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One injured in Wood County helicopter crash

WOOD COUNTY, W.Va. — One person is injured in a helicopter crash in Wood County.

West Virginia State Police said only one person was on board a helicopter that crashed on Lee Creek Road in Bellville just before 5:30 p.m. Monday.

A medical helicopter was used to transport the person to the hospital. The extent of their injuries are unknown.

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Man charged in woman’s death in Pocahontas County

POCAHONTAS COUNTY, W.Va. — A man is in custody in connection to the death of a woman in Pocahontas County.

Police said they were responding to a DOA complaint in the area of Arbovale, West Virginia on Sunday, March 17. Officers found a deceased woman, later identified as Monica Jo Moore, “lying upside down in the fetal position in the passenger seat of a 2021 Jeep Cherokee.”

Witnesses told police that Randall “Joel” Moore showed up at around 6:00 a.m. “covered in blood.” He allegedly told family members that “Monica Moore was dead” and he “needed help cleaning stuff up.”

EMS arrived on scene and had pronounced Monica Moore dead at approximately 7:30 a.m.

Officers said they observed blood patterns from the vehicle and injuries to Randall Moore’s hands.

After obtaining a search warrant for the home Monica Moore was found close to, officers noticed multiple pieces of broken glass from a jug. Investigators said the the broken glass was consistent with the facial injuries on Monica Moore and Randall Moore’s hand injuries.

Randall Moore is now at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail without bond.

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WVU officials work to help students recover following The Lofts blaze

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The first full business day since the fire at The Lofts in Morgantown was a busy one for the administrators at West Virginia University working to help displaced students.

Carrie Showalter

It’s believed a lightning strike started the blaze Friday morning that destroyed 18 units and displaced more than 50 people, mostly students.

WVU Assistant Dean and Executive Director of Campus and Community Life Carrie Showalter said the Lofts property manager has not provided the numbers or names of the students affected, making it difficult to direct relief efforts.

“I do believe they have put them up in other locations. I’ve been told this is the same entity that owns the domain,” Showalter said. “So it’s my understanding they have provided housing, whether it’s temporary or more permanent.”

Showalter said they are working with students who have come forward and are prepared to help others as needed. As the students come forward, each situation is evaluated, and action is taken as quickly as possible.

“We’re trying to get a handle on each individual situation,” Showalter said. “We have had some people that have self-reported, and we’ve had some people that have come to us through their professors; they’ve reached out to their professors, saying they were affected, and they have reached out to us.”

Showalter said there are options for students who have suffered the loss of text books and technology needed for classes. Other losses, maybe not related directly to academics, can be addressed through a variety of resources, including local non-profits.

“We do have access to some emergency funds through our office that we can provide students with to replace books they need or other items that are not covered,” Showalter said.

WVU Student Legal Services also has resources to help students understand what is available to them and any legal recourse they could have. Some of these consultations can help students quickly access aid sources they may not have known about.

“The student attorney can work with them in reviewing the lease, whether they have renters insurance or if they’re covered under their parents’ homeowner’s insurance,” Showalter said. “And we can also certainly work with the financial aid office.”

Showalter said they keep track of companies that rent to students and have that information available as students are making the decision on where to live. However, many times that information is available through company reviews online and word of mouth from other students.

“Getting the word out and trying to steer people in the direction of landlords that are compassionate about and concerned about students as individuals and not just the number of tenants,” Showalter said.

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Person found dead in car at Beckley Elementary School parking lot

BECKLEY, W.Va. — Authorities said an employee of the Raleigh County Board of Education was found dead in a vehicle in an elementary school parking lot Monday afternoon.

According to Deputy Chief of Police David Allard with the Beckley Police Department, the person was found by another employee in the parking lot at Beckley Elementary School at around 1 p.m.

The death is being investigated by the Beckley Police Department.

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Berkeley County deputies arrest man and woman tied to armed robbery from early February

BERKELEY COUNTY, W.Va. — The Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department said they have arrested a man and a woman in connection to an armed robbery from early February in Inwood.

Deputies and the BCSD SWAT team said Kenneth Antonio Buckhalter, 32, Harpers Ferry, and Lottie Geneva Smith, 24, of Falling Waters, were taken into custody Monday. The two are suspects in a robbery at a Walgreen’s on Winchester Avenue from February 5.

