Free Republic

INSTITUTE, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- While the people who work at the Bayer CropScience site are trying to cope with the aftermath of Thursday night's explosion, investigators are trying to figure out what went wrong. Broken glass and caution tape are two signs that Thursday night’s explosion reached far beyond the confines of the Institute plant. Jill Oliver of Oliver Oils and Fuels had some glass shattered at her business from the explosion, but knows what she lost can be replaced. "I hated that that man lost his life," she said Friday, referring to Barry Withrow, the Bayer CropScience employee who...

<p>NSTITUTE, W.Va. -- Witnesses reported seeing a red fireball and feeling a blast as far away as Charleston, after an explosion was reported at the Bayer Crop Science Plant in Institute at 10:35 p.m. Thursday. The explosion was heard at least as far away as Mink Shoals.</p>

Weak sun created cool oceans, lowered rainfall seven times in 7,000 years ATHENS, Ohio (Aug. 19, 2008) – A stalagmite in a West Virginia cave has yielded the most detailed geological record to date on climate cycles in eastern North America over the past 7,000 years. The new study confirms that during periods when Earth received less solar radiation, the Atlantic Ocean cooled, icebergs increased and precipitation fell, creating a series of century-long droughts. A research team led by Ohio University geologist Gregory Springer examined the trace metal strontium and carbon and oxygen isotopes in the stalagmite, which preserved climate...

Chestnut Hill, West Virginia---West Virginia's registered Democrats, like their cousins in western Pennsylvania and eastern and southern Ohio, are having a hard time fitting anywhere within Barack Obama's vision of the Democratic party. "Obama and his message just do not gel with me," said Mark Lamp as he climbed into his utility truck. Lamp, 47, from neighboring Weirton, is a registered Democrat who voted for Clinton in the May primary. "My first problem with him is taxes, the second is experience," he explained. Lamp has worked in construction all of his life, and the company he works for builds houses...

PARKERSBURG, W. Va. (Aug. 24, 2008) - One thousand dogs saved from a Parkersburg, W. Va. puppy mill are now on their way to better lives thanks to the diligent efforts of local authorities and local and national humane organizations. "It is extremely gratifying to know that our efforts will bring comfort and hope to 1,000 animals that spent their whole lives in darkness and despair," said Maryann Hollis, executive director of the Humane Society of Parkersburg. "But we would not have been able to save all of these dogs without the help of United Animal Nations, Best Friends Animal...

The new West Virginia University Erma Byrd Biomedical Research Center was officially named and dedicated last week, with a keynote address from U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd. The building is named for the senator’s late wife, Erma Ora James Byrd, who died in 2006. The building on the campus of the WVU Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center is 118,000 square feet on four levels. It will house research laboratories for the WVU Sensory Neurosciences Re-search Center, the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Cardiovascular Sciences, and for the School of Pharmacy. It’s also the future location for the Multiple Sclerosis...

MARTINSBURG, WV - A pro-gun group wants to do away with a Martinsburg law that bans guns in city buildings, but city officials intend to keep the rule in place. As a gun owner and owner of Shep's Sporting Goods store in Martinsburg, Brad Sheppard believes in the right to bear arms. "If a person has a right to carry a gun for their protection, then they should be allowed to do so," he said. On the other hand, he also understands Martinsburg's ordinance that says people can't carry a firearm or other deadly weapon into a building owned, leased,...

21 billboards erected. Goal is one in all 55 counties. August 11 2008Clarksburg, WV – Jay Wolfe’s campaign has erected billboards that strike at the very heart of the most important issue of this election - high gasoline prices. The culprits are those, like Senator Rockefeller, in Congress who have consistently blocked Americans from drilling for oil in ANWR, the Pacific, the Atlantic and for shale oil in states like Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. “After 24 years in the U.S. Senate, Senator Rockefeller expects us to believe he favors energy independence from our reliance on foreign oil. Yet, he...

