Robert Benjamin Clark Jr., 79, of Charleston, was born June 19, 1936 and called home to glory March 31, 2016. He was preceded in death by his parents, Oliver and Ethel Alexander; and sons, Ronald Ross and Bobby Adams.

"Bobby" as he was known by most, was a hardworking employee of Dial-A-Ride, Charleston Gazette-Mail, C&H Taxi, Red Head Service Station and CAMC General; he was truly loved and cherished by his family.

Robert leaves to mourn, wife, Betty Clark; sons, Greg Reed of Charleston, Robert B. (Jenise) Clark III of Charleston, and Scott Clark of Charleston; daughters, Debra Woodson of Charleston, Anita Gail Clark of Charleston, Donna Clark of Charleston, and Pamela Wilmore of Norfolk, Va.; 21 grandchildren; and 25 great-great-grandchildren.

Service will be noon Tues. April 5, at Liberty Missionary Baptist Church, Charleston, with Rev. Lloyd A. Hill officiating.

Friends may call one hour prior to the service at the church. Preston Funeral Home, Charleston is in charge of arrangements.

Anita Faye Blancet, 56, of Elkview, went home to be with the Lord on Fri. April 1, 2016, at Hubbard Hospice House, Charleston.

She was a very loving mother and grandmother. She was a caring and selfless person, always putting her family and others before herself. She worked as an in-home caregiver and enjoyed her houseplants.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Dennis and Reba Blancet; son, Chris Blancet; sister, Denise Blancet; and special aunt, Ruthanne Myers.

Surviving is her daughter, Carrie Shamblin and Ricky Myers; son, Dustin; and special daughter-in-law, Kaitlyn Blancet; grandchildren, Zachary and Khloe Blancet, Kristin and Amiee Tanner, Harley Myers, Rebecca Flinner, and Lance Bryant.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to "all" those who has helped us in our time of need and to the tender care from Beth Dawson and Hubbard Hospice care.

Memorial service will be 11 a.m. Sat. April 9, at Three Mile Wesleyn Church, at 817 Three mile road, Elkview, with Pastor Billy Burdette officiating.

Online condolences may be sent to www.haferfuneralhome.net. Hafer Funeral Home, 50 North Pinch Rd., Elkview is assisting the family.

Bishop, Pauline — 2 p.m., Handley Funeral Home, Danville.

Chapman, Sonya B. — 3 p.m., Temple Baptist Church, Craigsville.

Danbery, Rickey — 3 p.m., Carbondale Baptist Church, Cannelton.

Haddox, Mary — 2 p.m., Kirkland Memorial Gardens, Point Pleasant.

Huey, Edward A. — 10 a.m., Dunbar City Park, Dunbar.

Keiper, Dewey — 2 p.m., Summersville Baptist Family Life Center, Summersville.

Kendall, Patricia K. — 3 p.m., Greene

Kimberling, William — 12:30 p.m., Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Charleston.

Nott, Brenda — 2 p.m., Wilcoxen Funeral Home, Point Pleasant.

Stanley, John L. — 1 p.m., Keller Funeral Home, Dunbar.

Thomas, Hazel — 3 p.m., Sissonville Memorial Gardens, Sissonville.

Thompson, Connie — 7 p.m., Riverview Freewill Baptist Church, Slabtown.

Wilson, William — 2 p.m., Waybright Funeral Home, Ripley.

Many of us may use Bounce dryer sheets and Head & Shoulders shampoo, and ladies are likely familiar with Olay face and body washes.

Soon, consumers who purchase those brands may be buying West Virginia made products.

Procter & Gamble announced last week its manufacturing facility, being built near Martinsburg, would manufacture those brands as well as Aussie, Herbal Essences, Pantene, Vidal Sassoon and Old Spice, the Gazette-Mail's Andrew Brown reported.

"This announcement is huge for the state and the people who call the Mountain State home," said Gov. Tomblin.

Many of the items manufactured at the $500 million facility would bring in billions each year for the company. No doubt some of that will go back into the local economy.

