Turn This Town Around

Charleston Gazette: Locals With Can-Do Attitude Tackle Trash Problem in Tug Fork River

06.07.15

Photo by Sam Owens / Sunday Gazette-Mail

Keith Gibson is working tirelessly to make the Tug Fork River tireless.

The former coal miner is now in his third year of operating Hatfield McCoy Airboat Tours, giving visitors breezy, 40-minute jaunts up and down the picturesque waterway separating West Virginia and Kentucky.

While Gibson can control the quality of his presentations and his 550-horsepower boat’s comfort, safety and speed, controlling unsightly riverbank trash and debris is a bit more difficult.

Gibson explored the idea of giving people a cash incentive to muscle discarded tires out of the stream’s silty bed and banks…

Instead of throwing up his hands in surrender, Gibson explored the idea of laying down a reward for Tug Fork tires, giving people a cash incentive to muscle discarded tires out of the stream’s silty bed and banks and haul them to a nearby shredder at Mountain State Recycling, in North Matewan. He thought a bounty of $5 per tire would do the trick and approached a number of possible funding sources to see if he could make his vision a reality.

As it turned out, West Virginia Hub’s “Turn This Town Around” program and the National Coal Heritage Area each ponied up $2,500, and the Mingo County Commission contributed $1,500 to produce a $6,500 reward pool — enough to remove and recycle 1,300 tires.

On Friday, scores of bounty hunters, joined by inmate work crews from Pike County, Kentucky, which lies across the Tug from West Virginia’s Mingo County, waded into the river in the vicinity of Matewan and began piling tires onto canoes, kayaks, jet skis and jon boats for transport to pick-up sites…

Read the full story at www.wvgazette.com

In Whitesville, Attention Turns to Problem of BAD Buildings

06.02.15

Photo courtesy Turn This Town Around Whitesville

If you were to write down a list of reasons why abandoned and dilapidated buildings are a problem for your community, would it look something like this?

“Can’t attract new businesses to blighted areas.”
“Unsightliness – no curb appeal.”
“Gives town a depressing feel to drive through.”
“Negative psychological effect on locals.”

These are just some of the effects that the people of Whitesville say dilapidated properties have on life in their community.

I suspect they are sentiments echoed by people in many places around West Virginia; abandoned buildings left to decay in place are a blight that is a real problem in many cities and towns.

So, what are the challenges that are preventing West Virginians from being able to fix the problem?

“Out-of-area owners.”
“Ineffective enforcement.”
“No incentive to act.”
“Unrealistic property values.”
“Property owners don’t want higher property taxes.”

Sound familiar?

Whitesville – a 2015 Turn This Town Around community – is one of nine communities in West Virginia receiving technical assistance support this year through a “BAD Buildings” grant from the Northern West Virginia Brownfields Assistance Center at West Virginia University.

Where can communities like Whitesville start?
1. Do a local inventory.
2. Create a vision of what you want you town to be.

The problem of what to do with dilapidated buildings can be so large and overwhelming that it’s hard to know what can be done. So, where can communities like Whitesville start?

1. Do a local inventory. 2. Create a vision of what you want you town to be.

“This is an issue Whitesville has tried to confront in the past but we just ran into the proverbial brick wall,” says Kim Browning, a local leader of the Whitesville BAD Buildings team. “We have had our first meeting already and hopes are high. In that meeting the community as a whole discussed the problems BAD Buildings cause the town and problems in the way of fixing it. We also talked about what we as a community would like to see our town look like in 5 to 10 years from now. Our small town is in a unique position to make our town whatever we want it to be at this point.”

Kim told me that citizens are now taking photos of all the problem buildings in town, and trying to find out who the owners are. Once that step is complete, Whitesville will prioritize a list of buildings to work on based on urgency, and the cooperation of the owner.

Citizens are now taking photos of all the problem buildings in town, and trying to find out who the owners are.

“We don’t want to tear down or repair a building just for the sake of doing that,” she explains. “We need to find people who are interested in having a business or doing something in that building, and work toward making that happen. To restore with a purpose, if you will.”

That “sense of purpose” is what it is all about, really. Whatever the challenge in your community, bringing the citizens together to build and document a shared vision is a critical first step toward realizing that vision.

For now, it’s the basis that will allow the people of Whitesville to eventually transform the landscape of their town, one building at a time.

It’s Happening, People. In Whitesville, Citizens Take the Reins and Real Change Begins

04.22.15

Whitesville is changing.

