Wayne County Schools Getting New Buses

Eight new school buses are on their way to Wayne County after the Board of Education approved the purchase.

The district is buying the buses at a cost of more than $760,000 to replace older ones in the fleet. The state is footing most of the cost, while the district will pay about $2,400.

School leaders say it's a priority to maintain a fleet of buses to get your child to class on time and safely.

The buses are being purchased from Heritage International Trucks in Charleston.

New center targets workforce development

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said Tuesday he believes workforce training is picking up the needed momentum it needs in the Mountain State.

Tomblin made the comment just after he stood before a large crowd for a ribbon cutting ceremony at BridgeValley Community and Technical College’s Advance Technology Center at the West Virginia Regional Technology Park in South Charleston.

“It’s just amazing to see this new Advanced Technology Center, the kind of equipment they have in here, the kind of training that’s offered,” Tomblin said. “In today’s world those are the kinds of hands-on skills that our employees need for the jobs we have now.”

The center will provide training for the chemical and manufacturing industries.
Gov. Tomblin said it’s just what he’s been talking about for the past three-and-a-half years.

“There are so many jobs now that you can get with and associate’s degree or a certificate,” Tomblin said.

Toyota Manufacturing of West Virginia announced Tuesday it was pledging $1 million to the center over the next five years. It will make an in-kind donation of equipment. It’s total donation will top $1.2 million.

“That just shows that businesses are willing to step up. They are telling our community and technical college presidents, ‘These are the kind of training programs that we need to be successful businessmen and women in West Virginia,’ and I think we are rising to that occasion,” Tomblin said.

A trained workforce is a key component moving forward especially in the natural gas industry with the possibility of a cracker plant being built near Parkersburg.

“Most downstream industries is exactly where all of these jobs are going to be,” the governor predicted. “And once again it takes a specific kind of training to do today and tomorrow’s jobs.”

Tomblin spent the afternoon at the technology park, the former Dow Tech Center. 

He attended a meeting focused on STEM education and helped cut the ribbon for the new Bridge Road Bistro Express opening there.

New federal mining rule survives court challenge

New federal rules that labor officials say could save lives at dangerous mining sites have survived a court challenge from mining industry groups.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday dismissed the lawsuit brought by the National Mining Association and other groups.

The new rules, approved in January, allow federal labor officials to designate a mine as a repeat violator of safety rules without a prior warning. It also allows regulators to impose the pattern of violations designation before mine operators are finished appealing the violations, which could hold up enforcement for months or years.

The appeals court's opinion said it did not have jurisdiction to rule in the case.

The National Mining Association had argued that the new rules can be costly for operators.

Billionaire to pay $1.5M fine for Kentucky mines

West Virginia billionaire Jim Justice has reached a $1.5 million settlement with Kentucky officials over dozens of reclamation violations at several of his coal mines in eastern Kentucky.

The agreement between Justice and the state's Department for Natural Resources is a reduction from the $4.5 million in outstanding penalties he owed for the violations. Kentucky officials said the violations stemmed from the lack of post-mining restoration work required by law at Justice mines in eight counties.

Justice, who is worth about $1.6 billion according to Forbes.com, has idled several mines in eastern Kentucky and said his Appalachian mines are struggling to stay open due to poor market conditions.

The agreement also requires Justice to post millions in bond and complete the reclamation work by September 2015.

Recaro recalls over 39,000 child safety seats

Recaro is recalling more than 39,000 child safety seats because they can let a child's head move too far in a crash.

The recall covers ProSport model 385 seats made from June 16, 2010, to Jan. 31, 2013. The problem happens when the seats are installed with the lower latch anchors and without the top tether.

Recaro will notify owners and provide set of new instructions telling owners not to use the lower latch system with a child weighing 40 or more pounds. The company also will send a new instruction label for the seat.

The problem was discovered in testing by Recaro. The company says in documents sent to U.S. safety regulators that it cannot determine if the problem caused any injuries.

