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MONONGALIA COUNTY, W.Va. Monongalia County Sheriff Perry Palmer reports a Pennsylvania man has been charged in connection with a fiery crash on I-79 at mile marker 149 that killed two people on January 3.
Thomas H. Horner III, 39, has been charged with two counts of negligent homicide and one count of reckless driving with injury and has been arraigned in Monongalia County Magistrate.
No other details about evidence related to the arrest have been released.
The accident occurred around 7:20 a.m. and caused an intense fire, making it difficult to positively identify Zaquan George, 21, and Margaret Erdie, 19, who died at the scene.
Both directions of I-79 were closed for about five hours during the clean-up and investigation.
Horner has been released on a personal recognizance bond.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. The first full business day since the fire at The Lofts in Morgantown was a busy one for the administrators at West Virginia University working to help displaced students.
Assistant Dean and Executive Director of Campus and Community Life, Carrie Showalter, said the Lofts property manager has not provided the numbers or names of the students affected, making it difficult to direct relief efforts.
“I do believe they have put them up in other locations; I’ve been told this is the same entity that owns the domain,” Showalter said. “So it’s my understanding they have provided housing, whether it’s temporary or more permanent.”
Showalter said they are working with students who have come forward and are prepared to help others as needed. As the students come forward, each situation is evaluated, and action is taken as quickly as possible.
“We’re trying to get a handle on each individual situation,” Showalter said. “We have had some people that have self-reported, and we’ve had some people that have come to us through their professors; they’ve reached out to their professors, saying they were affected, and they have reached out to us.”
Showalter said there are options for students who have suffered the loss of text books and technology needed for classes. Other losses, maybe not related directly to academics, can be addressed through a variety of resources, including local non-profits.
“We do have access to some emergency funds through our office that we can provide students with to replace books they need or other items that are not covered,” Showalter said.
WVU Student Legal Services also has resources to help students understand what is available to them and any legal recourse they could have. Some of these consultations can help students quickly access aid sources they may not have known about.
“The student attorney can work with them in reviewing the lease, whether they have renters insurance or if they’re covered under their parents’ homeowner’s insurance,” Showalter said. “And we can also certainly work with the financial aid office.”
Showalter said they keep track of companies that rent to students and have that information available as students are making the decision on where to live. However, many times that information is available through company reviews online and word of mouth from other students.
“Getting the word out and trying to steer people in the direction of landlords that are compassionate about and concerned about students as individuals and not just the number of tenants,” Showalter said.
MONONGALIA COUNTY, W.Va. – House Bill 5105 would allow private and parochial schools to set their own vaccination policies and is waiting for approval from Governor Justice.
Monongalia County Commissioner and retired guidance counselor formerly with Monongalia County Schools for more than 30 years, Tom Bloom, said if the measure becomes law, it will endanger thousands of students and families in this county alone.
“The legislature is turning the clock back nearly 100 years in immunization protection for our children,” Bloom said. “This is a disaster about to happen that will open the door for more diseases.”
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 60 measles cases so far in 2024. The total is more than the total number of cases reported last and some of the reports are from neighboring states Ohio. Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Immediate Past President of the West Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics on Vaccinations, Dr. Lisa Costello, said measles is highly contagious and represents one of the most important examples why the state needs to maintain a strong vaccination program.
“Measles doesn’t care if you go to private or parochial schools,” Dr. Costello said. “It does not differentiate, so that’s why it’s important for children to have protection.”
Bloom said he has very clear memories of when communities hoped for a vaccine to free them from the threat of serious illness or death.
“The individuals who are making this decision were not around when my friends and neighbors were in the Iron Lung,” Bloom said. “We are going back to that; we are going backwards.”
As an elected official, safety is an important consideration, but the measure could hurt the county in its efforts to attract and retain companies that provide good jobs.
“I’ve already had a business say if this passes, they may not bring our business or factory here because I don’t want to bring my family members to a state that is loosening vaccination requirements,” Bloom said.
Dr. Costello said there are exceptions, but a strong vaccination program is also designed to keep those covered by the exemption safe as well. Vaccination programs keep the overall presence of the disease in the population low, decreasing the odds of infection for all, including the most vulnerable. She used the example of a young person battling childhood cancer.
“In those conditions, they cannot get immunizations because their body is not going to mount the proper response,” Dr. Costello said. “That’s why having high immunization rates in the community can help protect that child because we can help keep those diseases out.”
Bloom urges local residents to contact the governor with their opposition.
PHILIPPI, W.Va. Two people have been charged in Barbour County after police discovered fleas crawling in a child’s hair on Friday.
Deputies from the Barbour County Sheriff’s Department made the discovery at a residence on Perin Street in Century when they made contact with Isaac Gordon and Brenda Upton, both 22.
Deputies also learned about several unreported domestic incidents between the couple, including the day when Gordon produced a handgun from a neighbor and fired it into the floor of the bedroom.
Deputies said they observed a bullet hole in the floor of the bedroom, corresponding with the report.
Upton also told deputies about an unreported incident that happened about a month ago when Gordon choked her in front of the two toddlers in the residence.
Deputies also said they observed roaches, dirty diapers, bags of trash, dog feces and urine, dirty clothes, and dirty baby bottles, and one of the children was forced to sleep on the couch because a cat was sleeping in the child’s bassinette.