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The nation's longest-serving U.S. senator tells candidates John McCain and Barack Obama that to be the great president America needs they need to be what George W. Bush was not. Be humble, honest and contemplative, Sen. Robert C. Byrd writes in his latest book, "Letter to a New President: Commonsense Lessons for Our Next Leader." Seek dissenting opinions. Reject the politics of fear. Admit and learn from your mistakes, the 90-year-old West Virginia Democrat advises. Byrd has long been a critic of the president, and his latest book offers a scathing assessment of Bush: a "son of...

West Virginia started Friday keeping driver's license photos out of a computer database for members of a small religious group who believe digital storage is a "mark of the beast" that evokes biblical prophecy. State Division of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Joseph Cicchirillo said the group of about 50 or 60 Christians, who are not affiliated with a particular church, contacted the agency two or three years ago to object to their pictures "being on a database that can be exchanged throughout the world or hacked into." One of the group members is Phil Hudok, who made headlines in 1999 when...

CHARLESTON — Though the political sands can shift before November, the leading national analysts who dabble in Electoral College math appear uniformly certain that presumptive Republican presidential candidate John McCain can count on West Virginia’s five electoral votes. The scant attention paid it by McCain and Democrat Barack Obama has helped bring home the realization that the Mountain State is not the battleground it was during the last two races for the White House. By this time in 2004, for instance, President George Bush and Democrat John Kerry had each headlined three full-fledged events in the state since that year’s...

A longtime Western Pennsylvania politician once said, “You run with the top of the ticket when you can, and run away from it when you have to.” Which explains U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire’s short answer as to whether he will campaign in his district with Barack Obama: He’ll “consider it.” Altmire -– a previous skeptic of offshore drilling who now supports it, pitting him against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi -– said it will depend on when the presumptive nominee comes to town and if their schedules mesh. “I am not going to avoid it,” he added.

Before you watch this video, let me tell you it will be maddening. But it is worth watching for what you can get out of it. It is raw video of Sen. John McCain in Huntington, West Virginia today, August 6, 2008, where he went to a Marshall University Football practice and then spoke to the players after the practice. He spoke about his POW experience, and how courage and sacrifice are vital to the success of any team. The video is not professional, and at times it is as if McCain's words are cut off in mid-sentence. But if...

But that has not stopped Project Vote Smart from offering a detailed rundown of at least some of the state's federal hopefuls in advance of November. Just two of the seven active congressional candidates had responded to the group's Political Courage Test by last week's deadline. They are Marty Gearheart, the Mercer County businessman challenging Rep. Nick Rahall in the state's 3rd District; and Jay Wolfe, in a rematch against Sen. Jay Rockefeller.

At least one family member has tried to silence those who have the temerity to disagree with him. Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) has demanded that Exxon stop funding "global warming" skeptics — implying dire consequences from the Senate speech politburo if his wishes are defied.

ELKVIEW, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Kanawha County Sheriff's Deputies are asking for the public's help to identify a man they say stole nearly $2,000 in high-end beef. The crime happened at the Elkview Kroger on Sunday, July 27, between 10:15 p.m. and 10:45 p.m. Lieutenant Sean Crosier says the suspect loaded his shopping cart with expensive steaks and entire loins, then walked out through the loading dock at the back of the store. In all, $1,930 worth of meat was stolen, according to Crosier. Anyone with information about the suspect in the picture is asked to call the Kanawha County Sheriff's...

Wolfe has billboards in 22 counties that say, "Gas too high? Thank Rockefeller. He blocks drilling." He hopes to have one of the 16-by-36-foot billboards in each of the state's 55 counties. "This coming Saturday, a crew of us will be putting one up on Route 50 in Doddridge County," he said. Volunteers in Berkeley County are helping place one there, too. It's a jab at Rockefeller refusing to vote for drilling oil in places considered environmentally sensitive, such as the Alaska wildlife region. Tuesday, Wolfe had just picked up a batch of bumper stickers that say, "Drill now. Wolfe,...

