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GLENVILLE, W.Va. — With Williamstown starting pitcher Carson Hill struggling to locate the strike zone early in Friday’s Little Kanawha Conference Championship against Gilmer County, Yellowjackets’ coach Levi Maxwell felt he could wait no longer to call on a reliever.
The decision couldn’t have worked out better.
Brody Bowyer entered with one out and the bases loaded, and the Titans went on to score that inning on a sacrifice fly, but could never muster offense against Bowyer, whose stellar work over 6 2/3 innings helped key the Yellowjackets to a 10-1 victory at Glenville State’s Kenny Greenlief Field.
“Brody’s a guy we’ve been going to a lot more lately,” said Maxwell, who touched on the importance of a recent win Bowyer earned against Toronto (Ohio) as a confidence boost. “He’s been throwing strikes and keeping guys off balance and he puts zeroes up. I tip my cap to Brody.”
The Class A No. 1 Yellowjackets improved to 24-3 and claimed a conference championship after finishing runner-up each of the last three seasons.
Were it not for the Bowyer’s outing, a similar outcome may have been in store. Hill walked three of the game’s first four batters, and was removed with one out before Jacob Stewart could bat.
Stewart brought in Brody Brockleman on a sacrifice fly to give No. 4 Gilmer (23-4-1) the early lead, but the Yellowjackets recorded an inning-ending out at second base to conclude that play and keep their deficit at one.
“It’s always a game of a different out at a time. We toyed with the idea of sacrificing, but they’re really good on the corners and just a good fundamental team,” Titans’ coach Tony Conrad said. “We needed to hit the ball. We didn’t perform to our ability and we needed to hit that kid while he was in the game before they got him out of there. Once they made the switch, give the kid credit. He did what he did, so do I credit him or discredit us? It’s one of those 50/50 things, but overall, we had an uncharacteristic night for our team.”
Still, Titans’ starting pitcher Christopher Junkins was sharp early, and after retiring WHS in order on three fly balls to start, Junkins escaped trouble in the second and induced a ground ball to third off the bat of Jenner Burge to strand two in scoring position.
Brockleman doubled with one out in the third for one of Gilmer’s three hits off Bowyer, who recorded one of his three strikeouts facing Colton Hall with Brockleman at third to end the inning.
“I’m trying to strike some people out, but don’t give up free bases and win the game with the defense behind me,” Bowyer said.
WHS pulled even in the home half of that frame courtesy of a Maxwell Molessa double to right, which the West Virginia University signee drove in teammate Wyatt Powell on.
The game stayed tied at 1 until the bottom of the fourth. Hill singled with one out and was at third with two outs and Burge in the batter’s box. He came off third base in aggressive fashion and made the most of an opportunity that he saw, darting for the plate as soon as Titans’ catcher Dayne Murphy sent the ball back to Junkins, whose threw home, but not in time to stop Hill from scoring the go-ahead run.
“Carson does an excellent job on the bases. I told him be alert, be ready and if it’s there, take it,” Maxwell said. “We trust our guys to make the right decision and he made a great decision to steal that bag. It put us up a run and we’d been struggling a bit, but that momentum got us going.”
On the play, Hill suffered an injury to a finger that forced his exit from the game, but before putting the momentum squarely on his team’s side.
“As a pitcher, getting ahead is huge. That’s a selfless play by Carson to score that run,” Bowyer said. “That’s a game-changer.”
The Titans came unraveled in the bottom of the fifth as their 2-1 deficit grew to four runs. Powell scored the first run of the inning on an error after drawing a leadoff base-on-balls, and after Braylon Mercer took over for Junkins with runners at the corners, WHS scored twice more — on a Luke Ankrom sacrifice fly and Wyatt Siley’s single, which brought home teammate Ty Ott.
“We got caught off guard on a delayed steal of home, and from there, we went downhill a little bit,” Conrad said.
Through a Brockleman single and a walk, GCHS had two on in the sixth, but Molessa made a nifty stop on a ball off the bat of Stewart, and fired to Parker Schramm at third base for a force out to end the threat.
