Logan torture suspect pleads guilty to battery
LOGAN - The final defendants in the Logan County torture case are set for trial later this summer, while another suspect recently pleaded guilty.
Assistant prosecutor Robert Ilderton said Monday that Linnie Burton Jr. pleaded guilty to battery June 9 as part of a deal approved by the victim, 21-year-old Megan Williams. Burton was given a six-month suspended jail sentence and placed on one year of supervised probation.
Burton could have received up to a year in jail for the misdemeanor, which stemmed from him striking Williams in the head with his fist.
The Charleston woman was held captive for several days last summer at a Big Creek trailer.
Defendants Bobby Brewster and Danny Combs are scheduled for trial in July and August, respectively. Four others pleaded guilty earlier, including one woman charged with a hate crime. Williams is black; her attackers are white.
CAMC to receive bonus for giving quality care
For the second consecutive year, Charleston Area Medical Center has been named a top-performing hospital for quality health care.
CAMC was ranked among the nation's best hospitals for care related to hip and knee replacements, heart failure, heart surgery, heart attach and pneumonia, according to the Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration Project.
Because of its high marks, the hospital will receive a $363,115 bonus payment from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
More than 250 hospitals are taking part in the project, which is designed to determine whether financial incentives will help hospitals improve quality.
"These top-performing hospitals - small and large, urban and rural, teaching and non-teaching - have demonstrated a continuous and sustained improvement," said Stephanie Alexander, vice president of Premier, a group overseeing the project.
Clarksburg firm to catch dust for fuel enhancer
CLARKSBURG - A Clarksburg company has agreed to recover a dust byproduct so the waste can be converted into a fuel enhancer.
GrafTech International Holdings, which produces carbon and graphite materials, has been dumping the dust into landfills.
Under a voluntary agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, GrafTech will recover more than 2,000 pounds of the dust so it can be marketed as the fuel enhancer.
The EPA says GrafTech will also upgrade equipment to eliminate about 4,200 pounds of PCBs contained in capacitors at the plant. The toxic material is used as a coolant in electric components and was banned in the 1970s.
Beckley college to launch emergency alert service
BECKLEY - Mountain State University plans to launch an emergency notification system in the fall for students at its campuses in West Virginia, North Carolina and Florida.
The free service announced Wednesday was purchased from Santa Cruz, Calif.-based SchoolMessenger, which provides notification systems for educational institutions.
Logan torture suspect pleads guilty to battery LOGAN - The final defendants in the Logan County torture case are set for trial later this summer, while another suspect recently pleaded guilty.
Assistant prosecutor Robert Ilderton said Monday that Linnie Burton Jr. pleaded guilty to battery June 9 as part of a deal approved by the victim, 21-year-old Megan Williams. Burton was given a six-month suspended jail sentence and placed on one year of supervised probation.
Burton could have received up to a year in jail for the misdemeanor, which stemmed from him striking Williams in the head with his fist.
The Charleston woman was held captive for several days last summer at a Big Creek trailer.
Defendants Bobby Brewster and Danny Combs are scheduled for trial in July and August, respectively. Four others pleaded guilty earlier, including one woman charged with a hate crime. Williams is black; her attackers are white.
CAMC to receive bonus for giving quality care
For the second consecutive year, Charleston Area Medical Center has been named a top-performing hospital for quality health care.
CAMC was ranked among the nation's best hospitals for care related to hip and knee replacements, heart failure, heart surgery, heart attach and pneumonia, according to the Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration Project.
Because of its high marks, the hospital will receive a $363,115 bonus payment from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
More than 250 hospitals are taking part in the project, which is designed to determine whether financial incentives will help hospitals improve quality.
"These top-performing hospitals - small and large, urban and rural, teaching and non-teaching - have demonstrated a continuous and sustained improvement," said Stephanie Alexander, vice president of Premier, a group overseeing the project.
Clarksburg firm to catch dust for fuel enhancer
CLARKSBURG - A Clarksburg company has agreed to recover a dust byproduct so the waste can be converted into a fuel enhancer.
GrafTech International Holdings, which produces carbon and graphite materials, has been dumping the dust into landfills.
Under a voluntary agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, GrafTech will recover more than 2,000 pounds of the dust so it can be marketed as the fuel enhancer.
The EPA says GrafTech will also upgrade equipment to eliminate about 4,200 pounds of PCBs contained in capacitors at the plant. The toxic material is used as a coolant in electric components and was banned in the 1970s.
Beckley college to launch emergency alert service
BECKLEY - Mountain State University plans to launch an emergency notification system in the fall for students at its campuses in West Virginia, North Carolina and Florida.
The free service announced Wednesday was purchased from Santa Cruz, Calif.-based SchoolMessenger, which provides notification systems for educational institutions.
Everette Steele, Mountain State's director of security and campus operations, said students will be notified by telephone in the event of an emergency. The university hopes up to 3,400 students initially will provide an emergency contact number, Steele said.
Mountain State is a private university with campuses in Beckley; Martinsburg; Orlando, Fla.; and Hickory, N.C.
Secretary of state staffer joins McCain's campaign
A former chief of staff for Secretary of State Betty Ireland will help direct GOP presidential candidate John McCain's West Virginia campaign.
Ben Beakes was named executive director of the campaign during last weekend's state GOP summer convention in Flatwoods.
West Virginia McCain Chairman Larry Swann said Beakes' job will be to open an office and assemble a state campaign staff. Swann said a state campaign office will be opened in Charleston within the month.
Beakes served as the state party's political director before joining Ireland in 2005. He left the secretary of state's office last year.
Construction of Morgan courthouse set for fall
BERKELEY SPRINGS - Morgan County Commission President Glen Stotler says construction of a new courthouse could begin soon.
Morgan County plans to open construction bids for the project July 17 and Stotler says work could begin in late August or early September.
Replacing the historic building that was destroyed by a fire in 2006 is expected to cost about $13.6 million. Stotler says most of that total - about $11.8 million - will go toward construction and the rest will be used for furniture, security and other expenses.
Construction is expected to take about 18 months, which Stotler says means work would finish in early 2010.
Suit seeks damages from builder, subcontractors
CHARLES TOWN - Ten current and former homeowners in a Charles Town subdivision are suing a builder and subcontractors, claiming the company failed to install functional radon removal systems.
In one instance, the homeowners contend the builder installed fake pipes to fool building inspectors.
The homeowners state in their lawsuit that Jefferson County is an Environmental Protection Agency "Zone 1 radon area."
That means the county is an area with high levels of the naturally occurring, colorless and odorless radioactive gas. Studies have linked radon to lung cancer.
The lawsuit was filed in Jefferson Circuit Court. It names Richmond American Homes of West Virginia and three subcontractors.
The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory and punitive damages and fees. They are requesting a jury trial.
-- From staff, wire reports
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