RichlandsAlum

Region III is a mess at the Division 3 level. No team really asserting itself as the front runner at this point.

My two pesos.... Pulaski and Salem will probably dominate Division 4. Not much change in Division 3. If anything, Cave Spring will probably be a middle of the pack team in any given year.

South until you smell it. Then west until you step in it. Can't believe nobody is generating any smack yet for this game. What's SW Virginia football coming to????

[ QUOTE ] From what I understand, Macado's is a done deal. It will be coming to Richlands. I've also heard that Hardee's will be opening a place at Claypool Hill along with Texas Roadhouse grill. From what I understand, Hardee's owns Texas roadhouse and they will be built around the same time. [/ QUOTE ] If the IDA is involved, I would imagine that Macado's probably will happen. Macher's thing is renovating old buildings in downtown settings. If he's getting some kind of incentive package that reduces his risk, I can't imagine any reason why he wouldn't pursue a Richlands shop. I'm really curious about the role the IDA is playing in this deal. If they're just the mechanism that allows liquor by the drink to work, that's not a big deal. If there are actual incentives involved, that's another story entirely. It's more than a bit odd for an IDA to give incentives for restaurant development. And it's not the kind of precedent that the county ought to set, IMO. I've got to think that owners of current businesses like Vandy's and Cuz's are going to wonder what kind of help they're going to be entitled to receive.

[ QUOTE ] If it happens or not, I'm very impressed with Brian Wright. I know he was hired part-time to salvage the Farmer's Market project but he has already done much more. Including actively pursuing an "Historic District" designation for the downtown area. That designation would hopefully ensure the few original building we have left will remain. [/ QUOTE ] I'm not familiar with Mr. Wright personally (at least I don't think I am), but he sounds like the just the kind of guy that Richlands needs. Hopefully he'll stick around for a while. And I'll keep my fingers crossed on the Macado's thing. That really would be a tremendous boost.

If it were a Saturday instead of a Friday, I'd be very tempted to make the two hour trip to catch that event. Looks like a good slate of teams at a price that's not too bad, IMO.

Depends on how I'd define "my" team. As a follower of Liberty, here's my wish list: 1. Richlands (just for the chance to get back home on a regular basis) 2. Turner Ashby (actually played them a couple of years ago) 3. Franklin County (ability to play good AAA team is always a good measuring stick) As a Richlands supporter: 1. Liberty (see above) 2. William Fleming (Blues could use more exposure in Roanoke area) 3. Bluefield (assuming off-field problems wouldn't be an issue)

[ QUOTE ] Ofishe8 and Richlands Alum? They were great sources of information last year as Richlands made their run at the state title. I heard that Ofishe8 had gotten a job and may not be around here anymore. Does anyone know about them? [/ QUOTE ] Haven't been real active for a couple of reasons. One is that I've just been busy. Other is that I honestly don't know much heading into this season. Region III ought to be a crap shoot at the Division 3 level. As for Richlands, I understand that the Blues are pretty loaded at the skill positions, and should be extremely tough again assuming that the offensive line fills out. If your news about OFISHE8 is correct, that's wonderful. Always good to hear of a liberal arts major finding gainful employment.

[ QUOTE ] http://www.richlands-news-press.com/serv...path=!frontpage As a local history buff I love the idea of turning the old N&W station house into a restaurant. It's one of the oldest buildings in town and I would hate to see it torn down... Especially after already losing the Mattie Williams and seeing a "for sale" sign on the White's building... But it seems like an awfully small property for a Macado's. What about parking? [/ QUOTE ] It would be way cool if this were to materialize, but I'm wondering if Rich Macher knows about this article. Having dealt with him before, I wouldn't get terribly excited about the prospect unless he actually purchases the property. Also a bit odd for the IDA to be involved in this kind of deal. If there are incentives associated with it, that could backfire on that group in a big way.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5169344.stm Shine on you crazy diamond.....