The plant is a huge get for the Eastern Panhandle. The facility is expected to employ 300 when it opens and ramp up to 700 by 2019. The company is working with Blue Ridge Community and Technical College to train employees for the plant, Brown reported.

"The big deal is for the people who will ultimately be employed there," said Commerce Secretary Keith Burdette. "This is a minimum of 700 jobs with an international company of world renown; I think the fifth largest manufacturer of consumer goods in the world. It's a huge deal."

Tomblin called the facility a "great opportunity for us."

They're right. Billion-dollar companies don't come knocking on West Virginia's door often. But Procter & Gamble saw something they liked here - a massive, flat tract of land suitable for a 1 million-square-foot facility within a day's drive of a large portion of the U.S. population.

Too often, West Virginians focus on the negative: We don't have enough land, we don't have a trained workforce, we have too many regulations and the negative perception of our business and legal climates all lead people to believe businesses won't seek out opportunities here.

But Procter & Gamble's move to the Mountain State highlights our positives. Geographically, our location gives manufacturers access to markets in larger cities. Although a substance abuse epidemic grips our state, many men and women are ready to work. Our community and technical colleges are preparing students for those jobs.

Our Legislature is working to make our state more business friendly and entice more companies to build here.

Yes, the state's economy isn't as strong as it could be. But allowing our economy to diversify and attracting new business, and allowing current ones to grow, can only help us in the long run.

WASHINGTON - A paradox of our time concerns productivity. We are awash in transformative technologies - smartphones, tablets, big data - and yet the growth in labor productivity, which should benefit from all the technology, is dismal. This matters. Productivity is economic lingo for efficiency, and it's the wellspring of higher living standards. If productivity lags, so will wages and incomes.

The latest figures are disheartening. From 2010 to 2015, average labor productivity for the entire economy rose a meager 0.3 percent a year. If maintained over a decade, this molasses pace implies a puny 3 percent wage increase, assuming (perhaps unrealistically) that the gains are spread evenly over the labor force.

Historically, we have done much better. From 1995 to 2005, labor productivity increased an average of 2.5 percent a year, reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This would support a roughly 25 percent increase in wages and fringe benefits over a decade.

In a broad sense, the election is about reviving productivity growth, which would automatically ease our economic problems. Who doesn't want higher wages, stronger consumer spending and heftier tax collections? But no candidate, from either left or right, has a plan to guarantee faster productivity growth - and none will.

Although productivity seems dry, it reflects something that is dynamic and amorphous - a nation's economic culture, which includes its values, institutions, demographics, technologies, managers, workers and much more. Because it embodies so much, productivity is hard to influence and control. Economists have repeatedly failed. They regularly miss its turning points - productivity slowdowns and speedups. Neither the 1970s' slowdown nor the 1990s' pickup were anticipated.

Not surprisingly, the present slump has them stumped. It wasn't predicted, and its causes are unclear. In a paper, economist Martin Neil Baily of the Brookings Institution reviewed some common candidates:

Innovation has slowed, resulting in weak business investment.

The Great Recession "clobbered the economy," also weakening investment.

Venture capital has retreated, making it harder for startup firms to obtain financing.

The productivity slowdown is a statistical mirage, because the value of "free" Internet services (Google, Facebook and the like) is underestimated.

Economist Robert Gordon of Northwestern University blames diminished innovation, but even he thinks that productivity should grow at least 1 percent. Meanwhile, a new study by economists at the Federal Reserve and the International Monetary Fund rejects undercounting of the Internet as a major cause of the productivity slowdown. "Free" services are counted, the study says; they're valued at the cost that firms pay for Internet ads.

So the paradox remains: How can all the new technologies, with countless industries being "disrupted" and forced to change, coexist with such poor productivity performance? The answer may be simpler than we think. The economy is supporting parallel technologies - old and new - to do the same thing. The cost of the overlap is substantial, especially in a slow-growing economy still suffering from the Great Recession's hangover.

