Appalachian Journal of Law, Volume 13 Editorial Board

 

Student Profile: Nicholas Kalagian

Nicholas Kalagian

Law student from Madison, Virginia by way of Blacksburg, Virginia, Nick always knew he wanted to be an attorney since he was a child.

A 2007 graduate of Madison County High School, Nick went to Virginia Tech to study Political Science and earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a concentration in Legal Studies in 2011.  While at Virginia Tech, Nick took courses to focus on the interaction between the branches of government and the outside influences that affect them. He served as a Resident Advisor for three years as well as a Teaching Assistant for multiple professors.

Nick grew up in a small town that boasts that its cow population is larger than its people population. After moving to Madison in 2004, he fell in love with the small town feel. There, he met the woman who would later be his fiancé. Nick recently became engaged, proposing to his girlfriend of seven years, Dana, at George Washington’s Mount Vernon on December 31, 2012. When he saw Grundy and the Appalachian School of Law, he knew he was going to feel at home with Grundy having the same mountainous views and small town characteristics as Madison.

Nick has interned with the Madison County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office since 2009 and is currently assisting on a capital homicide case when he is able to get back to Madison.

Nick has been and continues to be involved with multiple student organizations on campus. Nick served as an Associate Editor for Volume 12 of the Appalachian Journal of Law and will serve as the Managing Editor for Volume 13. He is also an Associate Justice on the Student Bar Association’s Honor Court, President of the Republican Law Student Association, an assistant coach for the Criminal Law Moot Court team, a research assistant for one of his professors, and serves as a Student Ambassador for ASL. Nick takes as many criminal law courses as he can because he plans to become a prosecutor after graduation.

Nick says: “ASL has been one of the best choices I have ever made. The professors, administration, and staff of ASL have all been welcoming and helpful during my time here. I feel like I have gotten the best law school experience I could have.”

Nick will graduate from ASL in May 2014 and will take the Virginia Bar exam.


 

Your Weekly Constitutional Podcast

Produced in partnership with James Madison's Montpelier, Your Weekly Constitutional is a public radio show by ASL Professor Stewart Harris featuring lively discussion of controversial constitutional topics:

http://ywc.podomatic.com/

Phi Delta Phi Accepting New Members

Phi Delta Phi, the International Legal Honor Society, will be accepting new members!! Initiation will be held Thursday, March 14th, and the gathering afterwards will be at Dean McGlothlin’s house! Costs to join is a ONE TIME payment of $175. ($100 is for national dues and the other $75 is for local dues). If you would like to join or just have questions, you can contact Casey Kane, Jess Mauser, or Rebecca LeAnn Stone

ckane14@my.asl.edu
jmauser14@my.asl.edu
rstone15@my.asl.edu

ASL Students excel at National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition

 

 

            Photos courtesy of Jessica Conway

 

The ASL team of Amber Russo, Akiah Highsmith and Nate Ogle just completed a very successful stint at the National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition (NELMCC) at Pace University School of Law, advancing all the way to the finals out of 76 teams.  With 76 teams, the NELMCC purports to be the largest moot court competition in the country, and it is almost certainly the most prestigious one that focuses on environmental law issues.  The competition includes teams from Harvard, Michigan, Columbia, Georgetown and many other decorated law schools.  After three preliminary rounds on Thursday and Friday morning, ASL was one of 27 teams that advanced to the quarterfinals.  On Friday afternoon, the ASL team dispatched entrants from Florida State and Arizona to advance to the semifinals.  At the Saturday morning semifinals, teams from UC-Berkeley and Hastings also succumbed  to ASL.  The final round, which was won by Vermont Law School, was before a panel that included judges from the Second Circuit Court of appeals, the Environmental Appeals Board and the New York Court of Appeals (the state’s highest court).

