Life & Style

Clay County Business and Development Authority promotes tourism with new rail bikes

By: Jessi Starkey | Posted: June 20, 2018 | Source: WCHSTV

The Buffalo Creek and Gauley Railroad was once a vital resource for many who lived in the mountains of Clay County. Built mostly by hand in the 1900s, the railroad hauled coal and lumber. Now, the rail is being used for a recreational adventure for families to enjoy. (WCHS/WVAH)

CLAY, W.Va. (WCHS/WVAH) — The Buffalo Creek and Gauley Railroad was once a vital resource for many who lived in the mountains of Clay County. Built mostly by hand in the 1900s, the railroad hauled coal and lumber. Now, the rail is being used for a recreational adventure for families to enjoy.

“You can’t beat the scenery,” President of the Clay County Business and Development Authority Mitch DeBoard said. “We are operating on 6 miles of the most pristine scenery. You will see otter, deer, bears, squirrels and turkey. You name it you will see it.”

Rail bikes are a popular trend in some states and…

CONTINUE TO READ FULL STORY ON WCHSTV.COM

June 20, 2018 in Community News, Life & Style, Local News, NEWS, Outdoors & Recreation

Clendenin Homecoming Festival Pageant Winners

The 1st Annual 2018 Clendenin Homecoming Festival Pageant was held on May 26-27 at Elkview Middle School. Congratulations to all of the winners.

MRS Contestants

#1 Misty Adkins (3rd RUNNER UP)

#2 Alicia Casto (MRS WINNER)

#3 Krystal Rectenwald (2nd RUNNER UP)

#4 Krista Wilkinson (1st RUNNER UP)

 

TEEN Contestants

#6 Kennedy Fox

#7 Lauren Gorman (TEEN WINNER & MOST PHOTOGENTIC)

#8 Carigan Hayes (1st RUNNER UP)

#9 Elizabeth Kingrey (2nd RUNNER UP)

 

QUEEN Contestants

#10 Caitland Boggs

#11 Charley Clayton (QUEEN WINNER & MOST CONGENIALITY)

#12 Michaela Everette

#13 Tayo Oluwafemi (1st RUNNER UP)

#14 Lyndsee Plantz

#15 Rebecca Rhodes (2nd RUNNER UP)

 

Children’s Pageant Royalty

Baby Mister: Zachary Brake II

Little Mister: Wyatt Russell

Baby Miss: McKenna Garnes

Tiny Miss: Sophia Casto

Little Miss: Grace Fletcher

Junior Miss: Natalie Donohew

 

View pictures of the Children’s Pageant Royalty below and keep scrolling down for pictures of the rest of the Clendenin Homecoming Festival Pageant.

Children’s Pageant pictures submitted by Heather Roush

View the pictures below from the event.

June 12, 2018 in COMMUNITY, Community News, Entertainment, Life & Style, NEWS

Clendenin Homecoming Festival Quickly Approaching

Excitement is in the air as the 1st Annual Clendenin Homecoming Festival quickly approaches. June 22-24, 2018 the Town of Clendenin will welcome guests from near and far to witness the progress of a once flood ravaged town and to celebrate the rebirth of the community. The resilience and spirit of those who call Clendenin and the Elk River home is remarkable and unmistakable.

The Clendenin Homecoming Committee is a growing group of local citizens working tirelessly since last year to plan and coordinate the upcoming festival.  In addition to the carnival and parade, the festival will feature numerous activities like a kayak race, horseshoe tournament, fishing tournament, numerous concerts, fireworks, craft and food vendors, and so much more. See below for a complete list of the festival agenda. Craft/sales and food vendor applications are still being accepted, so it is not too late to register for a booth.

2018 Clendenin Homecoming Festival Pageant winners: (L-R) Teen Queen Lauren Gorma, Queen Charley Clayton, and Mrs. Queen Alicia Casto

The Clendening Homecoming Festival recently crowned its royalty at the recent Clendenin Homecoming Festival Pageant. Winners included Teen Queen Lauren Gorma, Queen Charley Clayton, and Mrs. Queen Alicia Casto.  The Children’s Pageant Royalty includes: Baby Mister-Zachary Brake II, Little Mister-Wyatt Russell, Baby Miss-McKenna Garnes, Tiny Miss-Sophia Casto, Little Miss-Grace Fletcher, and Junior Miss-Natalie Donohew.

