NEWS

Clay woman bags huge bear with long-distance shot

Courtesy photo: Bears weighing nearly 500 pounds aren’t common in West Virginia, and when Chelsea Mullins of Bomont downed one with a 252-yard shot in early December, it created quite a stir. The bear weighed 489.6 pounds and measured 7 feet from nose to tail.

By: John McCoy, Staff Writer | Posted: Jan. 13, 2018 | Source: WV Gazette-Mail

You never know what you might encounter while deer hunting.

For Chelsea Mullins, it happened to be the biggest bear she, or any of her friends, had ever seen. And make no mistake, they’d seen a bunch of them.

“I’m an experienced bear hunter,” said Mullins, a 22-year-old dental assistant from the Clay County town of Bomont. “I’ve now killed three, and I’ve been along on a lot of hunts.”

All of those hunts, however, were with hounds that treed the bears so they could be shot. The bear Mullins killed on Dec. 2 was different.

“We couldn’t use hounds for this hunt because it was during [West Virginia’s firearm season for buck deer],” she explained. (more…)

January 13, 2018 in Local News, NEWS, Outdoors & Recreation

Man rescued from car in swift water in Elkview

Photo courtesy of the Pinch Volunteer Fire Department

Posted: Jan. 13, 2018 at 2:37 p.m. | Source: WVNSTV

ELKVIEW, W.Va. (WOWK) – A man has been rescued out of the Little Sandy Creek in Elkview after his vehicle went into the creek’s swift waters.

The rescue was originally reported at around 10:15 p.m. on the 2200 block of Little Sandy Creek outside of Elkview.

The man reportedly only had a few inches of breathing space at the time of the rescue.

His injuries are not known at this time.

The Pinch Volunteer Fire Department, Clendenin Volunteer Fire Department, Frame Volunteer Fire Department, Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, and Kanawha County EMS responded to the scene.

We will provide more information on this story as soon as we receive it.

January 13, 2018 in Local News, NEWS, Weather

Gas explosion incinerates house in Elkview

Posted: Jan. 12, 2018 | Source: AP News

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A 1,000-gallon (3,800-liter) propane tank exploded at a West Virginia family’s home, but no one was injured.

WCHS-TV reports three family members narrowly escaped the explosion Friday morning by running from the area after smelling gas in their living room.

Pinch Volunteer Fire Chief David Wagoner says firefighters arrived on the scene to check on the gas leak, but weren’t even able to use their gas monitors before the tank exploded.

Secondary blasts briefly kept them from tackling the flaming two-story home. The family is now staying with neighbors.

The West Virginia State Fire Marshal is investigating.

January 12, 2018 in Local News, NEWS

UPDATE: Home destroyed after propane tank explodes in Elkview; 911 audio released

By: WSAZ News Staff | Posted: Jan. 12, 2018 5:41 p.m. | Source: WSAZ

KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) — UPDATE 1/12/18 @ 5:31 p.m. 
“All residents are out of the home. The structure is completely… leveled,” a firefighter says in audio released from Metro 911.

Firefighters rushed to a family home on Rosewood Way in the Coopers Creek area. A 1,000 gallon propane tank exploded in the early hours of Friday morning, ripping off the entire second story of the home.

“Oh my gosh!” said a shocked 10 year old girl. (more…)

January 12, 2018 in Local News, NEWS

None hurt in small fire at Bridge Elementary, officials say

By: Ryan Quinn, Staff Writer | Posted: Jan. 12, 2018 | Source: WV Gazette-Mail

School officials said no students or employees were hurt by a small fire Friday at Bridge Elementary, which also houses Clendenin Elementary’s students.

Briana Warner, communications director for Kanawha County’s public school system, said a “heat wrap” that was around a pipe that drains condensation from a walk-in freezer shorted out, according to the Pinch Volunteer Fire Department and school system maintenance staff.

Warner said the pipe is inside the kitchen, and the heat wrap is meant to keep the pipe from freezing. She said the school system will be looking at what’s wrong with the part and whether the part is found anywhere else in the county.

