Fugitive from justice arrested in Mingo

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THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2013
Vol. 100, Number 76
50 cents daily
Fugitive from justice arrested in Mingo
Rachel Baldwin
Staff Writer
WILLIAMSON
—
Warrants for the arrest and extradition of
a Tennessee resident
who was wanted on
felony charges from
the Commonwealth of
Kentucky were sent
through to the Mingo
County Sheriff ’s Department (MCSD) after
the defendant was taken
into custody by Deputy
M.J. Miller, following
a license check being
conducted, at which
time warrants were discovered that had been
entered in the National
Crime Information Center database.
Gary Dent, 51, whose
address is listed as
Maryville, Tennessee,
had failed to appear for
a court hearing in Pike
County District Court
to answer charges of
theft by deception (cold
checks under $10,000).
After conducting a traffic stop on a vehicle being operated by Dent,
Deputy Miller was informed that active warrants were in force in
both Kentucky and Missouri on the defendant
and the Commonwealth
State was willing to extradite.
The Kentucky warrants also reads that
on August 6, 2012, the
affiant, Bennie Gooslin of Phelps, alleges
that Dent intentionally
sold him 8 tires for a
sum of $700 that were
knowingly defective but
failed to present them
as damaged goods, and
also refused to return
his money.
Dent was transported
to the Southwestern
Regional Jail at Holden
where he remains behind bars awaiting extradition back to Pike
County. The defendant
was arraigned on the fugitive from justice warrants by Mingo County
Circuit Court Judge Michael Thornsbury.
Mingo BOE looks
at drug testing
Julia Roberts Goad
Staff Writer
Photos by Rachel Baldwin | Daily News
Pictured are students from the Williamson Christian School carrying the Child Abuse Awareness flag as they led a
procession to the courthouse lawn where a special ceremony was held on Wednesday. The students were joined by
DHHR workers, county officials and members of the Mingo County Sheriff’s Department including the new sheriff,
Rosie Crum, who was appointed to fill the remainder of her late husband’s term.
Child Abuse Awareness walk held
Staff Writer
WILLIAMSON — Crimes against
children are not taken lightly in Mingo
County, and a decent sized crowd gathered in Williamson on Wednesday to
show their support for the welfare of
area youth as they joined with employees of the WV Department of Health
and Human Resources (DHHR), students of the Williamson Christian
School and county officials to participate in the annual Child Abuse Awareness Walk and flag raising.
Reported cases of child abuse have
increased over the past year, and speculation is that many cases remain undetected and unreported. Children die
across the United States each and every
day at the hands of adults who are often
their parents, guardians or relatives. In
2012, several cases were in the spotlight
in Mingo County that involved abuse
and injury to local children, including
Rachel Baldwin
Staff Writer
These young students from the Williamson Christian School are shown
placing the stems of the Child Abuse Awareness pinwheels into the
See WALK |‌ 3 courthouse lawn.
Delbarton ‘Makes it Shine’ today
Cleanup and beautification efforts to take place nationwide
Staff Writer
DELBARTON — What
do the sun and the Mountain State have in common? They’re both shining.
Volunteers across the
state are rallying to improve their local parks,
public spaces, waterways, hiking trails, sidewalks and streets by
participating in the Department of Environmental Protection’s “Make It
Shine” statewide clean-
up, taking place between
April 1 - 14.
The Delbarton Kiwanis
Club will kick off its activities with a clean up today,
April 11, at 6 p.m., from
the Delbarton Kiwanis
Park to the Compton Park.
Delbarton’s “Make It
Shine” activities are part
of a larger national effort,
Keep America Beautiful’s
“Great American Cleanup,” which is expected
to involve close to three
million people. Activities
will include beautifying
parks and recreation ar-
See TESTING ‌| 3
Alleged shooter
bought gun despite
background check
Rachel Baldwin
Chad Abshire
A committee of the Mingo County Board of Education that is working toward
implementing a drug testing policy for students met
and heard from a representative of a company that
administers drug testing
programs.
