March 11, 2010
Delegate Offers Assistance Next Year
Historic Preservation Now Simmers on Plate
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) – Cabell County Circuit Court Judge David Pancake ruled Tuesday, March 9, that the Board of Education does not have to submit the middle school consolidation site to voters.
At least one legislator has offered to help change that status quo, if reelected. Karen Nance previously told reporters until the law is changed and we can vote for a bond issue and be sure our taxes will go toward what we vote for, we should not vote for bond issues.
Karen Nance and Susan Gillette represented county taxpayers in relying upon a prior ruling by former judge L.D. Egnor that ruled a significant change in bond fund use must go back to the electorate. The ruling in 1990 was not appealed to the West Virginia Supreme Court; instead, the Board of Education put the matter on the ballot.
Cabell County School Superintendent William Smith said in a news release:
"We are extremely pleased with the outcome of the case. The court did not find any improper expenditure of bond funds by the Board. The court also found that the Board had not violated its commitments to the voters in connection with 1990 bond election. We are also excited that the school system can now move forward in the process of constructing a state-of-the-art, green facility to serve middle school students in the east end of Huntington,” Smith said.
However, Nance expressed fear that another Cabell County African American Historic site will face the wrecker’s ball.
Smith referred to the historic structure in his statement: “There is still a historic review process that we must navigate, but we are hopeful that can also be completed in a timely manner and that construction can begin soon after.”
Nance inferred -- as stated above -- the board will receive a go-ahead to demolish the building.
“The only thing the public can do is try to change the BOE’s mind through the Section 106 [historic preservation] process/ review. At the end of the process, the State Historic Preservation Office will sign an agreement with the BOE that should contain some form of mitigation of loss and proceed to demolish the West Virginia “Colored” Orphans Children’s Home,” Nance said. “If the BOE does not offer mitigation of the loss that people are happy with, the people can go to court.”
Still, Nance fears soon “most of the African-American historic sites in the state will be gone.”
The Historic Preservation Act passed in 1966 and many sites were placed on the National Register in the late 1960s and 1970s. Cabell Country’s first African American site --- the Douglas High School --- was not nominated for the register until the 1980s, Nance explained. The WV “Colored” Orphans /Children’s Home was added in 1997. The county’s third African-American site on the registry is the Barnett Hospital and Nursing School, which was added to the registry in 2009.
“My husband and I personally put the third site on the register last year when its existence became threatened. If the BOE gets its way, the number will go back to two by the end of 2010,” Nance said.
Complaining that the Cabell County Board of Education and Marshall University (which took down the “Colored” Girls Industrial Home) should “as part of their missions assist in the preservation of African-American history are [instead] wiping African-American stories out of our past, present and future.”
Nance opines that an old stereotype remains true. “”The last to get recognized or hired and the first to go are African-American whether you are talking about jobs or historical significance. “
The plaintiffs still have the option of appealing Pancake’s decision to the West Virginia Supreme Court. Nance stated Tuesday, March 9, that no decision had yet been made.
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Delegate Offers Assistance Next Year
Historic Preservation Now Simmers on Plate
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) – Cabell County Circuit Court Judge David Pancake ruled Tuesday, March 9, that the Board of Education does not have to submit the middle school consolidation site to voters.
At least one legislator has offered to help change that status quo, if reelected. Karen Nance previously told reporters until the law is changed and we can vote for a bond issue and be sure our taxes will go toward what we vote for, we should not vote for bond issues.
Karen Nance and Susan Gillette represented county taxpayers in relying upon a prior ruling by former judge L.D. Egnor that ruled a significant change in bond fund use must go back to the electorate. The ruling in 1990 was not appealed to the West Virginia Supreme Court; instead, the Board of Education put the matter on the ballot.
Cabell County School Superintendent William Smith said in a news release:
"We are extremely pleased with the outcome of the case. The court did not find any improper expenditure of bond funds by the Board. The court also found that the Board had not violated its commitments to the voters in connection with 1990 bond election. We are also excited that the school system can now move forward in the process of constructing a state-of-the-art, green facility to serve middle school students in the east end of Huntington,” Smith said.
However, Nance expressed fear that another Cabell County African American Historic site will face the wrecker’s ball.
Smith referred to the historic structure in his statement: “There is still a historic review process that we must navigate, but we are hopeful that can also be completed in a timely manner and that construction can begin soon after.”
Nance inferred -- as stated above -- the board will receive a go-ahead to demolish the building.
“The only thing the public can do is try to change the BOE’s mind through the Section 106 [historic preservation] process/ review. At the end of the process, the State Historic Preservation Office will sign an agreement with the BOE that should contain some form of mitigation of loss and proceed to demolish the West Virginia “Colored” Orphans Children’s Home,” Nance said. “If the BOE does not offer mitigation of the loss that people are happy with, the people can go to court.”
Still, Nance fears soon “most of the African-American historic sites in the state will be gone.”
The Historic Preservation Act passed in 1966 and many sites were placed on the National Register in the late 1960s and 1970s. Cabell Country’s first African American site --- the Douglas High School --- was not nominated for the register until the 1980s, Nance explained. The WV “Colored” Orphans /Children’s Home was added in 1997. The county’s third African-American site on the registry is the Barnett Hospital and Nursing School, which was added to the registry in 2009.
“My husband and I personally put the third site on the register last year when its existence became threatened. If the BOE gets its way, the number will go back to two by the end of 2010,” Nance said.
Complaining that the Cabell County Board of Education and Marshall University (which took down the “Colored” Girls Industrial Home) should “as part of their missions assist in the preservation of African-American history are [instead] wiping African-American stories out of our past, present and future.”
Nance opines that an old stereotype remains true. “”The last to get recognized or hired and the first to go are African-American whether you are talking about jobs or historical significance. “
The plaintiffs still have the option of appealing Pancake’s decision to the West Virginia Supreme Court. Nance stated Tuesday, March 9, that no decision had yet been made.
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