2023: A year of renewed hope, challenges

Dec. 30—BLUEFIELD — From the long-awaited opening of a three-mile stretch of the King Coal Highway in Bluefield to a surprise Memorial Day flood, the year 2023 is being remembered as another year of growth for the region despite unexpected challenges.

As the year comes to a close, the Daily Telegraph has selected the Top Ten Stories of 2023. The top local stories are:

1. Finally a bridge to somewhere for Bluefield

Bluefield's so-called Bridge to Nowhere became a Bridge to Somewhere in late 2023.

Gov. Jim Justice cut the ribbon on Dec. 13 for a three-mile stretch of the King Coal Highway in Bluefield, opening the new interstate corridor to traffic more than 20 years after work started on the project in Mercer County.

Justice was joined by West Virginia Secretary of Transportation Jimmy Wriston, and other officials for the long-awaited ceremony. Work began on the $68 million Airport Road segment of the King Coal Highway in 2018 through Justice's Roads to Prosperity program following nearly a decade of inactivity on the project.

Work on the King Coal Highway in Bluefield began in 2001 with the K.A. Ammar Interchange at John Nash Boulevard, a project that was completed in 2003. Work later got underway on the Christine West Bridge, which was completed in 2008. Area residents started calling the structure spanning high above Stoney Ridge the "bridge to nowhere" because after its completion in 2008, work on the King Coal Highway project in Bluefield was stalled for nearly a decade.

Now the new completed Airport Road segment connects all three sections of the new interstate corridor together.

The King Coal Highway, which is West Virginia's section of the future Interstate 73/74/75 corridor, won't end at Airport Road. Design work and right-of-way acquisitions are already underway on the next section of the King Coal Highway in Mercer County that will take the interstate corridor from Airport Road toward the mountaintop ridges of Littlesburg Road.

The DOH is looking at a 2025 timeline for the start of construction on the Littlesburg Road section of the King Coal Highway.

The King Coal Highway is West Virginia's local corridor of the future Interstate 73/74/75 routing.

Once completed the King Coal Highway will extend 95 miles through Mercer, McDowell, Mingo, Wyoming and Wayne counties. It will connect U.S. 119 near Williamson to Interstate 77 in Bluefield, and is intended to open up the Mountain State's coalfields to economic development and connect the region with markets to the north and south.

The final Interstate 73/74/75 routing is supposed to run from Detroit, Mich., to Myrtle Beach, S.C., opening up a large swath of southern West Virginia to interstate access.

2. Surprise Memorial Day flood inundates the region.

Many in the region were awakened on the morning of Monday, May 29 (Memorial Day) to the sound of heavy rainfall. Creeks were quickly rising and the torrential downpour showed no signs of subsiding. In a short matter of time, communities in both West Virginia and Virginia were once again under water.

Residents had little advance warning, as no flood watches or warnings had been issued by the National Weather Service the night before.

Soon roads were closed and river rescues were underway. Homes, businesses and basements across the region were flooded.

Six people and eight pets were evacuated from the Falls Mills area of Tazewell County, and an elderly couple in the Oakvale community of Mercer County had to be rescued by crews with the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources.

High water also caused problems across the city of Bluefield and the town of Bluefield, Va. Mercer County Director of Emergency Services Keith Gunnoe reported later that day that several high water rescues had occurred in the city of Bluefield.

As the ground quickly became saturated with water, downed trees also were reported. One tree that fell along Lorton Lick Road near Montcalm was tangled in a strand of power lines near the junction at Skating Rink Hollow, resulting in a power outage for about 1,400 customers of Appalachian Power.

The Bluestone River recorded a record crest of 10.94 feet, which is 2 feet above above the moderate flood stage.

In all, rainfall amounts across the region ranged from 4 to 5 inches, according to the National Weather Service in Blacksburg, Va.

For many, it was an unwanted flashback to the horrific flooding disasters of July 8, 2001, May 2, 2002 and Nov. 19, 2003.

However, unlike the 2001, 2002 and 2003 disasters, no injuries or deaths were reported from the May 29, 2023 flood. Still flood damage to properties was reported across the area, particularly in the city of Bluefield and the town of Bluefield, Va.

Still after all of the damage estimates were counted and tallied, Bluefield and other Mercer County communities did not have enough damage to meet a Federal Emergency Management Agency threshold for federal assistance.

3. The new Grant Street Bridge in Bluefield finally opens to traffic.

The new $10 million Grant Street Bridge in Bluefield finally was opened to traffic just before Christmas, almost four years after the original bridge was closed after it failed a state safety inspection.

Gov. Jim Justice, and other officials, were on hand for the Dec. 18 grand opening ceremony.