The BOE began looking
at implementing a drug
testing policy earlier in the
year with input from the
STOP Coalition, a drug
abuse education facility
based in Gilbert.
Although Mingo does
not currently drug screen
students, other area school
systems, such as Pike and
Logan Counties, have
a drug testing policy in
place. The BOE has looked
at policies of other districts
to begin to write a policy of
its own.
On hand for the committee were several administrators and educators from
various Mingo schools
as well as Chris Franz of
Sport Safe Testing Service.
Franz said his company
was started by his father,
who was a high school
team physician. One of the
team’s players was shot
and killed in a drug deal,
which spurred Franz to
get involved. He authored
a drug testing policy that
made it to the Supreme
Court. He eventually started the company, and now
the company works with
school districts across the
country. His company has
worked with Jackson, Putnam and Cabell Counties
in West Virginia.
The U.S. Supreme Court
has ruled that public school
systems can test students
who participate in extracurricular activities, such
as sports or band. Using
other districts’ policies,
the Mingo BOE is crafting a policy that will make
student athletes eligible for
random drug testing, as
well as those who drive to
eas, cleaning seashores
and waterways, handling
recycling collections, picking up litter and removing
scrap tires, planting trees
and conducting educational programs and litter-free
events.
Last year’s “Make It
Shine” cleanup across West
Virginia boasts results like
400,000 pounds of litter
and debris being collected
by more than 4,800 volunteers. Volunteers were also
able to clean 88 miles of
streams and 600 acres of
parks.
The
West
Virginia
“Make It Shine” program
is part of the Rehabilitation Environmental Action
Plan initiative under the
West Virginia Department
of Environmental Protection. All of West Virginia’s
volunteer-driven cleanup
programs fall under the Rehabilitation Environmental
Action Plan (REAP- the
Next Generation).
For more information, or
to volunteer, call 304 9530284.
WILLIAMSON — C. Michael Sparks, Prosecuting
Attorney for Mingo County,
has released information
that the gunman accused
of killing Sheriff Eugene
Crum after being in office
for approximately three
short months wasn’t allowed to possess a firearm,
but said the defendant was
still able to buy a gun from
a local dealer, even though
the dealer ran the required
background check.
“A breakdown in the
reporting system enabled
Tennis Melvin Maynard,
of Ragland, to purchase a
handgun,” stated Sparks.
“This is an inexcusable delay.”
While Sparks wouldn’t
elaborate on why Maynard
was barred from owning a
gun or which business the
gun was purchased from,
Maynard’s father has went
on record saying that his
son had mental problems
and had previously been
institutionalized. A family member who spoke
with the Daily News on
Wednesday who asked to
not be identified in the media said that several mental
hygiene warrants had been
taken out against Maynard
when he experienced mental breakdowns that allegedly included episodes of
explosive tempers, but due
to HIPPA violations, this
information has yet to be
verified.
Federal law prohibits the
sale of firearms and ammunition to certain individuals
with a history of mental illness.
Maynard is accusing of
shooting Sheriff Eugene
Crum on April 3 in a downtown Williamson parking
lot located at the corner of
Harvey Street and 3rd Avenue while eating lunch in
his official vehicle. The acSee SHOOTER ‌| 3
In the story about the special judge appointed
for the murder case involving Sheriff Eugene
Crum, the name of the suspect should have read
Tennis Maynard, not Tennis Hatfield. The Williamson Daily News apologizes for any confusion
the error caused.
2 ■ THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2013
WILLIAMSON DAILY NEWS
Obituaries Calendar
Charles
Floyd Bowe
Charles Floyd Bowe, 61
of Stone, Ky. passed away
Sunday, April 7, 2013 at
his home. Charles was
born March 11, 1952 in
Mingo County, WV the
son of the late Herbert and
Edna Alice Smith Bowe.
