Tag: McDowell County Commission

April 2, 2002: Legendary Basketball Coach Jennings Boyd Dies

Jennings Boyd died on April 2, 2002, at age 68. He was one of the legendary coaches in West Virginia history.

  In 1966, two significant events happened in Northfork. First, racial segregation ended in that part of McDowell County, as Northfork merged with the historically black Elkhorn High. Second, Jennings Boyd was hired as head basketball coach. Boyd’s teams would become known for their up-tempo styles, fast breaks, and transition offense.

Under Boyd, the Northfork Blue Demons won nine Double-A state basketball championships in 15 years. Remarkably, they captured eight consecutive titles between 1974 and 1981. This unprecedented run is still an all-time state and national record. Boyd also compiled a stunning record of 102-5 at home on an undersized court.

After winning his final championship in 1981, Boyd retired from coaching with an 85 percent winning record. He continued at Northfork as a math teacher for another five years and served on the McDowell County Board of Education and County Commission. Jennings Boyd was honored as West Virginia coach of the year in 1976 and inducted into the National High School Coaches Hall of Fame in 1983.

West Virginia County Sues Three Drug Distributors

A West Virginia county has sued three prescription drug distributors alleging they fueled the local opioid epidemic by shipping far too many painkillers there.

The McDowell County Commission filed the suit Friday that names Cardinal Health, McKesson Corp. and AmerisourceBergen as defendants.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reported that the commissioners also sued Dr. Harold A. Cofer Jr. who was disciplined by the state Board of Medicine earlier this year amid an investigation into his drug prescriptions.

Cofer, who kept his medical license, declined to comment.

A recent investigation by the newspaper showed McDowell County, with 28,000 residents, was shipped 9 million hydrocodone and 3.2 million oxycodone pills over six years and had the highest drug overdose rate of any U.S. county.

Cardinal Health declined to comment. McKesson and AmerisourceBergen did not immediately respond to queries.

Officials Vote to Shift Funds to Save Deputies' Jobs

McDowell County officials have voted to shift funds in an effort to keep six deputies that are slated to be laid off by the end of the year.

Prior to the McDowell County Commission’s vote Tuesday, Sheriff Martin West told officials that if the deputies are laid off, the department would lose its night shift and could be seriously hampered in its daytime emergency responsibilities.

The commissioners voted to give the sheriff’s department $21,000 a month that had been bound for the McDowell County Ambulance Authority. The money will be disbursed from January to July 2017, in what officials called a temporary fix.

County Commission President Harold McBride says the ambulance authority had to be idled earlier this year due to financial difficulties.

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