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Charleston Gazette-Mail: Hatfield-McCoy trail to reopen with $3.3 million grant

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Photo by Hatfield McCoy Trails.

BY RICK STEELHAMMER FOR THE CHARLESTON GAZETTE-MAIL

The Hatfield-McCoy Trails’ Ivy Branch trail system in Lincoln County, closed since October 2015, could reopen next summer, thanks to a $3.3 million Abandoned Mine Lands pilot grant.

The recently awarded AML grant makes $2.85 million available to the Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority to buy three parcels totaling 2,600 contiguous acres in Lincoln County near the Boone County border. The tract includes the land on which the former Ivy Branch trailhead parking lot is located and its visitor center’s footers remain, ample terrain for trails to be built, and riverfront acreage along the Little Coal River.

The Hatfield-McCoy authority was forced to vacate the Ivy Branch property and close its trail system — designed to accommodate full-size off-road vehicles — when the landowner from whom the authority had been leasing the land sold the property to another company. That company chose not to keep the lease arrangement in place, forcing the Ivy Branch trail system, plus the nearby Little Coal River trail system in Boone County, to close…

Read the full story on the Charleston Gazette-Mail site »

$50 million in funding to support economic diversification awarded through Abandoned Mine Land grants

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Clear Fork Rail Trail

BY EMMA PEPPER, DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC NETWORK COMMUNICATIONS, THE HUB

Governor Jim Justice and Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Austin Caperton shared that, this year, $50.65 million in Abandoned Mine Land (AML) grants was awarded to 15 projects in 12 counties to projects supporting job growth, increased tourism, and redevelopment across West Virginia.

Funding for this federal initiative comes from fees paid by active coal mine operators on each ton of coal mined, and grant projects must take place on or adjacent to coal mine sites that were abandoned before 1977. The initiative backs an array of projects that support diversifying and strengthening the state’s economy.

Listed among the recipients are grants to support the diversification of the food and agricultural sectors including a greenhouse operation, an aquaponics project to raise fish and vegetables, and a facility for local livestock; the expansion of ATV and other recreational trails; and increasing accessibility for broadband Internet.

The deadline to apply for an additional share of $25 million in economic redevelopment grants for abandoned mine land sites has been extended to June 29 (details online here).

The complete list of projects from applications received in 2016 and 2017 includes:

  • Boone County: Northern Cardinal Price-Hunter Branch Hatfield greenhouse operation to produce commercial quantities of leafy greens, vegetables, and fruits, $3,206,198;
  • Boone/Lincoln County: Ivy Branch Off Road Development Project to acquire 2,600 acres for Hatfield-McCoy Trail development, $3,320,000;
  • Fayette County: Danese PSD-Highland Mountain waterline extension, $2,629,711;
  • Fayette County: Danese PSD-Crickmer Road waterline extension, $944,208;
  • Kanawha County: Buzz Value Added Meats to construct a modern food-safe facility to convert local livestock to marketable meat products, $4,000,000;
  • Logan County: Triadelphia ATV Resort Project to construct 40 miles of new ATV trails and reclaim additional AML features, $1,570,000;
  • Logan County: West Virginia Elk Restoration Project visitor center complex project to develop an elk observation platform, $1,029,011;
  • Marion County: I-79 Technology Park road expansion to prepare three additional building pads for future development, $3,994,000;
  • Mercer County: ATV trail camp at Coaldale to develop a lodge and other accommodations for ATV tourists, $1,800,000;
  • Mingo County: Aquaponics project raising fish and vegetables, providing jobs and training to the local community, $3,581,989;
  • Nicholas County: Patriot “Guardens” Golden Delicious Apple Project to reintroduce the Golden Delicious apple and develop juicing facilities, providing cooperative farming for veterans and unemployed coal miners, $5,295,000;
  • Preston County: Former TAZ Sawmill site project to purchase property, complete renovations, and provide utilities for potential industrial development, $2,208,102;
  • Raleigh County: Clear Fork Rail Trail to complete development of eight miles of trail, $2,250,000;
  • Tucker County: Beaver Creek Fishery enhancement to improve in-stream riffle and pool habitat, $295,700;
  • Mountain State Broadband Expressway to develop towers throughout West Virginia to provide affordable broadband services, Phase I, $12,526,081;
  • Mountain State Broadband Expressway Phase II, $2,000,000.
The grant funding, provided by the federal government through the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), is administered by the WVDEP’s Office of Abandoned Mine Lands. The WVDEP determines which projects get funded, working with an advisory committee made up of representatives from the West Virginia Department of Commerce, Department of Transportation, and the Governor’s Office.
Recipients of grant funding from the 2018 round of applications could be announced as early as September.
The grant funding must be approved by OSMRE.​​​