The obvious example is retailing. Traditional retailers, including big-box stores that once seemed invincible, face relentless competition from e-commerce. They can't abandon their stores, which often remain the largest source of their sales and profits. (Despite rapid growth, online sales in 2015 represented only 7.3 percent of total retail sales.) But if they don't invest heavily in digital technology, they will cede the future to Amazon and other successful digital firms.

Even powerful Wal-Mart cannot escape this logic. In 2014 and 2015, its same-store U.S. sales, including e-commerce, were essentially flat. Yet, it made significant investments in its Web operations to defend against e-competition. Other industries straddle two technological eras. Newspapers publish print and digital editions. Phone service is split between expanding cellphone networks and receding landlines.

For the economy as a whole, this represents massive duplication. Businesses are splintering between wildly profitable firms and those that aren't, argues White House economist Jason Furman. The same phenomenon may affect productivity. Some companies, presumably including many digital firms, are hugely productive. Many others are in the dumps, burdened by parallel technologies. It is the mediocre performance of this second group that drags down the economy's overall productivity growth.

If this reasoning is correct (and, of course, it may not be), we have one explanation of how explosive new technologies can undermine average productivity growth, at least temporarily. Many Americans are now transfixed by the rowdy election campaign. But it is hardly a stretch to say that the country's future may depend as much, or even more, on the fate of productivity as on the identity of the next president.

West Virginia has long been known for its strong work ethic.

But with the recent contraction of the coal market, this identity has been caught in the balance of a new economic landscape and the loss experienced by those whose heritage was written by our formative industries. This parallax has created a void in function and identity for the entire state.

Human nature goads us to scramble for a replacement. Something, anything, to fill the coffers we've grown accustomed to having full. As tempting as that may be, I would challenge each of us to strive for something greater.

What if, instead of placing the security of the state in one industry, we dared ourselves to do more? What if we pulled ourselves up by our own innovative, hard-working bootstraps and created an economy so diverse that no single industry's downturn could stifle growth?

That vision is precisely what demands a local, regional and state network of resources intentionally constructed to grow a culture of entrepreneurialism.

It's only through the development of unique visions, cutting-edge inventions and local support that our state can grow the leaders of tomorrow.

When comparing a future of single-focused, commodity driven investment with the vibrant opportunities made possible by thousands of collective entrepreneurs, the question quickly becomes how do we make that happen, not why would we want to.

Wyoming, Georgia and Texas all had the opportunity to rely solely on their natural resources, but decided to invest in an infrastructure to support entrepreneurship instead.

Since the 1950s, these states have begun finding ways to fund, assist and promote their business owners above all else. As commodities struggle, these states are reaping their rewards. It's time for West Virginia to learn from others' prosperity.

By empowering our own people, we reclaim the potential to build our economy into a national leader of industry. This future is just under our surface, waiting for a spark to ignite the vision into a reality. That spark requires financial resources, government support and united communities. Without seed funding, technical assistance and growth opportunities, the promise of successful entrepreneurship struggles.

We now have an opportunity to turn our current economic voids into prosperity by building a network for future entrepreneurs. An example of the kind of collaboration needed is the West Virginia Hive Network - now operating in Beckley.

This system was established through a collaboration between the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority, the Massey Foundation, the Greenbrier Valley Economic Development Corporation, West Virginia University, New River Community and Technical College, the Region I Workforce Development Board, private sector partners and the West Virginia Small Business Development Center.

Through this alliance, entrepreneurs can now access one-on-one technical coaching, state-of-the-art technology, advanced software and a network of flexible office spaces. These systems reduce road blocks and increase capacity for all seeking a path to entrepreneurship.

A demonstration of this type of system at work is the success of White Oak Quality Meats, operated in Shady Spring. Owner Gary Redden has grown his venture into a first class fish and meat processing facility.

Redden harnessed his passion for fishing and hunting into what is now a business that serves as a gold-standard local employer by taking advantage of an intricate network of resource providers.

His business grew from a one-man deer processing operation in 2001 to the only approved/inspected fish processing facility in the state. Technical support from the NRGRDA and Value Chain Cluster Initiative, financial guidance and access to capital from Natural Capitol Investment Fund and the West Virginia Department of Agriculture, as well as product placement at Tamarack and The Greenbrier resort, all lead to the accelerated success for Redden and the business he's worked so hard to build.

