WQBE News

A petition calling for the return of Stewarts Hot Dogs to the Marshall University campus was delivered to University President Jerome Gilbert. Concerned Citizens of Huntington gathered 48-hundred signatures to reinstate the hot dogs at Marshall athletic venues.

Boone County agencies cut more than ten positions as the county faces dwindling money from coal severance and a declining population. County commissioners ordered agencies to slash personnel by 20 percent to balance the budget.

An attorney for the state Division of Highways has asked for permission to deny paid time off for employees who plan to attend a grievance hearing next month. A letter to the grievance board says that employees plan to stage a protest, and the division shouldn’t have to grant time off. More than 400 employees accuse the division of failing to address pay, hiring and retention problems.

Proposed changes in SNAP benefits under a Trump administration proposal could result in more than 25-thousand West Virginians losing their benefits. The changes would remove automatic enrollment if someone had already applied for other state-run benefit programs.

Students and teacher across West Virginia wore maroon Tuesday to honor Alex Miller, the Roane County High School senior who died after collapsing during a football game. A funeral service for Miller will be Saturday at Roane County High School.

Dunbar residents met with city officials and lawmakers in a community forum dealing with homelessness and trespassing in the city. Dunbar Mayor Bill Cunningham proposed that delegates should fund drug treatment programs.

The jury found a man accused in the 2018 death of an eight-month-old baby guilty on two charges. William Bowen IV was found guilty of murder of a child, and child abuse. The little girl was found unresponsive and covered in bruises at a home in St. Albans. Bowne faces 15 years to life in prison.

An electrician was shocked to death at Panther Creek Mining’s American Eagle Mine in Cabin Creek. The state Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training says forty-year-old Steven Keeney died early Tuesday morning.

Boone County governmental agencies have cut 11.5 positions as the county faces dwindling money from coal severance and a declining population. County commissioners had ordered agencies to slash personnel by 20 percent to balance the budget. More cuts could be required the next quarter. The county also is trying to sell off some property. WCHS TV reports the sheriff’s office cut four law enforcement positions, and one position was cut from the tax department. Two secretarial positions with the county commission were also cut, and the he county clerk cut one full-time worker and one part-time slot. The circuit clerk, assessor and prosecutor each cut one position. Some staff members retired.

A 40-year-old coal mine electrician died in an accident early Tuesday. The West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training says Steven Vernon Keeney of Sylvester died of injuries from an apparent electrical shock at the Panther Creek Mining American Eagle Mine in Cabin Creek. Keeney was a certified electrician at the mine. The agency’s inspectors are investigating. It is the third coal mining fatality in West Virginia this year and the 10th nationwide. The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration says four have occurred in Kentucky, two in Pennsylvania and one in Illinois.