 

Small Business Spotlight: Carnivore BBQ

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BY BREANNA COLLINS, ENERGIZING ENTREPRENEURIAL COMMUNITIES VISTA, THE HUB

As part of The Hub’s Energizing Entrepreneurial Communities program, currently in Boone, Lincoln, Wyoming and Taylor Counties, community coaches have been working with local residents to ask small business owners in the area about challenges that they are facing and resources they may need. We are spotlighting businesses who are taking part in this process to shine light on their work in improving local communities and to say thanks! for taking time out of their busy days to help with support for long term entrepreneurial growth for their area. 

Breanna Collins: Tell us about your business.

Carnivore BBQ: We are in the Hamlin area and are a mobile, or pop-up, food vendor. You can find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/feedyourinnercaveman/.

BC: How long have you been open or in business?

CBBQ: We have been open for 6 months.

BC: Why did you choose to open this business in this community?

CBBQ: This is home. It’s always been a dream of mine to have a business that I can enjoy.I love cooking and feeding people. BBQ was a good fit for us, being mobile, we can travel or stay in our community.

BC: What would you say to people wanting to start a business in this community?

CBBQ: Take a chance, you will make mistakes- learn and grow from it. Know your audience and what they want.

BC: What would you like the community to know about you and what you do?

CBBQ: We are a new business that started as a competition BBQ team. We set up at different sites. We serve made from scratch food with the “Farm to Table” concept. When possible, we support local businesses.

 

“We can change a community’s future” – small business champion Deb Markley

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BY DEB MARKLEY, CO-FOUNDER, CENTER FOR RURAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP & SENIOR VP, LOCUS IMPACT INVESTING

I’ve had the great opportunity to work in rural communities all across the country, including here in West Virginia. In every place – hidden and right there on Main Street – I’ve met amazing entrepreneurs who are committed to building their businesses and wealth for their communities. What a wonderful asset!

Often, though, these great small business folks are working without much recognition – or support – from the community. Economic development efforts are directed elsewhere, to the dream of attracting a new plant.

What would happen if we focused time and energy on the real assets in our communities – the entrepreneurs who are there right now and the local people with great ideas and entrepreneurial energy to build something for the future?

At the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, we’ve spent years working with and learning from rural communities that are focused on entrepreneurial development – that have committed to building a strong “entrepreneurial ecosystem”. These entrepreneurial communities inform the work we do, and the way we do it.

Now we are bringing our Entrepreneurial Communities work to West Virginia, in partnership with The Hub. For about a year, Hub coaches, with Center support, have been working in Boone, Lincoln, Taylor and Wyoming counties to engage with community teams as they identify, reach out to and support their entrepreneurs.

Imagine the difference it would make if you reached out to and learned a few years in advance that a Main Street entrepreneur was close to retirement. It might give your community the time to identify a young person with an interest in the business and help with a transition, before the “Closed” sign goes up on the front door. Or what if a visit to a home-based artisan uncovered a real interest in moving into a retail space so she could reach more tourists traveling through your town? Maybe you’d be celebrating a new business on Main Street – and another draw for tourists – instead of dealing with an empty storefront.

These are the kinds of victories that, one by one, can change a community’s future. We believe that, because we’ve seen it happen!

