iscritical to improving economicdevelopment. u

Norton, Virginia 24273 The Coalfield Progress Friday, April 19, 2013 PAGE 3

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‘We cannot

simply arrest

and prosecute

our way to safe

communities.’

U.S. Attorney

Timothy J.

Heaphy

r CrisisFROM PAGE 1

r AllegedFROM PAGE 1

Three facedrug, drivingindictmentsJEFF LESTERNEWS EDITOR

A Wise County grand jury on Monday indict-ed three people for alleged drug crimes andcharged one person with a driving offense.

They include:rr Brian Benton Ison, 27, 709 Althama Ave.,

Wise: Two counts of possessing a Schedule I orII drug with intent to distribute, each punish-able by up to 40 years in prison and a $500,000fine; one count of possessing or distributingmore than one-half ounce but less than fivepounds of marijuana, punishable by up to 10years; one count of possessing a Schedule IVdrug, punishable by up to five years.

r Christopher Forrest Riner, 28, 9212Coeburn Rd., Wise: One count of distributing orpossessing more than one-half ounce but lessthan five pounds of marijuana, punishable by upto 10 years.

r Chasity Michelle Clark, 31, 442 CrystalView St., Kingsport, Tenn.: One count of pos-sessing a Schedule I or II drug, punishable byup to 10 years; one count of driving under theinfluence, punishable by up to a year in jail anda $2,500 fine; two counts of possessing aSchedule IV drug, each punishable by up to a$250 fine.

r Cassandra Leigh Hill, 28, 10043 Pine CampRd., Coeburn: One count of driving under theinfluence after two prior violations within 10years, punishable by up to five years. u

Theft indictmentsreturned against 13JEFF LESTERNEWS EDITOR

A Wise County grand jury has indict-ed 13 people for various forms of allegedtheft.

Those indicted Monday include:r William Woodrow Adams Jr., 33,

1502 Valley View Dr., Big Stone Gap,and Christopher David Akens, 24, 616Virginia Ave., Norton: One count each ofgrand larceny, punishable by up to 20years in prison; one count each of con-spiracy to commit grand larceny, pun-ishable by up to 20 years; one counteach of breaking and entering, punish-able by up to 20 years.

Also, Adams was charged with onecount of driving on a suspended license,punishable by up to a year in jail and a$2,500 fine.

r Melissa Rutherford, 40, 11434Church St., Pound: Two counts of mak-ing a false statement to obtain medicalassistance payments, each punishableby up to 20 years and a $25,000 fine;four counts of making a false applicationfor public assistance, each punishableby up to 10 years.

r Jessica Miller, 28, 12124 RetfordRd., Unit A30, Coeburn: Two counts ofmaking a false statement to obtain med-ical assistance payments, each punish-able by up to 20 years and a $25,000fine; two counts of uttering a forged doc-ument, each punishable by up to 10years.

r Jennifer Lynn Mullins, 26, 1519

Dawson Ave., Big Stone Gap: One countof receiving stolen goods worth $200 ormore, punishable by up to 20 years; onecount of conspiring to possess stolenproperty, punishable by up to 10 years.

r Misty Lynn Foster, 27, Justin LynnRamey, 24, and Brian Junior Ramey,20, all of 11425 Lot 8, Bedford Rd.,Coeburn: One count each of grand lar-ceny and one count each of conspiracyto commit grand larceny, each punish-able by up to 20 years; one count each ofdestroying property worth $1,000 ormore, punishable by up to five years.

r Jason Travis Tuggle, 30, 1356Possum Hollow Rd., Coeburn: Onecount of grand larceny, punishable by upto 20 years.

r Erica Mae Caudill, 25, 746 FisherRd., Big Stone Gap: Two counts of checkforgery and two counts of uttering aforged check, each punishable by up to10 years.

r Stephen Todd Wright, 44, 1168River Rd. and P.O. Box 1096, Coeburn:Two counts of uttering a forged check,each punishable by up to 10 years.

r Danny Ray Kiser, 48, 123 VandiverDr., Coeburn: One count of credit cardfraud worth $200 or more, punishableby up to five years; six counts of creditcard fraud worth less than $200, eachpunishable by up to a year in jail and a$2,500 fine.

r Dora Ann Vanover, 36, 5619Lincoln Rd. C, Wise: One count ofshoplifting after two prior offenses, pun-ishable by up to five years. u

TERESA MULLINSSTAFF WRITER

In a statement from the Cumberland PlateauRegional Housing Authority, Director Keith Viers saidthe authority has provided safe and affordable housingfor the most vulnerable populations of Buchanan,Dickenson, Russell and Taxewell counties for morethan 30 years in accordance with standards establishedby the federal Department of Housing and UrbanDevelopment.

“DHCD (Virginia Department of Housing andCommunity Development) conducted annual reviewsand grant-ending close-out processes to ensure theCPRHA’s compliance with the state’s program guide-lines,” Viers said in the release. “Our agency remainedin compliance with those guidelines, according to thedocumented state reviews. Any actions required byDHCD were completed.”

Viers also addressed the grand jury’s claim that hewas not forthcoming with requested information andhad to appear multiple times to comply with itsrequests. “We fully cooperated with the special grandjury, voluntarily producing documents to it,” he said. “It

is disappointing that the grand jury mistakenly assertedthat I or others with the authority were not forthcomingand were uncooperative with the investigation, espe-cially since I and the authority voluntarily provideddocuments on a number of occasions to state policeinvestigators without the need for the grand jury toissue subpoenas for those documents. I and the author-ity tried our best to comply with numerous documentrequests and did so in good faith.”

Viers also noted that he had already addressed sev-eral of the deficiencies identified in the grand jury’sreport. “The grand jury knew that the authority hadimplemented a new training program, had institutedpolicy reviews with the assistance of counsel and hadretained the services of a professional procurementadvisor last fall. It is unfortunate that the grand jury,armed with that knowledge, failed to include it in thereport,” he said.

TERESA MULLINSSTAFF WRITER

Following an investi-gation that spanned morethan a year, some formerand current employees ofthe Cumberland PlateauPlanning DistrictC o m m i s s i o n ,Cumberland PlateauRegional HousingAuthority and an inde-pendent contractor havebeen indicted by aRussell County specialgrand jury.

The charges involvealleged illegal actsinvolving public con-struction projects,alleged election fraudinvolving a campaigncontribution from a con-tractor and relatedcrimes.

Those indicted on avariety of charges thatrange from forgery tomoney launderinginclude:

r Louis PorterBallenberger II, formerdeputy executive direc-tor of the CPPDC;

r Patricia DickensonGray, former directorand current board mem-ber of the CPRHA;

r Douglas LeeRasnake, rehabilitationspecialist for theCPRHA; and

r Roger LewisPuckett, owner and oper-

ator of PuckettConstruction.

THE INVESTIGATIONAccording to a press

release from the RussellCounty commonwealth’sattorney’s office, a spe-cial grand jury wasimpaneled on March 12,2012 to investigate andreport on criminal activi-ty in Russell County. D.G. Ramey, a special agentwith Virginia StatePolice, conducted theinvestigation along withthe special grand jury.

