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Auditor reports stable finances for City of Inez
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — Auditor Jim Bryant reported the City of Inez remains in solid financial condition following his review of the 2024 and 2025 financial statements. However, he noted a couple of transfer and accounting items that the city needs to correct. Bryant said in a Nov. 13 meeting that the
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EDA response raises new questions about asbestos in 78-year-old building
BY LISA STAYTON MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — The Martin County Economic Development Authority’s response to an open records request raises new questions about whether adequate asbestos testing was performed before demolition of a structure in downtown Inez. The building at 21 East Main Street was built in 1947, an era when asbestos-containing materials were heavily
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Kermit swears in Kominar
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN KERMIT, W.Va. — Kermit Mayor Charles Sparks swore in Steve Kominar as councilman Monday to finish the term of Councilman Hawkey Preece, who passed away in late August. “Taking this seat to replace Hawkey, I can’t do,” Kominar said. “Hawkey was not only my brother-in-law but my brother in Christ,
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Martin County receives grant for heritage tourism projects
BY ANNIE HOLLER MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — The Martin County Fiscal Court has received a $20,000 grant to support two heritage tourism projects that celebrate the county’s unique place in American history while investing in its future. The funds will back “A President’s Visit” and the “Himler Heritage Caboose Exhibit,” both designed to preserve and
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Regional jail near financial collapse, will ask counties to pay higher inmate housing rate
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN PAINTSVILLE — The Big Sandy Regional Detention Center is teetering on the edge of financial collapse. In what officials describe as a last-ditch effort to keep the facility operating, the regional jail board is preparing to ask its four member counties—Johnson, Martin, Magoffin and Lawrence—to approve an increase in the
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Martin County keeps property tax rate steady
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — Property owners will see no change in their county property tax rates for the coming year. The Martin County Fiscal Court voted unanimously to keep the real property tax rate unchanged at 12.1 cents per $100 of assessed value for the upcoming year. According to the Department for
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Ayers appointed to regional industrial board, succeeds longtime chairman Mike Duncan
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — The Martin County Fiscal Court has approved Judge/Executive Lon Lafferty’s appointment of James Ayers to the board of the Big Sandy Regional Industrial Development Authority, following the resignation of founding board member and chairman Robert “Mike” Duncan due to health reasons. The Big Sandy Regional Industrial Development Authority,
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Public library cuts employee medical insurance
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — With an auditor warning that the Martin County Public Library’s cash has fallen from nearly $1 million to just $48,000 in six years, board members voted Monday to eliminate health insurance for seven employees — a painful step in their struggle to keep the library solvent. During a
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‘Revival on Main Street’ gives abandoned buildings facelift
BY ANNIE HOLLER MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — Two abandoned buildings on Main Street in Inez are getting a facelift as part of Martin County’s “Revival on Main Street” effort. Local leaders say the structures at 42 East Main Street are too damaged to be restored and will eventually need to be torn down and rebuilt.
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Government shutdown: A political stalemate with no end in sight
If you are like me, you have questions and concerns about the latest government shutdown. As I said recently, it feels like a political football, something both parties keep kicking back and forth while the country waits for resolution. Federal funding expired at midnight Sept. 30, 2025, when Congress failed to pass spending legislation for