Investigators said Buckhalter used a long gun in the robbery. He’s been charged with armed robbery, conspiracy, and use a of a firearm in commission of a felony. Charges are also coming for Smith.

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Odds and ends: Free-throw shooting, experience major factors in Charleston; shot clock discussion surfaces again

Another high school basketball season has come and gone, and with it, two new girls state champions and three on the boys side. 

Last Saturday, each of the four boys state title games was won by a No. 2 seed over a No. 1 seed and all four were decided by three points, including two that went to overtime.

Ultimately, Morgantown’s boys program and the Cameron girls won Class AAAA and Class A for a third straight year, respectively, while the Wyoming East girls offered a repeat in Class AA.

After witnessing all 56 games of both state tournaments and sitting through 112 press conferences from the losing and winning sides, here are some takeaways from this year’s 10-day state tournament stretch in Charleston.

— — — — —

The importance of free-throw shooting should never be understated and was again on display throughout much of the state tournament.

While there was a major disparity in percentages among winning and losing teams at the girls state tournament, the same can’t be said for boys, though high-level foul shooting played a major role in the outcome of several boys finals.

The four title-winning teams on the boys side — Morgantown, Shady Spring, Charleston Catholic and Tug Valley — combined to make 44-of-53 free throws Saturday, highlighted primarily by the Tigers going 21 for 24 and the Irish sinking 13 of 15.

Boys teams to finish runner-up made a respectable 20-of-30 free throws in their state final setbacks, a figure greatly aided by Fairmont Senior shooting 13 for 16 in its hard-fought loss to Shady.

Oddly enough, for the tournament, the 28 winning boys teams made free throws at a worse percentage than did losing teams, though the disparity in attempts was significant. Winning teams made 269-of-414 foul shots (64.9 percent), while losing squads cashed in on 177-of-262 attempts (67.5 percent).

In its buzzer-beating Class A quarterfinal victory over James Monroe, Webster County made only 4-of-20 free throws, which brings the winning team’s percentage down more than 2.

In three state tournament wins, Class AAA champion Shady Spring made an impressive 39-of-48 foul shots, including 9 of 10 during overtime in the win over the Polar Bears to account for all of the team’s offensive production.

Wheeling Park’s Alexis Bordas. Photo by Teran Malone

Meanwhile, Charleston Catholic was 35 of 44 on free throws, including 26 for 30 during the semifinal and championship rounds.

“It’s not like they miss them on purpose,” Irish head coach Hunter Moles said. “You just have to step up and hit the big shots. Free throws were huge.” 

Throughout the girls tournament, the 28 winning teams shot 304 for 458 (66.3 percent) on free throws, while the losing squads finished 210 for 361 (58.1 percent).

There was no more proficient free-throw shooter than Wheeling Park’s Alexis Bordas, a junior who helped the Patriots garner the Class AAAA championship by making all 15 of her foul shots in three state tournament victories.

Bordas led all girls and boys at this year’s state tournament with 88 points.

— — — — —

State tournament experience can’t be duplicated and the relevance of it was on display in a number of critical situations.

The Morgantown boys, playing in their fourth consecutive state final, have as much of it as anybody.

The Mohigans stayed calm and displayed poise down the stretch to tie Spring Mills late in regulation, before scoring seven of the last eight points in overtime to prevail. The Cardinals, unbeaten against state competition and with a regular season win over the Mohigans to their credit, were making their first state tournament showing in school history.

Spring Mills head coach Luke Samples. Photo by Teran Malone

“We had chances down the stretch regardless of a call here or there,” Spring Mills head coach Luke Samples said. “We had that game won, and at the end, Morgantown did what they usually do — and they beat us.”

A week earlier, Wyoming East’s girls nearly became the first No. 1 seed to lose in the quarterfinal round, but outscored Charleston Catholic 17-6 over the final 9:44 of regulation to advance. Two days later, the Warriors faced a 42-31 fourth-quarter deficit in the final against Williamstown and went on to score the final 15 points of the contest to repeat and claim its third championship in four years.

“Mentally, you just have to stay calm,” Wyoming East guard Madison Clark said. “I knew we were a better team and we know how to fight against harder teams. It was a little stressful at first, especially at halftime, but once we got that momentum changed, that’s really what set it off.”

— — — — —

As usually seems to be the case around state tournament time, there is much talk about the need for a shot clock in West Virginia high school basketball.