CHARLESTON, W.VA. - A Consol Energy Inc. executive said the company is sure a $800 million coal-to-gasoline plant to be built in Marshall County will be economically viable. "We're highly confident that the plant will be viable under any conceivable future energy price scenario," said Paul Spurgeon, Consol's vice president of power development and coal conversion projects. Gov. Joe Manchin, Consol and Synthesis Energy Systems Inc. announced Monday that the companies have formed a joint venture to build a coal-to-gasoline plant - the state's first - at Benwood. Worries about the long-term economic viability of coal-to-liquids projects have caused other...

(NECN: West Virginia) - President Bush spoke before the West Virginia Coal Association this morning. "This is a challenging time, not the first time we've been through challenging times," said President Bush. "In the second quarter, the economy grew at a rate of 1.9%. Not as good as we'd like it to be, but there were predictions that the economy would shrink this quarter, not grow. But, in fact, the opposite has happened," said Bush. "Productivity increases are up, which makes America's goods more competitive," said Bush. "Exports are on the rise. Durable good orders are strong. Businesses are anticipating...

Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign released its latest television ad today entitled "Celeb." The ad takes a swipe at the perception that Sen. Barack Obama is "the biggest celebrity in the world" because of his much covered Middle-East/European tour last week. The ad opens with a huge crowd screaming "O-Bama! O-Bama!" then flashes images of Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Obama -- not together and by the way not very subliminal lining him up with the Britney and Paris celebrity train wrecks) -- hitting the screen with the announcer proclaiming that "Barack Obama is the biggest celebrity in the world."...

Liberal Democrats are closer than ever to wrecking our economy, destroying traditional family values and shredding our liberties. Republicans need only two seats to win back the majority in the U.S. Senate. This year, we are guaranteed that an extreme liberal Democrat will be running for President. I believe West Virginia Republicans and Democrats alike will be electing a Republican for President, just like they did in 2000 and 2004. In 2002, I was Senator Rockefeller’s opponent and came within 13% of defeating him and he outspent me 20 to 1. That year, there were no Presidential coattails to help...

Dallas murder suspect arrested in Zanesville Law enforcement, firefighters and postal investigators respond to the scene of a shooting at the Dallas Post Office Friday afternoon. The road around the post office was closed for hours. POST OFFICE IS CLOSED Following the fatal shooting Friday, the Dallas Post Office will be closed today and until further notice, postal officials said late Friday. Post office box customers at the Dallas Post Office can pick up their box mail at the Valley Grove Post Office, 3470 National Road. Mail delivery for Dallas customers will be conducted as normal, officials said. DALLAS, W.Va....

It has been ten months after a Kanawha County pastor was arrested and charged with sexually abusing teenage boys in the early 1990s. The case against Sandy Cook still has yet to go to trial. One man who claims he's a victim says a slow-moving court system is victimizing him all over again. David Mullins says he's not afraid or ashamed anymore to share his past of sexual abuse. He says it was at the hands of Pastor Sandy Cook eighteen years ago. "There's nothing he can do to me. I am not that 13 or 14 year old kid,"...

In 1984, when moved to Bridgeport with an insurance job, Jay and Mollie both registered for the first time as Republicans because of their pro-life convictions and knowing the pro-abortion political platform of the Democrat Party. Jay has since grown to be both socially and fiscally conservative. Jay Wolfe served four years in the West Virginia State Senate from 1987 through 1990, served on the Harrison County and State Republican Executive Committees, was the 1988 Republican U.S. Senate nominee against Robert Byrd and the 2002 Republican U.S. Senate nominee against Jay Rockefeller. When asked why he keeps going after Rockefeller’s...