While it would be premature to stay that this town has been turned around, what is undeniable is that since Whitesville began its Turn This Town Around campaign just a few short months ago, it is a visibly different place.

They are small improvements. Some new planters in the main street. A bit of landscaping at the local park. A touch-up at the entrances to town. But they are the real and tangible manifestations of an excitement for community improvement that Turn This Town Around has brought to this small community of about 500 near the border of Raleigh and Boone counties.

The people of Whitesville have grabbed their future by the horns…

As we reported a few weeks ago, the people of Whitesville have grabbed their future by the horns and are raising money and support for projects that they believe will begin the long and difficult process of bringing families, businesses and some level of prosperity and opportunity back to the community they love.

And as we learned during our latest Turn This Town Around meeting in the Whitesville Volunteer Fire Department station last night, they are showing no signs of letting up now.

If you’re interested in plugging in to any of the community initiatives about to launch in and around Whitesville, here’s a few upcoming opportunities.

On Friday, April 24, a Health & Wellness Expo will be held at the Raleigh-Boone Technical Center gymnasium in Pettus. The event is free and open to the public.10 a.m. – 3 p.m. More info: Sue Pauley – lpauley@ccwva.org

This coming Monday, April 27, there will be an informational meeting about how Whitesville might start a co-op grocery store. Rotary Room of the Whitesville State Bank, 6 p.m. More info: Adam Pauley – adamspauley@gmail.com

They started their own farmers market! Last weekend saw the launch of the Big Coal River Farmers’ Market at the Coal Heritage Riverwalk, and the plan is to continue it every other Saturday. More info: Sheila Combs – timsheila91@hotmail.com, or at their Facebook event page.

On Tuesday, May 5, a meeting will be held to discuss what to do about a number of abandoned and dilapidated buildings in Whitesville. The meeting is the kickoff to Whitesville $10,000 technical assistance grant awarded by the Northern Brownfields Assistance Center to find potential solutions to the problem of such buildings in our communities. Business owners and building owners are especially encouraged to attend. Salamy Building, 6 p.m. More info: Adam Pauley – adamspauley@gmail.com

Green thumbs and volunteers are needed on the morning of Saturday, May 9. The people of Whitesville will be doing landscaping and beautification work at Whitesville Elementary School. To get involved, contact Cheryl Nichols – clnichols@k12.wv.us.

The next Turn This Town Around meeting will be held at the fire station, May 19, 6 p.m. All welcome!

While all this is going on, teams of Whitesville citizens continue to work on other exciting projects, including the creation of rail-trail along a section of disused CSX rail corridor along Coal River, converting vacant land in the center of town into an active community space, a 24-hour emergency clinic, and improving local cell phone reception.

Power to the people.

In Whitesville, the past close by but citizens turned squarely toward new future

04.08.15

“The last time I was here in Whitesville was for the dedication of the memorial,” the young journalist told me.

As a reporter for the Charleston Daily Mail, in 2010 and 2011 Zack Harold spent a lot of time back in his home community covering the aftermath of the Upper Big Branch Mine accident. He’s a Boone County boy himself, went to Sherman High School, as did many from Whitesville.

In that dark season five years ago, Zack retuned to the people and places he had grown up with, listened to their grief, and wrestled with words for the paper that would adequately capture the loss, anger and confusion.

A moment of rejuvenation and reinvention, a chance to make headlines on their own terms.

Zack Harold is now managing editor of West Virginia Focus magazine, and in 2015 there’s a new story bringing him back to Whitesville. The name of the initiative is Turn This Town Around, and for the people here it is a moment of rejuvenation and reinvention, a chance to make headlines on their own terms.

Although every community that has been selected to participate in Turn This Town Around is excited by the opportunity, nowhere have we seen the level of community buy-in, passion and commitment that we are now seeing in Whitesville.

At their first public Turn This Town Around meeting, 143 people showed up – more than a quarter of the entire population. They have already begun fundraising, prioritizing projects, gathering recruits. The can-do spirit of Turn This Town Around Whitesville was initially embodied in a small group of local leaders, but it has now spread to well and truly energize the entire community.

Like a town whose high school football team has made it to state, messages of inspiration and encouragement decorate shop windows and business. Above the main street they have hoisted a giant yellow banner: “Welcome to Whitesville. Official Turn This Town Around Community.”

Though one could easily assume the obvious narrative that the town’s current optimism and strength was borne from the tragedy of five years ago, I think that’s a convenient characterization that misses the real heart of the town. And the people of Whitesville themselves certainly do not dwell on that wellspring.

