Date: 2014-06-06
From: Lane Street, Pearisburg, VA mile 631.3

To: Stony Creek Valley Parking Lot on VA 635 mile 650.
Miles today: 19.6

Alan Neely hauled me to a pull off on VA 635 just short of "The Captains" where I hiked a short distance to the trail and then slack packed 20 miles back to Pearisburg. Actual hiking distance was something more than 20. The chemical plant in Pearisburg is switching from coal to gas power and the gas supply line comes down the AT which crosses property the company. To keep hikers out of the construction zone and to put the trail on publicly owned land, a new trail route has been constructed. It is longer than tne original, but I could not find a measurement. There was only one long uphill climb and most of the trail was smooth instead of rock gardens. As a result I was able to walk pretty quickly and look around some instead of watching the ground all the time, but doing so increased my vulnerability to tripping. I tripped several times as a root or rock caught the foot I was bringing forward and I fell once. Allen Neely has a huge bushy mustache. I commented on it and told him about our friend Allan Rhodes' City Council campaign slogan: "A Great Mustache Bears Great Responsibility".   Neely invited me to take a picture of his bush and send it to Rhodes with the explanation that it won a $1,000 praise for being the best mustache in Virginia. I wrote the following letter after Neely told me the story of his conflict with Virginia Tech:Dear Governor McCauliffeIn June 2013 I retired as City Manager of Manassas Park and now I am 650 miles into a retirement bucket list project to through hiking the Appalachian Trail.Last night I stayed at the McArthur Inn in Narrows, VA and met its owner Allen Neely. I am writing you to share a story Neely told me about his conflict with Virginia Tech.In addition to the Inn Neely owns a Narrows construction company which employed 300+ but is now shut down as a result of cash flow and tax problems arising out of the conflict. His company was low bidder to construct a roof for a University building. During the pre-construction conference Neely pointed out a design flaw in the roof that would make it vulnerable to collapse and recommended a change that would be more secure and less expensive.The University Administration and it's architect considered Neely's comments and instructed him to construct the roof as originally designed. Subsequently the roof did collapse as Neely predicted and the University hired him under emergency procurement procedures to repair the roof and make the building safe to use.When Neely submitted his invoice for the repairs, payment was refused on the grounds that he had warranted the roof work and therefore was responsible for the cost of the repairs.In an unrelated but parallel incident Neely was the low bidder on a project to convert a classroom from auditorium seating to flat-floor seating in the building where the Virginia Tech shooting occurred. The project design included a stairwell leading to an exit from the classroom. During the pre-construction conference Neely recommended a design change that would eliminate the stairs, provide a ground-level exit, increase classroom floor area and reduce the cost of the project. This recommendation was also rejected and Neely was instructed to construct the project as designed. During the shooting the exit door at the bottom of the deadend stairwell was double locked and several trapped students were shot thereNeely is using social media to publicize and solicit support for his conflict with the University. He has posted his story and related documents on his website: www.vatechvsneely.com Friends who are employees of the University and who are sympathetic with his position have sent him copies of internal emails that Neely interprets as documenting a criminal cover-up by University administrative officials. Neely's complaint is under review by some arm of the Commonwealth's government, but if his stories are even partially true they have enough headline worthiness to create another round of negative national publicity for the State and it's University System when his publicity efforts gain media attention. You and your office should be aware of Neely's complaint and have a record of attending to it established and a response prepared before the first call from a reporter reaches your office. James W. Zumwalt