The jury convened 19times before issuing truebills on several indict-ments earlier this month.According to the pressrelease, 30 witnesses tes-tified and 124 exhibitswere admitted.

The jury also issued areport on its finding and alist of recommendations.The jury asked the courtto unseal its report andmake it public since thematters investigatedinvolved public employ-ees and funds.

Patton said the fourindividuals indicted werearraigned in RussellCounty Circuit Court andreleased on unsecuredbonds. They will appearin court May 23.

CHARGESCharges against the

four individuals includeirresponsible manage-ment, illegal spendingand missing or forgeddocumentation.

Ballenberger wasindicted on 32 charges,including forgery, mis-representation and con-spiracy, seven counts ofmoney laundering, sevencounts of conspiracy tocommit money launder-ing, six counts of obtain-ing money by false pre-tense, six counts of con-spiring to obtain moneyby false pretense andelection fraud.

Bids for projects were“opened without witness-es, not sealed, falsifiedand in some cases nonewere even submitted,”the report says in regardto Ballenberger. “Therewas overwhelming evi-dence that LouisBallenberger, at his dis-cretion, divided the proj-ects among the contrac-tors he wanted to do thework and specificallydirected 37.2 percent ofthe work to (Roger)Lewis Puckett,” therelease states.

Puckett was indictedon six counts of obtainingmoney by false pretense,six counts of conspiracyto obtain money by falsepretense, six counts ofmoney laundering andsix counts of conspiracy

to commit money laun-dering.

He is accused ofreceiving public funds todemolish mobile homesthat he sold or gave tofamily members and/oremployees, the reportsaid. Puckett also donat-ed $1,000 toBallenberger’s campaignfor a school board seat,and Ballenberger failedto report the donation onthe campaign financereport as required bystate law.

Rasnake is indicted onfour charges of misrepre-sentation, conspiracy tocommit misrepresenta-tion, procurement viola-tion and perjury.

He is accused of bid-ding on public jobs andusing an agency vehicleto perform the contractwork.

Gray faces sixcharges for forgery, con-spiracy to commit for-gery, misrepresentation,conspiracy to commitm i s r e p r e s e n t a t i o n ,money laundering andconspiracy to commitmoney laundering.

She is accused of fal-sifying and completingfiles after the bid for theproject was completed.She was also allowed tocollect more than$132,000 for unused sickand leave time even

though the cap on pay-ment of such time is set at$4,000. She also ischarged with spendingpublic funds for the dem-olition of mobile homesthat were not destroyedbut were sold by Puckett,who was paid to do thedemolition.

RECOMMENDATIONSAmong recommenda-

tions made by the grandjury were that all boardmembers of those agen-cies and their executivedirectors be replaced.

Former DickensonCounty administratorKeith Viers has served asdirector of the CPRHAsince 2009. Jim Baldwinis the executive directorof the CPPDC.

The grand jury alsorecommended that theboards of both entitiesnot include current orformer employees, and

that terms should be lim-ited and staggered.

The grand jury furtherrecommended thatsalaries be evaluated,that new directors be bet-ter informed and providecomprehensive trainingand oversight to employ-ees.

A log recording ofwhen bids are received,proof of demolition ofmobile homes, and theimmediate recording ofdeeds of trust were alsoamong the numerous rec-ommendations made bythe grand jury.

“The special grandjury concludes thatmost, if not all, the indi-viduals referencedthroughout the findingsand recommendationshave acted very unpro-fessionally and inappro-priately and failed toperform their jobs,” thereport states. u

MARLENE ELIZABETH BOGGS

Marlene Elizabeth Boggs, 64, entered into eternityWednesday April 17, 2013 from her sister Gloria’s resi-dence in Goodview.

Gloria loved and cared for Marlene and will miss herdearly.

Marlene was of the Christian faith, was an honorgraduate with a Bachelors degree from StrayerUniversity and retired as a project manager for theSoldier System Command for the United States Army atFort Belvoir. She was responsible for the analysis for thedesign and approval of clothing and equipmentupgrades for soldiers.

Marlene will always be remembered for her love andcommitment to her family. She enjoyed spending timewith her husband Kenneth; her son Jack and his wife,Karen ; and of course her beloved grand-children. Shealso enjoyed doing genealogical research and dancing.

Marlene was preceded in death by her husbandKenneth Boggs; her son, Jack Edward Webb; and herparents, Garland Albert and Elizabeth (Clark) Fuller.

Survivors include her sister, Gloria Hicks and hus-band John of Goodvie; daughter-in-law, Karen Webb of

Warsaw, Ky.; grandchildren, Alexis McDole, SamanthaWebb and Frank Webb; special cousin, Brenda Steele ofFredericksburg; several nieces, nephews and cousins;and a host of friends and loved ones to cherish hermemory.

Funeral services will be conducted at 7 p.m. Friday,April 19, in the Sadie Baker Memorial Chapel with Rev.Randy Carter officiating. The family will receivefriends from 5 p.m. until times of services.

Graveside services will be conducted at 11 a.m.Saturday, April 20, at the Whitt Cemetery in the MillCreek Section of Pound, where family members willserve as pallbearers. Family and friends are asked tomeet at the funeral home by 10:15 a.m. to prepare to goin procession to the cemetery.

Baker Funeral Home in Pound, is serving the familyof Marlene E. Boggs.

View our recent obituaries at: www.bakerfuneral-homepound.com

FELIPE ROBLES

Felipe Robles, 88, passed away Monday, April 15,2013 in Johnson City, Tenn.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Mr. andMrs. Domingo Robles; his first wife, Elana Robles; hissecond wife, Joy Robles.

Survivors include his children, Phillip, Julia, Marie,Mercie, Nancy, Mandric, Roland, Roger and LindaSharpe McDermont and her husband Pete, all ofAurora, Ill., Gary Sharpe of Bluff City, Tenn., Valerie

Sharpe Falkner of Tennessee, Chad Sharpe ofTennessee, Sam Sharpe of Hawaii, Misty Sharpe ofIllinois, Paul and Holly McDermont of Illinois, AnthonyProulex of Wise; 30 grandchildren, 40 great-grandchil-dren.

Graveside memorial services will be held Friday,April 19 at 12:30 p.m. in the Glenco Cemetery in BigStone Gap. At Mr. Robles request he was cremated.

Information provided by Estes Funeral Home,Coeburn.

CARD OF THANKSTo everyone who has supported us following the

death of Cindy Middleton, we would like to express oursincere thanks and appreciation. Your many acts ofkindness, support, prayers and sympathy continue to bea great comfort to us in our time of sorrow.

Larry Middleton and Family

CARD OF THANKS We wish to express our sincere thanks and deep

appreciation for each act of kindness and sympathyshown to us during the recent loss of our loved one,Austin W. Bowman. We thank those who sent flowers,brought food, called, attended the visitation/funeral andmost of all remembered us in their prayers. We wouldlike to extend a special thanks to Baker Funeral Homeand the owners, Bo and Crystal McArthur. Words can-not express the genuine, heart-felt compassion theMcArthurs displayed to our family.

