Increasing the unity of the Mid-Ohio Valley was the central focus during the Blennerhassett Island Bridge opening ceremony Friday.

The opening of the 4,009-foot bridge, which spans the Ohio River over Blennerhassett Island, marks the final piece of Corridor D connecting Wood and Washington counties.

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(Is that me, or is that Ken Brady our art teacher?)

Gov. Ted Strickland of Ohio and Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., did not attend the ceremony, but other dignitaries and officials met on the bridge to dedicate the structure and open it to vehicles Friday evening.

“This (bridge) is 43 years in coming and it’s nice to see it has come to fruition,” said Tom Smith, West Virginia administrator of the Federal Highway Administration.

The $135 million bridge was originally going to be a suspension bridge when it was conceived as part of the Appalachian Development Highway System by the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965.

The highway system was built as a joint venture of the West Virginia Division of Highways and the Ohio Department of Transportation and covers more than 200 miles between Cincinnati and Clarksburg.

“The bridge is one of the best examples of public and private groups working together,” Smith said.

Manchin said the bridge, which was built with the cooperation of local governments, is “first class.”

“It’s not always in a governor’s time in office. . . to have something of this magnitude,” Manchin said. “It’s unbelievable.”

Anne Pope, a chairman of the Appalachian Regional Commission, ARC, said the bridge is not just another connection between Ohio and West Virginia, but the entire eastern seaboard.

“Connections created by the ARC will make Appalachia more accessible and open to the entire world,” Pope said.

Pope continued by discussing future economic development as a benefit from the corridor.

“Every $1 spent on the highway system brings back $3 in economic development – jobs,” she said.

Rep. Alan B. Mollohan, D-W.Va., read a letter from Byrd who was instrumental to the bridge’s construction, which began in 2005.

“I am a true believer in the Appalachian corridor highway network and the promise that it holds for West Virginia,” Mollohan read.

Byrd, in his capacity as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has appropriated $185 million for the construction of the Corridor D highway alone, Mollohan said.

“The bridge shows what sort of success is possible if the mission is worthy,” Mollohan said.

Following the ceremony, Belpre Mayor Mike Lorentz met with Williamstown Mayor Jean Ford and Parkersburg Mayor Bob Newell to exchange a Fenton Art Glass Bridge Day Bell and a Lee Middleton Doll.

This exchange signified the “bridging of the gap” created by the Ohio River between the cities.

By JOLENE CRAIG

Gregg was born Sept. 26, 1959, in Parkersburg, the son of Lee and Nelva Gregg Knotts. He was a 1977 graduate of Parkersburg South High School and attended WVU-P. He was a former employee of GE Plastics, owner of Kanawha Paint Company and worked at PWP Plastics. He was a member of Grace Brethren Church.

Greg enjoyed NASCAR, Cincinnati Reds baseball, Dallas Cowboys football and also coached Little League baseball for a short time.

In addition to his parents, Gregg is survived by a daughter, Lindsay Knotts of Wadsworth, Ohio; his sister, Julie Knotts Shepherd and her husband, Randy, of Parkersburg; his brothers, Joey Knotts (his best friend) and wife, Candy, David Wayne Knotts and wife, Gloria, of Yukon, Okla., David Munday and wife, Autumn, of Charleston, S.C., Steve Munday and wife, Kim, of Simi Valley, Calif., and Jim Munday and wife, Penny, of Ames, Iowa; and several nieces and nephews including his nephew, Davy Knotts of Parkersburg, whom Greg considered a brother. In addition to family, Greg is survived by close friends, Pat Gruber, Eric Lane, Ben Hampton, Steve Goines, Chris and Robin VanFossen, all of Parkersburg; and a very special friend, Debbie McKenna of Williamstown.

Services will be 2 p.m. Monday at Lambert-Tatman Funeral Home, Green Street, Parkersburg, with Pastor Scott Hannus officiating. Burial will follow at Sunset Memory Gardens. Visitation will be from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home.

A guestbook is available for sending online condolences to the family at www.lamberttatman.com

He was born in Parkersburg, a son of Gerald Hupp of Cairo, W.Va., and Janet McMullen Balderson of Parkersburg. He worked at Woodridge Plantation and was also a mechanic. He attended Christian Baptist Church. He was an outdoorsman and enjoyed fishing and hunting.

In addition to his father and mother, he is survived by his stepfather, Billy Balderson; his daughter, Hannah Hescht; four brothers and their spouses, Billy and Jill Hupp of Washington, W.Va., Scott and Maria Earl of Georgia, Kenny Balderson of Parkersburg and Billy and Sarah Balderson Jr. of Florida; two sisters, Denise and Mark Lilly of South Carolina and Karen and David Bentz of Parkersburg; and several aunts, uncles and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his grandmother, Reva Hupp; and sister, Kimberly Hupp.