Williamstown put the game out of reach with a five-run sixth that began with an error and consecutive walks. Molessa followed with a two-run single to right off Brockleman, and the Yellowjackets added three more runs, scoring first on Ott’s groundout to second that brought home Powell and later when a wild pitch allowed Molessa to come home from third and Sam Terry sent a ground ball to second that allowed Dylan Pucella to score.
“You like to score in the first inning, but sometimes it doesn’t happen. It was one run and we minimized damage that inning,” Maxwell said. “We have guys that can swing the bat. I’m not in a sense of panic. We put up a 5 spot and that’s huge late in the game. Just proud of the guys.”
Molessa had two of his team’s five hits and drive in three runs, while scoring twice. Williamstown drew seven walks.
Bowyer walked just one batter over his efficient showing.
“Brody’s been a bulldog and he’s not really afraid of a bigger situation, because he’s been in a couple of them,” Maxwell said. “He was throwing strikes. That’s all we can ask for and to play defense and be able to put runs up. This year, we’ve done an excellent job of playing seven innings.”
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Photo gallery from University’s 8-6 win over Morgantown.
(Photo gallery by Teran Malone)
The Hawks improve to 12-1 on the season while the Mohigans fall to 13-3. This is Morgantown’s first loss to an in-state opponent in over two seasons and it is also University’s first win over their rival in five seasons.
University has clinched the D1 East No. 1 overall seed and will play Martinsburg next Tuesday.
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BECKLEY, W.Va. — The operator of an ambulance service in Wyoming County has been convicted for failing to pay taxes withheld from employees’ wages and for obstructing the IRS.
A federal jury in Beckley, West Virginia convicted Christopher Jason Smyth this week. Smyth operated Stat EMS LLC, an ambulance service located in Pineville, West Virginia, between 2012 and part of 2017.
Stat EMS was created by Smyth after a previous ambulance business that he operated accrued millions of dollars of employment tax liabilities and ended up filing for bankruptcy. Smyth’s responsibility with Stat EMS LLC was to withhold Social Security, Medicare and income taxes from employees’ wages and pay them to the IRS. However, evidence presented during the trial showed that for two quarters in 2016, Smyth did not fully pay the taxes to the IRS and instead used the money to pay for various personal expenses and also transferred funds to businesses held by his friends and family. The IRS determined that Stat EMS accrued approximately $3.3 million in unpaid taxes.
The IRS attempted to collect the unpaid taxes from Smyth, but he denied having a personal bank account and that he used anyone else’s. An IRS revenue officer said Smyth lied and would regularly deposit paychecks into an account in a relative’s name. Smyth also told the IRS that he had nothing to do with several other businesses, but he did have signature authority over their bank accounts.
The jury found Smyth guilty of two counts of failing to pay over taxes for two quarters in 2016 and one count of obstructing the IRS in relation to its efforts to collect the unpaid taxes from Smyth. He was found not guilty on the failure to pay over taxes counts related to two quarters in 2017.
Smyth’s sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 4. He faces up to up to five years in prison for each count of failure to pay taxes as well as three years in prison for obstructing the IRS.
IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
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WILLIAMSON, W.Va. — City officials in Williamson have appointed a new mayor following the resignation of Charles Hatfield.
A special session was called Friday where city council members named City clerk Alma Smith to the position after there was a deadlocked vote between two other candidates. A vote for council members Joseph Bucci and Mike Casey ended in a tie, moving Smith to be mayor until council meets again to make another move to fill the position.
Charles Hatfield announced he was stepping down as mayor of Williamson amid a federal investigation where is accused of mishandling just over $34,000 belonging to the Williamson Memorial Hospital. Hatfield served as chief executive officer of the hospital, which filed for bankruptcy in October 2019.
Hatfield allegedly used the money for personal expenditures, including for his own real estate company. According to court records, Hatfield is expected to plead guilty to charges later this month before U.S. District Judge Irene Berger.