He was also preceded in
death by his brother, Marvin Scott and nephew, Michael Bowe Jr.
He was a retired disabled American Veteran.
He served twenty two
years in the United States
Marine Corps with two
terms in Vietnam. He received the Purple Heart
Medal for wounds he suffered in the Vietnam Conflict. He received several
other medals and distinguished awards throughout his services to this
great country he loved so
much. He was very proud
to be an American Veteran.
He said, “Once a Marine
Always a Marine!”
He is survived by his
son, Charlie Preston Bowe
of Yuba City, California;
three brothers, Michael
(Nina) Bowe Sr. of Stone,
Ky., Randy (Margaret)
Scott of Borderland, WV
and J. D. (Janet) Bowe of
Columbus, Ohio; a sister,
Ramona Bowe (Douglas)
Hitchens of Blacklick,
Ohio and a host of other
family and friends.
Funeral arrangements
will be held Friday, April
12, 2013 at 11 AM in the
R. E. Rogers Funeral Home
Chapel with Bob Werntz
officiating. Burial will follow in the Mountain View
Memory Gardens, Huddy,
Ky. with family and friends
serving as pallbearers. Belfry Chapter #141 DAV will
conduct Military Graveside Services. R. E. Rogers
Funeral Home of Belfry.
Visitation will be from 6
until 9 PM Thursday at
the Funeral Home. www.
rerogersfuneralhome.com.
James G. Chafin
James G. Chafin 59, of
Williamson, WV passed
away April 10, 2013 at the
Williamson Memorial Hospital. He was born Nov. 15,
1953 at S. Williamson, KY
the son of the late Betty
Lou Stepp Chafin and is
survived by his dad, James
Chafin Sr. of Williamson.
James was a heavy
equipment operator.
In addition to his father
he is survived by a son,
James Austin Chafin of
Prestonsburg, KY, daughter, Alexis Chafin of Prestonsburg, Sister, Brenda
Stanley of Turkey Creek,
with whom he made his
home with, Nephew, Steven (Marsha) Stanley,
niece, Haven Salmons and
great nephews, Austin
Salmons and Justin Smith.
Funeral services will be
held Saturday April 13,
2013 at the Chafin Funeral
Home Chapel at 1:00pm
with Bro. Bill Smith officiating. Burial will follow
in the Mt. View Memory
Gardens at Huddy, KY.
Visitation will be at the funeral home chapel Friday
evening from 5:00pm to
7:00pm. Online condolences can be made at ChafinFuneralHome.Com
April 11
The Williamson City
Council will hold its first
monthly meeting at 6
p.m. in the council chambers of city hall. The public is invited to attend.
Nora Ferrell
Nora Ferrell, 92, of Coal
Mountain, died Tuesday,
April 9, 2013.
Born November 30,
1920, in Kentucky, she was
the daughter of the late
Henry and Martha Mays.
Friends may gather
with the family at the Coal
Mountain Freewill Baptist
Church at Coal Mountain
on Friday, April 12 from 6
p.m. to 9 p.m. with a special service at 7 p.m. Funeral services will be held
at noon on Saturday, April
13, at the Coal Mountain
Freewill Baptist Church.
Burial will follow in Palm
Memorial Gardens at Matheny.
Mounts Funeral Home
of Gilbert is in charge of
arrangements.
Pearline
Nelson Reed
Nannie Lee
Evans Newsome
Nannie Lee Evans Newsome, 87 of Lenore, WV
passed away April 7, 2013
at the St. Marys Hospital
in Huntington, WV. She
was born April 17, 1925
at Holden, WV the daughter of the late Harrison
and Amanda Vance Evans.
Aunt Nannie loved her outdoor activities including
her yard work and growing
flowers. She also enjoyed
walking and most of all
playing her guitar and singing for the Lord. Aunt Nannie touched many lives and
will be sadly missed. In addition to her parents she is
also preceded in death by
her husband, Arthur Newsome, sister, Hazel Smith,
brothers, McClellan, Cullen, Earl, Wetzel, Archie,
James and Okie Evans.