Services will be 11 a.m. Wednesday at Leavitt Funeral Home, Parkersburg, with Pastors Scott Hannus and Larry Dale officiating. Burial will be at McMullen Cemetery. Visitation will be from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. today at the funeral home.

Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.LeavittFuneralHome.com

He was born in Mansfield, Ohio, the son of the late Chester F. and Polly Roberts Richards. He was a graduate of Parkersburg South High School in 1982 and had 22 years of service working in maintenance for the McDonald’s Restaurant in the Parkersburg traffic circle. Chester was an avid West Virginia Mountaineer and Marshall Thundering Herd football fan. He was a member of the Bethel Baptist Church.

He is survived by his wife, Deborah J. Lowers Richards of Parkersburg; his sisters, Fannie Carson of Parkersburg and Jessica Ingmire of Parkersburg; his father-in-law, James Howard Lowers of Parkersburg; his brothers and sisters-in-law, Ed and Sherrie Lowers of Belpre, Becky and John Townsend of Belleville, W.Va., Tom Lowers of Parkersburg and Melinda and Robert Stalnaker of Concord, N.C.; and several nieces, nephews, great-nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be 3 p.m. Friday at the Leavitt Funeral Home in Parkersburg with the Rev. Randy Kochersperger officiating. Burial will be in the Evergreen South Cemetery. Visitation will be from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home.

Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.leavittfuneralhome.com

She was born Nov. 13, 1964, in Parkersburg, daughter of the late Monetta Wilkinson Chaffin and stepdaughter of Kenneth Chaffin of Parkersburg.

Tina was a member of the Kanawha United Methodist Church and was employed at Cedar Grove Personal Care Home. She was a graduate of Parkersburg South High School. Tina was an amazing mother. Her children, her husband and her family were her life.

Surviving is her husband, William D. (Bill) Allman Jr.; three daughters, Tashua Allman, a student at Glenville State College, and Brandy Allman and Lacey Allman, both at home; two stepchildren, Mike and Jill Allman, both of Parkersburg; and one brother, David Crockett McMullen of Parkersburg.

The funeral service will be 11 a.m. Monday at Kimes Funeral Home, 521 Fifth St., Parkersburg, with Pastor Larry Dale officiating. Burial will follow in Sunset Memory Gardens. The visitation will be from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home.

Online condolence messages may be sent to the family by visiting kimesfh.com

2008 Parkersburg South Awards Assembly.

The 41st Parkersburg South High School Commencement Ceremony was held after the assembly at the Erickson All-Sports Facility. Photo courtesy of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel CU galleries.

Eschbacher was admitted to St. Joseph’s Hospital last week after he collapsed and suffered a seizure. Doctors discovered a 5-6 inch tumor near the speech center of his brain and scheduled surgery for Wednesday morning to remove the mass.

The growth was removed without incident and Eschbacher was awake and aware throughout the more than 4-hour procedure, according to reports from the family via Wood County Schools officials.

District spokeswoman Sue Woodward said officials received word around 1:40 p.m. Wednesday that Eschbacher had been moved to an intensive care unit following the surgery and was expected to remain in intensive care for the next several days.

“He is awake and responding appropriately,” she said. “There was a little malignancy that was removed and they are confident they got the whole thing. There is no followup planned at this time.

“It could not have gone any better,” Woodward said.

Michael Erb, staff writer
The Parkersburg News and Sentinel, May 22, 2008

South principal heads home after surgery

Parkersburg South High School Principal Tom Eschbacher said he is tired but happy to be home after undergoing surgery last week to remove a tumor from his brain.

Eschbacher was released from St. Joseph’s Hospital on Tuesday and paid a brief visit to the school. Doctors say the surgery was successful and expect Eschbacher to return to work in the near future.

“The doctor said I could probably go back to work part-time starting next Wednesday,” Eschbacher said when contacted at his home in Parkersburg. “I think I’m not gonna push it, though.”

The 5-6 inch tumor was removed from Eschbacher’s brain last week after he collapsed May 16 at his office and suffered a seizure. The tumor was located near his speech center, but Eschbacher said he seems to be doing well since the surgery.

“I don’t feel bad, but I don’t feel like I have lots of energy,” he said. “I’m getting there, day by day.”

Eschbacher said doctors have indicated the tumor was not aggressive and shouldn’t require additional surgeries or treatment as this time. Eschbacher was scheduled to return to the hospital today to have stitches removed.

“I’m doing OK … as well as can be expected,” he said.

Wood County Schools officials said another administrator, Ray Pyles, director of the district’s adult basic education program, is expected to have surgery today at St. Joseph’s Hospital to remove three blockages in his circulation system. Pyles collapsed during an awards assembly last week at Parkersburg South High School and reportedly had CPR performed on him. The exact cause of his collapse has not been released.

Michael Erb, staff writer
The Parkersburg News and Sentinel, May 22, 2008

This articles courtesy of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel.

View more Parkersburg South and PHS baseball photos.

