The State Journal back issues from February 2006:
Getting Along
Feb 03, 2006; ... West Virginia's history has been rife with longstanding feuds - north versus south, business versus labor, even Hatfield versus McCoy. But West Virginia: A Vision Shared has spent more than five years convincing motivated individuals that the state is much better off if people work past ...
Toll Hike Under Review
Feb 03, 2006; ... After nearly a month of complaints and controversy, the West Virginia Parkways, Economic Development and Tourism Authority may back down from a recently enacted toll increase on the West Virginia Turnpike. Parkways Executive Director Greg Barr told senators the Parkways Authority board ...
Vision Shared Making the Grade
Feb 03, 2006; ... When asked to grade West Virginia: A Vision Shared's work during the past five years, the results are quite good even though its accomplishments admittedly are hard to list. "Vision Shared found that the stakeholders' process, getting all these people with divergent interests but a stake ...
Southern Development Agency to Offer Turnpike Solution
Feb 03, 2006; ... Beckley-based 4-C Economic Development Authority plans to offer alternatives to two proposed Beckley-area projects state Parkways Authority officials have said required an increase in turnpike tolls. The 4-C EDA board of directors - responsible for Fayette, Nicholas, Raleigh and Summers ...
AEP's President Sees Bright Future for Coal in W.Va.
Feb 03, 2006; ... ATHENS - Michael G. Morris said he is optimistic about coal's future for his company and West Virginia. Morris, the president, chairman and CEO of American Electric Power Co., was keynote speaker at the PrincetonMercer County Chamber of Commerce's Annual Dinner at Concord ...
Foundation Supports North-Central Region
Feb 03, 2006; ... Aimed at shaping its region's future and preserving its legacy, the Community Foundation of North Central West Virginia helps to stimulate charitable giving in the region. The foundation was formed in 2005 as a way of revitalizing the Marion County Trust - an organization that had been ...
New Mercer Wood-Processing Facility Could Create 30 Jobs
Feb 03, 2006; ... Gov. Joe Manchin and Accurate Millworks Inc. announced Jan. 31 a new secondary wood-processing facility that will create as many as 30 jobs this year in the Princeton area. Through a special five-year agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service, the company will ...
AEP Proposes 550-Mile Power Line to New Jersey
Feb 03, 2006; ... American Electric Power is seeking permission from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and PJM Interconnection to build a new 765-kilovolt transmission line from West Virginia to New Jersey. AEP said the $3 billion project, announced Jan. 31, would enhance reliability in the eastern ...
Marshall County Lands Warren Distribution Plant
Feb 03, 2006; ... A Nebraska-based automotive supply company is going to spend $13 in million to purchase, renovate and equip an under utilized factory in the Glen Dale section of Marshall County for a lubricant blending plant. "It's wonderful," Marshall County Administrator Betsy Frohnapfel said. "This ...
CONSOL Supports Safeguards For Mine Safety Efforts
Feb 03, 2006; ... Officials at CONSOL Energy say they already have the kind of safeguards in place that state and federal officials hope to see implemented industrywide in the wake of the Sago and Aracoma Alma mine tragedies in the Mountain State. Separate incidents claimed the lives of 14 men at the two ...
Moundsville Officials Hope Wal-Mart Draws Shoppers into Entire Retail Community
Feb 03, 2006; ... Moundsville officials hope the opening of the new Wal-Mart SuperCenter can be a springboard to growth for the entire retail community. Marshall County Administrator Betsy Frohnapfel said the merchant community hopes to use Wal-Mart's retail appeal to their advantage, enticing out-of-town ...
BB&T Takes Stand Against Expanded Eminent Domain
Feb 03, 2006; ... BB&T announced Jan. 25 it will not make loans for commercial development on land taken from private citizens by eminent domain. The move by the multi-state banking company puts it in line with legislation passed Jan. 19 in the West Virginia House of Delegates. The U.S ....
Mittal Steel Seeks To Acquire Arcelor
Feb 03, 2006; ... Mittal Steel Chairman Lakshmi Mittal wants to extend his industrial holdings with a takeover of Arcelor, something that company's leadership vows won't happen without a fight. Netherlands-based Mittal said the merger would create the world's first 100 million ton-plus producer. Mittal's ...
