Tag: Government

Future of WVU Institute of Technology Being Discussed

West Virginia University's purchase of the Mountain State University campus in Beckley has cast a shadow on WVU's Institute of Technology in…

  West Virginia University’s purchase of the Mountain State University campus in Beckley has cast a shadow on WVU’s Institute of Technology in Montgomery.

The two campuses are approximately 40 miles apart, with 1,200 students attending WVU Tech.

A 2011 state audit found major financial and enrollment problems as well as infrastructure and student life issues at WVU Tech. The latter included a lack of student access to wireless Internet on campus.

The audit led to the elimination of the school’s football program later that year. WVU Tech also has addressed some of its shortcomings.

West Virginia President E. Gordon Gee called Tech’s future existence “very secure,” but he wouldn’t tell The Charleston Daily Mail whether it will remain in Montgomery.

 

W.Va. Homeless Man Settles with Charleston Over Backpack

  A homeless man who says a Charleston policeman tossed his backpack off a bridge has agreed to a settlement in exchange for agreeing not to sue the city.

The Charleston Gazette reports that Andrew Joel Hunt settled for $1,500, according to an agreement. The newspaper said the backpack tossed into the Elk River contained a laptop and photographs of his late wife.

Patrolman Brian Lightner had been on paid leave since Sept. 9 following the August incident involving Hunt.

Chief Brent Webster says Lightner has been “separated from employment” with the Charleston Police Department.

Disorderly conduct and public intoxication charges against 26-year-old Hunt were eventually dismissed, according to city court records.

Timber County Payments Down After Subsidy Expires

West Virginia and 40 other states are losing money after Congress ended subsidies to counties that contain national forest land.

Agriculture officials announced Thursday that the U.S. Forest Service is distributing more than $50 million to 746 timber counties nationwide. That’s compared with about $300 million during the final year of the Secure Rural Schools subsidies program.

West Virginia is set to receive about $282,000 this year, down from about $1.97 million last year.

For decades, the Forest Service has paid a quarter of its logging revenues to counties with forest land to be used for roads and schools. About 20 years ago, with logging being reduced to protect the spotted owl and salmon, Congress began approving the subsidies.

Efforts to renew the subsidies died in Congress last month.

W.Va. Man Found Incompetent for Trial in Sheriff's Death

  A West Virginia man has been found incompetent to stand trial in the fatal shooting of Mingo County Sheriff Eugene Crum.

Cabell County Circuit Judge Paul Ferrell on Thursday ordered Tennis Melvin Maynard committed to a state mental health facility for life.

Crum was killed in April 2013 while parked in his cruiser in downtown Williamson.

Farrell had ordered a mental health evaluation in November 2013 for Maynard. Last February, Farrell indefinitely postponed Maynard’s murder trial.

Maynard’s father has previously said his son has mental health issues, and evidence collected by the Mingo County prosecutor’s office included orders of involuntary hospitalizations. 

Farrell presided over the case on special assignment.

Morgantown Police Buy 30 Body Cameras for Officers

  Police officers in Morgantown now have video cameras attached to their uniforms to document daily activities.

The Dominion Post reports the department bought about 30 body cameras at a cost of $5,750 and two new in-car cameras for an additional $2,900, along with software for the cameras.

Officers manually activate the cameras upon leaving their vehicles. Each camera can store more than 18 hours of video for downloading at the police station. The cameras also record audio.

Chief Ed Preston says the body cameras will allow other officers and supervisors to see an incident and can provide better evidence for prosecuting cases.

The body cameras were bought through a grant through the Governor’s Highway Safety Program.

Man To Be Extradited From W.Va. to N.C. to Face Murder Charges

A suspect in a multistate crime spree will be transferred from West Virginia to North Carolina to face murder charges.Fifty-four-year-old Edward Watson…

  A suspect in a multistate crime spree will be transferred from West Virginia to North Carolina to face murder charges.

Fifty-four-year-old Edward Watson Campbell of Alvin, Texas, waived extradition on Wednesday.

Campbell is charged in Granville County, North Carolina, with first-degree murder, burglary and other charges. Campbell and his son, 21-year-old Eric Campbell of Alvin, Texas, are accused of killing a couple near Oxford, North Carolina, on Jan. 1.

The Campbells also face charges in West Virginia stemming from a shootout with Lewisburg police. Greenbrier County prosecutor Patrick Via tells media outlets that these charges against Edward Campbell won’t be pursued, at least for now.

Via says the case against Eric Campbell is separate. His hearing on the West Virginia charges was postponed last week.

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