Looking for rock star sales managers.
The Clendenin Leader is currently accepting applications for Regional Sales Managers for advertising and business services in the Elk River Valley and surrounding areas and national accounts.
This is a 1099 commissioned sales position.
Qualified applicants must be self-motivated and have a LEADER mentality.
Send your resume to clendeninleader@gmail.com.
The Clendenin Leader is an equal opportunity employer.
Posted: Mar. 5, 2018 | Source: The Marietta Times
PARKERSBURG — FirstEnergy Corp. will invest $189 million in 2018 on distribution and transmission infrastructure projects to enhance service reliability and meet future economic growth for its customers in Monongahela Power’s 34-county service area in West Virginia. (more…)
Megan Emmett of St. Albans spars with Brad Mullins at the Elk River Boxing Club’s new location in Elkview. The club moved recently from downtown Clendenin, to provide more convenience for its members. Photo by Ben Calwell, Metro
By: Clint Thomas, Metro Staff | Posted: Mar. 2, 2018 | Source: WV Gazette-Mail
Elk River Boxing Club owner Rob Fletcher and his staff introduced current and potential members and guests to the club’s new location in Elkview on Thursday.
Previously located in downtown Clendenin, the Elk River Boxing Club is now open at 5522 Elk River North in Elkview, behind the former worksite of Wally’s Rope.
“We wanted some place that was a little more convenient for our members,” Fletcher said of the move from the Clendenin locale it has occupied for the past two years. “We’ll be seven miles south of the last location. We have members coming from Elkview, Big Chimney, Charleston, Hurricane and St. Albans — that seven miles means a lot. Some people had to drive for 45 minutes or an hour to get to the old location.
“It’s a nice facility,” he said, “and a little more centered to our members’ location.”
The new Elkview gym and fitness center “has more use-able space. The last building was bigger, but I couldn’t use the facility the way I wanted to. It was in a 120-year-old building and I had some problems with that,” Fletcher explained.
The new location will still provide the classes and training the Clendenin one did, he said. These include children’s boxing classes for ages 5 to 8 and regular boxing, kickboxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and mixed martial arts classes.
Fletcher said his gym has a core membership of about a dozen people, who come from Kanawha, Putnam, Roane and Clay counties to hone their fighting and self-defense skills, as exercise for some and competitive training for others.
“We have all ages — from 10 up to their 60s — taking classes. We have a retired Marine from Clendenin who comes for physical fitness. He can do more pushups than any teenager you’ve ever seen,” Fletcher said.
Thursday’s grand opening celebration offered demonstrations of some of the disciplines members undertake, along with refreshments for newcomers and longtime members. Sign-up opportunities were available during the evening, as well.
For more information about the Elk River Boxing Club, contact Rob Fletcher at 681-313-6001.
Metro reporter Clint Thomas can be reached at cthomas@cnpapers.com or by calling 304-348-1232.
By: Catherine Zacchi | Posted: Mar. 1, 2018 | Source: WVSBDC
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Busy would-be entrepreneurs have a flexible option to learn the fundamentals of starting a business. An online version of the business fundamentals workshop is available from the West Virginia Small Business Development Center (WV SBDC).
To register, visit www.wvsbdc.com and click on the Training Calendar. (more…)
Posted: Feb. 27, 2018 | Source: Clay County Free Press
Nearly 10,500 rural homes and businesses in West Virginia that are currently unserved by high-speed Internet service could get connectivity in the near future.
These homes and businesses are in unserved areas of West Virginia eligible for financial support from the next phase of FCC’s Connect America Fund (CAF), which helps offset the high cost of extending broadband service into rural areas. The FCC will be distributing these funds through an innovative “reverse auction,” which is scheduled to launch on July 24. (more…)
Two local Clendenin, West Virginia restaurants are now hiring. Momma Paynes and Julio’s Mexican Restaurant, located on Main Street, are both looking for experienced morning waitresses. Stop by either location and pick up an application.