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Seedings and schedules are set for the WVSSAC Baseball Sectional Tournaments. Double-elimination play begins Monday, May 6 and may continue through Saturday, May 18. Sectional champions advance to best-of-three regional play, which begins Monday, May 20.
(This list is not yet complete and will be updated as more schedules are finalized. Athletic directors/coaches, please forward any updates/corrections to [email protected]. Thank you.)
Class AAA
Region I
Section 1
Tuesday, May 7
Game 1 – No. 4 Brooke at No. 1 Morgantown
Game 2 – No. 3 John Marshall at No. 2 Wheeling Park
Wednesday, May 8
Game 3 – Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
Game 4 – Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser
Thursday, May 9
Game 5 – Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner
Friday, May 10
Game 6 – Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner
Saturday, May 11
Game 7 – If necessary
Section 2
Monday, May 6
Game 1 – No. 4 Preston at No. 1 Bridgeport
Game 2 – No. 3 Buckhannon-Upshur at No. 2 University
Tuesday, May 7
Game 3 – Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
Game 4 – Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser
Wednesday, May 8
Game 5 – Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner
Thursday, May 9
Game 6 – Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner
Friday, May 10
Game 7 – If necessary
Region II
Section 1
Tuesday, May 7
Game 1 – No. 4 Spring Mills at No. 1 Martinsburg
Game 2 – No. 3 Hedgesville at No. 2 Musselman
Wednesday, May 8
Game 3 – Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
Game 4 – Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser
Thursday, May 9
Game 5 – Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner
Friday, May 10
Game 6 – Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner
Saturday, May 11
Game 7 – If necessary
Section 2
Tuesday, May 7
Game 1 – No. 3 Hampshire at No. 2 Jefferson
Wednesday, May 8
Game 2 – Game 1 winner at No. 1 Washington
Thursday, May 9
Game 3 – Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser
Friday, May 10
Game 4 – Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner
Saturday, May 11
Game 5 – If necessary
Region III
Section 1
Tuesday, May 7
Game 1 – No. 5 South Charleston at No. 4 Riverside
Wednesday, May 8
Game 2 – Game 1 winner at No. 1 St. Albans
Game 3 – No. 3 Capital at No. 2 George Washington
Section 2
Tuesday, May 7
Game 1 – No. 4 Princeton at No. 1 Greenbrier East
Game 2 – No. 3 Oak Hill at No. 2 Woodrow Wilson
Wednesday, May 8
Game 3 – Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
Game 4 – Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser
Thursday, May 9
Game 5 – Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner
Friday, May 10
Game 6 – Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner
Saturday, May 11
Game 7 – If necessary
Region IV
Section 1
Monday, May 6
Game 1 – No. 4 Lincoln County at No. 1 Cabell Midland
Game 2 – No. 3 Huntington at No. 2 Spring Valley
Tuesday, May 7
Game 3 – Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
Game 4 – Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser
Wednesday, May 8
Game 5 – Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner
Thursday, May 9
Game 6 – Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner
Friday, May 10
Game 7 – If necessary
Section 2
Tuesday, May 7
Game 1 – No. 4 Parkersburg at No. 1 Ripley
Game 2 – No. 3 Parkersburg South at No. 2 Hurricane
Wednesday, May 8
Game 3 – Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
Game 4 – Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser
Thursday, May 9
Game 5 – Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner
Friday, May 10
Game 6 – Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner
Saturday, May 11
Game 7 – If necessary
Class AA
Region I
Section 1
Monday, May 6
Game 1 – No. 5 Oak Glen at No. 4 North Marion
Tuesday, May 7
Game 2 – Game 1 winner at No. 1 Fairmont Senior
Game 3 – No. 3 Weir at No. 2 East Fairmont
Wednesday, May 8