Not only does White Oak provide a great product, it also affords Shady Spring and the New River Gorge region a successful business to rally behind. This type of collective support makes all the difference to entrepreneurs and is a vital part of paving the path for future ventures.

The way forward comes from people on the verge of accepting their circumstances and testing realistic ways to diversify. History tell us these entrepreneurs are the garage mechanics that invent the production line, the brothers who own a bike shop and think, "Why can't we fly?" and the two college kids who believe every home should have a computer.

Who knows, maybe our state's legacy will be entrepreneurs who take on this challenge. Only then will we discover that our true assets lay within our people, not just under our ground.

Lillian Graning is chief communications officer for the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority.

Sen. Joe Manchin deserves praise for his efforts to contain an epidemic that ends the lives of about a dozen West Virginians every week. The killer? Prescription opioids. The senator rightly traces much of the problem to an increasingly cozy relationship between Big Pharma and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA's recent history suggests that rather than the FDA regulating the pharmaceutical industry, the sad reality is the reverse.

Manchin met recently with Dr. Robert Califf who then was second in command at the FDA and had been tabbed by President Obama to become its new chief. But Califf is part of the problem. Incredibly, Califf told Manchin that he had no plan to deal with the opioid epidemic. To Sen. Manchin's astonishment, Califf added that the FDA's regulations stand in the way of our health. That is madness, and Sen. Manchin strongly opposed Califf's appointment as FDA chief.

We should not be surprised that Califf's mentality is to look after the interests of the drug industry, rather than those of the people. He headed a Duke University team that studied drugs made by the largest drug companies - companies that provided more than half his research group's funding.

But the FDA's difficulties didn't begin with Califf. In the 1980s it was reasoned that the drug industry ought to be taxed more heavily in order to fund the FDA because, after all, the FDA was testing the industry's products. Over time, however, revenue from the industry became such a large part of the FDA's operating expense that the FDA began to view the industry, rather that the American people, as its primary client.

The raw power of the drug industry over the FDA escalated. As an example, in March, 2009, U.S. Federal prosecutors charged the Forest Pharmaceutical Company with illegally marketing its anti-depressants Lexapro and Celexa to children, even though the drugs were not approved for children and were said to be no better than a placebo. Even so, a month later the FDA approved Lexapro for adolescents.

As another example, Manchin described the FDA's chronic delays in reclassifying hydrocodone as the dangerous drug that it is. Finally the reclassification was done, but the next day the FDA approved an even more dangerous drug, Zohydro, and did so against the wishes of its own Science Advisory Board (outside scientists who had voted 11-2 against approval of Zohydro).

Other opioid drugs have been approved without the FDA even holding meetings of its science advisors. In 2007 the Science Advisory Board found the FDA was unable to effectively do its job because of inadequate staffing, poor retention of staff, out-of-date technology and a general lack of resources. It could have added "the overwhelming influence of the drug makers" to its list of reasons.

Things are so bad at the FDA that recently it stooped to working against the release of the Center for Disease Control's guidelines that doctors ought to follow when they prescribe opioids.

Because of the FDA's evident enslavement to the profit motive of the drug industry, Sen. Manchin has introduced the Changing the Culture of the FDA Act. As Manchin put it, "Prioritizing public health over big pharma bottom lines must become the norm at the FDA ..."

As for Dr. Califf, the Congress confirmed him to head the FDA, with only Manchin and three others voting no. Which demonstrates that many in the Congress, like the FDA, remain in thrall to Big Pharma.

Joseph Wyatt is a Gazette-Mail contributing columnist and emeritus professor at Marshall University.

Wednesday is scheduled to be sentencing day for Don Blankenship, convicted by a federal jury of conspiring to violate mine safety and health standards at the former Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch mine. So, what will it be?

Blankenship's lawyers have urged leniency, probation and no jail time. They have caused supportive letters to be sent to Judge Irene Berger.

