Free Republic

POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. — One of the highly popular festivals in the state, the Mothman Festival in Mason County, has been canceled due to COVID-19. Organizers said in a Facebook post on Thursday, “Due to many unknown factors and the guidelines for fairs and festivals now set forth by the state of West Virginia because of COVID 19, we are postponing Mothman Festival 2020.” The event, that commemorates the 1966 Point Pleasant Mothman sighting that gave birth to the infamous red-eyed winged legend, had been scheduled for Sept. 19 and 20. The restrictions in place would affect the guest speakers,...

Rosemary Ketchum was elected Tuesday to the City Council in Wheeling, West Virginia, becoming the state’s first out transgender elected official. In the nonpartisan election, Ketchum won 39.3 percent of the vote, beating Peggy Niebergall by just 15 votes, according to WTOV-TV. She will assume office July 1. “Running for office was never in the plan for me,” Ketchum, 26, said in an interview with NBC News. “I didn’t know what that would look like or how I would fit into that world.”

On June 10, 1964, Everett Dirksen (R-IL), the Republican Leader in the U.S. Senate, condemned the Democrats’ 57-day filibuster against the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Leading the Democrats in their opposition to civil rights for African-Americans was Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV), who got into politics as a recruiter for the Ku Klux Klan. At 9:51 on the morning of June 10, 1964, Senator Byrd completed an address that he had begun 14 hours and 13 minutes earlier. Democrats still call Robert Byrd “the conscience of the Senate.”

CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – The Mountain State held its primary election today, deciding on who will face off for races including governor and who will represent West Virginia in the United States Senate. Putnam County voters decided to allow medical cannabis organizations to operate growing facilities, processing facilities and dispensaries with approximately 64% pf the vote for each. Voters approved laboratories with almost 65%. Current Gov. Jim Justice will face off against the Democratic candidate for governor in the General Election after winning the Republican nomination. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (WV-R) held on to the Republican nomination for her United...

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. — Regardless of where the Eastern Panhandle stands with COVID-19 this fall, Jefferson County students will have a choice of how they attend school. During Monday night’s regular meeting, Superintendent Dr. Bondy Shay Gibson said the school system is continuously updating its technological infrastructure. Students will have the option of full virtual learning.

Sen. Joe Manchin, the independent-minded West Virginia Democrat who sometimes irks his party by siding with Republicans, intends to back fellow Democat Joe Biden for president, according to a report. Manchin, 72, who has served in the Senate since 2010 after previously serving as West Virginia’s governor, was unequivocal about his plans Thursday in an interview with Politico. “I will, absolutely,” Manchin said when asked if he will support Biden.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (R) is advising sheriffs in his state to stay on task processing concealed carry permit applications and issuing those permits for applicants legally able to carry a gun. Morrisey wants residents of this state to maintain the ability to defend themselves, regardless of coronavirus shutdowns and/or social distancing requirements. The NRA-ILA quoted Morrisey saying, “While we want our residents to be safe and practice good social distancing, we also want to ensure they can still exercise their right to keep and bear arms.” On March 27, 2020, Breitbart News reported Texas Attorney General Ken...

FReepers I don't know this kid but about a week ago his picture came up on one of my facebook pages Would seem his condition is not getting better and his family will have to make a tough decision in the next 24 hours. His name is Teddy Nelson, as the title implies he is from Logan, WV. The kid is only 25 years old. Below is a facebook link with his picture and I'm posting in my comments what his friend has said. Please pray for his recovery. Thank you

Details have been reported on last night's meeting in Emmett, Idaho called by Ammon Bundy in response to government restrictions related to Covid-19. Bundy says that state officials are "exploiting" the situation and violating the Bill of Rights of the US Constitution... The unemployment rate in the US moving up to 4.4 percent last month from the record low of 3.5 percent..... Russia now says that it is in communication with other countries in response to Saudi Arabia's call for an OPEC+ meeting involving oil producing nations.... A firing in Washington tonight related to last year's impeachment process against President...

Earlier this week, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice placed a moratorium on all “elective” procedures and surgeries in the state through an executive order, and at a Wednesday news conference, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said the order will apply to “abortion facilities, as well.” Morrisey’s office did not respond to multiple requests to clarify or elaborate on his statement, which — if it does apply to abortions — may contradict language in the governor’s executive order. The executive order mandates all medical procedures that are “not immediately medically necessary to preserve the patient’s life or long-term health” should be rescheduled...

