Breaking News

Local Government

Kingwood Council member expresses concern over herbicide use

KINGWOOD — A discussion about the possible use of herbicides at Ashpole was tabled until council members and members of the Kingwood Water Board can review information about the products. Shawn Sisler, a transmission forestry specialist at First Energy, said First Energy does low volume maintenance every four years along a right-of-way. He said the herbicides Arsenal and Habitat will only be used at buffer areas. Water Board President Robert DiRiggi said he has concerns about using any chemicals in the area. “We just did an extensive study at Ashpole,” he said. “We are ...

Mon Commission sets hearing for pedestrian and vehicle safety law

MORGANTOWN — What started out as a quest to create a county-wide panhandling ordinance has resulted in a proposed “Ordinance Regulating Pedestrian and Vehicle Safety.”  The change in verbiage, Monongalia County Commission President Tom Bloom explained, came down to a couple ...

Highways could be priority for W.Va. remaining fiscal surplus

West Virginia’s state government finished the fiscal year with a $1.8 billion surplus and still has $451 million of that unappropriated. A large portion of what remains to be appropriated is likely to support highways maintenance, and state officials are still figuring out the rest. “I know there’s been discussion, and I certainly won’t speak for the Legislature or the governor, about whether some of those dollars might go into highways — because in the past we have allocated surplus dollars year in and year out to help catch up all the deferred maintenance on our ...

Salango says he won’t repeat bid for governor

CHARLESTON — Ben Salango, who was the Democratic nominee for governor in 2020, says he is no longer considering a run for that office this political cycle. “I want to thank those that have reached out and encouraged me to seek the 2024 Democratic nomination for governor of West Virginia. Your support and encouragement truly mean the world to me,” Salango stated Wednesday. “Running for public office is a tremendous commitment, both personally and professionally. After months of consideration, I’ve decided that I will not seek the Democratic nomination for ...

State ends fiscal year $1.8B over estimate; $590M over last year

West Virginia’s state government ended the fiscal year $1.8 billion over estimates. Much of the surplus is already spoken for through legislative appropriations, and state officials will determine what to do with the rest. Political views differed on whether the surplus is a sign of careful budgeting, a product of setting estimates artificially low, a matter of running a tight ship or an example of underpaying for the maintenance of public programs. Gov. Jim Justice praised the year-end figures in a news release and in a video from the seat of a vehicle. Justice had ...

Reedsville Mayor addresses grant during meeting

KINGWOOD — Reedsville Mayor Dennis Pierson addressed Preston County commissioners Thursday during their regular meeting, telling them the town recently applied for a $100,000 Congressional Direct Spending Grant. He said the money would be used for the Town Hall Project and for work on the lower park. He also thanked commissioners for the help they had provided the town in the past. “You gave us $37,000 for our sewer project. We hired an engineer to do an assessment. They found three areas and did the repair,” Pierson said. “You gave us $1,700 for a picnic table. We ordered ...