Progress 2012 Section 4

By SCOTT NOBLEfor the Princeton Times

WHEELING — “RandomActs” is a film beingproduced in the

Wheeling area by Highway40 & Flyover Films. Anotable member of the cast isPrinceton native, KevinSizemore. Kevin has beenworking in film and televi-sion in Los Angeles for morethan 15 years, and his latestrole is his first in his homestate.

I took a trip to Wheeling tovisit my old friend and chatabout the film, his career,and the meaning of “RandomActs.” It would be predictableto write a “local guy makesgood” story, but that day, thestory took a personal turn.

“Random Acts” is a story ofa typical, upper middle classfamily who, like many, are

caught up in the consumerdriven nature of life.Possessions, creature com-forts, and money are consid-ered the important things inlife. They go through life liv-ing under the same roof, butdo not really understand theconnection of a family.

According to the film’s syn-opsis, “The Georges are toobusy living their own lives tothink about or do for the lessfortunate around them.However, when misfortunestrikes close to home, thefamily is forced to look attheir lives and see how thesmall acts of kindness intheir pasts could greatlyinfluence and ultimatelysave their own futures.”

To Kevin, being able tocome home to make this filmwas a dream come true; how-ever,

the project is more than aresume builder or a pay-check. He is more than justan actor; he is a giver.

In our conversation, Kevinrelated how for many yearshe was caught up in the pur-suit of

the brass ring. “My priorities were out of

whack. I had career, family,and God in this order. WhenI flipped the order around,things started to change,” hesaid.

Although he had many tele-vision and film roles to hiscredit, Kevin’s passion foracting

waned, and in 2009, hedecided to give up acting tobe a police officer in LosAngeles. In

our conversations at thattime, he just felt like thingshad stagnated and his moti-vation had gone away. Whiletraining for the police acade-my, Kevin hurt his knee andthat was a turning point.

That “random act” changed

his life. “After my injury, Iwon a role playing JesusChrist, and that experiencereminded me of what joy act-ing truly was.”

When Kevin told me thisstory, it gave me pause toremember a project he and I

had been working on in themonths prior to his decisionto change careers. Kevin andI were playing

with a concept for a realityshow based on the bridalindustry. When he decided tostop acting, the project was

tabled, and life went on. Shortly after his turn as

Jesus, my life imploded. Ilost my business, my house,and just about everythingbut the clothes on my back. Ihad been living on couchesfor a few months when I

received a call from Kevin. He said, “Scott, I have

someone interested in ourshow. Can you come out toshoot a pilot reel?”

I told him about my situa-tion and said, “Kev, I’m donefor now. I need to get my feetback under me.”

With that, we put thingsaside, and life went on again.In October of 2009, I cameback to Princeton to startover. I had no idea what wasto come, but I knewPrinceton was a place I couldcome to figure out what wasnext. I was planning a trip toNew Mexico to house-sit foran old friend when I receivedanother call from Kevin. Thistime, there was no arguingwith him.

He was adamant we had toshoot a pilot reel.

“Can you get to LA for afew days?” he said.

Before I could answer,Kevin said, “If you do this,buddy, it will change yourlife.”

After some thought and acouple of calls, travelarrangements were workedout, and off to Los Angeles Iwent. We spent five daysshooting different scenes forour show, and you knowwhat? Kevin was right.

The experience changed mylife and opened up a creativepart of myself I had long agoput aside. That “random act”changed my life.

The more we talked thatsunny afternoon inWheeling, the more I under-stood my friend’s

motivation.He took the time to visit at-

risk kids in Wheeling. He felthe could connect to thembecause he is a self-described“country boy.”

“I wanted to show themthey could achieve theirdreams, no matter wherethey are from or no mattertheir circumstances,” Kevinsaid.

After telling his story to thekids, basketball and dinnerfollowed. Before he left,Kevin told me about a hulk-ing young man whoapproached him and said,“Mr. Sizemore, thank you forbeing here with us today. Ireally appreciate it.”

The young man shook hishand and added, “I’m gradu-ating on Friday, and I wouldbe honored if you could behere.”

