Pizza deliveryman faces DUI charge in St. Albans

A St. Albans pizza deliveryman was arrested Tuesday for driving drunk while delivering pizzas, police said.

Michael Keith Ellis, 32, of St. Albans, had four orders from Buck's Pizza in Nitro in the back of his green Honda when Patrolman B. Tagayun pulled him over near MacCorkle Avenue and B Street for a burned-out headlight, said St. Albans Police Lt. James P. Agee.

As he spoke with Ellis, Tagayun smelled alcohol, Agee said. Ellis failed three standard field sobriety tests and was arrested, he said.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court, a breath test indicated that Ellis had blood alcohol content of 0.134, higher than the legal limit of 0.008. Tagayun charged Ellis with driving under the influence.

Ellis was arraigned by Kanawha County Magistrate Jack Pauley and released on a $1,000 personal recognizance bond.

The undelivered orders were taken back to Buck's Pizza, Agee said.

Man, woman show gun, rob 7-11 in Kanawha City

A man and a woman robbed a 7-Eleven convenience store in Kanawha City early Tuesday.

The couple came to the 7-Eleven at 3815 MacCorkle Ave. about 3:45 a.m., said chief detective Steve Cooper of the Charleston Police Department.

The man, who was concealing his face with a white scarf, showed the clerk a gun, Cooper said. Police believe the pair then escaped on foot. The couple made off with an undisclosed amount of cash and cigarettes.

Cooper said police have a lead in the case.

Theft charges refiled against Chelyan man

Charges have been dismissed, but refiled, against a Chelyan man accused of credit card theft.

A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Monday in Kanawha Magistrate Court for Kenneth Lee Nickoson.

Nickoson, 41, of Chelyan, was charged with one count of burglary, eight counts of forgery and eight counts of identity theft for allegedly stealing credit cards. Nickoson allegedly rang up more than $1,000 in fraudulent purchases at stores in Kanawha City and the eastern end of Kanawha County in October.

Nickoson's hearing was to have been Monday in front of Magistrate Jack Pauley. But Pauley said Tuesday he dismissed the case because police were late for the hearing. He said defense lawyers pushed to have the charges dismissed.

Not long after he dismissed the charges, Pauley said, police made it to the courtroom.

Pauley said he allowed officers to refile charges.

Hurricane sisters admit to passing bad checks

Two sisters admitted in federal court Monday that they used checks ordered over the Internet on a closed checking account to defraud local businesses, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

Robin Renee Cleek, 40, and Tara Dawn Hammack, 35, both of Hurricane, passed the bad checks in Kanawha, Putnam and Cabell Counties in 2007, the news release states. The total loss to businesses was roughly $14,000.

Both sisters face up to 20 years in prison when sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Robert C. Chambers on March 16.

Huntington tables rule for city worker residency

HUNTINGTON - Huntington City Council has tabled a proposal affecting residency requirements for city employees.

Pizza deliveryman faces DUI charge in St. Albans

A St. Albans pizza deliveryman was arrested Tuesday for driving drunk while delivering pizzas, police said.

Michael Keith Ellis, 32, of St. Albans, had four orders from Buck's Pizza in Nitro in the back of his green Honda when Patrolman B. Tagayun pulled him over near MacCorkle Avenue and B Street for a burned-out headlight, said St. Albans Police Lt. James P. Agee.

As he spoke with Ellis, Tagayun smelled alcohol, Agee said. Ellis failed three standard field sobriety tests and was arrested, he said.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court, a breath test indicated that Ellis had blood alcohol content of 0.134, higher than the legal limit of 0.008. Tagayun charged Ellis with driving under the influence.

Ellis was arraigned by Kanawha County Magistrate Jack Pauley and released on a $1,000 personal recognizance bond.

The undelivered orders were taken back to Buck's Pizza, Agee said.

Man, woman show gun, rob 7-11 in Kanawha City

A man and a woman robbed a 7-Eleven convenience store in Kanawha City early Tuesday.

The couple came to the 7-Eleven at 3815 MacCorkle Ave. about 3:45 a.m., said chief detective Steve Cooper of the Charleston Police Department.

The man, who was concealing his face with a white scarf, showed the clerk a gun, Cooper said. Police believe the pair then escaped on foot. The couple made off with an undisclosed amount of cash and cigarettes.

Cooper said police have a lead in the case.

