Clay County student earns FBI Honors Internship spot

Posted: Feb. 6, 2018 | Source: Clay County Free Press

Glenville State College senior criminal justice major and business minor Gracen Samples has been chosen to take part in the prestigious FBI Honors Internship Program.

Samples is very active on campus; she’s a member of the Lady Pioneer Volleyball, works as an intern in GSC’s Office of International Programs, and participates in Phi Beta Lambda (PBL), which  is the collegiate counterpart of the Future Business Leaders of America organization found in many high schools. In 2016 she was elected as treasurer for the West Virginia state chapter of PBL and placed at the PBL Leadership Conference. She also participated in a May 2017 study abroad trip to London and Paris. The recent announcement that she was being selected for the FBI internship came as no surprise to her professors.

“I’m not at all surprised that Gracen stood out in a competitive field; she is the epitome of student engagement, and there is no doubt that she has set the bar extremely high for future interns in this office,” said Dr. Megan Gibbons. Gibbons serves as Director of International Programs and Chair for the Department of Language and Literature at GSC.

Through her internship with the Office of International programs, Samples has found a unique and valuable way to get involved. “I believe my experiences with study abroad helped with getting an interview and receiving the internship offer. It really helped that I had examples of unfamiliar projects that I have taken part in and that I’m able to interact with people of different cultures. Plus some of the projects I am working on with Dr. Gibbons helped show that I know how to prioritize my time and take on projects that I have not done before,” Samples said.

The Wallback, West Virginia native has advice for other students who are thinking of getting involved in study abroad. “Don’t let rumors or your own fears stop you. It will be the best decision you will make. You will get to experience things that very few people get to. Come talk to Dr. Gibbons or myself if you have any questions or concerns, you won’t regret it. Also, it looks great on a resume,” she said.

“As both Gracen’s academic advisor and professor, I am extremely happy and excited for her to be selected to participate in such a prestigious internship program. Her selection was the reward for her continued hard work and dedication to her academic pursuits, and her continued participation in ancillary activities at GSC that further her educational experience. While this will be extremely challenging and intense, I have no doubt that Gracen possesses the proper attitude and desire for learning that will create a once-in-a-lifetime experience for her, in addition to representing the GSC Criminal Justice Department to a highly respected government agency. I look forward to having her share this experience with other CJ students upon her completion of the program,” said GSC Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice Art Trimble.

The FBI Honors Internship Program is a 10-week, paid internship for college undergraduate and graduate students. Students selected for the program work side-by-side with FBI employees either at one of their Washington, D.C. headquarters locations or in local field offices. Students can apply from a wide range of academic areas. Applicants must also have and maintain a 3.0 cumulative grade point average before and during the internship and pass all FBI employment background investigation requirements.

Samples says she hopes that, through the internship experience, she’ll be able to get her foot in the door for a career with the FBI. The internship begins in June 2018.

Attorney General Morrisey’s Disability Fraud Unit surpasses $8.1M in total savings

Posted: Feb. 6, 2018 | Source: Clay County Free Press

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey’s disability fraud partnership achieved more than $8.1 million in total savings during its first two years of operation.

The partnership generated more than $5.6 million in projected savings for state and federal governments during calendar year 2017. That more than doubled savings generated by the partnership in 2016. (more…)

Flood Watch For Kanawha, Clay and Roane Counties

According to the National Weather Service in Charleston, WV there is a Flood Watch for Kanawha and Clay County, West Virginia and a Winter Weather Advisory for Roane County, West Virginia. Moderate to heavy rain expected overnight into midday Wednesday. Flood Watch is in effect from late tonight through Wednesday afternoon.

Below is a detailed description of the Flood Watch from the National Weather Service:

The National Weather Service in Charleston has issued a Flood Watch for portions of northeast Kentucky, southeast Ohio, and West Virginia, including the following areas, in northeast Kentucky, Boyd, Carter, Greenup, and Lawrence KY. In southeast Ohio, Gallia and Lawrence, OH. In West Virginia, Barbour, Braxton, Cabell, Calhoun, Clay, Doddridge, Gilmer, Harrison, Jackson, Kanawha, Lewis, Lincoln, Mason, Northwest Nicholas, Northwest Pocahontas, Northwest Randolph, Northwest Webster, Pleasants, Putnam, Ritchie, Roane, Southeast Nicholas, Southeast Pocahontas, Southeast Randolph, Southeast Webster, Taylor, Tyler, Upshur, Wayne, Wirt, and Wood.

