Government Story Archives - Page 507 of 1257 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Task Force to Take on Health Care Crimes in West Virginia

A new task force will track health care crimes in West Virginia.

U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia Bill Powell announced the task force’s creation in a news release Friday. The Health Care Crimes Task Force will investigate prosecute illegal activities like fraud and opioid diversion.

Powell said one of his office’s priorities is prosecuting those who use professional licenses or health care businesses to disguise illegal activities.

West Virginia ranks highest in the country in terms of population enrolled in Medicaid benefits, at 31 percent. Twenty-three percent of residents are enrolled in Medicare. Powell says these statistics mean West Virginians are particularly vulnerable to health care fraud related crimes.

The task force includes federal and state agencies.

Lawsuit: Agency Didn’t Do Enough To Stop Mine Disaster

A lawsuit filed by a miner’s widow says the Mine Safety and Health Administration didn’t do enough to stop the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports Carolyn Diana Davis filed the lawsuit Thursday that says MSHA didn’t do its job as a watchdog agency to prevent the disaster and was negligent in its enforcement of safety measures at the mine.

“The Plaintiff reasonably relied upon the United States to undertake its inspections and enforcement actions in a competent and non-negligent manner, and that reliance ultimately contributed to the wrongful death of Mr. Davis,” the lawsuit states.

The explosion that killed 29 miners happened in 2010, during a shift change, when a spark ignited a pocket of methane, causing massive explosions at the mine. Federal investigators say an accumulation of coal dust exacerbated the explosion.

The lawsuit cites reports from the Governor’s Independent Investigation Panel, selected by then-Gov. Joe Manchin, which said MSHA knew about UBB’s faulty ventilation system and ignored warning signs.

It also cites a federal Independent Panel Assessment that found MSHA didn’t inspect the mine adequately.

“The IPA concluded that MSHA failed to adequately perform its duties at UBB, and that this failure had a causal relationship to the explosion,” the lawsuit states.

MSHA spokeswoman Amy Louviere wouldn’t comment on the lawsuit.

West Virginia Parkways Toll Hike Given Initial OK

The West Virginia Parkways Authority has given initial approval to a plan to double the single tolls on the turnpike and create a flat-fee discount program.

The Register-Herald in Beckley reports the authority voted unanimously on the resolution Thursday.

Parkways General Manager Greg Barr said public meetings on the issue are planned in May, though locations and times haven’t been announced. The measure will come up for final consideration in June.

Tolls currently are $2 for passenger cars and $1.30 for those with an in-state E-ZPass.

Under the proposed fee structure, drivers would pay a one-time discounted rate of $24 for a three-year “subscription” for unlimited turnpike use. On Jan. 1, the cash rate increase would take effect along with a $25 annual E-ZPass fee for anyone who didn’t sign up for a subscription.

Trump Tax Reform Roundtable Veers Toward Race for Manchin's Senate Seat

President Donald Trump held a roundtable discussion Thursday in White Sulphur Springs that was originally billed to highlight the impact of last year’s federal tax reform legislation. But, at various points, Trump veered off course to address issues such as immigration, trade, energy policy and the race for U.S. Senator Joe Manchin’s seat.

Before hearing from West Virginians about their families’ savings from a recent tax-reform bill, Trump focused heavily on immigration issues — including his call for National Guard assets to be deployed to the U.S. – Mexico border. He attacked Manchin on the issue.

“We have very weak laws because of the Democrats and Joe. I mean Joe Manchin — he’s really not helped us on this stuff,” Trump said.

According to the Migration Policy Institute, West Virginia’s unauthorized immigrant population is estimated at 6,000 residents. Those in the crowd cheered each time Trump mentioned plans to build a wall along the southern border of the United States.

Finishing his opening remarks, Trump noted that he had gone off script. In that moment, he highlighted a theme that would run through the rest of the event.

“Now, I’m reading off the first paragraph [and saying] ‘This is boring.’ Come on, we have to say — tell it like it is,” said Trump as he tossed a piece of paper into the air. “We have to get Republicans in office.”

The president and an audience of a few hundred then heard from a dozen local business owners and residents about recent tax reform legislation that they say has positively impacted their employees and families. Many in the group said the tax overhaul has helped them to the tune of thousands of dollars in savings.

In closing, Trump thanked Governor Jim Justice and Senator Shelley Moore Capito before directly acknowledging that Congressman Evan Jenkins and state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey — who were flanking the president at the table — are both vying for the Republican nomination to unseat Manchin in November.