[ QUOTE ] Here at Matewan High our football coach teaches at Burch High, assistant football coach teaches at Matewan Elementary, boys basketball coach teaches at Burch High, baseball coach teaches at Matewan Elementary, assistant girls basketball coach teaches at Delbarton Elementary and cheerleading coach teaches at Matewan Middle....this happens alot in our county... [/ QUOTE ] Pardon my ignorance, but do Burch and Matewan play each other? Assuming that they do, that seems like it could be a bit prickly for your football coach. It's not unusual for coaches to teach at other schools within the same attendance district. Such as RHS hoops coaches Jack Lyons and Reggie Blevins who were on the faculty at Richlands Elementary and Richlands Middle, respectively. But it is unusual (at least in Tazewell County) for individuals to coach a team in one attendance district while teaching in another one. In Bedford County, there are certain coaches who aren't even employed by the school system. I'd be interested to know who many other places have situations like that.

Only situation I know of where somebody taught at one school and coached at another was the tenure of the great Tim "Chappy" Rasnick as golf coach at Richlands. If I'm not mistaken, he was teaching in Tazewell at the time. And if I am mistaken, there probably isn't anyone who really cares that much anyway. My first thought is that you don't really need a rule stating that you can't coach at one school and teach at another. IMO, an individual would have to be seriously unbalanced to do something like that, anyway.

[ QUOTE ] and he's probably the best tight end the ACC has ever had and was one of the best nation wide. [/ QUOTE ] Despite the fact that George Welsh recruited him as a QB. Way to overcome the odds, Heath!

[ QUOTE ] Where the hell is Curt Warner in this discussion? And is Brannon Breeding still alive? [/ QUOTE ] Warner and Pete Wood are significant omissions from my list. Then again, I was thinking more about SW Virginia than WV.

Skewed toward SW Virginia (only because I know less about WV) but I'd offer the following all-time list: 1. Bill Dudley - Graham 2. Mike Compton - Richlands 3. Ed Clark - Appalachia 4. Johnny McFall - Clintwood 5. Cortez Martin - Bluefield 6. Carroll Dale - J.J. Kelly 7. Danny Abercrombie - Big Creek 8. Thomas & Julius Jones (can't pick one) - Powell Valley 9. Tommy Francisco - Damascus 10. Jake Houseright - Gate City

[ QUOTE ] He does soccer too? I knew about basketball, but I didn't know about soccer. I don't think he does football, though. I know John Altizer does football, but I don't think Jeff does. [/ QUOTE ] Hurst also makes a delectable spinach quiche. Truly there is nothing that man can't do.

[ QUOTE ] Didn't Richlands show some interest years ago about merging with Cedar Bluff? I think CB refused because they didn't want to be part of a bigger town. [/ QUOTE ] I think Richlands did approach CB on an informal basis. Might have happened when Doc Willis was mayor of Richlands. CB deep-sixed the idea because they didn't want to lose their "identity." I would hope that issue would be revisited. Unless CB can find a way to annex Claypool Hill, that town's days as a viable municipality are numbered. Besides, that argument about "identity" is specious at best. Technically, I'm from Cedar Bluff myself. But whenever the question arises, I tell people that I'm from Richlands. The pool of people who have actually heard of Richlands is significantly larger than that of folks who possess familiarity with CB. **NOTE: Since my family lived in Doran Bottom from the time I was born until the day after my 5th birthday, I still proudly claim status as a Raven Boy.