Friday, March 30, 2012 25

Hope at

Home

‘Random Acts’brings friends

full circle

‘If you do this, buddy, it will change your life.’

— Kevin Sizemore, encouraging his friend to reach for his dreams one more time.

Contributed photo

Reconnecting over ‘Random Acts’...Princeton native and actor Kevin Sizemore, left, is shooting ‘Random Acts’ inWheeling — the first time he’s ever gotten to shoot inside his home state. Theopportunity offered a chance to catch up with longtime friend and artistic col-laborator, Scott Noble, who was touched by one random act that changed hislife.

On the set...The trip to Wheeling offeredNoble and his friends andfellow Concord Universitystudents the chance toglimpse inside the produc-tion on the ‘Random Acts’set. Above, Sizemore andother members of the pro-duction crew work on ascene. At left, Sizemore andCU students Andi Miller,Scott Noble and Chris Allenseize the opportunity to posefor a photo with Sizemore,who stars in the movie beingproduced by Highway 40 &Flyover Films. While the on-set visit was exciting foreveryone, it had greatermeaning for Noble, whocredits Sizemore with chang-ing his life, for the better.

Contributed photos

Random, page 27

26 Friday, March 30, 2012

By JACQUELINE PUGLISIfor the Princeton Times

PRINCETON — Fromgroup discussions andcritiques to evening

poetry readings theAppalachian Pen WorksWriters’ Group has beenmeeting for more than ayear, encouraging new writ-ers and honing experiencedtalent.

Founder Raymond Neely,resident of the Pipestemarea and West Virginianative, started the groupshortly after the opening ofPrinceton Public Library’snew headquarters on MercerStreet. With help fromPrinceton local SalvatoreButtaci the Appalachian PenWorks Writers’ Group beganholding monthly meetings atthe library.

The group spends its meet-ings discussing each other’swork and practicing differ-ent types of writing.

Buttaci said it is importantto learn different forms ofpoetry to become a strongerwriter.

“If you want to be a writer,you have to learn the craft,”he said.

•••Buttaci has been writing

since the age of 9 and wasfirst published at 16, whenthe New York Daily Newspicked up one of his essays.He was been writing eversince and has also spenttime as a writing teacher.He moved to Princeton fromNew Jersey with his wifeSharon in 2007.

Dr. Rob Merritt has alsobeen part of the writers’group since it began. Heknew Neely and Buttacithrough their publishedworks in The BluestoneReview, a community artscollective

published by BluefieldCollege. Merritt, professor of

English at Bluefield College,started the magazine in1992.

“I feel like The BluestoneReview did have somethingto do with getting these peo-ple together in the firstplace,” said Merritt.

Merritt said Neely hadwanted to start a writinggroup for a long time ,andthe opening of the PrincetonPublic Library was a bigstep toward that goal. Whenthe library opened, directorsasked people in the commu-

nity to come out and sharetheir written works.

Neely, Buttaci and Merrittwhere part of that group.

Merritt added he feels thegroup has done a good jobgetting people in the com-munity involved, as it is

good for others to learnabout writing. The writersgroup now has about 14members, each with a vari-ety of skill levels.

•••Along with monthly meet-

ings of going over eachother’s written works, thewriters also have monthlypoetry readings.

In February, the groupheld a poetry reading atNeighbors in Princeton, anart gallery open to artistsand creative groups. Thiswas the group’s first timeholding a poetry reading atthe gallery.

Leif Jacobson, owner ofNeighbors, was happy tohave the group. The galleryrecently transitioned fromShooters, a pool hall, to amore family oriented estab-lishment. This has beenJacobson’s goal for sometime as he wants to providesomething that will be abenefit to the community, aswell as give back.

Jacobson has had a passionfor arts and crafts for over45 years. At Neighbors, peo-ple from the community candisplay and sell their art-work. He said there are somany fantastic artists in thearea. In the future he hopesto have a “hungry student”artist show, where the sur-rounding college and highschool art students can dis-play their work.

Jacobson opens the galleryup to creative groups free ofcharge. He welcomes anycreative group from quiltersto poetry readers.

