CLEAR July 2019

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Trooper 5 rescues kayakers from Cheat River | Cumberland times-news.com
by Duane Nichols via CLEAR 20 Jul '19

20 Jul '19

Trooper 5 rescues kayakers from Cheat River Cumberland Times-NewsJul 1, 2019 ROWLESBURG, W.Va. — The Maryland State Police Trooper 5 medevac helicopter crew based in Cumberland rescued two kayakers that were stranded in the Cheat River late Sunday morning. It was 9:50 a.m. when the Rowelsburg Volunteer Fire Department requested the assistance of the Maryland State Police Aviation Command to perform a rescue of two people stranded on an island in the Cheat River near Seven Islands. The two kayakers, — a father and son from Pittsburgh — had kayaked to the nearby island to fish, but became trapped when the water suddenly rose 3 feet over the course of 20 minutes and washed their kayaks downstream. A local swift water rescue team was unable to reach the victims due to speed of the water and large amount of heavy debris, officials said. The crew of Trooper 5, consisting of two pilots and two troopers, utilized the rescue basket to hoist the victims to the aircraft. The helicopter landed near the river where the victims were assessed, found not to be injured, and transferred to the care of first responders. The Maryland State Police Aviation Command has served Maryland citizens since 1970, and operates a fleet of 10 helicopters from seven bases throughout Maryland. https://www.times-news.com/news/local_news/trooper-rescues-kayakers-from-ch…

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Rowlesburg needs $30,000 to start sewer project
by Duane Nichols via CLEAR 13 Jul '19

13 Jul '19

Rowlesburg needs $30,000 to start sewer project From an Article by Theresa Marthey, WV News, July 12, 2019 ROWLESBURG — When it rains, the sewage problems in Rowlesburg can really cause a stink. It is known throughout Rowlesburg that the town has been having trouble with sewage during rainfall. The Town Council in Rowlesburg told residents the town needs to address the sewer system during its July 9 meeting. But before any planning on a new system could begin, the town needs to come up with $30,000 to pay consultants and start a study. The bottom line is the town got hit with a $200,000 fine a few years ago, and this is something that should have started years ago, but it didn’t,” Mayor Eric Bautista said. “In order to get Thrasher Engineering, Steptoe & Johnson and Roth & White CPAs, and to get a study, it’s going to cost about $30,000.” Bautista said there are a million little things that need to be fixed in the town, but there is no money to do so. “But this system is a tremendous issue, and most people don’t realize how much of an issue it is,” Bautista said. The town was fined $192,200 in 2016 for a violation, but an environmental attorney from Steptoe & Johnson was able to get the fine reduced to $2,500. “The next time the DEP won’t be as forgiving,” Bautista said. “If they come in and shut the system off, and no one will be able to flush their toilets, what does the town do then?” The problem is so prevalent that there is a sign in the Rowlesburg Community Park, close to the parking lot, stating that “sewage discharges into the Cheat River every time it rains.” The town has backwash from the storm/sewage system going into the river during a hard rain. Former mayor Barbara Banister had said she had thought the problem was fixed when a contractor put a catch basin at the site, but it was not.

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New Deal Festival, Arthurdale, Preston County, WV starting at 10 AM, July 13th
by Duane Nichols via CLEAR 12 Jul '19

12 Jul '19

New Deal Festival, Arthurdale, Preston County, WV starting at 10 AM, Saturday, July 13th Eleanor Roosevelt will be there (in spirit). History survives at Arthurdale! Come celebrate the history of Arthurdale with your family and friends. Enjoy delicious food, live music, vintage car & tractor show, new exhibits, and activities for all ages. Gates open at 10 AM. Free parking! Enjoy live music all day long, meet our Eleanor Roosevelt, and shop for handmade and local goods at the crafts and farmers market. All the museum buildings will be open. Visit the Quilt show in the beautiful, stone Community Presbyterian of Arthurdale that was dedicated by Mrs. Roosevelt in 1962. For our younger attendees, there are old fashioned games, face painting, hay rides, and a farm petting zoo. More fun family and kids activities to be announced! Learn a little history and have a lot of fun! Your admission includes access to all museum buildings and exhibits, music performances, the Antique Car, Truck, and Tractor show, artisan demonstrations, Quilt show, Craft Market, children’s activities and more!