Tracks Double-Down on Table Games
Feb 03, 2006; ... CHARLESTON - Pennsylvania is mere months away from bringing 60,000 slot machines online, which means West Virginia has a limited window of opportunity to preserve its existing gambling revenues at the state's four racetracks. That's the argument the gaming industry has been using since ...
Second Creek Detects Cyber Evidence
Feb 03, 2006; ... BARBOURSVILLE - Second Creek is developing itself as a Sherlock Holmes of the digital age. Last year, the Cabell County technology firm began working with a large corporation that suspected one of its employees was using laptops to communicate with and show information to a ...
Snowshoe Wastewater Debate Stirs Controversy
Feb 03, 2006; ... Stiff opposition to the site proposed for a Pocahontas County wastewater treatment plant has surprised public officials and even has reached the governor's office. "It's not unusual to run into a situation where a property owner doesn't want to have an improvement put on their property," ...
Home Care Pharmacy Will Close in Clarksburg
Feb 03, 2006; ... MORGANTOWN - In spite of efforts by the city of Clarksburg, Omnicare Inc. of Covington, Ky., will close its Clarksburg subsidiary Home Care Pharmacy this spring. The company will offer some of its 40 employees jobs at its NeighborCare subsidiary in Sabraton outside ...
Electronics Recycling Group Works to Position Itself
Feb 03, 2006; ... Now a year old, the National Center for Electronics Recycling in Wood County is securing West Virginia's position at the forefront of the national electronics recycling problem. It's also about to make electronics recycling easier for West Virginians. The NCER grew out of the ...
Wheeling Again Corrals Super Six Games
Feb 03, 2006; ... With the added inducement of $11,000 in scholarship funds, Wheeling's Super Six committee has won the right to host high school football's state championship series for two more years. Members of the state's Secondary Schools Activities Commission Board of Directors voted 6-2 to keep the ...
Companies to Tune Up for Corporate Cup Competition
Feb 03, 2006; ... Three victorious Kanawha Valley businesses will bring Charleston Family YMCA Corporate Cups back to their offices in June. A staple at the Charleston Family YMCA for more than 20 years, the Corporate Cup is the friendly contest that mobilizes employees to work together to build ...
Film to Depict Marshall's Tragic Plane Crash
Feb 03, 2006; ... HUNTINGTON - It was considered one of the darkest days in the history of Marshall University. Now it will be the subject of a major motion picture. Marshall University, West Virginia Film Office and the Huntington Regional Film Commission have announced that Warner Bros. Pictures will ...
GodbeyWorks Hosts Writing Contest To Launch Redesigned Web Site
Feb 03, 2006; ... GodbeyWorks, the Charleston-based business consulting company, is celebrating its redesigned Web site by hosting a Groundhog Day writing contest. Rob Godbey, the firm's CEO, is using Groundhog Day because "businesses, and most people, tend to do the same routines over and over, afraid of ...
Verizon Gives $250,000 Marketing Grant to Help Ohio County Compete for Companies
Feb 03, 2006; ... WHEELING - With only a few months remaining in the Stone Center renovation project, Gov. Joe Manchin joined officials from Verizon in announcing the communications company has awarded the Ohio County-based Regional Economic Development Partnership a $250,000 marketing grant. The Stone ...
Charleston Area Alliance Program Trains Future Leaders
Feb 03, 2006; ... Preparing future generations for leadership roles is the goal of the first Charleston Area Alliance Kanawha Valley class. With 32 businessmen and women enrolled, the agency launched its new leadership program Jan. 26. The topics in the nine-week course include media training, strategic ...
527 Groups to Pay By New Rules
Feb 03, 2006; ... CHARLESTON - The candidate filing period has ended and political watchers all over West Virginia are sifting through the lists to see who is running for what office. And if the 2006 election season is going to be anything like the 2004 elections, the "527" independent political groups ...
WVU Grad Discovers Why Cupid's Arrow Hits, Then Sticks
Feb 03, 2006; ... Shinnston native Brandon Aragona said he believes he and a team of researchers have discovered the biological reason people fall in love. "Our finding may explain the rush and euphoria associated with the beginning of a romantic relationship," said Aragona, a 1999 graduate in psychology ...