•••When the Appalachian Pen

Works Writers’ Group metfor its poetry reading inFebruary, members weresurrounded by the gallery’sartwork. Native Americanpaintings dotted the wall, aseach writer shared their

poetry with the audience.Four writers shared that

evening, taking each listen-er on a journey of experi-ences of sorrow, joy, humorand passion. A lot of thepoetry shared revealed thewriter’s personal faith instories of redemption andgrace.

Buttaci said he oftenincludes his faith in hiswriting.

“My Christian faith hashad quite an impact on mywriting, as it does in every-thing I say and do,” he said.“God gives each of us a tal-ent we should develop daily.I believe my gift from God isthe ability to write bothpoetry and prose, and bydoing so everyday I thankHim for it.”

Merritt said he alsoincludes spiritual tones insome of his writing. In somepoems he has quoted scrip-tures from Job andEcclesiastes. His writingdoes not often focus on aspecific religion or personalrelationship with God but hesaid poetry can be like aprayer.

“Poetry is a great way ofexpressing spiritual feel-ings,” he said.

He added the writinggroup is a good outlet forallowing people in the com-munity to express their spir-itual beliefs.

Both Merritt and Buttacienjoyed their time atNeighbors and desire toreturn for future readings.

The group meets on thefirst Thursday of the monthat the Princeton library forgroup discussion and theyplan to meet on the thirdThursday of the month atNeighbors for their poetryreadings.

Buttaci also hopes to teachwriting classes at thegallery in the future.

Local authors pen life stories

Photo by Jacqueline Puglisi

Sharing his work, extending the craft...Princeton author Sal Buttaci shares a piece of his writing during a recent meeting of theAppalachian Pen Writers’ Group. Buttaci has been writing since the age of 9 and was firstpublished at 16, when the New York Daily News picked up one of his essays. He was beenwriting ever since and has also spent time as a writing teacher. He moved to Princeton fromNew Jersey with his wife Sharon in 2007.

By JEFF HARVEYfor the Princeton Times

PRINCETON — Standingat the end of MercerStreet, where the old

Virginian Passenger Depotwas located, is the PrincetonRailroad Museum which hon-ors Princeton’s railroad her-itage.

Population statistics alonecan tell the story of theimportance of the Railroad tothe history of the City ofPrinceton. In 1900, the popu-lation of the Town ofPrinceton was listed as 1,000.Ten years later, the popula-tion was recorded as 3,027,and ten years after that, inthe census of 1920, the popu-lation was posted at 6,224.(West Virginia LegislativeHandbook and Manual andOfficial Register 1920). Today,the population of Princeton,according to the 2010 censusis listed as 6,432.

In early 1905, a group ofengineers from the soon-to-be-formed Virginian Railwaymade their way to Princetonto clear a right-of-way for thecoming of the railroad. Thiswas a cause of consternationfor many residents who livedin another city in MercerCounty. As work progressedon the new railroad, worrygrew that with the advent ofthe railroad in Princeton, thetown would grow to becomelarger than the city ofBluefield. Apprehensionincreased to the point that in1906 a special election washeld for the county residentsto decide whether Princetonwould remain the countyseat, or if the courthousewould be moved to Bluefield.Even with what was discov-ered to be duplicitous voting,Princeton was named thewinner and the courthouseremained in the Town ofPrinceton.

With the coming of the rail-road, the town of Princetonstarted and continued togrow. In 1907, the demand forutilities saw the first fran-chise for the delivery of elec-tricity to the town. InNovember of that same year,a franchise was granted forthe delivery of water. In theearly part of this same year,the Deepwater Railway andthe Tidewater Railway werelegally joined and becameknown as the VirginianRailway.

The railroad was completedin 1909. The Town ofPrinceton continued to growand to expand. On February20 of that same year, thename was changed from theTown of Princeton to the Cityof Princeton and expansionbegan toward the depot onwhat was then known as OldAthens Road. This became abusy street lined with storesand restaurants and wasrenamed Mercer Street.

Princeton Railroad MuseumDirector Connie Shumatesaid that many of the old rail-roaders have told her storiesof the way it used to be on theVirginian.