She is survived by many
nieces and nephews. Those
special to her include Dorothy and Henry Preece with
whom she made her home
with and Jason Evans who
constantly care for her.
Funeral services will
be held at the Wednesday
April 10, 2013 at 11:00am
at the Parsley Bottom
Freewill Baptist at Lenore,
WV with Rev. Mike Smith
officiating. Burial will follow in the Gap Hollow
Cemetery at Laurel Creek,
WV. Visitation will be at
the church after 5:00pm on
Tuesday evening. Online
condolences can be made
at
ChafinFuneralHome.
Com
Pearline Nelson Reed,
81, longtime resident of
Turkey Creek, KY and a
resident of Randleman,
NC for the past 7 years,
passed away Tuesday;
April 9, 2013 at the Randolph Hospital in Asheboro, NC. Born April 13,
1931 in Pike County, KY;
she was the daughter of
the late James and Elizabeth White Nelson.
In addition to her parents, she was also preceded in death by 2 brothers
and 4 sisters.
She was a homemaker.
Survivors include 1 son
G. Darrell Reed Jr. of New
Jersey; 2 daughters Sherry
McCoy and Jerusha Rene
McCoy both of North Carolina; 10 grandchildren
and 17 great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be
conducted Saturday; April
13, 2013 at 11:00 A.M.
from the Turkey Creek Old
Regular Baptist Church
with Elders of the Church
officiating. Burial will follow in the Reed Cemetery
at Turkey Creek, KY with
family and friends serving
as pallbearers. Visitation
will be after 6:00 P.M.
Thursday and Friday at
the Turkey Creek Old Regular Baptist Church with
a special service at 7:00
P.M. Friday evening.
Online condolences may
be left for the family by
going to www.hatfieldfc.
com. Arrangements have
been entrusted to the Hatfield Funeral Chapel of
Toler, KY.
W.Va. Senate prioritizes
broadband access over speed
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A rare
floor debate broke out in the West Virginia
Senate over how a state committee should
mete out future grants to improve broadband access.
The Senate adopted an amendment
Wednesday that tells the state’s broadband counsel to prioritize Internet access
for everyone before considering upgrades
for some communities.
Sen. Robert Plymale said that access for
all must come first.
April 15
Crusade in the Mountains will hold a yard sale,
hot dog sale and auction
at the Belfry Volunteer
Fire Department. The
yard sale will begin at 10
a.m., the auction will be
at 3 p.m.
April 16
The Mingo County
Democrat Women will
meet at 6 p.m. at The
Thoroughbred
Steak
House. Sherry Hatfield
will be the speaker and
explain the new fundraiser for the women’s
shelter called Girl’s Night
Out. She will also update
us on ways we can help.
All members are encouraged to attend, and bring
someone with you. Anyone interested in joining
please feel free to attend.
There will also be a board
meeting prior to the
meeting at 5 p.m. for all
office holders.
April 18
Stone Heritage’s annual
meeting will be held at
6:30 p.m. in the historic
Red Robin building. Election of officers and board
members will take place.
All members are urged to
attend.
April 19 - 20
Metro Valley Gabriel
Project and Williamson
Church of God will sponsor a crib drive from 1
p.m. until 4 p.m. Contributions can be made
locally at Williamson
Church of God, with pickup service available. For
more information, call
304-414-4MOM or 304235-2026.
April 20
The Disabled American Veterans Chapter
No. 141, Belfry, Ky., and
its auxiliary, will have its
regular monthly meeting at 2 p.m. at the Belfry, Ky., Courthouse. All
members and Honorable
Discharged Veterans and
their are invited to attend.