Game 4 – Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner
Game 5 – Game 1 loser vs. Game 3 loser
Section 2
Monday, May 6
Game 1 – No. 4 Berkeley Springs at No. 1 Keyser
Game 2 – No. 3 Grafton at No. 2 Frankfort
Tuesday, May 7
Game 3 – Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
Game 4 – Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser
Wednesday, May 8
Game 5 – Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner
Thursday, May 9
Game 6 – Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner
Friday, May 10
Game 7 – If necessary
Region II
Section 1
Monday, May 6
Game 1 – No. 5 Liberty Harrison at No. 4 Elkins
Tuesday, May 7
Game 2 – Game 1 winner at No. 1 Philip Barbour
Game 3 – No. 3 Lincoln at No. 2 Robert C. Byrd
Wednesday, May 8
Game 4 – Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner
Game 5 – Game 1 loser vs. Game 3 loser
Section 2
Monday, May 6
Game 1 – No. 5 Braxton County at No. 4 Clay County
Tuesday, May 7
Game 2 – Game 1 winner at No. 1 Lewis County
Game 3 – No. 3 Roane County at No. 2 Herbert Hoover
Wednesday, May 8
Game 4 – Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner
Game 5 – Game 1 loser vs. Game 3 loser
Region III
Section 1
Monday, May 6
Game 1 – No. 4 Bluefield at No. 1 PikeView
Game 2 – No. 3 Westside at No. 2 Wyoming East
Tuesday, May 7
Game 3 – Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
Game 4 – Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser
Wednesday, May 8
Game 5 – Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner
Thursday, May 9
Game 6 – Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner
Friday, May 10
Game 7 – If necessary
Section 2
Tuesday, May 7
Game 1 – No. 4 Liberty Raleigh at No. 1 Nicholas County
Game 2 – No. 3 Shady Spring at No. 2 Independence
Wednesday, May 8
Game 3 – Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
Game 4 – Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser
Thursday, May 9
Game 5 – Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner
Friday, May 10
Game 6 – Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner
Saturday, May 11
Game 7 – If necessary
Region IV
Section 1
Monday, May 6
Game 1 – No. 5 Poca at No. 4 Point Pleasant
Tuesday, May 7
Game 2 – Game 1 winner at No. 1 Winfield
Game 3 – No. 3 Nitro at No. 2 Sissonville
Wednesday, May 8
Game 4 – Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner
Game 5 – Game 1 loser vs. Game 3 loser
Section 2
Monday, May 6
Game 1 – No. 5 Mingo Central at No. 4 Chapmanville
Tuesday, May 7
Game 2 – Game 1 winner at No. 1 Scott
Game 3 – No. 3 Wayne at No. 2 Logan
Wednesday, May 8
Game 4 – Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner
Game 5 – Game 1 loser vs. Game 3 loser
Class A
Region I
Section 1
Monday, May 6
Game 1 – No. 5 Magnolia at No. 4 Paden City
Game 2 – No. 7 Hundred at No. 2 Madonna
Game 3 – No. 6 Valley Wetzel at No. 3 Cameron
Tuesday, May 7
Game 4 – Game 1 winner at No. 1 Wheeling Central Catholic
Game 5 – Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner
Game 6 – Game 2 loser vs. Game 3 loser
Wednesday, May 8
Game 7 – Game 1 loser vs. Game 5 loser
Game 8 – Game 6 winner vs. Game 4 loser
Game 9 – Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner
Thursday, May 9
Game 10 – Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner
Friday, May 10
Game 11 – Game 10 winner vs. Game 9 loser
Saturday, May 11
Game 12 – Game 9 winner vs. Game 11 winner
Monday, May 13
Game 13 – If necessary
Section 2
Tuesday, May 7
No. 4 Ritchie County at No. 1 Williamstown
No. 3 St. Marys at No. 2 Tyler Consolidated
Wednesday, May 8
Game 3 – Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
Game 4 – Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser
Thursday, May 9
Game 5 – Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner
Friday, May 10
Game 6 – Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner
Saturday, May 11
Game 7 – If necessary
Region II
Section 1
Monday, May 6
Game 1 – No. 6 Clay-Battelle at No. 3 Doddridge County
Game 2 – No. 5 Notre Dame at No. 4 Trinity
Tuesday, May 7