The team’s efforts earned several environmental law volumes as awards for the ASL Law Library, as well as plaques for the school and the individual members.  In addition to the team success, Nate Ogle was honored as a top oralist for the preliminary rounds.  Jessica Conway helped coach and assist the team’s research efforts.  Efforts and successes of ASL students such as Amber, Akiah, Nate and Jessica are the cornerstone upon which ASL has built a nationally recognized moot court program, under the direction of Professor Barger, and upon which ASL is currently constructing what will be a nationally recognized Natural Resources Law Program.

 

Congratulations Amber, Akiah and Nate! Professor Mark Belleville is the coach of the Environmental Law Moot Court Team.  Congrats to Professor Belleville for all is hard work!!  Also, special thanks to Pat Baker and Doug McKechnie who volunteered as judges.

ASL's Cory Vicars '07 Returns to Speak With Environmental Dispute Resolution Class

ASL Class of 2007 Graduate Cory Vicars made a special guest appearance to talk with my Environmental Dispute Resolution students about using ADR skills, especially negotiation and consensus building, in the oil and gas business.  He told three stories.  The first story focused on a dispute with a landowner about access to a production well.  Cory, then a landman for Consol, arrived on the property to find four shotguns pointed at him.  After spending 2.5 hours talking with the landowner, the landowner agreed to have a crew of surveyors work on the property the next day to help resolve the dispute.  The next day, the landowner greeted the Consol employees with a cooler full of drinks and sandwiches.

         

In the second story, he described the negotiation he had with his new employer, Shell, over salary and benefits.  He also described an HR exercise administered to him to assess his problem-solving skills.  His response was so effective and comprehensive, he scored higher than they could accurately assess with the point scoring system that applied.

                                      

In the third story, he described his work as a senior landman on the “minerals” side of Shell’s oil and natural gas exploration business.  He described the fracking process in the Marcellus Shale deposit.  He also described the current technologies for disposing or processing of the returned fracking fluids and the naturally occurring brine.  Finally, he discussed an article assigned to students to read about a collaborative negotiation process adopted by several hundred landowners with mineral rights in the Marcellus Shale field.   By adopting that group approach, they had more leverage in negotiations with two different natural gas production companies.  Cory emphasized how important it is for a landowner to retain a competent lawyer who knows the oil and gas leasing business.   That lawyer also needs to know about the state environmental regulations that govern oil and gas exploration and that provide protection to landowners. 

 

The Forgotten Town, The Forgotten Backwater by Cheryl Isaac

The Forgotten Town, The Forgotten Backwater

Cheryl Isaac

 

Taken from:

http://southwritlarge.com/articles/the-forgotten-town-the-forgotten-backwater/

“Don’t go there; you wouldn’t fit in,” my city friends told me, slightly amused by the prospect of my moving to this side of the Appalachian mountains, their eyebrows raised with intrigue and bafflement. “They call it the town that time forgot,” a realtor told my husband and me as we took a tour through Grundy, Virginia, only to find that well water still flowed through the faucets of some homes, staining dishwashers and bathtubs, and mold (and in some cases water) still lingered in basements that hadn’t been lifted after the town’s most recent flood.

Yet the “forgotten town” was intriguing because it reminded me of Liberia, the “forgotten African backwater,” as Polish journalist, Ryszard Kapuściński called it, where I was born and raised—the country I was then having difficulty writing about. I didn’t know how to express it, but as I lay in my room at the Comfort Inn (the only hotel in the town), somehow I sensed that Grundy would be the place to help me forget; forget who I was now, so that I could write about who I was then. I just knew that the town’s generous mountains, flowing creeks, warm skies, light mist, and spunky birds would help me complete the first draft of my book about a formerly peaceful Liberian childhood assaulted by war and trauma.

Upon entering Grundy, you know that you’re in the belly of southwest Virginia, with mountain roads uniquely steep in some places and obtrusively curvy in others. You don’t need an almanac to tell you that once you drive along routes like 460 or 624, you won’t experience anything else as thrilling and terrifying, with V-shaped terrains that take you to Bristol, Tennessee, or Bluefield, Virginia, if you continue to Route 19. Grundy is coal country that stands proud and tall, where fumes and gray sheets of dirt from passing coal trucks rise with the sun in the morning. It is a town that exists around the strong, the brave, the miners—where you’re at first taken aback by the “black lung” signs posted by lawyers, doctors, and insurance companies; where the first time you walk into the post office the postal worker at the counter says “ya reckon” in the middle of a conversation with a customer, and you’re completely dumbfounded with excitement because this is the first time the phrase has jumped out of one of your books and skipped around your eardrums.

