W.Va. Guard members         help with storm recovery

Twenty members of the West Virginia National Guard have been sent to Louisiana to help with the recovery from Hurricane Gustav.

The Guard members left Charleston on Monday aboard four Blackhawk helicopters that will be used for search and rescue and medical transport missions.

Guard officials said they will join more than a dozen other members of the Charleston-based 130th Airlift Wing and the Martinsburg-based 167th Airlift Wing, who also are helping with recovery efforts.

Body of 21-year-old

found in New River

THURMOND - New River Gorge National River authorities have identified the body of a Pennsylvania man who drowned in the New River.

Chief Ranger Gary Hartley said two fishermen discovered the body of Alfredo Garcia, 21, of West Chester, Pa., on Monday morning.

Hartley said Garcia was with a group that planned to go rafting Friday. While waiting to begin the trip, some went to the river to swim. Hartley said Garcia tried to swim out to a rock, but the strong current pulled him under. He was not wearing a lifejacket.

Allegheny testing

3 distribution changes

Twenty members of the West Virginia National Guard have been sent to Louisiana to help with the recovery from Hurricane Gustav.

The Guard members left Charleston on Monday aboard four Blackhawk helicopters that will be used for search and rescue and medical transport missions.

Guard officials said they will join more than a dozen other members of the Charleston-based 130th Airlift Wing and the Martinsburg-based 167th Airlift Wing, who also are helping with recovery efforts.

Body of 21-year-old

found in New River

THURMOND - New River Gorge National River authorities have identified the body of a Pennsylvania man who drowned in the New River.

Chief Ranger Gary Hartley said two fishermen discovered the body of Alfredo Garcia, 21, of West Chester, Pa., on Monday morning.

Hartley said Garcia was with a group that planned to go rafting Friday. While waiting to begin the trip, some went to the river to swim. Hartley said Garcia tried to swim out to a rock, but the strong current pulled him under. He was not wearing a lifejacket.

Allegheny testing

3 distribution changes

Electric utility Allegheny Energy is testing three new technological distribution approaches in West Virginia.

Spokesman Allen Staggers said one test involving a Morgantown office complex aims to show how Allegheny can interact with a customer's equipment to increase efficiency and take advantage of fluctuating electricity prices.

The second project will test Allegheny's ability to automatically detect and isolate outages to cut the number of powerless customers to the smallest number possible, Staggers said.

The third project is one of nine funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. Staggers said it combines elements of the other two and will test the ability to optimize energy use by 2,300 Morgantown homes and businesses.

Petroleum Development, former CEO agree on pay

BRIDGEPORT - Oil and natural gas producer Petroleum Development has signed a new compensation deal with its former chief executive.

Steven Williams will get a prorated amount of a $340,000 salary for work as an adviser from June 23 through September, according to the company.

A filing Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission says Williams also gets an undetermined performance bonus for 2008 and options and performance awards totaling 42,667 shares - worth about $2.5 million - which will vest when he leaves as an employee.

The filing says Williams also gets $45,000 a year for serving as chairman of the board. That's atop the $55,000 and 2,000 shares of restricted stock all directors get.

Petroleum Development has operations mostly in Appalachia and Colorado.