Saturday, April 16, 2011
EKB Capsule News...West Virginia...4-17-'11
- Monday, April 18th, is the deadline for filing your taxes. Some West Virginia taxpayers may notice a faster turnaround in getting a refund this year because changes in taxpayer behaviors and investments at the state level have boosted the state's ability to process returns. There's been an increase in e-filing over traditional paper filing and direct deposit of refunds. Recent figures show about 78 percent of the personal income tax returns received by the tax department so far this year had been filed online. That's a 10.4 percent increase over last year. Those who file their tax returns electronically can expect to receive their refund in an average 10 business days, as opposed to six to eight weeks if they file paper returns.
- Jackson County officials say 79 year old Roy Martin of Sandyville was swept away as he tried to cross Copper Fork Road, which was flooded due to Saturday morning’s rainfall. Lt. Chris Metz of the Jackson County Sheriff's Department said neighbors had successfully pulled Martin halfway out of the car with a rope before his car was pushed farther down stream and became lodged under a bridge. The neighbors then lost site of Martin. Dive and rescue teams from Ripley and Ravenswood recovered Martin's body about a half-mile downstream. Martin's body was transported to Jackson General Hospital. Several areas in West Virginia reported high water and some roads were closed.
- One male was found dead after fire broke out at a trailer in Low Gap of Boone County at 4:00 A.M. Saturday morning. Family members say Rodney Roberts didn't escape as flames engulfed his home. Roberts' body was taken to the medical examiner's office for an autopsy.
- Huntington Police arrested Robert Nyle Pemberton, 26, and Bobby Ray Brooks, 20, Friday and charged with felony first-degree robbery, along with misdemeanor fleeing and obstruction. Police say they robbed the Mary Woelfel Center, a 23rd Street facility owned by Prestera Center, taking $1,270 in stolen property. The Mary Woelfel Center is a long-term substance abuse outreach and case management program which provides traditional housing for single women.
- Retired West Virginia University professor Wanda Franz, who has been president of the National Right to Life Committee for 20 years, has been replaced after working with the national board since 1979. She was vice president from 1984 to 1991, when she was elected president. West Virginians for Life announced Friday that Carol Tobias of North Dakota has been elected the new president. She's been on the national board of directors since 1987 and is its former political director. The National Right to Life Committee is a federation of 50 state organizations with more than 3,000 chapters. It opposes abortion, euthanasia and assisted suicide.
- Kanawha County school board members have voted 3-2 to allow Pratt Elementary Principal David S. Anderson to transfer to Shoals Elementary this summer. In October 2006, Anderson was charged with cocaine possession and suspended from his job after Charleston Police Detective J.F. Taylor said he found .2 grams of cocaine in Anderson's back left pocket. He was acquitted the following February and allowed to return to his job. Anderson admitted the cocaine was found on his body but testified he did not knowingly possess the substance, alleging someone he was taking home from a bar had planted the drug on him. Anderson's new position will be effective August 8th. He will replace Margie Bays, who is retiring.
# posted by Homer Owens @ 10:50 PM 
