MetroNews This Morning
MetroNews This Morning 7-10-24
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It's the best of both wings and they're just $5.99 for a six-piece. And participate in your rest rest around. This is Metro News this morning, bringing you this morning's biggest news headlines from across the state. Good morning. It's July 10th, 2024 and a very warm morning across the state of West Virginia. I'm Jeff Jenkins this morning. Thanks for joining us on Metro News this morning over the next 15 minutes or so. We'll get you updated on news, weather, and sports across the state of West Virginia on this summer day in the mountain state. And let's get things started really quickly. This morning, let's go to that Metro News anchor desk with the news update. Here's Carrie Huda set. Good morning, Carrie. Good morning, Jeff. A two-year-old girl from Dodgeridge County is dead following a family vacation to Myrtle Beach. Authorities say Lila Dillon of New Milton was pulled from a lazy river attraction Sunday evening. She was taken to the hospital where she later died. An autopsy is being performed to determine the exact cause of death. A pedestrian is dead after being struck by a vehicle in Randolph County. It happened at the Palmer gas station in Hutton'sville early Tuesday morning. The crash is under investigation and names have not been released. Opening statements begin at nine o'clock this morning in Ohio County Circuit Court for a New York man on trial for allegedly killing a man outside a bar three years ago. The high jet hails is charged with first-degree murder in the March 2021 shooting death of 41-year-old Michael Jackson. The shooting happened outside the Voodoo Lounge on Wheeling Island. A new school excess levy that includes full funding for Capitol County libraries and parks could soon be on the ballot this November. New Capitol County Schools Superintendent Tim Hardesty says he's glad the Board of Education was able to pass a new plan and a special meeting Tuesday night. This is an issue that I knew I had addressed immediately. One for the community to support us as a district. But two to resolve the conflict and the division that was throughout our community. Parks and library representatives will have to approve the plan before it's put on the ballot. Again, the levy was voted down in the May election. State Senate President Craig Blair says his gut tells him the state can't afford Governor Jim Justice's proposed additional five percent cut in the personal income tax, but he says he's willing to talk about it. I personally believe that, but keep in mind that I am not going to take anything off the table. Lots of times, especially the executive can come in and say, look, there are other things that we can address to be able to bring greater revenues. And there are other revenues. Our revenues continue to grow. Governor Justice has said he'll propose the cut in a special session that he'll call for August or September. A summer camp is helping nonverbal kids with communication skills. What started is just a group of three local Kanaw County elementary school teachers and a few students last year. A summer camp for nonverbal and autistic children that's being hosted by what's become known as exceptional possibilities of West Virginia has now grown to new levels as more organizations and more kids join the initiative. One of the three co-founders of exceptional possibilities, Morgan Goodall says it's good to see their goal in growing the summer camp, which is being held at University of Charleston this week, come to fruition. It's fun to see your hard work pay off and see moments of kids being able to do something that they may not be able to do. Goodall said the camp teaches the nonverbal kids more communication and social skills while they're out of school and how to utilize those skills within their daily lives. I'm Kat Skelton WV Metro News dot com. We're learning more about the demographics when it comes to homelessness in West Virginia. The State Department of Human Services released the first comprehensive study on homelessness this week. Christina Mullins, Deputy Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders says they looked at different groups. People who are experiencing homelessness are not just men, they're women too. And we also learned a significant amount of our population are African American and was higher than we would expect based on the general population. Mullins says people end up homeless due to a number of reasons, including unemployment, drug addiction, and mental health issues. A $1 million settlement has been reached in Crock County Circuit Court among state police and the estate of a man who died in police custody last year. This comes as a result of a wrongful death lawsuit for a 45 year old Edmund Exline who died in February 2023 after a confrontation with troopers along I-81 near Martinsburg. Police say Exline appeared to be intoxicated. The police chief in White Sulfur Springs has stepped down after recently hiring one of two officers who were involved in the shooting death of a 12 year old boy in Ohio 10 years ago. DS