Associated Press, Author at West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Judge Asked To Dismiss Lawsuit Over W.Va. Transgender Ban

Education officials are asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit challenging West Virginia’s new law that bans transgender athletes from competing in female sports in middle schools, high schools and colleges.

Education and athletic officials said in court documents filed last week that they can’t be held liable for the law, which they didn’t request and largely won’t be responsible for enforcing, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reported.

The American Civil Liberties Union and its West Virginia chapter filed the lawsuit in May on behalf of an 11-year-old transgender girl who had hoped to compete in cross country in middle school in Harrison County. The girl is seeking an injunction to prevent the law from being enforced.

The ban is set to take effect Thursday and will require the state Board of Education to establish rules to determine the means by which local athletic officials can enforce the law.

Attorneys for the West Virginia Board of Education and the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission argued that they can’t be held responsible for the law because they aren’t responsible for enforcing it.

Attorneys for Harrison County Schools said the district “was not responsible for and did not pass” the transgender athlete ban and has not caused harm to the girl.

“(The law) was not created by the County Board, and it is not under the County Board’s control,” the response said.

The U.S. Justice Department intervened in the case last month, saying the ban was a violation of federal law.

Youngest-Ever W.Va. Lawmaker Back In State Government

A former West Virginia delegate who became the youngest person elected to the Legislature in state history at age 18 is back in government.

State Treasurer Riley Moore announced Tuesday the appointment of Saira Blair as deputy treasurer for the office’s local government division. Moore and Blair served in the House of Delegates together.

Blair will oversee a staff of specialists who work on local government and constituent issues.

“When Saira was a delegate, she did a tremendous job representing the people of her district and working with them to help resolve issues with state government,” Moore said. “I know she will bring those same skills to bear in this new role.”

Blair was a senior at Hedgesville High School when she defeated incumbent Larry Kump in the May 2014 Republican primary at age 17. She received 63% of the vote in winning the November 2014 general election over a Democratic opponent.

Blair decided in 2018 not to seek a third term, opting instead to finish her college education.

Ex-Marshall Great Pennington Appointed To University Board

Former Marshall quarterback Chad Pennington has been appointed to the university’s Board of Governors.

Gov. Jim Justice made the appointment last week, board Chairman Patrick Farrell announced. It must be confirmed by the West Virginia Senate.

Pennington played at Marshall from 1995 to 1999 and was a Heisman Trophy finalist in his senior season. He led the Thundering Herd to a berth in the 1995 Division I-AA championship game, then won three straight Mid-American Conference titles, including a 13-0 record in 1999.

Pennington played 11 seasons in the NFL with the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins. He most recently revived the football program at Sayre High School in Lexington, Kentucky, where his son, Cole, is the quarterback. Cole Pennington recently committed to play football at Marshall.

Festival Celebrating West Virginia's Rocket Boys Goes Online

A festival that celebrates West Virginia’s Rocket Boys will be held online this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Rocket Boys Festival will be livestreamed Tuesday through Thursday. According to the festival’s Facebook page, author and former NASA engineer Homer Hickam is scheduled to attend.

Festival director Scott Hill said the virtual event will give fans worldwide a chance to learn more about Hickam and his story.

The festival celebrates the three years from 1957 to 1960 when Hickam and his friends launched rockets while in high school. They eventually won a national science fair.

Hickam’s novel, “Rocket Boys,” is about those experiences and growing up in the McDowell County community of Coalwood. The book was adapted into the 1999 movie “October Sky.”

The festival originated in Coalwood in 1999, then moved to Beckley in 2012.

Police: City Councilman Wounded In Apparent Carjacking

A West Virginia city councilman was shot and his wife and mother-in-law were briefly taken hostage in an apparent carjacking, authorities said.

Clarksburg Councilman Jim Malfregeot was on his porch and the women were in a car Sunday night when the suspect appeared, Clarksburg Police Chief Mark Kiddy told The Exponent Telegram.

Malfregeot was hospitalized and the women were released a short time later on U.S. 19 North between Clarksburg and Shinnston, Kiddy said.

“She told me that she was able to talk him into releasing them on 19,” Kiddy said of Malfregeot’s wife.

Kiddy said the suspect, Antonio DeJesus, 32, was arrested without incident at a gas station by Bridgeport Police and the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department. The suspect was on supervised release in a Northern District of West Virginia drug trafficking case and didn’t attend a supervised release revocation hearing this month, Kiddy said.

Malfregeot was in guarded condition after surgery, Kiddy said. He has served on the council for eight years, including a term as vice-mayor.

2nd West Virginia County Goes Red On State Coronavirus Map

A second county in West Virginia is on track to have schools go virtual-instruction only and cancel extracurricular activities after an increase in…

A second county in West Virginia is on track to have schools go virtual-instruction only and cancel extracurricular activities after an increase in coronavirus cases reported on Friday, a day before the state will announce which public schools are allowed to reopen next week.

Monongalia County is the second county to turn red on the state’s color-coded map that gauges whether schools are ready for in-class teaching, sports and other activities. It comes two days after Gov. Jim Justice ordered the county’s bars to close indefinitely after news of West Virginia University students packing bars in Morgantown.

Justice said that the map will be next updated on Saturday night to determine which counties can welcome back students for in-person classes on Tuesday.

“We’re about ready to go back to school. Unfortunately we’re going to have some that we just can’t turn loose right yet, which is in the best interest of the school,” Justice said on Friday.

Six counties were marked as orange, meaning in-person classes are allowed but no sports. Over a dozen were color-coded yellow, which allows for counties to fully reopen schools if education leaders take measures such as requiring masks for some grades and limiting crowded activities. Most of the state’s 55 counties were in the green, where disease transmission is minimal.

Monroe County is the other county to be labeled red, where there are more than 25 confirmed coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents.

On Friday, Justice announced the state will devote an additional $50 million in federal pandemic relief funds for personal protective equipment and testing capacity at schools.

West Virginia announced six new deaths linked to COVID-19, bringing the state’s total to 243.

The virus usually results in only mild to moderate symptoms, but is particularly dangerous for the elderly and people with other health problems.