Army deserters told fellow soldier they committed the crime, court papers say. Two U.S. Army deserters were arrested Friday and charged with killing the Rev. Mark McCalla, a former Franklin pastor. First-degree murder charges were filed against Stephen C. Wilson, 19, of Cincinnati, and Daniel R. Smith, 22, of Newport News, Va. The men were captured after 9 p.m. Friday in downtown Columbus, according to Sgt. Dana Norman of the Columbus Police Dept. homicide bureau. The men told a fellow soldier they had shot and killed McCalla, according to criminal complaints filed in Wayne County, W.Va., magistrate court. Wilson and...

Sen. Barack Obama did patriotism yesterday, today it is faith and by the end of the day both speeches will have been done in back-to-back states that swing: Missouri and Ohio. The Obama campaign said the Illinois senator plans to go to Zanesville, located in eastern Ohio, to visit a church program that provides food and clothing assistance to those in need.

When Sen. Barack Obama chose the Nissan Pavilion in the outer suburbs of Northern Virginia to kick off his general-election campaign, one of the 10,000 supporters there was David Bruzas, who recently moved to the fastest-growing part of a state that is moving rapidly away from its Republican past. "Being in this area has made me a lot more politically in tune with what's going on," said Bruzas, 27, a systems engineer from Illinois who moved to Fairfax County to work for Cisco Systems in 2005. "And I identify with Obama." Only a few hours west on Route 50, in...

KAYFORD, West Virginia (AFP) - The traditional lifestyle of the Appalachian peaks of West Virginia is under threat from mining companies who blow the summits off mountains to reach the coal deposits that lie beneath the surface. "They are killing off the culture of the mountain people," said Maria Gunnoe, who lives on a hillside which has had its insides dug out to expose a huge mine called Jupiter. "We are fighting not only for right now but also for yesterday and tomorrow," she said. Mountaintop removal mining, or MTR, is not only affecting traditions, but also polluting drinking water...

For a candidate who has insinuated that Sen. John McCain is too old to handle the stress of the presidency, Sen. Barack Obama has a strange way of demonstrating his own abilities. He will provide an example of his own limitations on Friday, when he visits Columbus. It has been no secret thus far during the campaign that Obama does best in highly controlled, scripted appearances. He plans one for Friday, when he will go to Columbus — to appear at an invitation-only event for a limited number of senior citizens. Meanwhile, McCain has begun the series of “town hall”...

Senator Byrd In Step with West Virginians, Poll ShowsByrd Opposes Lieberman-Warner Global Warming Bill Rejected by Overwhelming Majority in Region For Release: June 6, 2008 Washington, DC - Senator Robert Byrd, who opposes America's Climate Security Act presently scheduled for a key Senate vote at 9 AM Friday, is in sync with a majority of West Virginians, says a poll released by the National Center for Public Policy Research. The survey found 64% of likely voters in mid-Atlantic states (WV, VA, MD, PA, NY, NJ and DE) oppose spending more for gasoline to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 71% oppose spending...

Democrats and two useful Republican idiots on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) have colluded in a disgraceful sham, published late last week as a report on “whether public statements regarding Iraq by U.S. government officials were substantiated by intelligence information” prior to the March 2003 invasion of Iraq. All one really needs to know about this exercise in legerdemain is revealed by SSCI Chairman Jay Rockefeller’s diktat — over Republican protest and adopted without a vote — that the Committee would focus myopically on prewar statements made by administration officials. That is, the SSCI opted to overlook the...

The Senate Intelligence Committee finally released it's long-awaited/overdue report on their investigation into pre-war intelligence on Saddam's Iraq. This final report was supposed to look at statements made by government officials in the run up to war from 1991-2003. It was supposed to examine the pre-war marketing or threat assessment and descriptions to the public about the intelligence regarding the threat posed by Saddam's regime. Instead, the report looked at just 5 Bush Administration speeches. It completely left out any and all comments from Pres Bush Sr, Pres Clinton, anyone in his administration, and every member of the House and...