From late tonight through Wednesday afternoon.

A large weather system is expected to move through the region tonight and exit late Wednesday afternoon and evening. This system has the potential to produce up to 2 inches of rain over the watch area. With the ground being wet over the lowlands and snow in the Northern mountains, and temperatures rising into the 40s, runoff and snowmelt will be efficient flowing into the streams and rivers.

Flooding of low lying and poor drainage areas and roads along streams, creeks and rivers are possible.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS

A Flood Watch means there is a potential for flooding based on current forecasts.

You should monitor later forecasts and be alert for possible Flood Warnings. Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop.

President’s high school tour to continue to 12 more schools

Posted: Feb. 5, 2018 at 11:33 p.m. | Source: HuntingtonNews.Net

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Building upon the last year’s success, Marshall University President Jerome A. Gilbert today announced he is taking his “The Rest of Your Life Begins at Marshall University” high school tour to 12 more schools this month, including stops in Kanawha, Clay, Wayne, Mingo, Wirt, Wood, Jackson and Mason counties.

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Man Charged With Attempted Murder In Roane County

By: Jeff Mitchell | Posted: Feb. 4, 2018 at 10:39 p.m. EST | Source: WOWK

Jacob Andrew YoungROANE COUNTY, WV-(WOWK) – West Virginia State Troopers responded to a burglary call at about 6:00 a.m. on Sunday Morning.

The call came from a residence in the 10000 Block of Charleston Road near Walton in Roane County.

The victim of the burglary woke to find Jacob Young of Clendenin in the house.

The victim chased Young from the house, and Young fled the scene.

When Troopers arrived, they found they Young had attempted to burn the house down while the family slept inside.

Troopers obtained an address in Clendenin for Young and he was arrested without incident.

Young is being charged with Burglary, Arson, and Attempted Murder.

He is being held at the South Central Regional Jail.

We will update with the latest information as it becomes available.

W.Va. Music Hall of Fame Honors Wheeling Jamboree

Fans line up to see Charley Pride perform at Jamboree USA at the Capitol Music Hall, now called Capitol Theatre, on Main Street in downtown Wheeling. Dave Heath of Wheeling Jamboree provided the historical photos.

By: Betsy Bethel | Posted: Feb. 4, 2018 | Source: The Intelligencer Wheeling News-Register

In a nod to the far-reaching influence of the Wheeling Jamboree in all its incarnations over a span of 85 years, the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame will present it with the Spirit Award during the biennial induction ceremony on Saturday at the Culture Center in Charleston. (more…)

Hundreds attend youth archery tournament

Ryan Fischer/The Herald-Dispatch | Alexandria Christian, 11, of Elkview Middle and Adam Workman, 11, of Marlington Middle drew back their arrows during the 8th annual Elkview Middle School Archery Tournament on Saturday, February 3, 2018, at the Chris Cline Athletic Complex in Huntington.

By: Fred Pace | Posted: Feb. 4, 2018 | Source: Herald-Dispatch view additional photos here

HUNTINGTON – Thanks to movies like “The Hunger Games,” participation in youth archery has increased each year at the annual Elkview Middle School Archery Tournament, which was held at Marshall University this year.

“I want to be as good of an archer as Katniss is in ‘The Hunger Games’ movies,” Marra Tharp, an 11-year-old student at Moundsville Middle School, said in reference to one of the movie series’ main characters, Katniss Everdeen, who is known for her archery skills. “This is my first year in the tournament, and I have been practicing since the summer to be ready for this tournament.”

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Hundreds of young archers compete on Marshall campus

By: Chris Lawrence | Posted: February 3, 2018 at 6:02 a.m. | Source: WV MetroNews

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — More than 1,400 students from elementary to high school are stepping wide eyed into an arena they may never have envisioned seeing, much less playing in. The students are all participants in the state’s Archery in Schools program and this weekend they are shooting at the Elkview Middle School Invitational Tournament.

