Tag: Nitro

More Cities Considering Ordinances to Limit Use of Fireworks

Municipalities in the Kanawha Valley are considering ordinances to limit the use of fireworks.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that municipalities are following the lead of South Charleston, which passed an ordinance last week to limit the discharge of fireworks on certain holidays.

Hurricane Mayor Scott Edwards says the city of Hurricane is considering a similar ordinance. He says law enforcement officers would increase patrol around the holidays to enforce the potential ban. The ordinance would fine violators $100 to $500.

Nitro Mayor Dave Casebolt also says city officials are preparing an ordinance which would limit the use of fireworks on certain holidays.

Other places considering action on the issue include St. Albans, Charleston and Dunbar.

Nitro Council Approves Expenditure for World War I Park

The Nitro City Council has voted to spend $60,000 on a World War I memorial park.

The Charleston Gazette reports that the appropriation, approved Tuesday night, will match a federal grant.

Nitro got its name and beginning as a major manufacturing center for gunpowder for World War I. Nitro has statues and a museum paying tribute to its World War I history.

Mayor Dave Casebolt said the park will further honor Nitro’s history and “give all our citizens a sense of place.”

Walker Machinery Company to Layoff 77 Employees

Walker Machinery Company has announced that 77 of its employees will be laid off.

Local news agencies report that the company, which employs about 500 people, says slow economic conditions and a slumping coal industry are forcing the layoffs.

Walker Machinery Company deals Caterpillar equipment and has eight facilities throughout West Virigni, including locations in Belle and Nitro.

Prior to the decision, the company offered employees jobs in other areas of the company’s territory, including relocation packages.

Belle Mayor Glen Chestnut says the layoffs could be devastating to the town’s economy.

Nitro Officer Who Killed Man Says He Had No Choice

A Nitro police officer who fatally shot a man says he had no other choice.

Sgt. T.A. Jarrell tells WSAZ-TV that 52-year-old David Lane Cooke of Nitro fired a gun at him as he approached the man. He says they then exchanged gunfire.

Jarrell says he was protecting not only himself but several bystanders.

The shooting occurred on Aug. 1 at a boat dock.

Jarrell says he was responding to a call about a domestic disturbance when he was told that the suspect had gone to the dock. He says Cooke was standing outside his vehicle when he arrived at the dock.

The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the shooting. The Nitro Police Department is conducting an internal investigation.

Valve Failure Causes Oil Spill at W.Va. Facility

  State officials say 22,000 gallons of compressor station process water and used oil leaked from a Nitro industrial waste-handling facility.

Tom Aluise, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, says officials at Spirit Services told the state that valves on two tanks failed, causing the leak.

The Charleston Gazette reports officials received reports of an explosion at the facility, but there was no evidence of a fire.

DEP communications director Kelley Gillenwater says the company has 14 storage tanks at the site. DEP officials could not find any record of agency inspections at the site.

The Spirit Services facility is permitted by DEP through a Clean Water Act general permit. The company’s permit was set to expire in March, but DEP extended it through December.

Martinsburg, Nitro To Try Home Rule

An Eastern Panhandle city and another city in the Kanawha Valley will seek to participate in the state's Municipal Home Rule Pilot Program. The…

An Eastern Panhandle city and another city in the Kanawha Valley will seek to participate in the state’s Municipal Home Rule Pilot Program.
 
 The Martinsburg City Council and the Nitro City Council both approved ordinances on Tuesday authorizing the submission of applications to the program.
 The program shifts power from the state to the local level and gives municipalities a larger say in how they govern. It began as a five-year pilot program in Bridgeport, Charleston, Huntington and Wheeling.
 
Last year, the Legislature continued the program until July 1, 2019, and allowed a total 20 municipalities to participate.

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