Jay Rockefeller's Amnesia And the White House's weakness. by Stephen F. Hayes JAY ROCKEFELLER, CHAIRMAN of the Senate Intelligence Committee, released (yet another) report written by Democratic staffers claiming the Bush administration politicized intelligence. The "report" is a political document that is already accomplishing its goal: making headlines. I'll leave it to someone more industrious to correct the numerous errors in the report and in the news stories about it. (Maybe the White House? Nah.) "In making the case for war, the administration repeatedly presented intelligence as fact when it was unsubstantiated, contradicted or even non-existent," Rockefeller said at a...

John McCain begins the general election season with an eight-point advantage over Barack Obama in West Virginia. The first Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of this general election match-up shows McCain attracting 45% of the vote while Obama earns 37%. Neither man is terribly popular in the state. McCain earns favorable reviews from 48% and unfavorable ratings from another 48%. The numbers for Obama are 40% favorable and 57% unfavorable. Those figures include 26% with a Very Unfavorable opinion of McCain and 35% with such a negative view of Obama. McCain and Obama are very competitive nationally in the Rasmussen Reports...

Search the Internet for "Bush Lied" products, and you will find sites that offer more than a thousand designs. The basic "Bush Lied, People Died" bumper sticker is only the beginning. Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence, set out to provide the official foundation for what has become not only a thriving business but, more important, an article of faith among millions of Americans. And in releasing a committee report Thursday, he claimed to have accomplished his mission, though he did not use the L-word. "In making the case for war, the administration...

Johnny Telvor was not happy about Barack Obama becoming the Democratic presidential nominee. Not happy at all. Standing outside the sturdy courthouse in the sweltering heat of a West Virginia afternoon in the small town of Williamson, Telvor smoked a cigarette and bluntly gave his opinion of Obama's historic mission to be America's first black president. 'We'll end up slaves. We'll be made slaves just like they was once slaves,' he said. Telvor, a white Democrat who supported Hillary Clinton in West Virginia's primary, said he planned to vote for Republican John McCain in November. 'At least he's an American,'...

West Virginia University President Mike Garrison says he is resigning effective September 1. [Funny how these perps always get to hang around long enough to get another year's pension, huh?] Long story short, the university manufactured an MBA degree for the GOVERNOR's DAUGHTER. This is such a sordid tale: How political insiders get plum profitable positions and the power to cover up malfeasance. This is how our government works today. The bureacracy no longer works for you. It works for it's members and the pols and vendors who provide the money.

John McCain begins the general election season with an eight-point advantage over Barack Obama in West Virginia. The first Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of this general election match-up shows McCain attracting 45% of the vote while Obama earns 37%. Neither man is terribly popular in the state. McCain earns favorable reviews from 48% and unfavorable ratings from another 48%. The numbers for Obama are 40% favorable and 57% unfavorable. Those figures include 26% with a Very Unfavorable opinion of McCain and 35% with such a negative view of Obama.

Vice President Dick Cheney threw a verbal insult at West Virginians on Monday, but quickly apologized. Talking about his family roots and how he's distantly related to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, the vice president noted that he had Cheneys on both sides of his family. "And we don't even live in West Virginia," Cheney quipped. "You can say those things when you're not running for re-election." West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin, a Democrat, quickly asked Cheney to apologize. "I truly cannot believe that any vice president of the United States, regardless of their political affiliation, would make such a...

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Vice President Dick Cheney apologized on Monday through a spokesman after furor erupted from his joke implying inbreeding was practiced in the West Virginia. Cheney had been asked during the Gerald R. Ford Journalism Awards at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. about reports that he was distantly related to Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL). "Well, that's true. We are, in fact, distantly related," Cheney said, according to a White House transcript. "And we haven't talked about a family reunion; I have no objections. I'm not sure Senator Obama is up for it, at least not...

Republican John McCain and his Democratic opponent - either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton -- likely won't be the only choices for president on the West Virginia ballot come November. The Ralph Nader campaign is in full force in the Mountain State. Staff and volunteers for the independent candidate have collected more than half of the signatures required in the state to put Nader on the general election ballot. Nader regional coordinator Albert Marino said the campaign has gathered more than 7,500 signatures as of Monday. Nader, and any other minor party candidate in West Virginia, needs 15,118 signatures by...

