Lincoln County

Lincoln County Bursting With Community Activity This Summer

05.18.17

Photo by Guyandotte Water Trail

People in Lincoln County have a great opportunity this Saturday to get out and enjoy this fantastic spring weather, and help their community!

From 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. on Saturday, the Guyandotte Water Trail will host a Lower Guyandotte River Cleanup at Branchland Park. More info at www.facebook.com/guyandottewatertrail/

They are calling all volunteers to come join members of the Guyandotte Water Trail and the people of Lincoln County to help cleanup the beautiful Branchland Park and Guyandotte River to ready it for some great spring and summer activity.

And here’s some other events coming up:

June 3 – National Water Trails Dedication and River Float
Celebration of Lincoln County’s 150th Founding
10 a.m. Branchland Park
Info: www.facebook.com/guyandottewatertrail/

June 3 – Free Annual Kids Fishing Tournament
Mud River Lake WMA Boat Launch
Registration 9 – 9:30 a.m.
Info: mary_napier@aol.com / 304-824-3336 x 221

June 24 – Regatta Race and Float
11 a.m. Branchland Park
Registration on site that day.
Info: www.facebook.com/TheLincolnLogWV

July 15 – Going Off the Deep End
Homemade and Modified Floating Water Crafts
Various Categories and Prizes
11 a.m. check-in. Branchland Park.
Info: ckarr@coalfield-development.org / 304-951-8223

July 22 – Mt State Anglers Tournament on the Guyandotte
Location TBA
Info: mskawv@gmail.com / 304-942-1122
www.facebook.com/mskawv

August 5 – Special Family Kayak Float
10 am. Branchland Park
Bring your own kayak. Also limited kayaks for rent.
Info and kayak rental: ricmacdowell@gmail.com / 304-824-2643

All Summer
Free Wednesdays at Camp Lake View
June 7, 14, 21, 28.
July 5, 12, 19, 26.
August 2, 9.
Supervised swimming, kayaking, canoeing, and light lunch.
10 am – 2 pm. Left Fork of Mud River Lake
Info: ricmacdowell@gmail.com / 304-824-2643

Events on the Guyandotte River depend on water levels. Check in advance!

Get involved in Lincoln County this Saturday, and for the rest of the summer!

In Lincoln County, Agriculture and River Tourism Spearhead a Local Campaign for Change

02.06.17

Photo courtesy the Soil Association’s Future Growers program. More info: www.soilassociation.org/futuregrowers

Lincoln County has been a bit of an outlier among our Innovation Acceleration Strategy (IAS) communities.

While most of the five communities we are working with in the southern part of the state are struggling with the loss of mine jobs, many in Lincoln County are struggling with the decline of something a little closer to the surface – farming and agriculture.

Below is a rundown of the latest projects in Lincoln County we have been able to support with IAS mini-grants. Community leaders hope that these new IAS projects will help introduce farming to the next generation, and begin to market themselves outside county lines.

Growing Young Farmers

David Stowers is a longtime farmer in Lincoln County. He understands that in order for farming to remain a mainstay of the community, it is imperative that young people want to take up the mantle.

That’s why we awarded David and the Agriculture team $2,000 to develop a mentorship program.

David’s idea is to find farmers that will set aside an acre of land so that a local student can grow crops on it.

David’s idea is to find farmers that will set aside an acre of land so that a local student can grow crops on it. The farmer will advise the student, but ultimately it will be the student’s small scale garden. The grant money will also pay for the farmer to put a deer fence around the acre of land, making it more functional for the student.

The hope is that this will inspire a new generation of farmers that can lead Lincoln County’s agriculture economy into the future.

A Showcase of Local Life and Culture

Along the same line of thinking, Agriculture team member and fellow longtime farmer, Nona Conley, feels like she has identified one major reason young people are not plowing the fields anymore. She senses a loss of community.

Nona thinks that the consolidation of Lincoln County high schools has meant that young people no longer feel connected to the people living and working around them.

Nona thinks young people no longer feel connected to the people living and working around them.

She plans to create a cultural event, held at the county-wide high school, that showcases life in Lincoln County.

Nona has been awarded $2,000 to create a festival that includes agriculture, reenactors, local musicians, published writers and anyone else that has had a cultural impact in the area.

She believes that by reintegrating students back into their community they will be more likely to stay, and might even think about becoming farmers.

Recreation and Tourism

We all know one of those people that seem to have their hands in everything.

They give up their time for the betterment of their community, and we see them at every local meeting or event. In Lincoln County, that person is Ric McDowell.