Edvantia Is Keeping Pace With Education
Feb 03, 2006; ... CHARLESTON - Edvantia is changing the way it does business. Until recently, Edvantia was known as Appalachia Educational Laboratory (AEL). The company changed its name in September to better represent its new direction. Originally, the company's sole purpose was to house the AEL ...
Hinton Hinges Future on Technology, Tourism
Feb 03, 2006; ... These days, the small Summers County town of Hinton has a lot going on. Perhaps the biggest project to take shape is the Hinton Technology Center. The center opened at the end of 2005 and fits right in to the city's plan to become what Mayor Cleo Mathews calls "the technology hub of southern ...
Hospice House Hopes to 'Light the Way Home'
Feb 03, 2006; ... HUNTINGTON - Holding close to the organization's motto - "We light the way home" - Hospice of Huntington President and CEO Charlene Farrell said she hopes the new Hospice House will lighten the difficult decisions of end-of-life care. "It is providing special care you won't find in many ...
Wal-Mart Health Care Bill Faces Opposition
Feb 03, 2006; ... Sen. Dan Foster, D-Kanawha, said he is not trying to demonize the state's largest employer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., but he does believe the retail giant could be playing a larger role in the effort to provide health insurance for more working West Virginians. "This is an opportunity for ...
Wellness Council Touts Tobacco Cessation Program
Feb 03, 2006; ... The Wellness Council of West Virginia's Worksite Wellness Tobacco Policy Program now is five years old. The council counts tobacco cessation programs for coal mining companies among its most valuable services, The program, which is paid for out of the state's annual tobacco industry ...
Cabell Huntington Collaborates on Cancer Care
Feb 03, 2006; ... HUNTINGTON - Cabell Huntington Hospital has launched the region's largest comprehensive cancer center, ushering in what officials are calling a new era of medical care. "It is a new day for cancer care in the region," said Dr. Charles McKown, vice president of health sciences and dean of ...
Health Care Proposals Address the Uninsured in W.Va.
Feb 03, 2006; ... Gov. Joe Manchin proposed two new solutions to the problem of uninsured West Virginians in his State of the State address Jan. 11. If passed by the Legislature, they will add to the solutions already under way for an intractable problem. Health Advisory Council In 2002, West ...
Hofreuter Steps Down as President, CEO of Wheeling Hospital
Feb 03, 2006; ... Dr. Donald H. Hofreuter has left his job as president and chief executive officer at Wheeling Hospital. Serving as interim CEO is Ronald L. Viola, who formerly headed Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh and is a principal in R&V Associates, the Pittsburghbased consulting firm hired to ...
Agreement Forges Path to Licensure for Early Childhood Educators
Feb 03, 2006; ... The pathway to licensure for early childhood teachers in West Virginia will be more open following a Feb. I agreement between West Virginia University and Fairmont State Community & Technical College. WVU's birth-to-five teacher education program entered into an agreement with ...
Laws In Motion
Feb 10, 2006; ... No one thought the 2006 legislative session was going to be that exciting. It's an election year. The governor wasn't pushing for any acidic subjects such as tort reform, and pretty much everyone agreed health care should be a priority. Nothing screamed tension and controversy. And then ...
Mine Office to Get New Interim Director
Feb 10, 2006; ... CHARLESTON - Doug Conaway, who resigned Feb. 7, has spent 29 years in the mining industry, and he has been the diI rector of West Virginia Office of Mine Health Safety and Training since 2001. Conaway was planning to retire in late 2005, a year that was the safest in West Virginia's ...
Tables Games Advocates Try to Promote Legislation
Feb 10, 2006; ... CHARLESTON -Knowing their jobs could be at stake, a busload of Wheeling Island Racetrack and Gaming Center employees visited the state Capitol Feb. - to convince lawmakers that West Virginia needs table games. Legislators are considering whether to give residents in the four counties ...
Wheeling, Ohio County Commission Express Support of Table Games
Feb 10, 2006; ... WHEELING - Although proposed table games legislation is far from its final form within the West Virginia Legislature, members of Wheeling City Council expressed their support Feb. 7 for a county-option vote on gambling expansion at Wheeling Island Racetrack and Gaming Center. Wheeling's ...