We came here at a good time, they tell us, because Grundy has grown up. It has been over a decade since the law school where my husband teaches was introduced to the town. Now there is now a brand new Walmart, a shopping plaza, and a choice between Mexican, Chinese, or American cuisine. Daily construction along Route 460 has been initiated to improve the infrastructure and accommodate new buildings and a potential housing development. The town that is said to dislike outsiders has graciously accommodated lots of us: some young, some old, some graduate students, some professionals, everyone nestled closely into the mountainside.

To most people, our decision about where my husband should accept a law school faculty position was obvious: say yes to one of the schools in one of the “normal” cities. Yet even after we had driven through the town for the first time, on a dark, snowy evening, staring wide-eyed at the houses nestled comfortably in the valley below us, perturbed by the crookedness of the roads and intimidated by the bravado of the truckers, we chose Grundy.

How could I tell them that once in Grundy, I felt God in its mountains and creeks, looming next to me on its mountain trails, flowing from its springs, swinging from its many tree branches and church steeples? How could I explain the same soothing presence that kept me sane when I sought shelter at a church compound for two years during the 1990 Liberian Civil War?

Nestled between the former French and British colonies Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone, Liberia is the first African Republic and the only American-influenced West African country. It is known for its flatlands, its lagoons and oceans—a country that has suffered no major natural disaster. Founded in 1847 with the help of the American Colonization Society, Liberia is the West African country where American freed slaves built a home for themselves. They brought with them bits and pieces of the only world they knew—America—causing a divide between themselves and the indigenous Liberians. However, once we found ourselves huddled together at our church shelter during the war, seeking cover on the floors and beneath beds and benches, this divide seemed miniscule.

Now Liberia, once the heartthrob of West Africa, nicknamed “Small America,” is Africa’s prodigal daughter and America’s forgotten sister. Liberian natives scarred by war often ask each other, “Why would you want to go back there?”

The same thing happens in Grundy.

“You go to school here, sweetie?” a Grundy native and Walmart store clerk asked me.

“No, ma’am.”

“Work here?”

“No, ma’am,” I answered again with a slight smile, because I knew what was coming next.

She stopped bagging my groceries, gave a quick glance over her shoulders, and faced me with the concerned eyes a grandmother reserves for her sick grandbabies. Her eyebrows were pulled together in silent thought when she placed her hands on my arm and whispered, “Why are you here?”

Some mornings, when I feel Grundy beneath my feet as I walk my dog or exercise, I’m reminded of Annie Dillard’s words, “They say of nature that it conceals with a grand nonchalance, and they say of vision that it is a deliberate gift,” because in order to truly see Grundy, you must have the kind of vision that surpasses its narrow roads and limited shopping; in order to see the gift that its nature conceals, a gift so rare that once the veil is lifted from your eyes, you see the town for what it really is: a treasure valley. Hidden compartments that conceal the most obscure revelations, valleys that dazzle with the kind of sensations that force you to slow down for a minute to, say, write a book.

When I write about something as personal as childhood and family, of something as traumatic as the loss of childhood and family, the mountains of Grundy become as necessary as the shell of a turtle, its shelter as private as the inner compartments of my mind. There are no rules in Grundy’s mountains, no codes to entrap you. You can’t even count on your iPhone weather app to be close to accurate like you would in other cities because, like Danny Glover’s character said in the movie, Switchback, “Weather don’t make the rules, mountains do.” Mountain life is an existential burrow that propels you forward, deeper and deeper into its folds, until from beneath its shadows, while you await the sun’s slow dance around its peaks, while you gaze in awe at its sharp, rugged beauty and encompassing breadth, you become deeply aware of who you are, who you are not, who you can become, because nothing explains the baffling world better than its indescribable nature.

