This Blood Runs Deep
Exhibit Coming to St. Paul Railroad Museum
On Saturday, April 13, there will be a gallery show and receotion at the St. Paul Railroad Museum from 2 - 4 pm featuring the Lebanon High School art students of Morgan Wallace. The students will display photographic portraits of local coal miners which they created utilizing a grant from CEDAR (Coal Education Development and Resources) of Virginia. CEDAR is a non-profit organization established in 2005 as a partnership between businesses, communities, and schools to promote awareness of the present and future importance of coal to our region.
The students' project, entitled "This Blood Runs Deep," features documentary interviews with a number of local coal miners. Through these interviews, the students gained insight into the technological aspects of the coal industry. They also explored the miner's feelings about their jobs and gained an awareness of the cultural heritage of coal mining, which often extends back several generations.
Following the reception, the student's photographs will remain on display at the St. Paul Railroad Museum during the month of April. The St. Paul Railroad Museum is open each Saturday morning from 10 am - 12 noon, or at other times by appointment with advance notice. For more information, please call Jerry Couch at 276-762-9514.
RIBBON CUTTING IN ST. PAUL
January 2, 2013
Brand new offices for Cathy Mays, State Farm Insurance Agent in St. Paul!
St. Joseph University Students Make a Difference In St. Paul
How many college students do you know who would give their spring break serving others. We're proud to say we know a bunch! As part of the APEX (Appalachian Experience) Program, we were blessed with 23 such students the week of March 3, 2013. From cooking breakfast and doing chores for the residents at Stonebrier, to painting fire hydrants and mulching the gardens at Wetlands Estonoa, to washing windows in the Willis Building and stocking shelves and packaging rice at the local Food Pantry, to making repairs and yardwork for local residents needing help and much more, these young adults gave freely to make a difference in St. Paul. And the difference they made goes far beyond the physical work they did. They touched the hearts of everyone they came in contact with. Thank you St. Joe's and thank you to each and every smiling face shown in this picture. We love you. Many, many thanks too go out to everyone involved with their housing (they slept on the gym floor at Castlewood High School and enjoyed), their meals, entertainment, transportation and friendships. And a personal hats off thanks to Mayor Kyle Fletcher for bringing these young people to St. Paul through the APEX Program and to Glenda Lane for everything she did for this group and all the people they helped before, during and after their visit! St. Paul is the best!!!
JULY 7, 2012
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL AND STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS
TO PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL LEGAL SERVICES
TOWN OF ST. PAUL, VIRGINIA
OVERVIEW
The Town of St. Paul is a rural community located in southwest Virginia. St. Paul is a bi-county town located on Highway 58 in Wise and Russell County, Virginia.
St. Paul is governed by a town council composed of six council members and a mayor. The population is approximately 1,000 and the town employs 20 full time employees.
Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center is a power plant located primarily within the corporate limits of the Town of St. Paul. St. Paul has negotiated agreements with Dominion Power to provide utility services to this plant and continue to work with them to meet industrial wastewater needs.
Currently, the Town of St. Paul is involved in a Downtown Revitalization Project funded by the Department of Housing and Community Development which includes a Façade Program that requires contracts between all participating business and property owners.
Through an Inter-Municipal Agreement, the Town of St. Paul has taken the lead role to provide a Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant to service our residents as well as the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center, Castlewood Water & Sewer Authority, and Wise County Public Service Authority.
St. Paul is a small community pursuing many opportunities and will continue to improve and develop our town and the region. The consulting attorney will play a significant role in making sure that steps are taken in the best interest of St. Paul as we move forward with our projects and our vision.
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS
The Town of St. Paul is seeking to retain a town attorney to represent it in a variety of legal matters.
You are expected to submit a proposal for consideration. The Town Council will review all proposals for legal services, obtain references, and may choose to conduct interviews in evaluating the qualifications of the responding firms. Proposals will be evaluated based upon:
1) Qualifications of Firm and experience relative to local government
2) Experience of the individual attorney assigned to the task
3) Comparison of the Criteria listed under Instructions
In accordance with Section 11-37 of the Code of Virginia, the Town shall select, in order of preference, two or more offerors whose professional qualifications and proposed services are deemed most meritorious. Negotiations may then be conducted beginning with the offeror ranked first. If a contract satisfactory and advantageous to the Town can be negotiated at a price considered fair and reasonable, the award shall be made to that offeror. Otherwise, negotiations with the offeror ranked first shall be formally terminated and negotiations with the offeror ranked second will begin, and so on, until a fair and reasonable price is agreed upon. Should the Town determine in writing and in its sole discretion that only one offeror is fully qualified or that one offeror is clearly more highly qualified and suitable than the others under consideration, a contract may be negotiated and awarded to that offeror.
