The public was able to interact with civic and business leaders at the Southside Mall Tuesday at the third of a series of town hall forums held in Pike County.

The event was sponsored by AT&T, and moderated by Williamson Daily News Editor Loretta Tackett.

In his opening remarks, Pike County Chamber of Commerce President Brad Hall said previous forums have led to increased communication in the community.

“We are pleased to create an opportunity for you to have a dialogue with business leaders and elected officials in your community,” Hall told the audience.

Hall said the meeting last month focused on the local economy. Those discussions led to a career fair, Pike County Works, to be held March 27, at the East Kentucky Expo Center in Pikeville.

Pike County District 6 Magistrate Chris Harris spoke about progress being made on the Kentucky side of Tug River.

“We are getting ready to break ground on the largest waste water project in Pike County’s history,” Harris said. “That system will serve everyone from Forest Hills to the head of Pond Creek, including all of Hardy and Narrows Branch.” He said he first phase of that project, which will cost $3 million, is being funded with coal severance funds.

He noted other projects that have been completed, including the Forest Hills wastewater plant, which pumps waste water to Williamson for treatment and public water for the community of Burnwell.

Harris also noted the solid waste program Pike County operates.

“I am very proud of that program, it is one of the best services we offer to our citizens,” he said. “We are getting ready to begin a new phase with our landfill that will take us through 2020.” That program, which will be funded through the issue of bonds, will cost $6 million.

Recreation areas have multiplied in District Six since Harris has been in office. The Black Gem Park, which has a soccer field as well as a baseball field, has been improved since last season, a new pool has been installed at the Hardy Park, and the Grant’s Branch Park, which includes a lake and a cabin which can be used by the public for all types of functions, has a handicap accessible fishing pier. A new caretaker’s facility will be a smaller version of the cabin at the park.

Williamson Mayor Darrin McCormick gave a report of the state of the community on the West Virginia side of the Tug Valley.

McCormick spoke of the bond between the people of Pike and Mingo Counties.

“Practically everything that occurs on one side of the river affects people on both sides of the river,” McCormick said. “When we plan our community development, we have to consider all resources that benefit us. We live here together.”

The mayor said that while he considers Williamson a retail center, he realizes most of the businesses are in Kentucky. He addressed the need for Williamson to make changes.

“We need to be innovative,” he said. “We need the tax revenue that we used to have to solve our problems. We have to create ways to drive new revenue, to create new sources of funds.”

He said he had met with the West Virginia trails coordinator to discuss possible funding for a walking trail as well as a water trail on Tug River.

“Cleaning up Pond Creek will help clean up the river, and that will benefit all of us,” McCormick.

The first question fielded to the panel concerned the economy and President Obama’s stimulus package. Tackett asked how jobs could be created and preserved in the area.

Tim Hatfield, CEO of the South Williamson Appalachian Regional Hospital, said he felt the image that Appalachia has in the country is a problem.

“The Diane Sawyer piece on 20/20 made me mad,” he said. “People from outside our region would like to pigeonhole us. But in any city in America, you can find those problems. We were recruiting a physician who saw that story on 20/20, and she cancelled. This is a stereotype we need to overcome.”

He said the ARH has very good relationships with Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College as well as Pikeville College and the Mingo County Vocational and Technical Center.

“We have a lot of great resources here,” he said. “We are blessed in a lot of ways. Once our employees take a position in our hospital, they often retire at our hospital. These are people who are dedicated to making a difference in the community.”

Mayor McCormick said looking to the future is a key factor in job creation and retention.

“We need to educate our workforce,” McCormick said. “We have to look for ways to diversify our economy. Technological advances have changed coal mining. Employers talk about a shortage of skilled workers. We need to train our children to be able to get a job here, to enter the workforce here. We have lost a third of our population in both counties, which is due to a shortage of jobs. It was my choice to make a better life here, and I want that opportunity for our children and our grandchildren.”

The mayor said he felt tourism is the industry of the future for the area.

“Job are being created within the water trails and the ATV trails, people from all over the country and the world are visiting here. We need to embrace that and expand upon it.”

Harris said the low tax rates in Pike County make it an attractive location for businesses.

“The Fiscal Court has adopted a very conservative budget, which allows us to remain one of the few counties in the country that does not have an occupational tax,” Harris “Our revenue fluctuates with the amount of coal that is produced. Coal severance tax allows us to do a lot of progressive things. Most people, I believe, want low taxes. I think that, as long as we can operate successfully with what we have, we are moving in the right direction.”

But, the most memorable comments of the evening came from one of the younger citizens of Pike County.

Jacob Gannon is a ten-year-old student at Belfry Middle School. When he spoke to the panel, he threw out questions as well as ideas.

“I have some recommendations for Grant’s Branch,” the civic-minded youth said. “There used to be some boats for rent, and I haven’t seen those for a while. Also, a souvenir shop in the log cabin might be attractive. Some of the only places you can get souvenirs around here are Pikeville and Logan.”

He also brought up a building near his home that may fall under the dilapidated houses campaign recently started in Pike County.

“There is a house next to mine that has been abandoned and is caved in,” he said. “From the front, you can see through to the back of the house.”

Magistrate Harris said he would see that the house was put on the list of buildings the county was looking at under the ordinance.