Toobert made the decision to resign and revert to his former job as a patrolman. The officer, Timothy Loman, has since resigned from the White Sulfur Springs Police Department. He was previously acquitted on charges related to the 2014 shooting. Deputy Chief Julian Byer Jr. has been sworn in as the new police chief. The FAA is hearing from the public when it comes to a delayed runway extension project at West Virginia International Yager Airport in Charleston. The airport previously announced it's pausing that project and putting its efforts toward improving its terminal building. The FAA's Andrew Brooks says it made sense to do that. The operating conditions change at the airport, spirit left, breeze started, and so some of the justification for the initial request went away. The airport, we looked at that, we decided we needed to pause the review of the runway extension that they were being proposed. Several members of the Coonskin, Save Coonskin Park Group offered their comments Tuesday to the FAA, including Jeremy Severn, who says he's cautiously optimistic about the project being put on hold. We're celebrating this victory, but we're going to continue the long-term fight toward making sure that we're still there if and when it does come back up. Read more at wvmetronews.com Thank you, Kerry. Coming up in our background are this morning, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin taking to the floor of the Senate to talk about the life and legacy of Jerry West. Plus, in Sports Kyle Wigs tells us the mountaineers will be part of the Big 12 Media Day today in Las Vegas. All of that. Coming up, thanks for joining us this morning. Good morning. West Virginia, the all-new Metro News TV app has arrived. Metro News Television brings our award-winning content to your connected device, so now you can watch on your phone, television, tablet, or laptop. Just download the app, and you've got Metro News Television absolutely free. Go to Metro News for your ears and your eyes. Download the free app on Roku, Amazon Devices, Apple TV, iOS, and Android. Direct links to each platform available at wvmetronewstv.com. Metro News TV. Now you can watch the voice of West Virginia. Hey everybody, it's Tony Karidi. And I'm Greg Hunter. And I'm Brad Hal. And we invite you to join us Sunday through Fridays right here on the Metro News Radio Network. The CityNet Statewide Sportsline. We talk West Virginia University, football, basketball, baseball. You name it. If it's got anything to do with the Golden Blue, we're on it. And don't forget the text line available every night. So we invite you to join us, the Senator, Coach Hunter, and me, Tony Karidi. It's the CityNet Statewide Sportsline on Metro News. Kyle Winslow has sports coming up first in our buck grinder. On this Wednesday morning, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin delivering marks on the floor of the Senate this week, marking the life and legacy of West Virginia icon Jerry West who died on June 12. We hear part of the Senator's remarks in this morning's background. His thoughts were models for how to manage success, failure, and change. Those all happen in life. How to take the lessons you've learned, adapt them, and go on to improve the world around you, which is what Jerry did every day. I am honored to have been President at the Oval Office of the White House when Jerry was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2019. I can only begin to imagine how many leaders Jerry forged throughout his time and how many of his former teammates and colleagues still look up to him to this day. In that spirit, I am forever grateful to Jerry for his commitment to the sports community as well, as our shared passion for representing the people of the state that we both love so much, West Virginia. With God-given talent and unmatched character, Jerry's life has benefited the people of our home state in a profound way. The legacy that he leaves behind is undoubtedly an integral part of our heritage. He was a very dear friend to me and a proud ambassador of the Mountain State. From the cold fields of West Virginia to basketball's biggest stages, Jerry always demonstrated his mastery of the sport with grace and humility. It is my hope that his family and friends can find peace, strength and comfort in one another during the loss of this wonderful person. Gail and I offer our deepest condolences to his wife, Karen, his sons, David, and Michael, Mark, Ryan, and Johnny, and all of his family, friends, and all of the loved ones who loved him so dearly. We will forever keep Jerry and his remarkable legacy in our thoughts and prayers for the rest of our lives. God bless you, Jerry. Jerry West died at the age of 86. Kyle Wigs with Sports on this Wednesday morning, Mountaineers in Vegas to talk about the upcoming season. Yes, it is. Big 12 Media Day is day two. You had the League Commissioner Brett Yarmar kicking off. The Big 12's first Media Day is a 16 team lead with a very optimistic outlook. He touted the nine bowl bids that were earned by Big 12 football teams last year. The record eight men's basketball teams that went to