Whether it's the West Virginia Senate, WVU or Marshall football, there's a changing of the guard

The West Virginia Weakly Reader for Saturday, December 14, 2024

Dec 14, 2024

The dark, winter months are typically a slow time of the year for news.

Between Thanksgiving and the New Year, most newsmakers live the good life and relax. And I can’t say I blame people in the spotlight wanting a retreat from time to time.

Many in the ecosystem of state government are gearing up for the legislative sessions and all sorts of changes coming in the new year. There’s also plenty of parties and get-togethers to attend, as well.

But even those kinds of distractions haven’t seemed to impact this December.

This past week was way busier for West Virginia news than I expected to handle. Whether it was sports or politics, I was prepared for a few stories — but certainly not the curveballs that came our way this week.

Either way, strap in. We’ve got a lot to get to this morning.

The West Virginia Weakly Reader — For more on the sources we use, have a look at the footnotes to see the original reporting from news outlets across West Virginia.

🏛️ Sen. Randy Smith of Tucker County is set to become the next president of the West Virginia Senate. Smith, a retired coal miner who was first elected to the House of Delegates in 2012 and to the Senate in 2016, will replace Craig Blair of Berkeley County after Blair was knocked out in 2024’s primary.1 The 64-year old Smith beat Sens. Tom Takubo (Kanawha) and Eric Tarr (Putnam) to win the nod from his incoming 32-of-34-member Republican supermajority. He said he made no promises on committee chair positions. On Thursday, Smith shared a short video message on his personal Facebook page to thank his supporters.2

🏛️ Incoming House of Delegates member (or maybe not) Joseph de Soto of Berkeley County was arrested Thursday for making terroristic threats against fellow lawmakers, including House Speaker Roger Hanshaw. De Soto won election in November as a Republican, but according to records from the Secretary of State’s office, he switched his party affiliation to the Democratic Party in recent days. “This arrest was made following an investigation that revealed Mr. de Soto had made several threatening/intimidating threats against government officials. This investigation is ongoing,” the West Virginia State Police said in a news release.3 “The West Virginia State Police and the West Virginia Capitol Police take all threats against government process seriously.” De Soto’s arrest reportedly followed a closed-door meeting Sunday where Republican House members questioned the truthfulness of his military career and occupation as a physician.

🧹 The maintenance director of Boone County Schools has been indicted on federal charges for falsifying documents that defrauded the system of about $3.4 million. Michael David Barker was arrested Tuesday morning after a grand jury indicted him on 18 counts of fraud, theft and money laundering.4 Federal prosecutors say Baker used his position to produce documents that indicated the school system was receiving a large amount of janitorial products from a company known as Rush Enterprises, when it fact it received only a small portion of those items.

🏛️ Former West Virginia attorney general and former state Supreme Court justice Darrell McGraw has died at the age of 88.5 A longstanding figure in the West Virginia Democratic Party, McGraw was known for efforts later in his career that targeted the opioid epidemic. In 2001, he accused Purdue Pharmaceuticals of improperly marketing OxyContin. The company later settled for $10 million. McGraw served four four-year terms as West Virginia’s lawyer, but lost the post in 2012 to former pharmaceutical lobbyist and current governor-elect Patrick Morrisey. Services for McGraw will be held Tuesday afternoon at the Culture Center, with visitation hours from noon to 2 p.m.6

🏛️ The son of former state Senator Sondra Lucht is facing multiple charges related to an incident that preceded his mother’s death. Authorities allege 59-year-old Carl Lucht picked up his mother and threw her across the room into a wall and fled with her checkbook, according statements she made to police.7 She was hospitalized and later died.8 Carl Lucht is being held on $90,000 cash only bond and facing charges of malicious wounding, robbery, obstruction and other charges. Sondra Lucht, who was a teacher and school psychologist, served as a Democrat and as state Senate Education chairwoman during her time in office from 1983 to 1994.

💊 The organization tapped to disburse funds from state opioid settlements has approved $20 million to combat addiction across 10 southern counties.9 The West Virginia First Foundation awarded the funds to the Appalachian Continuum of Care for Overdose Reduction Network, which will have a variety of approaches, but a main goal will be reducing emergency medical services runs for overdoses. The next phase involves submitting a formal application to the federal government for approval and matching funds, with a final decision expected early next year.

🏛️ Joe Manchin’s days might be numbered in the U.S. Senate, but he’s still offering legislation on his way out. Manchin, along with Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vermont) have introduced a resolution to put 18-year term limits on U.S. Supreme Court Justices.10 The U.S. public seems to be on board with the idea of reeling back the powers of the nation’s high court. According to a poll in September, a majority of Americans say they support term limits and oppose putting more robes on the bench.11

🐄 If you’re a farmer hoping to recoup losses as a result of the recent drought, funds are now available to help. Earlier this fall, West Virginia state lawmakers approved $10 million in state funds to help famers enrolled with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency Livestock Forage Disaster Program. “West Virginia’s farmers are facing a crisis unlike any we’ve seen in decades,” state agriculture commissioner Kent Leonhardt said in a news release Monday. “As drought conditions continue to impact our farmers, this support is crucial to help them weather the storm, so they can continue their operations. While this will not solve all the challenges, it will provide immediate relief and help farmers on the road to recovery.”

🏈 Former West Virginia University head football coach Rich Rodriguez is headed back to Morgantown. Fans of WVU football have some thoughts about it all, given Rodriguez’s acrimonious departure from the Mountaineers in 2007.12 He left the team to coach at the University of Michigan, before taking positions at University of Arizona and, later, Jacksonville State University in Alabama.

🏈 This past week was a whirlwind for Thundering Herd football. Less than 24 hours after beating the Louisiana University Raging Cajuns 31-3 for the Sun Belt Conference championship,13 Marshall head coach Charles Huff announced he was leaving to take the top job at Southern Mississippi. With the possibility of such a move heavily rumored for weeks, Marshall’s athletic director wasted no time naming North Carolina State defensive coordinator and Boone County native Tony Gibson as Huff’s replacement.14 Soon after Huff’s departure — which takes him from a championship-winning Thundering Herd squad to a last place team in the same conference — quarterbacks Braylon Braxton15 and Cole Pennington announced they were entering the transfer portal.16 With the portal opening Monday, there’s speculation many other Herd players could bail on the team.

🏈 Former Marshall star and NFL Hall of Fame Randy Moss has revealed his reasons for stepping away from ESPN’s “Sunday Countdown.” In a live video on Instagram, Moss said a cancerous mass was found in his bile duct, between his pancreas and his liver.17

What we’re reading: Opinion and whatnot

A dark turn in odd tale of would-be legislator ~ Ben Fields, Charleston Gazette-Mail editorial
How Smith could be better Senate prez than Blair ~ Charleston Gazette-Mail editorial
Rodriguez knows what it takes to be WVU’s Coach ~ Derek Redd, The Intelligencer

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