Game 3 – Game 1 winner at No. 2 Tygarts Valley
Game 4 – Game 2 winner at No. 1 South Harrison
Section 2
Game 1 – No. 6 Paw Paw at No. 3 Pendleton County
Game 2 – No. 5 Tucker County at No. 4 Petersburg
Game 3 – Game 1 winner at No. 2 Moorefield
Game 4 – Game 2 winner at No. 1 East Hardy
Region III
Section 1
Monday, May 6
Game 1 – No. 5 River View at No. 4 Mount View
Game 2 – No. 6 Montcalm at No. 3 Greater Beckley Christian
Tuesday, May 7
Game 3 – Game 1 winner at No. 1 James Monroe
Game 4 – Game 2 winner at No. 2 Summers County
Wednesday, May 8
Game 5 – Game 1 loser vs. Game 3 loser
Game 6 – Game 2 loser vs. Game 4 loser
Game 7 – Winners bracket final
Thursday, May 9
Game 8 – Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner
Friday, May 10
Game 9 – Game 7 loser vs. Game 8 winner
Saturday, May 11
Game 10 – Game 7 winner vs. Game 9 winner
Monday, May 13
Game 11 – If Necessary
Section 2
Game 1 – No. 7 Webster County at No. 2 Midland Trail
Game 2 – No. 6 Meadow Bridge at No. 3 Greenbrier West
Game 3 – No. 5 Pocahontas County at No. 4 Richwood
Game 4 – Game 3 winner at No. 1 Charleston Catholic
Region IV
Section 1
Monday, May 6
Game 1 – No. 7 Van at No. 2 Tug Valley
Game 2 – No. 6 Tolsia at No. 3 Buffalo
Game 3 – No. 5 Huntington St. Joseph’s at No. 4 Sherman
Tuesday. May 7
Game 4 – Game 1 winner at No. 1 Man
Section 2
Monday, May 6
Game 1 – No. 6 Hannan at No. 3 Gilmer County
Game 2 – No. 5 Wirt County at No. 4 Calhoun County
Tuesday, May 7
Game 3 – Game 1 winner at No. 2 Wahama
Game 4 – Game 2 winner at No. 1 Ravenswood
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Special needs students from across Kanawha County were in Charleston Friday to put their athletic skills to the test.
Kanawha County Schools held their annual Exceptional Spring Games at Laidley Field.
Megan McCorkle, assistant superintendent for special education and student support with KCS, said the event gives students the opportunity to compete in games and win prizes that they normally wouldn’t be exposed to.
“Often times they are not participants in other events that we hold so this is something that is very special for them. This is a way that they can celebrate themselves. This is something that their families can come to and feel the success of everything that they have put into their kids,” she said.
George Washington High School senior Timmy Smith was excited to bring home a gold medal after playing baseball with his coach and other classmates.
“My teacher is the head coach of George Washington High School,” he said. “I like throwing the ball.”
Herbert Hoover High School special education teacher Amy McVicker has been teaching students with disabilities for 19 years. She said her class looks forward the Spring Games each year as a way to celebrate their success.
“It makes their year. They come to school every day and they do what they can do and when we get to reward them with something like this, you can’t ask for anything better,” McVicker said.
.@KCBOE is holding its annual Exceptional Spring Games at Laidley Field in Charleston today for special needs students.
@580WCHS pic.twitter.com/gTyywUH19w
— Carrie Hodousek (@CarrieHodousek) May 3, 2024
Students got to participate in running, walking, jumping, softball, baseball, as well as hands-on craft activities, face painting, a sensory village and more. McCorkle said the event has grown over the years.
“We have expanded it so much that it’s not just athletic events,” she said. “Even if you are not a runner and you can’t throw a ball very well, there are things here that they would love and enjoy doing.”
Some students were in Charleston for the first time because they go to school in different parts of the county, McVicker said.
“They get to come here and they get to participate in things that normally they probably wouldn’t get to participate in. We have kids that live out in Clendenin or Elkview and they don’t always make to Charleston to do these kinds of things,” McVicker said.
McCorkle said the event also teaches students about real-life situations at large events.
