Video summary
The Mountaintop Daily opens with a somber reflection on the recent passing of country music legend Dolly Parton, who died at the age of 80 after a brief battle with cancer. The report highlights her profound impact as not just a musician, but a visionary entrepreneur and philanthropist who chose to remain rooted in her hometown of Gatlinburg rather than seeking fame in major cities like New York or California. Her legacy is defined by her generosity, particularly through the Imaginary Library initiative which has distributed millions of books globally, and her strategic reinvestment of earnings from songs like "I Will Always Love You" into local businesses and infrastructure that provide jobs for her community.
In stark contrast to the tribute honoring Parton's life, the broadcast reports on a serious drug trafficking case in Pike County involving two men from Ohio. Police arrested 42-year-old Delbert Lee Chambers and 45-year-old Terrell Wright after a traffic stop revealed marijuana in their vehicle and a quarter-pound of methamphetamine in the glove compartment. The situation escalated significantly when jail guards discovered additional contraband, including fentanyl and ecstasy sewn into Chambers' underwear, leading to multiple new charges for both defendants who are currently being held on $25,000 cash bonds. This segment underscores the ongoing challenges regarding drug enforcement and public safety in the region.
Shifting focus to local community efforts, the program covers a new initiative at Belelffrey High School where senior Michael Perkins has launched the "Help Yourself Club" to address critical issues like bullying and mental health among teenagers. Inspired by leadership programs he attended during the summer, Perkins created a space for students to discuss their needs, build friendships, and organize events such as anti-bullying weeks and community-building games. The club has already gained significant traction with high membership numbers and plans to expand its chapters to neighboring schools like Johnson Central and Pike Central, aiming to foster a supportive environment that encourages students to look out for one another.
The broadcast concludes with a mix of local sports updates and promotional content, noting the victory of the Belelffrey Lady Pirates over Pike Central in volleyball and reporting results from other regional games in West Virginia. Additionally, the segment features advertisements for Appalachian Wireless offering back-to-school technology deals and a brief message from attorney Ned Pillarsdorf advocating for the underprivileged. Throughout the episode, the narrative weaves together themes of loss and celebration, crime and justice, as well as youth-led activism, painting a multifaceted picture of life in the Appalachian region.
Read the full video transcript
We'll look back on the life and legacy
of Dolly Parton and two Ohio men are
arrested in Pike County after police
find them with a quarter pound of meth.
I'm Robin Tilman and this is the
Mountaintop Daily.
Many across the country and around the
world are grieving over the death of
Dolly Parton. The Smoky Mountain
Songbird died yesterday at the age of 80
following a short battle with cancer. I
went to the Country Music Highway Museum
today to get reaction to her death and
the impact of her life. The world is
mourning the passing of music and pop
culture icon Dolly Parton. We met with
Kay Hall at the US23 Country Music
Highway Museum to talk about why she was
such a big deal.
>> Dolly was an entrepreneur of so many
different things. You know, when she
started, she started with Porter Wagner
and then when they broke loose, I think
Dolly broke loose. She was an individual
then and she could just do so many other
things. Uh, the Imaginary Library is
awesome. I actually have family who
lives in Seville and when Dolly started
that, I would get my kids would get
those books, you know, and they loved
them. And of course, she's sent millions
and millions all over the place now. and
you just you have a lot of people who
support that even though she is not from
Eastern Kentucky.
>> Dolly's commitment to her roots made a
lasting impact on central Appalachia.
>> Oh, I think just the fact that she
stayed she stayed in her hometown and of
course we know what Gatlinburg and
Severeville is today and if it if she
had decided to leave to go to New York,
California or wherever things would have
been a lot different there. the fact
that she stayed, gave back, you know,
uh, took care of her family. I think a
lot of her family is involved in
everything about Dollywood in one way or
the other. And, you know, I think she
just she provided a lot of jobs for
people. And I think that was, you know,
being raised the way she was, uh, I
think that was probably always in the
back of her mind, you know, being kind,
being giving, and, um, anything that I
have seen on TV since then, that that
that's it. That was her mo.
>> Hall will remember Dolly for her
creativity and generosity.
>> Of course, she wrote uh, I will always
love you. And then when Whitney Houston
did it was Dolly got paid, you know, for
the commission off the franchise of
using that song, she turned around and
took several million dollars and
reinvested it there in Gatlinburg at
Severeville, buying up property and
building places, you know, for people to
have do businesses and things like that.
So she realized what she could do, you
know, with a little bit of of insight,
thought, you know, reach for the stars
and, you know, and that's what she did,
and she was very successful at it.
>> Two Ohio men were arrested for meth
trafficking after they were pulled over
in Pike County. 42-year-old Delbert Lee
Chambers of Akran, Ohio, and 45-year-old
Terrell Wright of Masselon, Ohio were
pulled over when they were clocked doing
5 miles over the speed limit on US 1119
at South Williamson. Their car was
searched after officers smelled
marijuana smoke during the traffic stop,
which resulted in the discovery of a
small amount of marijuana in the
console, but a quarter pound of meth in
the glove compartment. Both men were
arrested for meth trafficking, while
Chambers was also charged with
possession of marijuana and drug
paraphernalia. Chambers found himself
facing even more trouble when he got to
jail and guards discovered several bags
of fentanyl and a bag of ecstasy or a
similar drug sewn inside his underwear.
