Car vs. Train Crash near Catlettsburg, Ky.

BOYD COUNTY, Ky.-- A driver was hurt after his car was hit by a train in Boyd County Thursday morning.

The crash happened on old U.S. 23 at the railroad crossing in front of the Calgon Plant about 6:40 a.m.

The plant is just south of the I-64 Catlettsburg interchange.

A Boyd County Sheriff’s Deputy says the man was conscious following the accident. No one else was in the car.

The car was pushed some 30 feet down the track from the crossing.

The CSX train was heading south when the crash happened

Crews  at the scene says there is a small sign at the crossing warning drivers that this is an active crossing and to look for trains.

Fire Department Violations

KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. -- A fire department is feeling the heat after major safety and training flaws were exposed.

A formal complaint was filed this week against the Cabin Creek Volunteer Fire Department. However, those firefighters are not the only ones being criticized.

Cabin Creek VFD is just one of six departments in West Virginia accused of violating state code.

Inspecting and keeping fire departments in check is the responsibility of the state fire marshal's office

Officials say Cabin Creek VFD failed to comply three separate times during the course of 10 months -- the most recent in January.

All firefighters are required to earn at least 90 hours in Firefighter One training. However, out of 18 active firefighters, we found only seven are certified. In first aid and CPR, zero of the firefighters are trained, and none are Officer One trained either, with that being the very basic course.

The fire department could lose $44,000 in state funding.

Authorities report that departments across the state have similar violations.

Since Cabin Creek VFD just got the formal complaint letter this week, it has been given 30 days to respond. If the state fire commission doesn't like the department's answer or if it fails to respond, a hearing will be held to look for solutions.

Truck Crashes In to Teays Valley Restaurant

TEAYS VALLEY, W.Va. -- A hit and run crash caused serious damage to the Fat Patty's Restaurant in Teays Valley, West Virginia, Wednesday afternoon.

No one was injured but the crash caused some serious damage a bathroom inside the building.

The driver took off and is still on the loose.

The restaurant is operating normally and will remain open.

Overcrowded School Bus Video Alarms Logan County Parents

LOGAN COUNTY, W.Va. -- A video circulating of an overcrowded school bus has parents in Logan County concerned about child safety.

The video, taken by a seventh-grade student at Man Middle School, shows students standing in the aisles of what appears to be a moving bus.

The video also shows middle and high school students seated as many as five to six per seat. Officials from the Logan County Board of Education confirm no more than three students at a time can be seated on the same seat.

The Logan County Board of Education was unavailable for comment but released a statement. In the statement, Director of Transportation Mark Adkins said, “There are times when the buses have mechanical failures and we must place students on another bus to get home.”

The Board of Education did not confirm whether mechanical issues were a factor in the video being circulated.

West Virginia school policy forbids drivers from moving while students are standing.

House Speaker calls for a review of how appeals are handled

House Speaker Rick Thompson says he wants to know whether the appellate procedures the state Supreme Court first implemented in 2010 are working.

On Wednesday, he introduced a resolution at the State Capitol that calls for a year long study of those rules from the Joint Legislative Committee on Government and Finance.

“I want to have an open and frank discussion about our new rules of appellate procedures that guarantee everyone has a right of appeal and a right to a written decision on each and every case presented to the Supreme Court which is what they say they’re doing at this time,” Speaker Thompson said.

The new appellate procedures were a response to criticisms of the Supreme Court that, up until the changes were made, could reject a case on appeal without providing a reason.

Members of the Supreme Court have said the additions have been successful and eliminate the need for an intermediate court of appeals in West Virginia, another judicial level that’s been proposed.

Speaker Thompson says he’s hoping the study will provide factual information about that claim.  “Let’s see if these work before we go spend millions of dollars that, frankly, we don’t have now,” he said of the intermediate court possibility.

“If these rules are working, we shouldn’t waste that money on some other project.”

If the resolution is approved, the Joint Committee on Finance would report back to the Legislature on its findings during the 2014 Regular Legislative Session.

Lottery changes it’s ‘who can play’ policy

A decision by the West Virginia Lottery Commission could bring more players to the state’s casinos that don’t have to travel very far to get there.

The commission amended its “who can play” policy at its Wednesday meeting to say employees at the casinos who aren’t directly associated with gambling operations can play when off duty.

