Wednesday, March 23, 2011
EKB Capsule News...West Virginia...3-24-'11
Davitt McAteer, who is leading up an independent investigation, requested by former Governor Joe Manchin, into the Upper Big Branch Mine explosion that killed 29 miners last April 5th, is about ready to release the findings. McAteer says some of the work left to be done is still underground, although most of the underground portion has been completed, and some work left to do is in the lab. McAteer also says they are completing the interviews of the miners and others. McAteer says the report will be finished no later than May, maybe earlier.
- Boone County Sheriff's Deputy, 30 year old Justin Dalton of Madison, is off the job and under investigation. Dalton has worked for the Boone County Sheriff's Department since 2008. Sheriff Rodney Miller says he can't elaborate on the allegations since it is a personnel issue, but the conduct Dalton's accused of is not acceptable of a law enforcement officer. State police are assisting with the investigation.
- The Sierra Club, the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy environmental groups sued coal operator ICG Eastern in federal court in Elkins Wednesday over the Knight-Ink No. 1 mine, a Webster County surface mine they say has been discharging toxic selenium into streams for years. The complaint alleges violations of both state and federal law, including the federal Clean Water Act and the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. The complaint also claims state regulators have been lax in cracking down on ICG, allowing discharges into Big Beaver Creek, and two tributaries, Oldhe Fork and Board Fork, at levels above those designed to protect aquatic life. ICG Eastern, which produced 2.5 million tons of coal in 2009, is a subsidiary of International Coal Group Inc. of Scott Depot.
Trial is set to begin March 29th for Donald Good, a man charged with kidnapping, sexual assault and aggravated robbery. Authorities say he abducted two women from the Huntington Mall parking lot and sexually assaulted them in 1987. Cabell County Circuit Judge Alfred Ferguson denied Good's request for a new attorney Tuesday. Glen Dale Woodall, spent five years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of the attacks. DNA tests exonerated Woodall. Good pleaded guilty in 1996 to killing a St. Albans man in 1992. He is serving a life with mercy sentence for that conviction.
- Derrick Lamb, 20, and Dominique Calhoun, 19, both of Charleston, were arrested following a crash on Jackson Street on Charleston's East End early Wednesday morning. The chase began when an officer heard shots and spotted a vehicle speeding away from the area. Lamb tried to flee after the vehicle crashed into a parked car in the 1100 block of Garvin Avenue. Lamb is charged with fleeing and wanton endangerment, while Calhoun is charged with wanton endangerment. Monday, Calhoun pleaded guilty in front of Kanawha Circuit Judge Charles King to two counts of wanton endangerment for shooting up a house on Wertz Avenue. Calhoun was out on bond awaiting sentencing for that crime when he was arrested Wednesday morning.
- A Logan man has been sentenced on federal drug charges. Terry Tomblin, 44, of Mount Gay, pleaded guilty in November to obtaining Hydrocodone from the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Huntington while not telling them he was getting the same drugs from local medical providers in the Logan County area. He also signed a controlled substance agreement with the VA May 7, 2009, and did not disclose that he had received Hydrocodone from another provider on April 21, 2009. Tomblin was a patient of the Huntington VA center from April 2005 until March 2010.
- Logan County Sheriff's Deputies arrested 27 year old Brandon Lanier from Columbus, Ohio after a CPS worker asked the sheriff’s department for help in doing a home visit in Amherstdale. When deputies arrived, they say Lanier ran from the residence in an attempt to escape. On the kitchen stove, deputies found a plastic baggie containing a yellowish substance that tested positive for cocaine in a pan of boiling water. Deputies say they also found money and digital scales during a search of the house. Lanier was charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin announced Wednesday in Charleston he is planning to introduce federal legislation Monday that will create a National Silver Alert Network. The Silver Alert program was established in West Virginia during the summer of 2009. It is modeled after the Amber Alert program used to locate missing children. Manchin's office estimates the program will cost $64 million over 10 years. Manchin is traveling the state as part of his "Our Values, Our Priorities" Week. He is scheduled to make stops in Gassaway on Thursday and in Morgantown and Fairmont on Friday.
- Kanawha County Sheriff's Deputies arrested 19 year old Wesley J. Taylor of Clendenin Tuesday after he went to the home of 86 year old Eugene Taylor with three rifles and began pointing the weapons at him and pulling the trigger. Eugene Taylor called police to report he was being threatened by a family member with a rifle. When deputies arrived and announced themselves, they heard Wesley Taylor loading what turned out to be a .300 Savage rifle. Wesley Taylor, who also had a .22 caliber rifle and a .50 caliber muzzleloader at the house, told deputies he was high on Wild Irish Rose, methamphetamines and "bath salts" when he went to the house. He also claimed to be a member of the military and working for the CIA, both of which are not true. Wesley Taylor was charged with wanton endangerment, along with escape for escaping from the police cruiser after he was arrested.
- Acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin has vetoed a DMV fee hike bill. Tomblin concluded it violated the U.S. Constitution's protection of interstate commerce because it included language that would provide a fee limit only for in-state auto insurers. Tomblin also cited an increase in State Road Fund revenues in rejecting the bill. The measure aimed to hike an array of fees to raise nearly $40 million annually for the road fund. Tomblin said the improving economy has led to an increase in vehicle purchases and other activity that generates road fund revenue. He also cited the fragile recovery as another reason for Wednesday's veto.
- Warrants have been issued for the arrest of two men in Raleigh County. Police say Albert L. Kidd Jr., 36, and Chester Ray Hensley, 30, were reported as escapees after failing to return to the Beckley Correctional Center after an Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meeting Monday. Kidd was referred to the work release program from Kanawha County, where he was convicted of 13 counts of forgery and uttering. Hensley was referred from Putnam County, where he was convicted of breaking and entering.
Wednesday, the West Virginia Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit that sought to bar Acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin's pay and perks over claims he's improperly serving in the office. New Martinsville lawyer H. John Rogers filed a lawsuit last week, saying the Constitution calls on Tomblin to act as governor by signing legislation and handling other duties, but does not make him acting governor and thus entitles him to hourly pay at best. The Supreme Court ruled that Rogers did a poor job supporting that position and hadn't presented a factual case. Rogers responded with a hand-written motion asking the court to reconsider. In his motion, Rogers noted that legislation that includes $15,000 pay raises for the five Supreme Court justices is awaiting Tomblin's signature. "Consequently, it would appear that this honorable court may have the 'appearance' of conflict," Rogers said.
# posted by Homer Owens @ 10:55 PM 