Our work in West Virginia is part of a three-state effort to build stronger entrepreneurial communities. We are also working in partnership with Rural Action in Appalachian Ohio and with the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky and Brushy Fork Institute in Appalachian Kentucky.

We are learning with each other, sharing what’s working in our communities here and in other parts of the U.S. We plan to feature those stories as part of a newsletter – with the hope that they’ll provide inspiration for action in your communities and demonstrate that energizing entrepreneurial communities is a pathway to prosperity.

Sign up for The Hub’s email list to get the stories of entrepreneurs taking part in this effort sent to your inbox »

WOWK: 800 new businesses open in WV

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Charleston area residents line up to check out Gonzoburger

BY MARK CURTIS FOR WOWK

Welcome to “Gonzoburger” the hottest new restaurant in Charleston. Since opening it’s doors the spring, business is booming. It and a sister restaurant now employ seventy people.

“Business has been wonderful here. The community has really supported us.  We’ve had great turnout. And business couldn’t be better,” said David Hayden, Manager, “Gonzoburger.”

This restaurant is not alone. The Secretary of State’s office now says over 800 new businesses opened their doors in the Mountain State just in April. The West Virginia  Chamber of Commerce, says it’s all a part of an upward trend.

“We are at a five-year high. We have more jobs now than we’ve had at any time in the last five years. For every month since May of 2016, we’ve seen new jobs coming into west Virginia,” said Steve Roberts, of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce…

Read the full article on the WOWK website »

City Lab: Research shows that innovative businesses are common in rural areas

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BY RICHARD FLORIDA FOR CITY LAB

One of the most persistent myths in America today is that urban areas are innovative and rural areas are not. While it is overwhelmingly clear that innovation and creativity tend to cluster in a small number of cities and metropolitan areas, it’s a big mistake to think that they somehow skip over rural America.

A series of studies from Tim Wojan and his colleagues at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service documents the drivers of rural innovation. Their findings draw on a variety of data sets, including a large-scale survey that compares innovation in urban and rural areas called the Rural Establishment Innovation Survey (REIS). This is based on some 11,000 business establishments with at least five paid employees in tradable industries—that is, sectors that produce goods and services that are or could be traded internationally—in rural (or non-metro) and urban (metro) areas.

The survey divides businesses into three main groups. Roughly 30 percent of firms are substantive innovators, launching new products and services, making data-driven decisions, and creating intellectual property worth protecting; another 33 percent are nominal innovators who engage in more incremental improvement of their products and processes; and 38 percent show little or no evidence of innovation, so are considered to be non-innovators…

Read the full article on the City Lab site »

Charleston Gazette-Mail: Charmco man’s ramp business smells like success

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BY JENNIFER GARDNER FOR THE CHARLESTON GAZETTE-MAIL

It’s not quite like Christmas. But come April every year, Bucky Dorsey’s local post office handles an awful lot of extra shipments — and a whole lot of stink.

Wafting between stacks of cardboard boxes is a garlicky, onion odor. The stench is all too familiar to those who grew up around ramps, a member of the lily family that’s sometimes known as a wild leek.

Dorsey is a resident and native of Charmco, a small town between Beckley and Lewisburg. He’s the one dropping off packages at the post office — and sending a piece of West Virginia all across the country. His ramp business has reached nearly all corners of the United States, with the exception of Hawaii. While the ramps may be popular at local restaurants, many of his customers seem to be those longing for home…

Read the full article on the Charleston Gazette-Mail site »

Charleston Gazette-Mail: FCC official says funding available for mobile broadband expansion

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BY MAX GARLAND FOR THE CHARLESTON GAZETTE-MAIL

A Federal Communications Commission official fielded questions Friday from West Virginia’s U.S. senators, along with development and broadband stakeholders, on how the state can maximize its chances of securing funding for better mobile internet service.

Michael Janson, deputy director of the FCC’s Rural Broadband Auctions Taskforce, centered his presentation at BridgeValley Community and Technical College on how parties can challenge what areas are eligible for up to $4.53 billion in funding for mobile broadband expansion.