“One of the stories that Iparticularly enjoy centersaround the order hoop. Theorder hoop was made of bam-boo, had a long handle andwas equipped with a metalclip holding the orders thatwere to be passed from thestation to the train. The oper-ator would stand out by thetrack with the ordersattached to the hoop, waitingfor the train. A man on thetrain would reach out to getthe hoop, remove the orders,and then should have justthrew the hoop back to theground. However, as storiesgo, if he wanted to play aprank on the operator, hewould hold onto the hoop for

some distance before throw-ing it to the ground.

“Then, whether it was 4degrees below 0 with a foot ofsnow on the ground, or abright sunny day, the opera-tor had to go down the trackto retrieve the hoop for thenext set of orders. In lateryears, operators used a forkholding a string in which aslip knot was tied to hold theorders. The person retrievingthe orders slipped his armthrough the fork, the stringslipped out of the latch thatretained it, and the orderswere in hand. Later on, per-manent order-hoop standswere installed, which allowedthe operator to load them andthen stand back and watchthe passing train. Even withthe improvements, deliveringorders was not the mostpleasant of jobs.

“Another story centers on

the women employees at thestation. They were requiredto wear hose and dressesevery day. They were notallowed to talk unless theconversation was work relat-

ed,” Shumate said.Shumate said the museum

houses a collection of photo-graphs that chronicle the veryearly days of the Virginian.The photos are from the C. E.

Slayton collection and chroni-cle the building of the railline from Deepwater throughMercer and WyomingCounties. The collectionincludes photos of the moun-tainous terrain, rugged andharsh, as well as the menwho did the backbreakingwork of clearing the right-of-way, and then laying thetracks and building the tres-tles that would span from onemountainside to another.

“Another display that is ofparticular interest is of someof the tools that were used onthe railroad. A good many ofthe tools were actually manu-factured to fit a particularneed. Still others are so largethat it looks as if it wouldtake more than one personjust to handle the item,” shesaid.

The Virginian Caboose No.308, built in 1949, is also apart of the tour at theMuseum. It has been refur-bished in as much as is possi-ble to resemble a caboose thatwas in use during the 1950’s.It is a favorite of many of theschool children who visit.

Asked what she would rec-ommend to those who wantedto know more about theVirginian’s history, Shumateanswered, “I would invitethem to visit the Museum, ofcourse.”

The Museum is located at99 Mercer Street inPrinceton. Hours of operationare 12—5 p.m., Tuesday –Saturday, May 1 throughSept. 1.

The Museum is available forprivate and/or group tours bycalling 304-487-5060.

“The Museum houses photosand artifacts of the VirginianRailway. There is a ‘growing’library that is available forvisitors to use on site.”Shumate said. “I would alsorecommend that they read‘The Virginian Railway’ by H.Reid and ‘The Virginian Era’by Lloyd D. Lewis (who grewup in Princeton and laterworked for the railroad).”

Information for this storyobtained from the book“Defend The Railroad” byCarlton Lee Smith andShirley Warner Smith.

Kevin’s next day off tookhim to the West VirginiaUniversity Children’sHospital, where he not onlyconnected with a young can-cer patient, but he decidedto start a support founda-tion for this young man.Another random act.

“I never really wanted tobe a role model, but Gunnar(his son) changed all ofthat,” he said.

Now, he wants to be thatguy in the business thatpeople say, “He does itright.” That is why hespends his off time reachingout to others and commit-ting those “random acts.”That is why this film isclose to his heart.

Acting is more than a pay-check to Kevin; it is a wayto give back. To Kevin, act-ing is a series of randomacts. It is about getting peo-ple to react, to think, toexperience emotion. Actingis a teaching tool for hisyounger cast mates.

He tells them, “If it lookslike I’m acting, then I’mdoing it wrong.”

Director J.W. Myers com-mented on Sizemore’s abilityto use his emotions to makea scene more natural andafter what I saw on the setthat day, I would say he wasspot-on.

Until this trip, I wondered

why the film was not titled“Random Acts of Kindness.”

Before I left that day, Iunderstood a random act ismore than just kindness.They are acts of giving,teaching, thanking, and inmy case, someone believingin you that can change yourlife.