“You get to teach them different skills. Often times crowds like this can be very intimidating and overwhelming for our students. It allows our teachers to prepare them for events in life that do have crowds,” she said.
High school marching bands and cheerleaders took part in Friday’s event. Each school was featured with a banner in a parade that took place before the games.
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FAIRMONT, W.Va. — FirstEnergy Corp. subsidiary Mon Power is preparing to begin award negotiations with the U.S. Department of Energy for up to $5 million through the Rural or Remote Areas program in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to enhance reliability for customers in four counties.
Spokesman Will Boye said this project was submitted with 659 other concept papers in 2023 and made it through the federal review process to the final negotiation phase.
“Fifty-nine of those were moved to the full application phase, and then 19 projects were selected to begin final negotiations, so we’re very glad to have this opportunity,” Boye said.
The project will rebuild lines in Pocahontas, Braxton and Clay counties and complete a two-mile substation connection in Grant County. Boye said over the past year, they have included input from more than 500 municipal and non-profit organizations in the plan.
“This project that we’ve applied for funding for would help rebuild more than 23 miles of powerlines in those counties, connect a two-mile line, and result in enhanced reliability for the customers in those four counties,” Boye said.
The project will also create adjacent circuits that can be used as a backup to restore service for customers when repairs need to be made due to an outage.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to move forward with these projects, rebuild these lines, and create a backup power feed for these customers,” Boye said.
Over the next two months, FirstEnergy officials and 18 other organizations will be negotiating their way to the final award.
“We’re hoping we can complete the award negotiations in 30 to 60 days, and if that goes smoothly and the funding is awarded, we would move forward with construction in 2025,” Boye said.
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Kanawha County civil jury has awarded the widow of a Belle Chemical Plant worker $15 million in connection with the December 2020 explosion that killed her husband.
The six-member jury announced the award Thursday following a wrongful death trial that stretched over two weeks before the jury and Kanawha County Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers.
Tina Gillenwater, of Hurricane, sued the plant owner at the of the explosion, Optima Belle, chemical company Clearon Corp. and others for the death of her husband, John Gillenwater.
Gillenwater, 42, was working at the plant the evening a new drying process was being used to remove water/moisture from chlorinated dry bleach. Clearon contracted with Optima to perform the process.
Attorney Scott Segal, who represented Tina Gillenwater in the case, said the jury agreed the explosion that rocked that part of eastern Kanawha County should have never happened.
“The chemical companies should have realized that loading 8,800 pounds of dried chlorinated bleach into this type of dryer was 100-percent guaranteed to cause an explosion,” Segal told MetroNews.
The explosion occurred at 10:02 p.m. on Dec. 8, 2020. The force of it blew Gillenwater out of the building where the dryer was located and destroyed the building.
Segal said the jury listened intently to technical testimony. He said the trial ended up being the companies pointing fingers at each other. In the end, the jury found $10 million in damages under the state’s wrongful death statute. Clearon was found most responsible at 70% and Optima at 30%.
“The most important part of the trial was who the jury found to be the most responsible for not realizing that doing what they were doing was 100% guaranteed to cause an explosion that night and that explosion was almost the equivalent of two tons of TNT,” Segal said.
The jury also awarded $5 million for Gillenwater’s conscious pain and suffering. Segal said
“He was conscious for an hour and fifteen minutes after the explosion with horrible, horrible injuries that the jury had to listen to,” Segal said.
Gillenwater left behind his wife and two children. Segal said the trial was less about their suffering in the hours after the explosion and more about how they have used the tragedy to make them stronger.
“This is a deeply, deeply, special and very religious family and they used their faith not only to grieve but to come back strong,” Segal said. “This family can now move on to continue rebuilding their lives in the incredible way the jury heard that they crawled out of the darkest hours of this night to be some of the most wonderful human beings walking this earth today.”
In the days after the explosion, MetroNews spoke with Teays Valley-based River Ridge Church where John Gillenwater was a member.
“He had a way, even though he didn’t know you, that you walked away feeling or maybe even knowing, that he saw you, that he recognized you and you felt calmer and he was about to pass along that joy that was inside him. He was an incredible individual,” River Ridge Executive Pastor Chad Cobb told MetroNews at the time.
