The Shadow
A March shooting at The Homestead Resort in Bath County that left two people dead is the Alleghany Highlands’ top news story for 2009.
The top 10 news stories for the year were selected by the Virginian Review news staff.
In addition to the Homestead murders, the top stories include: Consolidation talks involving Alleghany County and Covington, a debate over union representation at MeadWestvaco in Covington, Creigh Deeds’ unsuccessful bid for governor, the opening of new schools in Covington, construction of a regional wastewater treatment plant in Alleghany County, two arrests in a Covington murder-for-hire plot, the local economy, a fire that destroyed the Bath County Rehab and Wellness Center and a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ report on Gathright Dam.
1. Homestead Murders
Authorities are still looking for a man accused of killing two of his supervisors March 21 at The Homestead Resort in Hot Springs.
Beacher F. Hackney, 59, of Covington, is wanted for capital murder.
Authorities allege that Hackney, who was a steward in the resort’s main kitchen, used a .380-caliber semi-automatic pistol to shoot Ronnie Stinnett, 60, and Dwight Kerr, 39, on the night of Saturday, March 21.
Hackney fled on foot and was last seen going south on U.S. 220, just outside the resort. His vehicle was found parked at the resort.
A nationwide manhunt for Hackney continues. The U.S. Marshal’s Service is offering a $20,000 reward for information that will lead to Hackney’s arrest. The Homestead murder case has also been featured on the popular “America’s Most Wanted,” on the Fox television network.
2. Consolidation Talks
A group of 10 citizens began working in December on crafting a proposal for consolidating the Alleghany County and Covington governments.
The work was handed to the citizens’ committee by Al-leghany County Circuit Court Judge Malfourd W. Trumbo after the Alleghany County Board of Supervisors and Covington City Council were unable to reach an agreement on a consolidation proposal. Representatives from the governing bodies met from January to October to discuss consolidation.
The citizens committee has a June 2010 deadline for bringing forth a consolidation proposal.
The consolidation process began in October 2008 when registered voters in Alleghany County and Covington filed petitions in circuit court calling for the two governments to consolidate.
Joe Carpenter of Covington and George Goode of Clifton Forge we named as co-chairmen of the citizens consolidation committee. Other members of the committee are: Annette Comer, Harry Casey, Kevin Terrell, Pearl Miller, Bryan Thompson, Mike Warwick, Wes Walker and John Stone.
3. MeadWestvaco Unions
A protracted debate over union representation at the MeadWestvaco paper mill in Covington was settled Oct. 15 when production and maintenance workers chose Covington Paperworkers Union Local 675 as its collective bargaining unit.
CPU prevailed over United Steelworkers Local 8-675 by a vote of 450 to 411 in a runoff election. The runoff election was held after a Sept. 30 vote at the mill failed to yield a majority winner.
The Covington Paperworkers Union was formed in 2007 when former members of USW Local 8-675 expressed dissatisfaction with contract negotiations between MeadWestvaco and United Steelworkers International. The split between the union members came after more than a year of failed contract negotiations between the USW and MeadWestvaco.
In the first election to settle union representation at the mill in March 2008, CPU won by a narrow margin. The USW filed charges of misconduct by CPU prior to the election and the National Labor Relations Board found evidence to support another vote.
In the meantime, USW remained as the mill’s bargaining unit. In July, a majority of union members voted to approve a new six-year contract negotiated with MeadWestvaco by the USW. The former contract with the company had expired in December 2006 and workers continued to work under its terms.
CPU called the new contract substandard for the paper industry and claimed it contained too many concessions to the company. Terms of the new six-year contract will remain in effect until the company opens new negotiations with CPU.
4. Creigh Deeds
Bath County Democrat Creigh Deeds’ bid for the Virginia governor’s office came to a crashing halt Nov. 3 when he lost to Republican Bob McDonnell, 58 percent to 41 percent.
Deeds, a state senator, scored a come-from-behind win in a June Democratic primary to receive the party’s nomination for governor.
