Good Monday morning! Welcome to a brand new week. This is The Daybreaker, the first of several newsletters that will be published this week by the Independent Herald. The Daybreaker (Monday morning) and The Weekender (Thursday evening) are our two news-first newsletters. We publish several other newsletters throughout the week, as well as our regular E-Edition on Thursday and our Varsity E-Edition on Sunday (during sports season). If you’d like to adjust your subscription to include (or exclude) this or any of our other newsletters, please do so here. If you need to subscribe, it’s as simple as entering your email address:
Open your account online — anytime, anywhere! First National Bank makes it easier than ever to bank with us. You can open an account online, from the comfort of your home or on the go. Start now. (Sponsored content.)
SAI founder Larry West has died
HUNTSVILLE | Larry West, who founded Scott Appalachian Industries in the 1980s and served as its director for nearly 40 years, died Sunday after a long period of declining health. He was 79.
West began his career as an advocate and service provider for special needs persons in the 1970s, when he was hired by Scott County as the director for a new program for persons of disabilities. Shortly thereafter, he founded Scott Appalachian Industries, a Huntsville-based non-profit, to provide services to disabled residents. He also founded Housing Opportunities & People Enterprises (HOPE) to provide housing for persons with disabilities who have mobility needs.
West directed those companies for nearly 40 years, until his declining health forced him to retire. The services provided by SAI has greatly expanded across the decades, and it has grown into one of Scott County’s largest employers.
West was also a former Scott County Commissioner.
West and his wife, Bonnie, had five daughters: Terina, Toya, Kaprecia, Bo, and Miata.
Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.
Following is the story from when West was named the Independent Herald/Scott County Chamber of Commerce Person of the Year for 2025:
There are people whose influence is measured not by headlines or titles, but by the quiet, lasting changes they leave in their wake. In Scott County, few names better fit that description than Larry West, founder and long-time executive director of Scott Appalachian Industries Inc.
When Scott County advertised for a director for its program for persons of disabilities in the 1970s, one of the applicants for the job was Larry West. After being hired by the county, West started Scott Appalachian Industries, a Huntsville-based non-profit, to grow the services offered to persons with disability, as well as the number of people who could be served.
And SAI has only continued to grow and expand since that time.
West also started Housing Opportunities & People Enter-prises (HOPE), a separate company that provides housing for persons with disabilities who have mobility needs.
The 2025 Independent Herald/Scott County Chamber of Commerce Person of the Year award honors Larry West for his dedication to the community and its people. It isn’t so much for what he did during the 2025 calendar year; West is retired and his declining health no longer permits him to be involved in the day-to-day operations of the company he led for nearly 40 years.
But West’s impact was still being felt this year — and will for many years yet to come. In October, with West and his wife, Bonnie, on hand, SAI handed over the keys to a brand-new ambulance that it donated to the Scott County Ambulance Service. Kaprecia Babb, one of West’s five daughters who is carrying on her father’s legacy as SAI’s admin-istrative director, pointed out that the donation of the ambulance was a tribute to her father’s lifetime of work, saying: “As long as we have existed he has said, ‘I want to give back to my community; I don’t want to be a burden.’ He always said that if we couldn’t afford it, we didn’t need it. He’s retired now but this is the time we can give back and it’s only because of what he has done all these years.”
Any recognition offered to Westt is recognition that is long overdue for a man who has done more than perhaps anyone else to expand opportunity, dignity, and independence for residents with disabilities in this community.
For decades, West devoted his professional life to a mission that most never fully see: ensuring that people with disabilities are not sidelined, overlooked, or forgotten, but instead supported, empowered, and included. Through Scott Appalachian Industries, he helped build a comprehensive network of services that addressed real needs — employment opportunities, daily living support, vocational training, community integration — at a time when such resources were scarce, especially in rural Appalachia.
What set West apart was not just vision, but persistence. Establishing and sustaining services for disabled individuals in a small county is never easy. There have been funding challenges, staffing shorrtages, and regulatory hurdles. But under West’s leadership, SAI grew from an idea into a lifeline — one that families could depend on and participants could trust.
It might be impossible to count exactly how many families SAI has provided hope for since it was found-ed more than 40 years ago. For those families, it has meant knowing that their loved one would be treated with respect, encouraged to develop skills, and given the chance to contribute meaningfully to the community. It has meant dignity — something that West always believed wasn’t optional but essential.
Despite the scope of his work, West has never sought recognition. He built programs, not portfolios. He focused on outcomes, not accolades. In a county full of hard workers who do good quietly, even by those standards, his humility stands out.
And that is precisely why this recognition matters.
Scott County’s Person of the Year is not always the loudest voice or the most visible figure. Sometimes it is the person who shows up day after day, year after year, doing the work that changes lives in ways that statistics can’t fully capture. Larry West is that person.
His legacy will live on in the services that SAI will continue to provide, the individuals who gained confidence and independence, and the families whose burdens were lightened because someone cared enough to build something lasting.
For improving the quality of life for disabled residents, for strengthening the social fabric of Scott County, and for doing it all without fanfare, Larry West is a worthy and deserving choice as the Independent Herald/Scott County Chamber of Commerce Person of the Year.
Need a good rate on your auto insurance? Contact your local State Farm agent, Roger Baldwin. (Sponsored content.)
Oneida pursues grant funding for ‘micropark’ at watershed lake
ONEIDA | The Town of Oneida is pursuing a grant to develop a micropark at Baker Lake in West Oneida, Mayor Lori Phillips-Jones said last week.