April 23 - 24
The Mingo Career Center will be holding GED
testing for candidates
who have pased the Official Practice Test. For
more information, contact
John Webb at 304-4753347 ext. 13. To register
for Adult Basic Education
to take the Official Practice Test, contact Mary
Oliver at 304-475-2022 or
email mingoabe@gmail.
com.
April 25
The Williamson City
Council will hold its second monthly meeting at 6
p.m. in the council chambers of city hall. The public is invited to attend.
April 28
The Tug Valley Choral
Society will be performing “A Celebration of
Spring” at Williamson
Presbyterian Church at 4
Sen. Herb Snyder said that the amend- pm.
ment would tie the council’s hands and
make it give money to tiny communities
April 29-30
rather than provide upgrades to more
Mingo Central will be
people.
hosting the second anSnyder said that everyone in the state nual Mingo County Arts
already has satellite access and providing
broadband access to remote cabins or tiny
communities was not cost effective.
Plymale said that the council would prioritize access but would still make wise
decisions concerning cost effectiveness.
Your news ... Your newspaper
Williamson Daily News
Story idea or news tip?
Call 235-4242
Alive! Program. Acts
from each Mingo County
School will perform for
the public and an art gallery will be available for
viewing. The art gallery
will open at 5:30 pm with
performances beginning
at 6:30 pm both evenings.
April 30
AARP safe driving
classes will be held from
11 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the
Pike County Extension
Office, 148 Trivette Dr.,
in Pikeville. Class size is
limited. The cost is $12
for AARP members and
$14 for non-members.
Call the Extension Office
at 432-2534 to register.
May 21
AARP safe driving
classes will be held from
11 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the
Pike County Extension
Office, 148 Trivette Dr.,
in Pikeville. Class size is
limited. The cost is $12
for AARP members and
$14 for non-members.
Call the Extension Office
at 432-2534 to register.
May 28 - 29
The Mingo Career Center will be holding GED
testing for candidates who
have pased the Official
Practice Test. For more
information, contact John
Webb at 304-475-3347
ext. 13. To register for
Adult Basic Education to
take the Official Practice
Test, contact Mary Oliver
at 304-475-2022 or email
mingoabe@gmail.com
Ongoing
Williamson
Public
Library preschool story hour is held every
Wednesday at 11 a.m. For
more information call the
library at 304 235-6029.
Starters Sports Restaurant and Lyrick Promotions, LTD., presents The
Acoustic Guitar Revue,
featuring live music each
monday from 7:30 p.m. to
11 p.m. at Starters.
A Circle of Parents
meeting will be held on
the third Thursday of
each month at 1 p.m. at
Logan Street First Baptist
Church. Meetings offer
anyone in a parenting role
to participate in a group
meeting to exchange
ideas, share information,
develop and practice new
skills and more. Contact
David Bell for more information at 304-443-3041.
Mingo Extended Learning Center is accepting
applications for our Practical Nursing Program for
the Class of 2013-2014.
Applicants must take and
pass a pre-entrance exam
to be considered for the
program. Testing dates
are March 5, April 9, and
May 7. There is a $35
testing fee. For additional
informaiton call 304 4753347 ext. 16 or 29.
Mingo Extended Learning Center is accepting
applicaitons for the Medical
Office/Accounting
Program for the fall program. For additional information contact Alichia
Marsico at 304 475-3347,
ext. 25.
The Pike County Health
Department is offering
free diabetes management classes. There are
various dates and times
available including one
Saturday during January
2013 at the Pike County
Health Department. For
more information, call
Paula Compton at 606-
509-5503. Free diabetes
self management classes
are also offered to business and worksite wellness programs.
Southside
Elementary School will conduct
a preschool story hour
program for children between 2 and 4-years-old
and not currently enrolled
in school. For more information, call the school at
606-353-1284.
Narcotics Anonymous
meets Sunday at 3 p.m.
and Wednesday at 7:30
p.m. at the Harry L. Joyce
Community Center.
The West Virginia
Army National Guard
is taking applications
for qualified applicants
only. Applicants must
be between the ages of
17 - 35 unless they have
prior military service.
