Tag: Richwood

June 29, 1940: Jehova's Witnesses Detained in Richwood

On June 29, 1940, in the Nicholas County town of Richwood, Deputy Sheriff Martin Catlette and Police Chief Bert Stewart detained seven Jehovah’s Witnesses, whose patriotism had been questioned by the local American Legion.

The Legionnaires forced four of the Jehovah’s Witnesses to drink doses of castor oil. They then marched all seven through a jeering mob to the post office, where the Witnesses refused to salute the flag due to conflicts with their religion.

The incident quickly attracted the attention of the newly created Civil Rights Section of the U.S. Department of Justice. In 1942, the U.S. District Court in Charleston convicted Catlette and Stewart of violating the Witnesses’ civil rights. Catlette’s conviction was upheld by the Fourth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals.

It was the only federal conviction out of hundreds of brutal assaults on Jehovah’s Witnesses that swept the nation in 1940. It was also the Civil Rights Section’s first successful prosecution of public officials for using their office to abridge citizens’ civil rights. Ultimately, Catlette vs. the United States expanded legal protection for religious liberties in the country.

Federal Prosecutors Probing Use of Flood Relief Money in West Virginia

Federal prosecutors are investigating the use of federal disaster relief funds given to West Virginia after a deadly flood in 2016.

U.S. Attorney Mike Stuart announced the investigation in a news release Wednesday, saying “diversion, fraud, corruption or delay cannot and will not be tolerated.”

“Desperate communities and West Virginians need certainty that in a future disaster intended assistance will be delivered timely and spent properly,” he said.

Stuart’s announcement did not specify who the investigation is targeting.

The federal probe follows a state audit into the misuse of federal flood money in the city of Richwood that resulted in criminal charges against its mayor, former mayor, police chief and former clerk.

State Auditor John B. McCuskey found that the city didn’t keep track of the federal money, diverted funds away from their intended use and shelled out almost a quarter of a million dollars for consultants to help the city with the grant. He said that only about $400,000 of the more than $3 million the city received went toward flood recovery, with the rest unaccounted for.

“What we know is where they didn’t go,” he told a crowd of angry residents when he released his report in late March. “And anybody can walk down main street in Richwood and see where they didn’t go.”

Republican Gov. Jim Justice has faced criticism over his administration’s slow spending of a flood recovery program that has received $150 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. His spokesman did not respond to a voicemail seeking comment.

“The poor folks who were hurt the most with the flood are still hurting and they haven’t been able to get any relief,” said state Del. Isaac Sponaugle, a Democrat, who added that he welcomes the investigation.

In June 2016, thunderstorms drenched the region with as much as 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain, leading to overflown rivers and catastrophic flooding. Twenty-three people died, scores of homes were damaged or destroyed and infrastructure was wrecked.

W.Va. Mayor, Police Chief Charged with Embezzlement

The mayor, police chief and former clerk of a West Virginia city have been charged with embezzlement.

Criminal complaints filed Friday in Nicholas County charged Richwood Mayor Chris Drennen, police chief Lloyd Allen Cogar and former clerk Abigail McClung.

The filings come hours before the state auditor is to release findings of an investigation into misuse of public funds in the city.

The complaint says Drennen was paid about $45,000 extra without council approval to help the city recover from a massive 2016 flood. At the time, Drennen oversaw Richwood’s finances as the city’s recorder.

Cogar is accused of using government purchasing cards in personal transactions.

Authorities also say McClung wrongly paid herself for unused vacation time.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the three had attorneys. A city spokeswoman declined to comment.

West Virginia Board Does Revote on School Rebuilding Plan

Under the threat of a lawsuit over transparency, the West Virginia School Building Authority board has done a revote over rebuilding Nicholas County schools damaged by the June 2016 flood.

News outlets report the board voted again unanimously to allow using Federal Emergency Management Agency flood recovery money to consolidate schools after attorney James Barber and Stu Matthis with STV Engineers alleged state open meetings act violations over the first vote on Sept. 4.

Barber and Matthis, acting for Richwood High School alumni and some parents, raised concerns that board members didn’t know exactly what they were voting on because there were errors in a site selection evaluation document comparing two places where Richwood schools will be rebuilt.

The Nicholas board intends to locate Richwood Middle and High schools at Cherry River Elementary school.

W.Va. Judges Remove Richwood Mayor From Office

A three-judge panel in West Virginia has approved a city council’s request to remove Richwood Mayor Bob Henry Baber from office.

News outlets report the judges dismissed several of the Richwood council’s allegations, but agreed Baber used city funds to reimburse personal power and cellphone bills and misused his city purchasing card.

Baber says he had not read the panel’s findings in detail but criticized the council for wasting time and money on what he called a “witch hunt.” Baber led Richwood in the wake of the June 2016, flood, garnering attention to the community’s recovery efforts.

The judicial panel said Friday that Baber’s actions were “the epitome of an improper abuse of one’s political position.” The panel was established by the state Supreme Court and led by Fayette Circuit Judge Paul Blake Jr.

West Virginia Mayor Sues City Council for Removing Him

The mayor of a West Virginia town has sued the city council for putting him on paid administrative leave and preventing him from doing his job while he is being investigated by state auditors.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports Richwood Mayor Bob Henry Baber filed the lawsuit on Monday. The city council had previously asked Baber to resign because of some undocumented purchases found on his government credit card. Baber refused, and the council voted to remove him.

Baber’s lawsuit says the council did not have the authority to remove him as mayor. It also says the council broke the law when they asked him to resign during a meeting that was closed to the public.

Councilman Charles Toussieng told the newspaper the council did not do anything wrong.

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