Without that one randomact of belief, someone elsewould be writing this articleand God knows what Iwould be doing right now.

Kevin, thanks for the push,buddy. And, dear readers, ifyou enjoyed this little tome,send a thank you to Kevinas well.

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‘I wanted to show them they could achievetheir dreams, no matter where they are from orno matter their circumstances.’

— Kevin SizemorePrinceton native and actor

Random...Continued from page 25

Museum revives Princeton’s past

Scenes from the Virginian...In early 1905, a group ofengineers from the soon-to-be-formed Virginian Railwaymade their way to Princetonto clear a right-of-way forthe coming of the railroad.Although townspeople inthe agricultural area werenot thrilled with the devel-opment, the railroad ulti-mately spurred the growththat fueled Princeton. A cen-tury later, the PrincetonRailroad Museum opened inthe same spot that once fea-tured the Virginian depot. InMay 2011, museum support-ers cut the ribbon declaring arestored Virginian cabooseopen for visitors. At right, amannequin mans the brakestation.

Photos by Matt Christian and Jeff Harvey

By LOUISE STOKERfor the Princeton Times

BRAMWELL – AtBramwell’s AnnualHomecoming Weekend,

we are family!It was 1988, the 100th

anniversary of the town. Itwas a big — no, HUGE —celebration from April 1 toNov. 20.

Two years had been spentinviting everyone back home,one more time.

Then it started, and onehighlight ran into another forseven months.

There were parades, plays,a Kiwanis Street Fair, BrickStreet Festival and then,class reunions for all classes— one great big HomecomingCelebration!

The Bramwell MillionaireGarden Club sponsored afive-mile run.

The 1988 basketball teamwon the state championship“just for the centennial” theplayers said.

Bramwell High SchoolAlumni played basketballunder the leadership of WestVirginia’s 1967 All-State(class A) team.

The week-long Homecomingevents ended with a Sock-Hop in the BHS gym with aband from Louisiana. RonnieCox (class of 1958) has hisown nightclub there andbrought his band with him toentertain his high schoolfriends at the dance.

By Nov. 21 of 1988, everyman, woman, boy and girlwas exhausted with the activ-ities and ready to say, “Welldone! Now it is over for 100years!”

BUT IT WASN’T Letters and phone calls

poured in week after week.Even though 1988 was notthat long ago, no cell phonesor e-mails were used. The onemessage was, “We must haveMillionaire Homecoming, justone more time!” and so it con-tinued.

The last week of July thisyear will mark the 25thannual MillionaireHomecoming, and the peoplestill come. The attendancehas never dwindled.

Former residents havereturned from all statesexcept Hawaii and manyyears from other countries.“I’m coming back home,”they’d say.

Alumni basketball gamescontinued until 2004.

We have added new eventseach year to keep the week-long party fresh. It is a weekof laughter, tears, entertain-ment, food and memoriesshared. It is a week of renew-ing old friendships and mak-ing new friends. All ages takepart and enjoy.

There is an annual MemoryWalk, a beautiful morningstroll to the Bluestone Riverwith rose petals dropped inthe water to float down-stream as we remember thosewe have lost.

Each year there is a FamilyParade, down Main Street

and back to say we marchedin a parade “one more time”following our leader of theband for more than 30 years.David and Naomi Richardsonare the traditional GrandMarshalls of the parade.

Each day of the week offersa special event. In 2011 ablue and gold trolley fromBluefield Area Transit provid-ed transportation around thetown for the “Church Tour”with music and memories ateach location.

“We stood in front of thataltar when we married,” werecomments from several cou-ples.

Another day was aStonemason’s Walk, with aguide pointing out the mar-

velous stone work left by theearly Italians. The eveningmeal was, of course, Italian.

And so it goes, an annualweek of hundreds of “family”members, returning homeagain.

So you didn’t attendBramwell High School? If youmeet certain criteria, youmay be named an “HonoraryMillionaire” and be a part ofBramwell’s 25th annual HighSchool/Family Reunion.

To request a schedule ofevents for July 2012 or forinformation aboutHomecoming [email protected]

For information aboutBramwell, check out our web-site at bramwelltours.com.

