Wednesday, August 8, 2012
EXTRA ONLINE EDITION
TWO LOCAL STUDENTS GRADUATE FROM CHALLENGE ACADEMY. PAGE 12
Groundbreaking set for Tuesday for Valley Park expansion work By Jack Bailey jackbailey@theputnamstandard.com
WINFIELD – A groundbreaking ceremony has been scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 14, at 1 p.m. for the expansion work at Valley Park in Hurricane. The public is invited to attend the event. The Putnam County Commission recently awarded the bid for the project to Pray Construction. Commissioners opened bids for the expansion work at their July 24 meeting and awarded the project to Putnam County's own Pray Construction which had the low bid at $1,449,700. Earlier this year, the county acquired 5.6 acres of land adjacent to Valley Park with plans to add an additional ball field, soccer field, and a new entrance to the park. The new entrance will also alter the flow of traffic through the park. Cars will enter through the newly constructed entrance, and then loop through the park to exit through the current entrance. During high traffic events, such as the July 4 celebration, both roads could also be used as exits to improve traffic flow leaving the park. Putnam County Commissioner Joe Haynes said that once the expansion project is completed, Valley Park will be even more of an asset to the County.
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County seeks bids for Hometown drainage work By Jack Bailey jackbailey@theputnamstandard.com
HOMETOWN – The Putnam County Commission has begun soliciting bids to perform drainage improvement work to help alleviate perennial flooding problems in the community of Hometown. The Invitation to Bid appeared as a legal advertisement in local newspapers last week. The work to be performed is described as cleaning of the following existing items: 150 linear feet of 48” diameter pipe, 1,979 linear feet of 4' flat bottom ditch, 30 linear feet of 24” diameter pipe, and 191 linear feet of 2' flat bottom ditch. The project duration is 60 calendar days. Last year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers examined the flooding problem in Hometown and concluded that a short term solution would be to clear Hometown’s existing drainage ditches. The estimated cost for that work was $40,000 to $60,000. The Corps also said that a longer term solution would be to carve a new channel to divert
The Putnam County Commission has begun soliciting bids to perform drainage improvement work in the unincorporated area of Hometown. Photo by Jack Bailey water away from resident’s homes. The estimated cost of that work would be approximately $500,000.
In December, the Putnam County Commission selected the engineering firm of QK4 to perform the necessary engineering
work in advance of the drain clearing project. SEE HOMETOWN ON PAGE 3
Farmers Market in Top 10 in national contest By Jack Bailey jackbailey@theputnamstandard.com
HURRICANE – The Putnam Farmers Market is currently among the top 10 farmers markets in the nation in voting in an online contest sponsored by the American Farmland Trust to identify America's Favorite Farmers Markets. Voting in the 2012 America's Favorite Farmers Markets con-
test began June 22 and will continue until midnight eastern time on Sept. 3. As of Tuesday, Aug. 7, the Putnam Farmers Market was number 7 in the country in the Small Market Category, which is the category for markets with 15 or fewer vendors. Other categories include mid-sized markets, medium markets and large markets. The Putnam Farmers Market was the only farmers market
from West Virginia in the Top 20 in any of the categories. “The continued growth in farmers markets is terrific for family farmers and everyone who enjoys buying fresh, locallygrown food,” said American Farmland Trust President Jon Scholl. The goal of American Farmland Trust’s fourth annual America’s Favorite Farmers Markets contest is to highlight the role
that farmers markets play in keeping family farmers on the land. The summer long contest is a nationwide challenge to see which markets can rally the most votes from their customers. At the end of the contest, four winning markets—one small, one medium, one mid-size, and one large—will receive the title of America’s Favorite Farmers MarSEE CONTEST ON PAGE 3
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