A Scanner Brightly

Well, it has been a week since we returned safely to Pittsburgh. After a little break from each other, we spent this workweek on the third floor of Hamburg Hall (CMU). We managed to make a lot of headway in terms of (continually) planning and defining the scope of our project.

So that's nothing terribly exciting, but I finally took the time to scan some evidence of all of us as media celebrities in West Virginia for a week. The first one is in wild anticipation of our arrival in McDowell County, and the subsequent ones were in the papers while we were down there. Enjoy!




(hint: click "all sizes" right above the image once you're in Flickr so you don't have to squint)

Be it ever so humble...

• attended second Vaughn Grisham talk (Mike, John, Federico, Sirus)
  
• discussed case studies and how they relate to McDowell
• interactive case
• packed the cars
• dropped off the Chapmans in Gassaway
  
• continued to Pittsburgh
  

Lessons from Tupelo

• worked from 10 to 4
• attended Vaughn Grisham event
• Grisham spoke about the economic and educational turnaround in Tupelo Mississippi
• tomorrow morning he will speak about what aspects of the Tupelo model can benefit McDowell County
  
• NBA playoffs game 6
  

Big Trucks

• visited Commissioner Gordon Lambert to kick off a tour of the future site of the new highways
• boarded a correctional facility van for the tour
• viewed incredible highway worksite
  
• workers are filling the valley by leveling the hills
• McDowell County partially finances development by extracting "incidental" coal (~$100/ton) and timber
  
• Sharon took a ride in one of the huge dumptrucks
• Julia saved a fern
  
• watched the workers detonate a set of huge boulders
  
• dinner at Panda Garden (yes, a Chinese restaurant in Welch. It was good.)
  

Kickin' Back

• relaxed poolside at the Twin Falls State Park
• Subway for dinner
• split
• movies: John, Sirus, Federico, Julia
• SAFE: Sharon, Mike, Justin
• basketball playoffs game 5
  

Beefy

• no appointments today! (finally a real weekend)
  
• woke up late
• took a walk near ATV trails
• stopped at Elkhorn Inn
• split up
• chatted about project: John, Federico, Julia
• Subway, tried to get Randi to a cell-friendly area: Sharon, Randi, Mike, Justin, Sirus
• everyone back at SAFE house
• Randi finally got to go home
• barbecued lots of steak
• relaxed
  

STRIKE!

• attended McDowell County Community Foundation Meeting
• explored downtown McDowell
• lunch at Sterling Diner with Sam Galbraith
• split up
• location scouting with Sam Galbraith:Mike, Randi, Sirus
• meeting with county commissioner: Sharon, John, Justin
• picture with Mayor Martha Moore
• reunited with Federico at SAFE, met his wife Julia
• some Internet work
  
• dinner at The Loft; too late to make it to movies
  
• went bowling
  

Going to War

• breakfast at SAFE
• visited FEMA temporary housing
  
• car-tour of Panther, a less-wealthy area than Welch
• went to a state park where we met a family gathering for a reunion
  
• visited War, WV
• ate lunch in War
  
• met founder of Cucumber & Co., who started a tech company on his own
• recorded 30 min. radio show about CANA-McDowell
• purchased book about history of McDowell County (just missing the book-signing)
• rejoined Mike and Justin. Met Randi.
• spoke with Sam Galbraith
  
• talked about work, sent out some emails to contacts, surfed
  

Detours

• late start today (yay!)
• left 30 min. early just in case we got lost
• got lost, but got there on time
  
• meeting with Board of Education
• discussed educational needs, barriers, and potential solutions
• discussed technology applications and limitations
• meeting with Elected Officials
• briefly discussed our role in McDowell
  
• meeting fragmented into several discussions
• got lost heading for Elk Horn Inn; gave up and ended up driving around mountain before heading back to Welch
• ate at Subway (yum)
• back at SAFE to surf and summarize the day
  

And then there were three...

• meeting with local media
• introduced CANA McDowell team to journalists
  
• meeting with Business & Economic Development figures
• discussed drivers of economic development: leadership, work ethic, communication...
  
• discussed coming projects: Indian Ridge Industrial Park, federal prison, county jail

• lunch back at SAFE (veggie lasagne?)
  
• meeting with Social & Community Capacity Organization figures
• spoke with rep from nearby independent telco
• discussed social issues: water treatment, drug abuse, credit, jobs...
• Mike, Justin, Matt, and Federico left (all but Matt to return in a few days)
  
• meeting with Health & Welness figures
• discussed potential applications of connectivity for medicine
• determined some health needs for area
• dinner back at SAFE (chicken and rice)
• web surfing
• early bedtime
  

McDowell Tour

• 8:30 met with Jim Anderson and Sharon Walden and got a preview of the project
• Took a trip out to Ashland and saw:Company Store, ATV Park, and Campgrounds
• Lunch at near by shop
• Visited Starland Heights:SAFE Housing
• Met with Barbara Miller, who was the technology person from the local high school
• Ate dinner at the SAFE House
• Work on strategy for project

Long Drive, Ginobili Reprise

• Brunch at the Waffle Hut
• Started driving to McDowell County
• Stopped an hour into drive to see the New River Gorge Bridge
  
• Arrived into Welch at around 6:30 at the SAFE house
• Got situated and hung low; watched basketball
  

Cousin Tony

• 1030-730: Did work for Poplar Forest and set up the eBay auction for selected items
• Blue Jazz Mexican Restaurant in Gassaway for dinner. Sharon met a possible relative, another “Mar”, one of two restaurant employees who happened to be former IT specialists




• Pulled over by State police for speeding but got away with a warning (34 in a 25 zone)
• Hung out in the Inn the rest of the night

Praise the Lord

• Finished Surveys in Sutton and Gassaway
• meeting with Berkeley Springs reps.
• conference call with Andy Wasser
• meeting with Zenon Powlaski (owner of struggling local business)
• dinner with Dan Corcoran at the River Packet Restaurant
• attended the Southern Gospel Choir Music Festival at Glenville’s State College’s Fine Arts Auditorium
• Stayed in at Sutton Inn- played internet watched TV

Ginobili

• team splits up, half does survey and the other half does conference
• Survey: Sharon and Federico, Conference in Charleston: Sirus, Matt, Mike, John
• During conference in Charleston: meeting with McDowell people
• (Mike Chapman installed wireless adapter)
• Sharon and Federico went with both Lee Fisher and Doug Skowron to do surveys around the Sutton and Gassaway areas.

• Businesses covered: Weysenheur, GTR Labs, Ware Insurance Company, USDA, Kenton Meadows Construction, Braxton Memorial Hospital, Curves Fitness Club, Covey Engineering, Interstate Battery, Mountaineer Foodbank, Home National Bank, Central WV Aging, Citizens’ News, Commissioners, Bank of Gassaway, Sutton Moose Lodge #825, Elk Valley Auto

• convened at Days Inn
  
• dinner at the Chinese Buffet
• crafts store, Poplar Forest (proposed eBay one-day store as trial)
• basketball on TV/ Internet connectivity in Sutton Inn

Long Drive

• drove 3 hours down to Flatwoods
• stopped in Clarksburg and had lunch at Panera Bread
• dinner with Glenville-Braxton people (stakeholders in the area and Research Zone members)
• Days Inn to play on Internet