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By MATT CHRISTIANPrinceton Times

PRINCETON — If one isa PikeView Panthersfan, one may remember

an athletic post player whoplayed behind Shane Roarkand Ben Proffitt. His nameis Eugene “Buzzy” Hoston.Hoston also played footballfor the Panthers after trans-ferring from Princeton.

Now, Hoston is a part-timecoach for the PikeView bas-ketball summer leagueteams, a referee for the WestVirginia Secondary SchoolsAthletic Conference duringvolleyball, and a “sportsjunkie” for all things sportsbe they local or national.

After returning from theWVSSAC Boys’ Basketballchampionships, Hostonexplained, “Basketball is myfavorite sport. There’s a lotof basketball in my family.My stepdad is the coach atPrinceton, my cousin is thecoach at Tazewell, my uncleis an assistant coach atConcord, another uncle isthe coach at WoodrowWilson, and two of my dad’sbrothers played for statechampionships atPrinceton.”

Having watched the statetournament, Hoston selectedthree players as being thebest.

“It’s tough for me to pickreally. Jacob Copley fromTolsia, it’s hard for me topick someone from Bluefieldbut Anthony Eades wasgood, and the big guy fromMagnolia Mark Wintersreally showed me some-thing.”

As much as Hoston doesn’tcheer for Bluefield, headmires the effort andenthusiasm in the program.

He said, “One of the thingsthat help Bluefield is thepride that the players takein the program. It meanssomething to be a Beaverwhen those kids get to mid-dle school.

Also, on his mind was theNCAA Tournament. Hostonshowed his allegiances bywearing a North Carolina

hat. “I like UNC to win it all.” When asked about North

Carolina PG KendallMarshall’s injury, Hostencontinued, “It’s got to beUNC. They have everything.They’ve got a shooter, sizeand a good coach.”

Having just finished a bookabout that “good coach” RoyWilliams, Hoston sharedthat in the book, he learnedthat Williams used to sellcalendars during the off-sea-son when he was an assis-tant coach to make endsmeet to keep coaching.

Similarly, nothing reallymakes Hoston happier thantalking about the kids thathe coached.

“It’s all you could ask for toteach a kid something andhave them execute it in a

game situation,” Hostonsaid.

Having been a coach forthe last five seasons forPikeView’s summer leagueteams, Hosten has coachedsome of the most accom-plished athletes in Panthershistory like Jay Kelly,Tommy Symns, Tyler Farley,Ben Nester, and JoshBlankenship.

“Those kids, they did what-ever it took to win. Theyworked at it. They went tothe weight room over thesummer, played in the sum-mer league, and went tocamps. They wanted to getbetter,” Hoston said.

One guy that stands out forhim is former PikeViewguard Jordan Weitzel.

“[Weitzel’s] one of the mostintelligent kids that I’ve ever

coached. He knew when topass, when to shoot, when todrive. He had a high basket-ball IQ.”

Hoston can relate to thosekids because he, too oncewore the red and black ofPikeView.

With some prompting, hebegins to remember some ofthe faces that once wore thejerseys bearing the red andblack while Hosten roamedthe halls of the school as astudent.

Those names include BenProffitt, James Nottingham,

and Shane Roark. On Proffitt: “Ben was a

really confident guy. I couldsee how some people mighttake that the wrong way butI was got along with him. Iremember when he got 40points at Oak Hill. We werecoming off the floor when aTV guy pulled Ben aside andtold him. We didn’t believe itso went over and checkedwith Ms. Williams [thescorekeeper] and she count-ed it and that was what hehad.”

Nottingham: “Our teamreally started going my sen-ior year once we got James. Ithink he had like 15 assiststhat first game. Until then,we really didn’t have anyonethat could drive and drawand extra defender. Hecouldn’t shoot though. Mostof the time, when a guy gota steal that gave you achance to rest but when hestole the ball, you alwayshad to hustle down there toget the rebound because youknew that he was missingthe lay-up.”

