World War II Veteran Finally Honored for His Service

(June 29, 2012) -  After 66 years, this week’s Billy Johnson Community Hero finally received the recognition he deserves. When World War II veteran Scott Spradlin of Pike County was discharged from the war in 1945, he had earned many awards for his service. The building in St. Louis, Missouri, that housed these records, however, burnt down. So when Spradlin found a package containing 11 medals in his mail a few weeks ago, he wasn’t expecting it.

        “I was kind of surprised. After 66 years, I’d always forgot about them.”
        In 1943, 18-year-old Scott Spradlin was called to military service. Never having been away from home, he was taken overseas to Naples, Italy, where he received medical training. Serving as a medic on the combat medical team, Spradlin dealt with several horrifying situations on a day-to-day basis.
       “This guy was one of the soldiers in the infantry, and he stepped on a landmine and blew both of his feet off. That was my first patient to operate on and I had to take care of him. I had to put tourniquets on him and bandage him up and by the time he was done, someone else was screaming and hollering. I did that for 2 years, until the war was over.”
       Spradlin describes living conditions during the war as rough and challenging. He says he and his fellow soldiers slept outside, often in freezing temperatures.
       "You sleep in a hole in the ground. You get a bath every 30 days and clean clothes every 30 days and you sleep in a hole if you sleep at all because you're fighting, shooting, and walking. And you don't ride, you walk."
        But while his brave act of patriotism was traumatizing, Spradlin says the experience also gave him a new perspective of the world.
      “You wouldn’t take anything for your experience but you wouldn’t go through with it again for a million dollars. It changes your outlook on life. If you have any idea what I went through. It’s an experience you’ll never forget.”
      Congratulations to Scott Spradlin, this week’s Billy Johnson Community Hero.

Volunteering on Vacations

(June 22, 2012) - While most people are packing their bags to go to the beach or the amusement park this time of year, this week’s Billy Johnson Community Hero is spending his vacation giving back to his community. Jimmy Parsons spends 40 hours a week working for the Kentucky Department of Transportation as the Traffic Count Tech for the District 12 Office in Pikeville. He spends his vacation time every year, however, helping others.
"I do World Changers events and it’s through Southern Baptist. I’ve been in different states and all across the country doing this. And I take my youth group to them and they participate in it as young kids. First one I ever went to, I just got hooked.”

      Jimmy understands how important it is to mentor young people and teach them things that will help them in life. When he and his group aren’t traveling to help other people, Jimmy’s hosting groups of young people who come into our region and help.
    “They sacrifice a week of their time to come and sleep on a floor or on a cot and provide the labor for the low-income people in our communities. You’d be fascinated to see some of these kids; they’re actually good carpenters.”
     Jimmy Parsons truly believes in helping others live better lives. What vacation time he has left after his time for World Changers, he spends volunteering for other groups.
    “That’s not the only problem I work on. I work on Habitat, I’ve done two or three Habitat builds. And I do Higher Call, which is a church-building outfit. We’ve built two churches here in Pike County.”
    But Jimmy says he does it all because he feels led to do so.
    “I am a soldier for the Lord. I am a witness through him. And I do all things through His strength. Nothing on me, nothing for me, and I want it to all be for him.”
    Congratulations Jimmy Parsons, this week’s Billy Johnson Community Hero. 

Vietnam War Vet and Local Shriner Gives Back

(June 15, 2012) - Sometimes, you hear on the radio or read a story about someone who ran into a burning building and saved somebody's life, and he/she is called a 'hero'.  But, many of our Billy Johnson Community Heroes are recognized because of their long-time commitment to their community.  And, this week's hero, Mr. Sylvester Ramey of Elkhorn City has done just that.  Mr. Ramey, a Vietnam War Veteran, retired underground coal miner and business owner, understands how important it is to give back to your community.  In addition to serving many years as a volunteer firefighter, he still volunteers for the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife teaching hunter safety to young hunters.  "I've been involved with the Department of Fish & Wildlife doing hunter education classes for years, and I'm still the president of the Sportsman's Club here in Elkhorn City," explained Mr. Ramey.  "I was one of the first volunteers when they started the volunteer program for hunter education.  I was one of the first 1,000 in the state certified to do that."
     Mr. Ramey says, though, that probably the most rewarding thing he does is with the Shriners, helping transport children and their families back and forth from treatment.  "What we do in the Shriners at the local level is transport children to and from the Shriner's Hospital, whether it be in Cincinnati or Lexington," explained Mr. Ramey.  "Some of the most rewarding experiences I've had is working with the kids at the hospital.  It's amazing, and they will touch your heart.  They always seem to have a smile on their faces, too.  It makes you feel like you have had a small part in putting that smile on that child's face."
     Thank you, Mr. Sylvester Ramey, for understanding the importance of giving back to your community!

Nine Year Old Leukemia Warrior

(June 8, 2012) - There is only one thing worse than hearing the words, "You have cancer," and that is hearing that your eight year old child has cancer.  That day was May 9, 2011 for a young man from Auxier, Kentucky named Trevor Wright, this week's Billy Johnson Community Hero.  Trevor's mom, Belinda, said that Trevor's school called and said he was running a fever, so she picked him up.  But, when she took him to the doctor, he knew something was wrong when Trevor's white blood cell count was 250,000.  "He told me a story about a child who had cancer...who had Leukemia," she remembers.  "I sat there and listened to the whole story, and he said that child is okay now, and is still a patient.  Then, I said, 'What's that got to do with us?' And he said, 'I think Trevor has Leukemia.'"
     Trevor went through both chemo and radiation, and was considered cancer-free just 29 days later, which many are calling a miracle.  Trevor hasn't been back to school, but thanks to an organization called "Monkey in my Chair," his classmates can keep in contact.  "It's a huge monkey, probably as big as Trevor," says Belinda.  "It sits in his chair and holds his chair for him the whole time he's out of school.  And, it has a journal where they can write Trevor and send it to him.  And, he writes them notes back."
     We talked to Trevor, who is now nine, and asked him what makes him happy.  And, his answer was much different than most nine year olds.  "Uhhhh....mostly what makes me happy is being home now and out of that hospital!"
   Trevor is still taking chemo, but hopes to return to school this fall.  His mother says she is glad that Trevor touches people, but she says it is bittersweet.  "I'm glad he's an inspiration to people," she explained.  "But, on the other hand, I so wish he didn't have to be!"