The Bowman Family u

PAGE 4 Friday, April 19, 2013 The Coalfield Progress Norton, Virginia 24273

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGThe Dickenson County Board of Supervisorson April 23, 2013, at the Circuit Courtroomlocated in the Dickenson County Courthouseat Clintwood, Virginia will hold a PublicHearing at 5:55 p.m. to receive publiccomment concerning the proposedamendment of the Dickenson County SolidWaste and Litter Ordinance, to change thetipping fee to Eighty Dollars ($80.00) per ton.A copy of the proposed amendment may beinspected and obtained in the CountyAdministrator’s office at the DickensonCounty Courthouse in Clintwood, Virginia.

Authorized by G. David Moore, Jr.,County Administrator

BEAR PEN POOL MANAGERDickenson County, Virginia is seeking an individual to manage

the Bear Pen Pool throughout the 2013 summer season.

Responsibilities:• Supervise and participate in the operation of a shift often (10)

temporary or part-time staff members including certified lifeguards;

• Responsible for providing the staff of certified lifeguards;• Check staff in and out on a daily basis;• Assigns duties and follow-up with staff to ensure quality and

completion;• Creates and manages staff rotation, as well as finding coverage to

meet scheduling needs;• Ensures completion of opening and closing duties, which includes

maintaining the pool area;• Operation of concession stand;• Operation of swimming pool;• Rent shelters;• Maintain and submit a daily record of receipts.

Qualifications:Previous experience working at a public facility (such as a park,community center, retail, or food service) with progressive andleadership roles. Prior training or certifications in lifeguard training,first aid, CPR, and pool operations are not required prior toapplication. The position is a part-time position, which offers nobenefits.

Applications may be picked up from the Board of Supervisors office Monday - Friday

from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Please submit completed applications and resumes to the Board of Supervisors office

by Monday, April 29th at 4:00 p.m.

Authorized by: G. David Moore, Jr., Dickenson County Administrator

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NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGThe Dickenson County Board of Supervisorson April 23, 2013, at the Circuit Courtroomlocated in the Dickenson County Courthouseat Clintwood, Virginia will hold a PublicHearing at 5:50 p.m. to receive publiccomment concerning the adoption of anOrdinance for the Assessment of Fees forCourthouse Construction, Renovation orMaintenance, pursuant to Virginia CodeSection 17.1-281. The Ordinance wouldauthorize Dickenson County to impose fivedollar ($5.00) fee as a part of the costs in (i)each civil action filed in the district or circuitcourts located within its boundaries and (ii)each criminal or traffic case in its district orcircuit court in which the defendant ischarged with a violation of any statute orordinance. A copy of the proposed ordinancemay be inspected and obtained in the CountyAdministrator’s office at the DickensonCounty Courthouse in Clintwood, Virginia.Authorized by G. David Moore, Jr.,County Administrator

Grand jury indicts Cumberland officials

Viers defends housing authority’s actions

GLENN GANNAWAYPOST NEWS EDITOR

Giving up tobacco isn’teasy, but people who wantto make a first step, orreinforce efforts they’vealready made, can findhelp at Saturday’sRecoveryfest Southwest.

The Wise CountyHealth Department willoffer information that canbe used as a toolkit bypeople who want to “quitnow.”

The fourth annualRecoveryfest will be heldfrom 1-5 p.m. Saturday,April 20 at Miner’s Parkin downtown Big StoneGap. The event, organ-ized by Shirley Smith ofHis Ministries, providesan opportunity for peoplewith substance abuseproblems to celebratetheir efforts at recovery.The many scheduled pre-senters also makeRecoveryfest a goodplace for substance abuseprevention providers andpeople with substanceabuse problems to net-work.

While legal, cigarettes— and alcohol — take aheavy toll on people’shealth in SouthwestVirginia.

“It’s one of your No. 1addictions, that one andalcohol,” Smith said inreference to tobacco use.Of particular concern issteering children awayfrom cigarettes andsmokeless tobacco,which, Smith said, canlead to other addictions.

According to surveysdone by the Centers forDisease Control, about 34percent of Wise Countyadults report that theysmoke; the overall ratefor Virginia is 18 percent.Dickenson County isslightly higher than WiseCounty at 35 percent.

“If a youth is morelikely to smoke, they’re

more likely to use anydrug,” she said. And, shenoted, young people areunder great peer pres-sure to engage in theactivities of their friends.“Rebellion is cool, andeverybody else is doingit,” Smith said. “And ifthey will do that, they willtry another drug. And sta-tistics show that, if youhave a parent smoking,the child most likely istoo.”

Prevention, Smithsaid, starts with parent-ing, and “I think parentsneed to know whatthey’re up against. That’sone reason for doing

Recoveryfest — aware-ness is prevention, andwe’ve got to let parentsknow what they can do.”

But while substanceabuse is a serious matter,Recoveryfest emphasizesthe joy that comes withovercoming addiction.Saturday’s event willinclude local musiciansand free hot dogs.Amerigroup is sponsor-ing a bouncy house forchildren.

Scheduled speakersare Smith, MikeEdwards, founder ofSOBER in Galax; PeterShinholser, founder of theWillingness Foundation in

Richmond; MarkMitchell, director of Tri-Cities Recovery inBristol; and Joe Olingerof Point of BreakMinistries.

Organizations settingup at Miner’s Park willinclude host HisMinistries, OccupationalEnterprises Inc., the WiseCounty HealthDepartment, Race forGED, Family CrisisSupport Services, WiseCounty Department ofSocial Services,Lonesome Pine Office onYouth, Wise CountyBehavioral HealthServices, McShinFoundation, WillingnessFoundation, and Tri-Cities Recovery.

In addition to provid-ing a tobacco cessationtoolkit, HealthDepartment representa-tives will offer freeHepatitis A and Hepatitis

B vaccines and free rapidHIV testing.

Smith also invites localchurches to pick upbrochures from the par-ticipating agencies sothey will have the infor-mation ready to give peo-ple in need of services.

“My goal is for every-one to have in their handsthe knowledge andresources for drug addic-tion,” Smith said. “That’sthe only way we’re goingto fight this stuff, is foreverybody to know asmuch as they can.” u

Norton, Virginia 24273 The Coalfield Progress Friday, April 19, 2013 PAGE 5

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Recoveryfest to offer smoking cessation According to surveys done by theCenters for Disease Control, about

34 percent of Wise County adults reportthat they smoke; the overall rate for

Virginia is 18 percent.

$1 million to the IDA toachieve this.

Greg Cross, coordinatorfor the county litter controldepartment and Keep WiseCounty Beautiful, is serv-ing as the project’s coordi-nator. He recently obtaineda grant from the SouthernGroup of State Foresters tocreate a conceptual designfor the park. Landscapearchitects at VirginiaTech’s Community DesignAssistance Center are lead-ing that effort.

CONCEPTSLara Browning, a proj-

ect coordinator at the Techcenter, said in an April 10interview that conceptspresented last week reflectsuggestions made duringthe February meeting.

Those suggestionsincluded constructing apavilion to accommodatepark visitors and BeverlyHills Assembly of Godparishioners — the churchabuts the Buchanan prop-erty. Cross said Mondaythat the church has indicat-ed it is willing to work withthe county to let visitors useits parking lot to access theBuchanan property.

