Wednesday, February 09, 2011
EKB Capsule News...West Virginia...2-10-'11
- Federal EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson came under fire Wednesday as she testified before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Energy and Power on Capitol Hill. West Virginia First District Congressman David McKinley and Jackson exchanged heated comments when she voiced her opinion on global warming. McKinley asked, "Isn't global warming an issue that the scientists are still debating and you know it! I know it!" Jackson vehemently disagreed saying. "No I do not agree with that! I absolutely do not agree with that!" At stake is the elimination of portions of the Clean Air Act. A draft bill is up for consideration that would bar the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases. Jackson voiced her displeasure at the proposal, saying it's just not conceivable that we wouldn't require our industries not to pollute our air, not to make our air dirtier and our families less healthy in order to increase business profit margins.
- Gary Wayne Withrow, 50, and Robert Stephen Foster, 41, both of Kanawha City, have been charged with grand larceny after police say they stole 24 feet of copper gutter from a home on Kanawha Avenue. Officers estimated the cost of replacing the gutters at $2,136.
- Police have arrested Chad "Pock" Williams, 35 in connection with the death of Jason Horne who was shot in the head on January 30th at a home in Godbey Heights in Logan County. Darren Keith Midkiff, 21, of Chapmanville, was arrested February 6th on charges of obstructing an officer and being an accessory to murder after the fact. State Police say Midkiff withheld information about where Williams was hiding.
- Ian Kessinger, 30, of Nitro, has been arrested and charged with child abuse resulting in injury. Kessinger admitted being angry, losing his temper and shaking his 6-week old son. Deputies went to Women's and Children's Hospital Tuesday where a doctor told them the infant had a skull fracture, broken collar bone and broken bones in his left wrist, injuries not associated with a medical disorder or accidental injury.
- Tolsia High School students and faculty sensed the loss and devastation as they walked the halls Tuesday without 17 year old Breanna "Breezy" Brewer, who was killed Monday in a Wayne County crash. Brewer was thrown from a truck and then pinned under it when her 16 year old cousin, a sophomore at Tolsia, lost control on Centerville Road in Prichard while the two were coming home from school. In November 2007, Breezy's parents, Kent and Bethana Brewer, were hit and killed while walking down Interstate 64 near Cross Lanes. Bethana Brewer was a teacher at Tolsia.
- Timothy Ramey, 25, has been charged with second-degree robbery, fleeing on foot, and obstruction after Huntington Police say he snatched a woman's purse Wednesday morning outside Generations Bar. He led police on a short foot chase before being arrested. Ramey is also charged with destruction of property for trying to kick out the back window of the police cruiser.
- Wednesday, Dustin Shaver testified against Joshawa Clark, who is on trial for robbing the Marquee Cinemas at Pullman Square in Huntington in July 2009. while Clark was an employee there. Shaver says they planned the robbery together. Shaver testified the first robbery yielded about $30,000, which was split, but the second robbery in October of 2009 was much less. Joshawa Clark is expected to testify in his own defense Thursday.
- U.S. Senator Joe Manchin is among a group of 73 additional colleagues in the House and Senate who sent a letter to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates expressing concern that service members returning home are unable to receive therapies that treat traumatic brain injury unless they have a specific waiver. Manchin says America has a "sacred responsibility'' to ensure the best care for military veterans.
- Sarah Isner, a 15 year old girl, has been reunited with her family after Ritchie County Sheriff 's deputies found her unharmed in an abandoned house near the town of Burnthouse Tuesday night. State Police say 20 year old Joshua Duff of Nitro has been arraigned on several misdemeanors, including two counts of obstructing, two counts of fleeing an officer, trespassing and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Isner went missing January 30th.
- A group of Kanawha County residents filed a lawsuit in federal court Tuesday asking a judge to prohibit Bayer CropScience from restarting the production of methyl isocyanate, or MIC, at its Institute plant until the company can show it is complying with safety recommendations. In response, Bayer CropScience officials say the company has invested more than $25 million in new production, safety and communications equipment and has completed plans to reduce methyl isocyanate storage by 80 percent and has eliminated all above-ground storage. Employees responsible for the operation have undergone extensive process and safety training associated with the operations, and Bayer has established several new safety and communications processes.
- Aeronautics Commission Director Susan Chernenko told the House Finance Committee Wednesday that four of West Virginia's seven airports could lose complete air service if Congress ends federal air service subsidies. The program provides around $7.9 million annually to maintain routes for airports in Beckley, Bridgeport, Morgantown and Parkersburg.
- The Boy Scouts of America moved forward with plans to develop their newest scouting base in Fayette County Wednesday morning when they appointed entertainment destination veteran Mike Patrick to Chief Operating Officer of The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve. They also launched an official website.
# posted by Homer Owens @ 8:24 PM 