As I sometimes ponder the road I traveled to get to Grundy—from Liberia to New York City, then Columbus, Ohio, now Grundy—I know that I am not alone. Grundy is as global as its inhabitants: the law students from Africa and Asia; the mission school that boards international students just across the street from where I live; the bird that wakes me up on hot spring mornings with its part-whistling, part-humming, the same one that woke me up on mornings during the rainy season in Liberia (one day I will learn your name, dear one).

Sitting next to Slate Creek with my eyes closed, sniffing for words, sounds, thoughts, and feelings, I am aware that, just like Liberia, Grundy will live on, despite its refusal to conform, its dare to be different. If Grundy can survive its deviance, if Liberia can survive its incongruity, so can I, I quietly deliberate. In moments like these, I am fully aware of how this Southern town has transformed me, and unexplainable joy crawls from my belly, sweeps across my face, and becomes one with the creek, slowly treading its way through Edgewater Drive, through Grundy, through Buchanan County, through Virginia, and onwards, ready and willing to connect with a destiny that is bigger, more expansive, and even more challenging.

ASL to host Black Lung and Pulmonary Impairments in the Law CLE

ASL Apollo Night

 

For more Apollo Night photos go to:
https://www.facebook.com/taylorraymond.burgess#!/media/set/?set=a.416482568445236.97763.100002504881772&type=1

ASL Welcomes Kayla McClanahan

ASL welcomes Kayla McClanahan, from Big Rock, as Intern Faculty Assistant

 

Kayla is working an internship from Southwest Community College. She will be Graduating in May 2013 with an Associate’s Degree in Administrative Support Technology. She has been on the Dean’s list and Honor’s List for four semesters, maintaining a 3.7 GPA. She is engaged to Jon Prater and will be getting married this August. Welcome to the ASL Family Kayla!

Tomorrow at 10AM We Can Think Outside the Bun!

ASL's IT Department

Many thanks to ASL's IT Department Brian Presley and Josh Snead! They keep everything running smoothly here at ASL, and are always there when you need them.

New ASL Student Center in Lower Level breaks ground

The Lower Level Classroom at ASL is being turned into a student center. Workers broke ground on the project last week. Stay tuned for more updates as this project develops.

Joan Burroughs, ASL Class of ’11, returns to ASL

 

Joan Burroughs, ASL Class of ’11, visited campus today and spoke with Professor Stewart Harris’s classes about constitutional law, the appellate process, and her own career path.  Just two years out of ASL, Joan is an Assistant Public Defender in Richmond, where she argues before the Virginia Court of Appeals on a regular basis, and will soon argue an important case before the Virginia Supreme Court.

Professor Harris’s students were enthusiastic about Joan’s classroom appearances.  “She is so articulate,” noted one student.  “She gives me hope in this tough job market,” noted another.

Thanks to Joan for coming home and giving back to ASL.  We are proud of her.

 

ASL Memorial 5K Saturday March 23, 2013

 

 

If anyone would like to get community service hours by helping with this event, please sign up on the Charitable Endeavors TWEN site. If you have any questions, contact Rachel Lacefield rlacefield14@my.asl.edu

Upcoming ASL Events

Barton and Harris present forum on 2nd Amendment rights for ASL Federalist Society

The ASL Federalist Society had guest speaker Michael Barton lecture on Wednesday, February 13th,  Mr. Barton presented a Forum on 2nd Amendment rights in conjunction with ASL Professor Stewart Harris.

Michael James Barton is the current Director of Energy and Natural Resources at ARTIS Research. He has extensive experience in National Security, Homeland Security, counterterrorism, and energy policymaking and is the former Senior Policy Advisor at a publicly traded Silicon Valley energy company.