Parkersburg South had just two hits in the second inning, but took advantage of five walks to score six runs and the Patriots never looked back en route to registering a 12-2 five-inning triumph over Parkersburg High Wednesday night in the Class AAA Region IV, Section 2 baseball tournament at City Park.

The victory ousted PHS (11-12) from the double-elimination event, leaving unbeaten South (18-14) and one-loss Ripley (14-14) still standing. The Patriots play at 6 p.m. today at Ripley, where they won 5-3 on Monday. A South win tonight would end it all and advance the Patriots into the regional semifinals. However, a Viking victory would force a final, winner-take-all contest at 7 p.m. Friday back at City Park.

Wednesday’s game was pretty well decided in the second stanza, when South sent 10 batters to the plate against Big Red starter Kyle Smith. But by the time Smith recorded the first out of the frame, an error, three walks and an infield single had produced two runs before a sacrifice fly, a second bases-loaded walk and and Drew Shaffer’s two-run triple made it 6-0.

Then the Patriots added three more runs in the top of the third on Dustin Baker’s two-RBI double and another on an error for a 9-0 lead before PHS got two runs back in its half of the third on an RBI groundout and sacrifice fly. South completed the scoring in the fifth with three runs scoring on an error, Ryan Helmic’s single and Matt Emerick’s infield single.

As opposed to Smith, who walked seven of the 14 batters he faced in his short two-inning stint on the hill, Patriot hurler Sam Freshour, now 6-1, spun a five-hitter with five strikeouts and only one walk. South head coach Matt Null was undecided on who his starter will be today at Ripley, although saying that ‘‘we just kind of go with who’s hot at the right times.’’

PHS head coach Alan Burns knew the story of the season-ending setback was ‘‘walking too many people and not getting the hits when we needed them. It was just one of those nights. South played well, and we just couldn’t put it together.

‘‘We came up one player short,’’ Burns added, alluding to having one of his key players, Wes Ankrom, ejected from Tuesday night’s 6-5 loss to Ripley after pitching into the sixth with a 5-3 lead, and thus being suspended for Wednesday’s game.

See more sports galleries at newsandsentinel.com

This article and photo courtesy of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel.
By STEVE HEMMELGARN, shemmelgarn@newsandsentinel.com

Prom Photo Gallery 01, | Gallery 02, | Gallery 03, | Gallery 04, May 3, 2008
Talent Show Photo Gallery 05, April 3, 2008

View more photo galleries when you visit the school’s Web site.

The fifth annual Mr. PSHS contest was sponsored by the forensics department, March 26. The first place winner of a $50 U.S. Savings Bond was Senior Joey Knotts with Senior Brian Dent and Junior Mike Dines trying for first runner-up.

– Patrian 81 Senior Yearbook, page 21.

She was born March 24, 1964, in Parkersburg, to Arthur Leslie and Donna Jean Douglas. She graduated from Parkersburg South High in 1982, moved to Maplewood, Minn., and graduated from Lakewood Community College in 1992 with her RN degree, with honors. She had been employed at Gillette Children’s Hospital and at Whispering Pines Resort, both in Minnesota.

She is survived by a daughter, Taylor Greenberg, who survives with Bill Greenberg in Minnesota; brothers, Mark Douglas (Louise) of Leesburg, Fla., and Craig Douglas of Marietta; sister, Kimberly Benton (John) of Marietta; three nieces; two nephews; three great-nieces and nephew; and special friends, Trish Dunbar of Mineral Wells and Becky Fultineer of Parkersburg.

She was preceded in death by a son, Adam Douglas, whose ashes will be buried with Cyndi’s; her parents; grandparents; uncle; and aunts.

Her memorial service will be 1 p.m. Saturday at the Marietta Chapel of Cawley & Peoples Funeral Home, with Neil Parsons officiating. The family will greet friends from noon until time of the service Saturday at the funeral home.

Thanks to Greg and Tom of Minnesota. She will be missed by many and was loved by all who knew her.

Cawley & Peoples Funeral Homes offers online condolences by visiting their website.

Miss West Virginia USA and Parkersburg South graduate, Skylene Montgomery at her “Send off to Las Vegas” celebration and reception. Photo by Jeff Baughan

View photos from reception.
Watch WTAP Interview.
Watch clip from send-off party.
Watch swimsuit preliminary.

MINERAL WELLS — Skylene Montgomery of Mineral Wells is ready to take on the rest of the country at the Miss USA pageant in Las Vegas next month.

The 23-year-old brown-hair, hazel-eye beauty was crowned Miss West Virginia USA 2008 last year. She leaves for Las Vegas March 26 to vie for the crown against women from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

A “send off to Las Vegas celebration” was held for Montgomery Friday night at the Comfort Suites in Mineral Wells. About 150 friends and family stopped by to wish Montgomery well. Some brought gifts while others brought cards of congratulation.

Photographs of Montgomery, the daughter of Skylar and Darlene Montgomery of Mineral Wells, were placed throughout the room. She signed pictures of herself as Miss West Virginia USA and posed for photographs with her fans.