(more…)

January 12, 2018 in Education News, Local News, NEWS

The Dream Season

Photo Submitted: Rick Friend of St. Albans with a 10 point and 12 point buck he killed in Clay County in two days.

By: Chris Lawrence | Posted: Jan. 12, 2018 at 3:04 p.m. | Source: WV MetroNews

CLAY, W.Va. — When Rick Friend of St. Albans headed to his hunting camp in Clay County for the 2017 buck season, he was optimistic and yet also realistic.

“I had seen a few bucks on trail cams, but the chances of seeing them was slim to none,” he explained. “They were very evasive and mostly moved after dark. Clay County bucks are usually pretty average in size.”

Rick Friend with his opening day 10 pint buck killed with his late father’s .35 Remington GameMaster Rifle

Rick Friend with his opening day 10 pint buck killed with his late father’s .35 Remington GameMaster Rifle

But Rick had already killed a small buck and a doe during archery season and wanted to just enjoy the opportunity to be in the woods. He was hunting with his late father’s rifle, a .35 Remington Gamemaster, which added to the intrigue of his story, but we’ll come back to that in a little while.

Opening day, Rick sat on his stand and spied two bucks chasing a doe. They were too far away and moving to quickly for a shot. But the encounter proved the rut was still on, so he moved down the hill a little to be closer to the point they crossed. Sure enough, his adjustment was rewarded a few hours later.

“About 1:00 one of the bucks, a ten point, came in and he offered me a 40 yard broadside shot,” Rick explained. “I shot the deer and knew I had gotten a good hit on it I was going for a heart shot.” (more…)

January 12, 2018 in Local News, NEWS

Construction to begin on Mid-Ohio Valley compressor stations

By: Jess Mancini, City Editor | Posted: Jan. 12, 2018 | Source: The Parkersburg News and Sentinel

PARKERSBURG — Construction will start around the end of the month on three multi-million-dollar compressor stations in Calhoun, Doddridge and Jackson counties for the recently approved Mountaineer XPress natural gas pipeline.

Each station will cost about $100 million, said Scott Castleman, manager U.S. natural gas communications for TransCanada, the Columbia Gas Transmission parent company constructing the 165-mile, more than $2 billion pipeline.

“There will be big dollars coming into the state of West Virginia,” Castleman said.

(more…)

January 12, 2018 in Business News, NEWS

Raiders look to build on performance at Guard Duals

Liberty’s Eric Workman battles Mason’s Eddie Moore in a 195-pound weight class matchup Saturday afternoon at the Summersville Arena and Convention Center. Liberty’s Workman won the match. Photo by Brad Davis The Register-Herald.

By: Gary Fauber | Posted: Jan. 12, 2018 | Source: Beckley Register-Herald

Liberty didn’t make it to the championship pool of last week’s West Virginia Army National Guard Duals. That doesn’t mean the Raiders were unsuccessful.

The Raiders won all five of their duals on the second day, providing a jumping point to propel them into the second half of the season.

“Definitely something we can work on,” Liberty coach Nick Hylton said. “I’ve seen a lot of positives and a lot of negatives, but we are seeing progression each week and that’s our overall goal is to build to the region and make it to the state tournament.” (more…)

January 12, 2018 in Herbert Hoover High School Athletics, NEWS, Sports News, Youth Sports

Deputies: Two men charged after burning property

By: WSAZ News Staff | Posted: Jan. 11, 2018 at 8:08 p.m. | Source: WSAZ

KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) — Two men are facing multiple charges after deputies say they started burning someone else’s property at a home in Clendenin.

William Bishop and Travis Simpson are charged with burglary, arson and destruction of property.

Kanawha County Sheriff’s deputies say on Wednesday they were called to a home in the 2400 block of Riverhaven Drive in Clendenin.

Deputies say the victims told them Bishop and Simpson were destroying their belongings with fire.

Numerous household goods, belongings, and several sentimental items were being burned behind the home, according to deputies.

Deputies also recovered two rifles that were stolen from the victims.

January 11, 2018 in Crime, Local News, NEWS