No drug violations of
felonies, meet height and
weight requirements, be
a high school graduate,
or have completed the
ninth-grade. We offer up
to $50,000 student loan
repayment, state and federal tuition assistance,
medical, dental and life
insurance and a part-time
career with the opportunity to become full-time.
For more information,
call recruiter SSG Donna
Smith at 3047 201-3196
or email her at donna.
smith24@us.army.mil.
Workforce West Virginia will take all new
unemployment claims at
its office at 300 Prosperity Lane, Logan, between
10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Please
arrive 30 minutes prior to
complete an application.
This does not affect the
intenerate office in Williamson DHHR office on
Wednesdays from 8:30
a.m. until 5 p.m.
The Parsley Freewill
Baptist Food Panty will
continue
to
provide
USDA commodities. The
pantry gives out the commodities once, monthly,
on the fourth Thursday.
Mingo Extended Learning Center (formerly
Mingo Career and Technical Center) is currently
accepting applications for
the Medical Office Technology and Legal Office
Technology
programs
for the 2012-2013 school
term. For more information, call (304) 475-3347
ext. 25.
Hatfield and McCoy
Feud descendants are being sought for a special
project by Leah Hatfield
and Kim McCoy. Specifically, only direct descendants of the feud still
carrying the last names
of Hatfield or McCoy.
Hatfields may contact
Leah Hatfield at 843-5750594 or by email theonenurse@yahoo.com. McCoys may contact Kim
McCoy at 502-751-5200
or by email derby130@
insightbb.com.
Operation Charity food
pantry will distribute free
USDA food from noon until 2 p.m. the last Friday
of each month at the New
Vision Assembly Church
in Hatfield Bottom.
Gov. loses latest bid
to grow state reserves
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Lawmakers have again balked at increasing
West Virginia’s already hefty emergency
reserves.
The House Finance Committee proposed a study Wednesday instead of advancing Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s bill on
the topic.
The governor has repeatedly sought to
allow the state’s main reserve to grow until it equals 15 percent of general revenue
spending.
This Rainy Day fund receives surplus
revenue and is now 13 percent of spending, or $565.4 million. That’s one of the
best reserves among the states.
Tomblin cites how Wall Street has rewarded West Virginia for setting aside
funds by improving its ratings for issuing
bonds.
But critics argue that future surpluses
should trigger tax cuts. General revenues
have also faltered in recent months, and
are expected to end the budget year June
30 in the red.
THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2013 ■ 3
Nation
An agency-by-agency guide
to Obama’s 2014 budget
WASHINGTON (AP) —
President Barack Obama
has proposed a $3.8 trillion
budget for fiscal 2014 that
aims to slash the deficit by
a net $600 billion over 10
years, raise taxes and trim
popular benefit programs,
including Social Security
and Medicare. The White
House claims deficit reductions of $1.8 trillion, but
Obama’s proposal would
negate more than $1 trillion in automatic spending
cuts that started in March.
Those cuts average 5 percent for domestic agencies and 8 percent for the
Defense Department this
year.
The agency-by-agency
breakdown:
—Agency: Agriculture
Total Spending: $145.8
billion
Percentage Change from
2013: 5.9 percent decrease
Discretionary Spending:
$21.5 billion
Mandatory Spending:
$124.4 billion
Highlights: Similar to
years past, Obama’s budget
proposes savings by cutting farm subsidies. The
proposal envisions a $37.8
billion reduction in the
deficit by eliminating some
subsidies that are paid directly to farmers, reducing
government help for crop
insurance and streamlining
agricultural land conservation programs.
The Obama administration says many of these
subsidies can no longer
be justified with the value
of both crop and livestock
production at all-time
highs. Farm income is expected to increase 13.6
percent to $128.2 billion
in 2013, the highest inflation-adjusted amount in 40
years.
