Government Shutdown Affects Local Agencies

The sting of the federal government shutdown is being felt by agencies close to home as some are forced to idle employees.

General James Hoyer says the shutdown has "significant consequences" for the West Virginia National Guard.

"Right now, the men and women of the National Guard who protect [us] are not being protected," he said.

Hoyer says a bill passed to protect military employees doesn't apply to many Guard members.

He was forced to send 1,150 employees home -- a situation he says left him at a loss for words.

Hoyer says the stop in federal cash flow is also affecting training and emergency preparedness. He says the Guard may be slower to respond if crisis hits close to home.

Hoyer says he's dipping into state money to provide for other employees, but those funds will only last so long.

The U.S. Attorney's office has also been hit by shutdown.

U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin says more than 20 employees have been idled.

Most of them are administrative workers or employees in the Civil Division, which hears cases against the federal government.

Goodwin says cases will still proceed, but the process is significantly slowed. He says other employees now face the difficulty of picking up the slack.

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has escaped consequences from the shutdown -- at least for now.

Spokesperson Kathy Cosco says no workers have been furloughed yet.

She says the DEP receives earmarked grants from the federal government at the beginning of the year, and still has enough money to operate for the next few weeks. 

Suspended Mingo County Judge Michael Thornsbury to plead guilty

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Suspended Mingo County Circuit Judge Michael Thornsbury will be in court Wednesday to plead guilty in the second conspiracy case brought against him.

A plea hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. in U.S. District Court in Charleston before Judge Thomas Johnston.

Information filed against Thornsbury alleges he conspired with other elected officials in Mingo County to thwart a federal drug investigation into late Mingo County Sheriff Eugene Crum.

Federal prosecutors claim Thornsbury promised a lighter sentence to Crum’s alleged drug dealer if the man fired his lawyer and ended talks with FBI investigators about Crum.

Thornsbury was originally accused of abusing his judicial powers to target the husband of his ex-mistress. That federal charge has been replaced with the new charge.

Commissioner From Mingo County Pleads Guilty

A Mingo County commissioner has pleaded guilty to a federal extortion charge.

David Baisden entered the plea Tuesday in federal court in Charleston.

Baisden faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is set for Jan. 14, 2014.

The 66-year-old Baisden was accused of trying to buy tires for his personal vehicle at a government discount, then terminating the county's contract with Appalachian Tire when it refused to cooperate.

Under the plea agreement, Baisden must resign from the commission.

Mingo County Circuit Judge Michael Thornsbury is expected to plead guilty Wednesday in a separate federal case.

Prosecutors allege he conspired with others to imprison a man who had sold drugs to Sheriff Eugene Crum. Crum died in April in an unrelated shooting

Students aren’t making the grade when it comes to reading

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – More than seven in 10 West Virginia students are not reading proficiently at the end of the third grade. That’s according to new numbers out from Kids Count.

“I think [the numbers] are very shocking and I’m surprised that more people aren’t shocked by them too,” said Margie Hale, the executive director of West Virginia Kids Count.

The national rate of non-proficiency is 68 percent and even the best states in the country only have a 50 percent proficiency rate. Hales stressed this is not just a West Virginia problem, it’s a national problem. But because West Virginia has more low income families, it tends to be more wide spread.

Monroe, Hardy and Grant counties all have non-proficiency rates of over 70 percent. The most proficient school systems in West Virginia, according to Kids Count, are Clay, followed by Putnam and Pendleton counties.

So what’s the difference between the lowest counties and the highest? Hale said she was recently in a Clay County third grade classroom and found out their success story.

“[The teacher] collaborates with the first and second grade teachers about her children. What are their strengths and weaknesses? What do we need to build on,” explained Hale. “She also collaborates with the fourth grade teacher.”

Hale said the real learning gap starts as early as three-years-old. She stressed kids who come from high to medium income families tend to have parents who rhyme with them, read to them and play with them more than families who are in the low income bracket.

“Kids from wealthier families have heard 30 million more words than children from low income families,” said Hale. “Isn’t that incredible?”

She said that gives young kids a better grasp on word comprehension and helps them in the classroom.

But help is on the way for those children who aren’t among the most proficient readers.

“There are new common core standards that are coming out that are more based on applying your knowledge to real life rather than rote memory,” according to Hale. She added that will be key for children in the future. As for those with poor reading proficiency now, Hale said unless something is done, the state is looking at big problems.

