Tag: Barbour County

Coal Miner Fatally Injured In Barbour County

Cecil Barker, 62, of Philippi, was traveling underground on a mantrip to survey the mining section when the vehicle wrecked.

On Wednesday at approximately 8:45 a.m., a man was fatally injured while working at Century Mining’s Longview Mine in Barbour County. 

Cecil Barker, 62, of Philippi, was traveling underground on a mantrip to survey the mining section when the vehicle wrecked.

Barker, who had 18 years of mining experience, was riding with two other surveyors who sustained minor injuries.

Gov. Jim Justice learned about the incident during his weekly briefing.

“These people get their dinner buckets, they go thousands of feet underground,” Justice said. “In many cases the height of the coal is not as high as this desk I’m sitting at.”

This is the second coal mining fatality this year. In February, 73-year-old William Mapes, of Freeburn, Kentucky, died when he was ejected from the bulldozer he was operating at the Appalachian Resource West Virginia’s Grapevine South Surface Mine in Mingo County. 

Justice, who made his wealth off coal mining, also took the news of Barker’s death as an opportunity to call out anyone who thinks West Virginia should move away from coal.

“For all of us, for all of this nation, for all that has happened through all the wars, for all of us,” Justice said. “And absolutely, without any question whatsoever, whether it be for coal for making electricity, or coal for making steel, today anybody that believes that this nation can do without coal today is an idiot. A blooming idiot.”

More W.Va. Towns, Counties Sue Over Opioid Crisis

Two West Virginia counties have joined numerous others in suing pharmaceutical companies, drugstores and the West Virginia Board of Pharmacy over the state’s opioid crisis.

The Exponent Telegram reports that Barbour and Taylor counties have hired lawyers from West Virginia and Florida to seek temporary and permanent restraining orders to curb practices they say are fueling the crisis, restitution, punitive damages and an insurance award from the Board of Pharmacy.

The lawsuits filed Tuesday says the defendants, including McKesson, AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal, knew opioids were addictive, yet still flooded the state with the drugs through unscrupulous practices.

The pharmaceutical companies have denied similar claims.

Eleven local West Virginia governments are also suing drug companies who they say failed to follow state and federal law to prevent the distribution and abuse of prescription pain medication that’s created the state’s opioid crisis.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports the lawsuits filed in the federal court this week come from governments around the state. The municipalities include Quinwood, Rupert, Rainelle, Milton, Smithers, Sutton, Logan, Summersville and Parkersburg, in addition to Nicholas and Braxton counties.

Covered Wooden Bridge Burns in West Virginia

Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire Thursday night that damaged a 160-year-old wooden bridge in West Virginia.

The Exponent Telegram reports the Carrollton Covered Bridge was closed. No injuries were reported.

The Philippi Volunteer Fire Department and Office of the State Fire Marshal are investigating.

Originally finished in 1855, the Carrollton Bridge over the Buckhannon River in northern West Virginia was one of the two remaining covered bridges in Barbour County.

The Philippi Covered Bridge burned in early 1980 when a gasoline spill caught fire and was rebuilt and reopened within three years.

July 7, 1861: Battle of Laurel Hill Begins in Barbour County

The Battle of Laurel Hill, also known as the Battle of Laurel Mountain or Belington, began on July 7, 1861. A month earlier, Southern troops had retreated south after their loss at the Battle of Philippi. Confederate commander General Robert S. Garnett had seized a key mountain pass and set up his defenses at the foot of Laurel Mountain, located in eastern Barbour County. Beginning on July 7, Union troops under General Thomas Morris attacked Garnett’s men in a series of skirmishes. The two sides fought for the next five days. In the end, the Confederates were overrun. 

On July 12, Garnett learned of another Confederate defeat at nearby Rich Mountain in Randolph County and pulled his men back to the Cheat River. Garnett was killed the following day at the Battle of Corrick’s Ford. He was the first Civil War general on either side to die in combat.

The Union Army’s victories at Laurel Hill, Rich Mountain, and Corrick’s Ford in July 1861 helped place Western Virginia in Northern hands for the rest of the war and allowed the West Virginia statehood movement to unfold.

Two Dead After Explosion in Barbour County

Two people are dead in Barbour County this afternoon following an explosion at Midland Resource Recovery, according to Barbour County Emergency Management.

One other person was injured and taken to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown.

The three were cleaning a tank at the natural gas odorization facility at the time of the explosion.

The names of those involved have not yet been released.

Teacher in School Hostage Situation to Speak at Conference

A Barbour County teacher who helped keep students safe when a boy held a high school class hostage is set to speak at a conference.

Phillip Barbour High School teacher Twila Smith will be among the presenters Tuesday at the West Virginia Center for Professional Development’s Safe Schools Summit. It will be held at the Charleston Marriott Hotel.

Last August, a 14-year-old freshman took Smith’s class hostage at gunpoint. Smith tried to keep him and the other students calm. A teacher from another classroom alerted school administrators.

Police and the boy’s pastor ultimately talked him into giving up without harming himself or others.

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