Various businesses in Clendenin have re-opened their doors and new businesses have made Clendenin their home since the June 2016 Flood; however, to date, Clendenin does not have a hotel. Many who attend the festival will stay with family and friends in the area; however some may seek other accommodations. There are hotels in neighboring towns, including nearby Elkview, and local Bed and Breakfast’s in and around Clendenin. Country Road House & Berries is located in Clendenin and has a Bed & Breakfast, along with the best strawberries in the area. You can contact them for room availability at (304) 553-5761 or by visiting their website.

Airbnb and Home Away are also great places that you can search for places to stay during the festival. Both Airbnb and Home Away are online marketplaces which lets people rent out their properties or spare rooms to guests. If you live in Clendenin or the surrounding areas and you are interested in learning how you can earn extra money by renting your room(s) and/or property during the Festival, here are some great resources:

In preparation for the festival, the Town of Clendenin along with the Kanawha County Commission, Chuck Grishaber with the Kanawha County Planning Department, and 25045- A New Clendenin, are sponsoring an Elk River Cleanup in Clendenin on June 9. Volunteers are asked to meet at Smith’s Foodfair parking lot at 9AM. View more details HERE.

2018 CLENDENIN HOMECOMING FESTIVAL AGENDA

Friday, June 22

6:00 PM: Myers Amusements Carnival (Across from the Post Office)

7:00 PM: Audio Outlaws Concert (Main Street Stage)

Saturday, June 23

8:00 AM:  Horseshoe Tournament Registration (Railroad Track)

9:00 AM: Opening  Ceremony (The Gazebo)

9:00 AM: All craft and food vendors open (Main St. & Maywood Ave)

9:00 AM: Kayak Race (Begins at Queen Shoals Bridge River Access)

10:00 AM – 6:00 PM: The Hoppy Express – from Smith’s Lot to Main Street and Back

11:00 AM: Horseshoe Tournament (Railroad Track)

12:00 PM: Parade Lineup (Poca Valley Bank)

12:00 PM: Carnival Opens (Across from the Post Office)

2:00 PM: Duck Race (Old Bridge to New Bridge)

4:00 PM: Royalty Coronation (Main Street Stage)

6:00 PM – 7:30 PM: Joanna Young Concert (Main Street Stage)

6:30 PM: Adam Tucker Meet & Greet (Main Street Stage area)

7:30 PM: Adam Tucker Concert (Main Street Stage)

After Adam Tucker Concert: Fireworks by Zambelli’s (on hill behind Smith’s lot)

Sunday, June 24

6:30 AM: Fishing Tournament (details on Facebook Event: Elk River Fishing Tournament)

5:00 PM: Fishing Tournament Awards (Main Street Stage)

Sponsors for the Clendenin Homecoming Festival include First Bank of Charleston, Pulmonary Associates, Poca Valley Bank, Shafer Equipment, Charleston Blueprint, FYAO, Cabin Creek Health Systems, Cantrell’s Florist, Houff Transfer, Teays River Construction Company, The Yak House, Kanawha County Commission, O.V. Smith and Sons, Inc., Town of Clendenin, and The Clendenin Leader.

You can stay up-to-date with The Clendenin Homecoming Festival by visiting their Facebook page.

June 1, 2018 in 2016 FLOOD, COMMUNITY, Community News, Did You Know?, Entertainment, Life & Style, Local News, Long Term Aftermath & Recovery, NEWS, Outdoors & Recreation, Volunteers & Volunteer Organizations

Annual tournament honoring slain trooper is this weekend

Trooper Eric Workman Foundation
The Erick Workman Memorial Youth Musky Tournament started last weekend and this young man has already submitted one entry.

By: Chris Lawrence | Posted: May 31, 2018 at 9:32 a.m. | Source: WV MetroNews

BIG OTTER, W.Va. — It’s been seven years since the dreadful night when State Troopers Eric Workman and Marshall Bailey were shot and killed in the parking lot off the Wallback exit of I-79 in Roane County. Since then, those who new Workman have worked to preserve his memory and his legacy. This weekend will be the 6th annual Eric Workman Memorial Muskie Tournament.

“We started this tournament to honor Eric and his family and it’s grown beyond our wildest dreams,” said Scott Smith, a member of the Eric Workman Foundation’s Board of Directors. “We had to form a 501(C) 3 to handle the money and we’ve got a whole foundation.”

Proceeds from the tournament benefit the foundation, which has been instrumental in funneling money to the passions of Workman during his life.