But in a sentencing memo last week, prosecutor Steven R. Ruby laid out the essence of the issue: Federal law does not allow for a punishment truly suited to Blankenship's crime. "But what the law does allow, the court should impose."

That means a year in prison and a $250,000 fine.

It's too bad the law doesn't allow the judge to sentence Blankenship to work in a mine like Upper Big Branch for a year.

Tuesday is the sixth anniversary of the 2010 explosion at Upper Big Branch that killed 29 miners. Their workplace exploded because it was filled with coal dust, contrary to longstanding mine safety rules created after previous deadly explosions.

The sentencing memo notes that Blankenship, "in keeping with his demonstrated disdain for the law, refuses to provide up-to-date information about his finances, even though he is required to do so."

But based on earlier information, the court knows Blankenship is wealthy. Indeed, so wealthy that a fine up to $40,000 as outlined in federal sentencing guidelines probably made readers snort with derision.

"A fine of $40,000 or less probably would strike him, and others, as comical," the prosecutor's memo says. "It would promote mockery of the law, not respect. It would do nothing whatsoever to deter violations of safety laws by mine executives. So it could not satisfy the law's requirements for a criminal fine."

While a $250,000 fine, compared to Blankenship's wealth, probably wouldn't sting much either, it would at least have the merit of being the maximum the law allows.

This case also highlights disparities in how justice is distributed in this country. If Blankenship is not given the maximum penalty, weak as it is, for conspiring to violate life-and-death mine safety rules, why should anyone accept sometimes tougher penalties for less deadly crimes? How could any judge face the next young miscreant, black or white, with far fewer opportunities and resources, who is locked up for years for theft, or brandishing or trading in drugs?

Too often, there is one kind of justice for rich people and another, rougher, less merciful kind for everyone else. Here is an opportunity for a judge to begin to correct some of that imbalance.

And here is an opportunity to signal to everyone that mine safety law is serious. Never before has the CEO of a major coal company traded on the New York Stock Exchange been brought to book for such violations. The rules are enforced. Gambling with workers' lives will be punished.

About 20 years ago, when the syndicate that represents this column was preparing to pitch it to newspaper editors, I was called in for a meeting with the sales staff and somebody asked me this question:

"Are you liberal or are you conservative?"

I said, "Yes."

I wasn't trying to be a wiseguy. OK, maybe a little. But I was also trying to convey my impatience with our bipolar political discourse, with the idea that I was required to pick a team. I was trying to preserve for myself the right to think a thing through and come to my own conclusion regardless of ideological branding.

But at the same time, I knew what I was being asked. When they said, "Are you liberal or are you conservative?" those words had concrete meaning, embodied real political concepts.

But that is no longer the case - at least where the latter term is concerned.

Once upon a time, when a person identified as conservative, you knew the ideas he or she meant to convey - low taxes, small government, resistance to social change. But a word that once encoded a definite set of values and beliefs now seems utterly bereft of internal cohesion, less a name for an ideology than for a mood: surly, nasty and put-upon.

They don't like the rest of us. Nor do they seem to like each other all that much, feuding with a bitterness and constancy that would make even the Hatfields and McCoys tell them to tone it down. Yes, ideology still gets lip service, but its importance has become secondary, if that.

How else to explain that people who once considered Christian faith their foundation stone have coalesced behind a candidate who can't name a Bible verse? Or that people who once valued a grown-up, clear-eyed approach to foreign policy support candidates who want to "carpet bomb" the Middle East and pull out of NATO? Or that people who once decried "a culture of victimization" now whine all day about how they are victims of biased media, bullying gays and political correctness?

How to explain that people who once vowed to safeguard American moral decency from the nefarious irreverence of liberals - think President Bush chastising "The Simpsons" in the era of "family values" - now put forth candidates who tell penis jokes?

A few days ago New York Times, columnist David Brooks professed to be excited by this act of self-immolation - "This is a wonderful moment to be a conservative," he gushed - because after this debacle, conservatives will be able to reinvent themselves, unencumbered by "existing mental categories and presuppositions." Like when a comic book or movie franchise gets re-booted, I suppose. One had the sense of a man desperately painting lipstick on a pig.