From 2006 to 2009, Mr. Barton served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). In his role there as Deputy Director of the Middle East Policy Office, he crafted, analyzed, and carried out the nation’s security policies as directed by the President and the Secretary of Defense. In addition, he also served as the senior OSD policy advisor on Iranian matters. While in OSD, he ensured that cultural, economic, and energy factors were woven into decisions regarding the Middle East and Iran. For his efforts in the national security arena, Mr. Barton was a 2009 recipient of the OSD Exceptional Public Service Medal.

Prior to joining the Defense Department, Mr. Barton served at the White House on the Homeland Security Council staff. There he coordinated homeland security-related activities among executive Departments and Agencies and promoted the effective development and implementation of homeland security measures. Mr. Barton’s primary focus was on immigration security policies and domestic counterterrorism.

Prior to his work at the White House, Mr. Barton served from 2001 to 2003 on the Senate Banking Committee staff where he was responsible for a wide range of legislative matters including international trade, banking, and energy.

Mr. Barton holds a M.A. degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College and a B.A. degree in Accounting from the University of Houston. He is a speaker for the American Committees on Foreign Relations and for the Federalist Society. Mr. Barton is also an advisory board member at the Bryce Foundation, which assists in research efforts on behalf of children suffering from cancer, and which supports their families.

 

Professor Stewart Harris graduated from Princeton University in 1983, where he earned an A.B. from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. His studies there focused on U.S. foreign policy, particularly nuclear weapons policy. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1986, where he won the Edwin R. Keedy Cup, the school's highest moot court award.

Professor Harris then spent a number of years practicing law for the federal government and private firms. He notably obtained $500,000 for a newspaper's defamation of a public official in Griffin v. Add, Inc., Case No. 1:99-cv-36 SPM, U.S. District Court, N.D. Fla., 2000. He also served as trial counsel in two reported environmental cases, HCA, Inc. v. Florida Rock Industries, Inc., 19 FALR 1743 (1998) and Hellmuth v. Carolina Solite Corp., 17 FALR 4072 (1996).

Professor Harris began his teaching career at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he taught a course as a third-year law student in 1985-1986. He returned to teaching at the University of Florida's Levin College of Law from 1999 to 2001. Since 2001, Professor Harris has taught at ASL. For the past several years he has also taught Constitutional Law during the summer semester at the University of Tennessee College of Law. His primary scholarly interest is the First Amendment, and his current research focuses on group defamation. Professor Harris has won ASL's Faculty Scholarship Award for “The First Amendment and the End of the World," 68 U. Pitt. L. Rev. 785 (2007). He has also been selected by ASL's first-year or second-year students as Professor of the Year five times.
 
As part of ASL's commitment to community service, Professor Harris has designed and taught an SAT preparation course at nearby Mountain Mission School, which houses and educates underprivileged children. He has also assisted with a number of other projects at Mountain Mission, including a college-credit course in U.S. government. He also judges Mountain Mission's annual Mock Trial competition assembly.

In March 2011, Professor Harris created a public radio show, "Your Weekly Constitutional," on WETS, the National Public Radio affiliate in Johnson City, Tenn. The show features lawyers, scholars, and activists discussing interesting and controversial issues in constitutional law, such as religious freedom, states' rights, and even secession. The show airs on 89.5 FM each Tuesday evening at 8 p.m. Podcasts are available on the WETS website, www.wets.org, on the ASL website, and via the show's Facebook page.

 

ASL Celebrates Fat Tuesday with a gumbo dinner prepared by Professor Bowers to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Central Appalachia

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

Heureux de Mardi Gras from The Dean's Dogs

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

The Boys and Girls Club of Central Appalachia Karaoke Night March 1, 2013

Help support the Boys and Girls Club of Central Appalachia! Come out to Karaoke Night at Serendipity with Trey Adkins and Craig Stiltner Friday, March 1 from 8PM to Midnight. Contact Jonathan Moody at jmoody13@my.asl.edu for more information

 

 

ASL's Katherine Kennedy awarded The Silver Key at the Fourth Circuit of the American Bar Association Law Student Division Meeting

                                                                                      Photos taken by Governor Brendan Manning and Sherra Kissee

On February 9, 2013, the Fourth Circuit of the American Bar Association Law Student Division held its annual spring meeting at Elon University in Greensboro, NC. The Appalachian School of Law had the strongest showing at the meeting. The meeting had numerous panels including the "Use of Social Media as a Prosecution Weapon" and "Affordable Healthcare." Alisa D. Huffman, MSW, JD, gave an extremely important talk and engaged students in an interactive discussion about increasing student awareness of the health issues resulting from the overwhelming stresses and demands associated with attaining a law degree.

