http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/wv-news/ en-us Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:20:58 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416358/posts LITTLE ROCK, ARK. (AP) -- Arkansas police are looking for two men who shot and killed a Salvation Army major originally from West Virginia in front of his three young children outside the organization's community center in North Little Rock. Pulaski County Coroner Garland Camper says two men accosted Philip Wise and his children - ages, 4, 6 and 8 - on Thursday. He says one man pulled a gun, demanded money and then shot Wise. Wise's wife, Cindy, was inside the center and called 911. Philip Wise was picking up his wife to drive to his mother's home in... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416358/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:20:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416162/posts The Christmas thieving season appears to be in full bloom and local police who have made numerous arrests on burglary and theft charges in recent weeks. • Gerald Michael Frazier, 36, of Sabine, was arrested by Deputy J.A. Lyall of the Logan County Sheriff's Department for daytime burglary, and breaking and entering on Nov. 26. According to police reports the deputy responded to a call from Rum Junction about an alleged burglary, where the victim reportedly shot at the fleeing vehicle of the alleged burglar. "The victim stated he watched the suspect open the door to his garage and go... Locan Banner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416162/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:47:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414963/posts What I am about to share has little political relevance. It is simply a candid expression of my gratitude and a testimony to how anything can happen in this glorious experiment called America. Last Christmas, because I was selected by my congressman to decorate an ornament for the White House Christmas tree, my wife Mary and I were invited by Laura Bush to a reception at the White House. The White House sent me a six by six inch silver plastic ball with specific instructions. The theme of my design must reflect my state (Florida) in a red, white and... LloydMarcus.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414963/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 15:42:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414841/posts WHEELING -- Local tanning salon operators are upset over a last minute tax on their business in the health care reform bill. If the legislation passes in its current form, artificial sun worshipers would pay 10 percent more for a trip to the tanning beds. WTRF-TV http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414841/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 05:38:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414550/posts Bridgeport resident Ann Booth, looking forward to a weekend away from her busy schedule as a stay-at-home mom, was more than eager to spend it at The Greenbrier. But her trip to the state's luxury hotel and resort turned into quite the adventure after a severe winter storm dumped a blizzard of snow on most parts of West Virginia... Booth set out for The Greenbrier Hotel for a weekend with girlfriends from her home in Bridgeport in Harrison County at 4:30pm Friday. "I called The Greenbrier ahead, and they said it wasn't spitting a thing," she said. "I figured I... The New Media Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414550/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 17:25:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414230/posts In Senate Vote on Health Care Overhaul, New Partisan Vitriol DAVID M. HERSZENHORN December 23 WASHINGTON — The vote on Monday, in the dead of night, was 60 to 40. The vote on Tuesday, just after daybreak, was 60 to 39. And the vote on Wednesday afternoon, at a civil hour but after less-than-civil debate, was 60 to 39 again — an immutable tally that showed Democrats unwavering in the march to adopt a far-reaching overhaul of the health care system over united Republican opposition. The votes also marked something else: the culmination of more than a generation of partisan... NYTimes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414230/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 03:17:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414142/posts Polls To what extent do you think the health care bill on which the U.S. Senate plans to vote on Christmas Eve will bring down costs? Not at all 79% Unsure 9% A little 7% A lot 5% http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414142/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 00:32:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413518/posts HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- A little girl who relied on donations for Christmas was left with no presents under the tree after a thief broke into her home. Parents of the 11-year-old child, whose name is Mariah, say someone came into their empty home and stole several items, including all the presents under the Christmas tree. The stolen presents had been donated by a church. The theft has left the family scrambling not only to figure out who did it, but how to replace gifts they couldn't afford anyway. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413518/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 03:51:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413512/posts CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Greyhound Bus Lines is offering free travel vouchers to passengers who were stranded for about three hours in West Virginia on a bus with no heat. A bus driver abandoned 45 passengers in Charleston around 8 p.m. Monday after telling them another driver would arrive within the hour to drive them on to Columbus, Ohio, and Detroit. Greyhound spokesman Timothy Stokes says the bus wasn't scheduled to arrive in Charleston from Charlotte, N.C., until 11 p.m. That's the time the bus station reopened and the new driver arrived. Greyhound plans to conduct an internal investigation into... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413512/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 03:36:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413505/posts Update 9:09AM: As of very recently, NBC Washington has taken DOWN this post in response. Thank you NBC for this first step. We anxiously await your written response as well. Thanks to everyone for your action. As a DC area resident and WV native, I am outraged at the recent insulting and downright offensive “news” article from NBC Washington titled “West Virginia Discovers the Internet“. In this not even remotely humorous piece, Chris Needham mocks WV in over-the-top obnoxious terms for putting all of their vital public records online. In fact, WV is actually one of very few states in... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413505/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 03:18:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411933/posts It was the slap heard 'round the coalfields: Cordelia Ruth Tucker, wearing the fluorescent-striped shirt of a miner, strode past West Virginia state troopers and into a stream of marchers protesting mountaintop removal mining to deliver an audible smack. (snip) There have been nearly 100 arrests in 20 protests, most involving trespassing. Led by a new group called Climate Ground Zero, the activists have chained themselves to giant dump trucks, scaled 80-foot trees to stop blasting and paddled into a 9 million-gallon sludge pond. They've blocked roads, hung banners and staged sit-ins. Virginia-based Massey Energy claims a single 3 1/2-hour... AP via Yahoo! http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411933/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:51:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411009/posts 1:54 a.m. The Wythe County Sheriff’s Office says Interstate 77 between Wytheville and West Virginia has been shut down due to the weather, and accidents blocking the highway. All other traffic on I-81 and I-77 is moving slowly with only one lane of traffic open. National Weather Service says Roanoke has received a foot of snow. Blacksburg at 11.2 inches. VDOT says multiple sections of Interstate 81 are not moving, on both the northbound and the southbound side from Rockbridge County through Wythe County . wsls.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411009/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 07:19:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410582/posts An extraordinary recent statement by Sen. Robert Byrd has stunned his coal-dependent home state and left West Virginia politicians and business leaders scrambling to understand the timing and motivation behind his unexpected discourse on the future of the coal industry. In an early December op-ed piece released by his office — also recorded on audio by the frail 92-year-old senator — Byrd argued that resistance to constraints on mountaintop-removal coal mining and a failure to acknowledge that “the truth is that some form of climate legislation will likely become public policy” represent the real threat to the future of coal.... Politico http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410582/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:33:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410413/posts A Marshall County Sheriff’s Deputy is recovering after a pistol blew up on Tuesday (November 30 -- sd) during qualifications, according to Chief Deputy Kevin Cecil. The veteran officer was using a Glock 21 .45 caliber pistol with out of country ammunition at a shooting range outside of Moundsville, Cecil said. It’s believed the ammunition was bad, causing the receiver to blow apart in the sergeant’s hand. WTRF-TV http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410413/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:27:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410297/posts An extraordinary recent statement by Sen. Robert Byrd has stunned his coal-dependent home state and left West Virginia politicians and business leaders scrambling to understand the timing and motivation behind his unexpected discourse on the future of the coal industry. In an early December op-ed piece released by his office — also recorded on audio by the frail 92-year-old senator — Byrd argued that resistance to constraints on mountaintop-removal coal mining and a failure to acknowledge that “the truth is that some form of climate legislation will likely become public policy” represent the real threat to the future of coal.... Politico http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410297/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:29:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409199/posts Regulations: The Clean Water Act is being rewritten to give a government bureaucracy the power to regulate every body of water from the Mississippi River to a rain-flooded field. The first casualty may be American coal. With all the concern for the harm that cap-and-trade and regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant might do to the American economy and free markets, the Environmental Protection Agency is doing quite enough damage with an existing law on the books — the Clean Water Act. Congress plans to revise it to make it an even more powerful bludgeon against industry, energy producers and... Investors.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409199/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 01:10:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407619/posts Areas receiving funding will include health, safety, education and training programs More federal funding could be headed to West Virginia. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., Dec. 14 announced that the House of Representatives and Senate have completed action on the Fiscal Year 2010 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill. The measure includes funding for health, safety, education, and training programs in the Mountain State. The bill includes more than $630 million for programs in West Virginia. The bill is part of an Omnibus Appropriations bill, which combined six of the 12 annual spending appropriations measures. The bill... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407619/posts#comment Tue, 15 Dec 2009 02:17:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407606/posts TEAYS VALLEY W.Va. -- With two weeks left till Christmas, it seems the Grinch has struck a church in Putnam County, stealing something very special from an 87-year old member. Otis Wells discovered someone stole his 1967 Gibson acoustic guitar, a gift he received 42 years ago. "It's just a part of me. I don't make music or hardly even sing without my guitar." Somehow, someone pulled the amplifier plug from the Gibson stored at the Teays Valley Nazarene Church where he plays on the "praise team," along with a Charleston police officer. "The musician in me just wants him... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407606/posts#comment Tue, 15 Dec 2009 02:09:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405949/posts A freelance photographer is crying foul after police arrested him at a West Virginia mall, where he had taken pictures of a child sitting on Santa's lap, according to MyFoxDC.com. The photographer, Scott Rensberger, told MyFoxDC.com that a man came up to him on Tuesday after he took the photos and asked him to delete them. Rensberger said he complied, but then police officers approached him, questioning him why he was taking pictures of children. FOX News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405949/posts#comment Sat, 12 Dec 2009 04:41:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404395/posts WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic Rep. Brian Baird said Wednesday he will not seek re-election next year so he can spend more time with his family and pursue other ways to serve. The six-term congressman who represents southwest Washington said the job has been the highest honor and greatest responsibility of his life. Baird, 53, of Vancouver, serves on the House science and transportation committees. While his 3rd District seat is considered competitive, he easily won re-election in 2008 and was not considered in jeopardy this cycle. "I find it is increasingly difficult to spend the time I need with my... Charleston Gazette http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404395/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 08:26:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404293/posts Work on a West Virginia wind power project has been halted by a federal judge who sided with environmentalists' claim that the project would harm an endangered bat. U.S. District Judge Roger Titus issued the order Tuesday, citing potential harm to the federally endangered Indiana bat. John Stroud, co-chairman of one of the environmental groups that filed the lawsuit, Mountain Communities for Responsible Energy, said group members were "really delighted with the ruling." "We've been working on this for a while and the judge saw things our way, and we're really pleased," said Stroud, a rare book dealer who owns... AP on SFGate.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404293/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 03:48:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404171/posts HUNTINGTON -- Bar owners are worried about what a smoking ban would mean for business. We stopped by some establishments in downtown Huntington this evening to ask bar owners about a recent USA Today article that showed bar owners all over the country ignoring smoking bans because paying customers outweigh local fines. Although many like the idea, they're not willing to lose their business for the sake of smoking. Cabell County is on a dwindling list of West Virginia counties that allow smoking in bars. Rivals Sportsbar and Grill bartender Kristan Johnson said she hopes nothing changes. "I think it's... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404171/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:39:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404166/posts WINFIELD W Va -- According to a Sheriff's Department spokesperson, Lura Fisher beat her daughter because she wasn't happy with her grades. Fisher turned herself into the Sheriff's Department late Wednesday morning. The investigation started earlier this week when administrators at her daughter's school noticed marks on her. Fisher's daughter is in fifth grade, and Fisher is free on bond. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404166/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:32:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404159/posts State Sen. Dan Foster says he'll propose an increase in the West Virginia cigarette tax again this year. CHARLESTON W Va-- State Sen. Dan Foster, D-Kanawha, said he always pushes for a cigarette tax increase. Foster calls a dollar-a-pack hike a good idea for two reasons. "It raises revenue for the state, in the sort-term, greater than $100 million a year," he said. "And, it decreases the number of smokers which has the potential to decreases our long-term health care costs." And, if you believe two-pack-a-day smoker, Dylan Pugh, it might work. Pugh said a dollar increase might be enough... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404159/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:27:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403614/posts Residents from all over the Ohio Valley, from as far as Charleston, met Tuesday night to debate health care. Bob Connors, a member of We the People of the Ohio Valley, said he believes President Barack Obama's health care bill will bankrupt the country. "If the government is in control of anything in your life you lose liberty ... if they decide you have to buy health insurance..that is not liberty and you don't have the choice to say no," said Connors. WTRF-TV http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403614/posts#comment Wed, 9 Dec 2009 13:01:48 GMT