Trooper Eric Workman Foundation

Trooper Eric Workman Foundation
Trooper Eric Workman who was killed in the line of duty in 2011

“Eric probably could have been a professional baseball player, but he wanted to be a state trooper and wanted to give back to the state and to Clay County. He wanted to get drugs out of Clay County,” said Smith. “The Foundation and the tournament is all about honoring Eric and giving back to the community.”

Workman was a trooper, a former baseball player for West Virginia State, and a passionate musky angler. The tournament proceeds have been allocated to muskie research, aiding law enforcement, drug prevention, and support of youth sports–particularly little league baseball.

“We have given over $25,000 to the West Virginia DNR in the form of equipment for muskie research. Things like pit-tag readers used in fish tracking studies and special gloves to handle the fish during shocking studies so they don’t have to euthanize the fish,” explained Smith. “We’ve also now expanded and bought equipment for the Kentucky DNR and the Virginia DNR. We have people from Kentucky and Virginia participating in the tournament and the foundation so we’re also working with both of those states.”

The tournament starts at midnight Friday night and runs until Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. Participants have to be present at the banquet at Big Otter Elementary School in Clay County to qualify.

“The banquet is where you experience what this is all about,” said Smith.

Fishermen are scored on a point system. There are 10 points for a 30 inch fish, then one point for each additional half-inch. The most points wins and there is a prize for the largest fish. To keep the integrity of the event, the tournament organization sends out a message at the start of the event to all participants with a code. A legal catch must be a picture of the fish–with that exact code included in the picture. After the picture, the muskie are released alive back into the water.

“Two years ago we had somebody who caught the biggest fish and they got so excited they forgot to put the code in the picture,” said Smith. “We had two other boats witness the catch and they had pictures and video–but since they didn’t have the code they were disqualified and it made mine the biggest fish. I personally just gave the award to them.”

It’s that kind of camaraderie which Smith and the board believe helps to keep Workman’s legacy alive.

During the six year history of the tournament the biggest fish caught was a 50-inch muskie from Stonecoal Lake. The average size of muskies caught in the tournament has been 38-inches. During the tournament’s best year anglers caught 54 fish of 30 inches or more. Stonewall Jackson Lake has yielded the most fish in the tournament with 63 and the New River is second with 21 muskies to qualify.

A kids tournament got underway last weekend and will also culminate on Sunday with the banquet, awards ceremony, and a raffle drawing with loads of donated prizes.

Chris Lawrence is the anchor of the MetroNews Morning News, heard weekday mornings from 6-9 a.m. on MetroNews stations across West Virginia. Chris is also the host of the award-winning West Virginia Outdoors, heard Saturday mornings at 7 a.m. across the network. Chris has won numerous awards for coverage of hunting and fishing. You can reach Chris via email clawrence@wvradio.com. Follow him on Twitter @WVOutdoors, Facebook chris.lawrence.9822 and Instagram @chris_lawrence_metronews.

May 31, 2018 in Community News, Life & Style, Local News, NEWS, Outdoors & Recreation

Library reopens for Clendenin after 2 years

Books ready for check out at the Clendenin Branch Library. Jordyn Johnson/WVMetroNews.com

By: Jordyn Johnson | Posted: May 30, 2018 at 3:32 p.m. | Source: WV MetroNews

CLENDENIN, W.Va.– Tuesday night Tammy Parker, branch manager at the Clendenin Branch Library, had trouble sleeping, because she was so excited for the next day– a day she has been looking forward to for two years.

Wednesday was the ribbon-cutting of the new Clendenin Branch Library since the 2016 flooding ruined the former branch. It has taken two years for the community to get its library back but due to hard work and perseverance books can be read once more.

“We have been here working to get all the furniture in, the books on the shelves and in the mean time, when I was out in the community, people were stopping me and asking me, ‘When is the

The teen section of the newly opened Clendenin Branch Library, Jordyn Johnson/WVMetroNews.com

library opening?’ and I would say, ‘Oh in a few days or a few weeks’ or whatever, and so everyone was asking, and I was so excited,” Parker said.

The new branch is located in the former Clendenin Middle School. While the branch is still getting settled, those in the area now have a place for reading and computer access.

“There’s still a few things that we still haven’t completed,” Parker said. “We’re still waiting for a couple pieces of furniture and to get the last pieces of our computers ready to go, and it was a lot of work but worth it.”

