State police begin fall pot harvest with big haul

BEECH CREEK - It's harvest time in the West Virginia and it looks to be a bumper crop for marijuana, as law enforcement officials so far have confiscated thousands of plants.

The biggest haul so far was 10,635 plants confiscated in Mingo County on Thursday.

The Mingo County bust featured plants 12 to 15 feet tall. State Police Sgt. Brian Brown said each plant had a street value of about $2,000, making the operation worth about $21 million.

"It's a big haul for one day," Brown said, adding it was the largest single-day tally he can remember.

No arrests have been made.

West Virginia's outdoor marijuana growing season starts in early spring and ends with the first killing frost. Aircraft have become the surveillance vehicle of choice, as outdoor plots are typically located in remote, rugged areas where it's easier to travel by foot than with four-wheel-drive vehicles.

Troopers started their helicopter flyovers in July, using funds made available from the federal Drug Enforcement Agency.

The reconnaissance flights helped troopers locate about 4,700 plants growing in Mason County.

W.Va. already drawing from special gas tax fund

To the tune of nearly $1.9 million, West Virginia has already dipped into a fund created by lawmakers just two months ago to offset highway revenue losses.

The Legislature set up the $20 million special account when it voted to freeze a scheduled increase of the state's gas tax.

State police begin fall pot harvest with big haul

BEECH CREEK - It's harvest time in the West Virginia and it looks to be a bumper crop for marijuana, as law enforcement officials so far have confiscated thousands of plants.

The biggest haul so far was 10,635 plants confiscated in Mingo County on Thursday.

The Mingo County bust featured plants 12 to 15 feet tall. State Police Sgt. Brian Brown said each plant had a street value of about $2,000, making the operation worth about $21 million.

"It's a big haul for one day," Brown said, adding it was the largest single-day tally he can remember.

No arrests have been made.

West Virginia's outdoor marijuana growing season starts in early spring and ends with the first killing frost. Aircraft have become the surveillance vehicle of choice, as outdoor plots are typically located in remote, rugged areas where it's easier to travel by foot than with four-wheel-drive vehicles.

Troopers started their helicopter flyovers in July, using funds made available from the federal Drug Enforcement Agency.

The reconnaissance flights helped troopers locate about 4,700 plants growing in Mason County.

W.Va. already drawing from special gas tax fund

To the tune of nearly $1.9 million, West Virginia has already dipped into a fund created by lawmakers just two months ago to offset highway revenue losses.

The Legislature set up the $20 million special account when it voted to freeze a scheduled increase of the state's gas tax.

But that increase wasn't scheduled to take effect until January. In the meantime, the account is offsetting shortfalls in monthly fuel tax revenues blamed on reduced consumption. That in turn has likely been caused by recent high gas prices.

Senate Finance Chairman Walt Helmick said the account is working as intended. The Pocahontas County Democrat said the state should consider the fund separate from the gas tax relief passed in June.

Lawmakers discussed the funding during Sunday interim meetings.

Searches for college presidents to change

The Higher Education Policy Commission has given its approval to emergency rules that would change how the presidents of West Virginia colleges and universities are chosen and how much they can be paid.

The proposal was unanimously approved Saturday, according to Chancellor Brian Noland.

The new rules would require the commission to approve all search procedures and remove a college governing board's ability to appoint members to an already established search committee.

The chancellor would serve as a nonvoting member on these committees, and the commission would be able to conduct its own finalist interviews.

The commission also agreed to strike a policy requiring a West Virginia college president's salary to be between the 20th and 80th percentile of salaries at similar institutions nationwide.

A legislative committee is expected to approve the emergency rules today. While the emergency rules would then go into effect immediately, the public will have 30 days to comment and changes can be made after the emergency-rule time period lapses, Noland said.

- The Associated Press