Bluefield Mayor Ron Martin thanked Justice, West Virginia Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston, former president of the West Virginia Senate Bill Cole, the Bluefield City Board, Norfolk Southern Railroad and the residents who stood up and refused to accept the idea that the bridge would not be replaced.

"I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to those who exercised their freedom to be heard and worked tirelessly to make sure the voices of our community were not drowned out by the challenges that we faced," Martin told the audience assembled for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. "The reopening of this bridge is a testament to the power of community, a reminder that we stand together we can overcome any obstacle."

The closure and demolition of the original bridge cut off the city of Bluefield's East End and North Side residents from easy access to Princeton Avenue, the downtown and the rest of Mercer County. During the nearly four-year wait for a new bridge, residents had to use a narrow and winding road to do their shopping and commuting.

A community campaign calling for a new bridge was eventually successful. In October 2020, Justice announced a $10 million grant for the project. The DOH, the city and Norfolk Southern worked jointly on the project.

4. 11-year-old girl killed in Ceres shooting: two adults wounded

A shooting took the life of an 11-year-old girl Dec. 6 when an angry boyfriend seeking his estranged girlfriend opened fire at Ceres Hollow Road in Mercer County. The girl was shot by Kenneth Smith of Beckley.

The girlfriend was not at home, so Smith shot the people who were there, according to Sgt. P.H. Shrewsbury, commander of the West Virginia State Police Princeton detachment. The shooter did not have a connection with the people at home.

Smith turned the gun on himself. Two adults, Karen Wimmer and Joseph Wriston, were transported for medical treatment. A 9-year-old girl who was also at the residence escaped the carnage by fleeing through a side door.

"He came down from Beckley with intent to kill the whole family," Mercer County Prosecuting Attorney Brian Cochran said later. "It was targeted."

5. Hatfield-McCoy Trail rolls to another ridership record

The southern West Virginia-based Hatfield-McCoy Trail system closed out its 2023 season with another ridership record.

Permit sales for 2023 were up more than 6 percent from 2022 with the Hatfield-McCoy Trail Authority estimating as many as 92,000 ridership permits were sold this year.

That's up from 86,877 permits in 2022 and another record for the authority, according to Hatfield-McCoy Trail Authority Executive Director Jeffrey Lusk.

The Hatfield-McCoy Trail ridership season goes from November to November.

"We know just from the sales revenue side that we are up 6 percent," Lusk told the Daily Telegraph in late November. "We project this year that it will be over 92,000 permits. Based upon the growth we've had it is very exciting."

Lusk said the trail authority closed out the 2023 season on a high note with record fall ridership numbers.

"We've had a record September and a record October," Lusk said. "So this fall has grown faster than the latter part of the year."

Lusk attributed the fall ridership growth to warmer than normal weather and a late peak for the region's fall foliage season.

However, one goal the authority has not yet reached — and is still aiming for — is 100,000 ridership permits being sold within a single year.

Lusk said the authority will once again aim for that goal in 2024. He said lodging providers are already booking rooms for the spring — another indicator of a strong 2024 ridership season to come.

"So in talking to some of our lodging providers, the ones I have talked to have been very pleased with their forward reservations for the spring," Lusk said. "They are already getting calls and already getting bookings for the spring. All of them seem very pleased with the number of calls they are getting for the spring."

In order to reach 100,000 permit sales, Lusk said additional investments — particularly in lodging — will be needed.

"It is the only way we can get those numbers — continuing to add capacity, lodging capacity," Lusk said.

6. After more than 70 years, local Korean War soldier returning home for final rest

Corporal Ray Kirby Lilly, known in his family as Kirby, was in a North Korean prisoner of war camp when he passed away on Feb. 28, 1950. A note in his family's Bible states that he was listed as missing in action when he was 17 years and 11 months old.

On Oct 2 this year, Kirby's remains were identified thanks to advanced DNA testing. Former President Donald Trump visited North Korea in 2018. Gaining access to the American remains interred in that country was one result of the summit. Kirby's remains could have been among others at a testing laboratory in Hawaii, but they also could have been among the 150 sets of remains brought out of North Korea.

Kirby was a soldier in the 8th Cavalry Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division, according to Army records. During the Battle of Unsan, his unit served as a blocking force so other units could escape Chinese forces threatening to overwhelm them. His unit was overrun. Kirby was captured and later died at a prisoner of war camp.

Corporal Ray Kirby Lilly will be brought home to Mercer County and laid to rest with full military honors.

7. Bluefield embarks on large-scale abatement, demolition and rebuild project for the city's historic 400 block.

In late June, the Bluefield Economic Development Authority (BEDA) embarked on a large-scale abatement, demolition and rebuild project for the 400 block area of the city's historic downtown district.

