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West Virginia News

W.Va. ACLU names scholarship after early organizer

West Virginia's American Civil Liberties Union has named a scholarship after one of its early organizers and longtime advocates. The state ACLU plans to name a scholarship after William Denman, who organized the state's first ACLU chapter in Huntington in 1968, along with other chapters, while he was an instructor ...

Missing girl's mom facing welfare fraud sentence

The mother of a 3-year-old girl who vanished eight months ago this week is being sentenced for welfare fraud. Lena Lunsford is scheduled to appear Tuesday afternoon in Elkins before U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey. Lunsford pleaded guilty in January to selling $114 worth of credit on her food-stamp ...

Tygart Lake offers free family fishing June 9-10

A free youth fishing derby aimed at keeping children away from drugs will also feature a magic show, martial arts exhibition and displays about the outdoors. Tygart Lake State Park near Grafton is hosting the "Get Hooked on Fishing, Not on Drugs" event June 9-10. Exhibits and other activities run ...

4 plead guilty in W.Va. power-surge scam

Four West Virginians have pleaded guilty in federal court to filing bogus claims for power-surge property damage. The U.S. Attorney's office in Charleston said Monday that Jonathan Shaffer and Tiffany Shaffer, both of Charleston, and Bryan Javins and Jeanette Boggs, both of Nitro, pleaded guilty to mail fraud. Each admitted ...

Comedian Andy Dick to undergo pretrial diversion

Comedian Andy Dick has agreed to enter a pretrial diversion program that, if completed successfully, would absolve him of sex abuse charges arising from a 2010 nightclub incident, authorities said. Corky Hammers, an assistant prosecutor in West Virginia's Cabell County, said Monday that the program requires Dick to stay out ...

T-shirt flap bars 20 W.Va. seniors from graduation

More than 20 Charleston high school seniors were banned from participating in their graduation Monday after they defied their principal's repeated orders not to wear a T-shirt that he disliked. It wasn't that the T-shirts contained inappropriate language. Capital High School Principal Clinton Giles objected because the shirts shortened the ...

George Jones hospitalized again; postpones shows

Country music star George Jones is in the hospital again with a respiratory infection. A spokesman says the 80-year-old singer was hospitalized Monday afternoon in Nashville, Tenn., and that concert dates through June will be rescheduled where possible. Jones spent about a week in the hospital in March, also forcing ...

W.Va. man faces multiple charges

A Charleston man faces multiple charges in the beating of his girlfriend while pulled over on Interstate 77, and the subsequent death of her 11-year-old son after he fled into traffic. The Charleston Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/zjIwn7 ) that 21-year-old Ethan Chic-Colbert faces charges of first-degree murder, along with kidnapping, domestic ...

Alpha, 5 managers cited in W.Va. miner's death

West Virginia mining regulators have written 44 violation notices and issued one special assessment against Alpha Natural Resources over a wall collapse that killed a coal miner in March. The Charleston Gazette (http://bit.ly/Jx0HW2) says the state Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training planned to post the report online sometime ...

Allcare Dental president gives up NH license

The president of a bankrupt dental chain that abruptly closed offices in 13 states last year has surrendered his license to practice dentistry in New Hampshire. New Hampshire authorities received more than 140 complaints from patients, after Allcare Dental shut down its two offices in New Hampshire and dozens more ...

Ex-Mason sheriff sentenced to 18 months in jail

Former Mason County Sheriff David Anthony will spend 18 months in jail for embezzlement and other charges. Media outlets report that Mason County Circuit Court Judge David Nibert sentenced the 42-year-old Anthony on Monday. Anthony pleaded no contest in March to fraudulent schemes and embezzlement. He also pleaded guilty to ...

Swint makes coal a key part of challenge to Capito

The Democrat looking to unseat Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito attacked her Monday for criticizing the EPA, saying she was polarizing debate and furthering a myth that coal is all West Virginia has. Howard Swint, who is challenging the incumbent in the state's 2nd District race, went after Capito for ...

RG Steel eyeing asset sales, spokeswoman confirms

A spokeswoman for RG Steel says the company is considering selling steel mills in three states, including the Sparrows Point plant outside Baltimore. RG Steel spokeswoman Bette Kovach on Monday confirmed reports that potential buyers have expressed interest in acquiring company facilities and all options are on the table. Kovach ...

W.Va. coal town opening cancelled due to death

The official opening of a historic coal mining community in the New River Gorge National River will be rescheduled due to the death of National Park Service ranger. The opening of Nuttalburg had been set for Monday. The park service says it hopes to reschedule the event for sometime in ...

Fallen officer ceremony honoring W.Va. deputy

The FBI and other law enforcement officers will honor a Monongalia County sheriff's deputy killed in the line of duty earlier this year. Sgt. Michael Todd May of Morgantown will be remembered Monday afternoon at an annual memorial ceremony for fallen West Virginia officers at the Criminal Justice Information Services ...

NPS crews recover body of missing W.Va. boater

National Park Service crews have recovered the body of a man whose boat capsized on the New River. Media outlets report that a commercial fishing guide saw the body of 41-year-old Bradley Alexander Sr. around noon Sunday near the Thurmond Bridge. Alexander's son also was in the boat when it ...

Judge overturns verdict in W.Va. rights suit

A federal judge says a former Wood County deputy violated a suspect's due process rights following an arrest in 2009. U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin on Friday overturned a federal jury's verdict in favor of former Deputy Jim Asbury in a lawsuit filed by Brian Sawyer. Goodwin's order says ...

PSC rescinds Berkeley water, sewer growth fees

State regulators have rescinded water and sewer capacity fees charged to developers in Berkeley County to address rapid population growth. The state Public Service Commission ruled recently that the capacity improvement fees are no longer warranted because the recent economic downtown slowed population growth. The order says the county's water ...

Workers sought for W.Va. gas processing plant

Dominion Resources is looking to hire up to 45 workers at its natural gas processing plant set to open in December in West Virginia. The Wheeling News-Register reports (http://bit.ly/My4poH) that the jobs paying nearly $30 per hour are on their way to Marshall County. Dominion spokesman Charles Penn says the ...

Status hearing set for W.Va. trial of Andy Dick

A status hearing is set in the sex abuse trial of actor-comedian Andy Dick in West Virginia The hearing on Monday was scheduled last month after the Cabell County trial on felony sexual abuse charges stemming from a nightclub incident was called off for a second time. The comedian is ...