WQBE News

Kanawha County Schools’ ten-year plan proposes less school buildings. Board members say the population is declining, and fewer buildings are needed. Twelve schools could be closed under the new plan.

There are over one-thousand new cases of COVID-19 in West Virginia, and twenty more people have died. Wayne County is moving from orange to red on the state’s COVID-19 alert map. A total of eight counties are now in the red, and eighteen more are in the orange category.

Governor Justice says he expects the first doses of COVID-19 vaccine to arrive in West Virginia by the end of next week. Front line healthcare workers and nursing home residents will be the first to receive the vaccine.

West Virginia is partnering with an at home testing company to make COVID-19 testing free and more accessible. The kit is ordered online, and then you will connect with a telehealth supervisor over Zoom and will be guided the saliva collection process. The kit is mailed back, and results will be available 48-to-72 hours later.

Huntington firefighters rescued a cat from a burning home at the intersection of 28th Street and Hite Avenue. No one was home when the fire broke out. It was caused by a faulty air conditioner.

Frankie McNeal will spend more than three years in prison for firing a shot through a woman’s windshield outside a Charleston bar in October 2019. McNeal pleaded guilty and is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Scioto County Commissioner Mike Crabtree has died from COVID-19 related complications. Crabtree was seventy-one.

Charleston police officer Cassie Johnson has died. She was shot Tuesday on Garrison Avenue while responding to a parking complaint. She joined the force in 2019, and previously worked as a humane officer. A suspect is in custody. Thirty-eight-year-old Joshua Phillips was also shot in the incident. He’s in critical condition at CAMC General Hospital. … Read more

An entire community is rallying behind one of its own after the city of Dunbar’s mayor-elect was seriously injured in a hunting accident. Family-friends said Scott Elliott dedicated his entire life to public service, and WCHS TV reported now they are paying him back. Before running for mayor, Elliott served more than 20 years with … Read more

Kanawha County Schools’ 10-year plan proposes fewer school buildings in the county by 2029. Board members say the area’s shrinking population has caused some schools to be underutilized and consolidation might be an option, particularly elementary schools. If the plan is implemented, Riverside High School’s area would see the biggest change, going from 13 schools … Read more