Obama and his Republican predecessor, President George W. Bush,
have proposed similar cuts
every year and Congress
has largely ignored them.
There is congressional
momentum for eliminating some subsidies paid directly to farmers this year,
though, as farm-state lawmakers search for ways to
cut agricultural spending
and pass a five-year farm
bill. There is less appetite
among lawmakers to cut
crop insurance.
The budget also would
overhaul the way American
food aid is sent abroad, a
Hospital group says ‘alarm
fatigue’ can be deadly
Lindsey Tanner
move largely anticipated by
farm and food aid groups.
The United States now donates much of its food aid
by shipping food overseas,
a process many groups say
is inefficient. The budget
would transfer the money
used to ship the food to
cash accounts at the United
States Agency for International Development. The
administration says that
would help two million more
people annually and save an
estimated $500 million over
10 years. Farm and shipping
groups are strongly opposed
to the idea.
The bulk of the USDA
budget is dollars for the
Supplemental
Nutrition
Assistance Program, or
food stamps, which are expected to cost around $80
billion in the 2014 budget
year. Costs for the program
have more than doubled
during Obama’s presidency, driven by an ailing
economy and an expansion of the benefit in 2009.
Conservatives have called
for cutting or overhauling
food stamps, but the budget says the Obama administration strongly supports
the current program “at a
time of continued need.”
AP Medical Writer
CHICAGO — Constantly beeping alarms from devices that monitor
the vital signs of the critically ill have
“desensitized” hospital workers who
sometimes ignore the noise, leading to
at least two dozen deaths a year on average, a hospital accrediting group said
Monday.
And these cases are probably vastly
underreported, said the Joint Commission in an alert to hospitals calling attention to the problem.
The beeping devices include those
that measure blood pressure and heart
rate among other things. Some beep
when there’s an emergency, and some
beep when they’re not working. That
can lead to noise fatigue and the delay
in treating a patient can endanger lives,
the accreditation commission says.
Complicating the situation is the
abundance of technology, with no standardization for what the beeps mean,
said Dr. Ana McKee, the commission’s
executive vice president and chief medical officer.
The commission’s estimate of possible deaths related to the problem is
considerably lower than the reports it
found in a U.S. Food and drug Administration database. The FDA lists more
than 500 deaths potentially linked with
hospital alarms between January 2005
and June 2010. But that includes man-
datory reports of malfunctions and in
some cases the connection to a death is
only tenuous.
The commission’s own database reports 80 deaths and 13 severe injuries
between January 2009 and June 2012.
Hospitals voluntarily report these to
the commission, which reviews them
and in these cases determined there
was a clear connection to the device,
said McKee.
There likely are far more problems
than have been reported, partly because
ignoring or misinterpreting an alarm
may have set off a chain of events that
led to an injury or death, she explained.
But tracing back to that first oversight
can be difficult, McKee said.
Alarm-system events included patient falls, delays in treatment and medication errors that resulted in injury or
death, the Joint Commission said.
The most common factor was “alarm
fatigue.” But other problems included
misinterpreting alarm signals, too
few staffers to respond to alarms, and
equipment malfunctions.
“With the proliferation of technology,
alarms, and a lack of standardization,”
it’s more challenging for doctors and
nurses to respond adequately, McKee
said.
The commission said hospital leaders need to address the problem and
train staffers in safe alarm management.
From Front...
Shooter
Walk
From Page 1
From Page 1
cused murderer is, according to law officials, expected to
make a full recovery from gunshot wounds he sustained
after crashing into a bridge in Delbarton during a police
pursuit, in which he was shot after pulling a gun on the
deputy. The murder weapon is said to have been a .40 caliber compact Glock handgun.
Maynard faces charges of first degree murder in the
death of Sheriff Crum and attempted murder of a deputy.
At present time, the defendant remains a patient in the Cabell Huntington Hospital.