[ QUOTE ] On the Richlands annexation, I can kind of under stand them taking all the area around Doran with the few businesses around there, but why on earth do the town limits go half way up Kents Ridge now? [/ QUOTE ] This is purely a wild-haired guess, but here goes..... If the Town is running sewer lines to serve the newly-annexed area, they probably need to run them up Kents Ridge to get the benefit of the gravity involved in the topography change. Otherwise, the construction of pump stations would be necessary, and the cost of them would negatively impact the benefit associated with annexing the area in the first place. Again, just a guess. But I'd be willing to bet that the decision is based on one or more of the following motivations: 1. Water pressure 2. Sewer flow 3. The strategic desire to be well positioned for further annexation in the future (either towards Wardell or Claypool Hill)

[ QUOTE ] It might end up as a wash in the long run but it doesn't look good right now. http://www.richlands-news-press.com/serv...path=!frontpage [/ QUOTE ] In the interest of full disclosure, this is a subject matter that I do know very well. The budget challenges that Richlands is facing are not unique, and have more to do with the costs of providing services (particularly the enterprises of water and electricity) than annexation. The Town should have indexed its water rate structure to more closely match what is actually happening in the economy. To wit: "While state rates have increased 33% over the last ten years the Town's rate increases has been 7% over the last 12 years.[sic]" The cost of wholesale power is also a budgeting nightmare for muncipalities who provide electricity. And those costs will continue to increase for the foreseeable future. I know this firsthand (and for that matter, I know exactly what Richlands is paying as well). Municipalities must then decide whether they will simply absorb these increases elsewhere in the budget or pass the costs along to their customers. These two factors alone pose difficulties in budgeting. The fact that the Town is facing a couple of unfunded mandates from the Commonwealth makes things much worse. Annexation really doesn't have much to do with Tim Taylor's budget woes. It does cost money to run lines to the new citizens. However, those kinds of capital projects are financed, and the taxes and fees that the new citizens pay will cover the costs within a calculated period of time. According to the article, the increased cost for providing water service is due to the increased cost of wholesale electricity. In the short term, that can be blamed on the addition of new customers. However, as I mentioned above, these costs are projected to increase for the next 20 years, so annexation cannot accurately be branded as the culprit. In the short term, annexing Hidden Valley makes sense because doing so automatically expands and improves the Town's taxable housing stock. And right now, the largest appreciation in property value is happening at the residential level. Long term, it's still a wash. Folks who are annexed will see a measurable increase in the amount of taxes that they pay, but they will also see a measurable increase in the quantity and quality of services that they are provided on a local level. Citizens in every jurisdiction are either going to be paying higher taxes and fees or they are going to have to settle for a lower level of service. That's true regardless of whether one is a county, town, or city resident.

[ QUOTE ] I don't know for sure, but I get the impression that Russell County and the towns within it are trying to do what's best for the entire county, whereas Tazewell and it's towns are competing against each other. Hence Richlands building a farmers market because Tazewell has one. Or Richlands annexing a huge chunk of the county in order to gain more land that can be developed... despite the financial strain those new areas are putting on the town. Also Richlands and Cedar Bluff have been bickering over one thing or another for years when they should be working together as one. [/ QUOTE ] I'll go further than "working together." Richlands and Cedar Bluff should have merged a long time ago and then taken in Claypool Hill. A unified municipality comprised of those three communities would be pretty strong overall. Wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it to happen, of course. Provincialism remains the rule in Tazewell County. Cedar Bluff's independence and the continuing operation of Pocahontas High School are just two examples. But while the synergy gained when organizations work together is extremely valuable, I don't think the absence of it is necessarily a liability. For example, having a good vertical leap is obviously beneficial to any basketball player, but there are plenty of hoopsters who can't clear a foot and a half who are still recognized as being truly talented. If the folks in Russell have their act together, that is great. But the economic benefits they're seeing are probably due more to geography than politics. Bristol is the engine that's pulling the region, and development will invariably spread northward from there. Tazewell will eventually see some of the benefits, but logically not before Russell. Businesses look for bottom line benefits. To the extent that government entities can provide information or incentives, developers will talk to them. Otherwise, political distinctions are simply lines on a map. Don't get me wrong -- governments working together is always a good thing. But the lack of that kind of cooperation doesn't necessarily present an economic handicap. It's basically the difference between a zero-sum benefit and a bona fide advantage. Following up on that thought, annexation isn't really a huge factor either way from my experience. The benefits gained by expanding tax base are pretty much equal to the cost of providing services. And the cost of providing services continues to go up regardless of the relative size of a community. The recent annexation by Richlands (particularly including Hidden Valley) makes a lot of sense to me, but it's probably a wash in the grand scheme of things. IMO, the most valuable thing that Richlands and Cedar Bluff could do would be to take a long, hard look at the relationship between the two communities and analyze the economies of scale that might be gained by merging the two towns.