The right is rotting from within, putrefying on its own grievance and rage. It seems bereft of core values and beliefs unless you count its determination to always oppose anything the left supports, up to and including motherhood and sunshine. That's as close to principle as conservatives come these days.

Given the way they have spurned their party's 2012 election "autopsy" report, which called for greater inclusion and a gentler tone, one wonders if these folks are capable of, or even interested in, the reinvention Brooks predicts. Conservatives do not need to be "liberal-lite" - no ideology has a monopoly on good ideas. On the other hand, when your base is the Ku Klux Klan, Ted Nugent and people sucker-punching strangers at rallies, it's a sign that a little self-reflection is overdue.

"Are you liberal or are you conservative?"

I had a smart aleck answer 20 years ago. But it occurs to me that if they asked that now, I'd have to request clarification. My worldview hasn't changed.

But I no longer have any idea what "conservative" means.

Leonard Pitts Jr., is a columnist for the Miami Herald.

In Friday's editorial, we fussed that the Republican-controlled Legislature passed a bill that would void permits for hemp growers, throwing a promising, renewable industry for the state into uncertainty. We should have highlighted Democrat Sen. Bob Williams of Taylor County, one of the sponsors of the bill. Thanks to Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin for vetoing the bill on Friday.

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When children learn to read, they are usually taught to memorize a few "sight" words at the beginning, such as "the" or "and." This helps move the action and meaning along as beginning readers sound out their first "cat" and so on.

Yi Ding, an associate professor of school psychology at Fordham University's Graduate School of Education suggests a similar approach would be good in math, Fordham University reports.

Students would be better off memorizing some basic math facts, such as multiplication tables.

Imagine if you had to sound out or even look up every word in this paragraph. Your brain would be so busy doing that, the meaning of the paragraph would be lost.

"Math facts are the same," Ding said. "We have to memorize or automatically retrieve all this mathematical vocabulary so kids have this kind of fluency. Then their brain - their working memory - frees up to understand more complicated problems."

Interestingly, math instruction has changed over the years to the extent that, in some classrooms, any memorization at all is considered old-fashioned and unnecessary. A calculator can do it.

Math standards and tests aligned with the Common Core emphasize knowing how and why mathematical solutions are correct, as opposed to simply memorizing the right formula for the right circumstance.

And now, based on her research on struggling students, Ding suggests that some memorization helps with more complex problems.

In West Virginia, in reaction to public comments, the state Board of Education more explicitly spelled out multiplication tables in standards scheduled to take effect during the next school year.

The Charleston Sanitary Board has filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to take action on its proposed copper standards that were submitted to the agency last June.

A complaint filed Thursday in U.S. District Court naming the EPA and Administrator Gina McCarthy claims the agency's inaction on CSB's copper standards subjects the board to "incorrect and overly stringent limits" for copper discharges from its treatment plant.

Following the EPA's protocol for developing a site-specific "water effect ratio" for the Kanawha River at its treatment plant, the board submitted a site-specific copper criteria to the state Department of Environmental Protection on June 25 last year.

After the state Legislature passed the DEP's revised water quality standards in 2015, which included CSB's copper standards, the EPA consulted with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for approval.

The Fish and Wildlife Service said it would not concur with the standard "until a survey of mussel species" was conducted in the Kanawha River near CSB's treatment plant, according to the complaint.

The EPA then notified the DEP it would not take action on the standards until it was approved by the Fish and Wildlife Service.

In October, EPA Region 3 Water Protection Division Director Jon Capacasa sent a letter to the DEP's Division of Water and Waste Management Director, Scott Mandirola.

The letter stated the EPA is "still considering the potential impact of this site-specific criterion on federally listed threatened and endangered species and is not taking ... action at this time."

In the complaint, CSB contends that under the Clean Water Act, the EPA has a "nondiscretionary duty" to either notify a state within 60 days that its water quality standards are approved, or notify it within 90 days that the standards are denied.