Having played both highschool and junior collegebasketball with Roark,Hoston shared a story: “Inmy first game in summerleague for PikeView, I wasopen on the low block andShane got the pass. I knew Iwas open but I wasn’t reallypaying attention. He threwthat ball [Hoston holds his

hands in front of his face]right here. I caught it butwhen he got the ball I waspaying attention after that.”

Hoston continued, “AtSouthwest [VirginiaCommunity College], if weweren’t in class we were inthe gym. Sometimes we’d bethe only two people in thegym for two or three hours.”

Even that connects back tohis role as PikeView’s sum-mer league coach, though.

Hoston said, “The first cou-ple of summers that I didthe summer league job,Shane helped me but for thelast few, I’ve done it myself.”

Hosten estimated hisrecord at 60-10 over the lastfive summers.

“We didn’t win [the sum-mer league last year] but acouple of years ago, we didand we went undefeated,”Hoston said.

In the future, Hostenwants to coach.

“I’d like to coach. I want tobe a high school coach morethan a college coach. In col-lege, you get to hand pickyour talent, but in highschool you can take a kid inninth grade and watch himget better.”

He continued, “It’s reallycool to see a kid develop overthe course of his career andto look and see where he’s athis senior year.”

— Contact Matt Christianat [email protected].

30 Friday, March 30, 2012

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‘I’d like to coach. I want to be a high school coach more than a college coach. In college, you get to hand pick your talent,but in high school you can take a kid in ninth grade and watch him get better.’

— Eugene ‘Buzzy’ Hoston

Buzzy has a heart for hoops

Photo by Matt Christian

Hoping to be called coach...Eugene ‘Buzzy’ Hoston is a former high school athlete and a current part-time coach inPikeView’s summer league basketball program, but his mission is to become a high schoolbasketball coach.

Davis pledges to fightaddiction for rest of life

By MATT CHRISTIANPrinceton Times

PRINCETON — Everyday, the news is filledwith examples of people

who entered a downward spi-ral because of drugs andwere not able to make itback out. Occasionally, some-one will break that cycle andturn their life around.

That’s the case with MikeDavis.

In the stairwell of thePrinceton Public Library,Davis said, [My battle’s] notover. It won’t be over untilthe day I die.”

Davis first became addictedwhen he was a professionalmusician in the late 1990s.

“The addiction startedwhen I was on the road play-ing music professionally. I’mguessing the hard drugsstarted in about ‘95,” Davissaid.

It was Davis and the band’s

Photo by Matt Christian

Fighting to win...Mike Davis poses for a photo during his explanation of hisbattle with addiction recently at Princeton Public Library.Davis became addicted to cocaine in the mid to late 1990sand kicked his habit with the help of a friend. He is now setto graduate from National College in November. Fight, page 31

Friday, March 30, 2012 31

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By JEFF HARVEYfor the Princeton Times

PRINCETON — WhenChris Thomas ofPrinceton died in

February, he left behind notjust his family and friends,but a legacy of service to hiscommunity and others.

His sisters Ruth Sneed andSandra Hylton recentlyshared their memories oftheir brother’s communityservice, starting at thePrinceton VillageApartments.

“(In 1994), he came up tosee my grandchildren. I sug-gested he visit a couple ofchildren near-by who hadphysical handicaps. He wasgone for a while then hecame back and asked me if Ihad a couple of candy canes.He took them candy canesand fruit. From there, itgrew to him giving out candycanes, ‘Matchbox’ cars and‘Barbie’ dolls,” Hylton said.

Sneed added that between1994 and 2005, Thomas,with the help of local spon-sors he recruited, collectedand gave out approximately$8,000 worth of gifts.

“One year, he stood at Wal-Mart and collected dona-tions,” she said.

Hylton said he never want-ed publicity for his effortswhile he was still living.

“He loved to see the looks

on the kids’ faces,” she said.Hylton added that the

manager of the PrincetonApartments at the time wasvery helpful to her brother’sefforts.

“She gave him a list of kids’names with ages and sexes.We started in a conferenceroom then she moved us to alarger apartment as thedemand grew and we packed

more bags,” she said.Not only the children but

the elderly and other needyresidents of the PrincetonVillage Apartments benefit-ed front Thomas’ work as he

would give them fruit bas-kets and Christmas dinnerpackages, respectively.

