[July 15, 2011] Time Warner may be coming to Bell County Tweet PINEVILLE, Jul 15, 2011 (Middlesboro Daily News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- New Wave Communications customers may soon become Time Warner Cable customers. At the last meeting of the Bell County Fiscal Court, Bell County Judge Executive Albey Brock asked representatives of New Wave Communications if they would be retained by Time Warner if the company purchased New Wave. The men were unsure. "Well, they've asked us within our next meeting to approve a franchise agreement, which is normally pretty much an indicator that if you're not sold to Time Warner yet, you're getting awful close," said Brock. A representative from Time Warner is expected at the next Fiscal Court meeting in August to seek approval from the court. A New Wave representative addressed the court regarding problems the company has encountered with providing access to cable in some areas of the county. Workers at the Pineville office had been misinformed about the future of cable in certain areas, he said, and as a result, they passed on information that later changed as the result of a company determination. "The only thing we can do is apologize, because none of this was on purpose," he said. The representative explained that the cost of installing cable in some areas was more than could be recouped in a reasonable amount of time from the number of potential customers in the area. "You still have $35,000, $40,000 hanging in the air and that is probably your best case scenario... is you have 14 or 15 customers," he explained. Judge Brock said that he appreciated the candor of the company's representatives and suggested that they should not be blamed for the cable issues. "If I thought we could keep hammering you and get you to do it we wouldn't let you leave," said Brock. Regarding the recent flood that hit the city of Middlesboro and Colmar community, Brock announced that he was optimistic about the prospect of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) relief, but noted that such assistance is still uncertain. A request has been submitted by Governor Steve Beshear -- who visited Middlesboro the day after the detrimental flood and declared it to be in a state of disaster -- to President Obama for federal assistance. He also commended the work of Middlesboro city crews, leaders, and department heads as well as the county crews, volunteers and contractors that worked to clean up the area so quickly. "They were on top of it -- we worked great together. Everybody was hitting on all cylinders," Brock said. He also thanked Paul Wilson, Ben Barnett, and Jon Grace for their work in taking FEMA representatives to damaged areas and county magistrates who represent areas affected by the flood. "Coye Silcox and Junior Maiden were filling out people's forms for them and turning their names into FEMA. It's a big deal," said Brock who then repeated thanks for the efforts of the Middlesboro City Council and Mayor Bill Kelley. Brock also asked the public to support the Bell County Council on Literacy (BCCL). Previously housed in the badly flooded Salvation Army Building, the council sustained about $75,000 worth of damage, Brock said. Now, the council has been chosen by the Pepsi Refresh Project as a contender to receive $25,000. To win, the project idea that was submitted by the council must be among those that receive the most votes. To vote, register online at www.refresheverything.com or at the BCCL page, http://pep.si/lSj5V5 or www.refresheverything.com/bell-county-literacy. Participants can vote once daily online and via text message. To vote by text message, text 107440 to 73774 (Pepsi). Facebook and Twitter can also be used to encourage family and friends to vote for the project. In other official business the court approved motions to take the following actions: -- Pay bills and make necessary transfer. -- Accept treasurer's financial statement for last month. -- Accept sheriff's claim sheet for the fee account for last month. -- Approve payment of $39,120 to Vaughn and Melton Consulting Engineers for work performed on the Asher Industrial Park Access Road. -- Accept Bell County Sheriff's 2010 tax settlement. -- Make payment of $214,483.50 to Kay and Kay Contracting, LLC. for work performed on the Asher Industrial Park Access Road. -- Appoint Lillie Robbins to the Bell County Cemetery Board to replace Charles Brock in District 1. -- Accept Kimberly Lane, Calvin Miller Lane, Nicholas Huddleston Lane, Deborah Huddleston Lane, and Oak Tree Lane into the Bell County Road System in District 3. -- Remove Stewart Road from the Bell County Road System, no funds were expended on road. -- Accept checks from Bruce Bennett, Sheriff, in the amount of $64,990.98. -- Accept checks from Becky Blevins, Clerk. Lorie Settles is a staff writer for the Middlesboro Daily News. She may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected]. To see more of the Middlesboro Daily News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.middlesborodailynews.com/. Copyright (c) 2011, Middlesboro Daily News, Ky. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]