State Lottery Director John Musgrave says the previous language required employees to travel to other casinos if they wanted to gamble.

“They (casinos) are asking that if people who aren’t really licensed on the floor can play. So we’re trying to clarify that,” Musgrave said.

The change would impact workers in food service, custodial services or other jobs not directly associated with video gambling, table games, horse and dog racing. For example, at Mountaineer Racetrack and Casino in Chester there are some 700 employees in those other categories.

Musgrave says the policy remains restrictive for those who actually run or oversee the gambling operations.

“If you work in an area you can’t play in it,” he said. “No one (no employees) can play in the table games area.”

The change is seen as a move to help the casinos in the northern panhandle who have been losing customers to new gambling operations in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Meanwhile, the West Virginia Lottery revenue numbers for January outperformed estimates. Total revenue for the month was reported at Wednesday’s meeting at $101.5 million, which is 13.5 percent above estimate. All gambling sectors were up from the month from traditional games to table games.

After seven months of the fiscal year the Lottery has brought in just under $766 million, which is 16 percent above estimate

Mystery boom appears to be mine related

Inspectors with the DEP’s Office of Blasting and Explosives say there is strong evidence to suggestion the “mysterious boom” which was felt and hear throughout Charleston Tuesday afternoon came from a strip job near Marmet.
“We haven’t checked everything yet, but it’s tending to lean toward that’s where the noise came from,” said Chief Dave Vande Linde. “The investigation is still underway and we haven’t looked at everything yet.”
Log books at the Keystone surface mine owned by Revelation Coal Company on Rush Creek near Marmet indicate a shot was put off at 5:08pm Tuesday.   Minutes later Kanawha County 911 operators started getting the first calls about the mysterious noise which caused buildings to shake and windows to rattle. ”Conditions were the worst ones to shoot in,” said Vande Linde. “The heavy cloud cover would have held down the noise and caused it to echo up and down the valley.  The weather conditions were ideal to make a regular shot louder than normal.”
A DEP seismographic monitor 2,600 feet from the site reigstered 131db.  Vande Linde said anyting over 133db is considered a violation.   Two more monitors, one a mile away and another a mile and a half away were not triggered by the blast.
Several calls to 911 indicated the sound seemed to come from the Rush Creek area.
“From where all the comments and complaints were coming from, this appears to be the culprit but we’re not 100-percent sure.”
Vande Linde said as of Wednesday afternoon they had found no violations associated with the blast, but indicated some of the handling of how the charge was detonated may have been unusual as well.
“Sometimes they may drill next to a mud seam and not know it’s there, sometime there may be a crack of fisher they didn’t see and it can blow out.” said Vande Linde.  “It’s like wind or water, the gas takes the path of least resistance to get out and that can make extra noise.”  

Gun rights supporters target some WV cities

The legislature is considering several bills that would roll back more restrictive gun ordinances passed by several cities. The bills are aimed at Charleston and other cities that have added their own restrictions on gun purchases and were grandfathered in several years ago when the legislature passed a preemption law.

West Virginia is a strong pro-gun state, so the bills are attracting support from both Democrats and Republicans.

One of the Republican-sponsored bills cleared the House Political Subdivisions Committee Wednesday. Bill co-sponsor Del. Patrick Lane, R-Kanawha, says this is about protecting Constitutional rights.

“We wanted to make sure that every citizen, regardless of what municipality they live in, has the opportunity to fully exercise those self-protection Second Amendment Constitutional rights,” Lane said.

Charleston, South Charleston and Dunbar all have ordinances that place further restrictions on gun purchases.   The legislature passed a preemption law that prevents cities and counties from passing gun laws that are more restrictive than state law, however, cities with existing gun ordinances were grandfathered in.

The bills being considered at the capitol would wipe away the grandfather protection and subject those municipalities to the same guns laws as the rest of the state.

Several House bills, including the one passed Wednesday by the Political Subdivisions Committee, are now before the House Judiciary Committee.

Plea hearing set for former Massey Energy Company executive

A former Massey Energy Company executive will appear in court Thursday for his plea hearing on federal charges stemming from safety violations at mines he operated.

David C. Hughart, 53, of Crab Orchard, is expected to plead guilty to a felony count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and a misdemeanor charge of conspiracy.

Hughart, the former President of Massey’s Green Valley Resource Group, operated Massey Energy subsidiary mines in Nicholas County that routinely violated health and safety laws because he believed following the guidelines decreased coal production.