Deputies also said that in addition to fleas crawling in one toddler’s hair, everyone in the home slept regularly in the living room.
Gordon has been charged with wanton endangerment, strangulation, and two counts of child neglect. Upton has been charged with two counts of child neglect.
Both are being held in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail.
BUCKHANNON, W.Va. Police in Buckhannon have made an arrest following a report of someone discharging a firearm at the Zickefoose Trailer Park on Friday.
Police found multiple witnesses at the scene who heard the gunfire and heard yelling coming from one of the residences.
As police approached the trailer, they could hear a man later identified as Eli Beckner, 25, of Buckhannon, yelling about having a gun.
Once the officers determined it was safe, they forced entry into the trailer.
Police said Beckner appeared to be intoxicated and did admit to having two pistols.
The police found the pistols and went outside the trailer to find six casings that matched the caliber of one of the pistols Beckner had.
While being questioned, police said Beckner admitted to shooting out of the window of his trailer.
Eli Beckner has been charged with wanton endangerment and is being held in Tygart Valley Regional Jail in lieu of a $100,000 bond.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. Many across the state are praising the selection of Jonathan Board as the executive director of the West Virginia First Foundation, the body that will manage and distribute nearly $1 billion in opioid settlement funds.
Monongalia County Commissioner Tom Bloom understands why the selection was made. Board was selected as the Region 4 representative to the foundation back in July.
“He understands what is really going on; he understands how it affects communities and hospitals, and he understands the toll it takes on a family,” Bloom said.
Region 4 was the first region to establish a nomination process at the regional level and is now the first to replace a representative.
“It looks like in April we will meet again to make nominations and choose a person to represent Region IV on the board,” Bloom said.
The process is not set, but Bloom proposes each county and municipality will be able to to make a nomination. In July, a total of six nominations were reviewed, representing 28 of the 76 government organizations in the region. In April, there could be a maximum of 26 nominations, but Bloom believes that number will be much lower.
“Each county can choose a recommendation, and each city can make a recommendation,” Bloom said. “The potential is up to 26 possible candidates, and I believe we’ll have between five and ten.”
Bloom stressed that this is a preliminary plan to fill the Region 4 representative possession to foundation and be altered after review.
“We were the first ones to set up a meeting to set up members of the board and the review committee, so now this is the first time someone is not on it and we have replaced them,” Bloom said. “So, this is all new territory.”
Region 4 includes the host county, Monongalia and Harrison, Marion, Lewis, Upshur, Barbour, Preston, Braxton, Tucker, Randolph, Gilmer, Taylor and Doddridge Counties.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Monongalia County Delegate Evan Hansen hopes that the state budget and a potential $465 million in coronavirus relief “clawback” will be sorted out in the anticipated special legislative session this spring.
After legislatures passed the state budget in the closing hours of the regular session, despite the additional extra day implemented by Governor Jim Justice, Hansen expressed a desire to address several changes to the budget that could not be accounted for. This included modifications to flood-related allocations that were changed and adjustments that were not made in response to a revelation that approximately $465 million in coronavirus funds may need to go back to the federal government. Both of those, he feels, need to be addressed in a quick but detailed manner with measures that aren’t presented at the last minute.
“Hopefully we’ll have a realistic idea of how much money is available for the new budget,” said Hansen. “There’s that cloud hanging over us about the 450 or so million dollars that we might need to pay back to the federal government,” he said.
The lack of discussion over the funds that have yet to be used by the West Virginia Department of Education was one of several issues that Hansen and other legislatures pointed out ahead of the last second budget vote. The concern is that the lack of use of the funds, which were sent by the United States Department of Education for direct education spending, would need to be returned in accordance with the spending formula, which accounts for the student population and a state budget dedication. With the state currently unable to meet that mark (about three percent short of the forty percent minimum), Hansen feels there needs to be a plan in place so programs and residents won’t potentially be affected.
“The budget that passed on the last night of the session, just an hour before the session ended, did not include a lot of things that were in earlier drafts of the budget,” Hansen said.
When the legislatures return to Charleston for a special session, several budget proposal changes for programs and projects across the Mountain State will be added. Hansen hopes to get into more detail about a state flood resiliency flood that was created to help provide disaster relief to residents affected by flood damage. With that designation not included in the state budget passed during the regular legislative session, Hansen hopes it can be discussed again in May.
“One thing that I pointed out was there was $50 million that had been put into a flood resiliency fund,” said Hansen on one of the line items removed from the budget. “Which would help draw down federal money to deal with the increased amount of flooding that is occurring across the state,” he said.
For Hansen, a lot of the budget discussions that legislatures might aim to have in a couple of months may have to be put on the back burner. With the potential of the state having to return close to a half-billion dollars in federal dollars, there’s a general feeling by both members of the House of Delegates and the State Senate that the budget talks could get more exhaustive if the state is ordered to turn them in. With a waiver from the federal government pending, Hansen expects all eyes to be on the “clawback” and how it could affect certain goals.
“It is something that I hope we could put back into the budget in May,” said Hansen regarding the flood funds. “Once we have more clarity from the federal government,” he said.