Author: Associated Press

Report: Nearly 2,900 West Virginians OD'd in Past 5 Years

Nearly 2,900 West Virginians have overdosed on prescription painkillers or heroin over the past five years.The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that the…

Nearly 2,900 West Virginians have overdosed on prescription painkillers or heroin over the past five years.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that the statistics are from the state Health Statistics Center, which also said overdose deaths last year were the highest in the state since 2011. Moreover, the state is on pace for a record year in drug overdoses.

West Virginia has the highest drug overdose death rate in the nation at nearly 34 deaths per 100,000 people — more than twice the national average.

The report by the Health Statistics Center comes ahead of President Barack Obama’s scheduled visit Wednesday to Charleston. He’ll lead a forum about the prescription drug and heroin abuse problem in West Virginia and other states.

West Virginians Weigh in on Common Core Standards

Armed with thousands of comments from state residents, the West Virginia Board of Education is scheduled to vote next month on possible changes to K-12 learning requirements.

More than 4,100 people offered the comments online as part of the state’s review of Common Core standards. The vast majority agreed with the K-12 learning requirements.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that the state Department of Education released the comment this week.

Called the Academic Spotlight, the website allowed people to read and comment on any of the more than 900 math and English/language arts learning requirements.

The top four counties with the most individuals commenting were Kanawha, Berkeley, Greenbrier and Mercer counties, each with 300 to 500 respondents.

Thrillseekers to Participate in West Virginia's Bridge Day

Thrillseekers from across the globe are converging on Fayetteville for the annual Bridge Day festival.

Saturday’s event is the one day a year that it’s legal to jump off the 876-foot high span across the New River Gorge.

Hundreds of BASE jumpers are registered to do just that. The acronym BASE stands for the places from which jumpers usually leap: buildings, antennae, spans and earth.

More than 80,000 people are expected to walk across the bridge. Rappellers also will make their way from a catwalk under the bridge to the water below, and some participants will make a controlled descent on a tethered cable from the catwalk.

The New River Gorge Bridge, the third-highest bridge in the United States, opened in 1977. Bridge Day started three years later.

Former Coal Executive Begins Testifying Against Ex-CEO Boss

A former coal executive who was dealt a prison sentence for mine violations is testifying in the criminal trial for his old boss, ex-Massey Energy CEO Don…

A former coal executive who was dealt a prison sentence for mine violations is testifying in the criminal trial for his old boss, ex-Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship.

In Charleston federal court Thursday, former Massey executive David Hughart began testifying as part of a plea deal.

In 2013, Hughart was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison for conspiring in an illegal scheme to warn miners and other subsidiaries of surprise safety inspections. Hughart said he will be released December 12.

Hughart implicated Blankenship in the conspiracy during his plea hearing.

Blankenship is charged with conspiring to break mine safety laws and lying to financial regulators about safety practices at Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia, which exploded in 2010, killing 29 men.

Hughart didn’t work at Upper Big Branch.

College Mountain Bikers To Compete in West Virginia

Snowshoe Mountain resort will host a national championship for college mountain bikers later this month.

More than 60 teams will compete in individual and team relay events for men and women at the USA Cycling Collegiate Nationals from Oct. 22 to 25 in Pocahontas County.

The event also will be held next year at Snowshoe’s Bike Park, which has more than 40 trails accessible by lifts.

Last year’s event was held at Beech Mountain, North Carolina.

Trust Acquires Section of Shepherdstown Battlefield

The Civil War Trust has acquired another section of a Civil War battlefield in Shepherdstown.

Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association president Edward Dunleavy says the 2.72-acre tract is contiguous to a core area of the battlefield.

Dunleavy tells The Journal that his group contributed $6,500 toward the trust’s $202,000 acquisition.

The National Park Service has said it wants to expand Antietam National Battlefield in Maryland to include about 500 acres of the Shepherdstown battlefield, which is about 5 miles from Antietam.

The Battle of Shepherdstown was fought Sept. 19-20, 1862. It began two days after the Union victory at Antietam, when federal troops crossed the Potomac River to capture Southern artillery pieces.

The Civil War Trust’s website shows the group has preserved more than 300 acres of the battlefield.

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