Hughart was also responsible for giving advanced warnings at his mines and having workers cover up possible violations before federal Mine Safety and Health Administration inspectors arrived.

The charges against Hughart stem from the ongoing investigation into the 2010 explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine that killed 29 miners.

Hughart is the third person, and the highest ranking Massey official so far, to be charged in connection with the UBB investigation.

He faces up to six years in prison.

The plea hearing will take place in front of the Honorable Irene C. Berger at the United States Courthouse and IRS Complex in Beckley beginning at 10 a.m.

Huntington Police searching for attempted murder suspect

An arrest warrant has been issued for a man police say tried to kill a woman in Huntington Wednesday.

Huntington Police say Lavonta Dejuan Burrell texted the victim a picture of a bullet stating that it had her name on it.

Police say the woman was driving her Jeep SUV on 20th Street when Burrell fired several shots from a handgun at her vehicle.

According to detectives, the suspect again texted the woman following the shooting stating if he saw her in the hood again, she would be dead.

Police have issued a warrant for Burrell’s arrest for attempted murder and making terrorist threats.

Body found in Tug Fork River

SOUTH WILLIAMSON, Ky. -- Police are investigating the discovery of a body that washed up on the banks of the Tug Fork River on the West Virginia/Kentucky border.

Not much is known about the body or how it ended up there, and officials say the investigation is just beginning.

Mingo County officials say they are working a case of a missing man, but they are waiting for the medical examiner to make a positive identification to determine if this body is that missing man.

The body was taken to Frankfort for an autopsy and positive identification.

Kentucky State Police are handling the investigation.

Wayne County Man Sentenced for Role in Second Murder

MORGAN COUNTY, Ky. -- A man from Wayne County, W.Va., already sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his father, was sentenced Monday to an additional years for his role in another murder.

Last month, 37-year-old Shane Elkins pleaded guilty to complicity to murder in connection with the death of Michael Dean Bartlety, of Ezel, Ky. The plea took place in Morgan County, Ky. Circuit Court.

Kentucky State Police say that in 1988, Shane Elkins drove his father, Melvin Elkins, to Kentucky and that his father was the one who killed Bartley.

Elkins was not indicted for his role Bartley’s murder until August 2011.

Court officials in Morgan County say Elkins was sentenced to five years on the conspiracy charge during a hearing Monday.

Elkins is already serving a life in the Mount Olive Correctional Center for the shooting death of his father in 2009.

That murder happened in the front yard of his father’s home in Glenhayes in 2007. Elkins pleaded guilty to the murder.

PSC waits on terms of settlement from Appalachian Power

West Virginia Public Service Commission Chairman Mike Albert is urging Appalachian Power Company and other parties to reach a settlement as soon as they can on the company’s coal debt case.

The PSC was set to begin an evidentiary hearing Tuesday morning on Appalachian and its sister company Wheeling powers’ plan to securitize its $300 million debt from the high cost of coal that began in 2009. State lawmakers approved a bill last year that opened door to allow the debt to be paid off by selling bonds and then paid back over a several year period.

APCO attorney William Porth told Albert all interested parties are close to a final settlement on the case.

“We should be able to finalize that in fairly short order,” Porth said. “The effort requiring a little more time is a proposed financing order, which the commission is aware, is a very long and detailed document.”

Appalachian Power Communications Director Jeri Matheney said Monday the bonding of the debt is the best option for the company.

“With the securitization we’ll be able to spread out the cost and not increase rates for customers,” Matheney said.

Chairman Albert said the sooner the settlement the better.

“I think we’re in a posture of maximum flexibility. By the same token, the longer it is before we get that the further out is the date in which we can sit down and have a hearing on it,” he said.

The settlement will involve the state Consumer Advocate’s Office, those who are owed the money for the coal and a citizens group among others.

PSC Chairman Albert told Appalachian Power and others he plans a full hearing on the terms of the settlement and he hopes it can be before the end of March.

“If there is a stipulation we want a full presentation made and we want the opportunity to have our consultants examine the stipulation and determine whether or not in their expert opinion it’s fair and reasonable,” he said.

Senate committee begins work on education reform bill

The massive public education reform bill has started what is expected to be a long and contentious route through the legislature. The Senate Education Committee spent about a half-hour Tuesday listening to a detailed expansion of the 179-page bill.