The complaint alleges that the CSB's compliance schedule expired on Dec. 31, 2015, making it subject to overly strict permit limits for copper "that are based on the default national copper criteria, rather than the site-specific criteria the Plaintiff has invested substantial resources in developing."

CSB's discharge permit provides that if the board doesn't have a water-effect ratio for copper, it must design and build upgrades to its outfall structure.

Such upgrades, CSB Operations Manager Tim Haapala said, would cost millions of dollars in plant improvements.

Reach Elaina Sauber at elaina.sauber@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-3051 or follow @ElainaSauber on Twitter.

Dear Abby: I have been dating an alcoholic for three years. He recently entered a treatment program because after his last binge he tried to kill himself. He seems to be committed to his program and staying sober.

He has requested that I stay sober with him for at least a year. While I'm fully committed to our relationship and support him, I don't feel that it's fair that I should have to completely forgo drinking because he has a problem. I'm not looking to go out and party every night - those days are over for me - but I'd like to enjoy an occasional beer with a friend or a glass of wine with my mom.

When I approached him about my doing so, he became upset. He said if I have this one exception, he believes the exceptions will continue and I will be at his old level of drinking. Do you think his request is reasonable? - Sober in New Jersey

Dear Sober: That depends upon whether you, too, had an alcohol problem before your boyfriend joined the program and were his drinking buddy. If the answer is yes, I don't think his request is unreasonable. However, your boyfriend may be afraid that if you drink regularly, it may threaten his newfound sobriety. If that's the case, if you love him, you should refrain for a year as he has requested.

Dear Abby: My wife and I have the same argument every year or so. It's about dancing with other people when we're out for the evening. I feel that "grinding" is sexual and that it's inappropriate for someone in a relationship to do it with anyone else.

I made my sentiments clear to her when we first started dating, but it seems that about every year when we are out, she'll start dancing with some guy in a very provocative manner. I'll get unhappy about it, but when I confront her, she gets angry with me and says that it means I don't trust her. I trust that she's not going to go off and sleep with some random guy, but I feel it is wrong because she knows how I feel about it. How can I get her to see it my way? - Principled in San Diego

Dear Principled: She already knows it upsets you, so try this. Get up, join her and her partner on the dance floor, and start doing the "sandwich." And make sure that the person in the middle is YOU.

Dear Abby: My husband is in poor health, and when his time comes, I would like to have him stuffed. It would be comforting to see him sitting in his favorite chair in the living room. That way I'd always know where he is, plus he wouldn't be asking me for another beer all the time. My kids don't like the idea. What about you, Abby? - Desert Hot Springs, Calif.

Dear D.H.S.: Grief makes people do strange things. I'm not sure you are thinking this through. Once you are finished grieving, you may meet someone you want to watch a game with and need that chair.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

Ronald Douglas Parker, 72, of Ripley, passed away April 2, 2016 following a sudden illness.

He was born Dec. 21, 1943 in Hinton, a son of the late Jesse Douglas and Lula Leona Kessler Parker. He retired as a designer from Constellium Rolled Products, formerly Kaiser Aluminum.

He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Shirley Winter Parker; daughters, Sarah (Zack) Wine of Ripley, Rhonda (Caleb) Knight of Charleston, Tamara (Sandy) Bostic of Riverton, Utah, and Rebecca Disalvo of Baltimore, Md.; and his grandchildren.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother, Jerry Dean Parker.

Funeral service will be 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 5, at Waybright Funeral Home, Ripley, with John Gunther officiating. Burial will be in Fairview Cemetery, Given.

Friends may call from noon until the time of service on Tuesday at the funeral home.

Memories and condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.waybrightfuneralhome.com.

Lillian Faye "Lee" Medford, 66, of Belle, passed away April 2, 2016 at CAMC Memorial Hospital following a long illness.

Lee was born in Charleston and was the retired owner of Quincy Auto Auction. She was a lifelong resident of the Belle area and a loving and caring wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

Preceding her in death were her parents, Charlie and Macel Slaten Moore; sister, Kay Stafford; and brothers, Bill Moore, Ray Moore and Roger Moore.