Theft charges refiled against Chelyan man

Charges have been dismissed, but refiled, against a Chelyan man accused of credit card theft.

A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Monday in Kanawha Magistrate Court for Kenneth Lee Nickoson.

Nickoson, 41, of Chelyan, was charged with one count of burglary, eight counts of forgery and eight counts of identity theft for allegedly stealing credit cards. Nickoson allegedly rang up more than $1,000 in fraudulent purchases at stores in Kanawha City and the eastern end of Kanawha County in October.

Nickoson's hearing was to have been Monday in front of Magistrate Jack Pauley. But Pauley said Tuesday he dismissed the case because police were late for the hearing. He said defense lawyers pushed to have the charges dismissed.

Not long after he dismissed the charges, Pauley said, police made it to the courtroom.

Pauley said he allowed officers to refile charges.

Hurricane sisters admit to passing bad checks

Two sisters admitted in federal court Monday that they used checks ordered over the Internet on a closed checking account to defraud local businesses, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

Robin Renee Cleek, 40, and Tara Dawn Hammack, 35, both of Hurricane, passed the bad checks in Kanawha, Putnam and Cabell Counties in 2007, the news release states. The total loss to businesses was roughly $14,000.

Both sisters face up to 20 years in prison when sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Robert C. Chambers on March 16.

Huntington tables rule for city worker residency

HUNTINGTON - Huntington City Council has tabled a proposal affecting residency requirements for city employees.

The proposal tabled Monday night would have allowed city employees to live within a 50-mile radius of West Virginia's second largest city.

The proposal came about two months after the state Supreme Court ruled that city officials have the authority to require police, firefighters to live within the city's limits.

Last month, Mayor David Felinton sent letters to 94 city employees telling them they have six months to prove they live in the city or face being fired.

Council agreed to postpone changing the charter after learning the city might have to foot the bill for a special election.

Koppers aims to reduce emissions at Follansbee

FOLLANSBEE - Koppers Inc. plans to reduce chemical emissions at its Follansbee plant by more than 58,000 pounds over the next year.

The Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday that the Pittsburgh-based company has joined the agency's voluntary National Partnership for Environmental Priorities. The program's goal is to reduce the release or use of any of 31 substances designated as priority chemicals.

Koppers has committed to reducing emissions of polycyclic aromatic compounds by 50,154 pounds by December 2009. The company also plans reduce emissions of benzo(ghi)perylene by 8,680 pounds.

Va. governor asked to lead power line compact

RICHMOND, Va. - Virginia Congressman Frank Wolf wants Gov. Timothy Kaine to take the lead in forming a compact with other states to review plans for a regional power line.

Wolf urged Kaine in a Monday letter to form a compact with the governors of West Virginia and Pennsylvania to take a final look at the project before it moves forward. Such a compact is allowed under federal law.

Wolf's letter addresses a 500-kilovolt transmission line known as the TRAIL project proposed jointly by Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line Co. and Dominion Virginia Power. The line would stretch from Pennsylvania to West Virginia through portions of northern Virginia.

Students to design new Marshall lounge

HUNTINGTON - Marshall University has reasoned that the best people to decide what makes a good student lounge are the students themselves.

Two teams of Marshall students are competing to make a winning design for a new $15,000 lounge in Corbly Hall on the university's Huntington campus. The lounge is scheduled to be built in the spring of 2009.

Both three-member teams will present their design proposals on Dec. 5 to a panel of judges drawn from the Marshall faculty and administration.

Marshall gets grant to develop biotech firms

HUNTINGTON - Bringing biotechnology businesses to the Huntington area will be job one for a new initiative at Marshall University funded by a $150,000 grant. The money awarded by Verizon through the Huntington Area Development Council will be used to start an incubator at the university that is designed to attract biotech businesses to West Virginia.

The grant is scheduled to be formally announced Tuesday at the Robert C. Byrd Biotechnology Science Center on the university's campus.

Barboursville bar owner faces tax evasion charges

HUNTINGTON - A Barboursville businessman is being accused of evading nearly $260,000 in taxes.

Federal prosecutors in Huntington have charged Terry M. Bowling with two counts of tax evasion.

Prosecutors say he failed to pay income taxes and Medicare and Social Security withholdings for between 10 and 20 employees and himself at three businesses between 2002 and 2006.

From staff, wire reports