Enough has been written and said about the devastation wrought on the community in 2010 without having to credit that low moment as the catalyst for everything positive that follows. The people of Whitesville honor and remember their past, but are firmly focused now on reinvention.

What has really impressed me about the people of Whitesville is not just their energy and enthusiasm, but their wholehearted acceptance of the fact that there is no one waiting in the wings – no government agency, no magic foundation or corporation – to rescue their community. That responsibility rests with them.

During my visits to Whitesville this year I have witnessed more than once the profound insight from a citizen that “it doesn’t matter what caused the coal industry to go the way it did. It’s happening, and that’s the reality we have to work with.”

If there was ever a place that probably had a right to feel sorry for itself – to bemoan tragedy and circumstance – it was Whitesville. But you get the feeling they are ready to move on, to roll up the sleeves and starting building the foundations of a new future.

It is our great honor to help them do so.

Whitesville hits the ground running with huge turnout and $14,000 in the bank

03.18.15

Photo by Michelle Allen

Wow. The community of Whitesville last night smashed the record for turnout at a Turn This Town Around meeting (if there is such a record), when 143 people from a total population of about 500 attended their campaign launch. That’s more than a quarter of the entire town!

This is a place as big on spirit as it is on ambition. As an organizer, seeing this kind of energy and turnout is incredibly heartening, and proves to me that the key ingredient for successful community development and transition is already in place – local commitment to a shared vision.

That shared vision is a Whitesville that takes charge of reversing the unhappy trend of recent years. What the people of Whitesville hope for is what many communities in West Virginia are seeking, and that is to make it possible for people to stay in town and raise their families, opportunities for new business activity, things to attract visitors and new residents, and a renewed sense of pride and rejuvenation in their main streets.

We encourage Turn This Town Around communities to think of three kinds of projects: Relatively simple, affordable “low hanging fruit.” A little bolder, more ambitious and costly. Grand ideas for the wish-list.

And like their Turn This Town Around peers in Ripley, the people in Whitesville see that a little beautification and some aesthetic improvements would be a great first step. There was discussion about planting flowers and improving the signage at either entrance to the town, starting an “adopt a planter” initiative, and fixing broken street lights.

I was really interested in a couple of other suggestions that demonstrate Whitesville’s belief in the importance of community engagement and social interaction – starting a community newsletter, little free libraries, and movie nights in the park.

Very cool.

The medium-level projects demonstrated the creative and diverse visions of Whitesville’s population, from improving access and recreational use of the Big Coal River that runs through town, holding an annual town festival, and starting a Rod & Gun Club, to annexing surrounding areas.

And the people are dreaming big! Imagine if there was a new technical school in Whitesville, or if the area became a fishing mecca thanks to stocks of trout? Or, if locals could buy all their groceries right in town at the new co-op grocery story? (The story of Alderson has inspired many of us!)

Photo by Michelle Allen

Led by community champions Adam Pauley and Hollie Smarr, what is really impressive about the Whitesville Turn This Town Around team is that they have wholeheartedly embraced the philosophy that “there is no time like the present!”

Rather than wait for this kickoff meeting to organize and begin the hard work ahead, Whitesville hit the ground running in the dead of winter and as of mid-March have already raised $14,000 in funds and resources for their projects!

First, there was a $10,000 technical assistance grant to address dilapidated buildings through the Bad Buildings program, followed by donations for local residents and businesses. And then the local elementary school students got in on the act, raising hundreds of dollars through their Chains for Change project!

Already, next steps are in the works. There will be community clean-up events in April, and weekly meetings of project leaders.

Do you live in Whitesville or the surrounding area? There is still a chance for you to get involved! It’s as simple of showing up to the next Turn This Town Around meeting at the Whitesville Fire Station at 6 p.m. on April 21. I promise you, you’ll be swept up in the energy and excitement.

Way to go, Whitesville.

[Get all the latest Turn This Town Around news by signing up to The Hub Blog.]

In Ripley, a new season and the promise of a new beginning

03.17.15

Photo by Mike Ruben

It was a beautiful spring evening after many months of winter. And in the city of Ripley, a new season is about to begin, too.

Last night the citizens of Ripley came together for the first time to discuss and share their vision for the city’s new future as part of the public kickoff of Ripley’s Turn This Town Around initiative.

It was particularly inspiring to see so many young people there. From a quick head count I think almost a third of the crowd was high school students! Sometimes it can be difficult to get “the youth” involved in community development initiatives – but it looks like this won’t be a problem in Ripley!

