BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — Martin County officials honored longtime Road & Bridge employee Blaine Stepp Thursday for his decades of craftsmanship, including his latest creation — a replica coal cart now on display in Warfield.
Judge/Executive Lon Lafferty and the Martin County Fiscal Court presented Stepp with a framed photograph of the coal cart before the court’s regular meeting.
“He has been a tremendous servant to this county,” Lafferty said.
Stepp began working for the Martin County Road & Bridge Department in early 1990.
“Over the years, he has become known for something pretty special: If it can be built, fixed, welded, or made out of metal, Blaine can probably do it,” Lafferty said.
Throughout his career with the fiscal court, Stepp has used his talent and craftsmanship for countless projects throughout Martin County. He has built tables, grills, basketball goals for county parks, and numerous other items the county needed.
Lafferty recalled one particularly impressive project.
“Blaine even built a bucket for the county’s Gradall that was so impressive that representatives for the company came to Martin County just to see his design,” Lafferty said.
Speaking to Stepp in the audience, Lafferty joked, “We should have gotten some kind of patent on that at the time.”
Stepp retired from full-time employment in 2016, but eventually returned to the Road & Bridge Department as a part-time employee.
“His love for what he does and his dedication to his community eventually brought him back,” Lafferty said. “He returned as a part-time employee and picked up right where he left off. Today, Blaine is still the person we turn to when equipment needs repairing, bridge railing needs fabricating, or a project requires a little ingenuity or a lot of skill.”
Stepp constructed the replica coal cart from scrap metal and old parts for Warfield’s Himler Heritage Exhibit: Tracks Through Time.
The cart is on display in Warfield City Park alongside the city’s X357 caboose and the Kermit-Warfield Railroad Bridge.
“For more than three decades, Blaine has quietly used his hands, his talent and his creativity to serve Martin County,” Lafferty said. “His work can be found all across our community, and much of it will be here for generations to come.”
Lafferty thanked Stepp for his service and willingness to take on whatever the county needs.