Other suggested ele-ments include a social fit-ness area and children’splayground. All exerciseand playground equipmentwould be made from natu-ral materials, and signsthroughout the park wouldhave a rustic appearance,much like wooden mileagesigns along theAppalachian Trail.

Browning said atten-dees last week favoredinstalling the pavilion andplayground in a grassy areabehind the church and cre-ating the social fitness areabehind the pavilion and justinside the woods. Fitnessstations were also proposedto be located at severalspots along the trail system.Cross said both conceptsfeature two main trails, onetotaling 1.5 miles and theother about a quarter mile.There have also beenrequested to install a rest-room near the pavilion.

Other suggestionsinvolve constructing a for-mal outdoor classroom andnatural play area foryounger students.

“In general, everyoneseemed pretty excitedabout it,” said Browning,referencing the meeting.“People offered some real-ly interesting ideas aboutfurther things that could bedone.” These involve plac-ing tree identification tagsalong trails, conductingwatershed activities andfinding creative ways toincorporate educationallessons into the overall con-cept. “Education is a reallyimportant thing in this parkand everyone who wasthere really emphasizedthat,” she said.

IDA RESPONSEMany of these elements

might not be reflected inthe park’s final plan, how-ever.

The county IDA infor-mally agreed Tuesday that

the park’s developmentshould proceed slowly andconsist of more than onephase. The authority plansto recommend that theTech team alter its conceptto embrace a more simplis-tic approach that involvesbuilding the walking trailsbut not other suggested ele-ments.

IDA Director CarlSnodgrass said in an inter-view Wednesday that thisdoesn’t necessarily meanother elements — like theoutdoor classroom andpavilion — won’t be incor-

porated at some point.Buchanan’s will, which out-lines her wishes for thepark, also needs to be hon-ored, he said. He addedthat he remains unsurewhether some of these pro-posed features fit withBuchanan’s vision. TheIDA conceded that theintegrity of the acreageshould be preserved asmuch as possible in its nat-ural state, he noted.

Everyone liked the planpresented, said Snodgrass,but members agreed that itis unrealistic to incorporate

all these ideas at once.

NEXT STEPSThe IDA’s recommenda-

tion will now be incorporat-ed into a final plan.Browning said this planwill ideally be presented tothe community nextmonth.The county mustalso seek town approval forthe park — the property islocated within Wise’s cor-porate limits — and Crosssaid he will likely submit aconditional use permitapplication next month orin June. u

of library services.

THE NUMBERSTuesday, Bond listed several city-specific activi-

ties:r Library representatives attended the city

farmers’ market each week of last year’s season —issuing 64 library cards, processing 317 checkoutsand 154 returns, along with sponsoring storytellingand face-painting.

r Each month, library staff visits the city housingdepartment’s “high-rise” apartment building. So farthis year, they issued 14 library cards, though mostbuilding residents already have one, and deliveredenough materials to process 242 checkouts and 155returns.

r Library staffissued library cards,offered face paintingand other activities atNorton parks andrecreation’s Wet andWild Wednesdays inthe city park duringthe summer.

r Library staff reg-ularly visit cityschools.

Overall, Bondnoted, the system’slibraries share a col-lection exceeding

532,000 items, and a delivery service makes an itemat any branch available to any patron within days.It’s the second-largest library system in Virginia.Services include two e-book programs offeringmore than 21,000 items, research databases of allsorts and a variety of programs for all ages, shesaid.

Library holdings per capita are 3.97 items perperson in Virginia, 5.04 per person in the entireLonesome Pine service area and 130.85 per personin Norton, Bond noted.

Circulation of library items per capita is 6.95across the state, 23.30 in the Lonesome Pine servicearea and 10.67 in Norton.

Government spending on library services is$30.66 per capita statewide, $23.30 per capita in theregional library service area, but only $11.93 percapita in Norton.

This shows that being part of a larger library sys-tem provides a lot of benefit to Norton, Bond said.

Brenda Johnson, the city’s representative on thelibrary board, said the system is involved in a lot ofcommunity activity.

Her daughters, who live in more urban areas,are amazed at the e-book selection the LonesomePine system offers, Johnson noted.

Johnson thanked council for appointing her to atotal of 11 years on the board, and explained thatlibrary system rules require her to step off for atleast one year.

Mayor William Mays presented Johnson with aplaque thanking her for her service.

Caruso concluded the discussion by saying he’sseen a “tremendous improvement” in the librarysystem’s community outreach in Norton. u

PAGE 6 Friday, April 19, 2013 The Coalfield Progress Norton, Virginia 24273

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r ParkFROM PAGE 1

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u Brenda Johnson, the city’s repre-sentative on the library board, Tuesdayreceived a plaque from Mayor WilliamMays thanking her for her service.Johnson thanked council for appointingher to a total of 11 years on the board.According to library system rules,Johnson must step off the board for atleast one year.

Library holdingsper capita are 3.97items per person

in Virginia, 5.04 perperson in the

entire LonesomePine service area

and 130.85 perperson in Norton,

Bond noted.

BOB LEWIS AND LARRY O’DELLASSOCIATED PRESS

RICHMOND (AP) —The Republican-con-trolled General Assemblyaccepted amendments onApril 3 by Gov. BobMcDonnell that barinsurers in the federallyrun health insuranceexchange that will oper-ate in Virginia from cov-ering abortion.Lawmakers also cut somecosts from the transporta-tion funding measure thatwill likely be his legisla-tive legacy.

They also affirmed hisamendments tighteningthe operational mandatefor a legislative panel thatwill determine whenreforms necessary tobroaden Medicaid to anadditional 400,000 low-income Virginians havebeen achieved, allowingthe federal-state health-care program to expand.

But four of the gover-nor’s amendments for thefinal year to Virginia’s$88 billion biennial budg-et failed.

The House and Senatereconvened for a singleday April 3 to consideramendments McDonnelloffered to 80 bills andvetoes to six bills passedin the legislative sessionthat ended Feb. 23 — floorsessions that were likelythe last for eight dele-gates and one senatorwho are retiring. Amongthem was 84-year-oldLacey Putney of Bedford,an independent firstelected in 1961 whose 52sessions are the most forany legislator in Virginiahistory.

By far, the Senate’s 20-19 vote to sustain theamendment banningabortion coverage in poli-cies sold through theexchange — a forumthrough which low-income people ineligiblefor Medicaid can pur-chase low-cost insurance— was the most viscerala n dpassionate.Opponentssaid McDonnell’s amend-ment was so extreme thatit will not only interferewith a woman’s reproduc-tive rights decisions, it

takes the unusual step ofdictating to private insur-ers’ policies what theycan’t cover. It even pro-hibits selling separateabortion coverage ridersthrough the exchange topeople who would pur-chase it with their ownmoney, not governmentsubsidies.

“We’ve told insurancecompanies what kind ofmandates you have tocover, but we’ve nevertold an insurance compa-ny that you can’t coversomething even if youwant to cover it,” said anincredulous Sen. RichardL. Saslaw, a Democratfrom Fairfax County.

