The End of an Era in SWVA Baseball

Mack Shupe is hanging up his cleats. Shupe was coaching at JJ Kelly when I was in school. He took over a team that wore T-shirts in games and propelled them to heights that will never be matched.

Mack Shupe, after spending 40 years in the dugout, will tender his resignation Monday morning as J.I. Burton’s baseball coach.

Shupe, whose illustrious career includes eight VHSL championships, produced a 631-173 win-loss record at J.J. Kelly and Burton.

“It’s time to go here,’’ Shupe said Sunday. “I think I’ve accomplished everything you could at the high school level.

“I’d never rule out anything but I won’t be coaching again where there isn’t a total commitment to the baseball program. Of course, that would mean having a first-class facility. This is the 21st century.’’

Shupe spent 33 years at JJ Kelly. The stats:

He took over a program at Kelly when its players were wearing T-shirts instead of standard uniforms.

Shupe led a campaign to build a stadium that today bears his name. He took his teams to the state championship game in four different decades.

He guided Kelly to an unprecedented four straight state titles — in 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1984, all unbeaten seasons. The Indians went 19-0, 21-0, 22-0 and 21-0.

Under his direction, Kelly also ruled Virginia’s Group A diamonds in 1988, 1989, 1991 and 1998.

His Indians won 22 Lonesome Pine District championships and 18 Region D titles and were state runners-up three times.

The VHSL Hall of Famer developed six professional players and had dozens of others go on to compete at the college level.

“I had 33 enjoyable years at Kelly,’’ Shupe said. “We had a good run there.’’

His Kelly teams won 546 games while losing only 173.

He will be missed. I want to thank Bill Lane for writing the article so eloquently. he finishes this must read for Va baseball fans with:

"Thus, an era in Southwest Virginia athletics that isn’t likely to be repeated closes as the scoreboard lights on Shupe’s remarkable career are turned off."

Indeed.

Technorati Tags: Baseball, Wise County Virginia

This Marine Said it All

Technorati Tags: Marines, Americans

Capacity Crowd in Abingdon Meets Feckless Rick Boucher

Reports are coming in.....The BHC

Abingdon, Va.—More than a thousand people packed the hall at the Higher Education Center in Abingdon Thursday morning, for a health care reform town hall meeting.
    Some applause, but a chorus of boos welcomed Virginia’s Ninth District Congressman, Democrat Rick Boucher.

Ha! What are they concerned about? reporter Dana Wachter has this on twitter:

“Wellmont CEO Mike Snow asked rhetorically, ‘What are we arguing about anyway?‘ Crowd yelled, ‘Government control!‘  Lots of verbal response here.“

Old Feckless had this classic line of Boucher B/S -     “My sense is that it’d be more economically feasible for us to find a direct solution for everyone to have access to health insurance then to continue to bear these very high costs indirectly“......Well no shit Rick..Classic Boucher indeed.

Technorati Tags: Wise County Virginia, Virginia, Rick Boucher

The Old Dominion Blog Alliance Welcomes New Member

Melody Scalley has joined the ODBA. Our newest member is also running for the 100th House of Delegates district seat.

I like her views on health care reform. She likes the following:

1) Tort Reform.
2) Allow us to purchase our coverage across state lines.
3) Allow us to purchase our coverage ‘ala carte’.
4) AllowTax Deductible Health savings accounts.
5) Allow employees to choose and contract for coverage themselves instead of being restrained by the employer’s health plan.

If we were to include all of the above in true health care reform; the end result would be much more affordable health care.  This would also bring down costs in regard to medicare, savings are savings across the board.
Common sense, free market solutions ~ always better than the government fix!~Melody Scalley

I have preached for her #2 pick for years. Commonsense solutions is what the lady is selling. Good stuff indeed!

Technorati Tags: Old Dominion Blog Alliance, blogging

Wise County Coal Miner Killed This Morning

State mining officials identified the victim as William Wayne Parrott, 58, Big Stone Gap, Virginia. Parrott was a mining repairman who’d worked as a miner for 33 years.

A joint state and federal investigation is underway after a mine wall collapse killed a veteran miner in Wise County, Virginia Thursday morning.

The accident happened about 6:30 a.m. at the Big Laurel Mining Corporation Mine #2, an underground mine in Wise County just outside the town of Appalachia.

“A crew working about 12,000 feet into the mine was cutting out an area to install a belt drive to transport coal,“ said Mike Abbott, Public Relations Manager for the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy. “ Some of the coal and rock hit the miner,“ Abbott said. Miners describe what’s called a rib roll, the collapse of coal and rock when the side rib walls give way, Abbott said.

Abbott said the miner was 58 years old, a 33 year mining veteran who’d worked for the Big Laurel Mining Corporation for 4 years. VDMME likely will release the name of the victim later today, Abbott said. Big Laurel’s parent company is Cumberland Resources Corporation based in Wise, Virginia. (link)

Say a prayer for his family.

Technorati Tags: Coal, Coal Mining, Wise County Virginia