The Town is seeking an attorney with strong knowledge and experience in several specific area. The successful firm/attorney will provide legal support and render opinions on a variety of issues including:
1) General legal services – Attend all meetings of the town council, provide legal counsel to the Town on general issues including contracts, written policies and procedures, ordinances, compliance with Virginia Code governing towns, and other miscellaneous or unusual circumstances including litigation.
2) Planning & Zoning – Provide legal support and opinions on issues relating to a variety of land use, planning and zoning.
3) Personnel – Provide legal support on personnel issues or other matters relating to employment
4) Personal Property Tax Collection – Provide legal counsel for collection of unpaid personal property taxes.
Seven (7) copies of the proposal for legal services shall be submitted to the Town of St. Paul at 16531 Russell St., St. Paul, Virginia 24283 on or before 4:00 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. Mailed submissions should be sent to Town Clerk, Town of St. Paul, P. O. Box 66, St. Paul, Virginia 24283 and posted sufficiently early to ensure delivery prior to the deadline and shall state on the sealed envelope “Proposal for Legal Services”.
The Town of St. Paul, Virginia, is an Equal Opportunity Employer and will not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, national origin, age, handicap or familiar status. Local, minority, and female owned firms are encouraged to submit proposals for review.
Thank you in advance for your consideration of this request. Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions.
INSTRUCTIONS
Generally, the substance of the proposal may cover any areas which you deem to be relevant. Specific criteria to be addressed when reviewing proposals will include the following information:
· State the size of the firm and geographic location of the firm/attorney’s office(s)
· Qualifications and summary of legal experience as it relates to town government, personnel, and contracts
· Name and brief biographical sketch of attorney(s) who will be generally responsible for providing related legal services to the Town
· Discuss accessibility of the attorney who will be generally responsible for providing legal services to the Town
· Describe any actual or potential conflict of interest, which may exist within the Town
· List and describe any past or present litigation in which you represented a client against the Town of St. Paul, or any of its agencies.
· Describe how your firm would avoid conflicts of interest between your role as Town Attorney and your other clients.
Keeping Up
May 3, 2012
McDonald's Groundbreaking
The new McDonald's restaurant to be located at Highway 58/Bush Avenue is planned for grand opening in August! Russ and Nancy Burgess, the owner/operators of the restaurant made the announcement at the groundbreaking ceremony Thursday, May 3, 9:30 am on the restaurant site.
April 4, 2012
Clinch River Valley Initiative Meeting – Oxbow Center 2:00pm-5:00pm
For more information www.clinchriverva.com
Press Conference - Oxbow Center- 11:30am
TheBlueprint for Entrepreneurial Growth and Economic Prosperity in Southwest Virginia will be released to the public via a press conference at the Oxbow Center in St. Paul, Virginia. The Entrepreneurship Blueprint is a product of four community forums and dozens of discussions with entrepreneurs and business leaders across the Coalfield Region and it fashioned after the nationally recognized Blueprint for Health Improvement and Health-Enabled Prosperity designed in 2009. Nearly 70% of job creation comes from small business and the blueprint focuses on cultivating the entrepreneurial spirit of our region. Building an ecosystem to create a pipeline of entrepreneurs, engaging our youth and encouraging them to see starting their own business as a viable career option and promoting our region as a fertile location for starting or growing a business, are the cornerstones of this regional strategy. Although there is no “silver bullet” for addressing economic challenges in rural America, the Blueprint for Entrepreneurial Growth and Economic Prosperity in Southwest Virginia is designed to inspire collective action, impact policy, foster regional networks, build on our remarkable assets and seek new investment. We hope you will join us for the release of this important blueprint for our region.
CRVI - Environmental Education Committee Meeting
Wetlands Estonoa 6:00pm
All interested are invited to attend
St. Paul Celebrates Main Street Designation
Originally posted on January 12, 2012 by Doug Jackson on http://dhcdvms.wordpress.com/
Residents of St. Paul, one of four newly designated Virginia Main Street communities, recently gathered to formally recognize the distinction and enlist new volunteers at a kick-off event in November. Attendees included more than 40 residents, Mayor Kyle Fletcher, Vice-Mayor Sharon Steele, Town Councilmember Monty Salyer and members of St. Paul Tomorrow, led by current Chairperson Lou Ann Wallace.
The Saturday event coincided with a visit from Santa Claus aboard the CSX Santa Train and a downtown holiday bazaar. On hand for the delivery of Virginia Main Street signs were DHCD staff Jackie Stump, Jeff Sadler and Doug Jackson. Pictured at right: Mayor Fletcher, Jeff Sadler, and Jackie Stump.