Montgomery said she is excited about the upcoming pageant. “I am looking forward to the experience, to seeing Las Vegas and spending time with the other contestants.”

Montgomery is a 2003 graduate of Parkersburg South High School and received a degree in exercise physiology last May from Marshall University. Her goal is to become a nurse and she is attending St. Mary’s School of Nursing in Huntington.

In preparation for the national pageant, Montgomery said she has been eating “clean” (whole grains, fish, chicken breast and greens), running on the treadmill six days a week and doing weight training three or four days a week.

She has been living in Morgantown, while traveling around the state helping to tackle the problem of childhood obesity. She teaches children the importance of exercise and eating healthy food.

Twenty-six friends and relatives will be traveling to Las Vegas to watch Montgomery in the pageant April 11 at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. The pageant will be broadcast on NBC at 9 p.m. Donald Trump and the network own the pageant.

Montgomery expects to be involved in lots of clothing fittings and rehearsals during the days before the April 11 finals. The preliminaries in selecting the top 15 contestants in swimsuit, evening gown and interview will be April 5.

This article and photo courtesy of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel.

Dedra was born Dec. 30, 1963, a daughter of Jack K. and Patricia Purcell Ahart of Parkersburg. Dedra was formerly employed by Parkersburg Billing Co.

In addition to her parents, she is survived by her sister, Deborah Gray of Belpre; and a niece, Meighan Gray of Parkersburg.

A gathering of family and friends was held at 11 a.m. Friday, March 21, 2008, to celebrate Dedra’s life.

Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association or to the American Diabetes Association.

Lambert-Tatman Funeral and Cremation Services of south Parkersburg assisted the Ahart family.

Watch Hillary Clinton Belpre High School Rally.

Senator Hillary Clinton enjoyed her brief stay at the Blennerhassett Hotel and acted graciously toward its staff, said general manager Cecil Childress. Childress greeted Clinton and entourage at the front doors of the Blennerhassett around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, following her speech at Belpre High School.

A small crowd was outside and inside the hotel when Clinton arrived, but Childress said the night was “uneventful and low-key, the way we wanted it.”

Clinton, staff and Secret Service personnel almost immediately headed to their rooms for the night. A request was made for 50 rooms at the Blennerhassett, but Childress said only about 25 were available. The hotel delivered Hawaiian pizza and sandwiches to the rooms.

Clinton took time out Thursday morning to pose for photographs with “Hillary fans” among the hotel’s staff. The photographs were taken by Clinton’s photographer.

Daughter Chelsea Clinton, whose 28th birthday was Wednesday, arrived at the Blennerhassett after her mother that night. The Blennerhassett gave Chelsea a basket of Fenton Art Glass products, Holl’s Chocolates and other local items for her birthday. Flowers and birthday wishes arrived at the hotel. “Chelsea and Hillary were complimentary of the rooms and the hotel,” Childress said.

This article courtesy of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel.
Paul LaPann, www.newsandsentinel.com

View more Parkersburg South vs Ripley photos.

Parkersburg South’s defense was definitely dandy Tuesday night in the No. 2-ranked Patriots’ 72-58 triumph over No. 10 Ripley for the Class AAA Region VI championship at PHS Memorial Fieldhouse. The Patriots wrapped up their fifth straight trip to the state high school girls basketball tournament next week in Charleston.

But South couldn’t put away the resilient Vikings (18-6) until the fourth quarter, despite having a 10-point advantage in the second stanza and a 14-point lead at 40-26 midway through the third period.

But back-to-back treys by Amber Shreeves and Kayla Ayers early in the final period enabled the Patriots to turn a shaky seven-point lead into a 13-point gap at 55-42 with 6:23 to play, and Ripley never got any closer than 12 after that

Asia Greenleaf paced the South (23-1) point-production with 19, followed by Ayers with 17, Danielle Floyd with 15, Ali Morris with 11 and Shreeves with seven, while for Ripley, Lexy Kessel netted 15 points, Tanya Melhorn and Tori Eagle tallied 11 each, and Alannah Sheets added 10.

‘‘Our defense generally is our key,’’ said South head coach Scott Stephens, who notched 100th career win with the Patriots as his team was relentless on defense, hitting the floor too many times to count for force turnovers or for loose balls or steals.

‘‘Our kids really got after it on defense. But give Ripley a lot of credit. They did a nice job on us taking away our transition game, which wasn’t very effective tonight.’’

South led 8-3 early, but Sheets and Kessel sparked a Ripley rally that culminated in a tying (13-13) trey by Eagle with 45.6 seconds left in the first quarter, only to see Greenleaf get a rebound bucket, then take a pass from Ayers on the baseline for a hoop in the last 18 seconds for a four-point Patriot lead (17-13) after the first eight minutes.

Six more South points, four by Greenleaf, to start the second period made it 23-13, but Ripley chopped the margin to seven, 30-23, by halftime.