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The day they "knocked a hole" in the Cheat River - West Virginia Explorer
by Duane Nichols via CLEAR 08 Jul '19

08 Jul '19

https://wvexplorer.com/2017/09/18/day-knocked-hole-cheat-river/ The day they “knocked a hole” in the Cheat River By David Sibray, Editor / Publisher, West Virginia Explorer, September 18, 2017 Evidence of the catastrophe on Cheat River may remain somewhere beneath its surface. Photo courtesy Rick Burgess. The strange story of the “day they knocked a hole in the Cheat River” has been passed down as one of West Virginia’s obscure but enduring legends for more than a century. Some historians have questioned whether the tale is historic or simply an astonishingly good story. Though fantastic, the events as described in the following selection from the W.Va. Heritage Encyclopedia (Vol. 5, page 941) are certainly conceivable. The following version can be traced to the November 14, 1885, edition of the Weston Democrat, according to Gordon C. Baker, of Rockville, Md., who later contributed the story to the encyclopedia. The Hole in Cheat River “A lot of crazy things have happened in West Virginia, but the day they knocked the hole in the Cheat River is one of the best. About fifteen miles north of Kingwood, along the Cheat River, can be seen some of the most rugged and inspiring scenery to be found any where in West Virginia, if not North America east of the Rocky Mountains. Topographic Map of Upper Cheat River Canyon On the other side of the river for probably half a mile rises a perpendicular wall of solid limestone about 350 feet high. From the top of the walls of cliffs, the craggy and timbered mountain looms up more than 2,000 feet. Near the top of this mountain had stood for unknown ages a great rock, measuring 20 feet from top to bottom and averaging about 18 feet in thickness. It contained about 9,420 cubic feet of hard, flint-like limestone and, allowing 100 pounds to each cubic foot, the weight of the monster was 948,000 pounds or 324 tons. Just below and against the lower side of this rock was a large oak, which seemed to be the only support the rock had to keep it from dashing down into the river. I first heard of the rock a few days ago from a party of young Kingwood men who had been down in that region exploring. They said that it was the intention of several persons who lived in that neighborhood to cut away the large oak tree that stood below the rock and give the rock a start down the mountain. On last Wednesday, the 7th, one of the party received a letter informing him that a crowd had been organized and that the work would begin on Saturday the 10th. I went down on Friday morning and on Saturday went to the scene. There were about 25 persons present from the neighborhood. The work was done by a company of six men organized for the purpose. The tree was cut down and fell crashing over a considerable precipice and lodged, but the great rock stood unmoved. The next thing to do was to find how much of the rock was embedded in the earth. Digging and shoveling continued for nearly two hours, and, owing to the steep slope on which the men had to stand, it was not easy work. Great care had to be exercised also, for it was impossible to tell at what moment the rock might start thundering down the mountain. It was decided to be too dangerous to dig any longer, for the rock was then in a position to lose its equilibrium from the slightest touch. One of the men pushed against it with his hand, but its weight defied his strength. A lever was cut, and a fulcrum was erected. The lever was soon bending with the united efforts of several men of no ordinary size. I was up the mountain probably twenty yards from the rock to get a good view of its course to the river, and was watching closely for the start. “Now she goes!” came to my ears, and I could see the top of the great rock going out from the mountain — now slow, now faster, now a crash then crash upon crash. The scene presented by that rock, tearing and thundering down the mountain, can be imagined, but cannot be described. It had a tendency to confound the sense and bewilder the reason. Great trees were torn from the earth and hurled into the air, like twigs in a whirlwind. And trunks of mammoth oaks were torn and slivered in quick succession. On and on it went, making a clean-cut road from the start. The mountain trembled and the spectators stood spellbound. The rock gained speed as it neared the river, which was in view of the lower end of the great lime wall. It now struck the last precipice and, after going outward and downward for more than 200 feet, it fell into the river with a roaring sound. After the dust and leaves and flying pieces of limb had settled, we could see a peculiar action of the water but were too far off to discover the cause. A walk of more than a mile around—as it was next to impossible to go straight down the mountain from where we were—brought us to the river, but instead of seeing the rock, we saw the water rushing from every direction down into a huge hole probably 30 feet square. During the half hour we were standing there not less than ten saw-logs were drawn into the hole and disappeared. It is supposed that a cave extends under the river and that the weight of the immense rock coming down with such force and rapidity caused the roof to give away. Whether or not the water will soon fill the hole up and the river carry on as before will depend upon the extent of the existence of an outlet to carry the water from the cavern to some other stream or to some other part of the country.