     Congratulations, Trevor Wright, this week's Billy Johnson Community Hero!

PMC Volunteer Hero

(June 1, 2012) - This week's Billy Johnson Community Hero, like most of our heroes, spends much of his free time helping others.  Paul Thompson is one of the many volunteers at Pikeville Medical Center.  In fact, he was recently named "Volunteer of the Year" at PMC...an award that Mr. Thompson said he had no idea he had won.  "I was very surprised.  I'm not much for awards," explained Mr. Thompson.  "I'm here for the patients.  I enjoy visiting the patients."
     Mr. Thompson, who makes the drive two to three times a week to Pikeville from the Williamson, West Virginia area, says he has been visiting hospital patients since he was 15 years old.  He explained that a serious injury several years ago showed him how much visits from volunteers can mean to a patient.  "I got hurt in 1973 and have been hospitalized in and out for many years," he recalls.  "I know how it feels to lay in a bed without any company...without anybody coming by to say hello, and just seeing the nurse."
     He says being in that position is lonely, and he doesn't want patients to experience that.  And, the patients that Thompson visits are also in the middle of a battle for their lives.  He spends his time with cancer patients in the hospital and those receiving treatment at the Leonard Lawson Cancer Center.  Mr. Thompson says the visits with the patients mean as much to him as they mean to those he visits.  "You gain a whole lot more than you give," he explained.  "You see the hurt and destruction of cancer.  I visit mostly cancer patients.  You see all the suffering, and it makes you so thankful that you are as well off as you are and able to get out and do something."
     Congratulations, Mr. Paul Thompson, this week's Billy Johnson Community Hero!

This Hero Has Served Her Community For 40 Years

(May 25, 2012) - This week's Billy Johnson Community Hero has made serving her community a priority for the past 40 years.  Mingo County, WV resident Mae Stallard is known throughout West Virginia as a woman who has always put the needs of others before her own.  She says she feel s like the little girl she once heard about in a story.  "There had been a big storm during the night, and there were all kinds of starfish, hundreds of them, washed up on the shore," Mae recalls.  "There was a man also walking out on the beach, and he was watching this little girl who kept throwing the starfish back into the water.  He said to the little girl, 'Honey, you shouldn't do that.  You can't help them.  There's nothing you can do.' And she picked up another one and said, 'I made a difference in that one's life.'"
     Mae is a retired teacher in Mingo County, and is still loved by her former students, who affectionately call her 'Miss Boo'.  And, even after she retired, she agreed to substitute from time to time.  "After I retired, I would substitute.  The only thing is that I wouldn't let them pay me," explained Mrs. Stallard.  "I said, 'listen...I've had so much joy in teaching!"
     Now, even her substituting days are behind her, but she still sees some students every Wednesday before school.  "I have a bible club at Williamson Middle School that I started in 1994.  But, I have to go early in the morning before school starts."
     She is also one of the organizers of Williamson's King Coal Festival, and says she truly loves everything she does.  "My doctor tells me, 'Mae, everything you do honey...half of it's got to go!'" she laughed.  "And, I say, 'Let me tell you something.  I don't do one thing that I don't feel the Lord has called me to do!'"
     Congratulations, Mae Stallard, this week's Billy Johnson Community Hero!

Hero Vows to Fight Cancer

(May 18, 2012) - Losing a child is a nightmare that every parent prays he/she will never experience.  However, that experience is what drives this week's Billy Johnson Community Hero.  Ten years ago, Scrapy Barnes' youngest daughter, Rachel was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma, a cancer of the blood...all because she didn't feel well when she came home from college on Christmas break.
     "Rachel came home between Thanksgiving and Christmas of her freshman year of college with a swollen lymph node," recalls Scrapy.  "She had all the symptoms of mononucleosis and all the symptoms of pneumonia."
     And, after 3 hard years battling the disease, Rachel lost her battle with cancer.  "Rachel was 22 when she passed.  She died on July 28, 2005," explained Scrapy.  "That's why I'm so passionate to help find a cure.  We got to meet so many of her friends when Rachel was going through chemo and radiation at UK in Lexington.  We met so many people with Hodgkins Lymphoma."
     But, instead of retreating into a world of hurt and anger, Scrapy got in touch with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and began volunteering.  "I started volunteering with LLS with a program called, 'Pennies for Patients'.  It is voluntary and there's no money involved," explained Scrapy.  "With the passion I have, I just feel I can give something back that the people have given us over the past ten years."
     And, in the next few months, you will be hearing more from Scrapy and the LLS as they plan to hold an event to raise money to fight blood cancers.  "Our Light the Night awareness walk will be September the 8th at Bob Amos Park in Pikeville," said Scrapy.  And, we will be telling you more about that event as it gets closer.                                                        
     Congratulations, Scrapy Barnes, this week's Billy Johnson Community Hero!