Ric is currently in charge of the county-wide Wastewater Project, which is likely what led him and the Recreation and Tourism team to their project concerning the Guyandotte River.

Their plan is to increase river usage by increasing marketing for existing river activities, and by creating a new project centered around kayaking in the summer.

The team has been tossing around several ideas, but they all agreed that the Guyandotte River was an incredible resource.

Their plan is to increase river usage by increasing marketing for existing river activities, and by creating a new project centered around kayaking in the summer.

We have awarded the team $2,000 for printing materials, kayak rentals and signage along the river.

Arts and Culture

Katie Thacker and her Arts and Culture team have been long-time supporters of the Arts in Lincoln County.

A welcome center to serve as an informational hub to outsiders.

They previously managed the Friends of the Arts building on Hamlin’s Court Avenue, and have plans to bring it back as a Lincoln County Welcome Center.

Katie believes this will be a way to bring all of the Lincoln County projects together. Each of the sector teams has the intention to bring people in from outside the county, and she hopes this welcome center can serve as an informational hub to outsiders.

We have awarded the Arts and Culture team a $2,000 grant to do just that.

You can keep up to date with the all the of news
coming out of our IAS communities at The Hub’s IAS blog feed!

Bucks For Bright Ideas: Sparking New Local Projects in West Virginia’s Coal-Impacted Communities

12.07.16

The team from Alderson celebrates… Photos by Daniel Raines

The Hub’s work in West Virginia’s coal-impacted communities is all about unearthing the great ideas that locals have, and helping turn those ideas into reality.

From the biggest, boldest dream to the smallest project, we think it’s critical that the rejuvenation of West Virginia’s communities is led by the people that live in them.

And so we were thrilled to be able to support three great local ideas in our Bucks for Bright Ideas seed-funding contest, the winners of which we announced at our Innovation Acceleration Strategy (IAS) workshop in Beckley last week.

Without further ado, here are the winners!

3rd Place – Wyoming County’s Remote Controlled Track Project

ias2 Spearheaded by 14-year-old Joseph Watson (right), this innovative project hopes to attract more visitors to Wyoming County by creating a professional quality track for remote control car racing.

Watson hopes the track, which will be the only of its kind in the Mountain State, can attract hobbyists from surrounding areas for regular races.

Watson’s enthusiasm for the hobby shone through in his project, which netted the project $1,000.

2nd Place – Lincoln County’s Small Farm Cluster

Locals Nona Conley and Zeke Wood have been coordinating the Lincoln County Farmer’s Market for a while, and now see the need for a more organized structure for farmers in Lincoln County. Their plan strives to promote a partnership between local farmers and provide agro-tourism opportunities.

Conley’s hope is that they can reclaim this piece of Lincoln County’s identity and create new economic and employment opportunities. We are pleased to award them $3,000 to get the project up and running!

1st Place – Alderson’s Strategic Riverfront Enhancement Plan

The people of Alderson have identified the Greenbrier River, which flows right through the middle of town, as one of the community’s greatest assets.

Their goals are to enhance and repair riparian zones to reduce erosion and beautify the riverbank, develop a walking trail that connects both sides of the river, redesign river access points, provide signage, and connect to existing and planned town assets.

Anderson’s Jim Russell was joined by 13 of his fellow community members to accept the grand prize of $5,000.

We’d like thank all of the teams that entered the Bucks for Bright Ideas contest. Everyone had really great projects and all of our finalists gave engaging presentations.

We’d also like to thank everyone that made it out to the IAS workshop event. We know it isn’t always easy to take a day off work and travel to a workshop.

We look forward to continuing our work with each of you and making your vision of your project into a reality.

Terry-Bartley

Motorcycle Tours, Restaurant Incubator Among Ideas For New Economic Opportunities In Southern West Virginia

09.06.16

Photo by Motographer/FlickrCC

So, fall is almost upon us and our IAS program is kicking into high gear!

Four communities have started working in sector teams to plan for growing their local economy. Projects are being discussed in McDowell, Wyoming, Lincoln and Boone counties. These teams have some pretty cool ideas that other communities in the state should know about!

In McDowell County, the Technology Team is working on a website for local residents and organizations to use to promote events, and to help small business owners promote themselves.

Their Arts and Culture Team is hoping to out together an Arts and Music Festival in the near future, and are working with the RiffRaff Collective for a Create Your State event in Welch on October 3.

In Wyoming County, the Transportation Team is looking at some innovative ideas to promote better bike and pedestrian access to their towns.