Committee Chairman Sen. Bob Plymale, D-Wayne, says he hopes to have the bill out of his committee no later than next Thursday (March 7); it next heads to the Senate Finance Committee.

At some point, the bill will run into stiff opposition from the two teacher unions who believe the bill wipes out the seniority protections for teachers who want to transfer to new positions and unfairly forces county school systems to meet 180 days of instruction.

Plymale, who supports the bill, is not willing to predict how much of a fight is ahead, but he says he does not want the debate to take away from the point of the legislation, which is student achievement.

“I was elected by the people to do the best job I can for the citizens, and that includes the students of West Virginia,” Plymale said.

West Virginia public school students rank at or near the bottom in a number of categories.  Governor Tomblin, using an independent audit that was supported by the state Board of Education, put together a sweeping reform package for the legislature.

The legislation, among other things, gives greater authority to local school boards to hire the most qualified teacher rather that the most senior, requires all counties to have 180 days of instruction, expands pre-school to include all four-year-olds, improves reading standards through the third grade, and advocates the use of technology to help students learn.

Mystery boom rocks Kanawha Valley

Residents in the Kanawha Valley are left with many questions after a sudden boom shook the region Tuesday afternoon.

Around 5:15 p.m., the phone lines lit up at Kanawha County’s Metro 911 with numerous reports of a sudden boom that sounded like a big explosion.

Keith Bennett was working at Spyro’s Parking in downtown Charleston when he heard the loud boom.

“The weather had been saying to expect thunder and I thought maybe it will be thunder but it rattled the building around. Everybody was out on the street taking a look, looking up in the sky,” said Bennett. “We thought perhaps a car or a truck had hit a building.”

Bennett said whatever it was, it was very bizarre and strange.

Sam Cozart was in his downtown apartment when he heard the noise, but he said he didn’t think it was anything big.

“It sounded like a trash truck dropping a dumpster,” said Cozart. “You know, like you would wake up to in the morning.”

He said it’s typical to hear all kinds of noises in downtown, but it did catch his attention. 

The Kanawha County Commission was sitting in a meeting as the Board of Tax Appeal Tuesday afternoon when they began getting several calls regarding the noise.

Commissioner Dave Hardy said they stopped the meeting and began making phone calls.

“We checked with Homeland Security, we checked with all the chemical plants, we checked with everything that we know to check and even with seismographic information,” said Hardy. “We’ve come up with nothing.”

Emergency crews also sprung into action checking with several agencies including the National Weather Service and Yeager Airport to see if their were reports of any incidents. Metro 911 also received a report of a blast at Rush Creek Strip Mine in Kanawha County, but that has not been confirmed.

“It wasn’t reported anywhere other than in Kanawha County,” said Hardy. “At this point it’s all speculation but it certainly caught our attention.”

Mining officials were reportedly planning to check out the suspected mine explosion Wednesday morning.

Airport changes possible with proposed budget cuts

The looming sequestration could mean Yeager Airport is no longer a 24-hour airport.

“We are on the list for an overnight closure,” said Yeager Airport Manager Rick Atkinson.

If proposed budget cuts occur by the end of the week, the Federal Aviation Administration could be implementing overnight tower closures at airports in Charleston and in Morgantown.

Air-traffic control facilities at airports in Bridgeport, Wheeling, Huntington, Lewisburg and Williamstown could be closed completely.

Atkinson said this move would cause numerous issues at the airport, mainly dealing with medical transports that land at Yeager Airport at night.

“It should not affect the current commercial flight schedule,” said Atkinson. “But it does affect Medevac flights and LabCorp flights.”

Atkinson said LabCorp flies in a couple times each night with blood to be tested in Charleston.

Along the same lines, Atkinson asks where these medical transports are going to get fuel for long flights?

“If the airports closed, they can’t come in and get fuel,” said Atkinson. “They may have come from Buchannon with enough fuel to come here with a trauma patient, but then they may have to wait till six in the morning before they can get fuel to get back to their base.”

At this time not much information is known in regards to the tower changes, but it is expected the airport would be closed from midnight to 6 a.m.

Atkinson said more problems would arise if they were expected to make these changes immediately since Yeager Airport officials are only use to running a 24-hour airport.