On the same day the second longest sitting senator had brain surgery, the longest sitting senator was hospitalized with a fever. Ninety-year-old Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., was hospitalized tonight after staffers noticed he was lethargic at work and a caregiver discovered he had a high temperature. He is remaining overnight on the advice of his doctor, according to his spokesman, Jesse Jacobs, who said he was unsure which hospital his boss was at. It is unclear at this point if the hospitalization is anything more than precautionary. Byrd, who has had a spate of health problems recently -- he fell...

Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W. Va.) was admitted to the hospital for the third time this year on Monday night, this time for overnight observation after suffering a high fever. Byrd, 90, the longest-serving senator in U.S. history, was taken to a Virginia hospital in the early evening and will stay there overnight after feeling ill throughout the day, spokesman Jesse Jacobs said. Jacobs said Byrd had felt “lethargic and sluggish” throughout the day, but attended the lone Senate vote of the day, at 5:30 p.m. He was one of 14 senators to vote against debating a climate change bill. Shortly...

MSNBC reporting Senator Byrd, (West Virginia) has been hospitalized. He was described as being "lethargic, sluggish and having a fever"

West Virginia Elected Officials Blast Cheney Over Family Joke Monday, June 02, 2008 WASHINGTON — West Virginians reacted angrily to a joke about families in the state made by Vice President Dick Cheney at the National Press Club Monday. Talking about his family roots and how he's distantly related to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, the vice president noted that he had Cheneys on both sides of his family. "We'd always known about the Cheney family line on my father's side of the family, back to Massachusetts in the 1630s. My grandmother was named Tyler but it turned out she...

Company's Eastern Division will remain in capital city. CHARLESTON -- Nine months after breaking ground on its Eastern Division headquarters building in Charleston, Chesapeake Energy Corp. announced May 29 it has scrapped those plans. In a prepared statement, Scott Rotruck, vice president for corporate development, said a May 22 decision by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals to not hear an appeal in the case of Tawney v. Columbia Natural Resources caused company officials to rethink locating the headquarters in West Virginia. Chesapeake had projected the cost of the building at $35 million. “This decision was stunning, as it...

A young shopper at a Wal-Mart in West Virginia had to watch out for more than falling prices. A 12-year-old girl picking up a seedless watermelon from a bin was stung Sunday by a tan, 1-inch-long scorpion that had apparently stowed away in a shipment from Mexico.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. -- Numbers come precisely from the agile mind and nimble tongue of Frank Buckles, who seems bemused to say that 4,734,991 Americans served in the military during America's involvement in the First World War and 4,734,990 are gone. He is feeling fine, thank you for asking. The eyes of the last doughboy are still sharp enough for him to be a keen reader, and his voice is still deep and strong at age 107. He must have been a fine broth of a boy when, at 16, persistence paid off and he found, in Oklahoma City, an...

It isn’t just West Virginia. We saw those same lopsided majorities for Clinton -- three and four to one -- in southwestern Pennsylvania, western counties in Virginia, and eastern Tennessee. We’ll see more such blowouts in Kentucky’s eastern counties on May 20. Who are these people and what are they thinking? They live along a geographical belt of the country roughly corresponding to the Appalachian Mountains stretching from upstate New York to Alabama. Many call the area Appalachia and describe the people as “backward”. Such characterizations are both unfair and inaccurate. These people have been there a long time. Migration...

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- Sen. Robert Byrd's stem-winding opposition to the war in Iraq wasn't in fashion when U.S. troops toppled Saddam Hussein more than five years ago. Over the course of the war, the West Virginia Democrat, now 90, has become increasingly frail, but the old fire — along with some tears — was back as he kicked off debate on a war funding bill on Tuesday. Speaking from a wheelchair in only his second speech since falling in February at his Virginia home and suffering other health setbacks, Byrd angrily denounced President Bush for leaving his successor with a...