That talk only picked up after Saturday’s boys title games when none of the eight teams playing surpassed 50 points in regulation. Shady Spring edged Fairmont Senior 58-55 in overtime to start the day in a game that went to the extra session tied at 49 and produced the two-highest scoring teams of the day.

Morgantown and Tug Valley each secured their championships with 35-32 victories, and the Mohigans’ matchup with the Cardinals went to overtime tied at 28.

In the last title game, Charleston Catholic overcame a 15-point opening half to rally by Bluefield, 42-39.

Through the years and still today, I’ve been against a shot clock at this level for several reasons. 

Most notably among them would be who is operating them at each school? Paying close attention and having strong knowledge of the rulebook would be necessary for anybody to operate a shot clock, particularly with how often an attempt may not hit the rim and with possession frequently changing between teams in short spans.

Fans have a hard enough time accepting the rotation coaches settle on or a block-charge call that goes against the team they’re rooting for. Now, they’ll magically develop enough patience to accept mistakes from shot-clock operators when they don’t notice that a shot may have grazed the rim and fail to reset it? Seems hard to imagine.

The major positive to a shot clock in high school would be those that have a chance to play collegiately would then have experience with it before getting to that point. 

It’s not as if low-scoring, tightly-contested title games are something new. In 2012, Hedgesville, as a No. 7 seed, won the Class AAA final over No. 2 George Washington, 33-32. Minimizing possessions and making the most of them was a big factor for that year for the Eagles, who were led by guard QJ Peterson. Peterson went on to average no fewer than 19 points in all four seasons at VMI and the absence of a shot clock certainly didn’t hurt his cause at the next level.

— — — — —

A tip of the cap to Nitro girls coach Pat Jones and Ravenswood boys coach Mick Price for offering some of the more memorable postgame press conferences at this year’s state tournament.

That’s nothing new for Price, a veteran with more than 750 career wins who helped lead the Red Devils to state championships in 2006 and 2009.

After Ravenswood eliminated defending state champion Chapmanville in an entertaining quarterfinal, the Red Devils were upended by Charleston Catholic in a semifinal. The driving force behind the outcome of that game was senior Jayallen Turner, the all-time scoring leader at CCHS who scored 30 points on 10-for-13 shooting.

Following his team’s season-ending loss, Price raved about Turner’s all-around game and how his team had no answer for him.

He then offered this.

“He is a senior, right? Good,” Price said. “I’m going to that graduation to make sure he walks across the stage.”

Price is surely not the only coach pleased that he’ll no longer have to deal with trying to game plan for Turner.

Nitro coach Pat Jones. Photo by Teran Malone

As for Jones, he let loose not long after the Wildcats secured their second Class AAA state championship in four seasons with a 47-39 win over Lewis County.

“It’s been the most stressful season I’ve ever had,” Jones said. “Every game for 28 games I had at least one parent text me complaining about playing time. Most times it was two. To win this lets me know I do know a little bit about coaching.

“These parents are unappreciative. I’m not going to sugarcoat it anymore. We work too hard as a coaching staff and these girls work too hard as players for these parents to text me about playing time. We won a state championship. I had the right girls on the court at the end of the time and that’s the end of my story.” 

Jones said he awoke the Saturday morning of the state final with questions as to why a particular player hadn’t been dressing.

In an era where so many have chosen to put individual accolades above team accomplishments, Jones rightfully spoke out against it.

That he was instrumental in guiding a No. 3 seed to another state championship only further proved his worth on the sidelines.

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Pennsylvania man arrested in connection with fiery I-79 crash

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Monongalia County Sheriff Perry Palmer reports a Pennsylvania man has been charged in connection with a fiery crash in I-79 just north of the I-68 split that killed two people on Jan 3.

Thomas H. Homer III, 39, has been charged with two counts of negligent homicide and one count of reckless driving with injury and has been arraigned in Monongalia County Magistrate Court.

No other details about evidence related to the arrest have been released.

The crash occurred around 7:20 a.m. and caused an intense fire making it difficult to positively identify the victims.

Police later released information that Zaquan George, 21, and Margaret Erdie, 19, died in the crash.

Both directions of I-79 were closed for about five hours during the clean-up and investigation.

Homer has been released on a personal recognizance bond.

