Posted: 12 Dec 2009 08:59 PM PST

Published: December 12, 2009 11:02 pm

Emma McCain's two loves: giving and music

By Ida Brown

ibrown@themeridianstar.com

By choice, Emma McCain lived a rather modest life.

But to others, she gave abundantly – whether through in-depth conversations with those who shared her love for classical music or her monetary contributions to the local symphony, to education and many arts organizations.

"We've lost a person who loved to give to others," said Dr. John McEachin, a member of the Meridian Symphony Orchestra's Board of Directors and longtime friend.

McCain died Dec. 5. To those whose lives were touched by her, she will be remembered for her wit, her love for people and her community, but most of all her love for music, particularly the symphony.

"I met Emma when I interviewed for the job," said MSO Music Director and Conductor Claire Fox Hillard.

After he was hired, Hillard, who lives in Albany, Ga., was invited to lunch by McCain when he returned to town. The two became fast friends and for the next 20 years would have lunch and dinner together regularly.

"We had a lot in common: she was a violinist, I'm a violinist ... We talked a lot and did a lot of things together," he said.

McCain and Hillard would often invite new residents to the community to lunch.

"She wanted to get to know them," he said. "And once she became blind, that was one of the things she enjoyed most because conversing with people was something she could still do."

About five years ago, McCain gave Hillard her violin. He played it during her graveside service held earlier this week.

"I played a sonata by Bach – she didn't want religious music, she didn't want sad music," he said. "I thought Bach was something very classic, very much like her."

Meridian Community College President Dr. Scott Elliott remembered McCain as, "a dear, sweet lady who lived modestly because she chose to invest her personal resources in the betterment of our community through agencies like Meridian Community College and the Meridian Symphony.

"She was a longtime member of the Meridian Community College Foundation, starting under the administration of Dr. Bill Scaggs and continuing up to the time of her passing."

McEachin and McCain's friendship evolved out of their love for the music of Felix Mendelssohn, a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period.

"We both loved violin concertos and we liked the same concertos – we liked Max Bruch, Tchikovsky and Mendelssohn; those were our three favorites," he said. "We just liked the same kinds of music. She was a little more eclectic than I, she appreciated a lot more people (musicians)."

McCain chose McEachin to administer an endowment she established for a children's concert for the symphony.

"I enjoyed doing that for her; it was my honor," he said.

Elliott said McCain's generous support of the arts created cultural opportunities for many who might not have otherwise enjoyed them.

" ... She gave of her time and her personal finances to try to make Meridian a better place to live," he said. "She served as a very positive role model for all who had the privilege of knowing her. At MCC, we are extremely proud that our fine arts theater is named in her honor. The theater and all who perform therein will help to preserve her legacy."

Null and void - Register-Herald

Posted: 12 Dec 2009 08:23 PM PST

Published: December 12, 2009 08:27 pm

Null and void

Hearing on camp transfer wasn't handled properly by Public Land Commission

In his long career in public service, including 16 years as Fayette County sheriff, four years in the House of Delegates and now a year into a four-year term in the state Senate, Bill Laird has always stood for openness and forthrightness in government.

And he has done so in a calm, sometimes deliberate manner, preferring to speak with reason rather than flying off the handle.

In short, and we've said this before, he's a public official who's been a breath of fresh air.

So when something irritates him to the point he requires a glass of water in the middle of remarks designed to point out a public wrong, you know there's been a serious breach of open government.

That was the case Thursday night in Fayetteville, where a public hearing was held on the proposed return of Camp Washington-Carver, originally dedicated in 1942 as the first 4-H camp for African-American youth in the nation, to West Virginia State University from the state Division of Culture and History.

The problem was, public hearing notices sent by the West Virginia Public Land Commission, which conducted the hearing, failed to mention Camp Washington-Carver. Only an estimated 25 people showed up, and Laird said he only knew what the hearing probably concerned because of his knowledge of past and current ownership interests.

'... I had to infer with this,' he said.

'I think that we can all agree that transparency in our government processes is of critical importance to our free and open democratic society,' Laird said. 'The right to appear and be heard at a public hearing held to receive public comment on matters of important public policy cannot be overlooked or minimized.'

