32 Ky. Miners Get Pink Slips

32 coal miners are getting pink slips from Teco Coal's Premier Elkhorn Mine in Pike County.

The company said low demand and more regulations forced them into layoffs.

They said they hope the staff reductions are temporary, but they do not know when workers could be rehired.

Two Arrested in Logan Drug Bust

LOGAN, W.Va. -- Crack cocaine, a loaded gun and a large amount of cash have helped land two men behind bars Friday, deputies say.

The Logan County Sheriff's Department and the U.S. 119 Drug Task Force served a search warrant at 565 Stratton St., Apt. 5, in the city of Logan where they found all of those items along with two men.

Wesley Whitehead, 22, of Columbus, Ohio, and Keith Lee Bryant, 38, of Logan, W.Va., are facing charges of possession with the intent to deliver crack cocaine and conspiracy.

Both men are in the Southwestern Regional Jail.

West Virginia Eliminating Food Tax July 1st

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Trips to the grocery store in West Virginia are becoming easier on shoppers' budgets.

After years of phasing the food tax out; starting Monday, July 1, it will be eliminated.

"For too long West Virginians have been burdened by a regressive tax on one of life's basic necessities," Governor Earl Ray Tomblin said. "The elimination of the food tax allows families to keep more of their hard-earned money."

The phase-out was initiated in 2005 when the food tax was six percent.

It went down to three percent in 2008, and to one percent in 2012.

On July 1, families will have saved $162 million a year since the beginning of the phase-out.

The average family of four will save $52 a year due to the last one percent tax rate reduction.

The elimination does not apply to the purchase of prepared food, vending machine food or soft drinks.

False Shooting Call Leads Police to Drug Bust

LOGAN COUNTY, W.Va. -- A call to police about a man being shot turned out to be a false alarm, but that man was still taken away in handcuffs -- when officers found drugs on him.

Logan County sheriff's deputies arrested Kenneth Robinette, 53, Sunday afternoon.

911 received a call from his wife saying he had been shot.

When deputies showed up at their home in Cora, there was no gun shot -- just crack cocaine, prescription pills and hundreds of dollars in cash.

Robinette was arrested and taken to the Southwestern Regional Jail.

State Police Search for Blanket Bandit

CHAPMANVILLE, W.Va. -- State police in Logan are looking for a man they say robbed a grocery store while concealed in a blanket.

They say the suspect broke into Tomblin's Market on Crawley Creek Road in Chapmanville, deliberately trying to dodge security cameras in the store.

Surveillance video shows a large tattoo on his left arm. Troopers say it also shows what appears to be a home confinement bracelet on his ankle.

They also believe he sped away on ATV outside the store with another person.

"We need help from the public to try and narrow down a list of people we may need to talk to," Trooper Marcus Broadwater said. "Maybe someone has some property and thinks it may have come from that store."

Police say the man stole several hundred dollars worth of items including yard appliances and a large grill.

They say the man appeared to have broken into an apartment in the same building and then made his way into the store.

If you know anything about the robbery, you're asked to call West Virginia State Police in Logan.

Tobacco no longer allowed at WVU and Marshall

West Virginia University and Marshall University officially join the growing list of tobacco-free campuses across the country.

Monday is the effective date for tobacco bans at both WVU and Marshall.

The WVU Board of Governors approved the ban June 2012, expanding a similar policy for the Health Sciences campus enacted in 2010. Marshall’s Board of Governors unanimously passed the policy June 11. 

The bans apply to faculty, staff, students, contractors, vendors and visitors.

The policy extends to all premises owned, operated, leased or occupied by WVU. The same applies for Marshall.

The policy includes an exemption that can be requested for events that attract a large number of off-campus visitors, with the approval of the vice president for administration and finance, provided smoking is restricted to designated outdoor smoking areas.

At Marshall, the advertising, sale or free sampling of tobacco products will also prohibited on campus.

Cessation programs and resources will also be available to employees and students at both WVU and Marshall.

To learn about these options, visit the WVU Healthcare Wellness Program’s cessation page or the WVU Employee Wellness cessation section. Students can utilize cessation programs through WELLWVU.

Marshall will be setting up programs to help students, faculty and staff with cessation efforts.

According to an April 2013 report by the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation, 1,159 campuses in the U.S. are smoke-free. Of that, 783 are tobacco-free.

Handheld cell phone driving prohibition kicks in Monday

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Using a handheld cell phone while driving becomes illegal in West Virginia Monday when the second provision of a year-old state law takes effect.

State lawmakers passed a bill in 2012 that made texting while driving illegal on July 1, 2012 and handheld cell phone use illegal a year later.

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin will announce a statewide educational campaign during a news conference at Tamarack in Beckley Monday at 2 p.m. The governor will join state Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox, West Virginia State Police Superintendent Colonel Jay Smithers and others for the announcement.

Not wearing a seatbelt becomes a primary traffic offense in West Virginia July 9.