“I can say that this is the largest, most engaged turnout that I have had for one of these outreach events,” said Janson, who called the Mobility Fund II “one of the highest priorities in the FCC today.”

The visit comes after shortcomings in data likely eliminated seven West Virginia counties from a chance at getting up to $1.98 billion in support for improving fixed internet speeds — a fund where there was no ability to challenge what areas were eligible…

Read the full article on the Charleston Gazette-Mail site »

Home Rule puts St. Albans, WV on the path to brunch

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BY KATELYN CAMPBELL, APC VISTA, THE HUB

The residents and visitors to the city of St. Albans could soon be enjoying mimosas over Sunday brunch thanks to a new ordinance making its way through their city council.

The “brunch bill”, authorized by the Legislature in 2016, would allow appropriately-licensed restaurants and private clubs in St. Albans to sell alcohol on Sundays beginning at 10am. Similar brunch bills have been passed in municipalities around the state through the Municipal Home Rule Pilot Program, which was established by the Legislature in 2007.

Prior to the creation of the home rule pilot program, cities and towns in West Virginia only had the authority to take actions that are explicitly laid out for them in the state’s Constitution. This meant that it was difficult for municipalities to quickly address challenges that are either emerging around the state (like abandoned properties) or are hyper-local (like couch fires in Morgantown).

Over the past 11 years, 34 cities and towns around West Virginia have gained access to home rule privileges through a competitive application process, allowing them to pass ordinances addressing issues like code enforcement, property maintenance, intergovernmental collaboration, and, of course, brunch.

In order for St. Albans to get this brunch ordinance on the books, they’ll need to submit an amendment to their Home Rule application to the Municipal Home Rule Board and get it approved before bringing the brunch ordinance back to council for a vote.

The next Municipal Home Rule Board meeting is scheduled on Wednesday, July 11 at a location that has yet to be determined.

Belington’s Golden Rule building seeing a new day

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Golden Rule building in downtown Belington

BY JOLYNN POWERS, AMERICORPS SERVICE MEMBER, BARBOUR COUNTY DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY AND WOODLANDS DEVELOPMENT GROUP

In the small town of Belington stands a 116 year old building that is reminiscent of West Virginia’s heyday of coal, and the money it once brought to Barbour County. The Golden Rule building, which was built by the Shinn family, served the local community as a grocery store and later a department store. Seventy years later with the closure of several coal mines, decline of the population and the loss of jobs, the three-story building fell on hard times. Left to decay and become an abandoned storage building, the Golden Rule’s future was questionable.

In 2014, the historic building, having one of the few water powered elevators left in North America, was listed as an endangered property by the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia. It took another four years for things to change for the future of the Golden Rule.

As the name of the building implies, “Do on to others as you wish them to do unto you”, the Woodlands Development Group (WDG) of Elkins, West Virginia is taking on the challenge of bringing the structure back to use.

In March 2018, the building officially changed ownership and the slow work of rehabilitation began. Using a combination of historic tax credits, forgivable loans, and grant money, WDG’s intent is to convert the upper two floors into 10 apartment units, with retail space on the first floor.

Included in this plan is space for the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad ticket booth, a small museum space, and an artist market. Meanwhile, a former grist mill located on the property will house a community space with outdoor seating.

Woodlands Development Group is working in partnership with the Belington Revitalization Committee and The Barbour County Development Authority to meet the needs of the community with quality housing and new jobs within the main structure.

The first sign of progress that the community will see are the boards going into the window spaces in the upper levels of the building. The boards are painted with brightly colored images and inspirational sayings to help residents know that a change is happening. The other, less obvious change is the clean-up of the interior of the building. Loads of trash and recyclables have been left all throughout the building and must be removed before any serious construction can begin.

With some of the items that were left behind in the building, the partners hope to have a fundraiser for the rehabilitation of the building. The event will involve local community members who want to see a better future for the building, all donations will go towards the rehabilitation costs.

The hope is that the Golden Rule will once again be a center of activity and community life in downtown Belington. Its rehabilitation will add much needed quality housing and will be an economic driver for the area.