1 injured when bulldozer overturns in Summersville

SUMMERSVILLE - A bulldozer driver was injured Friday afternoon when his dozer overturned near Jerry Forks in Nicholas County, emergency dispatchers said.

Shortly after 3 p.m., dispatchers received a call about the accident. A Nicholas dispatcher said the man was doing reclamation work near a mine site at the time of the accident.

Lt. Michael Hanks, a firefighter with the Keslers Cross Lanes fire department, said the bulldozer driver was conscious when he was transported to a Charleston hospital but may have suffered broken bones.

A second Nicholas dispatcher said the man was flown by helicopter to Charleston Area Medical Center.

Hanks said the man was an employee of Nicholas Energy, a subsidiary of Massey Energy, Hanks said. 

Waste Management seeks OK to buy company

Waste Management Inc. is seeking approval from West Virginia regulators to buy the assets of a struggling trash collection company for $2.5 million.

Houston-based Waste Management asked the Public Service Commission in August to transfer Cummings Collection Service's permits and certificates to it. The company also is seeking emergency authority to take over Cummings' collection routes.

Cummings has more than 14,000 customers, most of whom are in Putnam County. The company's trash collections have fallen behind in recent months, prompting complaints from customers.

WVU receives grant for rural health research

West Virginia University is getting $2.6 million to establish a national rural health research center.

WVU said Friday it's getting the money from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The four-year grant goes to WVU's Institute for Health Policy Research.

WVU received one of six national grants. To qualify, WVU had to identify a nationally relevant topic of concern. The West Virginia Rural Health Research Center's principal investigator, Michael Hendryx, says the university chose the impact of environmental hazards on health and economics in rural communities.

Also, the state Department of Education has been awarded a grant worth more than $348,000 to develop the Healthy Eating and Activity Teams Tactics project.

The effort will include training, a newsletter for parents and schools, and school activities designed to help students make healthier choices about eating and exercise.

Teen smokers more addicted, WVU study finds

MORGANTOWN - West Virginia University research shows teens who volunteer for programs to quit smoking are more addicted than other young smokers.

The research released Thursday shows teens who want to quit aren't sure they can give up tobacco. WVU says teens who try to quit are 60 percent more likely to switch to smokeless tobacco and 200 percent more likely to take up cigars compared with other teen smokers across the country.

The research was published in the journal Tobacco Induced Diseases. It comes from data on about 6,000 teens who enrolled in the Not On Tobacco smoking cessation program from 1998 to 2006.

Marshall cancels classes due to power outage

HUNTINGTON - A failed splice in an underground electrical cable in a substation is to blame for a power outage in Huntington that prompted the closure of Marshall University on Friday.

In addition to the university's Huntington campus, classes were canceled at the Marshall Community & Technical College.

Marshall spokesman Bill Bissett said the Drinko Library, large portions of Old Main and the Robert C. Byrd Biotechnology Science Center didn't lose power because of backup generators.

American Electric Power reported on its Web site that power was restored to all customers by late Friday afternoon, but spokesman Phil Moye said the power would have to be turned off for another hour Friday night so that final repairs could be made.

1 injured when bulldozer overturns in Summersville

SUMMERSVILLE - A bulldozer driver was injured Friday afternoon when his dozer overturned near Jerry Forks in Nicholas County, emergency dispatchers said.

Shortly after 3 p.m., dispatchers received a call about the accident. A Nicholas dispatcher said the man was doing reclamation work near a mine site at the time of the accident.

Lt. Michael Hanks, a firefighter with the Keslers Cross Lanes fire department, said the bulldozer driver was conscious when he was transported to a Charleston hospital but may have suffered broken bones.

A second Nicholas dispatcher said the man was flown by helicopter to Charleston Area Medical Center.

Hanks said the man was an employee of Nicholas Energy, a subsidiary of Massey Energy, Hanks said. 

Waste Management seeks OK to buy company

Waste Management Inc. is seeking approval from West Virginia regulators to buy the assets of a struggling trash collection company for $2.5 million.

Houston-based Waste Management asked the Public Service Commission in August to transfer Cummings Collection Service's permits and certificates to it. The company also is seeking emergency authority to take over Cummings' collection routes.

Cummings has more than 14,000 customers, most of whom are in Putnam County. The company's trash collections have fallen behind in recent months, prompting complaints from customers.

WVU receives grant for rural health research

West Virginia University is getting $2.6 million to establish a national rural health research center.

