The Clendenin Fairs and Festivals Committee held a meeting on Saturday, February 17, 2018 at 3PM at Momma Payne’s restaurant on Main Street to discuss the first annual Clendenin Homecoming Festival, which will take place June 22-24, 2018 in Clendenin, West Virginia, and is scheduled to reoccur the last weekend in June every year.
The discussions focused around the coordination of events during the festival, which included the parade, beauty pageant, fireworks, carnival, car show, activities, and entertainment, as well as food and craft vendors, and fundraisers.
According to Committee members, they are anticipating 1,000-1,500+ people during the three day event and more than 100 volunteers are needed to assist with everything from general labor, concession stands, parking, fundraisers, etc. Anyone interested in helping should send a message on the Clendenin Homecoming Festival’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/clendeninhomecoming/, where you can also view additional information about the festival. Volunteers do not have to live in Clendenin town limits and do not need to be on the Clendenin Fairs and Festivals Committee to participate. Everyone is welcome.
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.
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.
The National Weather Service has extended the FLOOD WARNING for Kanawha, Roane and Clay Counties until 7:00 p.m. Stay tuned for more updates if and when they become available.
Originally Posted: Feb. 16, 2018 at 10:12 a.m.
The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for Kanawha, Roane and Clay Counties until 4:00 p.m. Heavy rains are possible today. We will continue to bring you more information throughout the day.
Herbert Hoover’s show choir “High Impact” is in the middle of their competition season and so far it has been a great year.
The show choir is under the direction of Kathy Silber with Angel George doing choreography and assisted by Edward Fredrick.
High Impact is made up of 38 singers, 14 band members and 14 stage crew.
This talented group of students are representing Hoover at area and out of state competitions.
This years show is based on the 1950’s Addams Family Show. All of the Addams family members are depicted in the show through song and dance.
The show choir is half way through their competition season.
So far they have earned the following awards:
January 27th – Hurricane Red Hot Competition – Grand Champions Class B, Best Costumes, Best Show Design and went on to compete in the Top 6 Finals in the evening. High Impact ended up as the 2nd Runner-Up. They beat all of the West Virginia Schools only coming behind two AAA’s schools from Ohio.
February 3rd – Poca Show Choir Competition – High Impact earned 1st Runner-Up in Class B.
February 10th – Winfield Emerald Classic – Grand Champion Class B, Best Costumes and landed in the Top 6 Finals and walked away with 5th place.
High Impact travels to Clover Hill Mass Show Choir Competition in Virginia on February 17th, followed by Robert C. Byrd and Martinsburg WV later in the season.
High Impact will be presenting their show one more time to the Elkview/Clendenin communities in the near future. This is a show you don’t want to miss. Stay tuned to The Clendenin Leader for dates and showtimes.
Herbert Hoover Huskies wrestling earns birth to the 71st Annual West Virginia State High School Wrestling Tournament that will be held in Huntington on February 22 – 24, 2018 at Big Sandy Super Store Arena.
Hoover took third place in the Class AA-A Region 3 tournament at Independence.
According to Tom Bragg, Sports Reporter with the WV Gazette-Mail PREPS the Huskies will send Tyler Teel (113), Justin Stover (126), Zach Paxton (160), Zach Spencer (182) and Ben Bailey (220) to Huntington.
For Tom Bragg’s full report on the wrestlers from the Kanawha Valley who landed spots in the state tournament click here.
Individual Placers:
2nd Place – Justin Stover
3rd Place – Ben Bailey, Zach Spencer and Tyler Teel
Welcome to the Clendenin Leader’s very first “Meet Your Neighbor” video segment featuring Diana Chandler, owner of Penny Pinchers located on Main Street in Clendenin, WV! To learn more about Penny Pinchers visit their website at www.pennypinchersllc2.com. These are intended to be light, informal, and fun. We will be highlighting random individuals in the Elk River Community on a regular basis, so don’t be surprised if we one day pick YOU! 😃 Enjoy!
*These will normally run between 2-3 minutes in length. The first one here is longer due to the introduction.
While at Herbert Hoover High School, athletically Hunter White was a member of the Huskies basketball, baseball, and golf teams. Academically he was a member of the “We the People” debate team that made it to the second round of a state-wide high school competition in 2014, and the Math Field Day Team. He was also a member of the National Honor Society, was Salutatorian of the Herbert Hoover Class of 2014, and was awarded the President Award which goes to the top graduating male in each class.
Hunter chose West Virginia University to continue his education, and in 2016, the first year he was eligible, he was selected an Eberly Scholar. This is considered the most prestigious scholarship awarded at Eberly College, WVU’s largest college. Only twenty students per year are selected for this scholarship.
Hunter with his parents, both 1981 Herbert Hoover Graduates, Rhonda and J.E. White of Clendenin
A Senior now at WVU, Hunter is majoring in Biology and will graduate with highest honors (summa cum laude), receiving a Bachelor of Science Degree, with Honors, in May of 2018. He was recently named a 2017 Mr. Mountaineer Finalist, one of only five selected. He has already been accepted to medical school and will begin in the Fall of 2018. He is the son of J.E. and Rhonda White of Clendenin.
