The state Senate's new look is taking shape, but first ... about those drones
The West Virginia Weakly Reader for Saturday, December 21, 2024
Regarding those mysterious drone sightings on the East Coast — being from West Virginia, I naturally started wondering what the late Gray Barker would have made of them.
Barker was the famed West Virginia writer and UFO investigator whose best known book, They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers, was published in 1956 and advanced the “Men in Black” theory, which ought to be familiar to movie-goers. The MiB films were based on the conspiracy theory that a group of men dressed in black suits were going around wiping minds and using any other means necessary to squash any talk about UFOs and aliens and the like.
Barker’s interest in Unidentified Flying Objects snowballed in the 1950s after he investigated the UFO-linked Flatwoods Monster in his native Braxton County. He also wrote about Mothman in his 1970 book linking the frightening creature to the Silver Bridge Collapse in Point Pleasant, which brings me to the disaster’s anniversary.
The Silver Bridge collapsed into the Ohio River 57 years ago this week, on Dec. 15, 1967. 46 people were killed. According to the disaster’s entry in the online West Virginia Encyclopedia, the collapse “led to the passage of legislation for a national bridge inspection and safety program.” It also led to the 2002 film The Mothman Prophecies, starring Richard Gere and Laura Linney. It has to be the worst movie I’ve ever seen in a theater. It’s been more than 20 years and I’m still mad about paying for a ticket.
I’m generally not conspiracy minded, but circling back to those flying saucers drones — has it occurred to anyone else that it may be no accident that people began seeing things flying around in the night sky just before the Silver Bridge anniversary?
Cue The X-Files theme.
The truth is out there.
The West Virginia Weakly Reader (sources cited in the footnotes)
🙏 A Celebration of Life service will be held today (Saturday, Dec. 21) in Fayette County for Dr. Ethel Caffie-Austin. According to her obituary, Caffie-Austin died Dec. 11 at age 75.1 A cause is not clear. Caffie-Austin was known as West Virginia’s “First Lady of Gospel Music.” She won the state’s highest folklife honor, the Vandalia Award, in 2006 and was inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame in 2020. She is to be laid to rest in South Charleston on Monday. Aside from West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s story about her passing,2 Caffie-Austin’s death didn’t get much attention in the West Virginia press. It should have.
⛰️ A report issued this week on coal stockpiles at power plants is likely giving the coal industry hearburn. The report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis says mountains of coal — 138 million tons worth some $6.5 billion — have piled up at coal-fired plants. The report says that’s the equivalent of the amount of coal Appalachia is expected to produce in 2025 and that power producers will likely need to curb deliveries. The IEEFA attributes the situation to competition from natural gas and wind and solar generation.3
💡 Speaking of power plants, the coal-fired Pleasants Power Station in Pleasants County got some ink this week. The Charleston Gazette-Mail reported that the head of the company that bought the plant last year, Omnis Energy, denies assertions made to state lawmakers during last week’s interim meetings that it is “struggling financially.”4 Omnis has plans to use hydrogen to convert coal into graphite at the plant using a technique that has been called into question. The state approved a $50 million forgivable loan to Omnis more than a year ago.
💰 Taxpayer support for the Nucor Steel project in Mason County rose this week to $390 million. The state Economic Development Authority approved an additional $75 million loan during a Thursday meeting chaired in person by Gov. Jim Justice.5
⚖️ The Washington Post followed up this week on its November investigation into the crimes of former Gauley Bridge Police Chief Larry Clay, Jr. After Clay successfully delayed sentencing a dozen times, the federal judge in his case lost patience on Thursday and sent him to prison for 25 years.6 A jury found Clay guilty last year of paying $100 to rape a 17-year-old while he was police chief.
🗳️ During a Tuesday ceremony at the state Capitol, West Virginia’s four electors formally cast their ballots for President-elect Donald Trump. According to the Secretary of State’s office, Trump carried all 55 counties on his way to winning nearly 70% of the vote in West Virginia.7 If you’re really nerdy about election data, you can find a county-by-county breakdown here.
📻 Hoppy Kercheval isn’t fully retiring but he is stepping away from his role as host of the statewideWVMetroNews radio program Talkline. Kercheval told listeners of his decision on Wednesday. He built Talkline into the must listen that it is today. Kercheval will be succeeded in the new year by Dave Wilson in Morgantown and T.J. Meadows in Charleston.8
😮 Not only will the state Senate be getting a new president in Sen. Randy Smith (R-Tucker) when the regular legislative session begins in February, there will also be new faces in key leadership positions. Sen. Eric Tarr (R-Putnam) confirmed to WVMetroNews on Wednesday that he has declined to take on the role of chairman of the Senate Finance Committee again.9 On Thursday, Smith announced that he is replacing Sen. Tom Takubo (R-Kanawha) as majority leader with 31-year-old Sen. Patrick Martin (R-Lewis).10 Martin would be the youngest senator to ever serve in the role. Both Tarr and Takubo were defeated by Smith in the race for Senate president.
