"[4] The newspaper's title has been described in national media as typical of Boone County, where the coal industry plays defining role in the local economy.
Jones,[8] it achieved notoriety in 1931 when a local sheriff allegedly paid to have the plant damaged in an attempt to shut down production of the paper.
[9] Amos Sullivan testified that on the morning of October 23, 1930, he had attended a deputies' meeting that had discussed recent opposition of the Guyan Valley News to Republican candidates favored by the sheriff's department.
[10] Sullivan testified that at the meeting it was said that "something had to be done"[10] and claimed he had later been paid five hundred dollars by Logan County Sheriff Tennis Hatfield to damage the plant.
[9] He broke into the newspaper printing plant late at night, but was surprised by assistant editor Elmer Jones, who shot and seriously wounded him.