Earlier that day, theHouse had approved theamendment on a 55-37vote with seven delegatesnot voting and onenotable abstention thatevoked the day’s mostexplosive exchange.

Republican Del.Robert G. Marshall, thelegislature’s most ardentabortion foe, provokedgasps, groans and gri-maces within the Housechamber when heannounced he wouldabstain on the votebecause he opposed whathe considered an overlybroad exception allowingabortions to save a preg-nant woman’s life.

Del. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah and a fellowanti-abortion legislator,tried to persuadeMarshall to vote for thebill by arguing thatMcDonnell’s amendmentdoes more harm thangood.

“If he truly believesthis amendment wouldnot save one life, then Icertainly understand thatthat is a valid argument,but if he believes it willsave any lives, why thenwould he not attempt todo that?” Gilbertasked.”Mr. Speaker, any-body here could go out infront of an abortion clinicand blow it up and proba-bly slow down the num-ber of abortions for aweek. I’m not willing touse any means to achieveeven a good end,”Marshall shot back.

Now that the amend-ment becomes law, oppo-

nents will likely look tothe courts in hopes ofoverturning the action.“I’d be surprised ifthere’s not” a lawsuitchallenging the provision,said Sen. John Edwards,D-Roanoke and a lawyer.

Two other high-profileMcDonnell amendmentsfound Republicansamong their harshest crit-ics.

His Medicaid amend-ment garnered three-fourths of the vote in eachchamber, but only afterconservatives intractablyopposed to Medicaidexpansion under the fed-eral health overhaul lawargued that it was merelya cosmetic contrivance tomask Medicaid expan-sion.The first major over-haul in Virginia’s failinghighway funding formulasince 1986 cleared bothchambers by 2-to-1 ratios,but with his own party’sconservatives denounc-ing it as the largest taxincrease in Virginia histo-ry. The package will raisemore than $1 billion ayear from statewide andregional funding sources.

“This will take moremoney from our con-stituents,” said Del.Kathy Byron, R-Campbell County. “Thiswill make Virginia lessaffordable for people wholive here.”

One provision of thebill that promptedprotests was a $100 annu-al fee on hybrid and alter-native-fuel cars.McDonnell trimmed thatto $64, but it still wasn’tenough to satisfy Del.Scott Surovell.

“It punishes people fordoing the right thing,”said Surovell, who votedfor the bill but vowed totry next year to try torepeal the hybrid tax.TheRepublican governor also

reduced the titling taxpaid at the purchase of acar from the 4.3 percentthe bill specified to 4.15percent.But McDonnell’smost vital amendment tothe transportation pack-age squares regional tax-ing provisions for perpet-ually gridlocked northernVirginia and HamptonRoads with a ruling aweek ago by AttorneyGeneral Ken Cuccinellithat regional tax increas-es breach Virginia’sConstitution. McDonnellremedied Cuccinelli’sconcerns by allowing tax-ing authorities in anyplanning district thatmeets certain population,vehicle count and transitr i d e r s h i pbenchmarks.Four of the52 line-item amendmentshe offered to the statebudget were rejected,including legislationallowing the state to takeover perpetually failingpublic schools.

As originally passed,six schools currentlywould be eligible fortakeover by a newly cre-ated EducationalOpportunity Institute.The bill’s sponsor,Republican Sen. RyanMcDougle of HanoverCounty, said McDonnell’samendments would tight-en the criteria so that onlyfour schools currentlywould qualify fortakeover. The amend-ments also would allow alocal school board torequest that a school betransferred to state over-sight.

The Senate voted 14-25to reject the amendments,sending the measure backto McDonnell in its formas passed by the Houseand Senate. The Housekilled his amendment toboost funding for the ini-tiative by $450,000. u

TERESA MULLINSSTAFF WRITER

A Clintwood woman ischarged with drivingunder the influence ofdrugs after overturningher vehicle earlier thismonth.

Melissa Ann Hagy, 44,was traveling west boundon Route 83 towardClintwood when the acci-dent occurred just before2 p.m. on April 3.According to informationprovided by VirginiaState Police, Hagy wasdriving a 1997 JeepCherokee when she ranoff the right side of theroad and struck a cliff,causing her vehicle to

overturn in the roadway.Both Hagy and a

female passenger weretransported to DickensonCommunity Hospital withminor injuries.

Clintwood VolunteerFire Department andClintwood Rescue Squadalso responded to the call.

The investigation isongoing, police said. u

Norton, Virginia 24273 The Coalfield Progress Friday, April 19, 2013 PAGE 7

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Woman charged withDUI after wreck

House approves most ofgovernor’s amendments

LEE H. HAMILTON

With the formal release of PresidentObama’s budget, the pieces are finallyin place for a reprise of the Washingtondrama we’ve all come to know. Therewill be high-stakes negotiations, lines inthe sand, and enough intrigue to keepBeltway insiders riveted by every pieceof breaking news.

The rest of us, though, are alreadyworn out. In repeated conversationswith ordinary people, I’ve been struckby the immense frustration I’ve encoun-tered. They’re tired of brinksmanshipand constant fiscal crisis. They’re fedup with accusations, spin, fear monger-ing, and intransigence. They’ve had itwith a complex, opaque process whenthe outline of a solution — controllingspending and entitlements, raising rev-enues to meet the country’s obligations,and investing in economic growth —seems evident. Above all, they’re wearyof a government that appears addictedto crisis. Why, they wonder, can we notpass a budget in an orderly, rationalway?

It’s a good question, though theanswer is hardly reassuring: I believeCongress no longer knows how. Talkingto a group of younger members recent-ly, I realized they’d had no experienceof following regular procedures to crafta budget. They’ve spent their congres-sional careers watching the leadershipput it together in an ad-hoc, crisis-fueled manner. True budget-makingskills on Capitol Hill are eroding. It’s in

danger of becoming a lost art.Yet it need not be. There is a time-

honored process that we can rejuvenateat any time for constructing a budget.On Capitol Hill, it’s known as “the regu-lar order.”

This is the insider’s way of referringto procedures that Congress developedover our history as a nation. Their guid-ing principle is to provide a coherentand well-structured way of deciding indetail where our national prioritiesought to lie, and then funding them.They were designed to give members ofCongress a clear, fair way to scrutinize,consider, debate, and reach consensuson the divisive issues that go along withtaxing and spending.

The last time Congress passed a reg-ular-order budget, not an omnibusspending bill, was 1997. Though it wasfar from a tidy process, its abandon-ment, I believe, is what has producedour current mess.

So what is the regular order? The

President submits a budget on time (nottwo months late, as President Obamahas just done). Then congressional com-mittees and subcommittees take it up,dividing their work according to thedepartments of government — agricul-ture, defense, transportation and thelike. They hold hearings, call witnesses,explore what the executive branch hasdone with its money in the past, andconsider its plans for the future. Theydebate and draft their own proposals,and allow amendments from both par-ties. Once the full committee acts, itsmeasure goes to the floor for furtherdebate, amendments, and a vote.Eventually, the bills arrived at separate-ly by the House and the Senate get rec-onciled and go to the President to besigned.