But the third quarter saw South tally 10 of the initial 13 points, the last four on consecutive steals by Floyd for layups, to jump up by 40-26 at the 3:51 mark. But Kessel and Sheets again brought the Vikes back to with seven, 47-40, by the close of the period after getting within six, 44-38, at 1:13.

‘‘We were ready to play with a lot of intensity tonight,’’ said South junior point guard Danielle Floyd. ‘‘And Ali (Morris) did a real good job containing (Ripley’s point guard Tonya) Melhorn.’’

Ripley head coach Steve Hunt praised South as ‘‘a good defensive team. We got rattled just a little bit, but were still in it, only down seven going into the fourth, but they made the big shots when it counted the most. But we’re young (three sophomore starters) and the youngness showed tonight. But it was a great year. We’re disappointed we didn’t win tonight, but proud of the year we had.’’

This article and photo courtesy of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel.
By STEVE HEMMELGARN, shemmelgarn@newsandsentinel.com

MARIETTA — Former President Bill Clinton rounded out a campaign tour of Ohio in Marietta on Sunday, telling a crowd of Hillary Rodham Clinton supporters the race for the Democratic nomination will likely come down to the March 4 primary elections.

Watch President Clinton’s Marietta speech.
View photos by The Parkersburg News and Sentinel.

Also, read about President Bill Clinton’s visit to Parkersburg’s Jefferson Elementary Center on March 27, 2008.

“You have a choice to make,” Clinton told the nearly 2,000 people who filed into Fenton Court on the Marietta College campus Sunday evening. “Do you want to turn over a new leaf … or do you want someone who is tested, tried and true?”

Polls show the New York Senator and former first lady has an edge in the Buckeye state over Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. Still, Obama has a slight overall lead in the race for the ticket.

The two are set to debate in Cleveland next week.

Around 9:10 p.m. Sunday, Clinton took the stage at Marietta College along with Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, who endorsed Hillary and who was recently touted as a potential vice presidential candidate. Strickland did not mention the topic, but said on “Fox News Sunday” he is not interested in the position.

After taking the podium, Clinton spent about an hour going over his wife’s resume and plans for America’s future.

“She’s a world-class change-maker,” he said.

The need to reform health care and education were among the key topics the former president discussed. The economy, including new energy ideas, and plans for Iraq rounded out the speech.

“Raise you hand if you know someone without health care,” Clinton said, as every hand in the auditorium went up. “This is the only wealthy country in the world where you can get that response.”

Clinton said his wife is the only presidential candidate with the right health care plan for the nation. He said citizens will have the ability to keep their current health care or to join a universal coverage plan.

Marietta resident Bill Hockenberry said he liked the notion of affordable health care. The 63-year-old has coverage through his wife’s employer — but the coverage is expensive, he said.

“It’s awful expensive,” Hockenberry said. “I didn’t have my mind made up on who I was going to vote for when I came here. But I think I do now.”

Hockenberry said he also liked a promise he heard to get U.S. troops out of Iraq as quickly as possible and to take care of all of the soldiers who have been injured while serving.

“She will honor those kids’ sacrifices,” Clinton said.

It was unclear how many people were turned away from the event. By 7 p.m. Sunday, a line stretched from the doors to the gym across campus and down to Butler Street. Those who could not get into the gym were allowed into the Dyson-Baudo Recreation Center where they could hear, but not see the events.

Tom Perry, director of college relations, said the rec center could accommodate twice as many people as Fenton Court, but he said the Clinton campaign requested the smaller venue.

“I think they just wanted a more intimate setting,” he said.

Belpre resident Angie Ivey, 37, was among the first in line to see Clinton on Sunday. She and her 14-year-old son, Zac, got in line at 1:30 p.m. Doors didn’t open until about 8 p.m.

“I like Bill Clinton and it is just such a great opportunity to hear his views,” she said. “He was such a good president.”

Although he’s too young to vote, Zac Ivey said he supports Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

“It took one Clinton to clean up after a Bush and it is going to take another Clinton to clean up after the next,” he said.

To win the Democratic nomination, a candidate needs 2,025 delegates. Obama has 1,037 pledged Democratic National Convention delegates to Clinton’s 953, according to an unofficial tally by thegreenpapers.com, a non-partisan Web site that compiles election statistics.

Hillary Clinton spent Sunday on the campaign trail in Wisconsin. Bill Clinton spoke in Toledo, Canton and Steubenville before ending the day in Marietta.

This article courtesy of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel.
By BRAD BAUER, Special to The News

U.S. Army Spc. Randy Moore, 23, was hurt Jan. 13 when a homemade bomb exploded near his Humvee in Iraq.

Moore lost his left hand and sustained numerous shrapnel wounds, burns and injuries to both legs, his mother, Debbi McCloy, said. The improvised explosive device exploded near Moore’s Humvee in heavy fighting around Baghdad.