“It’s not something that we can just do and say well okay we are going to start doing this today because no one knows how to do it,” said Atkinson. “Until we are confident that our people are properly trained on procedure, we cannot operate the airport without a tower.”

Atkinson expects they would need at least 30 to 45 days to properly train the airport staff on the new procedures.

Yeager Airport received a notice of the possible changes Tuesday.

Atkinson said they are in the information gathering stage right now because they have more questions than answers at this time regarding the changes. He said airport officials have a lot more work to do.

“We probably have identified 90 percent of the issues because we have a lot of issues identified,” said Atkinson. “But there are probably a few issues we haven’t thought about yet.”

The $85 billion sequester is scheduled to take effect Friday if Congress fails to act.

One dead in Mercer County crash

One person is dead following a single vehicle accident on Falls Mills Road in Nemours Tuesday morning.

Police say a woman driving a black Ford Explorer lost control and went over an embankment, coming to rest in a yard.

Police believe icy conditions may have played a factor in the accident.

State Police say the adult female died at the scene. The victim’s name and age has not been released.

Huntington City Council Votes to Repeal Occupation Tax

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- It now looks like a controversial tax in Huntington will never go into effect.

Monday night Huntington City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance to rescind the 1 percent occupation tax.

After the occupation tax was adopted in May of 2011, Steel of West Virginia and several other parties claimed the tax was unconstitutional and filed a lawsuit against the city.

Council will have a second reading of the ordinance at their next meeting.

Four Arrested in Milton Meth Bust

MILTON, W.Va. -- Three men and a woman were arrested Monday in a meth bust in the 400 block of Milton Street, Milton Police say.

Richard Lonnie Crouch Jr. was charged with operating a clandestine meth lab, possession with intent to deliver and possession of meth in an altered state. His bond was set at $50,000.

William Henson Setliff was charged with operating a clandestine meth lab, possession of meth and possession with intent to deliver. His bond was set at $30,000.

Emily Rose Chapman was charged with possession of meth, possession with intent to deliver and operating a clandestine meth lab. Her bond was set at $40,000.

Ambrose Chapman was charged with operating a clandestine meth lab, possession of meth in an altered state and possession with intent to deliver. His bond was set at $30,000.

All of the suspects were taken to the Western Regional Jail.

Police searched the home about 10:30 a.m. Monday after receiving several complaints about suspected drug activity there.

Officers found syringes filled with liquid believed to be meth and more than a dozen shake-and-bake meth labs. Meth had eaten through some of the soda bottles found in the trash.

WV Guard would take hit with sequester

Nearly 1,000 employees of the West Virginia Army and Air National Guards will have their jobs impacted if federal sequester cuts go through later this week in Congress.

President Barack Obama and congressional leaders have failed to reach a spending agreement and beginning Friday $85 billion in federal cuts will kick in.

West Virginia National Guard spokesman Lt. David Lester says 56 temporary technicians with the Guard will immediately become unemployed.

“They will be laid off,” Lester said. An additional 906 Guard workers will be shifted to four-day work weeks.

“Every week they will have to take an unpaid day off for 22 straight weeks,” Lester said. The West Virginia Air National Guard has one of the best mission capable rates in the nation. Lester says the cuts will impact that ability.

“When you begin to lose your experienced maintenance people but you still have your missions. The missions aren’t necessarily going away. It’s definitely going to have an impact,” Lester said. “We’ll mitigate it as much as we can but it think that it won’t is crazy.”

A hiring freeze is also anticipated.

“It’s not right to not allow people to come to work and then begin to hire people,” Lester said. “So when we begin to lose people to attrition, it’s going to be very hard to hire somebody else.”

The National Guard has about 2,500 employees across the state.

The news is better if the state has a natural disaster. State funds pay for Guard members to respond to those situations.

Possible settlement in Appalachian Power coal debt case

Two West Virginia electric utilities scheduled to go before the state Public Service Commission on Tuesday in connection with a coal purchase debt hope there’s a settlement forthcoming.

Appalachian Power and its sister company Wheeling Power aim to spread out the $300 million debt over several years under a bond plan. The legislature opened the door for the possible securitization of the debt in a bill passed last year.

Appalachian Power Communications Director Jeri Matheney said a settlement is close.

“We’re very close to a settlement on all the major issues regarding this case,” Matheney said. “We believe we’ll be able to reach that settlement.”