WVU said Friday it's getting the money from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The four-year grant goes to WVU's Institute for Health Policy Research.

WVU received one of six national grants. To qualify, WVU had to identify a nationally relevant topic of concern. The West Virginia Rural Health Research Center's principal investigator, Michael Hendryx, says the university chose the impact of environmental hazards on health and economics in rural communities.

Also, the state Department of Education has been awarded a grant worth more than $348,000 to develop the Healthy Eating and Activity Teams Tactics project.

The effort will include training, a newsletter for parents and schools, and school activities designed to help students make healthier choices about eating and exercise.

Teen smokers more addicted, WVU study finds

MORGANTOWN - West Virginia University research shows teens who volunteer for programs to quit smoking are more addicted than other young smokers.

The research released Thursday shows teens who want to quit aren't sure they can give up tobacco. WVU says teens who try to quit are 60 percent more likely to switch to smokeless tobacco and 200 percent more likely to take up cigars compared with other teen smokers across the country.

The research was published in the journal Tobacco Induced Diseases. It comes from data on about 6,000 teens who enrolled in the Not On Tobacco smoking cessation program from 1998 to 2006.

Marshall cancels classes due to power outage

HUNTINGTON - A failed splice in an underground electrical cable in a substation is to blame for a power outage in Huntington that prompted the closure of Marshall University on Friday.

In addition to the university's Huntington campus, classes were canceled at the Marshall Community & Technical College.

Marshall spokesman Bill Bissett said the Drinko Library, large portions of Old Main and the Robert C. Byrd Biotechnology Science Center didn't lose power because of backup generators.

American Electric Power reported on its Web site that power was restored to all customers by late Friday afternoon, but spokesman Phil Moye said the power would have to be turned off for another hour Friday night so that final repairs could be made.

United Bank expects Lehman-related charge

United Bank's corporate parent expects third-quarter earnings to be hurt by the bankruptcy of investment bank Lehman Brothers.

Charleston-based United Bankshares says in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing today that it owns a $10 million Lehman Brothers bond and expects to take a non-cash impairment charge in the quarter. United says the bond amounts to about 0.125 percent of its $8 billion in assets.

While United doesn't specify the size of the charge, it notes Lehman Brothers bonds are trading between 12.5 cents and 35 cents on the dollar.

Separately, United says it's expecting a positive tax adjustment of about $1.4 million, or 3 cents per share, in the quarter.

Mistrial declared in W.Va. murder case

FAIRMONT - A mistrial has been declared in a drug-related murder and conspiracy case.

An unspecified problem with the jury prompted Marion Chief Circuit Judge David Janes to declare the mistrial Thursday.

Defendant Lincoln Taylor is set to go to trial again Nov. 10. Taylor, 24, is one of four men charged in the Memorial Day 2007 shooting of Derrick Osborne, 22, of Columbia, S.C.

Donnell Lee, 24, was convicted of murder and conspiracy last month. Lafayette Jenkins Jr., 25, and Stephen H. Podolsky, 24, have agreed to plead guilty to lesser charges.

The prosecution says Taylor was the triggerman, and agreed to commit the murder to cover a drug debt. The defense says Taylor has an alibi.

City councilman in W.Va. accused of shooting truck

BENWOOD - A Benwood city councilman is accused of shooting his neighbor's pickup truck with a 12-gauge shotgun.

Charles Terry, 67, is charged with wanton endangerment and is free on bond.

Terry allegedly confessed his crime to State Police. The Wednesday afternoon incident apparently stemmed from a property dispute involving some downed tree branches. There were no injuries.

Alcon breaks ground on W.Va. site expansion

HUNTINGTON - Swiss eye care products maker Alcon Inc. has broken ground on an expansion of its West Virginia manufacturing operation.

Alcon officials said Friday the new 74,000-square-foot building will be fully functional by 2011 should add at least 350 new jobs over the next 10 to 15 years.

They said the company is still planning and designing the project and expects to spend more than $25 million during the first phase of development.

County may tie impact fees to homes' size

CHARLES TOWN - Jefferson County commissioners are considering requiring developers to pay higher impact fees for bigger homes than for smaller ones.

Impact fee coordinator Mark Schiavone was authorized Thursday to secure a cost estimate for hiring a consultant to study the idea.

Developers now pay fees for new single-family houses that are almost double the fees paid for multifamily dwellings.

If the proposal is approved, officials would consider the square footage and the number of students who could live in the home when calculating the fee.