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Delegates bewildered over veto of state financial support for groundbreaking research

Delegate Joe Statler was at an education conference out of state when he heard the governor vetoed a bill intended to provide $2 million support groundbreaking research at West Virginia University’s Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute.

Joe Statler

Statler, R-Monongalia, was gobsmacked. “You talk about something that caught me completely off guard,” he said.

John Williams

His colleague, Delegate John Williams, heard about the veto by text message. “I thought that it was a joke because I was so shocked by it,” said Williams, D-Monongalia.

“When you think about the applications of this technology for Alzheimer’s and PTSD — two things West Virginia has a large per capita share of — the fact that we wouldn’t give seed money to expand this technology was just shocking to me, so much so that I didn’t even believe it.”

WVU has made a national splash for its use of ultrasound technology to help with Alzheimer’s disease and addiction treatments. The prominent national news program “60 Minutes” has focused on the treatment of  brain diseases and disorders there.

Statler and Williams were both sponsors of H. B. 5014 which was meant to provide $2 million as a state surplus allocation to support medical research into using ultrasound technology to treat eating disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder. The bill wound up including another $4 million characterized as supporting hospital grants and research programs.

WVU officials had described kickstarting the latest applications for their research right away.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has provided final approval to start clinical trials, officials said, and studies on the effects of ultrasound therapy on people with eating disorders could commence as soon as April or May. Coordinators would have to be hired for the FDA trials, along with meeting other expenses like scans, brain imaging and blood tests.

Ali Rezai

Dr. Ali Rezai, executive chairman of the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, spoke to the House Finance Committee about the funding on Jan. 29.

House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, publicly extolled the support during that House Finance meeting and then again when the bill passed the full House of Delegates on Feb. 2. “I cannot think of a better way to spend this $2 million, and do it now,” Hanshaw said at the time.

The bill lagged in the Senate, though. It wasn’t taken up in the Senate until March 4, and then it finally completed legislative action on March 9, the final day of the regular session.

Gov. Jim Justice

Gov. Jim Justice vetoed the bill last Thursday with a message that called the legislation too vague.

“While I wholeheartedly support our hospitals and medical centers and the advancement of vital medical care for the citizens of West Virginia, these two appropriations direct the grant of large sums of money with little context or direction for the use of such funding,” Justice stated in his veto message.

“The language of the bill is ambiguous as to the Legislature’s intent and just what types of research may be funded from this appropriation, and no context or background has been provided to date to my Office regarding this appropriation.”

Justice’s message suggested the appropriation could be considered again later, possibly in a special session that has been discussed for this spring.

“I believe it is imperative that we take a prudent approach and address important outstanding questions regarding the State’s budget for the next fiscal year before making discretionary supplementary appropriations such as this,” Justice stated.

“The Legislature will need to convene prior to the end of the fiscal year to address budgetary matters, and this supplementary appropriation may be considered along with other priorities for funding at that time.”

WVU Medicine has said nothing about the veto.

“We have no comment at this time,” said Angela Jones, media relations director for WVU Medicine.

Lawmakers like Statler and Williams were still trying to wrap their minds around the veto. Each hoped the bill could be resurrected in special session.

“Were they out of the loop when this request was made? Speaker Hanshaw was very much behind it, and WVU Medicine brought in the people we needed to talk to. It had the notoriety where it had the episode on CBS,” Statler said.

“I can’t see how he figures it was ambiguous. Something is just not in synch. Maybe the governor’s office feels out of the loop.”

Williams also couldn’t figure out the contention that the bill’s purpose was ambiguous.

“I’m incredibly disappointed. Anyone who was paying attention to the Finance Committee meeting and the floor session and has cable television has heard about this program and knows about how transformative it is going to be for Alzheimer’s patients,” Williams said.

“We now see there are other applications for its use, and we were going to help with that process. To have that veto of such a small expenditure to put us on the map, I just think it’s mind blowing.”

Williams hopes to try again as soon as possible.

“Time is of the essence. It’s an FDA trial that’s going to begin in April. So time is most certainly of the essence,” he said.

“We’d better have that session soon then to have this money directed. I don’t understand the veto at all.”

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August 2023 flood victims are encouraged to sign up for FEMA disaster assistance as deadline approaches

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Federal Emergency Management Agency is reporting that so far they have distributed over $2 million dollars in recovery assistance for the 2023 August flash flood victims across the five counties that were most affected. This follows the disaster declaration FEMA was able to obtain on January 31st.