The details will come Tuesday during what was scheduled to be the first day of an evidentiary hearing on the plan. A settlement could shorten that, though the PSC would have to sign off on it.

“This is just a way to spread out the cost of that coal that we purchased several years ago that we still owe a lot of money on,” Matheney said.

Back in 2008-2009, when the price for coal jumped, Appalachian and Wheeling couldn’t keep up with the increase. It sought a 43-percent rate hike in 2009 but the PSC opted to give a 25-percent increase over three years. The debt remains.

“With the securitization we’ll be able to spread out the cost and not increase rates for customers,” Matheney said.

It’s believed the settlement will include Appalachian and Wheeling being allowed to sell 10-year bonds at an interest rate of under 2 percent. The companies previously said such a deal would save customers about $146 million over the life of the bonds.

Exports reach record levels again

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin says the state reached a record amount of exports in 2012 marking the third straight year. 

Products worth $11.3 billion dollars left the state to overseas buyers. That was up more than $2 billion dollars from the previous year.

Coal showed the most growth in exports at 40 percent. The most coal from the Mountain State went to the Netherlands at $801 million followed by Italy, India and China.

Plastics is the state’s second largest export. It exceeded $1 billion for the second straight year.

“Last year, West Virginia’s exports grew by 25 percent, surpassing the national growth rate of 4.6 percent,” Gov. Tomblin said in a prepared statement. “Exports are a valuable contributor to our state’s economic growth and stability. While coal continues to be our traditional strength, our top exports also included manufactured products such as plastics, chemicals, machinery and components for medical, automotive and aerospace applications.”

Officers honored for their sacrifice

Law enforcement from across the state gathered at the state capitol Monday to honor two state troopers who were killed in the line of duty and four others who put their lives on the line.

State Troopers Cpl. Marshall Bailey and Eric Workman made what they thought would be routine traffic stop on August 28, 2012 on I-79 near the Roane/Clay County line. They were shot and killed by the driver, Luke Baber, who then shot and injured a tow truck driver and Roane County Deputy John Westfall. Baber was killed during an exchange of fire.

The lower rotunda was the site of the Heroic Law Enforcement Ceremony. On hand were the families of the slain troopers, Deputy Westfall and his family, the three other deputies who took part in the shootout, friends and dozens of law enforcement from local, county, state and federal departments.

Tom McComas, Cabell County Sheriff and president of the West Virginia Sheriff’s Association, presented the families of Bailey and Workman with plaques. Clay County Deputies Cpl. Robert Belt, Chris Legg and Chris Davis received Combat Crosses as did Westfall. He also received a second medal.

“We would like to present this Purple Heart to you for your sacrifice and your wounds received in the service of the citizens of Roane County,” said McComas. Westfall received a standing ovation.

The deputy told those gathered at the ceremony, “I could see the reflection of nothing but blue lights coming towards the scene [as I was laying on the ground]. You don’t realize what that means knowing that everyone is coming to your aid.”

Also honored was William Massey, the tow truck driver who called in the shootings of Bailey and Workman.

“Thank you for what you did that day for these officers and the other first responders for sending up that alarm. And we’re glad to see that you are recovering nicely from your wounds,” McComas said.

Rudi Raynes-Kidder, the executive director of the WVSA, used the ceremony to push for a bill introduced in the Senate on Monday that would require police agencies to purchase bulletproof vests for every officer.

“One would think if you get a gun, you get a vest. That is not the case in West Virginia and it needs to be in law,” stressed Raynes-Kidder.

That statement was echoed by Sen. Bill Laird, a former Fayette County Sheriff.

“This legislation recognizes the importance of body armor as essential equipment. No longer is it optional. It’s something that certainly must be funded, must be made available to those men and women who get up every morning, go to work to keep us safe in the communities in which we live,” Laird said.

Westfall said he was lucky to be wearing a top-of-the-line bullet proof vest provided to him by the Spencer Police Department, where he worked part-time.

“I was lucky that I had protection … and it saved my life. Our sheriff’s department didn’t have those vests,” Westfall said.

So far, the community has donated more than $16,000 toward the purchase of bulletproof vests for officers across the state. And during Monday’s ceremony, the West Virginia Beer Wholesalers Association presented a gift of 50 new vests to the WVSA.

Westfall said he is a hopeful another shoulder surgery, scheduled for next month, will allow him to return to the force soon.