The Fourth Circuit provided an invaluable experience, "Lunch with Experience." The Circuit allowed student attendees to network with six attorneys from different background over a catered lunch. The lunch was followed with a Keynote Address from Justice James G. Exum, Junior. Justice Exum gave a riveting speech about the definition of a leader in the legal profession and community, drawing attention to Greensboro's roots in the Civil Rights movement. 

Nick Guinn, ABA Law Student Division Vice Chair, delivered the State of the Division and updated the Fourth Circuit regarding the recent reorganization of circuits within the Law Student Division. David Lambert, Elon University School of Law, was elected Governor of the Fourth Circuit. Charlotte School of Law was awarded with Bronze Keys of Membership for having the highest ABA membership within the circuit. However, Katherine Kennedy, ASL ABA Representative and Lieutenant Governor of Diversity and Wellness for the Fourth Circuit Law Student division, was honored with the Silver Key. The Silver Key is awarded for affording students a greater opportunity to become involved with and participate fully in the mission and activities of the Association, for strengthening law student participation in programs and awards of the Division, and for encouraging the educational and professional development of law students. This was the highest award of the meeting and it is awarded within the Governor's discretion. Lieutenant Governor David Lambert also won this award for his work on the Fourth Circuit executive board. Governor Brendan Manning did a wonderful job putting together this meeting and delivering his closing remarks. This past year was a very successful year for the Fourth Circuit, as our circuit took home numerous awards at the Annual Conference in Chicago this past August.

Those who attended the conference from Appalachian School of Law: Sherra Kissee, Candice  DuVernois, Jennie Scrivner, Katherine Kennedy, Casey Kane, Ryan Stratton, Ryan McLaughlin, Kaitlin Justus, Travis Owen, and Zachary Smith.

 

ASL Professor Stewart Harris makes Second Amendment presentation at First United Methodist Church in Bristol, Tenn.

http://www.tricities.com/article_ac949694-7409-11e2-a438-0019bb30f31a.html

ASL Student Profile: Dominique Ranieri

Dominique Ranieri
West Palm Beach, Florida

Alternative law student from south Florida always knew she wanted to be an attorney, fell in love with the region.

Dominique is the only student ever to graduate from Florida Atlantic University High School and Florida Atlantic University at the same time, receiving her college degree two weeks before her high school diploma, at the age of 18. She earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and always knew she would continue on to law school. Admitted to ASL at 18, she is an alternative law student.

Born and raised in Florida she knew she was ready for a change, and seasons. Grundy boasts some of the most beautiful mountain views, and the changing of the leaves is truly a spectacle. Dominique quickly fell in love with the region and its history, which contributed to her interest in natural resources, energy and mineral law.

Dominique has served on the Appalachian Natural Resources Law Journal for two years and is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal’s 7^th Edition. She tries to take as many natural resources courses as possible. She is also a member of the Energy and Mineral Law Foundation. For Dominique, hard work has paid-off, she will be working for Steptoe and Johnson, PLLC as an associate after graduation.

Dominique says: “Everything happens for a reason, and I believe I ended up at ASL to find my passion, energy and mineral law. There is no better place to attend law school. I am so excited to stay in the region working with a great firm, Steptoe & Johnson, PLLC.”

Dominique will graduate from ASL in May and take the West Virginia Bar, at the age of 21.

ASL Criminial Law Society Opening Statement Competition Winners

                                                                                                                                                                                 Photo by Kirk Rose

The Criminal Law Society hosted the 2nd Annual Opening Statement Competition on Wednesday, January 30th. The competition gave those involved the opportunity to craft and deliver an opening statement for a short criminal problem.