“If it’s not fixed, it’s going to create more kids who aren’t prepared, who aren’t working, who aren’t paying taxes, who are getting married too soon — all those things that happen to kids that don’t have a basic [reading] foundation!”

Hale said she’d like to see pre-K extended to include 3-year-olds because the earlier the child receives individual help the better chance they’ll become a proficient reader.

Capito calling for “mature voices” in spending bill talks

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A partial government shutdown is underway with Congress’ failure to pass a crucial spending bill before the midnight deadline.

Second District Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) said she does not think a shutdown should have happened.  “We need to have mature voices in the room that are willing to give a little to get a little,” she said.

Before the 12 a.m. deadline, she suggested a compromise spending bill that would temporarily keep the government running, as usual, for the next two weeks.

“I am adamantly opposed to shutting down the government,” said Capito. “It would just be neon lights of dysfunction if we closed the government down.”

The new fiscal year starts on Tuesday. With no agreement between Republicans and Democrats on a spending bill, many government operations will not be funded from the beginning of October.

The bill is hung up on attempts from House Republicans to tie it to the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. The latest House bill would have delayed the law’s individual mandate while prohibiting lawmakers, their staff and top administration officials from getting government subsidies for their health care. The Senate rejected it.

This shutdown is the first for the federal government since 1996.

Mingo couple files lawsuits against Judge Thornsbury, others

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Mingo County couple allegedly targeted by suspended Mingo County Circuit Judge Michael Thornsbury filed a pair of lawsuits against the judge and others Monday.

Attorneys for Robert and Kim Woodruff filed the lawsuits in federal and state court alleging the violation of constitutional rights and wrongful termination. The suits name several individuals and state agencies as defendants.

Kim Woodruff was the judge’s secretary and a federal indictment alleges the two had a romantic relationship but the judge wanted more. When she broke it off the judge went after her husband. Robert Woodruff was arrested twice and indicted by a Mingo County grand jury that was allegedly set up by the judge.

The Woodruffs’ attorneys Mike Callaghan and Richard Neely both said during a Monday afternoon news conference the actions by the judge and others at his bidding are the worst in the state’s judicial history.

“This is the single most outrageous breach of judicial conduct, judicial ethics. It is utterly and completely beyond anything imaginable in this state,” Neely, a former West Virginia Supreme Court justice, said.

Callaghan said Robert Woodruff was afraid to step out of his home for five years.

“He lived under fear that at any moment he could be arrested and sent to jail for crimes that he did not commit and he was arrested two times for crimes he did not commit,” Callaghan said.

Neely said Kim Woodruff was under pressure from Judge Thornsbury to have a more serious relationship. He said she feared losing her job and tried to ”finesse” the relationship with the judge but Neely said she did not have a consensual sexual relationship with him.

“Was there forced hugging? Was there forced kissing? Yes, quite conceivably and that will all come out in depositions. But was there a sexual relationship or an affair? Absolutely not,” according to Neely.

The lawsuits also name State Trooper Brandon Moore, Mingo County Homeland Security Director Jarrod Fletcher and Gilbert police officer Nathan Glanden. Callaghan said they could have stopped Judge Thornsbury but did not.

“All three of those individuals took an oath to uphold the constitution and all three failed in their duty to do so,” he said.

Neely said Moore, Fletcher and Glanden got a free pass because they cooperated with federal prosecutors and testified before a federal grand jury. He said they now need to pay for their actions.

“This lawsuit is the one opportunity that the citizens of this state have to punish those people because they cut a deal and walked out after utterly reprehensible conduct…scot-free,” Neely said.

Thornsbury is scheduled to plead guilty Wed. to other federal charges and the indictment involving the Woodruffs will be dismissed. Callaghan said that would have no bearing on the civil lawsuits.

Callaghan added the insurance company representing the state had initial conversations with him about possible settlements but pulled back last week because of the numerous state agencies named in connection with the lawsuits.

Mingo County Commissioner to plead guilty to extortion charge

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Mingo County Commissioner charged with extortion is expected to plead guilty in federal court Tuesday.

Mingo County Commissioner David Baisden will appear before U.S District Judge John Copenhaver at 9:30 a.m. for a plea hearing.

Baisden, 66, is accused of demanding Appalachian Tire sell him tires for his personal vehicle in 2009 at the discounted county price. Only government vehicles are eligible for the discount.

When company owners refused, Baisden allegedly ended Mingo County’s business with Appalachian Tire.

Baisden was indicted on the federal extortion charge in August. He has since given up his purchasing agent position but is still a member of the Mingo County Commission.

He was scheduled to go to trial on October 21.