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As Yeager Airport’s Wildlife Patrol Dog turns 7, a new dog comes in to learn from him

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia International Yeager Airport is celebrating its beloved Wildlife Patrol Dog’s 7th birthday, as well as welcoming in a new pooch to learn the ropes of runway-guarding.

After starting his career as the Wildlife Patrol Dog at CRW in 2018 when he was just one and half years old, a birthday party was held for Hercules on March 27 at the Kanawha County Public Library branch in Charleston.

Yeager Airport Director and CEO Dominque Ranieri told MetroNews that library staff as well as the community love Hercules and wanted to take part in celebrating him.

Dominique Ranieri

“He is 7 years old which is a huge deal, we’re so excited,” Ranieri said. “The Kanawha County Library does a great job with getting Hercules out into the community, especially with the younger community, so we love the opportunity to be able to celebrate him with them.”

However, since Hercules is now 7, Ranieri said they have to start planning for what’s next in their wildlife control program.

In doing so, Ranieri said they just welcomed another Border Collie to join the team. And she said he’s so new they don’t even have a name for him yet, but they are currently working on coming up with one.

Meanwhile, the new Border Collie is getting acclimated and receiving training for his soon-to-be role of deterring wildlife off of the runway.

Ranieri said Hercules will take in the new pup as his wingman so he can learn everything the job entails.

“He will work with Hercules on the airfield, learn from Hercules exactly what needs to be done in keeping all of the wildlife away from the aircraft, and as Hercules transitions to just doing his marketing roles, the new Border Collie will take on the bulk of the runway work,” she said.

She said since Hercules has been serving at the airport, the wildlife population on the airfield has dropped immensely, from birds to rabbits, and even the coyotes that prey on those animals have all backed off of the airfield and the surrounding area.

Ranieri said wildlife patrol is an important task at the airport.

“It has improved our wildlife control program so much over the years since Hercules has joined us, we know it’s effective, we know that it works for the different species we face here on our fields,” she said.

She said the wildlife patrol dog allows for the aircraft to land safely and without interruptions.

Ranieri said CRW will introduce the soon-to-be Wildlife Patrol Dog to the community soon after he gets acclimated at the airport.

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Photo gallery: University defeats Bridgeport, 12-3

BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. — Photo gallery from University’s 12-3 (5-inning) win over Bridgeport.

(Photo gallery courtesy of Joey Signorelli/www.BenQueenPhotography.com)

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Dunlow Volunteer Fire Department closes

DUNLOW, W.Va. — The Dunlow Volunteer Fire Department has voluntarily closed operations.

The West Virginia State Fire Marshal’s Office confirmed Thursday that Dunlow VFD did not have a valid workers compensation insurance policy in place. The department then agreed to close voluntarily.

The closure of the Dunlow VFD is in effect until proper insurance coverage is in place.

According to Wayne County 911, there are plans in place for neighboring departments to provide coverage in the meantime.

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Tucker DeVries prepares to shoulder challenges awaiting in Big 12

(Full introduction press conference)

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — In a span of one week, Tucker DeVries went from competing for Drake in a first-round NCAA Tournament matchup against Washington State to sitting inside his future home venue at the WVU Coliseum, where it was announced Thursday by his father and new West Virginia head coach Darian DeVries that his son would play his senior season for the Mountaineers.

“It’s always nice when you get your first recruit,” said the elder DeVries. “I had to work hard this morning to get that one done.”

The rest of the West Virginia roster remains in question and while the recently-hired head coach will work in the near future to assemble a staff, he indicated he’d also meet with current members of the Mountaineers to figure out their plans. 

Based off that, DeVries and the staff he settles on can then work to fill out the roster, but they’ll have a strong starting point in the form of Tucker DeVries.

A two-time Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, Tucker DeVries has 1,867 points and a scoring average of 18 over three seasons of college basketball, all of which he playing for the Bulldogs to this point.

As a junior, DeVries was the eighth leading scorer in Division I with an average of 21.6 points. He scored  That allowed him to repeat as MVC Player of the Year after scoring 18.6 points per game to earn the prestigious honor a season earlier.