Moore was flown to the states last week and is in an undisclosed burn hospital, his aunt, Brenda Reddig said. McCloy and Moore’s two brothers, Eric and Jarrod, are with him in the hospital, which is not being disclosed until he is better able to read cards and letters, Reddig said.

The Randy Moore Angel Fund was established at the Union Bank in Pennsboro to accept donations to help the family with travel expenses to the hospital, Reddig said. Donations are being accepted at Peoples Bank in Parkersburg and starting Tuesday at Union Bank, she said.

Employees at Coldwater Creek, where McCloy works, have been helpful and generous, Reddig said.

Moore remains in serious condition, but is feeling better, Reddig said. Doctors believe his legs will require numerous operations, she said.

“It’s going to be a long haul for him,’ Reddig said.

Moore, a wrestler and football player at Parkersburg South and Federal Hocking high schools, enlisted in the army shortly after his 18th birthday.

This article and photo courtesy of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel.
Staff Writer, News and Sentinel

PARKERSBURG — Local educators believe proposed changes to the state’s Promise scholarship need much more thought before officials can consider putting them into effect.

Gov. Joe Manchin has proposed restrictions that would require those receiving the Promise scholarship to work for a period of time after graduation in West Virginia. Manchin has said he believes the scholarship program, which allows high-performing students to attend in-state public colleges tuition free, is allowing the state’s best and brightest to receive a low-cost education while they seek employment outside of West Virginia.

The proposed changes would require students to pledge 2-4 years of working in-state after graduation or require them to pay back part of the scholarship if they choose to leave.

Wood County Schools Superintendent Bill Niday said while on the surface the plan appears reasonable, too many questions remain.

“What if a student were to attend four years in-state and then want to transfer to graduate school somewhere else?” Niday said.

“Are there enough jobs in the state for these students? I certainly can understand where the governor is coming from with this, but it is a bit of a ‘which comes first.’ Do we need need the students to stay here to draw new jobs or do we need new jobs to give them a reason to stay?” Niday said.

Parkersburg South High School Principal Tom Eschbacher said he doesn’t believe the plan will work.

“I am not in favor of it,” he said. “Gov. (Bob) Wise implemented the scholarship in the hopes students would attend school in-state and then stay and work in-state. My question would be, does West Virginia have a job base that would support every West Virginia graduate for every West Virginia school in the areas they want to study? For example, I don’t know of any aerospace engineering jobs in the state of West Virginia.”

Eschbacher also said he was unsure how the state would keep track of those students or require them to pay back tuition money.

“How would you go about monitoring that?” he said “I can’t see that it is feasible.

“I can understand where (Manchin) is coming from, but we’ve got to have the jobs first,” Eschbacher said. “My opinion is it’s an economic development problem, not a Promise scholarship problem.”

For local colleges, the debate might not be an issue of whether students attend in-state schools, but what they use to pay for their education.

“I don’t foresee that it would affect enrollment for our institution or any other institution,” said Danita Brown, interim dean of students for West Virginia University at Parkersburg. “It might affect the choice of the individual student as to whether they choose to accept the scholarship or seek other forms of financial aid. It really would depend on the student.”

Brown also said a community-based college such as WVU-P already offers coursework for careers available locally, so students who choose to attend school here would likely be able to find those kinds of jobs in-state.

This article ourtesy of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel.
Contact Michael Erb at merb@newsandsentinel.com.

A change in scheduling at Wood County’s public high schools may also change how many credits students need to graduate.

In the 2008-09 school year, all three of Wood County Schools’ high schools will operate on an 8-credit year. Currently only Parkersburg South High and Williamstown High schools operate on those schedules.

Under the 7-credit system, which is being used at Parkersburg High School and some junior high schools, students attending grades 9-12 could accumulate up to 28 credits, said Mike Boyd, director of secondary schools for Wood County Schools. Under state law, the district cannot require students to have credits equal to the total offered in order to graduate, but must reduce that number by four.

“So that means students need 24 credits to graduate,” Boyd said.

Under the new system, all high school students in the district will be able to achieve up to 32 credits over the four-year period, which potentially would allow Wood County Schools to increase the graduation requirement to 28 credits.

Superintendent Bill Niday said such a change is possible for the future, but would require a great deal of planning.

“I haven’t given it enough thought at this point,” he said. “We need to sit down and talk to the high school principals and high school counselors and really look at the issue.

“Is it something we need to look at? Yes,” Niday said, “but there are a lot of people’s input I need to get before I would consider making a recommendation to the school board.”

Both Niday and Boyd said if the school system did look at increasing the credit requirements for graduation, the plan likely would not affect next year’s high school students.

“It’s not something you could just put into place for someone’s junior or senior year,” Boyd said. “We would most likely look at a phased approach.”

Niday said making credit schedules consistent at all three high schools is the first step in that direction. Also, since the district’s ninth-grade classes will all be moved into the high schools next year, officials don’t have to consider middle school schedules in the process.

