Last October, Columbia Natural Resources' officials gave Jay Burford a choice: Move to Ohio or find another job. Burford looked around at the declining neighborhoods of the Kanawha Valley and chose Ohio.
Last October, Columbia Natural Resources' officials gave Jay Burford a
choice: Move to Ohio or find another job. Burford looked around at the
declining neighborhoods of the Kanawha Valley and chose Ohio.
"Everything just seems to be falling away," Burford said. "With all the
tuff that's going on with Union Carbide and us. ..."
NiSource bought Columbia Gas Transmission and Columbia Natural
Resources last year, one of several recent mergers in Charleston. Burford
heard about the Columbia merger in June, and knew right away his
accounting job could be eliminated.
NiSource managers outlined "Project Compass" - a four-month look at
every administrative position in Charleston - to determine how many jobs
they could eliminate.
Burford talked to his wife, Jennifer. They decided that if he lost his
job they would move to another state with their 1-year-old son, Sam.
Their decision to move was complex, like the end of a turbulent
marriage. Jay and Jennifer love West Virginia. That's one of the first
things they'll tell you. They're scared to leave, but even more scared to
tay.
"You look in the newspaper here and you might find five or six decent
jobs," Burford said. "In the field that I chose, I thought it'd be a lot
easier to make better money. That's not the case. At least, not around
here."
Corporate shake-ups
The Burfords are part of a larger exodus from Kanawha
County. In 1999, 1,663 more people moved out of Kanawha
County than moved in. That's more than double the number who left
in 1994.
More than 37,000 taxpayers left West Virginia in 1998-99, according to
migration data from the Internal Revenue Service. Their favorite
destination was Ohio, followed by Virginia and North Carolina. During that
time, more than 6,500 taxpayers moved from West Virginia to the Buckeye
State.
Charleston Mayor Jay Goldman blames corporate shake-ups and
consolidations for the many "For Sale" signs dotting neighborhoods like
the Burfords' near St. Albans. Without effort, Goldman can rattle off a
dozen former industrial giants that have either closed or dramatically
reduced their payroll.
"We've lost our industrial base. People have to wake up and realize the
world has changed, and we haven't changed with it."
Last February, West Virginia's largest bank, One Valley, became
BB&T. About 80 workers in Charleston lost their jobs at the bank.
Across the state, almost 300 people left the bank. Thirty people moved to
BB&T's headquarters in North Carolina.
Also last year, Union Carbide workers heard that Michigan-based Dow
Chemical wanted to buy their company. More than 2,500 Carbide workers are
till waiting to hear if they'll lose their job once the merger is
approved, which is expected at the end of March.
Last summer, NiSource Chairman Gary Neale predicted he would cut
one-third of his newly acquired Charleston work force, about 200 of the
700 employees. After a face-to-face, closed-door meeting with Sen. Jay
Rockefeller, D-W.Va., Neale lowered the number. About 60 people, including
Burford, lost their job in Charleston.
Last October, Columbia Natural Resources' officials gave Jay Burford a
choice: Move to Ohio or find another job. Burford looked around at the
declining neighborhoods of the Kanawha Valley and chose Ohio.
"Everything just seems to be falling away," Burford said. "With all the
tuff that's going on with Union Carbide and us. ..."
NiSource bought Columbia Gas Transmission and Columbia Natural
Resources last year, one of several recent mergers in Charleston. Burford
heard about the Columbia merger in June, and knew right away his
accounting job could be eliminated.
NiSource managers outlined "Project Compass" - a four-month look at
every administrative position in Charleston - to determine how many jobs
they could eliminate.
Burford talked to his wife, Jennifer. They decided that if he lost his
job they would move to another state with their 1-year-old son, Sam.
Their decision to move was complex, like the end of a turbulent
marriage. Jay and Jennifer love West Virginia. That's one of the first
things they'll tell you. They're scared to leave, but even more scared to
tay.
"You look in the newspaper here and you might find five or six decent
jobs," Burford said. "In the field that I chose, I thought it'd be a lot
easier to make better money. That's not the case. At least, not around
here."
Corporate shake-ups
The Burfords are part of a larger exodus from Kanawha
County. In 1999, 1,663 more people moved out of Kanawha
County than moved in. That's more than double the number who left
in 1994.