He became the 11th MVC player to win the award twice after scoring double figures in 65 of 68 games over the previous two seasons.

“There’s definitely a little more target on you back the second time around,” DeVries said. “People always give you your best shot and your best defender, and as you get older, people start to figure you out a little bit more game plan wise and maybe send an extra guy or two at you the second time around. It was a fun year and I’m thankful for everything that happened this past year, but excited for a new journey.”

Mar 21, 2024; Omaha, NE, USA; Drake Bulldogs guard Tucker DeVries (12) shoots against Washington State Cougars forward Jaylen Wells (0) in the second half in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at CHI Health Center Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

There will be next to no basketball activity for DeVries as his journey at a new home begins. Only two days before his dad was introduced as the 23rd head coach in WVU men’s basketball history, Tucker DeVries underwent surgery on his right shoulder, which has given him problems at times over the last two seasons for different reasons. 

It was painful enough this time around that near the midway point of the most recent campaign, the Waukee, Iowa, native gave thought to calling it a season.

“Halfway through the year, I had to battle through some things and maybe even thought about shutting it down one or two times throughout the year,” DeVries said. “I was able to do enough to feel like I could help the team and then after the season is over, worry about fixing it and trying to get back healthy as quick as possible to get working for next year.”

As he sat front row with a sling over his right shoulder and watched his dad give welcoming remarks Thursday before taking on his first Power 5-level head coaching gig, DeVries thought of how his game will translate to a higher level when he’s able to don a Mountaineer uniform.

He averaged no fewer than 13.9 points over three seasons at Drake, shot 43.7 percent for his Bulldogs’ career, made 250 three-pointers and averaged at least 4.6 rebounds each year, including 6.7 in the most recent season.

“The next step is learning to play with the physicality and speed of the Big 12,” DeVries said. “It’s certainly going to be an adjustment for anybody, but no matter how good you are, there’s always room for improvement somewhere. Trying to get healthy, get back to work and doing whatever I can to expand my game to help the team and help this team win a lot of games and be part of it.”

With his home for his final college season now settled, DeVries can turn all of his attention in the near future toward getting healthier as he acclimates to new surroundings.

“Recovery shouldn’t be too long,” he said. “Just had to fix some things that occurred about halfway through the year.”

As a whirlwind of March winds down, Tucker DeVries is welcoming a new opportunity and his next challenge, while he hopes to show he can duplicate past success at the highest level of college basketball.

“Being at a higher level, there’s going to be more expectations,” he said. “We’re both excited for that and ready to give everything we can to fulfill those expectations and get to where we need to be.”

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PEIA examines financial effects of new law meant to ensure local pharmacies get fair reimbursements

The Public Employees Insurance Agency is examining the potential financial effect of a bill requiring pricing and payment transparency from pharmacy benefits managers.

That is expected to increase costs for PEIA. The agency is also expecting increased costs from a separate requirement to reimburse providers at 110% of the Medicare reimbursement rate.

Brian Cunningham

“In practical terms, what that means and what we’ve projected is about a $6.2 million hit to the plan,” said PEIA Director Brian Cunningham.

Gov. Jim Justice signed Senate Bill 453 into law this week. PEIA’s Finance Board discussed its effects Thursday afternoon during a regular monthly meeting.

The bill prohibits a pharmacy benefit manager from reimbursing certain pharmacies or pharmacists less than the national average drug acquisition cost for a prescription drug or pharmacy service.

An aspect of the bill’s requirements is a comprehensive pharmacy business intelligence study and analysis to determine what, if any, changes can be made. The final report is due to legislators by the end of the year.

“We are already working to ensure that every bit of this code is complied with,” said William Hicks, the general counsel for PEIA.

The policy got a big push after the owner of regional pharmacy chain Fruth demonstrated receiving lower reimbursements through PEIA than what big national chains were getting.

The effects of the bill are meant to apply only to pharmacies registered with West Virginia as their business headquarters.