“Not only for the village,but for those he knew, he’dtake them a basket. He’d do

this no matter how cold orwet it was,” Hylton said.

Another effort whichThomas was involved in wasthe Fishing Rodeo at JimmyLewis Lake, his sisters said.

Hylton said, “He helpedorganize it and worked atgetting donations. He did itfor a couple of years.”

Sneed said, “He’d see thatall the kids who attendedwould have a fishing roadand a tackle box. Chris wastalking to me about that theSunday before his surgeryhow he missed that.”

Hylton said, “The love hehad for all children was phe-nomenal. If he saw a childwho looked like they werehurting, he’d talk to them tosee if he could help.”

Sneed said, “He’d takeextra fishing rods to urnfamily reunions and fishwith the kids.”

She added, “Chris wasknown as the “man with aheart of gold” and that wasso true.”

Hylton said,” Ninety-ninepercent of our condolenceshave said the same phrase.There were people in theVillage would come to meand say if it wasn’t for youand your brother, we would-n’t have a Christmas.”

— Contact Jeff Harvey [email protected] or

[email protected].

bassist that were doing drugslike cocaine, acid and mari-juana. And for the next fouryears, that’s what they did.

“We picked up a manager inTennessee that was going toget us jobs opening for bigname acts nationally,” Davisexplained, “Something in myhead just clicked when hepresented us the contractthat gave us a raise.”

He continued, “The bassistleaned over and said, ‘Justimagine how much cocainethat we can buy with that

money.’ “ So, Davis refused to sign

the contract that the manag-er had presented to the band.

He said, “The drummer quitbecause me and the bassistwere at each others throatsall the time.”

Davis knew then that hehad a problem.

“We grew up as close asbrothers. We never had afight until then, that told methat we had a problem,” Hesaid.

So, Davis left the home heshared with the bassist andmoved in with a friend inChristiansburg, Va. Hisfriend served as a support

group. He said, “That first six

months were the worst of mylife. I didn’t have a supportgroup. My friend, she took itvery seriously. She was veryaggressive with it. It’s likeRingo Starr said, ‘with a lit-tle help from my friends.’”

When he returned thebassist’s home to pick up astray musical instrumentthat he had left behind,Davis realized the absurdityof addiction.

He said, “I came back topick up a guitar. Him and hisgirlfriend were sitting on thebed smoking marijuana andeating doughnuts. I wanted

that so bad.”Then, the woman dropped

doughnut glaze on the floor,picked it up and placed it onthe end of a marijuana ciga-rette and smoked it.

Davis said, “I just startedlaughing. I said, ‘you knowyou just smoked glaze right?’She said that she didn’t.”

He even went back toschool.

Davis said, “I’m majoring inInformation SystemsEngineering. I’ll graduate inNovember from NationalCollege.”

Davis continued, “I like towork with computers and totry to figure out the prob-

lems that the operating sys-tem is having. It’s almostlike writing a song.”

Once he graduates, Davis ishoping for a steady job.

He said, “Most people aregoing to say that they wantto get rich but I just want asteady job in the[Information Technology]field somewhere. I just wantenough to survive withoutskipping one bill everymonth to eat.”

For those struggling withaddiction, Davis recommendsa support group and goal set-ting.

He said, “I’d tell [someonethat was addicted] to find a

support group that will notlet you falter from your goal.They need to make sure thatthey set goals that they canachieve and that they don’tgo for too many goals atonce.”

Having climbed from theworld of addiction to theworld of college, Davis knowsthat his struggle will be alifetime one.

“I’m still having healthproblems from the drug use.There’s times that I wantsome cocaine but I know Ican’t,” Davis said.

— Contact Matt Christianat [email protected].

Fight...Continued from page 30

Chris Thomas’ community, sisters miss stand-in SantaSpreading cheer...Sisters Ruth Sneed andSandra Hylton say they willnever forget the Christmasvisits and fishing trips theirbrother planned for childrenwho might not get to enjoythe experiences otherwise.Chris Thomas began visitingthe children of PrincetonVillage in the mid-1990s, andhe continued until his deathearlier this year.