wfn.org | Negotiation brings water to West Virginia village

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Oct. 24, 2000 News media contact: Tim Tanton·(615)742-5470·Nashville, Tenn.
10-71B{485}

By Linda Worthington*

(UMNS) A five-year struggle to save Blairton, a small village in West
Virginia, is over. 

A corporation that owns the land on which the village is built had
threatened to cut off the residents' water supply - a move that would have
forced the people to abandon the community's 43 homes. However, a compromise
has been negotiated that will give the homeowners, as well as Blairton
United Methodist Church, access to public water.

Blairton's residents own their homes, but the land under the houses is
leased to Riverton Investment Corp. In 1995, the company informed residents
that it wanted to discontinue water service to the village's homes because
of concern over the cost and liability involved in operating the nearly
100-year-old water system. 

After years of struggle that resulted in a court case, a resolution has been
reached that will connect the town to public water, according to Blairton
resident Teddy Faircloth. The resolution was a three-way arrangement
involving Riverton; the 85-year-old Blairton United Methodist Church, which
was originally built to serve the quarry workers; and the residents, who had
been threatened not only with loss of their water supply but also eviction
on 30 days' notice.

The Rev. John Yost and members of Blairton Church hosted a celebration, and
certificates of appreciation were presented to dozens of people who played a
part in getting water security for local residents. More than 150 residents,
friends and officials met at the Berkeley County (W. Va.) Youth Fairgrounds
on Sept. 16. 

"We celebrate the end of a long journey today. ... Let us look to the
future, where we can work together in peace and harmony," said Carol
Willingham, chairwoman of the church's administrative council.

Laura Rose, the lawyer who volunteered hundreds of hours to pursue a
legislative solution to the water problem, was introduced as a "guardian
angel." Rose recognized early that litigation between the community and
Riverton, reported at the 1999 Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference, was a
stumbling block to negotiation. Blairton church trustees had joined
community members in the lawsuit to block the corporation from shutting off
their water supply.  

On Rose's advice, Yost and community leader Harlan "Doc" Greenfield, a
Blairton church trustee, requested that the litigation be dropped so that
negotiations could proceed. State and county officials then came together
with corporation officials, church members and Blairton residents to
negotiate terms that led to the resolution. 

The $450,000 cost of bringing public water to the community will be evenly
split among Riverton, the Berkeley County Water Services Commission and Gov.
Cecil Underwood's discretionary fund, said Bruce Jolly, a Riverton vice
president. The governor attended Blairton Church's homecoming service the
next day. 

Jolly told the residents the new water would be available by early next year
following completion of engineering studies and the awarding of a contract
to design the system. The system will be turned over to the Berkeley Service
District, and the water will be piped into each home.

Delegate Larry V. Faircloth was introduced as a second "guardian angel" sent
to Blairton to work on the water problem. He said the celebration
represented a "highlight of my legislative career" of 20 years in the state
legislature. 

The Rev. Patti Smith and the Baltimore-Washington Conference Order of
Deacons were praised for their solidarity with the Blairton residents. They
spent four days during Thanksgiving last year in the community and helped
residents complete Social Security applications, Yost said. 

The Rev. John Wright, a retired Baltimore-Washington clergy member and now a
Berkeley County councilman, was recognized for the council's participation
in the negotiations. Bishop Felton Edwin May, represented by District
Superintendent Wayne DeHart, was recognized for bringing the plight of the
Blairton residents to conference attention during the 1999 annual
conference.

Blairton lay leader Melvin Arvin concluded the celebration by offering a
toast with a glass of water. Just before the toast, Yost gave Greenfield an
award for his leadership. 

"All I'm doing is trying to protect my home," Greenfield said. "I've learned
so much from such great people all over the state in the last five years."
# # #
*Worthington is copy editor and writer for UMConnection, the newspaper of
the United Methodist Church's Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference.

*************************************
United Methodist News Service
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