Agency Files Lawsuit Against Ky. Coal Mines
Feb 10, 2006; ... On the same day federal mine inspectors asked miners across the country to refresh their knowledge of safety rules, the agency in charge of those inspectors filed a landmark lawsuit against a coal operator for failing to pay fines. The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration filed ...
Manchin Creates Steel Task Force for Weirton
Feb 10, 2006; ... WEIRTON - Weeks before Mittal Steel begins cutting jobs at its plant here, West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin was in town to introduce the members of a task force charged with finding ways to help both the mill and its community thrive. Manchin said the task force, a coalition of legislative ...
Proposed Civil War Memorial Could Bring Tourists to Wheeling
Feb 10, 2006; ... WHEELING - The executive director of the Wheeling Convention and Visitors Bureau said West Virginia's "Friendly City" can be both "The Place to Play," as it is now promoted, but also a place to learn. Frank O'Brien said a proposed National Civil War memorial in Wheeling would generate ...
Byrd Amendment Faces Elimination
Feb 10, 2006; ... President Bush's signature on the budget bill is all that stands between the American steel industry and the repeal of its Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act, otherwise known as the Byrd Amendment. The U.S. House of Representatives voted 216 to 214 Feb. 1 in favor of a budget bill ...
Turnpike Officials Leave Tolls in Place, But They Seek Cost Cuts
Feb 10, 2006; ... Travelers along the West Virginia Turnpike will not see tolls lowered in the near future, but a study under way is looking at possible ways to reduce travel costs on the road. Officials with the West Virginia Parkways, Economic Development and Tourism Authority board said they will not ...
Mittal Will Continue to Operate Hot Mill
Feb 10, 2006; ... Mittal Weirton will lose another 35 jobs with the idling of its galvanizing line, but Independent Steelworkers Union President Mark Glyptis said more than 200 jobs in the hot mill have been saved. Union leaders met several times at Mittal USA corporate headquarters in Chicago to discuss ...
Unemployed Mittal Workers Eligible for Retraining Benefits
Feb 10, 2006; ... Hundreds of workers who lose their jobs at Mittal Steel's Weirton plant now will be eligible for retraining benefits. In its four-page decision released Feb. 3, the U.S. Department of Labor indicated an increase in steel imports was a major factor in manpower cuts as well as declines in ...
Health Bills Take Rare Route
Feb 10, 2006; ... The House of Delegates first transformed Gov. Joe Manchin's health care proposals into something resembling universal coverage. The Senate returned the bill, House Bill 4021, back to the original plan - one program to create a clinic-based program while the other would establish a basic ...
Commerce Names Harbour To New Post
Feb 10, 2006; ... The West Virginia Division of Commerce has a new director of marketing and communications. Commerce Secretary Tom Bulla has named Kim Harbour to the newly created post. She will be tasked with consolidating the eight communications and marketing divisions within Commerce. Harbour ...
Lawsuit Raises Questions About Authority's Actions
Feb 10, 2006; ... PRINCETON - The West Virginia Parkways, Economic Development and Tourism Authority overstepped state law and the Constitution when it increased turnpike tolls, a lawsuit against the authority claims. But an attorney representing the Parkways Authority says the increase is legitimate and ...
Beckley and Raleigh County Offer Turnpike Alternatives
Feb 10, 2006; ... BECKLEY-The new Beckley-Raleigh Transportation Authority last week proposed alternatives that would make $117 million of proposed turnpike projects unnecessary. The alternatives are contained in the Z-Way Plan, named by the Rev. Thomas S. Acker, executive director of Beckley-based ...
Z-Way Could Be Best Way To Solve Raleigh Traffic Problems
Feb 10, 2006; ... BECKLEY - Several different pieces make up the BeckleyRaleigh Transportation Authority's Z-Way Plan. The plan, which would replace two proposed turnpike projects, could take many years and depend on a lot of coordination. But in the end, it would improve traffic flow in Raleigh County, ...
Students Share Research Experiences
Feb 10, 2006; ... Nearly a month into her second semester of college, Marshall University student Danielle Clark already has spent more time in the chemistry lab than most students do in their college career. "I wanted to get into research, but I didn't think I would have the opportunity my freshman ...
