Thursday, February 26, 2015
The
Volume 146 Issue 8 50 Cents
Putnam Standard
Neighborhood Market coming to Teays Valley By Amanda Smythers amanda@theputnamstandard.com
Carlie Beaman, manager of Whirlwind of Hurricane is collecting donations for the Huntington VA Hospital in memory of her son, Christopher, who was killed in Iraq in 2003.
Beaman seeks donations for vets
By Michael Circle
michael@theputnamstandard.com
Carlie Beamen of Whirlwind Storage is on a mission. She wants to fill a storage unit full of supplies for veterans in the Huntington VA Medical Center by April 1. “A lot of our veterans come home and feel like they’ve been forgotten,” she said. “I don’t want them to ever feel like they are looked down on because they can’t brush their teeth or comb
their hair. “I want them to know we haven’t forgotten about them and their fight for our freedom.” Beaman’s desire to look after veterans stems from the passing of her son, Christopher. Christopher served his county and was killed during an ambush in 2003 in Iraq. Beaman said that often her son’s letters were filled with requests for her to watchover and help his military brothers stateside.
“So many times in his letters that came home he’d just said, ‘help look after my brothers and sisters in the military,’” she said. “I kept saying I didn’t want him to go. But he said ‘I have to fight for my brothers and sisters that can’t stand up for themselves and I want you guys to be free,’ so he went.” Because the need is so great, Beaman, manager of Whirlwind Storage in Hurricane, has also See Veterans, Page 3
The eight acres of land near the Fox Run housing development on Teays Valley Road may soon be home to West Virginia’s first Walmart Neighborhood Market. Bencor Properties, Inc., who is purchasing the property from Sims Properties, LLC., submitted a zoning permit application to the Putnam County Planning Commission last week. Jay Flanagan, director of entitlements at Bencor Properties, said Walmart hopes to
begin construction on the 40,000 square foot grocery store with a pharmacy and gas station this spring. The estimated opening date is Jan. 2016 or earlier. “At this point, we’re still getting information from the jurisdictions,” Flanagan said on Monday. “We’re in the plan review process. They will be giving us comments and we will go back and forth.” The final building plan will have to meet ordinance codes and regulations for Putnam County, the city of Hurricane and the state. It See Walmart, Page 11
NOW hosts blood drive By Amanda Smythers amanda@theputnamstandard.com
A blood drive on Friday will help the Network of Women, a subgroup of the Putnam County Chamber of Commerce, kickoff its 2015 community service activities. Known more commonly as “NOW,” the 30-member group combines community service, business and friendship into a welcoming environment for women
across Putnam’s business community. “It’s a very comfortable, relaxed atmosphere,” said Kathy McGettigan, NOW chair and mortgage loan originator for Poca Valley Bank. “The people that you meet are just like you but they’re from all walks of life. It’s a very good business contact place. We help each other out a lot. We’re pretty good at helping each other out like See NOW, Page 10
Wintry weather closes businesses, extends school year By Zach Cumberland zach@theputnamstandard.com Record low temperatures and wintry weather brought the county to a standstill as schools, businesses and government offices closed. Putnam County received about eight inches of snowfall, which followed by an arctic air mist on the heels of a low-pressure system, bringing cold air and below zero temperatures. Putnam schools closed for the entire week causing the county to extend the school year to June 8, said Communications and Events Coordinator Rudi Raynes. Previously reserved “out of school
environment” days will be used from June 2 to 8. “When we establish our school calendar, we always take into consideration that weather could be a factor when it comes to establishing dates,” Raynes said. “As always, the weather has been unpredictable and therefore has caused us to use some of our “out of school environment” days. Our last day of school is now tentatively set for June 8.” Frank Chapman, Director of Emergency Services in Putnam County, said despite the frigid conditions the county fared quite well. “There was only one accident as of Feb. 20,” Chapman said. “A
tractor trailer overturned on Route 35 and we’re not sure what caused it, slippery roads or if he just ran off the road and overturned, which caused some power to go out along Fraziers Bottom, but even during the whole storm we haven’t had a lot of accidents. “We only had one major real wreck that we had to send the EMS to, so overall we’ve been very well staffed, as well as the 911 center See Weather, Page 11 A week filled with large snowfalls and record low temperatures caused the Kanawha River to freeze solid.
INSIDE THIS EDITION: n Lady
Generals advance, pg 6 n Redskins beat Highlanders, pg 7 n Wrestlers qualify for states, pg 16