November marked the second time McDonnell had defeated Deeds in a race for statewide office. In 2005, McDonnell narrowly defeated Deeds to win election to the Virginia attorney general’s office.
5. New Covington Schools
Covington opened two new schools in August that cost just more than $23 million to construct. Jeter-Watson Intermediate School and Edgemont Primary School are located on Indian Valley Road in Covington. The 116,000 square foot facility was constructed on land that was purchased from Applied Extrusion Technologies for $350,000. The Edgemont and Jeter-Watson facilities were the first new school projects undertaken in the city of Covington since the former Jeter-Watson Intermediate School and Covington High School were constructed in 1939. The former Edgemont facility was constructed in 1929 and opened in 1930.
6. Wastewater Treatment Plant Construction
Ground was broken in October for construction of a regional wastewater treatment plant in Alleghany County.
When completed, the Lower Jackson River Wastewater Treatment Plant will serve, Clifton Forge, Iron Gate, Selma and other portions of eastern Alleghany County.
Construction of the plant is expected to cost $13.8 million with most of the expense covered through grants, including $10 million from the federal economic stimulus program. The plant’s conveyance system, which includes piping and pump stations, is expected to cost $20 to $25 million.
Construction of the plant is being mandated by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
The sewer plant will initially serve 2,500 homes and businesses in Alleghany County. With a capacity to treat up to 2.6 million of sewage per day, the county projects that the new plant will eventually serve 3,500 customers.
7. Murder-For-Hire Plot
A Covington woman and her son face charges in an alleged murder-for-hire plot. Mary K. Davis, 58, of Covington, was arrested Nov. 30 after she allegedly gave an undercover Virginia State Police agent cash to arrange the murder of her husband.
Davis is charged with attempted capital murder and solicitation for murder.
Her son, Michael John Davis, was arrested Dec. 3 and charged with conspiracy to commit attempted capital murder and conspiring solicitation to commit murder.
8. Local Economy
The Highlands felt the ramifications from the global recession in 2009 as unemployment in the region exceeded 10 percent for five months (February-June). The highest unemployment in the Alleghany-Covington Labor Market was recorded in February, 10.9 percent. In the latest figures available from the Virginia Employment Commission, November, the regional jobless rate was 9.1 percent.
In a recent report to the Alleghany County Board of Supervisors, David Kleppinger, executive director of the Alleghany Highlands Economic Development Corporation, said the economic downturn is impacting efforts to recruit businesses to the region. Prospects that were looking at Highlands in 2008 withdrew after credit markets tightened during the banking crisis.
Kleppinger said the Highlands is too overly dependent on the manufacturing sector for jobs.
9. Bath County Fire
The Bath County Rehab and Wellness Center was destroyed by fire on the night of Nov. 11.
The fire was initially reported at 5:40 p.m. and the building was engulfed by flames when firefighters arrived minutes later.
Investigators believe the fire was caused by an electrical problem.
10. Gathright Report
Gathright Dam received a “potentially unsafe rating” from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers following a Sept. 2 inspection.
During the inspection, officials expressed concern about possible increased seepage at the toe of the dam, and an undetermined flow rate from a spring located a quarter mile downstream.
Concerns were also expressed about water runoff through limestone flow channels below the dam’s spillway.
Officials with the Corps of Engineers said that they did not deem the conditions at the dam to be an emergency situation.
Other Stories
Other stories that generated headlines in 2009 received consideration for the year’s top stories.
These stories included new school superintendents in Covington and Alleghany County, the arrest of a man charged with arsons in the Falling Spring area of Alleghany County, continued population loss in the Highlands, completion of an environmental cleanup of Kim-Stan landfill in Alleghany County, the sale of The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., controversy surrounding a neighborhood peacock in the Jackson Heights section of Alleghany County, and a Mountain View Elementary School student receiving a surprise visit from his father, who is serving with the U.S. military in Iraq.
