"Journalist" sues contractor

Dave Harman · Post by **Dave Harman** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 10:52 am

http://wvrecord.com/news/contentview.asp?c=198719

A Putnam county "journalist" sues WalMart construction company for attempting to stifle his expose.

fearpeddler · Post by **fearpeddler** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 11:03 am

god, I thought he said he was moving, now he's suing..

genlock · Post by **genlock** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 11:08 am

Looking for the big payday from Wal*Mart and it's contractors.

Dr. Whiplash · Post by **Dr. Whiplash** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 11:18 am

Hey, it beats getting up and going to work.

The People's DJ · Post by **The People's DJ** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 11:22 am

Most likely he can't pay for his move so he's looking for some way to make cash.

SPIKE NESMITH! · Post by **SPIKE NESMITH!** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 11:33 am

I guess he didn't get what he expected from the sale of that website of his.

Despite the dismissal of the charges, Halburn alleges he suffered as result of the "Defendants' wrongful and malicious conduct." Such conduct resulted in his being discharged as a freelance writer for the Charleston Daily Mail and "compelled to pay attorney fees in defense of this action."

Likewise, Halburn alleges "the wide publicity, and the charges made against [him], injured him and his good name and reputation."

Lee · Post by **Lee** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 11:46 am

Jesus tapdancing Christ...

I mean, seriously, can it get any more pathetic with this guy?

I'd like to know how he's paying for all these lawyers, not to mention his own living expenses if he doesn't have a job. Unless he married into money or if his um..."wife" has a damn good job.

I'm not saying he's a gold digger...

Arp2 · Post by **Arp2** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 12:35 pm

Some of you aren't going to believe this, but....

After reading the article, I find myself siding completely with Mark on this suit.

Oh, yes. Absolutely. However, I think he should have targeted the police and whoever might have commanded them in the action (the whole "1:30 in the morning" stuff was absurd and was clearly designed to intimidate, humiliate, and damage Mark's ability to exercise his First Amendment freedoms and liberties and engage in commerce based on them) because, frankly, this reeks of the kind of political cronyism and goon-squad stuff that WV is known for (or, at least, "thought of as being known for").

Yes, I'm saying that even about Putnam county, which I think is far and away the best hope WV has in the 21st century economy. The government-does-the-will-of-powerful-politicos-and-their-annointed-and-engages-in-thuggery-to-pull-it-off mindset seems to be the case even there.

On the other hand, seeing this...

The new Wal-Mart is being built near Courts Motors beside the westbound entrance to Interstae 64 off Hurricane Creek Road.

...sent me straight to Google maps with its newly-improved sat images of WV. Although I had some trouble figuring out what was what and where (Google seems to do a very poor job of putting "this is here" markers on its maps of WV), I took what I could figure out and immediately thought of this question:

You live just about a mile from a very active, double-tracked rail line and just about 200 feet from an interstate highway, and you're going ape over the noise from some gone-forever-just-as-soon-as-the-building's-built construction site nearby???

Hoosier Daddy · Post by **Hoosier Daddy** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 1:13 pm

Not to mention that nearby property becomes ripe for commercial development once a Wal-Mart is firmly entrenched. In our area, these sleepy little subdivisions are commanding top dollar price as developers want to build strip malls near the big business magnet.

Location. Location. Location.

The property is worth much more as a commercial/industrial site than as a 20-something year old residential subdivision baking away under the 24 hour parking lot lights of a nearby Wal-Mart store.

I'm just sayin' ...

Arp2 · Post by **Arp2** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 2:19 pm

Where is the store actually being built? I can't quite figure it out. There doesn't appear to be anywhere enough space between Frontage Road and the highway, so I'm thinking it almost has to be the land with the strange dirt trails or whatever those are.....

genlock · Post by **genlock** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 2:48 pm

On the hill, above the car dealership.
To the north of it.

Arp2 · Post by **Arp2** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 7:02 pm

Okay, so that's a hill.

Looks like something used to be there.

And I take it Mark's house be somewhere in the lower left.....?

http://maps.google.com/?t=k&ll=38.44046 ... 23647&z=17

(By the way, when I went to get that link, it contained so much "&" stuff that I, fearing Google, wondered if it could contain information that would, in Google's "Big Brother" database, tie the people who click it to the people who post it. So I signed off, signed on to another name, and refreshed the map....yep, different "&" stuff! Then, I logged off Google completely and refreshed....again, different "&" stuff!

I then started removing parts of the "&" stuff and tried things in different combinations. Lo and behold, the link works without much of the "&" stuff, at all! [The "t=k" appears to be the sat view and "z" appears to be the zoom, although it once retained the same zoom if I left a "spn" value in.] So, yes, I have to believe "knowing who you know or might know" has to be one of Google's desires! FEAR GOOGLE!)

AmpedNow · Post by **AmpedNow** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 9:48 pm

Arp2 wrote:(the whole "1:30 in the morning" stuff was absurd and was clearly designed to intimidate, humiliate, and damage Mark's ability to exercise his First Amendment freedoms and liberties and engage in commerce based on them) because, frankly, this reeks of the kind of political cronyism and goon-squad stuff that WV is known for (or, at least, "thought of as being known for").

Bring a police scanner with you the next time you're here, and just listen...

Some of the things that people are cited for are absurd. I've even heard them say, "Cite them for whatever you can find." More than once.

I respect the blue line of the law overall, but many of the cops in WV truly deserve the "Berney Fife" label.

Yes, I'm saying that even about Putnam county, which I think is far and away the best hope WV has in the 21st century economy. The government-does-the-will-of-powerful-politicos-and-their-annointed-and-engages-in-thuggery-to-pull-it-off mindset seems to be the case even there.

I guess this is why there are not more exposes on political corruption by the state media... One is likely to find themselves dead if they go snooping in the wrong place.

Big Media · Post by **Big Media** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 9:51 pm

Arp2 wrote:
Looks like something used to be there.

A very small, family run motel. I believe. It closed years ago.

Arp2 wrote:(By the way, when I went to get that link, it contained so much "&" stuff that I, fearing Google, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,

has to be one of Google's desires! FEAR GOOGLE!)

Dude... calm down. They know who you are. They know who we all are.

David Paleg · Post by **David Paleg** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 10:02 pm

fanofbigmedia wrote:A very small, family run motel. I believe. It closed years ago.

For some reason, I think they called it the Hilltop Motel.

cgarison · Post by **cgarison** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 10:02 pm

Unlicensed blasting???? Uh??????

Wait a minute! I had to file reports complete with seismic data everytime the reclamation crew I was supporting set off a shot. Then those reports could be compared with seismic data at the USGS and if we loaded a shot with too much anfo, then we could be fined.

fearpeddler · Post by **fearpeddler** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 11:01 pm

K-Rock wrote: One is likely to find themselves dead if they go snooping in the wrong place.

I've heard tales about a car full of state troopers being gunned down in broad daylight in Logan back in the 70's....... and as expected nobody saw a thing.

Dave Allen · Post by **Dave Allen** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 5:18 am

Maybe because it never happened.

Zak Tyler · Post by **Zak Tyler** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 6:25 am

daveinthemorning wrote:Maybe because it never happened.

it's amazing how these stories get all turned around over the years isn't it...

it was actually a carload full of hookers WITH state troopers. and the troopers were getting blown.......... away.

does that sound more like the story dave?

Lester · Post by **Lester** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 12:19 pm

K-Rock wrote:I respect the blue line of the law overall, but many of the cops in WV truly deserve the "(Barney) Fife" label.

Unfair assessment. Barney Fife wasn't corrupt.