Laird also noted it is required for the PLC to prepare written reasons and supporting data for public land transfers, to be available for public inspection at the county clerk's office for two weeks before the public hearing. Laird said he called Fayette County Clerk Kelvin Holliday at 10:30 a.m. Thursday and confirmed no such documents were placed on file and available for inspection.

Laird said the PLC should declare the public hearing null and void. He said he was also 'quite confident' judicial authorities would agree with him.

We agree as well. This wasn't a public hearing; it was public incompetence.

The PLC needs to prepare and schedule another public hearing. And this time, do it right.

Bill Laird will be watching to make sure you do.

Historical calendars available - Register-Herald

Posted: 12 Dec 2009 08:09 PM PST

Published: December 12, 2009 08:03 pm

Historical calendars available

From Staff Reports
The Register-Herald

The State Historic Preservation Office of the West Virginia Division of Culture and History has published "At Home in West Virginia," a 13-month calendar highlighting residential architecture in the Mountain State, listed or considered eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.

The calendar is free and available to the public while supplies last.

Each month, the calendar focuses upon a different living space in West Virginia, including company housing examples in Bramwell, Mercer County and Coalwood, McDowell County; houses in residential historic districts in Bluefield, Mercer County; Jackson's Mill 4-H Camp residential cottages in Lewis County; Tygart Valley homestead community housing in Randolph County; public housing complexes such as Washington Square Apartments in Huntington, Cabell County; and the West Virginia Colored Childrens' Home in Huntington, Cabell County.

The calendar also includes information about the National Register, the tax credit program, Certified Local Government program and grant programs available.

To request a copy of the calendar, write to West Virginia Division of Culture and History, 2010 Calendar, The Culture Center, 1900 Kanawha Blvd., E., Charleston, W.Va. 25305 or call Conni McMorris at (304) 558-0240, or e-mail conni.l.mcmorris@wv.gov.

"At Home in West Virginia" was funded in part by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Experts study state obesity rate - Knoxville News Sentinel

Posted: 12 Dec 2009 08:59 PM PST

NASHVILLE - An analysis of diabetes and obesity on the county level in Tennessee shows that conditions go from bad to worse.

Williamson County has the lowest rates, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention breakdown. But even there 8.8 percent of the adults have been diagnosed with diabetes and almost a quarter of the population is obese.

The state's highest rates were found in Hardeman County in southwest Tennessee, where 13.1 percent of people have diabetes and 37.5 percent are obese.

The new breakdown on a county level will let counties compare similarities and differences, Dr. Roger Cone, director of the Vanderbilt Institute for Obesity and Metabolism, told The Tennessean.

"Like why do two counties have similar risk factors, but different obesity and diabetes rates?" Cone said. "Could it be that one school district has a more rigorous physical education program?"

Some changes are on the way to improve the health of Tennesseans. Starting in March, fast-food chains in Nashville will be required to list calorie contents. It's a change being considered on the federal level.

"The goal is to have the calorie information available at the point of decision-making for consumers so they can make an informed purchasing decision," said Tracy Buck, a registered dietitian for the Metro Nashville Health Department.

"Many times people think what they are choosing is the better choice, and it may not be."

Buck knows what problems contribute to Davidson County's 30 percent obesity rate: lack of access to healthy food in some areas, neighborhoods without sidewalks, and lots of fast-food restaurants. But she said she's interested in seeing how Nashville compares to other cities of the same size.

The CDC data shows that Tennessee is not alone in facing these problems. Wide sections of the South and Appalachia, including Kentucky and West Virginia, have high rates of obesity. Tennessee ranks as the fourth fattest state in the nation.

The expanding waistline at the state level has forced legislation, particularly in schools, to help turn around those numbers. A law in 2004 restricted the foods that could be served in schools, set standards for nutrition and made physical activity during the school day mandatory.

Another program called Get Fit Tennessee offers resources online to live a healthy lifestyle, but it requires some personal initiative.