That earned him two additional drug
trafficking charges and a charge of
promoting contraband. Both men are being
held in the Pike County Detention Center
on $25,000 cash bonds.
Coming up after the break, a student
club at Belelfrey High School aims to
address issues such as mental health and
bullying. We'll tell you about it when
the Mountaintop Daily continues. But
first, sports and weather. Hi, I'm
Destiny Fouty and you're watching Disney
Channel.
How's it going everyone? I'm Destiny
Faudy and this is your Mountaintop
Sports Recap. It was a big night at Pawn
Creek as the Belelfrey Lady Pirates
slipped past the Pike Central Lady Hawks
3-2 in volleyball action. Belelffrey won
the match with sets of 2517,
1925, 1625, 2521, and 1510. Speaking of
volleyball, in case you missed it, you
can catch a free replay of last night's
Shelby Valley and Pikeville game on the
Mountaintop Sports Facebook page. and
Mountaintop Sports TV app. Finally, in
West Virginia, the Chapmanville Lady
Tigers had a busy night on the
volleyball court last night.
Chapmanville played two games, defeating
South Charleston 2 to zero in the first,
but falling to Calvary Baptist Academy 2
to0 in the night cap. That's your
Mountaintop sports recap. For the latest
in sports, be sure to follow Mountaintop
Sports on Facebook, Instagram, and X, or
visit mountain-topsports.com.
I'll see you guys next time.
Ned Pillarsdorf fights for the underdog
in courtrooms where he advocates for the
most vulnerable and in classrooms where
at risk kids get a second chance.
Ned doesn't just talk about things. Ned
shows up and people notice.
He's the best pro bono attorney in the
nation.
Now he's bringing his fight to
Washington.
I'm Ned Pillarsdorf and I approve this
message.
>> Okay. Raise your hand if you've got a
cracked screen or a phone that barely
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so. So before school starts, why not
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latest smartphone, tablet, or
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teacher, or just ready for something
new. We've got incredible back to school
deals just waiting for you. So class is
almost in session, and don't wait. Come
into an Appalachin Wireless retail
location and start the school year
connected. There's more reasons to
switch and more ways to save today
because we are you. We are Appalachin
Wireless. Some students at Belelfrey
High School have formed a club devoted
to tackling a number of problems teens
face. From bullying to mental health
concerns. Connor tells us about the Help
Yourself Club.
>> A new club has come to Belelfrey High
School with grand plans to help out the
community with a muchneeded problem.
Michael Perkins, a senior at Belelfrey
High School, has started the Help
Yourself Club to help with mental health
both in the school and the surrounding
area. Here's Perkins to tell us more.
This summer I went to Governor's
Scholars program and I talked to a lot
of people down there who had started
their own clubs at their schools and it
was like a lot of leadership
capabilities and I really thought was
like what was important to me was mental
health um regarding just making sure
everybody's okay within our area and
community. Um so I decided to start
something up like that that would
benefit the students at Belelfrey High
School. I know in February we're going
to run an anti-bullying week uh with our
counselor I believe and we we're also
starting chapters at other schools like
we have a chapter that is being started
up at Johnson Central. I know Pike
Central is in the works of starting
their own chapter and we hope to just
work towards that stuff. If you plan on
starting a club at your school, I'd like
everybody to like reach out to our
Instagram. It's helpyourself.ky.
Um and we have a Tik Tok page now that
we just got up. So, if you would like to
start your own club at any other school,
just reach out.
>> Perkins has discussed with faculty a
plan to keep this club going long after
he has graduated to help as many
students as possible and with plans to
start other groups similar to this at
other schools. Uh, this help yourself
club was something that uh he kind of
got the idea down there and, you know,
he he pitched it to me and basically
said, I want to start a help yourself
club at Belfrey High School. It's a club
that that that allows students to um
really talk about maybe some of their
needs. You know, it's essentially a
mental health club to help with that. Uh
but it's more than that. Uh that, you
know, they they've started to do some uh
fundraising. They you know, they they're
very active in our school. And even
though it's new, again, we're we're you
know, three weeks into to school and
they're just really kind of getting
their club started. Uh they're also um
you know, kind of just building their
numbers. Uh we had club signup days a
couple weeks ago and I think you know
the the number that they got was
amazing.
>> With faculty and students working
together to make sure this club
prospers, there is no doubt this will be
a great benefit to the community and
inspire other schools to follow in their
footsteps.
>> Well, it's mainly just an opportunity
for everybody to get to know each other
and to really realize that nobody's any
different than themselves. And our bully
week, as Michael said, was like a
perfect example of one of the things
we're going to do. But at our meetings,
we're going to do like community
building games and like giveaways and
stuff that make people interact. We're
really just hoping that it'll bring our
community together because like as he
said, when we went to Governor Scholars,
we thought about how everybody had
mental health clubs and clubs that
really made people friends, but when we
thought about Belelfrey, we realized
that there weren't anything like that.
Overall, I'm just really excited and I
think that it's a great opportunity and
to come out to our meetings and
especially if you are wanting to start
one up at your own school, then I think
that it's a great idea to contact the
Instagram and reach out.
>> Reporting for Mountaintop News, I'm
Connor Kib.
>> That will do it for this edition of the
Mountaintop Daily. Be sure to check us
out at 6 p.m. every weekday on
Mountaintop TV, the Mountaintop TV app,
and the Mountaintop News Facebook page.
With your Mountaintop Daily, I'm Robin
Tilman for Mountaintop News.