That was when abatement crews assumed in the downtown area, as they prepared for their inspection of several aging structures along the 400 block, including the former JcPenny and Montgomery Ward buildings.

The project is a massive undertaking that will ultimately transform the look and feel of the city's downtown.

The abatement phase of the project is now complete, and the demolition phase is up next.

One of the buildings to come down — the old Montgomery Ward building — is an eight-story structure. So some traffic rerouting may be necessary when demolition work gets underway in early 2024.

Bids for the demolition work were received earlier this month, and Spencer said BEDA is currently working with the low bidder to look at options for reducing costs.

"We would like to see the demo started for spring," Spencer said in terms of the demolition timeline.

A rebuild phase will ultimately follow with several options currently being considered, including new retail construction, more parking, food truck offerings and an expanded area for downtown gatherings or concerts.

"We are creating sort of a new Bluefield," Spencer said just before the New Year's Eve holiday, adding that the goal is to bring new growth, activities and vehicle and foot traffic to the downtown.

The project has been several years in the making. The initial $452,292 award to BEDA for the project came from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Brownfield Cleanup program, which allowed for the abatement work.

Spencer said a local engineering firm has presented BEDA with four options for the rebuild phase, but the authority is also still actively seeking input and suggestions from city residents for the rebuild phase. Citizens can still email those ideas to jspencer@bluewv.org

A community meeting also is being planend for early 2024 to discuss the project with citizens and downtown business owners.

All four of the options proposed by the engineering firm either retain or expand upon the existing Chicory Square while adding parking. Three of the four call for new retail construction in the downtown block.

Spencer said option one keeps the existing Chicory Square intact, adds additional parking and food truck offerings, and calls for the development of new commercial/retail construction at the site of the former JCPenney/Bluefield Wellness Center building.

Spencer said the second option would expand parking opportunities in the existing area of Chicory Square while providing an area for food trucks. It too calls for commercial/retail construction at the site of the former JCPenney/Bluefield Wellness Center building.

Spencer said option three would add even more parking, and a larger green space while still providing an area for food trucks. It would retain an area for public gatherings or musical performances similar to the existing Chicory Square.

Spencer said option four would add additional parking, but also calls for new retail construction along Scott and Bland Streets, while retaining an area similar to Chicory Square.

8. Three counties battle blaze. Massive fire scorches salvage yard near Montcalm

Firefighters from three counties were dispatched April 13 after a fire was reported at the Nelson Pigg Auto Salvage along Browning Lambert Mountain Road near Montcalm.

The Montcalm Volunteer Fire Department along with firefighters from Bluefied, Va., in Tazewell County, Bluewell, East River, Bramwell, Princeton, Oakvale, Athens and other Mercer County departments were dispatched along with firefighters from Kimball, Northfork and other parts of McDowell County.

Black smoke rising hundreds of feet into the air could be seen from as far away as Princeton. Gasoline, tires, batteries and anything impacted by the intense heat kept exploding. Firefighters estimated that about 150 vehicles were burning.

The salvage yard's owner, Nelson Pigg, said arson was a possible cause.

Firefighters kept the flames from spreading to nearby homes and into the surrounding forest.

9. Project underway to restore historic Hotel Thelma

The long-abandoned Hotel Thelma in Bluefield, once the lodgings hosting famous musicians including Ike and Tina Turner, Sam Cooke, Etta James, Little Richard and many others performing at the Bluefield Auditorium, is now up for restoration.

The two-story structure at the corner of Wayne and Logan streets on Bluefield's North Side is an historic landmark. Hotel Thelma was among the hotels and motels where African-American travelers could stay. It was listed in the Green Brook from 1936 of 1967 during the era of Jim Crow laws which barred Black people from many hotels and restaurants.

Hotel Thelma's owner, Thelma Stone, created the historic establishment. She secured a loan from the Flat Top Bank in 1947 despite discrimination and opened her hotel in 1949.

Work is underway to find funding for the hotel's restoration.

10. Algae engulfs Glenwood Park Lake

In July, the lake at Glenwood Recreational Park was closed due to a rapid build-up of algae and an invasive Brazilian water weed.

The lake was closed to fishing, paddle boating, canoeing and other water activities while the rest of the park remained open. A section of the lake along New Hope Road looked at times more like land than water.

Blue-green algae was covering the lake along with Brazilian Elodea, a water weed that is often sold as an aquarium plant. Elodea gets into waterways and lakes when the water in fish tanks is poured out.

By August, the Green Valley-Glenwood Public Service District was able to acquire an aquatic herbicide known as Harpoon. The herbicide was sprayed over the algae bloom for several days. Oxygen and PH levels were monitored while the operation was underway so fish and other aquatic life would not be impacted.

Glenwood Lake reopened to fishing and boating in late August after the algae bloom started to recede.

— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com