On the cost, Cunningham said, “There are a lot of factors that go into that, not the least of which is the portion of specialty drugs that are dispensed at those domestic West Virginia pharmacies. As that portion of specialty drugs increases that are dispensed at West Virginia pharmacies, then that number also potentially increases.”

He described “a very delicate balancing act. And that balancing act is to keep care, as much as possible in-state — dispense at West Virginia pharmacies. However, the more successful we are at that, the more we risk a financial hit.”

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Barbour County woman sentenced after death case sent back to circuit court by Supreme Court

GRAFTON, W.Va. — A Barbour County woman, originally convicted on a murder charge,  was sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter following the shooting death of her husband in their Moatsville home.

Carli Reed

Carli Reed was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in state prison and must serve at least one-third of the sentence before being eligible for parole. Motions for alternative sentencing and giving credit for time served while in home confinement were denied.

Reed was charged with first-degree murder in 2019 after the shooting her husband, Marcus Fagons, as he lay in bed.

Reed was found guilty of second-degree murder in September 2020 and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. That conviction was reversed by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals because the judge failed to instruct the jury that the shooting could have been an accident. Instead of a new trial, Reed agreed to plead guilty to volunteer manslaughter.

“This was a very difficult case with a lot of legal and evidentiary issues after the jury verdict was overturned on appeal,” Special Prosecutor Michael Parker told MetroNews. “My thoughts are with the victim’s family, and my hope is that the resolution of this case with the sentencing hearing today will give them at least some closure.”

During the investigation, Reed told investigators from the state police that she believed Fagons was talking to other girls, and a verbal altercation erupted. After the argument, Reed told investigators she shot Fagons while he was sleeping with a pistol that was on the nightstand.

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Darian DeVries welcomed as West Virginia men’s basketball coach

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Darian DeVries hadn’t yet been in West Virginia for a full 24 hours.

Yet there was the new and 23rd head coach of the Mountaineer men’s basketball program making what he described as a halftime adjustment on the floor of the WVU Coliseum during Thursday’s welcoming for the position he recently accepted.

Technical difficulties present throughout the introduction offered by Director of Athletics Wren Baker continued on and forced DeVries to change microphones.

Eventually, the 48-year-old DeVries could be heard loud and clear, and after leaving behind a successful six-season stint at Drake, his focus is squarely on what’s to come.

“Our goal is to make sure every opponent leaves here with some pepperoni rolls and the words to Country Roads echoing in their heads,” DeVries said.

DeVries compiled a 150-55 record in his tenure with the Bulldogs, which included six of Drake’s 20-plus win seasons in program history and three of its seven NCAA Tournament berths, two of which came over the last two seasons.

A key catalyst to the Bulldogs success of late was DeVries’ son, Tucker DeVries, a two-time Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year whose dad announced would be joining the Mountaineer program for his senior season. The 6-foot-7 DeVries has 1,867 points, 250 career three-pointers and an average of 5.6 rebounds throughout three college seasons.

It remains to be seen who else fills out DeVries’ first WVU roster.

“We will look for young men that have talent and intangibles. I’m a firm believer that if you stack talent and intangibles, and put together a group of men like that in a locker room, that equates to winning,” DeVries said. “We’ll have a locker room filled with winners and winners aren’t necessarily just about scoring baskets. They have a discipline, toughness, unselfishness that stands tall in all situations and we will teach them to apply those to all phases of their life.”

DeVries’ only past head coaching experience came at Drake and it followed two decades on staff at Creighton, including 17 seasons as an assistant coach under previous Blue Jays’ head coach Dana Altman or current coach Greg McDermott.

The commitment to his previous positions is something that caught Baker’s attention.

“The most amazing stat on Darian is that in 23 years, he’s been at two places,” said Baker, before adding, “he’s amazingly loyal and showed maturity to not just chase the next job.”

Now comes DeVries’ first opportunity in a Power 5 Conference, and with it comes the responsibility of trying to assemble a coaching staff in the near future.

“As we work through HR [Human Resources] and those type of things, we hope to have a staff in place as soon as possible so we can continue to get on the road during a very important recruiting period,” DeVries said.

DeVries’ five-year contract, which begins with an annual salary of $2.8 million, starts April 1.

