Posted: Feb. 12, 2018 | Source: Hafer Funeral Home
Reverend Donnie G. Pauley 81, of Big Chimney went home to be with his Lord and Savior February 12, 2018, after a long illness.
He was born July 26, 1936, to the late Quincy Pauley and Pearl Thomas of Olcott, West Virginia. (more…)
Posted: Feb. 12, 2018 | Source: Ross Funeral Home
Eugene L. “Gene” Dawson, 92, of Fairmont, died Sunday (Feb. 11, 2018) at West Virginia Veteran’s Nursing Facility in Clarksburg. He was born in Elkhurst, Clay County, on Feb. 19, 1925, son of the late Howard and Dulcie Ellis Dawson. (more…)
Posted: Feb. 11, 2018 | Source: Reger Funeral Home
Raymond Fields, Jr., 70, went to his heavenly home on Feb. 9, 2018 to his earthly father and mother, Raymond and Edith (Midkiff) Fields.
He was preceded in death by his sister, Mandy Kate Fields Turley and brothers in law, Clarence James Fielder, Jim Whitt, special uncle and aunt Leonard and Opal Fields.
He was an avid fisherman and hunter.
He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Geneva McCoy Fields, sisters Addie Fields Fielder of Clendenin, WV, Ernestine (Mussy) Fields Williamson of Branchland, WV, Lois (Ermel) Fields Cook of Branchland. Brother, Paul (Susie) Fields of Branchland, sisters in law Hazel (Jack) McCoy Chapman, Becky Whitt, Ruth Chapman, brothers in law Russell (Lidia) McCoy, Cecil (Fran) McCoy, a special niece Darlene Midkiff who had made her home with him and was a big help to him, and a host of nieces and nephews who loved him dearly.
He loved the Lord and going to church when he was well. He was instrumental in the building and upkeep of Bethel Baptist Church in Bokeelia, Fla. where he led services and sang frequently. He was a retired mechanic. He was a Vietnam Veteran having served in the US Army. He served his country with honor and pride for 8 years.
Funeral services will be Monday Feb. 12, 2018 at 2 p.m. at the Reger Funeral Chapel, in Huntington, WV, with Rev. Russell McCoy and Rev. Lenny Romans presiding. Burial will follow in Docks Creek Maple Hill Cemetery, Kenova. Family and friends viewing will be from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018 at the Reger Funeral Home. American Legion Post 111 of Hamlin, WV will conduct graveside military rites.
Condolences may be made to the family at www.regerfh.com.
Herbert Hoover Huskies wrestling earns birth to the 71st Annual West Virginia State High School Wrestling Tournament that will be held in Huntington on February 22 – 24, 2018 at Big Sandy Super Store Arena.
Hoover took third place in the Class AA-A Region 3 tournament at Independence.
According to Tom Bragg, Sports Reporter with the WV Gazette-Mail PREPS the Huskies will send Tyler Teel (113), Justin Stover (126), Zach Paxton (160), Zach Spencer (182) and Ben Bailey (220) to Huntington.
For Tom Bragg’s full report on the wrestlers from the Kanawha Valley who landed spots in the state tournament click here.
Individual Placers:
2nd Place – Justin Stover
3rd Place – Ben Bailey, Zach Spencer and Tyler Teel
4th Place – Ben Kee and Zach Paxton
5th Place – Peyton Huffman and Jacob Mullins
The yard of a home on Orchard Road, in the Fayette County community of Whipple, was flooded after heavy weekend rains.
Photo by F. Brian Ferguson | Gazette-Mail
By: Staff Reports | Posted: Feb. 11, 2018 | Source: WV Gazette-Mail
The heavy rains that led to flood warnings in much of West Virginia Sunday morning mostly moved out by afternoon, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service said.
The flood warning that had been in effect for southeastern Kanawha County and much of the state south of the Interstate 64 corridor and east of the Interstate 79 corridor was expected to expire Sunday afternoon. (more…)
Posted: Feb. 11, 2018 | Source: WV Gazette-Mail
The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation Board of Trustees approved the distribution of 15 grants totaling $528,074.
Since she was very young, Danette’s granddaughter McKayla had always been fascinated with books; she wanted to handle them and have them read to her. When she entered first grade, McKayla was disappointed and frustrated that she could not seem to pick up reading and writing simple words like her classmates. Her frustration increased when, in second grade, she was unable to keep up with her classmates and was failing all of her subjects. (more…)
The Hilton Garden Inn in Morgantown is in bankruptcy proceedings. Photo by Brad McElhinny/MetroNews
By: Brad McElhinny | Posted: Feb. 10, 2018 at 4:50 p.m. | WV MetroNews
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A recently-filed federal lawsuit contends West Virginia developer William Abruzzino is personally responsible for $18,822,851.95 on the defaulting Hilton Garden Inn in Morgantown.
The lenders filed a breach of contract lawsuit Feb. 2 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The lawsuit contends Abruzzino and his wife Rebecca have violated the terms of their personal guarantee on the loan.
A similar lawsuit filed in October held the Abruzzinos personally responsible for $17 million for the loan on another of their developments, the Crossings Mall in Elkview.
Lawyers for the Abruzzinos filed a response in that case on Jan. 31, denying the claims and countering that the lenders have acted in bad faith.
The Abruzzinos have had developments floundering over the past couple of years in a variety of West Virginia communities.
The troubles even hit two Abruzzino-owned Elkins shopping centers that foreclosed and were sold at auction for $10 million this past week.
More prominent have been defaulting hotels in Morgantown, Clarksburg, Elkins and Elkview that have been in bankruptcy and in litigation.
The State of West Virginia, as well as county and local governments, has been trying to get hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes that were collected from customers but not passed on.
