JENAY TATEEDITOR AND PUBLISHER

The year 2017 sawcontinued discord anddivision among leadersand the community inPound. The year openedand closed with financialmatters dominating theagenda as town councildebated over-budgetspending and pressingmoney and vehicle needs.

Also in January, coun-cil hired bookkeeperJenny Carter as the newtown clerk/treasurer.Carter would soon sug-gest that council changetax due dates so peoplecan pay them twice ayear.

When it came to budg-et planning, heads buttedover who could even bepresent at an administra-tive committee meeting,including CouncilmanTerry Short, who is not onthe committee.Councilman CliftonCauthorne said any citi-zen of Pound should bewelcome at these meet-ings.

In April, council . . . • Endorsed the idea of

recreational releases ofwater from Pound Lakeand the expedited studyof that possibility by theU.S. Army Corps ofEngineers.

• Heard a plea from itstown engineer to addressproblems contributing toexcess water getting intoits sewage plant.

• Supported the con-cept of building a coveredbridge in Pound but gotlittle support from themain state agency thatwould have to approve it.

In May . . .• The mayor apolo-

gized after his observa-tions about traffic fineshelping to pay for a need-ed police vehicle drewoutrage in Kentucky andthreats to boycott busi-nesses in town, WiseCounty and Virginia.

The closure ofAppalachia ElementarySchool was the singlelargest choice the WiseCounty School Boardmade as it, like boardsacross SouthwestVirginia, faced staggeringcuts to education fundingfor the 2017-18 schoolyear.

During an April 3meeting, the board exam-ined estimated revenue,expenses and how it mightbridge a funding gap ofabout $2 million. SchoolsFinance Director BethShupe andSuperintendent GregMullins presented a vari-ety of ways the boardmight close the gap but,by the end of the night,members sought moreoptions, including possi-ble savings by closingAppalachia ElementarySchool. The board alsodiscussed such budgetfactors as health insur-ance, special activitiestransportation and busreplacements.

Since 2009-10, countyschools had dropped 138instructional positionsand 65 classified posi-tions, had 16 fewer schooladministrators and hadcut the central office inhalf, according to Mullins.

On April 19, budgetdiscussion came down toone bottom line — closeAppalachia ElementarySchool or cut salaries forall employees. Closing theschool would save more

than $600,000.After a presentation on

what a school consolida-tion would look like, theissue was taken to thepublic in a May 22 hear-ing.

Not everyone agreedwith closing the school.District 1 board memberMartha Jett maintainedthat it would be better foreveryone to share the bur-den and take a hit to rais-es versus closing theschool and costing peo-ple’s jobs.

But District 4’s NolanKilgore said the boardhad an obligation to oper-ate the school system asefficiently as it can.Kilgore moved to acceptthe consolidation plan,including changing thenames of Powell ValleyPrimary and Middleschools to Union PrimarySchool and Union MiddleSchool.

Speaking of the overallschool funding challenge,Kilgore, a retired educa-tor, said, “In my 40-someyears, I’ve never seen atime like this. It’s neverbeen this bad.”

Consolidation wasapproved 6-2, with Jettand fellow District 1member Herb Shortt vot-ing no.

A p p a l a c h i aElementary finished sum-mer school on June 30 andwas then closed. Someparents, upset with thedecision, relocated theirchildren to Nortonschools. At the time,Norton had enrolled 15-16students.

However, by year’send, administrators of theUnion schools said thetransition that absorbedformer Appalachia stu-dents went more smoothlythan they could haveimagined.

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STORIES OF 2017TOP TEN

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Appalachiaschool closes

Appalachia Elementary School employees Sheila Sizemore, Vanessa Sexton, JackieHuneycutt, April Roberts, Valarie Coats, Katina Alcantara and Christina Ingles gather aroundWise County School Board member Donnese Kern during a discussion of closing the school.

This aerial view of the Mineral Gap data center was on display inApril for a celebration of the $65 million facility’s opening.

JENAY TATE PHOTO

JENAY TATE PHOTO

Democrat RalphNortham, left,

listens asRepublican Ed

Gillespie makes apoint during

an October gubernatorial

debate at UVa-Wise.TIM COX PHOTO

TOP TEN, PAGE 2

Card is pulled into disputeJENAY TATEEDITOR AND PUBLISHER

POUND —Rachel’s Haven resi-dents delivered some holiday cheerthis season, taking hand-madeChristmas cards to various loca-tions around Pound.

Residents of group homes for

adults with intellectual disabilities, theywanted to share the season’s spiritof giving with some of those aroundtown who have given to themthroughout the year, says JanicePayne, who owns the company thatprovides services to those with spe-cial needs.

They delivered cards in personto the post office, Payne said, to thepharmacy, town hall and RobertsBrothers, the Pound tire dealer thatsells the handmade dog biscuits theresidents prepare.

“The residents were trying to dosomething nice,” Payne said,acknowledging she’d heard thecard was mentioned at the recentPound Town Council meeting.

THE AGENDAMayor and interim Town

Manager George Dean brought theresidents’ Christmas card to sharewith council at its December meet-ing. They had visited just that after-noon.

But acknowledgement of theirholiday gesture got caught up in theprocedural details of what routine-

ly is a power struggle on PoundTown Council.

In October, as council meetingshad stretched to 10 p.m., 11 p.m.and longer, council had voted to endmeetings no later than 9 p.m. Thattime was fast approaching at theDecember meeting and council hadfive more agenda items, with thecard being the last matter beforepublic expression.

The goodwill gesture

ended up figuring in a

town council debate over

meeting procedures.

Residents of Rachel’s Havenmade Christmas cards and

delivered them in person toplaces like the post officeand town hall, where this

one adorns the tree.

JENAY TATE PHOTO

CARD, PAGE 3

Town council frequently butted

heads over budget,spending andadministrative

matters.