Midge Forwood is the president of the Clendenin Branch Library Advisory Board and has worked in the branch since its first opening in Clendenin.

“We’ve waited two years, and now we’re here, and I’m happy,” she said at the opening.

Many residents and book-lovers alike have been anxiously awaiting the branch’s reopening.

“I think that, you know, it’s a happy day for a lot of us and especially the Library Advisory Board,” Forwood said. “We work hard to keep it here, you know. We work hard to buy the things that we need for the library, and so we’re just real happy.”

Clendenin’s library is very important to the community, because without it, not many residents would have access to computers and so many books.

“The one thing that we need for our young people is our library– we really do,” Forwood said. “They use our computers. Not every family in this area has a computer, so after school, and even in the summertime, the library is always full of kids.”

Now that summer break is here for Clendenin’s school-children, the branch has lots of activities planned for all ages.

“We have programs planned for the whole summer. We have some big programs,” Parker said. “We’ve got ‘Dino Ed’ coming with his animatronic dinosaurs, and we’ve got just all kinds of programs throughout the summer.”

While the library location changed, its supporters work to make it feel like home.

“We’re going to do a few new things, but we wanted it to be as much like it was as possible to keep the kids familiar with what kind of things we have in the library,” Parker said.

The opening drew lots of members from the community, and now that the branch is open again, it will draw people from all around.

“Once people know that we’re here, know where we are, it’ll be good,” Forwood said.

The new Clendenin Library Branch is located at 107 Koontz Avenue.

Story by Jordyn Johnson

May 30, 2018 in Community News, Education News, Entertainment, Life & Style, Local News, NEWS

UPDATE: Elk River Clean Up postponed due to weather

By: Jessie Shafer | Posted: May 29, 2018 | Source: WOWKTV

KANAWHA COUNTY, WV (WOWK) – The Elk River Clean up, scheduled to take place on June 2 has been postponed to June 9, 2018.

Mayor Shana Clendenin said the decision was made to switch up the dates as a result of the weather forecast and river access.

According to the Facebook page for the event, the Town of Clendenin along with the Kanawha County Commission, Chuck Grishaber with the Kanawha County Planning Department, and 25045- A New Clendenin are still looking for volunteers.

“Everyone will meet at Smith’s parking lot in Clendenin at 9 a.m. and be disbursed to gather the garbage”, the page states.

Anyone interested in helping may check out the Facebook event page by clicking here. 

May 29, 2018 in Community News, Life & Style, Local News, NEWS, Outdoors & Recreation

Kanawha main library purging 51K items ahead of renovation, expansion

Kanawha County Library Facilities Manager Tim Venitsoras looks over boxes of books in the basement of the main library in Charleston. The books are ready to go to a warehouse for storage before the annual book sale in October. Chris Dorst, Gazette-Mail

By: Ryan Quinn, Education Reporter | Posted: May 28, 2018 | Source: WV Gazette-Mail

In November, the Kanawha County Public Library system’s board unveiled and voted for an estimated $27 million renovation and expansion of the main library in Charleston.

Despite the planned 20,000-square-foot size increase, the system had begun working to remove about one-fifth of the 252,745 items in the Charleston library’s physical collection, and system Director Alan Engelbert said it probably will remain at about 200,000 items when the revamped main library opens.

Engelbert said the items are being sold, donated or, in certain cases, simply discarded.

The expanded library will have more spaces, he said, for people to meet and create, including a cafe, craft room and an expanded children’s area. He said it will include lower shelving and wider aisles that won’t be able to fit as many books but will “be a really nice collection to browse and use.”

He provided a breakdown by “broad collection type” of projected total items to be removed. He said the numbers represent the “minimum that we need to achieve in order to be able to fit our collection” in the new space.

The projected 51,478-item reduction is anticipated to include removing the following (original collection numbers are as of September):

  • 24,078 (33 percent) of 72,614 “reference nonfiction” items
  • 15,381 (16 percent) of 94,335 “children” items
  • 6,630 (20 percent) of 32,896 “fiction” items
  • 2,084 (29 percent) of 7,238 “young adult” items
  • 1,854 (35 percent) of 5,350 “mass-market paperback” items
  • 1,085 (13 percent) of 8,406 “audiobook/Playaway” items (Playaways are audiobooks with their own MP3 players)
  • 314 (3 percent) of 10,915 “DVD” items
  • 52 (1 percent) of 7,517 “CD music” items
  • 0 out of 13,474 “miscellaneous” items

“We are reaching a balance between spaces for people and other types of activities libraries are engaged in while maintaining a very strong collection, both physical and electronic,” Engelbert said.