[ QUOTE ] I'm not saying lebanon is all that far,and I'm just putting another one out there but it just seems like Russell county is putting everything out there to recruit business. [/ QUOTE ] Just giving you a hard time, fellow Blues supporter. I know that there have been some recent announcements of activity in Russell County, but I'm not sure that folks there are really doing anything any differently than officials anywhere else (including good old Tazewell). This economic development business is a lot like fishing. Sometimes you can have the best spot with the best bait and the best equipment and still come away empty. But it's no cause for despair. In fact, the really good days and the really bad ones are both the kind that keep you coming back.

[ QUOTE ] Great post! If you ever move back to Richlands and run for council you'll have my vote. When the idea of a Farmer's Market came up I seem to remember them pointing to the one in Tazewell. But really, the one in Tazewell is the reason we didn't need one in Richlands. All of the farming communities in the County have easy access to Tazewell. That's why the county seat was placed there to begin with. [/ QUOTE ] Thanks, BigD! I would have really liked to have come back to Richlands after college. Unfortunately, there just weren't any opportunities to do so. Now the farther I move along in life, it seems that any chance of ever coming back home grows smaller and smaller.... My own angst notwithstanding, there are plenty of good folks still there in God's Country who can get things going again. And maybe a couple of them even post on this board (present company included). I believe that the best days of Richlands are still in front of it, if for no other reason than it's a community worth caring about.

[ QUOTE ] You obviously know a lot more about this than I do but I can't see where Richlands needed to spend money on a New Town Hall and a Farmer's Market in order to attract business. The town offices could have easily been located in the armory building along with the PD. They have plenty of extra space there. As for the Farmer's Market, it would be a great idea if there was a demand for one... but it's very obvious there was no demand whatsoever. Just check out last week's Free-Press and you'll see Brian Wright practically begging people to come sell something, anything...except "Yard Sale items". We all know how much our town council hates yard sales. Richlands has problems with drugs, theft, flooding and litter. If I'm a company looking for a place to expand those are the thing's I want addressed. [/ QUOTE ] Actually, I'll concede that the Farmer's Market is a bust. I don't know a lot about the impetus for putting it in, but I'd imagine that it was based on more successful models in other towns. Salem's is the only one I know of that turns any kind of profit. Several other communities (including the one I serve) decided that they could do just as well. Unfortunately, what works well in one case doesn't necessarily work well every time. Town offices probably could have been located within the Armory building, and that would have been appropriate. But aside from my opinion that the new Town Hall is a poor architectural substitute for Mattie Williams, I don't have a lot of heartburn about the decision to locate that use on that lot. From a design standpoint, Washington Square is the most prominent development site in Richlands, and it makes sense for it to host a prominent civic structure designed to represent historical character and project future vitality. The structure that was built doesn't accomplish that goal, IMO. Unfortunately, it would have cost a lot more money to either build an appopriate structure or renovate the Mattie Williams building, and the political will obviously didn't exist to do either. Aside from flooding, the other factors you mentioned could be described as symptoms of the "broken window syndrome." Most famously espoused by Rudy Giuliani, it's the notion that neglected public spaces (particularly downtowns) breed sociological problems of the type you listed. Once these become widespread, it then negatively impacts the economy. Basically, the idea is that one broken window that goes unrepaired in a building will lead to more, then to abandonment of the individual structure along with others....ultimately culminating in undesirable (or even threatening) public spaces. It takes some political will and capital, but many communities that have chosen to reinvest in their public areas have actually seen turnaround in their demographic indicators -- with Manhattan being the best known example. Of course, there are no guarantees of success (the Farmer's Market being a really great example) and a few street trees, brick planters, and park benches aren't going to transform a community's economy overnight. But if things are ever going to turn around, there has to be a starting point. And people have to be willing to invest the time and money necessary to effect change. My opinion is that each community has to make a corporate decision that it wants to prosper, realistically identify one or two things that its community can offer at a high level of service, and then commit the capital necessary to fund those activities. In the case of Richlands, I know that the hospital is a recognized leader in oncology services. Although admittedly it's an odd marketing angle, promotion of the town as a regional cancer treatment center (not a real stretch) would bring people in. And once the bodies are physically present, it just becomes a matter of the market finding a way to supply their needs (such as food, hotels, shopping, etc.). That's a very simplistic notion (and obviously one that I haven't hashed out to any great degree), but it's one example of how Richlands might choose to position itself to move forward. Grundy's progressive leadership is to be applauded. The decision to invest in the law school will prove to be the salvation of that community, IMO. Every community can have its own example of something that works very well. Grundy has the law school. Salem has the farmer's market. Richlands has something.... it's just a matter of figuring out what that something is and what its measurable return might be. There's nothing to this economic development stuff....at least on paper. ; ) I doubt that I do know any more about this stuff than you or anyone else. I just spend a lot of time thinking about these type of issues, and I've come to the conclusion that they really aren't as complicated as they seem once we render them into as many individual elements as possible.