The original loans were taken out by an investment group that included Sen. Joe Manchin and longtime aide Larry Puccio. Recent bankruptcy documents filed in the Morgantown hotel case indicate they are not current investors but it’s not clear when they got out or under what circumstances.
The latest court action says the Abruzzinos signed a personal guarantee on the $15,470,000 loan they took out in 2013 for the Hilton Garden Inn at Sun Crest Town Center.
Mountain Blue Hotel Group, an investment group that has William Abruzzino as its lead investor, has filed bankruptcy on the Hilton Garden Inn twice in a year’s time.
That and the failure to pay property taxes has triggered the guarantee, the lender contends.
“As a result of the above and other actions, all amounts due and owing under the Loan Documents have been accelerated and are immediately due and payable,” lawyers for the lender state in the recent filing.
The lawyers say $18,822,851.95 debt remains. That includes what’s still on the loan plus attorneys fees, costs and expenses from the ongoing legal battle.
Brad McElhinny is the statewide correspondent for MetroNews. Brad is a Parkersburg native who spent more than 20 years at the Charleston Daily Mail. Email Brad at brad.mcelhinny@wvmetronews.com and follow him on Twitter @BradMcElhinny.
By: WV VOAD | Posted: Feb. 9, 2018 | Source: WV VOAD
WV VOAD and its member agencies wrapping up 10 building projects despite snow and icy conditions.
BELLE, W.VA. — Even during snow and ice storms in many parts of the state, West Virginia Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (WV VOAD) and its member agencies are working in several counties to build new homes for survivors of the June 2016 flood.
WV VOAD and its member agencies have built and funded new homes in all 11 counties where flood damage occurred, and repair projects in all those counties are ongoing. Right now, volunteers are on site and have been working throughout the winter in Kanawha, Clay, Nicholas and Greenbrier counties building new homes for 10 families who were displaced.
Construction work is ongoing or about to be completed on homes in Clendenin, Richwood, White Sulphur Springs, Caldwell, Rainelle and Procious.
All these homes, which range from 900 square feet to 1,100 square feet in size, have been funded by donations and built by volunteer labor even as snow flies and temperatures have dropped below freezing.
Continuing the building process over the winter was difficult, but important to help get families back into safe, secure and sanitary housing and get their lives back together as quickly as possible. It took plenty of logistical planning and cooperation between WV VOAD and its member agencies.
“Our volunteer teams spent time at the end of last year, before the ground froze, doing as much prep work as possible, digging foundations and getting sites ready so we could do the finishing work even when weather was bad,” said Cathy Rennard, Disaster Case Management Supervisor for WV VOAD.
Volunteers with WV VOAD’s member agencies have come from around the country, as far as Kansas, Michigan, Maine and Illinois, to help with these particular rebuilding projects.
“Volunteers understand that when they come to West Virginia in the winter months, there is going to be snow on the ground,” said Sara Hambrick, WV VOAD Disaster Case Manager Supervisor. “They aren’t here to sit in hotel rooms. They are here to work, and when they’re here, they just want to accomplish as much as they possibly can.”
At times, when weather-related challenges occur, local volunteers and officials with county long-term recovery groups step in to assist with transportation and other logistical issues.
WV VOAD and its member agencies have been on the ground since the June 2016 flood assisting with cleanup, rebuilding and with the long-term recovery needs of survivors. The flood, which left 23 people dead and more than 3,000 homes destroyed, was declared a federal disaster.
“Logistically, it takes time to work through the cases based on the vulnerability of the clients,” Rennard said. “The majority of these flood survivors have had multiple challenges to work through, from financial hardship to age and physical disabilities.”
Each new home that’s now being built costs between $55,000 and $70,000. Families were required to invest any money they received in federal grants in the construction and the rest came from private donations, philanthropic foundations and contributions from WV VOAD member agencies.
“A lot of hard work is being done around the state and we appreciate all of our voluntary organizations and their dedication to work with us during the winter months,” WV VOAD Executive Director Jenny Gannaway said. “Our goal is to stay focused on the families so that every family is back in safe, secure and sanitary housing.”
WV VOAD is a humanitarian association of independent organizations that may be active in all phases of disaster. Its mission is to identify unmet needs and facilitate efficient streamlined service delivery to those imperiled or impacted by disaster while eliminating duplication of effort through cooperation, coordination, communication, collaboration in the four phases of disaster: preparation, response, recovery and mitigation. West Virginia is a member of the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster.
By: WVUMC Disaster 2016: A New Vision with Hope Facebook Page | Posted: Feb. 9, 2018 at 8:33 p.m. | Source: @WVUMCFloods16
Tempting as it was to make mud pies, we opted to work in mud that would suck your shoes off to build these steps and landing for the back door of a new home in Clendenin for a survivor family from the June 23, 2016 storms and flood disaster.
The WV United Methodist Disaster Recovery team schedules a team work day each month (okay, well, almost every month 
😇) somewhere in the 12-county declared disaster region.
A few interior plumbing details remain for this home, and we should be able to welcome the owners with a house blessing in the next week or two.
Nine-foot elevation of the home was required for flood hazard mitigation.
Love my team!
West Virginia Capitol Dome photo by Chris Dorst with WV Gazette-Mail.
By: Kate Mishkin, Staff Writer | Posted: Feb. 9, 2018 | Source: WV Gazette-Mail
A bill that would allow companies to drill on minority mineral owners’ land without their consent moved from committee to the House of Delegates floor Friday afternoon, but not without an hour of public comments and nearly three hours of committee deliberation.
House Bill 4268, also known as the co-tenancy bill, would pave the way for natural gas and oil companies to drill as long as the majority of mineral rights owners, or three-quarters of the ownership, say it’s OK. (more…)