He will meet with current members of West Virginia’s team in the near future to begin formulating plans for the Mountaineers’ 2024-25 roster.

“Excited to do that and then obviously, we’ll continue to build to fill some of the needs with the seniors that are leaving the program and anyone else,” DeVries said.

DeVries was considered to have drawn interest from several Power 5 schools during a busy offseason of job openings in college basketball, but Baker says he discovered quickly that Morgantown was his top choice among the destinations.

“He was drawn not just to Mountaineer basketball, but to Morgantown and the state of West Virginia,” Baker said. “He’s done his homework and he knew about the culture here and knew about our values. He made it clear that he didn’t just want a job. He wanted this job and that was backed up by what I was hearing from other people in and around college athletics as he was giving cold shoulders to other schools engaging in him.”

As he works to acclimate himself to new surroundings, DeVries weighed in on what can be expected of his teams as he attempts to translate a successful style within the Missouri Valley Conference over to the Big 12.

“The Big 12 is obviously a very defensive-oriented, physical league,” DeVries said. “The Missouri Valley has a lot of that as well — just a different level of physicality. There’s no question that in order to be successful in the Big 12, you have to defend, rebound and have physicality and toughness. We’ll recruit, coach and teach to that. From a philosophy standpoint, you have to take care of the ball, defensive rebound and guard. Those three things are winning. If you do those three areas well, you have a chance to win every night, so we will try to do that. 

“Once we get the ball, the thing people fear most is our transition game and that has to come off of getting defensive stops. It’s not something we talk about every day, it’s something we do every day. We’re going to practice transition. Our goal is to score in the first 12 seconds of every possession, because if you can score against a broken defense, it gives you a lot better chance.” 

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UMWA to fight planned Pennsylvania coal mine closure, 700 mining jobs at risk

WAYNESBURG, PA — The United Mine Workers of America is responding to the announced closure of the Cumberland Mine in Greene County, Pennsylvania, operated by Iron Senergy, Inc.

Erin Bates

UMWA Director of Communications Erin Bates said they first learned of the plan to close the mine, which is less than 40 miles from Morgantown, this week and will work with local leaders to find a solution.

“The United Mine Workers of America is going to be working with local representatives and local government,” Bates said. “We’re going to talk to anyone and everyone we can to prevent this from taking place.”

UMWA President Cecil Roberts said the company never signaled problems or intentions to close and is not responding to their inquiry.

Roberts went on to say,” The company has failed to file a notice of mass layoff as required by the WARN Act and has failed to provide any information to anyone regarding the number of jobs that would be affected by this closure. Nor has it reached out regarding exploring potential ways to keep the mine open.”

Bates said 700 miners, several of them who live in nearby West Virginia, will lose jobs if the mine closes, and that will have a serious impact on the community.

“With every coal miner four jobs are affected,” Bates said. “So, we’re estimating 3,000 jobs are at risk just in the local community, and this is going to be a huge dent in people’s livelihoods in Pennsylvania.”

Cecil Roberts

Bates said they learned miners were sent home with no notification of the closure on March 19, and union officials found out indirectly.

“They sent their miners home with no notice and no indication they were closing down facilities, and then we got a copy of the letter they sent to the Mine Safety and Health Administration saying they were shutting down,” Bates said.

The Iron Senergy, Inc. website said the privately owned company was founded in 2020, and the 700 miners produce 7 million tons of clean coal annually. The website goes on to say there is an estimated 30-year reserve of coal.

“It is a successful mine, it’s a productive mine, and they have multiple buyers of this coal,” Bates said. “There is no reason why, financially, they would shut this place down.”

Bates said the UMWA is prepared to meet with management to explore ways to keep the facility open, calling the operation “an essential economic contribution to Greene County and the surrounding area.”

“This is not only affecting our members, but it’s affecting that community, so it is highly important to us, and we’re not going to stop until we find out what is going on and how we can prevent this from happening,” Bates said.

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Bridge collapse having an impact on West Virginia coal shipments

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore has had a ripple effect in West Virginia.