Susan Jack with The Clendenin Leader, sat down with Hunter and had a casual conversation with him while he was home on Christmas Break. He shared with us a little about his time at WVU, his activities, accomplishments, and his plans for the future. Click the play button below to listen. (more…)
On Tuesday, January 23, 2018 at 6:30 PM, the Clendenin Planning Commission held their second meeting at the Recreation Building located beside Town Hall. Representatives from WVU Law facilitated the nearly two hour public meeting, which according to head facilitator, Jesse Richardson, was “the most active community [he has] worked in so far.” That being said, it was echoed throughout the meeting that more people needed to be involved and attend the public meetings.
The bulk of the meeting included a comprehensive SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis and review of Clendenin’s assets and challenges. You can view all of the public documents, including the SWOT analysis, that were distributed at this meeting on the Planning Commission page of our website HERE. The SWOT analysis can be viewed HERE.
Some of the strengths that had been previously identified included the Clendenin Health Center, which has seen up to 100 people in a day, according to Councilman David Knight, and brings people from out of town to the area; the proximity of Clendenin to Charleston; strong emergency services; the town being level, which makes it possible to potentially develop the town into a golf cart community; and the bus service.
Several weaknesses that were previously identified were reported by commission members and the public as being addressed, some of which included the following:
Lack of a local library: According to Planning Commission Member and 25045 A New Clendenin Director, Kay Summers, the local library will be opening in the basement of the Clendenin Health Center (former Clendenin Middle School). As the result of a grant, repairs to the lower floor will begin soon.
Lack of appealing “downtown”: Town council applied for a grant, which, if granted, will include a complete remodel of both sides of Main Street, including sidewalks, planters, and lighting, according to Mayor Shana Clendenin.
Lack of local news: Councilman and Planning Commission Member, David Knight reported that Elk River Living, a monthly color magazine, would be launching April 1. In addition, Mark Burdette from The Clendenin Leader announced that an online news publication would be launching within a week to provide Clendenin and the Elk River Valley communities with local news and resources.
The public attendees and commission members worked together to identify other issues that could be classified as weaknesses, including the lack of recycling, lack of venues to draw people in from outside of the area, lack of daycare, and erosion.
Some of the opportunities that were discussed included completing The Roxy, which could host local theatre, movies, talent shows, entertainment, meetings, etc. Planning Commission member, Susan Jack, explained how the old Elk Refinery, located in Falling Rock, could be utilized for haunted tours, movie sets, trail heads, or other activities that could attract tourists to the area. Mayor Clendenin explained how abandoned railroads throughout the area could be converted, as part of the national Rails-to-Trails Conservancy program, which would be a tourist attraction and provide activities for local residents as well.
The threats assessment created the most energized and heated discussions of the evening. Longtime business owners Jim Smith and son George Smith, were in attendance and addressed questions pertaining to the re-opening of Smith’s Foodfair, which had been the largest grocery store in Clendenin for decades. Smith’s Foodfair was destroyed during the 2016 Flood and has not reopened. According to the Smith’s, they would employ approximately 50 people and “it would take a couple million dollars to re-open the grocery store.” George Smith firmly stated, “If you move the schools ten miles down the road, there goes the population, and we can’t justify re-opening the store. We will re-open that store if we can save the schools!”
The location of the new Clendenin Elementary and Herbert Hoover High School was a hot topic of conversation. Councilman David Knight compared the current school location issue to Richwood’s, explaining that because Herbert Hoover was outside of the Clendenin municipality that it would be difficult for Hoover to be re-located in the same proximity of Hoover’s original location.” What Richwood has over us, they’re a municipality and their schools were in their municipality”. Planning Commission member, Susan Jack, questioned the accuracy of that statement, and to date, The Clendenin Leader has not been able to find any information to corroborate Knight’s statement. Mayor Shana Clendenin requested that all conversations pertaining to the schools locations be tabled until the Kanawha County Board of Education meeting on Wednesday, February 7, 2018 at 6:30PM at the Clendenin Volunteer Fire Department. This is a public meeting and all citizens in Clendenin and surrounding communities were encouraged to attend this very important meeting. The location of the new schools has not yet been determined and public input is critical to the decision making process. You can listen to excerpts from the meeting that pertain to the schools below.
The meeting concluded with a review and open discussion of Clendenin’s assets and challenges. Some of the assets discussed included The Roxy, Clendenin Heath Center, emergency services, ministerial association, scenery, historic homes, restaurants, the river, kayaking and fishing opportunities, the potential of Rails-to-Trails development, and the Morris Creek property. Clendenin’s challenges included the location of local schools, poor signage, as well as vacant and dilapidated buildings, which the public was asked to help identify. The public was also encouraged to help identify key stakeholders who could provide valuable insight about specific needs within the community.
In addition, numerous attendees voiced their concerns about a sudden increase in property taxes. Landlord, J.D. Gandee, indicated he had rental property that was flooded and property taxes were now 300% higher than the previous assessment. Mayor Clendenin encouraged those affected to contact the Kanawha County Assessor’s Office and offered to reach out to the Assessor to determine the “cause and effect” and report on it at the next Town Council meeting.
The next Planning Commission meeting was scheduled for Thursday, February 15, 2018 at 6:30 PM at the Clendenin Recreation Building. This is a public meeting and everyone is encouraged to attend and participate.