High school and middle school students toe the line to release arrows inside Marshall's indoor practice facility in Huntington

Crystal Thomas – High school and middle school students toe the line to release arrows inside Marshall’s indoor practice facility in Huntington.

However, instead of shooting inside the gymnasium at Elkview Middle School where the tournament is normally held, they’re shooting inside the Chris Cline Athletic Complex at Marshall University.

“We played a football game down there in 2016 and just had a great turnout,” said Eddie Gray, the archery coach and athletic director at Elkview Middle School. “I told them I’d really like to host an archery tournament there. We’ve looked at it a couple of times and here we go.”

The 2016 flood played havoc with the Elk River community. Ever since the flood destroyed Herbert Hoover High School, Elkview Middle has been forced to share it’s gymnasium with the high school. Now, with the portable classrooms for Hoover built in the Middle School parking lot, a tournament featuring 1,400 students was out of the question.

However, Marshall Athletic Director Mike Hamrick grew up in the Elk River community and was eager to help. Marshall was among the first to collect relieve supplies and delivering them in the wake of the 2016 disaster and they’ve been willing to help in any way possible.

“I was blown away when I found out how many kids were going to come to our campus and compete in archery,” said Hamrick.

Elkview Middle School was the first in West Virginia to field an Archery in Schools team. The program was initiated by Hamrick’s brother Ed Hamrick who was at the time the Director of the West Virginia DNR.

“These kids competing at an early age, they’ll just continue to be outdoorsmen and it’s going to protect our beautiful state,” said Hamrick. “Hunting and fishing is just such a part of what we do in West Virginia.”

Gray said the initial plan was to stage a tournament drawing shooters from three states. However, the idea hit a scheduling snag since it was the weekend of the Kentucky state archery tournament and a huge regional tournament in Ohio. But Gray wasn’t discouraged.

“We’ve got about 1,400 kids from all over the state,” he said. “I’m tickled to death.”

Inaugural Archery at the ClineThe young shooters come to Huntington for the tournament from as far away as Moundsville, Wheeling, and Martinsburg. Hamrick admitted, it’s not a bad thing to have 1,400 potential future students paying a visit to your campus.

“Marshall University is thrilled to host all of these high school and middle school students on our campus,” said Hamrick. “To be honest, I had no idea this many kids in West Virginia competed in archery. I’m thrilled to see that, but more than that I’m excited that all of these kids from all over the state are going to get the chance to come here and see Marshall University.”

Chris Lawrence is the anchor of the MetroNews Morning News, heard weekday mornings from 6-9 a.m. on MetroNews stations across West Virginia. Chris is also the host of the award-winning West Virginia Outdoors, heard Saturday mornings at 7 a.m. across the network. Chris has won numerous awards for coverage of hunting and fishing. Chris Lawrence can be reached via email at clawrence@wvradio.com, Twitter @WVOutdoors, Facebook @chris.lawrence.9822 and Instagram @chris_lawrence_metronews.

8th Annual Elkview Middle Archery Tournament Inaugural Archery at the Cline – Marshall University Team Results (courtesy of Elkview Archery)

Elementary Division
1st – Lakeside – 2893
2nd – Marlinton – 2819
3rd – West Teays – 2782
4th – Bridge/Clendenin – 2778
5th – Washington District – 2705

Middle School Team
1st – Buckhannon Upshur – 3181
2nd – Hurricane – 3160
3rd – Marlinton – 3151
4th – Ripley – 3141
5th – Elkview – 3136

High School
1st – Ripley – 3344
2nd – Herbert Hoover – 3281
3rd – John Marshall – 3263
4th – Buckhannon Upshur – 3258
5th – Cabell Midland – 3245

Can’t get enough monster movies?

Posted: Feb. 3, 2018 | Source: WV Gazette-Mail (excerpt from Daily Mail short takes)

If you like monster movies, UFO stories and West Virginia history all in one, then this movie is for you!