4-year suspension urged for Randolph County judge after affair

The state Office of Disciplinary Counsel recommends Randolph County Circuit Judge Jaymie Wilfong be suspended for four years—the rest of her term—for failing to disclose an extramarital affair with a corrections official who appeared in her court.

The counsel submitted its findings Tuesday in a post hearing legal brief a week after Wilfong appeared before the state Judicial Hearing Board on various alleged violations of the Judicial Code of Conduct. 

Wilfong allegedly violated the code during a two-year extramarital affair with the director of the area community corrections program. Wilfong admitted the sexual relationship with Travis Carter was inappropriate but claims it did not impact her decisions from the bench.

The disciplinary counsel said Carter or his subordinates appeared before the judge on dozens of occasions during the relationship. Wilfong reportedly ignored advice to expose the affair and recuse herself from those cases.

“Judge Wilfong’s misconduct calls into question calls into question her judgment and brings the Randolph County system of justice into disrepute,” Tuesday’s filing said. “Public confidence in the judiciary is a fragile thing—Judge Wilfong should be suspended from office ‘not to punish the judge for extensive wrongdoing, but to relieve from the bench a person whose further service will be detrimental to the judicial branch of government.’”

Wilfong has also filed a post hearing brief.

The hearing board will make a recommendation to the state Supreme Court, which will make the final decision. Justices will have a number of choices but cannot remove Wilfong from office—that can only be done by the legislature. The court could suspend the judge for the rest of her term.

Morgantown City Council passes first reading of truck ban ordinance

As expected, the chambers of Morgantown City Council were full for Tuesday’s meeting because of the first reading of a proposed ordinance regulating certain heavy truck traffic in the city. Many people spoke in favor of the ordinance during the pubic portion of the meeting such as Morgantown resident Alex Baker who said he has nothing against the truckers themselves, but believes large trucks on downtown streets are a safety hazard.

“I’m sure they are good people. When they’re driving these vehicles, they have one particular need – deliver their payload as quickly as possible from point A to point B, and if that requires cutting off traffic, driving in reckless and dangerous methods, then so be it,” he said.

Others went on to voice concerns that have been expressed before, such as noise, air pollution and the need to establish a truck route around the downtown area.

A minority of people spoke against the ordinance based mostly on economic reasons. Mountain State Truck Parts Manager Charley Benson said she feels the economic impact would reach beyond the truckers.

“I don’t know if anybody’s considered the impact economically. If you take the trucks off the streets of Morgantown, you’re not just taking away business for trucks,” she said.

Discussion of the ordinance among the council members lasted nearly as long as the public comment period of the meeting. Council member Ron Bane said he has two major areas of concern should the ordinance be passed.

“One, are we liable and two, are we going to enforce it? I think those are fair questions to ask today.”

City Attorney Steve Fanok had an answer for at least one of Bane’s issues.

“The legislative bodies, when they enact an ordinance like this, or statute, there’s immunity for the legislative body,” he said. Fanok also noted that there’s immunity for anyone who is charged with enforcing the ordinance, such as police officers.

Bane asked City Manager Jeff Mikorski to make sure the city has a plan in place for enforcing the ordinance and other difficulties that would arise, such as signage along the affected routes.

Noting that safety is the legal basis for the ordinance, City Manager Jeff Mikorski asked the council for permission to make sure that point is thoroughly covered.

“I would like to pursue a full safety study of the routes that are in question. That would help us if and when the ordinance would be challenged in the court of law,” he said.

Council member Bill Kawecki said that, even though it is an emotional and contentious issue, the truck problem has been around for a long time and can be solved by a democratic process.

“We need to do this because we need to get together and cooperate and come up with solutions that are not just money based and not just somebody else’s problems. They are community problems and we need to solve them as a community,” he said.

The council passed the first reading of the proposed ordinance by a vote of six to one with council member Wes Nugent providing the dissenting vote.

“When I read the passages of state code that are being cited, I come to a different conclusion. But I do agree with the concept of trying to work to find a lasting sustainable solution,” said Nugent.