By Dennis Brown

Fighting in Afghanistan hit home last week when family members of Army Specialist Christopher S. Wright of Tollesboro were notified of his death.

Military officials notified Wright’s father, Jim Cochran, on Thursday morning at Tollesboro Supply. The family operates Tollesboro Supply and T-City Pizza on Ky. Rt. 10 in Tollesboro.

Initial reports were that Wright was struck in the chest by shrapnel when an explosive device struck his unit and died while in surgery.

Wright, 23, was a 2005 graduate of Lewis County High School and had worked at Ron’s IGA. He enlisted in the Army within a few days of his 18^th birthday. Friends said he had always had a passion for military service.

Wright was stationed at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia. His body was returned to the United States on Saturday morning at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

Wright was on his second tour-of-duty and had been deployed on this tour since June.

As word spread of the soldier’s death in the Tollesboro community, words of condolence poured in to the family and members of the community lowered flags to half-staff. Churches changed their message boards and black ribbons were placed on storefronts and the front doors at Tollesboro Elementary School where Cochran attended classes as a youngster.

Patriotic wreaths were placed at the entrance of Tollesboro Supply as community members continued to stop by and express their sympathies to the family.

Wright’s step-mother, Michele Cochran, said after his stint in the Army, Wright had plans of earning a business degree in college and starting his own business.

Michele Cochran said the family is touched by the expressions of sympathy which continue to come from within, and far from, the community. “He was a hero,” she said.

In addition to his father, step-mother and two step-brothers in Tollesboro, Wright has family in Indiana.

Michele Cochran, said on Sunday that arrangements are incomplete for services and the body hadn’t been returned to Tollesboro yet by the military.

Vanceburg City Council met in special session last week and heard details of some of the plans for Lewis County by The Center of Appalachian Philanthropy.

Mandilyn Hart, Executive Director of The Center of Appalachian Philanthropy, or AppaPhil, said the primary objective of the non-profit organization is to attract philanthropic investment in Appalachia.

Hart said the organization offers networking platforms and educational support services to non-profits as well as providing and attracting resources to help organizations fulfill their missions.

Hart told council members that Lewis and Carter counties are two of the 10 Kentucky counties currently targeted. Eight others are in West Virginia and seven, including Scioto County, are in Ohio.

The organization’s office is located in Portsmouth, Ohio.

Hart said several grant opportunities exist for areas such as those in Vanceburg and Lewis County. “The community has to work together,” she said. “Agencies should work together.”

Vanceburg’s Main Street Coordinator Patty Kennard told Hart that local officials had heard the same sales pitch before but that once the pitch was made, nothing further was heard from those making the pitch.

“Don’t do us the same old song and dance,” Kennard said. “We want you to stick with us.”

Hart said a just completed grant proposal written to benefit Vanceburg and Lewis County looks promising and a partnership

grant to benefit Lewis and Carter schools would amount to $500,000 per year for five years.

She also suggested the creation of a marketing plan for the community with three to five year milestone markers. She said she had reviewed the community’s comprehensive plan and noted there are some lofty goals that have no timelines or plans for meeting them.

Tammy Cooper, Director of AppaCARES, a division of AppaPhil, reviewed local demographics with council members and pointed out some deficiencies that could be addressed in partnership with appropriate agencies.

Hart distributed information in attaining a Promising Future for Our Appalachian Communities targeting Vanceburg and Lewis County.

Hart made recommendations for helping to better Lewis County and Vanceburg by enhancing education for students, promoting tourism and building up Vanceburg to provide job growth and increased tax revenues for Vanceburg and Lewis County.

Hart said expanding broadband service and making it available in rural areas of the county would be a priority and that working with providers and landowners would be a step in the right direction.

Hart discussed some local projects with council members including the location of a hotel in the city, utilizing the old grade school on Second Street as a community center and developing the riverfront.

Additional information on the organization is available at www.appalachianphilanthropy.org and http://appaphil.ning.com.