Lawmakers start working through governor’s education reform bill

The director of public policy for Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s administration says everything in the governor’s education reform bill, introduced Monday to state lawmakers, is about helping the state’s students perform better.

The 179-page reform bill will first be taken up in the state Senate Education Committee after being introduced in both the state Senate and the state House of Delegates Monday, almost two weeks into the 2013 Regular Legislative Session.

(You can read the education reform bill here.)

In general, the bill includes proposals to:

• Make all-day preschool an option for 4-year-olds

• Offer state certification to teacher aides for younger students

• Start workforce preparation for students in middle school

• Clear the way for alternative teacher certification programs like Teach for America

• Provide loan forgiveness for those who teach in critical need areas

• Improve ongoing teacher development

• Give local school officials more flexibility to operate their systems.

Mason said the proposals are meant to work in concert with one another, the reason why all of the proposed reforms are part of one bill instead of being separated for consideration.

“The governor feels that we do have a gamut of issues that need to be addressed and it seems (like) to put it in front of the committees, all as one package, gives them the opportunity to understand how the different parts of the bill affect the other parts,” she said.

The bill removes the current section of state code that deals with the hiring of teachers and adds to another section of code regarding criteria used when hiring other professional employees in state government. The bill has removed seniority as a major factor in hiring.

West Virginia Education Association President Dale Lee is already highly critical of the bill. He said the seniority factor is misunderstood.

“We truly believe that the most qualified person should get the job and that’s what the current hiring practice says,” Lee said Monday. “The misconception out there is seniority is the deciding factor in the hiring practice. It’s not.”

Mason said the bill is a starting point.

“No bill is perfect, but we believe these (proposals) provide some great discussion points. We want to work with the Legislature. Folks have already brought additional ideas to us that might improve the bill,” she said.

“We’ve got 50 some days to work through, so we look forward to working with the Legislature.”

The 2013 Regular Legislative Session ends on Saturday, April 13.

State Police Cracking Down On False Sex Offender Info

An increased effort by the West Virginia State Police Department to verify information on the state’s Sex Offender Registry is paying off.

“We’ve had the opportunity to verify over a thousand sex offenders across the state just since January of this year,” said Sergeant Michael M. T. Baylous with the State Police. “As a result of that we have seen over 171 felony and misdemeanor arrests.”

Baylous adds that more arrests are pending as well. Baylous made the announcement Monday afternoon at a presser held at the South Charleston State Police Detachment.

This increased effort has been made possible by a $380,000 Cops Grant the department was awarded from the U.S. Department of Justice in cooperation with the U.S. Marshals Office.

Baylous said $135,000 of that grant has been used to pay for the troopers extra work.

“The  grant money allows are troopers to work overtime hours to conduct these verifications so that way we are not tying up the trooper who is out on the field on a daily basis,” said Baylous.

Even with all the success the department has been having in the past few months, the work is far from over.

Baylous said the registry has been growing.

“Over the past three years, the registry has increased by over 400 offenders each year and over 1,200 offenders are currently incarcerated and will need to be registered upon their release from jail or prison,” said Baylous.

For this reason the State Police is also stressing internet safety to kids through multiple showings of the movie “Finding Faith” throughout the state this week.

The film tells true stories and experiences from law enforcement officers with the Internet Crimes Against Children task force. The film stars child advocate and celebrity Erik Estrada.

Baylous said internet safety cannot solely be handled by law enforcement and by showing the movie, it gives parents and children an opportunity to talk about the topic. He said a big part of this fight has to come from the parents.

“What we need are for parents to step up and be parents. Be an authoritative figure to their children,” said Baylous. “They don’t need friends, they don’t need buddies because they have plenty of that, they need parents to step up and be parents.”

The State Police will be hosting five showings of the movie across the state. Those showings are as follows:

-March 1 at Chestnut Ridge Church in Morgantown at 7 p.m.

-March 2 at Mount Vernon Baptist Church in Hurricane at 5 p.m.

-March 3 at South Parkersburg Baptist Church in Parkersburg at 6 p.m.

-March 4 at Kirby Assembly of God in Rio. Time to be announced later.

-March 7 at Calvary Assembly of God in Beckley at 6:30 p.m.

Baylous said parents need to step up and take an active role in their childs lives to truly make a difference.

Arrest Made in Charleston Burglary

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A woman has been charged in a burglary in Charleston.