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WV MetroNews 'Massive amount of water' leaves flash flooding damage in northeastern West Virginia mountain counties - WV MetroNews
by Duane Nichols via CLEAR 02 Jul '19

02 Jul '19

http://wvmetronews.com/2019/07/01/massive-amount-of-water-leaves-flash-floo… ‘Massive amount of water’ leaves flash flooding damage in northeastern West Virginia mountain counties RANDOLPH COUNTY, W.Va. — In Harman following weekend flash flooding, “There’s water where I have never seen water before in my life,” reported Delegate Cody Thompson (D-Randolph, 43) as cleanup work began in the aftermath of strong storms. Thompson, a Randolph County native, made it to Harman on Sunday after heavy rain that dumped more than four inches of rain on communities in West Virginia’s northeastern mountains in a span of just a few hours from Saturday night into Sunday morning. The hardest hit areas were to the east and northeast of Elkins, according to reports to MetroNews. “I know in Harman, it (the water) actually picked up and moved school buses. It flipped them over. It moved tractor trailers, so it was a massive amount of water and very, very powerful,” Thompson said on Monday’s MetroNews “Talkline.” As he was on the air, teams from the West Virginia National Guard and the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management were beginning to arrive in Randolph County to join local and county officials in the storm response. Also on Monday, Governor Jim Justice officially filed a State of Emergency Declaration which initially included five counties: Grant, Pendleton, Preston, Tucker and Randolph due to the flash flooding. No deaths or significant injuries were reported in the high water. As damage assessments began in earnest, though, major damage was being reported to several homes and businesses in Harman. Of that number, “That’s going to go up as we are able to get on the ground and do closer and more detailed evaluation,” said Michael Todorovich, director of the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. “I do believe that most of it (flood damage) is going to be highway and that type of structural problems.” Jimmy Wriston, acting commissioner for the state Division of Highways, agreed. Route 33 to the east of Elkins into Pendleton County was a problem area on Monday morning. “There’s several spots along (Route) 33 that we’ll be working on putting back the shoulder and taking care of slips. Once you get to Harman there, the roadway is right there along the stream,” said Wriston who surveyed damage in Harman personally on Sunday. “They had a lot of rain. There was quite a bit of damage on the private side and on the roadways as well.” Thompson had camped on Saturday in Randolph County and saw some rain, but not a lot. “Just a few miles — five, six miles on farther east — it dumped potentially seven inches of rain down in a matter of four hours. It’s unreal. I was a true, genuine flash flood,” he said. As of Monday morning, some residents were still trapped because of washed out bridges and other damage in the storm zone, including in Whitmer and Job. “I’ve seen some aerial pictures of Seneca Rocks at the height of the flooding and it was completely surrounded by water,” said Thompson. In Grant County, the small community of Bayard saw the most damage. The National Weather Service said the community picked up 4.71 inches rain Saturday night into Sunday morning. Grant County 911/Emergency Management Coordinator Peggy Alt said residents in 30 homes in Bayard had to evacuate. She said the local VFD stepped up. “The little Bayard fire department, hardly ever gets a call, they evacuated their little community. They took care of it and every other fire department in this county helped them,” Alt said. State emergency management officials are expected to tour Bayard Wednesday. Alt said cleanup buckets from VOAD (Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster) will be set up in the county Tuesday. Alt said she continues to do damage estimates. The storm response was being coordinated through the West Virginia Emergency Operations Center. Shauna Johnson sjohnson(a)wvradio.com Shauna Johnson, a Fairmont native, is an award-winning reporter who has been covering news in West Virginia for more than a decade. Sent from my iPad

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Governor declares state of emergency for some counties | WV News | wvnews.com
by Duane Nichols via CLEAR 30 Jun '19

30 Jun '19

https://www.wvnews.com/news/wvnews/governor-declares-state-of-emergency-for…

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CLEAR July 2019