Photo by Mike Ruben

Much of the credit for that goes to great civic engagement programs at Ripley High School. Main Street Teens was already up and running – a youth component of Main Street Ripley. And since Turn This Town Around was announced, the staff and students have created a Turn This Town Around club. These kids are taking on some of the social media aspects of the initiative, and promoting ideas that are focused on giving students positive things to do in Ripley.

Keeping young people and families in their home communities is a big part of what our work is all about, and so this input is hugely important. Nice work, RHS.

We heard from a number of people that the town could benefit from a few cosmetic improvements – cleaning up some of the derelict buildings and applying a coat of paint here and there. These kinds of projects are sometimes referred to as “low-hanging fruit,” but we think simple and relatively inexpensive projects like this are very important and have a significant impact.

They help people see that real and concrete improvements are being made, and allow people who perhaps have not been involved so far to see that they don’t need any special skills or training to contribute to the development of their community – just a willingness to roll up the sleeves and help out your neighbor. It’s amazing what a coat of paint can do for a town’s self-esteem and energy levels.

Perhaps this might be the first step for redeveloping some of Ripley’s most iconic – but underutilized – buildings, like the old Village Cafeteria and the other abandoned business at the intersection of routes 21 and 33. This used to be the bustling hub of the community, until highways changed the traffic patterns and bypassed the spot. Now, Ripley must adjust.

As always, Turn This Town Around communities have one or two grand, long-term projects in mind, too. The vision of a community center or YMCA-type facility came up a number of times – somewhere for community events, sports and activities, a place for everyone from young families to seniors. This seems to me to be a vision very much worth exploring.

Many thanks to the City of Ripley for really stepping up and taking the lead on Turn This Town Around! (And for providing the cake and snacks last night…)

Energy is already building for the next Turn This Town Around Ripley meeting, to be held in mid-April (date TBD). It will be exciting to see what projects have begun to shape up, attract a team of supporters, and produce concrete next steps.

So begins another year of Turn This Town Around! You can follow Ripley’s progress at www.facebook.com/RipleyTTTA, and on twitter at @ripley-ttta.

Whitesville and Ripley Prepare to Step Into the Spotlight

03.09.15

Grafton Turn This Town Around organizer Donna Hart with Tashina at Grafton’s new and prospering Tee’s Tasty Treats.

Has it been a year already?

At about this time 12 months ago, we were standing on the edge of the great unknown.

Then, all eyes were on the communities of Grafton and Matewan, the first ever Turn This Town Around vote winners who would become the trail blazers and guinea pigs for this ambitious initiative. The goal: help West Virginia’s communities find new opportunities and new futures.

Fast forward to March 2015 and we are ready to begin all the fun again. Lessons have been learned, successes won and failures remembered.

More than anything, a community of people at the heart of these two places has realized the great power that lies within them when they work together, listen to each other, and keep focused on what can be done rather than what can’t.

Now, all eyes are on Whitesville and Ripley, our Year 2 vote winners.

What revitalization ideas will the people in these communities come up with? Will any of them work? Will anyone show up? Can they use Turn This Town Around to, really, turn their town around?

All these questions and more will be answered next week, as Whitesville and Ripley hold their first public Turn This Town Around meetings. Think brainstorming session, on a large scale.

Here’s the details:

Ripley
6 p.m., Monday, March 16 at Ripley High School.

Whitesville
6 p.m., Tuesday, March 17 at Whitesville Fire Department.

Be there!

The Hub will be there, guiding the meetings and keeping the conversations productive. But the real work will be done by the people who live there; the business leaders, officials, school kids, seniors and workers who have so much invested in their home towns.

What we hope to see is local ideas that are practical and achievable in the short term, but which will help create a sense of purpose, positivity and potential about further investment in the community.

Even the longest journey started with just one step. It is this step that Turn This Town Around will now take with the people of Whitesville and Ripley. Keep watching.

The power of a good video: More crowdfunding tips from the experts

02.11.15

A number of West Virginia’s communities have been exploring the potential of “crowdfunding” recently, as a way to turn their project dreams into reality.

But what is “crowdfunding,” and what strategies should you follow to promote and attract funding for your community project?

Earlier this week a contingent of our Grafton Turn This Town Around citizens travelled to Pittsburgh to take part in a informational seminar with the folks behind indiegogo.com – which is one of the most popular crowdfunding platforms.

