Kanawha County | featured news

By Staff reports

A Putnam County magistrate ruled Thursday to prohibit the owner of Missy's Four paws from allowing others to sell pets at her shop in Nitro.
Melissa Jo Rucker was charged with 47 counts of animal neglect/cruelty in May, following a search of her home and business where scores of malnourished, diseased or dehydrated dogs were seized by authorities.

By Giuseppe Sabella

Two suspects are in custody after a series of break-ins at businesses across the street from Appalachian Power Park on Tuesday night.
Charleston Police arrested the second suspect, Elizabeth Sayre, at about 2 a.m. on Thursday, according to a news release.
Authorities arrested Sayre, 21, on a charge of breaking and entering for allegedly intruding at Smith Floor Covering Distributors.

By Staff report

MANNINGTON - West Virginia State Police are investigating after a deputy with the Marion County Sheriff's Department reportedly shot and killed the driver of a stolen vehicle Wednesday during a pursuit.
The deputy started the pursuit of a stolen Jeep Wrangler near Mannington, according to a release from the State Police. Deputies chased the vehicle to Parrish Run Road area, where the driver, later identified as Philip Rhoades, was struck with gunfire, according to the release.

By Staff reports

A West Virginia Air National Guard airman died in a noncombat incident Wednesday while on duty in Kuwait.
Tech. Sgt. David Board, 49, of Barboursville, died while in support of combat operations in the Middle Eastern country as a part of Operation Inherent Resolve, Lawrence Messina, spokesman for the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, said in a news release Wednesday.

By Staff reports

An inmate at Western Regional Jail died in the booking area earlier this week, several hours after his arrival.
Though police booked Derek Kevin Bennett into the jail Tuesday evening, he remained in the booking area just before Wednesday afternoon, Lawrence Messina. spokesman for the state Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, wrote in an email.
Bennett, 33, died around 11 a.m., Messina said. State Police and the state Regional Jail Authority are investigating the cause of his death.

By Erin Beck

A bill that supporters say might have prevented a Charleston woman's overdose death in 2016 has passed the U.S. Senate.
"Jessie's Law," named for Jessica Grubb, permits the federal Department of Health and Human Services to establish guidelines for when health care providers should prominently display a patient's history of opioid addiction in their medical chart - "no different than a penicillin allergy," said Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who sponsored the bill.

By Ken Ward Jr.

In the run-up to President Trump's visit to West Virginia for a rally Thursday evening in Huntington, administration officials - with help from the coal industry and state political leaders - this week touted work by the U.S. Department of Interior to speed up approval of a permit for a new underground coal mine that could bring 200 mining jobs to the depressed coalfields of McDowell County.

By Staff reports

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice is expected to announce tonight that he is switching political parties, changing from a Democrat to a Republican, The New York Times reported this afternoon.
The Times cited three unnamed sources in saying that Justice, a coal and real estate magnate who ran for governor last year as a Democrat, will announce the switch at President Donald Trump's rally in Huntington this evening. Trump promised a "big announcement" at tonight's rally.

n The Raleigh County Public Service District - Arnett System has issued a temporary water outage for 8 a.m. on Monday, for approximately 8 hours. The affected area will be from the top of old Mountain View School Hill at the barbershop and including Dry Creek.
n The State Department of Health and Human Resources has issued a boil-water advisory for the North Meadow Bridge area in Fayette County. The advisory follows a water main break.

By Phil Kabler

A former state legislator was found guilty Thursday of violating the state Ethics Act for using a city-issued cellphone in his 2014 House of Delegates campaign, and was ordered to pay more than $2,600 in fines and costs.
Members of the Ethics Commission deliberated for about 15 minutes before unanimously approving the decision against Michael Ihle, a former mayor of Ravenswood who served one term in the House of Delegates.