[ QUOTE ] I myself as soon as I'm done at SVCC will be moving away, to abingdon or Lebanon. [/ QUOTE ] Uhhh..... Do Abingdon or Lebanon really qualify as "moving away?" The furthest points referenced are only 25 nautical miles apart in distance.

[ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] I agree it takes guts to move a whole town. This maybe a rebirth for Grundy in some form or another.Pikeville did the same thing with the mountain by pass and look they are growing by leaps and bounds down there. AS far as Richlands goes,its soon going to be a ghost town. Most the business is moving up Claypool Hill. Storefronts are empty,it makes me sick to go down in to the middle of town. Richlands has never looked this bad. Even in the 90's it has business but that business is going away. [/ QUOTE ] Well Richlands is digging it's own grave. A lot of money has been spent on thing's that may be nice but won't help bring in new business. And as long as only 500 people turn out to vote nothing is going to change. [/ QUOTE ] Actually, those things are far from "nice" enhancements. They are now fairly minimal maintenance-type items that most new businesses demand. Most developers come armed with a checklist of amenities that they expect to be in place. The more items on the list you can offer, the better your odds of attracting business. The only huge problem with the revitalization effort in Richlands is that it's about 25 years too late to be significantly effective. In terms of population growth, 1980 represents the zenith of the town's development. Unfortunately, nothing was done to capitalize on the momentum at that time. (Granted, hindsight is a major benefit for purposes of this discussion.) Municipal evolution is very cyclical. You have to spend money to make money, and to attract new development, a community has to promote the fact that it expects the development to take place. If Claypool Hill continues to be successful, some of that activity will eventually "spill over" back into Richlands. Besides, there are still some good "institutional" type businesses in Richlands -- and I'm thinking specifically of the hospital as an example. As long as the town is part of a sub-regional service center and it can identify just a couple of core specialties that can be offered there, it will survive. At this point, there's nothing to suggest that significant growth will take place, but Richlands really isn't in a bad position with regard to its future (particularly within the context of its location). The trick will be for the economy to diversify just enough to provide more opportunities for college graduates. That's actually not as challenging as it used to be. Frankly, there isn't much for young folks in Richlands. But that's true of several other communities that are "healther" than Richlands on a pro forma basis. And while young people do tend to leave the area, there is an observable dynamic of natives coming back to settle down and raise their families. Things could shake out either way, but it's probably too soon to get out the burying shovels just yet.