The advantage of the regular order,in addition to its transparency andaccountability, is that it spreads theworkload and makes room for theexpertise and considered judgment of awide array of legislators. In the past,the leadership deferred to experiencedcommittee chairmen who knew theissues they were confronting inside andout, and who had a talent for draftinglegislation. Rank-and-file members hada chance to influence the outcomethrough amendments and debate. Theprocess played to Congress’s corestrength of deliberation.

Not any longer. Now, huge omnibusbills and continuing resolutions — not

MORGAN GRIFFITHNINTH DISTRICTREPRESENTATIVE

WE REMEMBERSix years have passed

since tragedy struck theHokie Nation, and 32 liveswere tragically taken fromus, and others were serious-ly injured. As we reflect, weremember these beautifulsouls and pray for comfortfor the loved ones of thoselost, those injured, theVirginia Tech community,and the Town ofBlacksburg.

EVERYDAY DECISIONSA hearing in the House

Energy and CommerceCommittee on Friday, April12 focused on legislationthat would require theEnvironmental ProtectionAgency to submit toCongress a cost analysisbefore finalizing any rule orregulation estimated to costat least $1 billion. After EPAsubmits the cost analysis to

TO THE EDITOR:

On behalf of the Bowman family, wewould like to extend our thanks to all ofthe people who reached out to us duringthe death of our nine year old nephew,Austin W. Bowman. This has been atragic event for our family and so manypeople have done so much during thisdifficult time. The entire Pound commu-nity and the surrounding areas are sogreatly appreciated by our family. We alltruly believe that the prayers and sup-port that we have received from thehundreds of people is the only thing thathelped us deal with this horrific tragedy.

When The Coalfield Progress andWCYB TV 5 reported the story lastweek, they did so with only the limitedamount of details provided by police. Toset the record straight and to correctlyinform everyone, we would like to sharemore specific details with the media andthe public.

The incident occurred on WildernessPath Road in the Old Mill Village Roadsection of Pound. This road is a gravelroad with three homes located within afive hundred yard radius of each other.Austin’s grandfather, his uncle and hismother have homes located on this prop-erty. Austin and his twin brother, Aidan,rode four wheelers on this family-ownedland and the family always monitoredthe boys as they were riding.

On Wednesday, April 3, at about 1:30p.m., the twins asked to ride their fourwheelers. Austin jumped on his fourwheeler, started it up and took off to hisgrandfather’s house, just about two hun-dred yards away. During this timeframe, Austin is seen by family mem-bers as he was riding on the gravel road.Instead of waiting on his brother Aidan,as he most always did, Austin took off togain a head start.

But Aidan’s four wheeler would notstart. It took just a few minutes for hismother to get the ATV battery chargedand then Aidan took off to his grandfa-ther’s house as well. He could not findhis brother so Aidan returned home toinform his mom that Austin was nowhere around.

At this time, she realized Austin wasnot where he was supposed to be so shejumped on the four wheeler and begansearching for him. After not being ableto locate him, she contacted familymembers and neighbors to assist insearching. The Virginia State Police andthe Wise County Sheriff’s Office werethen contacted to report him missing.

Several officers began searching theentire area and after about two hours ofsearching, Austin’s body was found bythe K9 Unit about 10 yards behind hisgrandfather’s garage, which is about 50feet from his home.

Behind the garage is an area that thechildren never traveled. Because of theincline of the area and its close proximi-ty to the garage, the boys never rodethere. Therefore, this area was notsearched at the beginning.

Austin was pronounced dead at about4:45 p.m. His body was sent to Roanoke

pinionO PROGRESSCoalfield

the

Page 8 N O R T O N , VA , 2 4 2 7 3 Friday, Apri l 19, 2013

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

Q ‘Be determined to handle any challengein a way that will make you grow.’

Editor and PublisherJenay TatePublished byAmerican Hometown Publishing Inc.

L E S B R O W N

G R I F F I T H

Bill torequireEPA costanalysis

GRIFFITH, PAGE 9

Tired of crisis budget? Try thisC O M M E N T A R Y

HAMILTON, PAGE 9

JOE GANDELMAN

Once again it happens withsickening suddenness — a jolt-ing shock that alters and cruel-ly mocks our assumption of“normalcy.”

On a weekend when thenews cycle focused on NorthKorea’s rising threat, thestruggle to enact gun controland a dumb written commentabout the murdered-by-the-Nazis Anne Frank by self-absorbed teen singer JustinBieber, the venerable BostonMarathon run ended in horrificbomb blasts. The result: atleast three dead (including 8-year-old Martin Richard whowas greeting his dad at the fin-ish line), at least 176 injured —and at least 25 missing one ormore legs. With two flashes,the first successful terroristattack on a U.S. city since Sept.11, 2001 shoved the issues ofnational security and life’suncertainty to the forefront.

Immediately after the

bombing, President BarackObama made a brief statementthat included this: “I’ve updat-ed leaders of Congress in bothparties, and we reaffirmed thaton days like this there are noRepublicans or Democrats —we are Americans, united inconcern for our fellow citi-zens.”

Oh, really?It soon became clear that

some on the left immediatelybegan speculating that it wasright-wing terrorism. Some onthe right suggested it wasMuslim terrorists. And —proving that not all nuts are onthe shelves at Whole Foods —right-winger Alex Jones andleft-winger Cynthia McKinneyboth hinted that somehow thegovernment was involved.Many Americans talk about awar on obesity. How about awar on stupidity?

The fact is this: just asAmerica has hurtled into the21st century with all of thetechnological, cultural and eco-

nomic changes that this kind ofprogress entails, the Americanlifestyle starting in the 1950sbegan to take a hit with masskillings and terrorist attacksand attempts. As a result,places where Americans canfeel totally safe have dwindled.Rule out skyscrapers, walkingon a university campus, beingin a university hall, in highschool, in elementary school,watching a movie, going to afast-food restaurant — andmore.

It was inevitable that sooneror later there would be anattack on some big sportingevent and for years writershave speculated on attacks atother venues, such as malls.

Our sense of vulnerabilityincreases as the venues of safehavens decreases — eventhough the odds are low ofbeing a victim of a terroristattack.

In 2012, Robert Bailey ofReason estimated the odds ofan American dying in a terror-ist attack were 1 in 1.7 million.Other estimates from websitesover the years varied — onehad it one in 9.3 million world-wide. Others higher.

But odds matter little to thedead, injured and grievingfamilies of terrorism’s andmurder’s victims. Terror is justthat: a murder-political tech-nique designed to ostentatious-ly end in a body count that willterrorize, influence, bully ordemoralize a populace and/orgovernment. After a whilethere is a sameness where themurderers all seem the sameand seemingly spawn eachother. Right terrorism seeksthe same dead body messageas left terrorism and even inci-

dents start to look the same.The Daily Beast says former

FBI counterterrorism investi-gator Mark Rossini saw some“disquieting” similaritiesbetween the Boston bombingand the March 2004 Madridtrain bombings that killed 191,injured 1,800 and turned out tobe the handiwork of a terroristcell inspired by Al Qaeda.