💺 As long as we’re playing musical chairs, Del. Darren Thorne’s (R-Hampshire) situation is also changing. Gov. Justice has appointed Thorne to fill the 15th Senatorial District seat vacated by Charles Trump.11 Trump resigned earlier this month to take up his seat as a state Supreme Court justice.
💡 Incoming U.S. Senator Justice has his committee assignments. He posted about them on social media late last (Friday) night, saying “I have been appointed to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and the Aging Committee.”12
🙏 Former Del. Patricia White died this week. She was 76. According to her obituary, she died after a battle with neuroendocrine cancer. Beginning in 1984, White served ten years in the West Virginia Legislature representing Putnam County. And she was the founding chief executive officer of Charleston’s West Virginia Health Right, heading the free clinic for under-served and uninsured adults for more than 30 years.13
😲 Former Putnam County Commissioner Steve Deweese is scheduled to be sentenced in February on misdemeanor charges that he illegally pocketed $4,000 while he was the county sheriff. The money was supposed to go toward an annual fundraising calendar for the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department and the Putnam Deputy Sheriff’s Association. Deweese pleaded guilty in Kanawha County Circuit Court this week after Putnam County judges recused themselves.14
😮 A magnitude 3.3 earthquake rattled Cabell County this week. The quake struck late Monday afternoon. The U.S. Geological Survey says the epicenter was in southern Ohio, about two miles from Huntington. A Cabell County 9-1-1 dispatcher told the Huntington Herald Dispatch that there were “a bunch of calls about houses shaking.”15
⚽ Marshall University will have to wait for a second men’s college soccer crown. Marshall lost the NCAA College Cup championship to Vermont Monday night in a match that was decided in overtime two goals to one.16 Marshall previously won the title in 2020.
🏈 West Virginia University lost its bowl game Tuesday night. WVU fell to No. 25 Memphis 42-37 in the Frisco Bowl despite making a game of it after faltering in the early going.17 Rich Rodriguez attended the game five days after he was hired as head coach. His contract with WVU spells out an $18.5 million plus deal over five years and $7.5 million for assistant coaches and support staff.18
Opinion and whatnot
Older Americans are moving to Myrtle Beach faster than anywhere else ~ Jessica Flint, Wall Street Journal
Hoping for a more transparent West Virginia government in 2025 ~ Leann Ray, West Virginia Watch
The House of Delegates should not seat Joseph de Soto ~ Hoppy Kercheval, WVMetroNews
For Derrick Evans, the grift goes on ~ Charleston Gazette-Mail editorial
Just what is happening at Pleasants plant? ~ Charleston Gazette-Mail editorial
Country Roads to the cosmos: Emily Calandrelli is the 2024 West Virginian of the Year ~ Sierra Marling, Charleston Gazette-Mail
Dr. Ethel Caffie-Austin obituary ~ Snodgrass Funeral Home
W.Va.’s First Lady of Gospel dies at 75 ~ Chris Schulz, West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Mountain of coal at U.S. power plants a new threat to coal industry ~ Seth Feaster and Dennis Wamsted, Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis
Pleasants plant company head denies ‘financially struggling’ after $50M state funding ~ Mike Tony, Charleston Gazette-Mail
'Bigger and bigger:’ WV board OKs $75M loan for Nucor, raising support to $390M ~ Mike Tony, Charleston Gazette-Mail
Former West Virginia police chief sentenced to prison for raping teen ~ Jessica Contrera and Jenn Abelson, The Washington Post
West Virginia certifies its Electoral College ballots for Donald Trump ~ Steven Allen Adams, The Intelligencer
Legendary broadcaster Hoppy Kercheval retires from ‘Talkline,’ remains in other roles ~ Brad McElhinny, WVMetroNews
Tarr confirms he’s out as Senate Finance chairman ~ Chris Lawrence, WVMetroNews
Martin in as West Virginia Senate Majority Leader, Takubo out ~ Steven Allen Adams, Parkersburg News and Sentinel
Former Putnam County comissioner, sheriff pleads guilty to stealing public money ~ Ashley Perham, Huntington Herald Dispatch
Earthquake reported in Tri-State area ~ Huntington Herald-Dispatch
Marshall men’s soccer: Catamounts break Herd’s heart with OT win in national final ~ Rick Elmore, Huntington Herald-Dispatch
West Virginia battles back, but suffers 42-37 loss against No. 25 Memphis in Frisco Bowl ~ Greg Carey, WVMetroNews
Rich Rod’s contract: Five years, $18.5 million and $7.5 million set aside for assistants, support staff ~ Derek Redd for The Dominion Post
I am sorry to hear about Pat White’s passing, especially so closely on the heels of news about Senator Sondra Lucht’s death. They were part of a solid group of female legislative leadership in WV.