“MECC came out very well,” Dr. Ficker said. {He} attributed the success to hard work and a “belief in what we are doing.” . . . “I’ve been assured we will get a high priority in this (building),” Ficker said. (Hollyfield, 1985) A feature story in the Richmond Times described one remarkable success at MECC: St. Charles – It is a hostile place for dreams: the faded trailer that may once have been red, with an old wringer washing machine half full of snow and a green refrigerator, plugged in, on the rickety porch. Inside, under a roof that leaks, are four dimly lit rooms heated by a pot-bellied coal stove. Holes in the corners are stuffed with rags. There is no water since the pipe froze and burst. From the electrical outlet in the kitchen, cords stretch across the ceiling.
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nside, under a roof that leaks, are four dimly lit rooms heated by a potbellied coal stove.
Yet in this place, where even the babies’ few toys are old and worn, there is hope. . . . In it, a smiling young woman wears a blue cap and a gown. The trailer is Naomi Burnette’s home.  “Since I was little, I wanted to be a doctor or a nurse, but since I couldn’t be a doctor, I’d still like to be a nurse,” she said. “I figure if I go and make something out of myself, then my babies will go and do the same.” For Mrs. Burnette and people like her, the only way out of grinding poverty is education and a slender thread of federal aid. Mrs. Burnette dropped out of a licensed practical nursing program in the 12th grade when she lacked the money to buy a medical dictionary and other books.  Last year, though, with the help of a federal basic education grant that pays tuition and books, she earned her high school equivalency diploma through classes at St. Charles Community Center. She is taking biology in hope of getting into a nursing class. The classes at St. Charles are part of the outreach program at Mountain Empire Community College in Big Stone Gap, which offers 150 classes every quarter off campus. “It’s interesting to see the revitalization of the human spirit when people get involved in these classes,” Dr. Ficker said. “Every so often, they do escape the cycle of poverty, and they don’t have to leave the area to do it.” (Blackmore, 1985) 114