He said some of the children’s items are from the 1950s and ’60s; young-adult items tend to change rapidly in popularity; paperbacks tend to have condition issues and the reference collection is shrinking “because of the ever-increasing reliance on electronic sources.” He also said “nonfiction will not have as much space in the renovated building.”

Engelbert said between 30,000 and 35,000 items have already been withdrawn, with the majority currently in a warehouse, awaiting futures outside the county library system. He said he thinks there are, easily, 3,000 boxes of books there.

He said most removed — “weeded,” in library jargon — items are put up for sale at the annual book sale in October. He said relatively few of the withdrawn books were likely sold at the 2017 sale, and with the larger amount of recent weeding and Charleston Civic Center renovations limiting the size of last year’s sale, he expects this October’s sale to include an unusually large number of books.

After the sale, nonprofits may take what they want, Engelbert said. He said some items the system doesn’t think would be bought are given to Better World Books, a company whose website says it has “donated over 21 million books to partner programs around the world.”

Engelbert said other books are given to the West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority or donated to local entities. He said items typically discarded straightaway include beat-up books and outdated travel, medical, legal and tax books.

Monika Jaensson, president of the library system’s board, said a “significant” number of books have gone to the new Clendenin branch, which is opening Wednesday. The June 2016 flood wrecked the previous branch there.

She also said local entities, like The Bob Burdette Center, are receiving books.

“If people can’t walk in the library because the shelves are too tight, then we’re not [serving] anyone,” Jaensson said.

She said she anticipates that the collection reduction is “going to actually increase the circulation,” while allowing space for lectures and presentations.

“We cannot continue to have the massive amount of books that we have in order to be a new library, to be a 21st-century library,” she said, noting that many now use electronic devices to pick up books. “We’re going to bring conversation back into the library. Important. Dialogue. Important. Learning.”

Pam Smith, president of the Public Library Association, a division of the Chicago, Illinois-based American Library Association, said it’s “very predominant that there’s competition for space in libraries when it comes to how people use space.”

“We need to be much more than a warehouse for books,” Smith said. “I think the focus on serving people and building skills and community, that’s the most important thing libraries can do. That said, part of that role is connecting people with ideas and books.”

But she noted that information comes in various ways, including through physical books, digitally and through people.

Monica Garcia Brooks, Marshall University’s associate vice president for libraries and online learning, said she has seen libraries change, including at Marshall, to where patrons are still using collections, but they might be doing so “on a device or camped out on a comfy chair using our wireless.”

“Libraries would prefer to buy, I don’t know, 30,000 e-books in one fell swoop, knowing that all of their patrons could use those materials 24/7, no matter where they are,” Brooks said.

Reach Ryan Quinn at ryan.quinn@wvgazettemail.com, facebook.com/ryanedwinquinn, 304-348-1254 or follow @RyanEQuinn on Twitter.

May 28, 2018 in Education News, Life & Style, Local News, NEWS

World Hunger Day is May 28th

By: Debi O’Dell | Posted: May 14, 2018 | Source: Elk River Backpack Blessings

THIS WORLD HUNGER DAY, THE HUNGER PROJECT IS FOCUSING ON GOOD NUTRITION.

Good nutrition – an adequate and well-balanced diet – is a cornerstone of good health. Better nutrition is related to improved infant child and maternal health, stronger immune systems and safer pregnancy and childbirth. People with adequate nutrition are more productive and can create opportunities to break the cycles of poverty and hunger. Experts agree that tackling malnutrition is not only the right thing to do, but it also makes economic sense.

World Hunger Day is an initiative by The Hunger Project. Started in 2011, it aims to celebrate sustainable solutions to hunger and poverty.

This year, the day will highlight the importance of fostering self-reliance, upholding principles of human dignity and recognizing that every human is inherently creative, resourceful, responsible and productive. Decades of systematic marginalization have kept people from making lasting changes in their communities. A holistic development approach — one that includes peacebuilding, social harmony, human rights and good governance — is essential to ensuring the empowerment of people living in hunger and poverty.

We at Elk River Backpack Blessings help children in need of nutritional meals. Please help us help them.

Click here to donate to our cause.

May 25, 2018 in Community News, Life & Style, Local News, NEWS