The crime was reported at 1414 Virginia Street east on Sunday.

Charleston Police say the victim came home and found a person inside the home and scared her off.

A K-9 unit came to the scene and tracked Gwen Davis, 36, of Charleston, to Quarrier Street and Beauregard Street where she was hiding, according to investigators.

Davis was arrested and charged in the case.

No other details are being released at this time.

Troopers Say Illicit Drug Activity Was Caught on Camera

KANAWHA COUNTY, W. Va. – Illicit drug activity state troopers say was caught on camera landed two men in jail.

It happened Friday night at the Mardi Gras Casino.

A trooper was watching surveillance video when he saw Joshua T. Wilkerson, 28, and Selwyn G. Brewer, 45, get into a car illegally parked in a handicapped spot.

The trooper says he saw Wilkerson give Brewer pills, then watched Brewer crush and snort the pills. The dome light of the vehicle was on during the event.

Officers approached the vehicle and informed them of what they saw, then arrested Wilkerson and Brewer.

Wilkerson is facing charges of possession with intent to deliver, public intoxication, conspiracy to commit a felony and illegally parking in a handicap parking spot. He is also facing a charge of littering, after the trooper witnessed him dispose of a hamburger wrapper in the parking lot.

There is no word yet on what charges Brewer faces.

Man Arrested with $800 worth of Marijuana

MASON COUNTY, W.Va.– After finding a bag of marijuana during a traffic stop Saturday night, Mason police say a man admitted he had plans of selling it.

Police pulled over and searched a car about 11 p.m. in the town of Mason. Keith R. Day, 28, of Middleport, Ohio, was arrested after officers say they found a bag that contained two ounces of marijuana hidden behind the glove compartment.

After questioning the two men inside the car, police say Day confessed the bag was his.

Day said the bag had an estimated street value of $800.

Day is charged with possession with intent to deliver. He's behind bars.

Pay Raise Clash May Set Tone for W.Va. House

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- At least some House Republicans hope their failure to block proposed magistrate court pay raises will pay off in the next election.

The party-line vote tested the GOP's new found strength in the House.

The bill passed 53-45 after more than 90 minutes of debate. Just one Republican delegate supported the measure.

Its passage followed an earlier GOP-led effort to derail it. Democrats accused Republicans during both debates of hypocrisy and grandstanding. But GOP delegates believe that voters will take note of these and other party-line clashes as the session continues.

One Republican freshman says that allied groups contacted more than 40,000 voters in advance of the bill's passage Wednesday.

The contacts are part of a plan focused on the 2014 elections, to build on November's 11-seat GOP House gain.

Mining Death Investigation Reopened

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A state investigation of a mechanic's death at a coal preparation plant in West Virginia is being reopened.

State mine safety director, Eugene White, says there are conflicting accounts of the 2012 accident in federal and state reports.

White says the Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training plans to contact federal investigators about the accident at Alpha Natural Resources' Liberty plant in Boone County.

Clyde Dolin of Danville was killed on May 17, 2012, when he fell from a ladder.

In a December report, federal investigators said that Dolin was using a ladder extension without a base.

The report says an Alpha foreman helped steady the ladder while Dolin climbed it.

White says state investigators had no record of the foreman holding the ladder.

House passes pro-gun bill

Some supporters of a pro-gun bill that passed the House of Delegates Friday say they don’t want another Katrina to happen in West Virginia.

The bill, which was approved on a unanimous vote 97-0, would prohibit the seizing of firearms during a declared state of emergency.

The National Rifle Association filed a lawsuit in 2007 against New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Police Superintendent Warren Riley. The group alleged more than 1,000 firearms were taken from residents in the days after Hurricane Katrina two years earlier.

“If we can look back at what happened in New Orleans,” Del. Randy Smith, R-Preston, said Friday. “I don’t think we want that to happen here in West Virginia.”

The NRA says the guns seized after Katrina weren’t part of any criminal investigation. City officials said the guns had been stolen or found in abandoned homes.

Del. Josh Nelson, R-Boone, says the West Virginia bill backs up the Second Amendment. He says many state residents serve in the National Guard and sometimes aren’t home during states of emergency. He says this bill gives them additional comfort.

“You know they are going to be protected while you may not be there,” Nelson said.

The bill was introduced by House Speaker Rick Thompson. Several delegates praised Thompson before the vote Friday.