Photo Courtesy: Stacy Nelson | The Clendenin Leader
By: Mark Burdette | Posted: Feb. 16, 2018
CLENDENIN, WEST VIRGINIA (The Clendenin Leader) – The Clendenin Planning Commission held their third meeting on Thursday, February 15, 2018, at 6:30 PM at the Recreation Building located beside Town Hall, in Clendenin, West Virginia. The meeting was facilitated by Jesse Richardson from WVU Law along with James Young (FEMA), Philip Maramba (FEMA), Julie Alston (WV HUD), Lorna Rosenberg (EPA), and Dr. Terry Polen (WV DEP) were in attendance.
After the minutes from the January 23, 2018 Planning Commission meeting were approved, Lorna Rosenberg, sustainable advisor from EPA, joined via phone conference from Philadelphia to discuss sustainable community programs that focus on local food, health, broadband, and Main Street. She discussed a focused approach to target sustainable actions to help Clendenin move forward to become more health resilient and to improve the economic resiliency. She went on to discuss that because Clendenin is a community that was affected by the flood, there will be an opportunity to focus and target a discussion and action plan around initiatives that have been created to improve the community. EPA and FEMA will facilitate a two-day workshop sometime in April or May, which will include experts from various agencies, to address specific topics and flood resiliency. Prior to this meeting, an action plan will need to be created, which should include targeted action items, along with funding information.
Mayor Shana Clendenin indicated that housing is still an issue in town and throughout the surrounding area. The mayor also added that the Kanawha County Long Term Recovery Committee and WV VOAD have done an exceptional job in residential recovery but there are still needs that need to be met. The Town of Clendenin is still struggling with business recruitment and business retention. Infrastructure is still a concern, especially wastewater treatment. According to Mayor Clendenin tourism is her primary focus right now centered around Elk River and Rails to Trails. The Town of Clendenin just applied for a TAP grant through WV Dept. of Highways for a complete streetscape of Main Street to beautify the area. Announcement of whether Clendenin will receive grant will be sometime in the fall later this year.
Kevin Clendenin, President of the Clendenin Planning Commission and Fire Chief for the Clendenin Volunteer Fire Dept., echoed many of the infrastructure challenges that the Town of Clendenin faces. Clendenin said, “We need businesses with stable jobs and need to broaden our footprint with utilities. Historically, utilities were run along the river and weren’t developed towards the interstate or residential areas like Reamer, who doesn’t have fire hydrants or city water. Less than a mile from where you’re sitting there are people drawing well water still today. We need to identify grants that can help develop our utilities.”
According to Mayor Clendenin upgrades to sewer, water and all drains in town are very much needed. The last project done on drains was the late 1990s. Dr. Terry Polen with WV DEP suggested putting a plan and process together to apply for a grant with the WV Water Development Authority could be an option to improve infrastructure needs in the town. James Young with FEMA said a mitigation grant can provide monies to upgrade infrastructure for stormwater, however, not much can be done at this point for much-needed maintenance on existing issues due to missing deadlines.
Listen to the full audio of the Clendenin Planning Commission meeting above to hear more about what is being done to revitalize the Town of Clendenin.
By: Max Garland, Staff Writer | Posted: Feb. 15, 2018 | Source: WV Gazette-Mail
Armacell’s expansion of its Spencer operations is on pace to receive help from the state Economic Development Authority, as the agency gave preliminary approval Thursday for a $3 million loan to help prepare the larger facility the company will move into.
The 10-year loan will go to the Roane County Economic Development Authority, which owns the former Mustang Survival facility that Armacell is moving to, for various renovations and repairs at the site if given final approval.
Armacell’s Spencer operations are currently housed in a 40,000-square-foot facility in the city’s downtown. The insulation supplier began its operations there in 2005 after buying it from Monarch Rubber. Production at the new, 103,000-square-foot facility is expected to begin in mid-2018.
“This will keep [Armacell] in Spencer, but move them to where they can expand,” said David Warner, the EDA’s executive director.
Armacell is growing its Spencer operations in order to meet the increased demand for the foams it makes for equipment insulation, according to Warner. In a news release, Armacell said the expansion will help better serve East Coast customers.