Dow’s Union Carbide subsidiary in South Charleston has joined the war against the spread of COVID-19 by producing industrial scale quantities of hand sanitizer for free distribution to health care systems and government agencies. The first production batch of South Charleston-produced hand sanitizer is expected to be ready to be released for packaging Wednesday, according to Tim O’Neal, vice president and site director for Dow’s Union Carbide subsidiary. The sanitizer will be packaged by Total Distribution, Inc., of Nitro, and distributed by the West Virginia National Guard to health care workers and first responders across the state, O’Neal said. The...

Add West Virginia to the list of states where the governor has banned abortions along with, other non-essential medical procedures, to help fight the coronavirus by conserving medical supplies. Governor Jim Justice, with the support of Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, has announced that all health care facilities postpone all surgeries and procedures that are not medically necessary during the current COVID-19 pandemic. In his statement the Governor said he would “suspend all elective medical procedures” effective 11:59 p.m. tonight. The purpose of these directives is to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to preserve personal protective equipment (PPE) for use...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Some hospitals in West Virginia are starting to have cash flow problems with the doing away of elective surgeries and other procedures due to the coronavirus. West Virginia Hospital Association President Joe Letnaunchyn said many services normally offered are being put off in the current environment. “The Surgeon General said cancel elective surgeries and you cancel electives, you cancel other related ancillary services and the revenue stream dries up,” Letnaunchyn said during an appearance Monday on MetroNews “Talkline.” “So we’re trying to find alternate ways to provide revenue to the hospitals in the interim until the federal...

MONROE COUNTY, WV (WOWK) – The West Virginia State Police is searching for two “persons of interest” in connection to deaths of two children and a residential fire in Monroe County. Troopers say they are looking for Keven Anderson and Helen Rattamasribounreuang. Anderson is a 40-year-old male, approximately 5’9″, 140 lbs., Hazel eyes, with Brown hair. He is from the Ballard area of Monroe County. Rattamasribounreuang is a 30-year-old female, approximately 5’7″, 200 lbs., Brown eyes, Brown hair. She is also from the Ballard area.

When Pennsylvania ordered coal mines closed because of the coronavirus, then reversed course and declared them to be “essential,” West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, who made a fortune in coal, was quick to mock his neighbors. “Coal is so essential it is unbelievable,” said Justice, a Republican. “We have to have good electricity flowing into our homes.” The mine workers union agrees with him. So does President Trump, who has spent the past three years talking up the coal business. But in the face of the pandemic, is coal mining actually so essential? Because of the nature of the work...

A representative from the WV Governor Jim Justice's office says that abortion is healthcare and not elective. However, science and statistics show that termination of a living viable human child in the womb is NOT a "medical necessity" nor "essential" to preserve the patient's life, but most often done simply because the mother desires it. Notice also what priority they place on abortion in the image below. It is listed first. So much for the importance of their "other services," which they are largely postponing at this time, but state are such a necessity for the "clinic" to stay open....

Wheeling, WV (WTRF) – In a letter to Wheeling Hospital staff, Wheeling Hospital’s CEO, Doug Harrison said 40 N95 masks (2 boxes) were stolen from their Corporate Health Department. The theft has been turned over to the Wheeling Police Department who is working with Wheeling Hospital’s Security Department to review security tapes.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has a message about the coronavirus pandemic: It’s like a scary movie. In an apparent attempt to sooth a nervous public, Justice, in a statewide address Saturday night, offered a rambling response to the virus in which he declined to order a broad lockdown, issued dire warnings about New York state, urged people to follow existing protocols and admitted that perhaps his speech could have waited until Monday. “It’s like we’re all lost in a movie that we can’t relate to in any way,” he said during the roughly 25-minute address that left many on...

Senior White House Adviser Kellyanne Conway pressed CBS News reporter Weijia Jiang on Wednesday for details about a claim the reporter made earlier this week that has since generated media-driven controversy. Jiang, who is a self-described “Chinese born West Virginian,” tweeted on Tuesday, “This morning a White House official referred to #Coronavirus as the ‘Kung-Flu’ to my face. Makes me wonder what they’re calling it behind my back.”

Three rockets struck the "Green Zone" in Baghdad today. Its the fourth such attack in a week. The rockets fell at least two kilometers from the US Embassy..... Iraq has complained to the UN Security Council about recent US airstrikes..... The Russian Navy conducting drills at its base in Tartus Syria.... The US Treasury Department imposing sanctions on the Syrian Defense Minister..... The Chinese government revoking the credentials of American newspaper reporters in China.... Ohio Governor Mike DeWine ordered polling places in the state for today's Democrat primary closed after a judge denied a request to postpone the primary until...