Phillips-Jones announced a public meeting that will be held Thursday, March 12, to collect public comments regarding the project. She said the area would include a boat ramp, picnic shelter, fishing area, and handicap-accessible parking.
The nearly 75-acre lake impounds Cotton Creek and the North Fork of Pine Creek and serves as the primary source of water for customers of the Oneida Water & Wastewater Department. It is named for Congressman Howard H. Baker Sr., a Scott County native.
For many years, the Baker Lake was one of the most popular fishing spots in Scott County, and boaters launched from a makeshift boat ramp on private property at the north end of the lake — what was originally Pine Creek Road before the road was rerouted for the construction of the lake. That ended in the early 2000s when the launch area was barricaded. Since that time, anglers have accessed the lake from the gated Rosser Lane on the south end of the lake.
The mayor said the proposed park will be closed to the public at dark, and will have a gate that can be locked at night. Only electric motors are allowed on the water.
Public comments are being accepted through March 23 at 5 p.m. and can be emailed to Lori.phillips-jones@oneidatn.gov. They can also be made at Thursday’s meeting, which will begin at 5 p.m. at the Oneida Municipal Services Building.
Once completed, the Baker Lake facility would be the town’s fourth recreational facility, joining Oneida City Park, the Jack E. Lay Sports Complex at Bear Creek, and the Oneida Municipal Golf Course.
Words of Wisdom
Each week, Preacher Johnny Polk and the Oneida Church of Christ present Words of Wisdom, short devotionals that are archived on our website. Here is the current Words of Wisdom. (Sponsored content.)
The Week Ahead
☀️ Weather: Today will be beautiful, with temperatures in the mid 70s, sunny skies, and only a light breeze. However, changes are coming, beginning with chances of scattered thunderstorms late tonight and tomorrow. Check out our daily Eye to the Sky updates on our Facebook page — published each morning at 7 a.m. on the dot — or always available at indherald.com.
—
📅 Community Calendar
Monday: The Scott Appalachian Industries Senior Center (Monticello Pike, Huntsville) offers a walking program, puzzles and games, and massage chairs every week day (Monday-Friday) from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Monday: Ridgeview Behavioral Health Services’ Mobile Health Clinic will be in the Walmart parking lot in Oneida from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., offering integrated primary care and behavioral health. No insurance is not a problem. Call (866) 599-0466 for more information.
Monday: The Scott County Senior Citizens Center (Main Street, Oneida) will serve lunch from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. The cost is $7 for dine-in or carry-out. Phone: (423) 569-5972.
Monday: The Scott County Finance Committee will meet at the Scott County Mayor’s Office in Huntsville, beginning at 5 p.m.
Monday: The Town of Winfield Board of Mayor & Aldermen will meet at Winfield City Hall, beginning at 6 p.m.
Monday: The Oneida Indians will travel to Hampton for a Class 1A substate game at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the IH Sports Network.
Tuesday: The Scott County Senior Citizens Center (Main Street, Oneida) will host exercise from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m.
Tuesday: Pinnacle Resource Center’s food pantry (1513 Jeffers Road, Huntsville) will be open beginning at 10 a.m. There are no income guidelines; however, a photo ID and a piece of mail with a Scott County address are required.
Tuesday: Boy Scout Troop #333 will meet at the Oneida War Memorial Building on Alberta Street in Oneida beginning at 6 p.m.
Tuesday: Wall Builders will meet from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. at Trinity Baptist Church (1611 Glass House Road, Helenwood) for those struggling with addiction or striving to keep off drugs. There will be preaching, teaching, food, fellowship and personal counseling.
Tuesday: Alcoholics Anonymous will meet at 7 p.m. at the Highway 27 Unity Club (17737 S. Alberta Street, Oneida).
Wednesday: The Scott County Senior Citizens Center (Main Street, Oneida) will serve lunch from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. The cost is $7 for dine-in or carry-out.
Thursday: The Gerry McDonald Mission House, located on Church Avenue, directly behind First United Methodist Church, is open from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. You are eligible to receive food once per month. 569-8828.
Thursday: The Scott County Senior Citizens Center (Main Street, Oneida) will host exercise from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m.
Thursday: The Scott County Board of Education will meet at the Central Office in Huntsville, beginning at 4:30 p.m.
Thursday: The Town of Oneida will hold a public meeting regarding a proposed micropark at Baker Lake, beginning at 5 p.m. at the Oneida Municipal Services Building.
The Community Calendar is presented by Citizens Gas Utility District. You may recognize a natural gas leak by a rotten egg like smell or a hissing sound. If you know of or suspect a leak, leave the area and then call your gas supplier or 911. Visit citizensgastn.com.
Thank you for reading. Our next newsletter will be Echoes From the Past tomorrow. If you’d like to update your subscription to add or subtract any of our newsletters, do so here. If you haven’t yet subscribed, it’s as simple as adding your email address!
◼️ About the IH • IH Sports Network • The Encyclopedia of Scott County
◼️ Subscribe • Sponsor • Manage Your Account
◼️ Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, YouTube
Our Newsletters:
• Monday morning: The Daybreaker (news & the week ahead)
• Tuesday: Echoes from the Past (stories of our history)
• Wednesday: Threads of Life (obituaries)
• Thursday evening: The Weekender (news & the weekend)
• Friday: Friday Features (beyond the news)
• Sunday: Varsity (a weekly sports recap)