Congratulations to ASL Criminial Law Society Opening Statement Competition Winners:

 Brad Austin finished 1st, Billy Moats 2nd place, Nick Armes 3rd 


 

The Appalachian Coal Country Team and The Eastern Coal Council visit ASL

                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Photo by: Akiah Highsmith


Billie Campbell, Barbara Altizer, James Keen and Dr. John Craynon from The Appalachian Coal Country Team and The Eastern Coal Council visited ASL February 6th to discuss the history of mining in Buchanan County, the Powell River Project, The Buchanan County Industrial Development Authority on the process of strip mining and the development of the Southern Gap Project that has brought GrundyPoplar Gap Park and the MunicipalAirport.

 Billie Campbell
President, Terra Tech Engineering Services, P.C.
Billie Campbell is one of three owners of Terra Tech Engineering and has been with Terra Tech from day one in 1997. Billie serves as President of Terra Tech and also as one of the design engineers. Billie's design specialization includes structural design, municipal water works design, wastewater/sewage treatment design, and mine planning and reserve evaluation. Billie also serves his hometown in several community organizations.

Barbara Altizer
Executive Director, Eastern Coal Council
Barbara Altizer is a public relations professional whose career combines energy and community advocacy, government service and business interest group administration. She is an experienced administrator, promoter and marketing specialist with wide ranging interests in economic development, government, and the furtherance of the Eastern coal industry, education and historic preservation.

James Keen
Grundy Town Manager
James Keen is currently serving his second term as Grundy's Town Manager after working as a consultant for both the Town and regional coal companies. Prior to his consultancy, James worked for 27 years for Jewell Smokeless and continues to serve as part of their philanthropic arm. James is currently serving in a number of community service organizations including the Coal Field Water Development Fund.

John Craynon, Ph. D, P.E.
ARIES Project Director, Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research
Dr. Craynon became the Project Director for Appalachian Research Initiative for Environmental Sciences (ARIES) program at the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research at Virginia Tech in March 2011. His previous career in the US Federal Government, which spanned 28 years, focused on mining and the environment and the universe of technical, legal, and public policy issues related to mining. His work related to diverse topics such as coal mining, mine waste management, cleanup of contaminated sites, coal combustion byproducts, underground mine mapping, acid mine drainage, subsidence, hydrology, steam restoration, reforestation, sustainable reclamation and invasive species issues.

Virginia Delegate Rob Bell to visit ASL Sunday Feb. 17

Virginia Delegate Rob Bell, Republican candidate for Attorney General, will visit Appalachian School of Law on Sunday, February 17th at 5:00 PM in the Trial Courtroom for a meet and greet with ASL Students and the public. Refreshments will be served. The event is sponsored by the ASL Republican Law Student Association. Any questions contact Nick Kalagian at nkalagian14@my.asl.edu

An honors graduate of the University of Virginia and the University of Virginia Law School, Rob served as a state prosecutor for five years. He prosecuted over 2,400 cases, working with the police and crime victims to bring criminals to justice.
 

In the Virginia General Assembly, Rob has written laws that crack down on drunk driving. As a result, MADD (Virginia) named him the 2005 Outstanding Legislator. He is also interested in school safety. In recent years, he has written laws to ban criminal sex offenders from school property during school hours and to require additional background checks on school personnel. In 2008, Rob helped overhaul Virginia's mental health commitment laws in light of the tragedy at Virginia Tech. And, in 2009, Rob received the Act, Honor, Hope award from the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance to recognize his work in the Virginia General Assembly.
 

An Eagle Scout, Rob was an active volunteer with the Boy Scouts and with the public schools prior to his election in 2001. Rob’s wife, Jessica, is a schoolteacher. She is currently staying home to raise their children, Robbie and Evie. The Bells live in Albemarle County and are members of Aldersgate United Methodist Church.

 

http://www.delegaterobbell.com/