Segal credits the six-member jury and one alternate for being very attentive during the trial.
“They were focused the entire time,” he said.
He also said Judge Akers ran the trial efficiently.
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In the stretch run for the Republican primary for West Virginia’s next governor, three-term Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is in the lead over close competitors Moore Capito and Chris Miller, according to the most recent MetroNews West Virginia Poll.
Of likely Republican voters and independent voters who will request a Republican ballot, Morrisey had 32% of the vote, according to today’s release of the West Virginia Poll.
Miller, a businessman and son of Congresswoman Carol Miller, was next with 25 percent. Moore Capito, former House Judiciary chairman and son of Senator Shelley Moore Capito, was very close to that with 24 percent.
Two-term Secretary of State Mac Warner polled at 10 percent. The remainder of those polled were either undecided or favor some other candidate who was not listed as an option.
Morrisey’s support has held steady through months of polling, said Rex Repass, president of Research America, which conducted the poll. There has been some fluidity among the positioning of the other candidates.
“He really hasn’t changed. In our polling, he’s been around 31-32 percent this year,” Repass said of Morrisey.
“On the other hand, you’ve got some volatility with the other two contenders. You’ve got two candidates kind of biting at the heels of Patrick Morrisey.”
The poll was built on 407 completed surveys conducted online and by telephone from April 24 to May 1. Respondents were screened and qualified as registered Republicans and independents who plan to request a Republican ballot for the May 14 primary. Participants described high interest in the primary election and said they are likely to vote.
Respondents in all 55 West Virginia counties were included in the West Virginia Poll, which is sponsored by The Health Plan.
The overall confidence interval was +/- 4.9 percentage points.
Voting is already underway. The early voting period for the primary election started on Wednesday and ends on Saturday, May 11. West Virginia’s primary election is May 14.
The only Democrat in the race for governor is Huntington Mayor Steve Williams.
This is the second time in the past month that MetroNews has polled the Republican primary for governor. A poll released April 11 showed Capito and Morrisey running neck and neck — with Morrisey at 31% and Capito at 29 percent. Chris Miller came in with 16% support while Mac Warner was at 12 percent.
Throughout the past few weeks, voters have experienced an advertising blitz.
As of the most recent state reporting deadline for fundraising, campaigns for Morrisey, Miller and Capito each had more than a million dollars available to spend.
Miller’s campaign reported spending a whopping $2.7 million during the period. Miller has loaned his own campaign a little more than $3 million.
Overlapping that time, the MetroNews poll shows a bump in support for Miller.
“I think the most interesting data in this edition of the West Virginia Poll is the increase in support for Miller,” Repass said. “And that’s predominantly represented by strong conservatives in our sample.”
The latest poll shows that among likely voters who describe themselves as conservative, Morrisey has support of 33% compared to 27% of conservatives favoring Miller.
“When you look at the campaign that both Morrisey and Miller have waged, they’re both appealing to the same block of voters. But Miller has gained ground with that block of strong conservative Republicans,” Repass said.
A poll released last week by Coalition for West Virginia’s Future, a pro-Capito group, showed Capito at 31 percent, followed by 23% for Morrisey, 14% for Miller, 13% Warner and 18% undecided.
Capito got a key endorsement during the last few weeks when two-term Gov. Jim Justice officially backed his campaign. Since then, Capito has made several public appearances with Justice.
“In my view, the endorsement has not had an impact at this point,” Repass said. “The campaigning with the governor, who is obviously popular, could still have an impact on the election.”
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Today on MetroNews This Morning:
–Appalachian Power now says that April 2nd storm and tornado outbreak caused north of $30 Million in damage
–Senator Capito calls for severe punishment for anti-semitic activities on college campuses nationwide
–Tech students in Kanawha County are signing to go straight to work after completion of programs at the high school level
–In Sports: WVU basketball gets a big man out of the portal
Listen to “MetroNews This Morning 5-3-24” on Spreaker.
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