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Dear Mrs. Manchin,

It was a pleasure meeting you at the West Virginia State Fair, August 17, 2006. You and Governor Manchin were very gracious. That did not surprise me, however, since it is well known that you are.

I spoke with you briefly at the Fair regarding a speaking engagement at our 2007 All-School Rainelle Reunion. We will be most grateful if you will consider being our guest speaker during the opening ceremony of the reunion. Several Rainelle citizens knew and loved you and your family when you were a young child living in Rainelle. Even though you lived in Rainelle for only a short period, Rainelle citizens state with great pride that the West Virginia First Lady, Gayle Manchin, lived in Rainelle. We are very proud of all you have accomplished.

Every five years, approx. a thousand Rainelle classmates from across the United States enjoy getting together, remember the past, and catching up on the present. The All-School Rainelle High School Reunion is attended by classmates who attended Rainelle from 1925 until the high school's closing in 1968. We invite you to visit our website at www.rainellereunion.com. Photos of past reunions are on the Website.

The date of our opening ceremony is Thursday, July 5th 2007 at 1:00 PM. We will enjoy three full days of visiting with classmates and their families.

I do plan on filling out your application form, however all of our plans are incomplete.

Thank you again, for considering our invitation. Please let me know if I can answer any questions. My telephone number is 304-438-7662, cell phone 667-9233.

Warmest Regards,


Andy

Andrea "Andy" Aide Pendleton (My father George Aide owned and operated the Bargain Center on main street Which grew to be Aide's Discount Stores)
Box 223
Rainelle, WV 25962

Phone: ________
andypen241@msn.com

P.S. Below is a link to several pictures taken at the WV State Fair, some of which included you and Governor Manchin:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=prxi0xw.66k4385g&Uy=f0fv58&Ux=0

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Dear Ms. Pendleton



Thank you for your kind request for the First Lady to speak at the 2007 All-School Rainelle Reunion on July 05, 2007. We were very pleased to receive your invitation, but we are not currently looking at events in 2007.



We normally do not schedule anything more than 6 weeks ahead but we will keep the information you sent us and if you need an answer before then or you have not heard from us please feel free to contact us again to remind us closer to that date, we will look at your request again.



Again, thank you for the invitation and if you have questions please feel free to contact our office.



Caprice Fletcher

Special Assistant to the Governor's Mansion

(304) 558-3588 cfletcher@wvgov.org

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Wed, Sep 27 2006
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Homepage Obituaries Local News Police/Courts Sports Cars | Classifieds Jobs Real Estate Today Special Sections Our Community
Published: September 26, 2006 10:13 pm

Consolidation battle looming

Parents oppose closure recommendations

By Christian Giggenbach
REGISTER-HERALD REPORTER

RUPERT — With five Greenbrier County elementary schools being recommended for closure, including the consolidation of four of them in the western end, parents and concerned citizens poured their hearts out Tuesday night, telling school board members such actions would be “great mistakes.”

During a special meeting that brought more than 100 people to Western Greenbrier Middle School, the board unanimously voted in favor of recommendations to the 2000 Comprehensive Educational Facilities Plan presented by the county school facilities and review committee. Those voting in favor were Jeanie Wyatt, Kathy King, Wallace Jones, Ed Zopp and board president Sue King.

The committee suggested that more than $44 million be spent across the county’s 14 schools, much of it in the western end, brought to the forefront by the negative backlash surrounding the defeat of the Lewisburg Elementary School bond issue last fall.

Citing declining student numbers and aging facilities, the review committee suggested the closure of Williamsburg, Crichton, Rainelle, Rupert and Smoot elementaries, and building two new schools combining students from Rain-elle/Crichton and Ru-pert/Smoot. Students would be bused to other schools should Williamsburg close.

With trembling voices, many of the parents, such as Sheila Amick, whose son attends Crichton Elementary, said consolidation tears the heart and soul out of small communities.

“I have a child that is the fifth generation to go to Crichton Elementary. We are a small community that binds together,” she told the board. “We have safety in our community and we have stability. This is a great mistake. You need to look again at what Crichton offers for our community and our children.”

Although the review committee cited statistics suggesting population and student enrollment will decline in the county in the next few years, Rainelle Mayor Eugene McKenzie said economic development in the western end will actually increase population. He said more than 447 jobs are expected to be created soon with the advent of a co-generation plant, a sawmill, sewing factory and steel fabrication plant in the works for the western end.

“We have a good location. We have a good identity and we want to maintain that identity,” McKenzie, who individually has offered college scholarships to students for years, said. “It is unbelievable to me that you want to spend in excess of $20 million to build a few schools. That money should be shared to improve the existing schools.”

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Sue King said of her 14-year tenure on the board, “We worked very hard to ensure that these schools stayed open.” She reminded everyone the meeting was not a “closure meeting,” and each of the items discussed would have to be addressed by the board and voted upon after public hearings were held.

As for the 55 students who go to Williamsburg, Superintendent John Curry will present alternatives to closing the school to the board on Oct. 3.

“One idea would be to look how we can consolidate the services currently at the school and also look at the surrounding school districts to see if other children could attend the school,” he said.

Julie Cooper, whose child attends Crichton, said of the negative impact of consolidation, “God spoke to my heart and said I needed my voice to be heard here tonight.”

Rebecca Johnson said high test scores at Williamsburg proved the school should not be closed.

“Financial implications should not be the only thing that drives our schools,” she said as she almost broke into tears. “The small schools are beneficial to all students. I have a child at the eastern middle school who begs me every day to home school him.”

— E-mail: cgiggenbach@register-herald.com

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