Surviving are her husband, Dale Medford; son, Anthony Medford of Belle; daughters, Kimberly Jones of Belle and Megan Medford of Cedar Grove; brothers, Chuck Moore of Belle and Jack Moore and James Moore, both of Indiana; sister, Joyce Boggs of Louisiana; grandchildren, Mandy Thompson of South Charleston, Chelsea Lee and Heather Thompson, both of North Carolina, and Trent Naylor, David Medford and Abby Medford, all of Belle; and great-grandson, C.J. Denton.

Funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, April 6, at Fidler and Frame Funeral Home, Belle, with Pastor Ralph Short officiating. Interment will follow in Witcher Cemetery. Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 5, at the funeral home.

To send the family online condolences or sign the guestbook, please visit our website at www.fidlerandframefuneralhome.com.

Connie McCormick, 70, departed life on Friday, April 1, 2016. She was the daughter of the late Eliza and Delmar Lacy.

She is survived by two sons, Larry Lacy and Scott Casdorph, and one daughter, Lisa Casdorph, all of St. Albans; five grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; seven sisters; and two brothers.

Connie was friendly and kind. She loved the Lord and enjoyed watching Christian television and listening to Southern Gospel Music.

A memorial service celebrating Connie's life will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 5, at Faith Freewill Baptist Church, 414 2nd Ave. N., St. Albans, with the Rev. Ken Carter officiating.

Casdorph and Curry Funeral Home is administering services for the family.

Everett Lee Kitchen, 77, of Wayne, died April 2, 2016. Service will be noon Thursday, April 7, at Wayne Senior Center. Arrangements by Henson & Kitchen Mortuary, Barboursville.

Howard Ray Jordan, 67, of Summersville, died April 2, 2016. Service will be 11 a.m. Saturday, April 9, at Memorial United Methodist Church, Summersville. Visitation will be 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, April 8, at White Funeral Home, Summersville.

Gerald Duane Johnson Sr., 82, of Mason, died April 2, 2016. Service will be 11 a.m. Wednesday, April 6, at Foglesong Funeral Home, Mason. Visitation will be 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 5, at the funeral home.

Clifford Gillman, 82, of Hurricane, formerly of Whitman, passed away Thursday, March 31, 2016 at CAMC Memorial Hospital, Charleston.

He was born Feb. 23, 1934 in Pine Creek to the late Boyd and Lula McGraw Gillman.

Clifford was a retired coal miner for Monument Coal Company, Holden. He was a member of One Life Church of Hurricane and was a member of UMWA Local No. 5817. Clifford was best known for providing a helping hand, giving Godly advice and handing out chewing gum to everyone he met.

He is survived by his loving wife of 55 years, Sarah M. Hurley Gillman; daughters, Billie Miller (Angelo) and Jeanie Gillman (Angela), both of Hurricane, and Crickett Hutson (Dave) of Akron, Ohio; sons, Skip Gillman (Cheryl) and Rick Gillman (Lorie), both of Akron, Ohio; and sisters, Margie Baker and Ruby Belcher, both of Columbus, Ohio. Clifford was more a father than a grandfather to his granddaughter, Crystal Scalf, and her husband, CJ, was like a grandson to him. Clifford felt there was nothing like his great-grandson, Hunter Burdette, "Papaw's Bubby." Clifford loved eating pepperoni with his great-grandson, Bentley Scalf, his "little pepperoni Buddy." Also surviving are his other grandchildren who he loved very much, Misty, Nickie, Brandie, Buck, Greg, Mike, David, Steven, Brittany, Haley and Sharr, and also 21 great-grandchildren who he loved dearly, and his sidekick, "Romeo."

Funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, at Chapman Funeral Home, Hurricane, with Bishop Bryan Mathews officiating. Friends may call from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home.

Graveside service will be held at 1 p.m, Thursday, April 7, at Highland Memory Gardens, Pecks Mill, with a visitation one hour prior to the service.

You may share memories or condolences with the family at www.chapmanfuneralhomes.com.

Chapman Funeral Home, family-owned and located at 3941 Teays Valley Road, Hurricane, is honored to serve the Gillman family.