“Next year it will be consistent at all three high schools for the first time,” he said.

This article and photo courtesy of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel.

Michael Erb, Parkersburg News and Sentinel
January 10, 2008

She was born May 24, 1964, in Parkersburg, a daughter of Thomas Charles Smith and the late Janet Ann McClung Miihlback.

She was a member of Fairview United Methodist Church, where she was a youth Sunday school teacher and chairman of the administrative board of the church. She was assistant vice president of checking at Wesbanco, where she was employed for 25 years. Tina volunteered with the South Parkersburg Lions Club and was a member of The Partners in Education Committee with Vandevender Junior High School.

She is survived by her husband of 19 years, Edward L. Davis of Washington, W.Va.; five brothers and sisters, Tammy Morrison, Thomas Charles Smith Junior and Teddy Lane Smith, all of Parkersburg, Tae Shawn Waggoner of Ohio and Terri Ann Smith McComas of Parkersburg; father and mother-in-law, Paul and Carolyn Davis of Washington, W.Va.; several nieces and nephews; and three cats, Sonny, Cher and Frank.

In addition to her mother, she was preceded in death by her brother, Vernon Paul Smith.

Services will be 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Leavitt Funeral Home in Parkersburg, with the Rev. Marilyn Schroeder officiating. Interment will follow at Sunset Memory Gardens. Visitation will be from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Monday at the funeral home.

Online condolences may be made at www.LeavittFuneralHome.com .

PARKERSBURG — As Wood County Schools’ ambitious high schools construction and renovation project enters its final year, officials say there will be even more pressure to get things done right in 2008. View construction photos.

The project currently stands at about $63 million, but officials say they expect the final price tag to be around $65 million. District officials are set to go before the state School Building Authority in March to ask for more financial aid to complete the project.

The construction project, the largest in Wood County Schools history, began in 2004 with the passage of a $35 million local bond issue. The state School Building Authority pledged another $15 million to the project, which would completely revamp and update Parkersburg High, Parkersburg South High and Williamstown High School.

The project has since swelled in cost to more than $63 million, with the SBA accounting for more than $17 million of those funds.

Superintendent Bill Niday said construction and a county-wide grade shift in 2008 has been a major focus for the school system throughout the year.

“Absolutely, and it will continue to be throughout 2008,” he said.

Niday said though the project seemed daunting when it first began in 2004, the end of the project is now in sight, bringing with it new pressures and concerns.

“It is a different kind of pressure,” he said. “You just want to make sure everything is done right and that you’ve completed everything you set out to do. There is almost a little more pressure at this point.”

In 2007, Wood County Schools saw one major portion of the project come to completion. Williamstown High School in December held a re-dedication ceremony with more than 98 percent of the construction and renovation completed at that school. Officials with construction management firm PCS, which has overseen work at all three schools, packed up their Williamstown headquarters in recent months to concentrate more on the two Parkersburg high schools.

At Parkersburg High School, crews have begun site work for the new auxiliary gymnasium, which will be built next to the school’s field house. Inside the school the new administrative offices are nearly complete and ready for use, and some renovation work continues on classrooms and hallways, including the installation of new lockers.

The most work remains at Parkersburg South, which was the largest and most comprehensive of the three projects. A lot of work is being done to prepare for construction of the linking units that will join the school’s multiple buildings under one roof. Most work on the school’s new main building has been completed, and crews are working to move the administrative offices to that new building.

The largest remaining part of the project was bid out in November, but officials have not yet moved forward with the work because of financial concerns. Work on the heating and air conditioning systems at Parkersburg High’s and Parkersburg South High’s field houses is scheduled to begin sometime in March, after the district finds out what additional funding it will receive from the state.

Officials with PCS have promised work on all three schools will be completed in fall of 2008, though some minor portions may be worked on through the start of the new school year.

This fall also will see a major grade shift for Wood County Schools. All ninth graders will be moved into the district’s high schools, while all sixth graders will move into the school system’s junior highs, creating true middle schools. The change will not affect Williamstown High School, which serves grades 7-12, and sixth-grade students will remain at the elementary schools in Williamstown and Waverly.

“Just as important as getting the construction finished is making sure the transition is done properly,” Niday said.

Niday said despite the ups and downs the project has seen over the past several years, he has been happy with the results.

“I’ve been really pleased with the way it is turning out,” he said. “I think Williamstown turned out extremely well. The new construction at PHS and South have both been what I consider to be great buildings. I’m extremely pleased with everything that has been completed so far.

“I think for the long term this is really going to enhance the quality of education in Wood County,” he said.

Contact Michael Erb at merb@newsandsentinel.com

Michael Erb, Parkersburg News and Sentinel
Thursday, January 3, 2008

After a couple years of construction work, the new South Tower at Camden-Clark Memorial Hospital was recently completed and has begun taking in patients.