The McDowell County Tourism and Recreation Team would like to boost motorcycle tourism in the area by creating a ride modeled off of the Back of the Dragon event, which takes place in Tazwell, Virginia.

And the Local Food and Agriculture Team is working to put together a Fall Festival featuring the produce of growers in McDowell County.

Over in Wyoming County, the Transportation Team is looking at some innovative rail-trail ideas, as well as Safe Routes to School, in order to promote better bike and pedestrian access in and to their towns.

Their Arts and Culture Team, whose first meeting featured a presentation from the Tammarck Foundation, is also planning an art show for the fall.

With so many great ideas and hard work going on around the state, what are you doing to lift up your community?

In Madison, the Boone County seat, we’ve heard ideas around a restaurant incubator downtown, a future arts festival, as well as creative fundraising events to support local artists and media producers.

We are excited to see what happens going forward. Our final IAS community to get started this year, Alderson, kicks off on September 12.

With so many great ideas and hard work going on around the state, what are you doing to lift up your community?

Dan-Taylor

Where Does Our Economic Future Lie? Coal-Impacted Communities Continue Their Exploration…

08.04.16

Photo by The Hub

Lots of new things coming along in the world of the Innovation Acceleration Strategy (IAS)!

This past month we had two more community kick-off meetings, where citizens from across the board interested in diversifying their local economy could come and get involved.

We’ve had a great response, great turnout and great engagement so far, and there’ll be two more communities coming on in August and September.

On July 12 we began the IAS process in Wyoming County, with a kick off meeting in Pineville.

The people of Wyoming County have broken up into sector teams to explore Recreation and Tourism, Arts and Culture, Manufacturing and Value Added Goods, and Transportation.

Local Economic Development Authority Director, Christy Laxon, was key in helping us put this together, and she did a terrific job. Even with rainy weather, we still had more than 30 people from a broad array of backgrounds come to get to work planning for their communities’ economic future.

The people of Wyoming County have now broken up into sector teams to explore Recreation and Tourism, Arts and Culture, Manufacturing and Value Added Goods, and Transportation. We look forward to seeing what ideas emerge from these teams in the weeks ahead.

Next up was Madison, in Boone County. Their opening kick-off meeting was on July 21, at the Madison Civic Center.

Local councilwoman and community volunteer, Carolyn Mullins, was our key contact in putting this meeting together. Many thanks to her and all that came to get involved.

Mayor H.H. “Sonny” Howell gave a great introduction to the crowd of over 50 people that came to get to work. The Sector In Madison, sector teams have now formed around Recreation and Tourism, Retail and Small Business, Manufacturing, and Arts and Culture. All of these teams very very engaged and we can’t wait to see how they plan to move Madison forward.

If you are from Lincoln County, please come and get involved in this work! The IAS process is only as strong as the communities are committed.

Next up for IAS is our kick-off community meeting in Lincoln County. This will be held at 6 p.m., Thursday, August 11 at the Hamlin Community Center.

If you are from Lincoln County, please come and get involved in this work! The IAS process is only as strong as the communities are committed.

Following that, we will kick off in our final community for the year, Alderson. This meeting has been pushed back due to circumstances following the awful flooding of that area recently. We’ll keep you posted about details for that meeting.

Dan-Taylor

Five Southern West Virginia Communities Ready to Imagine Their New Future

06.05.16

Photo by jpmueller99/FlickrCC

Lots of big news with the IAS program here at The Hub, where we are working to diversify the local economy of five communities in the West Virginia’s coalfield region.

The communities have been chosen and meeting dates are being set to get these citizens of southern West Virginia engaged and involved in the economic diversification planning process.

Throughout the month of July and early August, we will be holding large community meetings in Alderson and Madison, and Lincoln and Wyoming counties.

We’ll be finding out what sectors local people want to see grow and what strengths in their community there are for them to build upon.

At those meetings we’ll be finding out what sectors local people want to see grow and what strengths in their community there are for them to build upon.

Once the communities have formed teams around the sectors of their choice, we can start helping them to write a plan for projects that they come up with to grow the local economy.

But, let’s not forget about McDowell County, where folks have already been working in their sector teams.

Right now, teams are meeting to plan around Tourism, Local Food and Agriculture, Arts and Culture, Technology and Transportation.

These teams will all come back together to talk about what they have been working on at a large community meeting on Thursday, June 23 at 5:30 p.m. This meeting will take place at the National Guard Armory, 600 Stewart St, Welch. Locals, we will see you there!

If you live in any of these communities and want to get involved, please get in touch with me for more details.