Message:
A few reminders for the 1960s "Movers and Shakers":
1. It has often been said that the only thing worse than bad publicity
is no publicity at all. If you are indeed poor it does little good to keep
pointing out to others that you were not always poor. It is far better
to work towards becoming well off again and then let the comments take
care of themselves.
Remember, bad publicity is what shakes dollars loose from Congress.
You now have bad publicity - on a national scale - so use it.
2. Don't believe everything you read. I have been checking into the
Coalfields Expressway Web site for a couple of months. That web page seems
to be an advocacy site put together by the people in Pineville. The positions
they take are mostly favorable to Wyoming County.
For example, the alignment shown on that site for the King Coal Highway
is so far North in the proposed corridor that towns such as Northfork and
Kimball, etc., won't even rate exits, and the only way to get to Welch
will be to get off the Interstate and take the Coalfields Expressway South
for five or more miles!
In other words, by running that Interstate along the County lines, all
it means is that Wyoming County gets a third Interstate Highway and McDowell
County is still left out in the cold.
3. As Mrs. Prickett (1st Grade), Mrs. Olinger (2nd Grade) and Mrs. Armour
(3rd Grade), used to say, "Do your homework first."
Find out who is in charge of the McDowell County efforts, what groups
are representing Welch, and so on. Maybe all of the decisions have already
been made - or maybe there is still time to influence the action.
And, perhaps the biggest thing they need now is an effective Web site,
and you people have certainly shown that you can accomplish that.
4. Stay in contact with your representatives. I have not been a West
Virginia voter for more than twenty years, but just last year I wrote a
long letter to Senator Robert Byrd thanking him for various things he had
accomplished in the past. I don't anticipate ever asking him for a favor,
but I believe it doesn't hurt to be on his computer lists. I hope some
of you 1960s Movers and Shakers have been doing the same.
And, keep it in perspective. Both your congressman (still Nick Rahall
I believe) and Senator Byrd no doubt get a lot more campaign money from
Beckley than Welch. So, asking them for favors based strictly on past donations
and votes is simply going to move their positions closer to Wyoming.
5. Finally, take everything you hear in Welch with a grain of salt.
Welch has had a very long history of maintaining opposition to change.
Most recently it was a well orchestrated campaign against an interim nuclear
storage facility which would have poured billions of dollars in highways,
facilities, and high-tech jobs into McDowell County.
Welch "won" that fight and so now they are going to get low-paying jobs
with a federal prison and a large trash dump instead. I believe I would
have taken my chances with the nuclear waste.
Anyway, go get 'em Sixties - Carpe Diem. It's your turn to dance. Good
luck.
Blake, WHS-'51
Blake
Shrout
Stevie Lou
became the Angel accompanist December 10, 1999 at 8:00 pm