The expansion will create 13 jobs in the span of a year, which would bring the company’s employee total in Spencer to 87, according to data provided by the EDA.
Mark Whitley, executive director of the Roane County Economic Development Authority, said the EDA’s preliminary approval is welcome news for an expansion that should bring in $12 million in capital investment from Armacell.
Also Thursday, the EDA approved $3.72 million in loan insurance for Clear Mountain Bank, which is providing a loan to Digital Connections, Inc., a Morgantown-based provider of internet and phone services for North Central West Virginia.
Digital Connections will use the loan to help expand its gigabit service area in Preston County.
Warner said he hopes the loan insurance approval will encourage more applications to the EDA relating to broadband internet services, which legislation passed last year — House Bill 3093 — helped pave the way for.
In other news, the EDA:
Reach Max Garland at max.garland@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4886 or follow @MaxGarlandTypes on Twitter.
The Hilton Garden Inn in Morgantown is in bankruptcy proceedings. Photo by Brad McElhinny/MetroNews
By: Brad McElhinny | Posted: Feb. 10, 2018 at 4:50 p.m. | WV MetroNews
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A recently-filed federal lawsuit contends West Virginia developer William Abruzzino is personally responsible for $18,822,851.95 on the defaulting Hilton Garden Inn in Morgantown.
The lenders filed a breach of contract lawsuit Feb. 2 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The lawsuit contends Abruzzino and his wife Rebecca have violated the terms of their personal guarantee on the loan.
A similar lawsuit filed in October held the Abruzzinos personally responsible for $17 million for the loan on another of their developments, the Crossings Mall in Elkview.
Lawyers for the Abruzzinos filed a response in that case on Jan. 31, denying the claims and countering that the lenders have acted in bad faith.
The Abruzzinos have had developments floundering over the past couple of years in a variety of West Virginia communities.
The troubles even hit two Abruzzino-owned Elkins shopping centers that foreclosed and were sold at auction for $10 million this past week.
More prominent have been defaulting hotels in Morgantown, Clarksburg, Elkins and Elkview that have been in bankruptcy and in litigation.
The State of West Virginia, as well as county and local governments, has been trying to get hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes that were collected from customers but not passed on.
The original loans were taken out by an investment group that included Sen. Joe Manchin and longtime aide Larry Puccio. Recent bankruptcy documents filed in the Morgantown hotel case indicate they are not current investors but it’s not clear when they got out or under what circumstances.
The latest court action says the Abruzzinos signed a personal guarantee on the $15,470,000 loan they took out in 2013 for the Hilton Garden Inn at Sun Crest Town Center.
Mountain Blue Hotel Group, an investment group that has William Abruzzino as its lead investor, has filed bankruptcy on the Hilton Garden Inn twice in a year’s time.
That and the failure to pay property taxes has triggered the guarantee, the lender contends.
“As a result of the above and other actions, all amounts due and owing under the Loan Documents have been accelerated and are immediately due and payable,” lawyers for the lender state in the recent filing.
The lawyers say $18,822,851.95 debt remains. That includes what’s still on the loan plus attorneys fees, costs and expenses from the ongoing legal battle.
Brad McElhinny is the statewide correspondent for MetroNews. Brad is a Parkersburg native who spent more than 20 years at the Charleston Daily Mail. Email Brad at brad.mcelhinny@wvmetronews.com and follow him on Twitter @BradMcElhinny.
West Virginia Capitol Dome photo by Chris Dorst with WV Gazette-Mail.
By: Kate Mishkin, Staff Writer | Posted: Feb. 9, 2018 | Source: WV Gazette-Mail
A bill that would allow companies to drill on minority mineral owners’ land without their consent moved from committee to the House of Delegates floor Friday afternoon, but not without an hour of public comments and nearly three hours of committee deliberation.
House Bill 4268, also known as the co-tenancy bill, would pave the way for natural gas and oil companies to drill as long as the majority of mineral rights owners, or three-quarters of the ownership, say it’s OK. (more…)