After setting up four different Disaster Recovery Centers for residents of Kanawha, Harrison, Clay, Boone, and Calhoun counties to provide disaster assistance for the flood which took place from August 28 to Aug. 30, 2023, representatives with FEMA say they will soon be wrapping up their efforts and flood victims have just two weeks left to get registered to receive the assistance.

FEMA Media Relations Specialist, Tiana Suber, told MetroNews that the deadline to register for FEMA disaster assistance is Monday, April 1., and they are encouraging all of those who have not yet made it out to the recovery centers to sign up to do so as soon as possible.

“The important part about that is that if you register before the deadline, you can continue to get help after the deadline,” said Suber. “Once you have a registration number with us we will be able to continue to help you, and you know, if you feel like maybe you do, maybe you don’t need FEMA, register with us anyway.”

She said you never know what reimbursement opportunities that FEMA may have available for you regarding any expenses that may have incurred over the last six months in rebuilding after the flood.

To date, FEMA has approved a total of $1,926,131 in Individual Assistance, $1,842,349 in Housing Assistance, and $83,781 in Other Needs Assistance.

Suber said there has been a total of 557 registrations so far, with 254 being out of Kanawha County, 141 in Harrison, 62 in Clay, another 62 in Boone, and 38 in Calhoun County.

In addition, a total of 563 people have visited the DRCs so far, which are set up at the Harrison County Courthouse, Belle Town Hall and Penn VA Coal Carbon Center in Kanawha County, as well as a mobile unit was set up along Main Street in Clay County.

Suber said overall, the recovery centers have been running fairly smoothly, despite there being a little confusion at first as a result of people hearing some misinformation about the centers based on what they heard word-of-mouth.

“When you come to the Disaster Recovery Center we tell you everything that you need to know, because, a lot of people have learned something different than what their neighbor has told them, and so they were able to get the help that they needed and were glad they came in and did not miss the opportunity to get some kind of assistance from the flooding,” she said.

She said a couple of rumors that were started about the centers were that only certain towns were eligible to get help through FEMA, and that only people who have flood insurance were able to receive help, however, Suber said they want to clarify that everyone affected throughout each of the counties can get the assistance, and that one does not need to have flood insurance to receive it either.

Suber said every case has been different regarding the types of reimbursements and resources people have received based on individual circumstances. She said some needed reimbursements from whatever expenses they have already had to pay for while others needed assistance from FEMA from the beginning to end.

She said they try to assist every need as a result from the disaster at the centers, as well as make the process go as straightforward as possible.

“We are definitely glad to help them when they come to visit our DRCs, because, you get that one-on-one help talking to a person in person and not over the phone, and somebody who is patient and willing to help you through that process step-by-step,” she said.

Suber said after the April 1 deadline to register with FEMA for assistance, people would then have to resort to local resources for assistance such as through non-profits.

She said they want to ensure everyone affected by the flood and had experienced damages to their homes and businesses are able to get the assistance they need.

“We try to just go above and beyond to try and help the survivors here, I know that in certain areas they were still struggling to get back on their feet, and when they found out we were here they were very happy to see us,” said Suber.

She said for people to make it out to the centers as soon as possible to register.

There are currently four Disaster Recovery Centers open:

· Harrison County Courthouse, 301 W. Main Street, Clarksburg, WV 26301

Hours of operation: Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

. Belle Town Hall, 1100 E. Dupont Ave. Belle, WV 25015

Hours of operation: Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

· Penn VA Coal Carbon Center, 13905 MacCorkle Ave, Charleston, WV 25301

Hours of operation: Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

· Clay County, 223 Main Street Clay, 35043, WV

Hours of operations: Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

People can also fill out an application online at DisasterAssistance.gov, or by calling the FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-3362.

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Morgan County teen found okay after search

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. — The Morgan County Sheriff’s Department reports that a 14-year old reported missing on Sunday afternoon has been found.

The search began Sunday night utilizing search dogs from neighboring Frederick County, Virginia, but was halted due to the darkness and continued into a daytime search on Monday.

The sheriff’s department confirmed in a social media post just before 5pm that the missing teen had been found.

Authorities said the boy was suffering from cold temperatures and was transported to War Memorial Hospital.

 

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