the NCAA tournament. The women had seven teams, earned bids, and he believes, despite the loss of Texas and Oklahoma, the additions of Utah, Arizona, Arizona State and Colorado are a boost, making the Big 12 a truly national conference as it in companies 10 states and four time zones. So obviously football, men's and women's basketball. They are the front door sports, but Yarmar says there's great success with the Olympic sports as well. In fact, the Big 12 will be greatly represented in Paris coming up. We have over 70 current and former student athletes participating in this year's Olympic and Paralympic Games. And I plan on being in Paris to support them all. Brett, your mark, Big 12 Commissioner on the League. And again, as you mentioned, the Mountaineer contingent is there today. Head coach Neil Brown, offensive lineman, Wyatt Milam, defensive lineman Sean Martin, defensive back, Aubrey Burks and quarterback Garrett Green will represent the WVU football program coming up today. One of West Virginia's top college recruits in class of 2026 will play his junior season in Florida. Hurricane high school offensive lineman, Deron Parks, posted on social media that he's transferred to Cardinal Mooney High School in Sarasota, Florida. Baseball, Reese Hines, the rookie sensation for the Reds, a double, a triple and a homer. The homerun went 458 feet. Reds beat Colorado. Twelve six pirates at five homeruns beat Milwaukee. Twelve the two. Thanks, Kyle. And keep in tuned with WVmetronews.com today. When the Mountaineers will be a big 12 media days. We'll have the stories at the website covering what they say about the upcoming season. That's today at WVmetronews.com. This is Metro News this morning for Wednesday morning, the 10th of July, 2024. I'm Jeff Jenkins on Metro News, the voice of West Virginia, and the voice of Metro News is happy Kirchivol. Jeff, Steve Williams, started his campaign for West Virginia Governor as a long shot. And the most recent campaign finance reports do nothing to change his status. If anything, Huntington's Democratic mayor is even farther behind in his effort to upset Republican nominee Attorney General Patrick Morrissey. Williams campaign financial statement shows he raised $46,000 in the second quarter. While his year to date contributions total, about $82,000. After campaign related spending, he has $53,000 on hand. If Williams were running for re-election as Huntington's mayor, he'd be in decent shape. But he's not. He's a candidate for statewide office who's not well known outside of Huntington. Williams fundraising looks even more paltry when compared with his opponent, Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrissey. Morrissey's campaign financial statements show he raised almost $2 million in the second quarter alone. The Morrissey campaign says that is "the most money raised by a West Virginia gubernatorial candidate in a single fundraising quarter." Morrissey is a relentless fundraiser. His campaign has collected $5.3 million since last year and has over $1 million cash on hand. His fundraising is broad-based with over $14,000 individual contributions just in the second quarter. And 93% of those are under $250. But that's not all. Morrissey has the solid backing of conservative political action committees. The Black Bear Pack alone raised and spent $13 million on Morrissey's successful primary election campaign and will back him again in the fall. There is a paradoxical aspect to campaign fundraising. Contributors are more likely to write checks to candidates that have demonstrated that they can raise money. Candidates who need money the most have the hardest time convincing donors to pony up. Williams finds himself in that latter category. And his challenge is even greater because West Virginia has gone so deeply red. Meanwhile, Morrissey, as the front runner with the much deeper war chest, is drawing in even more campaign dollars from donors who want to be on the side of the candidate they believe has the best chance of winning. It's not easy to convince individuals to give you money. And most candidates do not enjoy the fundraising aspect of a campaign. However, it is an integral part of any campaign. The candidate with the most money does not always win. But it's impossible to win without money. Jeff? Thanks, Hop. And don't forget Metro News Talk Line this morning at 10.06 on our website, wvmetronews.com and on many radio stations across the state of West Virginia. Also read Hoppy's commentary at the website this morning, wvmetronews.com. Another day in the upper eighties into the nineties across the state of West Virginia today. The heat advisory today for the National Weather Service just for the eastern panhandle where they may have the highest temperatures of the day. But no rain in the forecast right now across the state of West Virginia. You're up to date and stay up to date all day long at our website. For Kerry Huda Sec, Hoppy Kirchville and Kyle Wigs. I'm Jeff Jenkins on Metro News, the voice of West Virginia. Thanks for joining us this morning. Have yourself a great day. 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