Friday, February 04, 2011
EKB Capsule News...West Virginia...2-5-'11
- Officials at Belmont Savings Bank are alerting customers to a new identity theft hoax which is spreading through a text message alerting them that their debit card has been deactivated. The text asks you to press one for more information, then asks you to enter your 16-digit account number. President of Belmont Savings Bank, Tom Poe, says this is a malicious attempt to steal important financial information, and bank officials would never communicate with customers in this way.
- Huntington Police say a car was coming from Barboursville about 3:30 A.M. Friday morning when it went across two lanes of traffic, through the parking lot and through the front glass at the Value City Furniture store on Route 60 in Huntington before stopping right in the middle of the store.
- James Scott Neff, 42, of South Charleston received probation and has been ordered to get counseling after he stabbed his domestic partner, Billy Dean Holcomb, a year ago. Holcomb, who was stabbed in the abdomen, arm and hand, said he has forgiven him and asked the judge not to send Neff to prison for the crime but to allow them to live together again.
- Keith Haynes was a witness in the trial of 23 year old Will Landon, who was accused of beating, stabbing and robbing Ashley Stamper in her Cross Lanes home in September 2008. After Stamper admitted she had been using drugs and didn't recall much, Landon was acquitted of all charges but battery. Haynes, who failed to implicate Landon at the time, has been sentenced to 2 to 10 years for his part in the crime after violating his home confinement.
- Huntington Mayor Kim Wolfe has vetoed an ordinance reducing the limit on purchases and contracted services he can make without the Huntington City Council's approval from $15,000 to $7,500. Wolfe says limiting his spending powers would hamper the city's daily operations. Wolfe says he believes the ordinance stems from his decision to make an emergency purchase of a salt spreader for $12,000 last month. A two-thirds majority vote by the 11-member council is needed to override Wolfe's veto.
- On Friday, members of the Senate Transportation Committee unanimously approved a seat belt bill that will make failure to buckle up in a vehicle a primary offense. Currently, the violation is a secondary offense and cannot be the sole reason for a traffic stop. Violators can only be ticketed after being pulled over for another reason. The legislation lowers the fine for violating the seat belt law from $25 to $15.
- West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller and Virginia Senator Jim Webb have introduced legislation to rededicate the District of Columbia War Memorial to include the wording "National World War I Memorial." Webb says a national memorial to the more than 4 million who served in the "Great War" is long overdue. The initial legislation introduced in 2009 was called the Frank Buckles World War I Memorial Act. Buckles of Jefferson County, West Virginia, who recently celebrated his 110th birthday, is the last surviving American World War I veteran.
# posted by Homer Owens @ 9:19 PM 
