By Lisa Garcia Lawrence Strouth grew up in Wise County the son of a coal-mine owner. He graduated from Pound High School in 1991 and traveled 20 miles to attend Clinch Valley College in Wise. His first job out of college was shoveling coal in a mine. It took two years for Strouth to find a job in his field and, more critically, in the region he called home. Now he is a network technician for Nexus Communications in Clintwood.
Employees take calls from people looking for a particular business.
Strouth is responsible for the operation of the call center's technology, both the phones and the database. Several of his friends, though, were forced to move to find work. Economic developers are working to create jobs, not only for those new to the work force, but for the 11,000 workers who commute to jobs outside the region. Many others, like Strouth's friends, leave to start careers and families elsewhere. Public schools face funding problems because the student population is dwindling, and people here agree there is no single fix for the ailing coal economy.