In remarks to the group, Mayor Kyle Fletcher spoke of the town’s potential as a destination along the Clinch River and the potential of the Main Street effort to benefit not just residents of St. Paul, but the entire region of communities in the Clinch River Valley.
After the event, St. Paul Tomorrow Secretary Suzy Harrison commented that the community had been looking forward to receiving the signs, but noted that volunteers had already begun taking advantage of Main Street resources, including a recent educational and technical assistance visit from Kathy Frazier of Frazier Associates to begin a full improvement study of downtown facades.
Council Designates CHS Estonoa's Home School
Clinch Valley Times - Thursday, August 18, 2011
St. Paul Town Council approved a resolution introduced by Councilman Monty Salyer which designates Castlewood High School as the Wetlands Estonoa's home school. The Town of St. Paul owns Wetlands Estonoa and the Vencil Learning Center, and Council recently appointed Estonoa mentor Terry Vencil as Executive Director of the project, which has earned national and international recognition for St. Paul High School and the area. Vencil, a former SPHS teacher, is now at Castlewood High School.
One section of Salyer's resolution states: "Whereas, the vast majority of former SPHS students have chosen to attend Castlewood High School, thus creating a new community school for the St. Paul and Castlewood Community... Now Therefore Be It Resolved that the Town Council of the Town of St. Paul recognizes and appreciates the accolades of Estonoa and all its educational contributions to the St. Paul and Castlewood community, declares Castlewood High School as the home school for Estonoa Wetlands and the Vencil Learning Center."
Governor McDonnell Announces Designation of Four New Virginia Main Street Communities
Agust 25, 2011 – Preservation-based economic development tools put to work to support entrepreneurship and job creation in Bristol, Farmville, Hopewell and St. Paul
RICHMOND - Governor Bob McDonnell today announced the designation of four communities in the Virginia Main Street (VMS) program as part of the "Opportunity at Work" budget initiative approved during the 2011 Session of the General Assembly. With the addition of Bristol, Farmville, Hopewell, and St. Paul to the network of downtown revitalization efforts, the total number of Designated Virginia Main Street Communities reaches 25. "I am pleased to welcome these communities to the Virginia Main Street program," said Governor McDonnell. "With public and private investment in our traditional commercial districts, we can spark entrepreneurship and job creation downtown in rural and distressed regions of our commonwealth. Main Street is a proven model that uses limited state resources to support local strategies and leverage local resources."
Each community brings a unique set of historic assets and strategic focus to its revitalization work. Bristol and St. Paul, in Southwest Virginia, are aligned with a 19-county strategy that promotes the region's cultural heritage and natural assets. Downtown Hopewell's placement on the James River is the centerpiece of a local quality of life strategy, and Farmville is strengthening ties with local universities and the emerging regional cultural heritage strategies in Southern Virginia. Virginia Main Street will provide technical assistance, training, and expert resources to assist the communities with aligning resources and achieving these goals. Once designated, Main Street Communities receive intensive direct services from the Virginia Main Street staff and key consultant services including those focused on economic restructuring strategies. Additional services will also be provided including those based on initiatives developed as part of the "Opportunity at Work" budget initiative. The approximate total value of the suite of services is $60,000 to each community ($240,000 total in combined cash value and staff time) in the first year. A program of the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, Virginia Main Street uses the National Main Street Four Point Approach® model to encourage private investment and job creation in Virginia's downtowns. The program helps communities develop strategies that create economic growth and pride in their downtown areas.
"Since its inception in 1985, the Virginia Main Street program has attracted more than $677 million in private investment and created more than 4,600 jobs in the past five years." said Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling. "The expansion of this vital program will generate more private investment, as well as jobs, in Virginia's most distressed regions." The Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) accepts applications for new Main Street designations every three to five years. Communities seeking Main Street designations must have populations of 75,000 or less and be committed to a community-based approach that leverages volunteer investments. For more information about the Virginia Main Street program visit www.dhcd.virginia.gov/mainstreet. Contact information for the newly designated communities is provided below.
Christina Blevins Executive Director Believe in Bristol 423-573-2200 | Gerald J. Spates Town Manager Town of Farmville 423-392-5686 | Bud Yerly Board Member Hopewell Downtown Partnership 804-541-2947 | Debora Baca Treasurer Town of St. Paul 276-762-5297 |
http://www.governor.virginia.gov/news/viewRelease.cfm?id=881
Jeff Caldwell Press Secretary 804-786-2211 | Amanda Pearson DHCD 804-371-7006 |
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