In these kinds of horrificevents, the names and politicalpositions of the murderousgroups may change. Becauseevil doesn’t only come in dif-ferent forms. It copies andclones itself. u

Joe Gandelman is a veteranjournalist who wrote for news-papers overseas and in theUnited States. He hasappeared on cable news showpolitical panels and is editor-in-chief of The Moderate Voice,an Internet hub for independ-ents, centrists and moderates.He can be reached at jgandel-man@themoderatevoice.com.

Tragedy leads to speculation that solves nothing

Details needed aboutBowman ATV accident

LETTERS, PAGE 9

L E T T E R S

G A N D E L M A NEvil doesn’t only come

in different forms. It

copies and clones itself.

In the end, there’s no

substitute for experience,

knowledge, hard work,

compromise and a resolve

to seek solutions.

for an autopsy and the report indicated that Austinhad experienced trauma to the head, a compressedchest and asphyxiation. The reports indicated thatAustin was probably knocked unconscious and passedaway immediately after the accident.

Austin was wearing a helmet and he was riding anATV that was age and size appropriate. I realize thatmany people are questioning why a nine year oldwould be on an ATV. However, these kids were consis-tently monitored by family members as they were rid-ing and we would never expect something of thismagnitude to happen.

The entire family, his classmates, teachers, com-munity and many others are grieving over the passingof Austin Bowman. Austin was full of life and wassuch a wonderful, innocent child. Austin, along withhis brother Aidan, had planned to be baptized thispast Sunday. We all question how this tragic eventcould happen to our baby. But we have come to realizethat God needed another angel.

The family will continue to need prayers, supportand most all respect for the immediate and extendedfamily during this tragic ordeal.

DANTE AND LISA LEEPROUD UNCLE AND AUNT

OF AUSTIN AND AIDAN BOWMAN

Comcast shouldbring backlocal stationTO THE EDITOR:

Comcast Cable has recently removed the WYMT-TV Channel 13, Hazard, Ky. station from their lineup.

There is no excuse for this action. WYMT-TV is avery important station for our area.

WYMT has great local weather coverage. Most ofour weather comes out of Kentucky. When the areahas bad storms, WYMT has always cut into regularprograming. This has been the first station most citi-zens turn to when severe weather hits. Citizens couldcount on WYMT. For years, the Tri-Cities stationswould never cut into regular programming whensevere weather was in the area. They have started tocut into regular programing in recent years.

The area was hit hard by tornadoes in the last fewyears. Citizens can’t have too must coverage whentornadoes are in the area. Tornadoes have hit BigStone Gap and Birchfield in recent years. The WYMTweather coverage could save lives in Wise County.The Roanoke station will never cut into their regularprograming to cover severe weather in Wise County.

Many people living in Wise County have familyliving in nearby Kentucky. Many are interested inEastern Kentucky local news. Southwest Virginia andEastern Kentucky have a lot in common. There aremany Kentucky basketball fans living here. WYMTshows live local Kentucky high school football andbasketball games. WYMT shows the mid-week SECbasketball games. WCYB-Bristol has the rights in theTri-Cities. They refuse to show these games onWCYB or their CW cable channel. WYMT also showsa different NFL game than the WJHL-Johnson Citystation.

Wise County needs more local channels, not less.Nearby Boone, N.C. has two channels from all themajor networks. Why not have a extra ABC, NBC,Fox and CBS stations from West Virginia, NorthCarlina and Kentucky? Most citizens are now payingbig dollars for less local channels.

Coal jobs are disappearing every day. Wise Countyneeds to focus on finding new manufacturing andtourist jobs. Most economic development plannersknow what is happening in a 500-mile radius. Havingmore local stations from surrounding states couldhelp with recruiting new businesses and jobs. Thiscould help recruit some suppliers for major manufac-tures. Wise County needs to look for any advantage itcan find.

Many Comcast customers are having problems

with services. We have problems with our internetand phone services cutting in and out. Many of theComcast services can be replaced. Maybe it’s timefor Wise County to add some competition for cabletelevision services. Maybe it’s time to also look intoputting up a antenna for WYMT-TV.

Citizens can help Wise County get the WYMT-TVstation back. There is strength in numbers. Comcastcustomers are paying big dollars for cable. Let’s getour money’s worth. Call Shannon Scott at 328-2321;this is the phone number for the Wise County Boardof Supervisors. Comcast customers also needs to call1-800/266-2278 and ask that WYMT-TV is returned tothe local cable lineup. u

LARRY BAKERWISE

to mention the mindless cudgel of the sequester — areput together by a handful of leaders and their staffs.They don’t have specific, detailed expertise, andthey’re more interested in seeking partisan advantagethan in fair process or effective legislating.

Too often in the past, members of Congress havesought some automatic budget mechanism — a bal-anced-budget amendment, say, or budget caps — tosolve their problems. Mostly, these have been a way toavoid the hard choices required by the regular order.In the end, there’s no substitute for experience, knowl-edge, hard work, compromise, and a resolve to seeksolutions. That’s what the regular order would encour-age. It’s time for Congress to stop paying it lip serviceand actually revive it. u

Lee Hamilton is director of the Center on Congressat Indiana University. He was a member of the U.S.House of Representatives for 34 years.

Congress, an independentanalysis is made by theAdministration’sDepartment of Energy.

But wait — there’smore! In order to stop aregulation, DOE mustconsult with other execu-tive agencies — theDepartment of Labor, theDepartment ofCommerce, and the SmallBusiness Administration.

If enacted, the billwould bring to light thisEPA’s assault on industry,particularly the energyindustries. This bill wouldmake clearer proposedrules’ impact on gasoline,electricity, and otherenergy prices, and alsoprovide informationregarding any potentialjob losses.

While discussing thelegislation at this hearing,Ranking Member HenryWaxman (D-Calif.) —chief author of Cap andTrade — said “this is anunprecedented intrusionon the authority of theEPA.” Mr. Waxman wenton to say, “imagine apply-ing this bill’s premise toeveryday decisions.”

You read that right.Mr. Waxman is trying toargue that spending $1billion is similar to aneveryday decision. I don’tknow anybody in our partof Virginia who wouldthink that a $1 billiondecision is an everydaydecision.

The last year I servedin the Virginia GeneralAssembly, 2010, theentire Virginia budgetwas less than $40 billion.I can assure you that tothe Virginia government,a $1 billion decision is notan everyday decision.

The people elected usto be responsible and toinclude checks and bal-ances in the system.When a check on the $1billion level has becomeìunreasonable, it’s clearwhy we have a debt anddeficit problem inWashington.

Is it really unreason-able to alert Congress toregulations which cost $1billion or greater?Particularly when anoth-er department of theAdministration gets to doan independent analysisas well? Is it really unrea-sonable when there is a$1 billion cost after ananalysis by EPA and DOEin consultation with anadditional group ofAdministration branch

agencies who have deter-mined significant adverseeffects to the economy?

I don’t think so, butMr. Waxman does. This isa significant problem, notonly in coal, gas, and oilcountry, but across theNinth District, Virginia,and the United States.

Under this EPA, ener-gy prices are stubbornlyhigh. Accordingly, thecost of living continues torise, making it increas-ingly difficult for many tomake ends meet, espe-cially for the elderly andthe poor. When I onceasked her about risingheating bills, then-EPAAdministrator LisaJackson responded alongthe lines of “there areprograms to help thosepeople.” See below.