“‘The Flatwoods Monster: A Legacy of Fear’ is a new documentary from director, Seth Breedlove, which will unlock a decades-old mystery that included a government-ordered military examination of a purported alien crash-site, and multiple UFOs seen by countless residents of Braxton County, West Virginia,” reports the Clay County Free Press. (more…)

Prep wrestling notebook: Teams begin to look toward postseason

Hurricane’s Ryan Thomas, shown here during January’s WSAZ Invitational in Huntington, won the Mountain State Athletic Conference championship at 152 pounds last week in Parkersburg. Photo courtesy: Craig Hudson | Gazette-Mail.

By: Tom Bragg | Posted: Feb. 2, 2018 | Source: WV Gazette-Mail

With conference tournaments completed, Kanawha Valley prep wrestling teams can now turn their attention toward preparing for the postseason.

For some, that means a weekend away from tournament action. Others will have one last test before next week’s regional tournaments, where spots in the state tournament are determined.

Hurricane has the misfortune of being in Class AAA’s juggernaut Region 4 along with West Virginia Coaches Association/wvmat.com state-ranked Parkersburg South, Parkersburg, Huntington, Cabell Midland and Spring Valley. The Redskins were soundly beaten this week by Midland and Ripley, which also received votes in AAA this week, but held their own against Spring Valley in a quad at Midland.

Two bright spots for Hurricane this season have been Ryan Thomas and Daniel Long. Thomas, the Mountain State Athletic Conference champion at 152 pounds, did not participate at Midland. Long was MSAC runner-up at 145.

The Redskins don’t have anything else scheduled between now and next week’s regional at Huntington. Neither does St. Albans, which produced the Kanawha Valley’s other two MSAC champions in Brandon Holt (113 pounds) and Isaiha Casto (170). As has been the case in recent seasons, the Red Dragons have opted to skip the Kanawha County tournament.

Herbert Hoover is taking the other route. The Huskies go into Saturday’s Kanawha County championship tournament at George Washington off a runner-up finish in last week’s Cardinal Conference tournament and dual wins against Clay County and Roane County this week.

Three Hoover wrestlers — Tyler Teel (118), Justin Stover (126) and Ben Kee (145) — won conference titles last Saturday at the Williamson Field House. Stover finished fifth in his weight class at last month’s WSAZ Invitational in Huntington.

Huskies coach Richard Harper said the idea is to peak at the right time, and several of his wrestlers appear to be on that path.

“That’s what you want,” he said. “You get through January and you might get beat down a little bit. First of February, you want to build your confidence back up. You want to build that confidence up and peak at the right time.”

Nitro also will try to carry momentum from the Cardinal Conference tournament over to the mat at GW on Saturday. The Wildcats produced three conference champions — Luke Hughes (138), Vinny Devaney (170) and Paul Frampton (182) — on their way to a third-place team finish in Williamson.

Sissonville’s Gavin Shamblin, the Cardinal 220-pound champion, could also push for the Kanawha County title.

Winfield, the Cardinal Conference team champion, is scheduled to host the Bill Hughes Snap Fitness Invitational on Saturday.

The Generals’ Alex Hale has put together one of the Valley’s more impressive seasons to date, with a 30-4 record that includes the Cardinal Conference championship at 195 and a fourth-place finish at the WSAZ Invitational.

Like many teams in the state’s classification for smaller schools, Herbert Hoover faces the daunting task of a regional tournament packed with 16 or 17 teams.“[The Kanwaha County tournament] is a steppingstone for them to get a little bit more confidence and get some momentum into the regionals,” Harper said. “AA regionals are tough with 16 teams. It’s tough to get through the regionals.”

Harper, however, does not view this weekend’s action at GW as just another tournament or strictly as a postseason tuneup.

“It’s a pride thing for Kanawha County,” he said. “The biggest thing behind it is it builds wrestling in this area. That’s what’s big about it for me.”

Harper said he understands St. Albans’ reasons for not attending, but is disappointed he won’t get to see the Red Dragons among a strong crop of county teams that includes the Huskies, Nitro, Riverside and Sissonville.

“You put all these guys together in the county tournament, and now you have a pretty good tournament,” he said.