Author: Associated Press

Charles Town to Acquire Portion of Charles Washington Estate

Charles Town plans to acquire 10 acres surrounding city founder Charles Washington’s home, Happy Retreat.

The Journal reports that City Council approved a contract this week with the Friends of Happy Retreat. Under the contract, the city will pay $350,000 for the land and the nonprofit will pay $425,000 for the house and the remaining 2.2 acres.

Friends of Happy Retreat president Walter Washington says the transaction will give the public ongoing access to the estate.

Under private ownership by a family, the estate has been open to the public only at specified times.

The deal is expected to close in June 2015. Washington says the Friends of Happy Retreat will raise its share of the cost by then.

Washington, the brother of President George Washington, built Happy Retreat in 1780.

Three More People Face Charges in Abuse Investigation

Three additional people face charges stemming from an investigation of abuse allegations at a center for developmentally disabled adults and children in Romney.

Hampshire County Magistrate Ron DiColia said Springfield resident Kevin Helms, Romney resident Jessica Carter, and Pennsylvania resident Justin Wright have each been charged with one count of failure to report abuse and neglect. The charge is a misdemeanor.

Helms and Carter have been released on bond. Wright is being transported to Hampshire County from Pennsylvania.

West Virginia State Police arrested four others on the same charge on Friday and Saturday.

The investigation began in January after upper management at the Potomac Center reported allegations of abuse to the state Department of Health and Human Resources. The DHHR removed 24 children from three houses at the center.

Four Charged for Failing to Report Abuse at Center

Four people face charges stemming from an investigation of abuse allegations at a center for developmentally disabled adults and children in…

Four people face charges stemming from an investigation of abuse allegations at a center for developmentally disabled adults and children in Romney.

Hampshire County Magistrate Ron DiColia says Jennifer Flores of Romney and Augusta residents Joseph Moreland Jr., Denny Timbrook and Katrina Phillips are each charged with failure to report abuse or neglect. The charge is a misdemeanor.

DiColia said Tuesday that all three remain free on bond.

The Hampshire Review reports that West Virginia State Police arrested Flores on Friday and the others on Saturday.

The investigation began in January after upper management at the Potomac Center reported allegations of abuse to the state Department of Health and Human Resources. The DHHR removed 24 children from three houses at the center.

The center is cooperating with the investigation.

Former Salem Official Loses Bid for Reconsideration of Sentence

A former Salem official has lost a bid to serve his embezzlement sentence under house arrest.

David Wayne Mayle is serving one to 10 years in prison. His attorney, Rocco Mazzei, had filed a motion in November asking a judge to consider house arrest.

The Exponent Telegram reports that Harrison County Circuit Judge John Lewis Marks Jr. denied the motion on Monday. Marks says in his order that the sentence is appropriate.

The 33-year-old Mayle was convicted of embezzlement, falsifying accounts and conspiracy in October 2012. His sentence was put on hold pending an appeal to the West Virginia Supreme Court. The Supreme Court denied the appeal in June.

Alpha Natural Resources Reaches Settlement

Alpha Natural Resources has reached a settlement with environmental groups over stream pollution from two affiliated mountaintop removal mining…

Alpha Natural Resources has reached a settlement with environmental groups over stream pollution from two affiliated mountaintop removal mining complexes.

The proposal filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Huntington requires judicial approval.

The settlement addressing high conductivity discharges gives Alpha until August 2019 to meet water cleanup marks.

In June, a judge ruled Elk Run Coal and Alex Energy mines harmed aquatic life in a Boone County creek and Robinson Fork in Nicholas County.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied Alpha’s appeal in October.

High conductivity might indicate pollutants including chloride, phosphate and nitrate. Mountaintop mines fill valleys with waste.

Bristol, Virginia-based Alpha said its settlement doesn’t endorse current research.

The Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy and Sierra Club brought the case in 2012.

Feds Say MCHM Toxic to Pregnant Rats

Federal health researchers say a chemical that spilled into 300,000 people's water supply in January is toxic to pregnant rats in high doses.The National…

Federal health researchers say a chemical that spilled into 300,000 people’s water supply in January is toxic to pregnant rats in high doses.

The National Toxicology Program provided the update Friday on MCHM, a coal-cleaning agent.

Researchers found slight fetal weight changes for rats given daily doses 150 times stronger than what officials called safe for human drinking.

At 300 times the safe level, fetal weight decreased. At 600, some rats’ fetal weight dropped, while miscarriages increased.

Others at 600 and 900 showed obvious clinical toxicity.

None showed increased external fetal birth defects.

The spill spurred a tap-water ban for days.

After declaring the water safe in January, federal officials advised pregnant women to find other water until chemicals dissipated.

They later said the water was fine for pregnant women.

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