in class assignment, JMC 414 - 022315

Andrea Steele

JMC414

In-class assignment

Second-day lead

02.23.15

With the rising number of addictions found in our Huntington Community, Mayor Steve Williams will continue in his journey to a better Huntington.

During his State of the City address, the mayor said that there have been 87 overdoses since January 1. “We had 87 missed opportunities to save a person’s life,” the mayor said.  

The various projects happening throughout the city, such as the removal of Northcott Court, are a part of the mayor’s vision in relieving the city of its drug problem. In September, the mayor commissioned all churches in the tri-state area to pray for our city and began the “Prayers of Huntington” campaign.

One of the main concerns the mayor has is keeping the Marshall Community safe. Through the Coffee with the Mayor meetings that are given once a month on Marshall University’s campus, students have been able to approach the mayor and express their concern for safety in our town.

            The city will continue in the effort to clean up Huntington through their Drug Control Policy office as well as through the partnership with the Wellness Council of West Virginia

JMC 414 City Hall Meeting

City Hall Meeting

Monday, Feb. 23

            Concerned citizens of Huntington, W.Va., braved the frigid temperatures Monday evening and came to City Hall to attend the monthly meeting and voice their own concerns for the city.

            Mayor Steve Williams began the evening with a specially thanks to the public workers of Huntington who have delivered tireless effort throughout the two winter storms Huntington faced this past week.

            Firefighters and police officers battled snow, ice and sub zero temperatures to be on call for wrecks, busted water pipes and other issues that the weather caused.

            The city will continue in their efforts of snow and ice removal on Huntington streets and sidewalks.

            Citizens raised more questions about the icy Huntington sidewalks and handicap accessibility. City Council assured citizens that the city is doing all that they can to remove ice and snow.

            The mayor also brought up the continuing of the cities renovations and said that, in the process of project completion, the financing would not require a rate increase.

           The next City Hall meeting will be held Monday, March 9.

State of the City Address

Andrea Steele

JMC414

02.17.15

State of the City Address

            Inside of City Hall, Mayor Steve Williams stood in front of members of the town and presented his State of the City Address.

            Though the snow may have kept some away from attending, involved members of the community still came out and attended the speech Tuesday.

            The mayor began by discussing the projects that have been going on since the last SOTCA. In September, the first phase of the demolition of Northcott was completed and the moving those who lived there throughout residential areas in the city is being set into motion.

            Other developments in the area were set in motion earlier in the year, such as the West Virginia Broadband Deployment Counsel and the effort of deploying high-speed broadband in sections of our city.

            During the mayor’s last speech, his final words were, “Behold, we are here to do a new thing. It’s been a long time coming, but I know change is going to come.” Now, change is happening in Huntington and continuing to happen. As we embrace these changes, we embrace a new way of life in this city. “A new way, a new direction, a new path,” the mayor said.

            As predicted, the mayor said that the city would be focusing on the four major projects in Huntington as well as the decrease in our cities budget. The city will continue to recreate the aesthetics of Hall Greer Boulevard by removing Northcott Court, moving the residents throughout Huntington and bringing more business to the area.

            The mayor said the project is estimated to be completed over a six-10 year period, however there are stipulations to the project. The biggest issue, the mayor said, is the drug issue we face in Huntington. With this, the Mayor’s Office of Drug Control Policy is working with the fire department and community leaders to assess the steps to be taken to resolve this issue.

            According to the mayor, there have been 87 overdoses since January 1. “We had 87 missed opportunities to save a person’s life,” the mayor said.  The issue is an ongoing battle in our community that the mayor hopes to resolve.

            The mayor concluded his speech with saying the ambition of this city is great. “We have enormous opportunity before us. The projects that I have outlined are substantial in scope. What will the state of city affairs look like in 2065? What will people walking down the hall of this building during the 200^th anniversary of the construction of this temple of public policy be contemplating?”

            The goal for the city is change and transformation, and that’s what the mayor hopes to see happen, “it’s been a long time coming, but the change has finally come.”

           

State of the City Predictions

Andrea Steele

JMC414

State of the City Address Predictions

02/17/15

            In a classroom inside of Smith Hall, Marshall University students come to class to meet and greet personally with the Mayor of Huntington.

            Mayor Steve Williams came to JMC414, a public affairs reporting class, Wednesday, February 11 to give some insight to students as to what his State of the City speech would consist of.

            Students came prepared with questions to ask the mayor and the mayor gave a further look into what his speech would entail.

            The basic outline of his speech will follow a similar pattern of his speech from two years ago because, according to the mayor, the plans should remain consistent when following through with a long-term project.

            With all the recent construction around Huntington, the mayor will explain the future plans for the city. Continuing with the current projects around the city, the mayor said there are still four main undertakings going on. These projects consist of continuing to update the city through reconstruction, tearing down and building throughout the city. These projects are: the ACF property, which is from Marshall University’s campus to the Highlawn area, working with Frontier Communications and the America’s Best Community Competition, cleaning up Huntington and the moving of the Northcott low-income housing and lastly, bringing broadband and the “virtual ribbon” to Huntington to connect the city better.

            The mayor will also discuss Huntington’s budget and the decrease of 5% and where it’s coming from. Mayor Williams did say that there will be no layoffs and that the 5% decrease was predicted.

            Other issues that will most likely be brought up during his speech will be the storm water problems and fixing the streets of Huntington.

            The mayor finished by stating that he feels the city is strong and vibrant.

JMC 414: Wednesday, Feb. 4 assignment

Andrea Steele

02/04/15

“I Have a Dream,” August 28, 1963.

“We shall overcome, we shall overcome, we shall overcome someday,” were the words that echoed through the air, flowing out of the mouths of over 200,000 people as they marched to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to hear to the dream of one man.

Americans – both black and white – standing behind Civil Rights, stood shoulder-to-shoulder Wednesday to listen to the powerful words spoken by a passionate Baptist minister from Atlanta, GA.

Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. has a dream. That dream is for blacks and whites to one day be seen as equals, for his children to one day in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin.

“1963 is not an end, just the beginning,” King said. It’s been over one hundred years since Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves who were in the 10 remaining states in rebellion.

“But 100 years later, the Negro still is not free,” King said. “One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.”

 King passionately proclaimed his dream for all listening, in hopes that they too might share in this vision: the vision that this will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning, “My Country ‘Tis of Thee.”

Let freedom ring.