"To see a change in behavior, a population's behavior, what we're talking about is a culture change, and to do that is to require sustained attention at the state level, a local level and an individual level," said Dr. Veronica Gunn, chief medical officer for the state Department of Health.

"It has taken us generations to get this way, and it will take some long period of time to establish trends to consistently see improvements."

fivefilters.org featured article: Normalising the crime of the century by John Pilger

Poultry may beat out horses in Ky. - Knoxville News Sentinel

Posted: 12 Dec 2009 08:51 PM PST

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Kentucky's slumping horse industry appears on pace to be overtaken by poultry farming as the king of the state's agricultural sector.

In a state where horses are a mainstay of the cultural and economic lifeblood, the new top perch for chickens in the pecking order of Kentucky agriculture once seemed unlikely.

But the equine sector has been battered by deep recession, and the poultry industry has enjoyed years of steady growth. As a result, University of Kentucky agricultural economist Lee Meyer predicted receipts from the poultry sector this year would outpace those from the horse industry by about $180 million.

Poultry production, concentrated in western Kentucky, is expected to generate about $930 million in receipts this year, Meyer said. The equine sector is projected to generate about $750 million this year, down from more than $1.1 billion in 2007, he added.

That projection was seen by former Gov. Brereton Jones, owner of a Kentucky horse farm, as further proof that the state's horse industry is in decline and needs a boost.

"You can go anyplace around the world and tell people you're from Kentucky, and the first thing they want to talk about is the Kentucky Derby and the thoroughbred industry," he said. "We risk losing that if everybody refuses to pay attention."

Jones supports expanding gambling at Kentucky's horse racing tracks. A measure to allow video slot machines at tracks passed the Kentucky House but died in a Senate committee during this year's special session.

Thoroughbred sales and breeding stud fees are the two main income sources for the industry but have taken a big hit from the global recession, University of Kentucky economists said last week.

Sale prices at the major thoroughbred auctions at Keeneland continued a downward spiral this year, especially at its premier yearling sale in September, where totals were down 41 percent from a year earlier. Results weren't quite as bad at November's breeding stock sale, which saw a 14 percent drop from 2008, but that sale was helped by a dispersal of 148 horses from the great Kentucky breeding operation Overbrook Farm.

Several prominent Kentucky horse farms also reported declines in the stud fees they charge for a live foal.

Lane's End Farm announced it was cutting A.P. Indy's fee from $250,000 to $150,000. There also are major drops in stud fees for other top stallions, including Distorted Humor and Giant's Causeway.

The weak economy also has hurt demand for recreational and show horses, the economists said.

Poultry production, meanwhile, has been growing for years in Kentucky.

In 2001, poultry receipts totaled about $260 million but had doubled by 2003 and mushroomed to $918 million in 2008. Meyer projected poultry receipts of $976 million in 2010.

"I can't imagine a scenario where horses would come back to predominance for three years," he said.

The poultry sector has benefited from strong consumer demand, solid exports and the popularity of chicken products at fast-food restaurants, Meyer said.

"Usually you increase supply, prices come down," he said. "But if demand truly increases from a preference perspective, then you can have higher prices and higher production. And that's what happened."

He predicted that Kentucky equine receipts will reach an estimated $807 million in 2010.

Jones said those figures don't include the considerable tourist dollars generated by the horse industry.

"You don't get those tourism dollars from the chicken industry," he said in an interview. "If you counted all the dollars, I think the horse industry would still be ahead."

Longtime breeder Arthur Hancock, owner of Stone Farm in central Kentucky, said the horse industry faces a supply-and-demand problem.

"We don't need to be breeding so many horses," he said in an interview. "There are too many horses for the number of buyers out there."

Still, the horse industry has a special allure, Hancock said.

"Nobody's going to come to the state to see chickens. We're still a wonderful industry with a lot of beautiful farms, and we're going through some tough times."

fivefilters.org featured article: Normalising the crime of the century by John Pilger

Cultural

Saturday, December 12, 2009

“Emma McCain's two loves: giving and music - Meridian Star” plus 4 more

“Emma McCain's two loves: giving and music - Meridian Star” plus 4 more

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