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CURRENT=20 STORIES FROM THE MOUNTAIN MESSENGER - December 03,=20 2005

Mountai= n=20 Messenger Op/Ed Page - = 12/03/05

Focus on the Greenbrier Valley - = Business=20 Supplement - = Updated 7/12
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Citizen files =91Petition to = Intervene' in wind=20 farm project

By David Cottrill

Greenbrier County resident Michael = A. Woelfel=20 filed on Nov. 16 (with the state=92s Public Service = Commission)=20 a "Petition to Intervene" in the proposed construction = of a=20 130-turbine wind farm on the ridges of northwestern = Greenbrier=20 County.

According to the petition, Woelfel = owns 38=20 acres on Cold Knob Mountain in the Will-iamsburg = District of=20 the county and that his property is "adjacent to, or = within=20 the parameters of, the one mile radius generating = facility Map=20 filed by the applicant."

"Petitioner=92s real estate has a = clear view of=20 the scenic overlooks and projected views which would = be=20 adversely impacted by the proposed project" reads the=20 petition.

The industrial park would also = adversely=20 affect the site of a "culturally significant event." = Cold Knob=20 Mountain, Trout Valley, Williamsburg Valley, and = Sinking Creek=20 constitute the scene of an 1862 Civil War battle known = as the=20 Sinking Creek Raid, the petition alleges.

Another charge is that the project = site "lies=20 within the viewship of the Monongalia National = Forest."

In conclusion, the petition reads, = "The=20 proposed project would cause excessive noise exposure, = vibrations in the earth, water runoff, and otherwise = adversely=20 affect the value of Petitioner=92s real estate. The = subject=20 project, if approved, would constitute a private = nuisance with=20 respect to the personal and property rights of=20 Petitioner."

The wind farm is the project of = Beech Ridge=20 Energy, LLC, a subsidiary of Invenergy, a Chicago = energy firm.=20 County government has no role in the permitting = process=20 because the county has no zoning regulations. The only = hurdle=20 for the energy company is the state=92s PSC. The = proposed=20 project has generated vigorous and vocal opposition = from=20 residents in the affected areas.

NRCTC may offer flight dispatcher=20 training

By David Cottrill

"The college is ready; I=92m ready; = we=92re just=20 waiting for the bureaucratic wheels to turn," joked = R.B.=20 (Sonny) Bennett. After Federal Aviation Authority = inspectors=20 approve NRCTC=92s facilities, Bennett expects to offer = aircraft=20 dispatcher training to qualified students at the = Lewisburg=20 campus.

"The FAA has already approved the = training=20 manual," he enthused. He said he hoped to get the = program off=20 the ground in February. "This is a great way to break = into the=20 airline industry," he noted.

A dispatcher participates in every = airline=20 flight. "The only difference between the dispatcher = and the=20 pilot is that the dispatcher doesn=92t fly the plane," = Bennett=20 pointed out. He said a dispatcher gets the same = training a=20 pilot gets. "He=92s the pilot=92s second pair of = eyes."

The dispatcher draws up a flight = plan,=20 calculates fuel needs based on cargo, distance, = possible=20 delays, and other considerations, and continually = monitors the=20 flight. The dispatcher=92s flight plan must coincide = exactly=20 with the pilot=92s flight plan before the plan can be = filed and=20 the plane released for departure.

The need for a flight dispatcher = for=20 scheduled airlines became apparent to federal = legislators=20 after a 1935 Missouri crash in which a U.S. Senator = perished.=20 Today, a dispatcher sees every flight through to its = safe=20 conclusion.

Bennett commented on the recent = TV-covered=20 landing of a Jet Blue airliner in Los Angeles with its = nose=20 gear locked sideways. He said the pilot and the = dispatcher=20 would have been in constant contact, and that it was a = situation for which both were thoroughly trained. He = noted=20 that danger to the craft and passengers was wildly=20 sensationalized and exaggerated by the media.

Dispatcher training requires 200 = contact=20 (classroom) hours. A student may begin the training at = age 21,=20 but must be 23 to be certified. The work can be = completed by a=20 full-time student in six months, longer if = part-time.

"What we=92ll do here is take = people with=20 aptitude and train them for certification. It=92s a = good basic=20 foundation for launching a career. It could lead to = other=20 opportunities in airline management or air traffic = control. A=20 certificate is a red-carpet into the industry," he=20 affirmed.