Courtesy of Grafton’s own Kurt Dennison (thanks, Kurt), here are a few tips learned from the experts:

Start your fundraising project 60 – 90 days before launching your crowdfunding campaign. Why so early? This will help you properly plan your campaign, and strategize on how to attract a larger crowd.
A good video is important to attracting people to your project, and the ideal video is less than three minutes. It must include who and where you are, your vision, and what you have planned for the future. You should also ask viewers to share your video, as a way to grow your audience.
Reasonable goals are overfunded faster than unreasonable goals that may not get funded. In the same vein, the most funded projects produce tangible results. So, make your project something that people can envision and understand.

These are very useful tips.

For more advice on crowdfunding, indiegogo-style, here’s a handy resource!

Ripley High School students grab the reins of Turn This Town Around

02.09.15

Ever wondered what it feels like to have a police escort?

That was the munificent welcome that staff of the Hub received as they visited the city of Ripley to kick off its Turn This Town Around campaign last week. What a greeting!

Ripley was one of two communities, along with Whitesville in Boone County, to be selected for Year 2 of the Turn This Town Around program.

Clearly, this little city is ready to roll.

Ripley is a place with big ambitions. Laying claim to having the “Biggest Small Town Fourth of July Celebration” in the nation, the people of Ripley are no strangers to finding ways to promote and celebrate their community of about 3,200 people in Jackson County.

In 1965, the Today Show visited Ripley to telecast its July 4th festivities. It was a moment of national promotion they are hoping to repeat – a grassroots campaign is afoot in Ripley these days to convince the Today Show to return to the city for the 50th anniversary of that 1965 telecast.

But what we learned from our meeting in Ripley last week is that there is a force of energy and excitement coming from a group of people decades removed from that one day in 1965. Whereas at many Turn This Town Around meetings local high school students were notable by their absence, in Ripley they were the life of the party.

“The students were amazing! I really applaud them,” says Amanda Yager, the Hub’s Director of Community Strategies. “There was very little student involvement in the Matewan and Grafton Turn This Town Around programs, so it’s great to see student interest here from the very beginning.”

Amanda says a group of Ripley High School students immediately engaged Hub staff at the meeting with ideas of how to bring more young people into Turn This Town Around planning, and their eagerness to form a Ripley community development student group.

Already a student leadership team has been formed, and is set on the following immediate outcomes:
– create a Twitter and Remind101 account to keep students updated;
– create a video explaining how TTTA works;
– set up a table for students to sign up to attend the meeting, or sign up for tasks.

“They talked about the importance of having a community they are proud of, a place where they will be proud to raise their own children,” Amanda said. “They had been told that the Hub was going to come in to Ripley and basically do everything; that that’s what Turn This Town Around is. When we explained to them that, yes, we’ll be there to help and provide guidance, but that the actual work will be done by the people of Ripley, they were pumped. You could really see their excitement!”

We think that engaging young people in the future of their community is really important to making those efforts sustainable, vibrant and long-lasting.

Are students or young people in your town or city actively involved in local community development projects?

Crowdfunding West Virginia: What do you really need to know?

02.05.15

Image courtesy www.causevox.com

If your community is looking at “crowdfunding” as an option for raising money for a local project, it pays to do some advance research and learn from those who have gone before you.

But, sometimes searching for advice online can be a bit like going down the rabbit hole – the more you look the more confusing it gets.

So I thought I’d go ahead and do some searching for you, and help sift the true gems of information from the detritus of internet wisdom!

What is “crowdfunding?” Crowdfunding is fundraising without borders! It provides an online platform to allow you to spread word of your project across the internet and, most importantly, allows people all over the world to contribute money to your project. Kickstarter and Indiegogo are two of the most popular crowdfunding websites.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be passing along helpful insights from crowdfunding experts and people who have had success using crowdfunding to raise money for projects in their community.

“Crowdfunding is not about money – it’s about community.”

Here’s a good piece of advice I picked up from this website about crowdfunding: Kickstarter and Indiegogo are not about money. They are about community.

What does this mean? It means that good crowdfunding campaigns put an emphasis on communicating with their supporters, and building a “tribe” of people with a shared interest. If you can do that, the money part will often take care of itself.

Be good about keeping supporters updated on the status of your project, invite them to offer suggestions and get involved, and encourage them to share your campaign with their friends.

An important point to note is that most successful projects receive about between a third and a half of their contributions from their first, second and third degree of connections – that is, people you already know, the friends of these people, and the friends of these friends.

There’s your “tribe” right there. Treat them well, make them feel involved, and you have the cornerstone of a successful fundraising campaign. Read more.

Here’s another piece of advice: Share this post with your tribe, and stay tuned for more updates and info from the Hub…

And stay in touch: j.lynch@wvhub.org

Jake.