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Huntington, West Virginia www.herald-dispatch.com Home 50¢

Downtown art
FRIDAY Local artists featured in Create Huntington’s
April 24, 2009 downtown community gallery COMMUNITY, 1C

‘Small-town girl’ Mayor

thrilled with success details
plans for
“I was nervous thinking,
‘I’m a small-town girl going
Herd needs to Las Vegas.’ But they
a leader were all small-town girls.”

user fee
Herd lacks go-to — Jessi Pierson,
wide receiver while Miss USA contestant
two prospects are
out with injuries
during preseason
practices and Satur- Huntington City Council
day’s spring game. expected to vote Monday
Sports / 1B
By BRYAN CHAMBERS

Citizens pitch The Herald-Dispatch

bchambers@herald-dispatch.com
HUNTINGTON — Huntington City
in for cleanup Council members appear ready to vote
Monday on a proposed $1 increase in the
Volunteers across user fee.
Huntington will Some council members say they expect
wage war on litter, it to pass, but one continues to call for
the city to take steps other than raising
graffiti and weeds the fee.
over the next week Council members delayed voting on
during the city’s raising the weekly fee from $2 to $3 on
April 13, saying Mayor Kim Wolfe had not
inaugural “Clean given them a detailed accounting of how
Sweep.” the $3 would be spent.
The $1 fee increase would yield $1.6 mil-
Local / 3A lion. According to Wolfe’s administration,
Mark Webb/The Herald-Dispatch
it would go toward hiring seven police
Tree teaches Miss West Virginia USA Jessi Pierson poses for a portrait on Wednesday at Marshall University. She made it to the
Top 10 at the Miss USA Pageant in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 19, and won Most Photogenic.
officers, purchasing five police cruisers
and paving eight miles of roads, among

tangible lesson Whirlwind pageant trip full of surprises for contestant

other things.
But council members wanted an account-
Students at South- ing of the entire $3 fee, which Wolfe pro-
vided to them late last week.
side Elementary got By JEAN TARBETT HARDIMAN The existing $2 fee is budgeted to gener-
to make their own The Herald-Dispatch Upcoming pageants ate $3.2 million, all of which will go to the
impact on Earth jeant@herald-dispatch.com n Brittani Chase Mills, of Hun- For more photos of Miss West Virginia Police Department, according to a handout
HUNTINGTON — Jessi Pierson wasn’t tington, was crowned 2009 Miss USA Jessi Pierson, go to our photo gal- that Wolfe gave City Council’s Finance
Day with a new sure what to expect at the Miss USA pag- West Virginia United States. She leries at www.herald-dispatch.com. Committee. The fee, which is charged to
Red Oak tree that eant in Las Vegas. will compete for the title of Miss anyone who works in city limits, can only
was planted outside What she did know was that, as Miss United States the week of July 11 be used for police protection and/or traffic
West Virginia USA, she had to be out there in Las Vegas. girl going to Las Vegas.’ But they were all and street maintenance.
the school. three weeks in advance of last Sunday’s n The 2009 Mrs. West Virginia small-town, sweet girls. I was not expect- According to a more detailed break-
Community / 1C competition for publicity events, photo America Pageant will be May ing that at all.” down:
shoots and practice. And she knew that 22-23 at Pullman Plaza Hotel in As for herself, “I can be a high-heels, n $1.87 million will go toward an
she’d need two to three outfits per day, Huntington. Married women from fancy-dress pageant girl, but I like fish- increased patrol unit.
Lawrence in which required her to ship clothes to
Vegas in boxes, and pay extra for her
across the state will compete to
represent the state at the Mrs.
ing and hunting,” she said.
She once caught a 22-pound catfish,
n $550,000 will go toward the drug and
vice unit.
line for money oversized luggage and her carry-ons at
the airport.
America Pageant. and she has a hot pink hunting bow.
Another pleasant surprise for this Mar-
n $330,000 will go toward the special
emphasis unit.
Lawrence County What she did not know was what shall University graduate was how well n $220,000 will go toward the gun task
is in line to get the other women in the competition surprised at what she found. she did in the competition, advancing into force.
would be like. She’d heard the pageant “Everyone was so nice,” she said. “I
another $5.4 horror stories, but she was pleasantly was nervous, thinking, ‘I’m a small-town Please see MISS WV/4A Please see FEE/4A
million in federal
stimulus money for
the Union-Rome
sewer district and Gas line rupture in Wayne Wildfire spreads near Myrtle Beach
for water improve-
ments in the village
of Coal Grove,
prompts area evacuation The governor declared a state of emergency for the county and five
schools closed because of dense smoke as a coastal wildfire spread Thurs-
day in North Myrtle Beach, S.C. The fire blazed near one of the busiest
tourist stretches in South Carolina, burning dozens of homes and forcing
according to the By KYLA ASBURY felt the pain and the burning,” Peterson said.
hundreds to flee in the middle of the night.
The Herald-Dispatch Peterson said he suffered burns from
Ohio Environmen- kasbury@heralddispatch.com contacting hot engine parts, an injured Police banged on doors to awaken residents overnight as strong winds
tal Protection. WAYNE — Businesses in and around shoulder, bruises and a swollen knee. He helped the blaze cut a four-mile-wide swath through forests and scrub
Builder’s Supply and the Wal-Mart Plaza declined being taken to a hospital. toward the Barefoot Landing development, a sprawling complex of houses,
Region / 2A on U.S. 152 in Wayne were evacuated for “I’m glad it wasn’t worse than it really condominiums and golf courses separated from the main route through
about half an hour after a vehicle struck was. I could have died,” he said. “I defi- Myrtle Beach by the Intracoastal Waterway.
North Myrtle Beach Mayor Marilyn Hatley said by midmorning the fire at
Index a natural gas line about 4 p.m. Thursday, nitely won’t forget and leave my car in
the development had mostly died out, but police still stopped residents from
Wayne County authorities said. drive again, that’s for sure. Today turned
Bridge 6D Local 3A About 50 people were evacuated from out different than expected.” returning to the homes there.
Business 5B J. Spencer 3C
Builder’s Supply and KFC as a precaution, Wayne Police Chief Gary Porter said “This is a natural disaster,” Hatley said.
Classified 1D Movies 5C
and U.S. 152 was shut down in that area at first people thought a propane tank
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for about 25 minutes. Wayne Elementary
School also was evacuated.
had been hit.
Porter said workers nearby were able to
Read more about the fire on 7A
Life 3C Television 5C A Chevy Cavalier rolled into a natural quickly shut off the natural gas line.
gas meter in front of Builder’s Supply, Keith Nelson from Builder’s Supply said
© rupturing a gas line and injuring the car’s he was more worried about the people in
Champion Publishing, Inc. owner in the process. the store than anyone else.
www.herald-dispatch.com Wayne Peterson said when he parked the “You never know what could happen,
Huntington, West Virginia car at Builder’s Supply, he inadvertently left and we didn’t want any of the customers
Vol. 109 No. 114 it in drive instead of putting it into park. harmed,” Nelson said.
“I guess I just forgot to put it in park. So when Consumers Gas Utility Co. repaired the
I came back out, I thought my car wouldn’t leak around 4:20 p.m.
start, so I tried to jump it,” Peterson said. Several agencies responded to the inci-
When Peterson went under his car to dent, including Wayne County Sheriff’s
try to get it started, the car started to Department, Wayne Police Department,
slowly go forward, rolling over him. West Virginia State Police, Wayne Vol-
“I was still under it, and it just started roll- unteer Fire Department and Lavalette
ing. I didn’t realize what was going on, I just Volunteer Fire Department.