The Putnam Scoop

My friend Bob Carney is raising funds for a cause I believe in. (I’ve been too quiet here and what better way to get back into things than supporting a friend who’s trying to help out others?) Bob goes out of his way to help people, and I’ve been been blessed many times over by knowing him. Thank you, Bob.

Click here to help Bob fight breast cancer. I am. Help the people we love fight back! Like Bob said, “You are helping deliver the hope that future generations will not have to endure cancer threatening the lives of their friends and family.” What a wonderful thing that would be!

Note: I think one of the best parts of being from West Virginia is that we are volunteers at heart. I’ve gone on a bit lately about fighting cancer but it’s kind of been one of those years. I hope you’re all well and healthy, and I hope you’ll help take up the fight! Thanks for your time!

I got this from my friend Leo, and it’s worth passing on:

For the fifth year in a row, I will be participating in the Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure, in Charleston. With each year of participation, I have added a loved on to my list of those whose struggles, and those whose memory, I wish to honor. My Mother, my sister Maureen, my cousin Patty Myers, are all survivors who have fought breast cancer, and continue fighting. My Mother-In-Law was taken years ago.
And so it is for them, and thousands more, that I ask for your help. Please say a prayer, if you will, that the combined efforts of all the participants, and supporters, will be fruitful, and that together, we will find a cure.
Thank You.

Follow This Link to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support Susan G. Komen - West Virginia Affiliate

If you feel moved to do so, please join me in supporting Leo on his run!

A little while ago, a friend of mine named Chris Griffith all the way down in Florida ran in a Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. She and I have never met, but we are good friends online and she means the world to me. She had many choices about who she was running for, but she chose Lori.

Lori is a friend of mine here in West Virginia. Chris didn’t know Lori, but just “because” Lori’s name was on Chris’ back on a race in Florida.

Standing outside the whole situation, I have been amazed by the support people have shown Lori. People want to feed her family, help out around the house and make sure her kids get to school and back safely. The fact that people who have never even met her want to support her … that gives me faith like never before. People don’t even have to know Lori to want to help her. She’s going through something very difficult, and people just want to make life as easy as they can for her.

Lori smiles all the time, she just glows. I know she’s going to be healthy again. I just KNOW.

The picture above is of Lori and me with the sign Chris wore and a shirt from the race. This gave Lori such a lift!! Chris, thank you again for the smile on Lori’s face! I know that all the support she’s gotten has given her such hope and healing.

And if you are wondering how you can help someone like Lori, our local Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure is May 3rd at the West Virginia State Capitol. Visit KomenWV.org or call (304) 556-4808 for more details. (I have a friend running, I would be happy to hook you up if you need someone to support!) Most of us know someone in this situation and want to help. This is how you do it.

And Thank You.

 And that is enough to earn it a spot here. 

Look what was in Hurricane today!

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I have a new Flip video camera and an account a Mixpo (a video editing service) that was a gift from Active Rain, another blogging platform I use. They asked me to test them out and report my findings to the other members there.

What I’m really wondering is do blog readers even like video? Or do they just want to read?

Any feedback you might like to share would be appreciated SO MUCH.

Thank you!

This afternoon was so pretty that I couldn’t just run right home after work, instead I made a quick detour at Valley Park for a walk with my new camera.

I found this tree that holds onto it’s old leaves until the spring leaves come. (I’m sorry, but I don’t remember the name of it, if you do let me know!) It reminded me of a story that my daughter “Tall One” wrote when she was in about third grade.

She was supposed to make up a myth, and after she thought for a while, she came up with this. (Her story in my words.)

A long, long time ago, there was a fox walking quietly through the woods, as foxes tend to do. Some leaves on a nearby tree saw the fox and said hello to him.

The fox, being a polite and well mannered fox, said hello back and tried to make some small talk with the leaves about the weather. He said, “It’s so cold this morning, it almost feels like it might snow!”

The leaves were intrigued. “Snow?” they asked. They’d never even heard the word, having been born in the spring. What in the world was it?

The fox explained patiently that snow was like rain, only when it got cold it turned white and drifted down slowly from the sky. If there was enough of it, it would pile up on the ground, looking soft and sparkly. It could turn everything in the forest pure white – it looked magical!

The fox said goodbye and went on his way.

Well, the leaves were so shocked! They’d never thought of the world in any way other than they had seen. They began to talk about it, swaying in the breeze and whispering messages to each other. (Did you know all the leaves talk? They do, it’s true.)

All together, the leaves decided they would try to hang onto their trees and not let go, even though it was beginning to get cold, and they felt an urge to let go and float to the ground. They tried so hard, because the fox made the snow sound so pretty.

But it was difficult to hold on so long. Some of the leaves began to turn red with the effort. Others went pale yellow, and some that were undecided went orange.