Sides Stump For, Against Payday Lending Business
Feb 10, 2006; ... CHARLESTON - West Virginia is one of many states that has so-called "payday lenders," businesses that lend people small amounts of money to get them to their next paycheck. Lobbyist David McMahon wants to stop them because his clients believe the lenders propel people into ...
Amber Alerts Finally Will Put a Face with the Name
Feb 10, 2006; ... West Virginia law enforcement has issued five Amber Alerts during the decade since the child abduction reporting system was established. Those alerts included descriptions, but no photographs. Now AmberView, an Amber Alert enhancement that will broadcast a threedimensional image ...
FiberNet Stays on Track with Expansion Plans
Feb 10, 2006; ... FiberNet, the Charleston-based telecommunications company, is continuing to stretch fiber-optic lines, which speedily carry Internet, cable television and phone services. One of its most notable future projects is in Braxton County, where FiberNet is planning to connect the county's ...
FastTrac Puts Businesses on Fast Track to Success
Feb 10, 2006; ... Brian Shaffer needs help. He wants to expand his automotive repair shop, maybe open a few more shops or even franchise, but he doesn't know how. He's one of 15 people taking the FastTrac Growth Venture Training course that began Feb. 7 at the West Virginia High Technology Consortium Foundation ...
WVU Develops Standards for Teaching Forensic Accounting
Feb 10, 2006; ... MORGANTOWN - It's not often an entirely new subject is taught in colleges. But that's the case for forensic accounting and fraud investigation, and faculty at West Virginia University's College of Business and Economics have spent the past two years preparing draft guidelines for how it should ...
Biometrics Provides Precision for Military
Feb 10, 2006; ... Any question about the value of biometrics for the military has been answered for Clarksburg's Biometrics Fusion Center (BFC), and West Virginia stands to benefit. "We're seeing biometrics growing at an exponential rate within the Department of Defense. It's becoming commonplace," said ...
Biometric Test Center Poised to Open in Morgantown
Feb 10, 2006; ... MORGANTOWN - Your fingerprints may not have been much use to you before now, but all that's about to change. If you live in the Morgantown area, you can put your fingerprints to good use by participating at a new testing facility for biometric devices. The National Biometric Security ...
Group Fails in Effort To Acquire MTR Gaming
Feb 10, 2006; ... TBR Acquisition Group's bid to acquire MTR Gaming Group has been rejected, although the management-led team could retool its proposal and try again. The special committee appointed by MTR's board of directors to evaluate the proposal has decided the buyout would not be in the best ...
International Company Purchases Clarksburg's Eagle Glass Specialties
Feb 10, 2006; ... CLARKSBURG -Eagle Glass Specialties Inc., a landmark that has stayed steadfast through decades of good times and bad including a major fire and a trip to bankruptcy court, has been purchased by Europ Tec Group. Europ Tee also owns companies in Switzerland, Germany, Hungary and Turkey, ...
Flood Cases Close to Litigation
Feb 10, 2006; ... After years of legal wrangling and trips to the state Supreme Court of Appeals, a massive consolidation of claims from the July 2001 floods in southern West Virginia are nearing the litigation stage. An estimated 3,500 plaintiffs represented by such attorneys as Charleston lawyer Stuart ...
Flatley Appointed New U.S. Bankruptcy Judge
Feb 10, 2006; ... West Virginia has a new federal bankruptcy judge. Judge Irene M. Keeley, chief judge of the U.S. District Court, for the Northern District of West Virginia, announced the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has appointed Patrick M. Flatley as the newest addition to the U.S. Bankruptcy ...
Wellspring Center Grants Provide Foundation for Nonprofits
Feb 10, 2006; ... Twenty-four West Virginia faith- and community-based organizations received funding for capacity-building projects from the Mission West Virginia Wellspring Center. Wellspring Center Communications Specialist Jennifer Wagner said the grants are used to improve efficiency and develop ...
Toll Reversal
Feb 17, 2006; ... A peel of a sticker was all it took to lower rates on the West Virginia Turnpike. That, and a judge's decision Feb. 13 to grant a temporary injunction against a toll hike that went into place at the start of the year. Kanawha County Circuit Judge Irene Berger ordered the tolls ...