"A given airline will generally = want you to=20 learn every aspect of the operation before they make = you a=20 dispatcher," he continued. He said the pay is quite = good, and=20 advancement is generally rapid. Bennett himself has 40 = years=20 experience in the industry as well as service in the = U.S. Air=20 Force.

A candidate for the training must = have good=20 people skills and be able to read, write, and speak in = standard English, he elaborated. It will be an = excellent=20 career opportunity for area young people, male and = female, he=20 stressed.

"We=92ve lad a lot of support in = getting the=20 program under way from Congressman (Nick) Rahall, the = college,=20 and numerous local folk," he enthused. He said success = in the=20 initial phase could possibly lead to expansion into = training=20 for other airline-related specialties.

GVMC=20 now offers laser eye surgery

By David Cottrill

Greenbrier Valley Medical Center = (GVMC) and=20 Greenbrier Physicians launched another new service for = the=20 region Tuesday with the first laser eye surgery = performed at=20 the facility. Ten patients, 20 eyes, were treated by = Yuri=20 Arvan, M.D. Ophthalmologist, to initiate the program, = under=20 the auspices of "Laser Vision Correction," Greenbrier=20 Physicians.

Dr. Arvan has nearly 20 years = experience in=20 surgical and therapeutic treatment of ocular = pathology. Arvan=20 joined Greenbrier Physicians in July 2004, and resides = in=20 Fairlea with his wife and children.

"The team has done over 45,000 = procedures,"=20 explained Dr. Larry Baitch, coordinator of the laser=20 program.

"Dr. Arvan has brought to our community the first = Corneal=20 Transplantation, Amniotic Mebrane Grafting, and = Endoscopic=20 Cyclophotocoagulation," offered hospital spokesman = John Trout.=20 "He has brought to the Greenbrier Valley the newest = way of=20 correcting nearsightedness, farsightedness, and = astigmatism."=20 He said, for a consultation with Dr. Arvan, one should = call=20 304-647-1186 (extension 186).

Library groundbreaking set for Dec. = 16

The Board of Trustees and the Great = Expectations Campaign Committee of the Greenbrier = County=20 Public Library invite the public to attend = groundbreaking=20 ceremonies for the new Greenbrier County Public = Library on=20 Friday, Dec. 16, at 3:30 p.m. Representatives of the = City of=20 Lewisburg and New River Community and Technical = College will=20 join library officials in the ceremony, which will = take place=20 at the building site behind the community college = campus in=20 downtown Lewisburg.

A reception will follow in the = Student=20 Activities Center of the College. Parking will be = available in=20 the Community College parking lot.

The new 12,600-square foot = two-story library=20 will greatly expand the capability of the library = staff to=20 serve patrons and other libraries within our service = area. The=20 building has been designed by Kreps and Zachwieja of=20 Charleston and will be constructed by Multiplex. = Construction=20 is expected to take 12-18 months.

The Great Expectation Campaign has = been=20 launched to raise the final $1 million needed for=20 construction. $2.1 million has already been raised = from public=20 and private sources. Donations to the campaign may be = sent to:=20 Great Expectations Campaign, Greenbrier County Public = Library,=20 301 Courtney Drive, Lewisburg, WV 24901.

For additional information, call the library at = 647-7568.=20 More information about plans for the new library may = be found=20 at http://greenbrier. lib.wv.us.

Carnegie = Hall

3D"The
The Greenbrier

The Pearl S. Buck=20 Birthplace


Here at the weekend = paper for=20 the Greenbrier Valley, the Mountain Messenger, = we are=20 exploring ways to make our newspaper and our online = publication ever=20 more beneficial to you, our readers. We welcome your = comments and=20 suggestions. Make yourself at home here. Drop us a note. We = will get=20 back to you right away. Let us know what is on your = mind:=20 Feedback=20 What You = Had To=20 Say Do you have photos that = you would=20 like to see printed in the Mountain Messenger and on our WEB = page?=20 (.jpg and .gif files preferred)=20 Submissions Some have asked if we accept = editorials=20 submitted to our WEB site. The answer is yes we do. We run = them on=20 the Editorial page in the Mountain Messenger. Submissions<= /P>

Last update Dec 5, 2005
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