The new 174,000-square-foot addition was dedicated at a big public gala in November with a number of public officials joined with hospital officials in dedicating the new facility, which includes a new hospital entrance, lobby, labs, waiting areas, 11 operating rooms, a 36-bed recovery area, 36 private patient rooms and more. Additional work is still proceeding and the new cafeteria and sterile processing plant are expected to be completed within the next six months.

The new South Tower is opening slowly as a number of services are gradually moving over into the new building, hospital officials said. Part of the Same Day Care and the recovery units have started receiving patients.

The whole South Tower is expected to be completely open in the early part of the new year, officials said.

The new $56 million addition to Camden-Clark will form the new core of the hospital in the future and were designed to transform the hospital into a regional medical center, said Mike King, Camden-Clark Memorial Hospital’s chief executive officer.

The project started as an idea six years ago for Camden-Clark to modernize many services and provide additional space to handle the growing needs of the community it served, King said.

‘‘This whole idea was started in 2001, so we have been working on this for six years,’’ King said. ‘’What we found was that with the number of patients we were treating, both inpatient and outpatient, we were really undersized by about 50 percent.

‘‘Our patients did not have the kind of space to make their stay comfortable nor did we feel that the staff was in an environment that was conducive to giving good patient care. We have been growing for 20 years and what we have found is that if we didn’t do something, we were going to have a facility that doesn’t really meet the expectations of the community. We are building a building that we think will really support patient care.’’

The core of the project was the upgrading and replacing the hospital’s ICU and CCU.

‘‘Like anything, solid investments takes time just like this project,’’ King said. ‘‘It is difficult to imagine the impact this project is going to have in meeting the health care needs of the community for a lifetime.’’

More than 150 doctors, nurses and other service personnel were involved in designing the new facility, he said.

‘‘The whole thing was developed with the patient in mind,’’ he said of wireless internet connections, love seats that pull out into beds so families can stay close to their loved ones and more.

The hospital was also working on having a richer mix of private rooms.

With this new facility, the hospital’s private room mix went from 22 percent to 40 percent, officials said.

“These rooms encourage a family member to stay with the critical care patient,” King said. “The belief is having a family member present speeds recovery.”

Most of the construction work on the new facility was done through area contractors and local trades. There were 34 local businesses involved in the development, construction and completion of this project, hospital officials said.

Parkersburg Mayor Robert Newell has said the area’s medical community is important for new business opportunities and development and this new facility will enhance the area’s standing within the region.

King said the infrastructure has been put in place so they could add three to four additional floors to the facility in the future.

‘‘Camden-Clark is certainly becoming the area’s regional medical center,’’ he said.

The main focus of the hospital needs to making sure the patients get the care they need, King said.

‘‘We believe healthcare is a grassroots service,’’ he said. ‘‘Understanding who we are, why we’re here, and staying connected to the community is why we’ve been successful. We’re in a relationship with our community, and we want to make sure we’re handling our resources and our patients’ safety in a way that shows we care.’’

Brett Dunlap, Parkersburg News and Sentinel
Sunday, December 30, 2007

The price of gas reached $1,25 a gallon; the price rate hit 21 percent and the cost of being a senior topped $400.

The price for the caps and gowns, announcements, senior keys and senior dues all remain about the same as last years, between $50 and $75, but with the price of gold at over $650 an ounce, gold class rings soared over $300.

– Patrian 81 Senior Yearbook, page 112.

He was born in Parkersburg, a son of the late A. B. “John” and Jessie Irene Roberts Johnson. He was a 1981 graduate of Parkersburg South High School . He had been employed by the Union Local 147 as a heavy equipment operator working with Ryan Inc. and had worked also with the Asbestos Local 207. He was an avid hunter and fisherman and loved four-wheeling.

He is survived by his wife, Margaret “Margie” Smith Johnson of Parkersburg; two daughters, Jessica Johnson of Ohio and Jennifer Johnson and her fiance, Shane, of Ohio; his stepdaughter, Sarah Backus Stephens and her husband, Matt, of Parkersburg; his grandchildren, Cody, Wyatt and Brittiany Lott, Drake Ambrose and Rosalyn Stephens; his sister, Carlene McCauley of Parkersburg; his brother, Gene VanMeter of Parkersburg; several nieces and nephews; and a special friend, Phil Wiggers of Belpre.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by two brothers, Robert Lee VanMeter and Arthur Blaine Johnson; and one brother-in-law, Lawrence Smith.

A Gathering of Remembrance will be from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, 2007, at the Leavitt Funeral Home Family Gathering Center, 620 Avery St., Parkersburg.

The family has asked that memorial contributions be made to the family to help with medical expenses.

Condolences may be sent to the family at www.leavittfuneralhome.com.

Watch Kellie Pickler perform “I Wonder” from her album Small Town Girl.
View photos from the 2007 Parkersburg Homecoming.

We couldn’t find a good clip of her Parkersburg appearance. However, we found this clip from a concert five days later at the State Fair in St. Paul, MN. She was wearing the same shirt she wore in Parkersburg.