BUDGETPresident Obama

recently released hisbudget, and lo andbehold, he took action ona program thatAdministrator Jackson byimplication was referenc-

ing. That program is theLow Income HomeEnergy AssistanceProgram (LIHEAP),which helps families withhigh energy costs.However, LIHEAP is aprogram that thePresident proposes cut-ting in his budget plan.

President Obama andhis Administration arepushing through policiesthat raise your energycosts while suggestingthat programs likeLIHEAP be cut. I believethat the President’s planincludes many cuts henever intends to happen.It is my opinion that hisbudget, which was nineweeks late, was put for-ward to increase spend-ing and taxes, and manyof the cuts he proposedwere just part of asmokescreen to hide histrue objectives.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY,MR. JEFFERSON

The Library ofCongress, in honor of the270th anniversary ofThomas Jefferson’s birth,recently permitted peopleto view some items fromtheir large collection oforiginal Jefferson docu-ments. Among the docu-ments on display wasJefferson’s Manual ofParliamentary Practice,which contains noteshand-written by Jefferson

himself. I used a copy ofJefferson’s Manual exten-sively while serving inthe Virginia House ofDelegates, and I use it inCongress as well. But mycopy does not includethose notes. Being a stu-dent of history I deeplyappreciated the opportu-nity to view these docu-ments, particularly theManual of ParliamentaryPractice which continuesas a guide to me to thisvery day.

As always, if you havequestions, concerns, orcomments, feel free tocall my Abingdon officeat 276/525-1405. To reachmy office by email,please visit my website atwww.morgangriffith.house.gov. u

Norton, Virginia 24273 The Coalfield Progress Friday, April 19, 2013 PAGE 9

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r HamiltonFROM PAGE 8

r GriffithFROM PAGE 8

r LettersFROM PAGE 8

LETTERS POLICYThe Coalfield Progress welcomes letters to the

editor on matters of public interest. Best-read let-ters are short and to the point. If possible, pleaseemail letters or type, double spaced.

Each letter must be signed by the individualwho wrote it and must include the complete mail-ing address of the writer, an email address ifavailable, and a daytime telephone number.

No unsigned letters will be published. Letterscontaining statements of fact the newspaper can-not independently and immediately verify as truewill be subject to editing. Potentially libelousstatements will be stricken.

Deadline: Friday at 5 p.m. for letters to be pub-lished the following Tuesday; Wednesday at 5p.m. for letters to be published the followingFriday.

For more information, contact News Editor JeffLester at 679-1101 or jlester@coalfield.com. u

Is it really

unreasonable to

alert Congress to

regulations which

cost $1 billion

or greater?

GLENN GANNAWAYPOST NEWS EDITOR

What if, said theyoungster as he looked atthe Dimension sst 1200es,you could insert a dollarbill like you would into avending machine andprint, say, a toy?

Why not?Three-D printers such

as the one recentlyacquired by MountainEmpire CommunityCollege open a world ofpossibilities for manufac-turers, scientists, design-ers, and anyone with adream.

MECC had its 3Dprinter on display as partof last Thursdayevening’s tech expo pre-sented by theSouthwestern VirginiaTechnology Council inGoodloe Center.

While Jake Gilly, assis-tant professor in comput-er-aided drafting anddesign, and other expoparticipants spoke, the3D printer quietly wentabout the work of trans-forming ABSplus plastic,which looks like grasstrimmer line, into anadjustable wrench. Whilea plastic wrench wouldhave limited stress toler-ance, Gilly noted thateverything that’s printedcan be chrome-plated, “soit’s pretty durable stuff.”

The Dimension printercosts $30,000; the .254millimeter plastic line is$250 per cartridge, witheach project using about2 percent of the cartridge.MECC’s Dimensionprinter is capable of man-ufacturing objects justunder a cubic foot in size— 10”x10”x12”. Gillysaid that’s the largest inthe printer’s class.

WORKING PARTSManufacturing the

wrench took about anhour and a half. Once anobject is built, its solublesupport material can beremoved. “After about 45minutes, you can pick itup and have a workingpart,” Gilly said.

Printers such as theDimension can have aprofound impact in theclassroom. They’re alsoalready in use by manu-facturers of such thingsas medical and aerospaceequipment.

“We can put studentsin a real-life work situa-tion right away,” Gillysaid, “because they canfollow the entire process.You go from concept/ideato prototype to finishedproduct.”

After designing amodel on computer, stu-dents export the plans tothe printer. For example,student TravisHammonds’ class projectthis semester is to createa model using Lego-likeblocks. The printers areat the vanguard of addi-tive manufacturing,which builds from theground up, unlike tradi-tional manufacturing,which takes raw materialand reduces it to the fin-ished product, resultingin waste. Additive manu-facturing is currentlybeing used in medicine tobuild prosthetics.“There’s a lot of researchin the medical industry,”Gilly said. “At ETSU,they’ve printed out theentire human body.” Inthe classroom, studentscan manufacturer dam-aged organs and use themin their training inexploratory surgery.

An audience memberpointed out that her den-tist had a similar machinethat can cut crowns anddeliver them the sameday. Additive manufac-turing can also be usefulin fields such as architec-ture, where designerswant scale models of theirconcepts.

Guitars have beenmanufactured with 3Dprinters. “I hear theysound as good as the onesthey’re modeled off of,”Gilly said. “It brings anew meaning to thewords ‘hollow-body gui-tar.’”

COMPETITIVENESSGilly noted that there

is already a National

Additive ManufacturingInnovation Institute.According to its website,NAMII was established inAugust 2012 and is “driv-en by the National Centerfor DefenseManufacturing andMachining.” NAMII saysits mission is to acceler-ate the use of additivemanufacturing technolo-gies by the nation’s manu-facturing sector, increas-ing competitiveness.

Gilly noted that thefederal government hasdevoted about $30 millionto the technology, whileprivate partners havecontributed about $40million. Rapid prototyp-ing, Gilly said, offers theopportunity to bring man-ufacturing back to theUnited States.

Additive manufactur-ing also reduces the nega-

tive impact of manufac-turing on the environ-ment, Gilly said. “Thereduction of waste cou-pled with the opportunityto re-use raw materialscuts down cost for educa-tion and industry,” Gillysaid in an email.

The Dimension print-er, he noted, “is very effi-cient and eco-friendly.The support material iscompletely dissolved in asolution. The additiveprocess does eliminatewaste. Objects areformed to the correctspecs rather thanremoved form largerpieces of raw material.”

“The plastic is alsorecyclable, so any partsthat are tossed due todesign change, or anyother reason, are tossedin a recycling bin,” Gillysaid. u

r

A look intothe future:

MountainEmpire

CommunityCollege

computer-aided draft-

ing anddesign stu-dent Travis

Hammonds, left,explains the workings

of the college’s 3Dprinter to Brandon

Bolling. The printerbuilt an adjustable

wrench out of plasticline in about an hour

and a half.

PAGE 10 Friday, April 19, 2013 The Coalfield Progress Norton, Virginia 24273

Printer gives glimpse into future