With the bridge in the water and the search for missing workers still underway, shipping in and out of the Baltimore Harbor is at a standstill.

Chris Hamilton

The port, although not comparably large overall, is one of the largest coal export facilities in the nation. Consol Energy owns a shipping terminal within Baltimore Harbor. The idling of all shipping traffic in or out of the harbor is of grave concern to West Virginia coal producers.

“We’re only a couple of days into it, but it’s extremely concerning to those producers who leave out of Baltimore and that represents about 25 to 30 percent of our state’s total export product,” said Chris Hamilton, president of the West Virginia Coal Association.

The West Virginia coal shipped to the Baltimore Harbor is hauled by rail. Hamilton was unsure if there were firm plans in place to divert the product to other ports. He indicated the change would not be an easy one.

Erica Fisher

“That’s a possibility with some of it, but not the total amount. That process is going to have to start here in West Virginia closer to the mine level. I don’t know if the other transportation system, particularly the rail to go to other ports, would be that nimble to make that adjustment,” he said.

Officials at Consol Energy are examining the situation which remained fluid since there is no timeline at this point when the shipping will resume.

“We have initiated discussions with our customers and contingency plans are being implemented. These plans include, but are not limited to, the ability to move coal tons through open terminals on the East Coast and increasing domestic shipments,” wrote Consol spokesperson Erica Fisher in an email exchange with MetroNews.

Hamilton said some mines may be able to stockpile some of the coal they are currently producing, but added that may also be problematic since a mild winter had left a lot of coal in storage already and limited space to put it for the time being.

“What we’re hearing is this could be anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks, so there’s a wide range of scenarios,” he said.

 

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Charleston animal shelter seeks more donations, fosters following U-Haul crash

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Wooden beams have been put in place to support the corner roof of the Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association shelter that was damaged after a U-Haul truck slammed into the building Wednesday morning.

Around 150 animals have been sent out to foster homes as a result of the crash. As of Thursday morning, there were about 15-20 dogs and 8 cats that still needed a foster.

Sarah Tolley, director of community engagement at KCHA, told MetroNews they’ve been amazed by the community response.

“We were shocked between a U-Haul ramming our building and shocked that so many people immediately came up. Within a half-hour of us posting that we needed help, we had a line of people out the door and it maintained that way until we left at 6:30 p.m.,” she said.

Charleston residents Marshall and Delilah were at the shelter Thursday to adopt a dog. Marshall said they were looking to get a dog anyway when they saw the urgent need for fosters Wednesday.

“We were here yesterday, and the truck ran through the building, so we didn’t get a chance, so we came back today,” he said. “It worked out.”

Angie Gillenwater, manager of community engagement at KCHA, provided an update on Thursday’s “580 Live” with Dave Allen heard on MetroNews flagship station 580-WCHS about the need for more pet supplies. She said they’re providing foster families with food, toys, and other items, but because there are so many fosters at once, they’re asking for donations from the public.

“We need food, bowls, blankets, towels,” Gillenwater said. “We went through an insane amount of clip leashes and flip leashes, so if you are able to donate either of those, that would be great as well.”

The shelter has about 40 functioning kennels, which is down from about 100 Wednesday.

Tolley said they’re asking people to foster for about a week while they figure out next steps for repairing the building.

“We’re asking for a week right now so we can get solid estimates of when our building will be repaired and we can go back to fully functioning,” she said. “Of course we understand if people can’t do the full week, even a night will be helpful for us.”

Photo by Jerry Waters

Gillenwater said, amazingly, only one dog was injured when the concrete blocks fell during the crash. She said the dog survived with an injured leg.

“A cinder block fell on her, but luckily she was a Great Pyrenees and walked away with a slight limp,” she said.

The driver of the U-Haul truck was at the shelter Wednesday to pick up his animal when he said his accelerator got stuck.

The Kanawha County Commission is working to help the Humane Association and will provide a financial donation.

Those looking to foster an animal are asked to come to the shelter’s clinic, Fix Charleston, at 1246 Greenbrier Street or contact Marissa Hsu at 681-319-1999.

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