More than 37,000 taxpayers left West Virginia in 1998-99, according to
migration data from the Internal Revenue Service. Their favorite
destination was Ohio, followed by Virginia and North Carolina. During that
time, more than 6,500 taxpayers moved from West Virginia to the Buckeye
State.
Charleston Mayor Jay Goldman blames corporate shake-ups and
consolidations for the many "For Sale" signs dotting neighborhoods like
the Burfords' near St. Albans. Without effort, Goldman can rattle off a
dozen former industrial giants that have either closed or dramatically
reduced their payroll.
"We've lost our industrial base. People have to wake up and realize the
world has changed, and we haven't changed with it."
Last February, West Virginia's largest bank, One Valley, became
BB&T. About 80 workers in Charleston lost their jobs at the bank.
Across the state, almost 300 people left the bank. Thirty people moved to
BB&T's headquarters in North Carolina.
Also last year, Union Carbide workers heard that Michigan-based Dow
Chemical wanted to buy their company. More than 2,500 Carbide workers are
till waiting to hear if they'll lose their job once the merger is
approved, which is expected at the end of March.
Last summer, NiSource Chairman Gary Neale predicted he would cut
one-third of his newly acquired Charleston work force, about 200 of the
700 employees. After a face-to-face, closed-door meeting with Sen. Jay
Rockefeller, D-W.Va., Neale lowered the number. About 60 people, including
Burford, lost their job in Charleston.
In October, NiSource managers told Burford and 20 other people in his
accounting department that they had one week to decide whether to take a
job with the company in Ohio. Burford was one of four who accepted the
relocation.
NiSource gave him a promotion for accepting. The company will also pay
for the couple's moving expenses and home-buying closing costs. This
pring, he'll start his new job.
Mountains to cornfields
Jay and Jennifer, both 26, met at St. Albans High School and went to
West Virginia State College together. They married during their junior
year in college.
He graduated as a certified public accountant. She majored in nuclear
medicine, but stays at home with Sam during the day.
The St. Albans area is the only place the Burfords have lived. Their
1,300-square-foot house off Coal River Road is for sale for $69,900.
Inside their small house, they bump into each other during frozen pizza
dinners. Across the street, a neighbor has several boats parked in his
front yard.
"We're out of the city limits and you can't get any help, you know,
when dogs are barking or people don't mow their grass. There's nothing you
can do," Jennifer said.
In Columbus, they will live in a four-bedroom, 2,200-square-foot house
with cathedral ceilings. Their subdivision has a stone pillar entrance and
a sign that says: "Reserve at Ashbrook." It's surrounded by rolling hills
waiting to be carved into other subdivisions with $200,000 homes.
Jennifer likes the new house and Ashbrook's homeowners association. She
welcomes the strict rules about fences, paint and yards.
If they stayed in St. Albans, Sam would go to Lakeview Elementary. But
Lakeview Elementary is one of the schools in KanawhaCounty
that's scheduled to close because old people in St. Albans now far
outnumber children.
In Columbus, "they're building new schools all around," Jay said.
"They sent us all the statistics on passing rates, and it's wonderful
... in our town it's like 93 percent," Jennifer said.
Jay's biggest worry about the move is that Jennifer will be lonely. He
will have to work overtime at his new job. Their parents and all their
friends live in St. Albans. Several times a week, Jennifer totes Sam to
his grandparents' house.
"Big to me is scary," Jennifer said. "I like that it's a small town and
a lot of people know each other and in high school you knew everybody."
Jay will miss West Virginia's forests and rivers where he hunts and
fishes for trout. Unlike his wife, he's not enamored with the fresh-cut
lawns of Columbus. "It's amazing to see the cornfields turn into
ubdivisions. It's a little strange," Jay said. "I don't really like the
crowds."
One day maybe they might move back to the Mountain State, Jay said. "If
they had more high-paying jobs. Focus on bringing more young people here
and keeping the young people here ..." his voice trailed off. "The same
old story you always hear."
To contact staff writer Kelly Regan, use e-mail or call 348-5163.
Kanawha County is suffering an exodus of people, and the population drain seems to be getting worse. Where are they going, and why are they leaving?
Putnam County is growing, but almost 80 percent of the increase comes at Kanawha County's expense. That growth is slowing down as flat land becomes more scarce and houses more expensive.
"Valley on the Move" looks beyond the anecdotes and uses data from the IRS to show where people are moving and how much money they take with them.
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