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More than just an advertisement Still Free! Inside Inside Events Cops get Narcan training Pages 8-14 INNformer Page 2 Publication of The Wells Inn Volume 4, No. 11 The Wells Inn, 316 Charles St. Sistersville, WV 26175 June 1, 2017 If disaster Radiothon strikes, are raises nearly you ready? $4,000 for Sistersville ‘BE PREPARED’ IS THE BOY SCOUT MOTTO. ferry JUST HOW PREPARED MIDDLEBOURNE – While the 2017 ARE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY Sistersville Ferry radiothon may not FOR AN EMERGENCY? have reached its ambitious goal, the By Charles Winslow money raised will go a long way to sup- t has been almost five years since the port the 200-year-old river ferry and its Mid-Ohio Valley experienced the operations. Idevastating effects of the 2012 dere- For a 24-hour period, starting at 4 p.m. cho. On June 29 of that year a wide- Friday, May 19 and ending 4 p.m. the spread storm, accompanied by high next day, Greg Goodfellow and Alex winds, came barreling in from the west King, both members of the Sistersville and left in its wake more than 1.5 million Memorial Day weekend marks the traditional start of summer. How- people in Ohio and West Virginia with- ever, we must take time to remember what the holiday honors – those Ferry Board, manned the phones and out power. studio of Knights Radio, WRSG brave men and women who have paid the ultimate price to protect In total the storm, which started as a 91.5FM, and took pledges and requests our freedom. Originally known as Decoration Day, because soldiers from the radio audience. small thunderstorm on a hot summer’s day in central Iowa, killed 29 people and decorated the graves of their fallen comrades, the remembrance dates from the end of the Civil War and was first observed on May 30. During the event, the second held in two caused over $2.9 billion in damage and Memorial Day became its official title in the 1880s, but the holiday left a path of destruction from Illinois to years for the ferry, nearly $4,000 was didn’t legally become Memorial Day until 1967. Then in 1971, it was South Carolina. pledged against the $10,000 goal. While one of several moved to ensure long weekends in the Uniform Mon- it fell under the hoped-for amount, both Locally, there were many areas without day Holiday Act. Now we mark it on the last Monday in May. Above, power for several days – with some util- Goodfellow and King considered their area veterans salute the fallen at Veterans Park Monday. efforts a success. ity customers in the Mountain State Continued on page 2 being dark for up to two weeks.There was little warning about the storm and most people discovered how ill-prepared Owner retires, closes Newport IGA they were for life without modern con- veniences. By Charles Winslow Without electricity, businesses and su- NEWPORT, Ohio – For Mike Lamp these are bittersweet days permarkets were forced to close and at the Newport, Ohio, IGA. The store shelves are bare and Sat- some municipalities came within hours of running out of water. In Tyler County urday he will turn off the lights and lock the front door for the last time. The store, with its well-known FOODLINER mar- and in New Martinsville only two gas que, is out of business. stations managed to open. One because “The owner is retiring,” explained Lamp, 54, who has worked a well drilling company needed to fuel at the same location for 37 years and is currently the manager, its own trucks and provided the service station with a generator. a position he has held since December 1993. He started with The line of cars at the New Martinsville the store just out of high school and has been there ever since. The IGA, along with the Food 4 Less in Marietta, is owned by gas station wrapped around the block Carlyle “Bucky” Lee who, after being in the grocery for over and people were in queue for over an 50 years, decided to retire and close both stores. hour to fill up their cars so they could shop at stores outside of the affected area Originally opened as Harris’s, Lee leased the store in 1971 and and keep from running out of food and other essential supplies. brought it into the IGA family of independently owned grocery stores. While it was still a viable business operation, according to Lamp, competition by larger supermarket chains and newer Local cell service also failed after the stores has been slowly sapping the business away from the emergency back-up generators at the towers ran out of fuel. brick structure located along Ohio Route 7, next to the popular ‘I REALLY APPRECIATED THE CUSTOMERS, Jug restaurant. Are your prepared for the next storm? EMPLOYEES AND OWNERS. Can you go a week or two without Lamp said he believes if the store was renovated, it would be a BUCKY LEE GAVE ME A JOB RIGHT OUT power? Do you have enough non-perish- , I would give it a shot,” good investment. “If I was a little younger OF HIGH SCHOOL AND THE LAST THING able food on hand if the stores are forced he told the INNformer, while taking a break from clearing out I AM GOING TO DO IS LOCK THE DOORS to close? Even though severe storms, decades’ worth of accumulated stuff in the store’s storage area. AND HAND IN MY KEY’ with extended power outages, are com- “I am very proud of my staff,” Lamp said. “I would take them mon in our area most people are not ready. anywhere with me.” Over the years, the 10,000 square foot store has provided gen- appreciated the customers, employees and owners,” he exclaimed. The time to prepare for severe weather, erations of Newport residents with employment. For many, it There will be a final auction of any remaining merchandise or even a national emergency, is now. was their first job. Others on the 17-member staff have been Before the next storm hits and the lights and store fixtures June 14 and June 15 at the location. there for years. All are losing their jobs. go out. Before you find yourself and “Bucky Lee gave me a job right out of high school and the last your family without enough food, water Looking back, Lamp said he doesn’t regret anything and really thing I am going to do is lock the doors and hand in my key,” Continued on page 6 enjoyed the family atmosphere of which he was part. “I really Lamp said. INDEX What if Trump is pushed out? 3 NM Vintage Regatta 7 2017 Legislative roundup Cops get Narcan training 2 Pipeline protesters 4 Events 8-14 WV bill tracker 15 Tyler County Rabies Clinic 2 Regional roundup 5 Classified ads 11 SHS alumni parade 15
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