“Patrick and Evan, good luck. I don’t know, you two. Good luck,” said Trump before asking the audience to cheer for Jenkins or Morrisey in a demonstration of how the crowd planned to vote in the upcoming GOP senate primary.

Jenkins garnered louder cheers than Morrisey.

“This is his congressional district,” said Morrisey, noting that the event was being held in West Virginia’s Third Congressional District — which is currently seated by Jenkins — and that the Senate race was statewide.

“It was fairly close,” replied Trump.

Manchin, who faces his own primary challenger in fellow Democrat Paula Jean Swearengin, attended a memorial for the 29 men who lost their lives in the Upper Big Branch disaster 8 years ago.

Former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship, another GOP candidate in the race for U.S. Senate, wasn’t in attendance at the Thursday roundtable or the UBB memorial. Blankenship served one year in federal prison for willfully violating mine safety standards in the wake of the April 5, 2010 disaster.

In a statement about the tax reform discussion, Manchin called the event “political posturing” and said West Virginians failed to get answers on healthcare, Social Security, miners’ pensions and why some aspects of the tax reform plan aren’t permanent.

The primary election for open races for both parties is slated for May 8.

Snow Forecast Prompts WVU to Cancel Spring Football Game

Another blast of winter is forecast for this weekend in West Virginia. West Virginia University has cancelled the annual Gold-Blue spring football game because of the impending storm.

The National Weather Service says southern and western sections of the state could get 4 inches or more of snow starting Friday night.

A winter storm watch has been posted for Cabell, Lincoln, Mason, Putnam and Wayne counties. Other areas of the state are expected to get lesser amounts.

The forecast has prompted West Virginia University to cancel its scheduled spring football game in Morgantown on Saturday.

WVU athletic director Shane Lyons said in a news release that the move was made to assure the safety of the players as well as fans who might be traveling to the game.

The game won’t be rescheduled. Tickets sold to fans in advance of the spring game will be automatically refunded by the Mountaineer Ticket Office if paid by credit card or check. Fans who paid cash should contact the Mountaineer Ticket Office to start their refund process.

Funeral Held for West Virginia Firefighter Killed in Wreck

Tom and Gloria Craigo chose the West Virginia fire station where he was a volunteer firefighter for their wedding ceremony.

Three months later, Gloria Craigo is a widow. On Tuesday, April 3, she said her final goodbyes to her husband, killed when his firetruck slammed into a rock wall while responding to a fatal accident on a West Virginia interstate.

Hundreds of firefighters and first responders, some from as far away as Seattle, attended Pratt volunteer fire Lt. Tom Craigo’s funeral.

Firefighters comforted Gloria Craigo as her husband’s flag-draped casket was loaded onto a Pratt firetruck for the ride to a cemetery in Montgomery. Bagpipes played “Amazing Grace” in the background and a helicopter conducted a flyover.

In a high school gymnasium earlier, speakers eulogized Craigo as a talkative jokester who was considerate, full of life and dedicated to his vocation.

“He always smiled. He was always in a good mood,” Rob Johnson, Pratt’s deputy fire chief, said before provoking a brief chuckle from the audience. “Don’t get me wrong. He was full of crap like the rest of us.”

Tom Craigo was a voluntary firefighter for 15 years at four departments and simultaneously worked as a supervisor with a wrecker service in Handley for 16 years.

The accident also claimed another newlywed. Assistant Chief Michael Edwards, 46, married longtime girlfriend ReRe Snodgrass Bradshaw on March 17. Two days later, he posted a photo with his bride holding a “we eloped” sign and the message “I became Luckiest man in the world” on his Facebook page.

On March 24, Edwards also was gone. His funeral was held Saturday.

Craigo, 40, and Edwards were among five firefighters responding to a fatal accident on the West Virginia Turnpike in which three people died. Three other firefighters on the truck were injured.

Craigo “left doing what he wanted to do — this was his life,” Johnson said.

The Rev. James R. Baldwin, who presided at Craigo’s wedding and funeral, said Craigo “spent more time on the West Virginia Turnpike than most people” because of his wrecker service and firefighting roles.

“They died (for) a cause they believed in and they faced every time they went out,” Baldwin said. “Those men knew that accident could happen at any time. Today I say to the fire department, go on. Go on. By doing so, you support your fallen brother. You let people know that they didn’t die in vain.”

Robert Goodyear quietly listened to the speakers from the gymnasium seats at Riverside High School. He was friends with Craigo from his years at the wrecker service.

“Oh, my grace, he was just a good-hearted guy,” Goodyear said. “Would do anything — even if he didn’t know you. But if he knew you, he would go out of his way to help you. I don’t believe he ever met a stranger because I know he never quit talking.”