WV MetroNews
The Voice of West Virginia
GLEN DALE, W.Va. — Photo gallery from Morgantown’s 18-10 win at John Marshall in the Class AAA Region I, Section 1 Championship game. The Mohigans will face University in the regional round.
(Photo gallery courtesy of Robert Ovies Sports Photography)
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MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Photo gallery from Martinsburg’s 4-1 win over Jefferson.
(Photo gallery courtesy of Christopher C. Davis/@EP_BigCameraGuy)
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Early voting isn’t setting any high turnout records in Kanawha County more than a third of the way through the 10-day period.
As of Friday evening, only 1,676 registered voters had cast ballots in Kanawha County, which is just a little more than 500 voters a day in the first three days.
“That’s all—it’s been very slow all over,” longtime Kanawha County Clerk Vera McCormick said. “I thought It would slower than usual but not this slow.”
Going into Saturday, 713 Democrats, 659 Republicans and 247 non-affiliated voters had voted in Kanawha County.
The county is expected to be a key one in several races on May 14 including the race for the GOP nomination for governor.
Kanawha County set an early voting record in the November 2020 General Election when a total of 22,535 in-person votes were cast. Nearly 2,500 ballots were cast on Oct. 31, 2020 alone.
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MINGO COUNTY, W.Va. — West Virginia Superintendent of Schools Michele L. Blatt has filled a vacancy on the Mingo County Board of Education.
On Friday, Blatt announced the appointment of K. Steven Kominar, who will serve on the board effective immediately. The vacancy came from the resignation of James Baisden in March.
“This appointment is important to the children, families and educators of Mingo County, and Mr. Kominar will serve faithfully to support the education community,” said Blatt. “He is a valued member of the community and will be an asset to the Mingo County Board.”
Previously, Kominar was a board member of Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College, the Coalfield Community Action Partnership and the Mingo County Adult Education program. He was also the executive director of the Mingo County Redevelopment Authority for three years.
Kominar is a Vietnam veteran who served in the U.S. Air Force. For 30 years, he was a business manager at Lee Sartin Trucking Company in Kermit, West Virginia. He also served nine terms in the West Virginia House of Delegates. Kominar represented District 20 from 1995 until he resigned in December 2011.
“I am truly honored that Superintendent Blatt has placed the trust in me that I can provide continuing service to my county,” Kominar said. “While this is an appointment that I will fill until the voters elect a permanent board member, I will approach this position as I have in the past – with compassion and a desire to promote Mingo County.”
Kominar has been a resident of Mingo County for 38 years. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and an MBA from Ohio State University. His term on the Mingo County Board of Education will expire in November 2024.
“I am grateful for him stepping into this role to ensure continuity in school operations,” Blatt added. “We know Mr. Kominar will provide expertise and make decisions based on the needs of our students.”
Kominar has children and grandchildren who graduated or are currently in school in the county.
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EMMITSBURG, MD — Two fallen West Virginia firefighters will be honored this weekend in ceremonies in Maryland as a part of National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend.
The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) will host the 43rd National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend Saturday night and Sunday morning in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
Eighty-nine firefighters died in the line of duty in 2023 and 137 firefighters died in previous years.
“National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend is a time for our nation to pause and reflect on the heroic efforts and selfless service of the fallen firefighters we are paying tribute to this year,” said NFFF CEO Victor Stagnaro. “We will always remember the bravery, commitment, and sacrifices of each of these 226 heroes and their families.”
The following West Virginia firefighters will be honored:
Forester/Wildland Firefighter Cody Mullens, 28, of the West Virginia Division of Forestry. Jones was fighting a wildland fire in Fayette County on April 13, 2023 when a tree fell and killed him.
Firefighter Ronald “Ron” Strosnider, 75, of the Capon Valley Volunteer Fire Department in Wardensville. Strosnider was responding to an emergency medical call at a residence on October 20, 2023 when he became ill at the scene. He went into cardiac arrest while being transported to a hospital. Strosnider’s cause of death was determined to be sinus bradycardia.
Each firefighter will have their name inscribed on a bronze plaque to give them a permanent place in the National Memorial. More information about the 226 firefighters being memorialized can be found on the 2024 Roll of Honor.
The National Fallen Firefighters Candlelight Service is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday and will be hosted by Fire Captain Garon Mosby of the St. Louis Fire Department.
The National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service is Sunday at 10 a.m. and will be hosted by actor Jeremy Holm. Thousands of attendees are expected at Sunday’s Memorial Service.
The NFFF will live stream both events on the NFFF’s website, firehero.org, and on their YouTube channel and Facebook page.
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BEVERLY, W.Va. — A man is facing multiple charges after allegedly threatening to shoot two people in Randolph County.
West Virginia State Police in Randolph County said troopers responded to a residence on Main Street in Beverly on Thursday after receiving a call of a man “pointing a firearm.”
The victims told troopers that Justin Lewis, 35, of Beverly, came into the apartment with a large black handgun, pointed it at them and said “he would shoot them both.”
Troopers later conducted a search warrant at Lewis’ residence in connection with a prior incident. During their search, troopers say they ended up finding 5.84 grams of methamphetamine located in a “cylindrical tube.” They also found small clear bags and a set of scales.
Lewis has been charged with wanton endangerment and possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance. He’s currently held in Tygart Valley Regional Jail on $100,000 bond.
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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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