Eventually, they all gave up before the snow arrived.

But the trees know the story, and every year their leaves try again, hoping to see snow, and that is why the leaves turn colors in the fall.

Well, that’s my daughter’s story, somewhat. It might be the wrong time of year and maybe that doesn’t “belong” in a blog (pffft, anything belongs in a blog!) but there it is, because I visited a tree at Valley Park today and it asked me to tell you.

And now I have.

I finally had a chance to meet Jason Keeling of A Better West Virginia this week. I’ve been a fan of his blog for ages and love that he’s all about sending out a positive message about West Virginia. I think of those of us who write this way as Ambassadors for West Virginia.

I have friends online who know only one person from West Virginia — ME. If I’m the only impression someone is going to get of West Virginia, I’d better make it GOOD, huh? (Still working on that!)  And now you know Jason, too!

Jason and I mainly talked about how people connect online. That’s what his business is all about, and it’s something that I have a lot of fun with. I really didn’t think I’d be any kind of help to him because I just don’t take it “seriously”. I’ve made contacts online and gathered business from it, but to me it all seems like a happy accident. Maybe I’m just playing with the right people.

We talked about local bloggers we admire (any ears burning out there?) and even some national ones that are great examples of local content done right. We talked about popular online networks. He was surprised I quit Facebook. (Why are people always surprised about that?) He suggested it was best to at least have a presence in different areas because you just don’t know. He’s right, I know. I tend to just hang out where I like to play.

We are both in Twitter, where he maintains a dignified presence and I go around MWA’ing people left and right. (That’s a cyber kiss, so there’s no confusion.) The internet is my playground but for Jason it’s the working world. I think we could both probably learn a little from the other. If you’d like to meet up with Jason there, follow him at @JasonKeeling. Easy, huh?

He asked me if I’d contribute a little to his blog and I really hope to in the future, if I have something that is a fit for it. That was a surprise and an honor — hope I’m worthy!!

Jason, it was very nice meeting you! Hope to see you again soon!

I get asked a lot about the name Hurricane by people who aren’t from here. They always want to know if we had one here or how else we got the name.

It’s not very exciting, really. George Washington sent a survey team through and when they came to a creek here, they saw trees all blown over in one direction, as if there had been a hurricane. They named it Hurricane Creek, and when the town grew up around it, it took the name.

We have some other interesting names here, too. Putnam County is like much of West Virginia, with little cities, towns and unincorporated communities with strange names.

Eleanor is named for Eleanor Roosevelt, who wanted affordable housing for all. There are still some of the original little square homes left, although many of them have been added on to by now.

Poca is one of my favorite names. The high school mascot is an actual Dot. Yes, the Poca Dots. We do have a sense of humor around here. And you should see that Dot dance!

The Toyota plant is in Buffalo. Part of Nitro is in Putnam, named for one of the components of gunpowder that was made there during WWI. Winfield is named for Winfield Scott, the commanding General of the American Army during the War with Mexico. (Winfield’s school mascot name is the Generals.)

We have Teays and Teays Valley, both named for Thomas Teays, a local hunter and trapper. Midway is midway between Eleanor and Buffalo, Charleston and Huntington. There’s even a tiny little place called Hometown. That’s a pretty cozy place to be from, isn’t it?

Fraziers Bottom was named by a farmer named Frazier who bought the bottom land near the Kanawha River. Scott Depot is(in)famous for Jack Whittaker, the single largest Powerball Lottery winner.

When I lived in Charlotte, North Carolina, I used to make my coworkers laugh when I would send a letter addressed to Grandma Murphy in Red House, WV — and it would get to her. Don’t you love a small town? They knew Grandma Murphy.

We also have Confidence, Black Betsy, Pliny, Bancroft, Liberty and Lanham. Lots of tiny little towns, all growing larger as our roads are rerouted and improved. We can’t look around without seeing change here. This is one of the fastest growing areas of the state, second only to the eastern panhandle which is a suburb of Washington, DC.

We’re growing but so far hanging onto our sense of self and our charm. Count me as just one more proud to be from Putnam County!

This week the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department conducted a sting operation targeted at finding businesses who sell alcohol to minors.

They hit ten businesses around the county and not one of them made the sale.  Not a single one.

I want to say thank you to these businesses for helping to keep us safe:

Fruth Pharmacy on Oakwood Road
One Stop Exxon in South Charleston
Rite Aid in Elkview
Rite Aid in Big Chimney
Smith’s Food Fair in Elkview
Smith’s Food in Big Chimney
7-Eleven in Elkview
Go-Mart in Elkview
Kroger in Elkview
K-mart In Elkview

We appreciate it!  Keep up the good work!