(This article was contributed to by the Associated Press)
one case that resulted in
an 18 month-old boy suffering severe trauma that
included head injuries, a
lacerated liver and a fractured spleen. The child,
who was allegedly beaten
by his mother, was flown
to Cabell Huntington Hospital where emergency
measures had to be quickly
taken to save his life.
Mingo County’s Chief
Magistrate Dallas Toler
spoke with the Daily News
about his feelings when he
must rule on a case involving an abused child, and
stated that nothing breaks
his heart more than to read
a criminal complaint about
a juvenile being harmed at
the hands of the very person they look to for love,
security and protection.
“Our children are a gift
from God,” stated Toler.
“There’s nothing in the
world that means more to
me than my boys, I would
lay down my life for my
kids. I cannot wrap my
hand around why anyone
would ever hurt their own
flesh and blood…children
are the only innocent thing
left in this world. I encourage everyone to join together as Mingo County
Testing
From Page 1
school. Testing of students
who are in career and technical programs (CTE) such
as welding, ProStart culinary and restaurant training and carpentry is also
under consideration.
Dreama Dempsey with
the BOE said Mingo’s drug
testing policy would not be
punitive.
“We will not be trapping
or punishing students who
test positive,” Dempsey
said. “We, under the law,
cannot let the procedure
affect them academically.
We want to deter drug use.
We will give students the
information and education
they need.”
Franz presented different types of tests that can
be used to screen for drugs,
including a urine screen,
saliva swab and hair sample. Costs of these test can
vary from as little as $3 to
as much as $29. Most tests
screen for nine drugs, amphetamines, barbiturates,
benzodiazepines, cocaine,
marijuana,
methadone,
opiate, phencyclidine, propoxyphene, and alcohol.
But, he said, the key to
ensuring accuracy to any
testing to to eliminate, as
much as possible, human
error.
“Once a student’s screen
comes up positive, that
test goes straight to a lab,”
Franz said. “There are two
samples taken, and one is
kept in case future tests
are needed. But, with a lab,
there is no question of an
error.”
He said the next step in
the process, if that sample
does show drug use, is review by a medical review
officer, who can determine
whether the student was
fights these crimes against
those too young to defend
themselves.”
Following the walk,
which ended at the lawn of
the Mingo County Courthouse, the child abuse
awareness flag was raised
and a moment of silence
was observed for those
children who did not survive their battle with abuse.
The students who participated in the walk placed
blue and silver pinwheels
in the ground as a symbol
of Child Abuse Awareness
Month. A special pinwheel
had been created in memory of Sheriff Eugene Crum,
who was shot and killed
on April 5, and was placed
in the courthouse lawn
by Rosie Crum, Eugene’s
widow, who now serves as
sheriff. Rosie was joined in
the walk and flag ceremony
by her son, daughter-in-law
and grandsons.
Tonya Webb, one of the
organizers of the DHHR
event took a moment to
voice her appreciation of
the former sheriff and of
the many years he supported their cause.
“Mingo County lost a
Photos by Rachel Baldwin | Daily News
great man, and we lost a The Child Abuse Awareness flag was added to the Mingo
strong advocate against County Courthouse flagpole, in observance and in memory of
the children who have suffered abuse at the hands of another.
child abuse,” said Webb.
using a drug that has been
prescribed for him, or factor in other circumstances.
Then the company contacts the parents, then the
school system.
He said Sport Safe has
safeguards to prevent
compromise of the entire
process, including the way
students are chosen for
testing, how the school is
notified when testing will
take place, and ways of
avoiding substitution, in
which a substance is used
for a test other than the
student’s urine.
Some districts choose to
lower the cost of testing by
using their own personnel,
such as a school nurse, for
collection instead of having Sport Safe collectors
conduct the screening.
When that is the case,
the company trains the collectors.
Members of the BOE
had concerns such as how
to include CTE students in
the pool of those screened,
whether students who
were 18 years old would
have to have parental consent to undergo a drug
screen and what process
Franz recommended for
those who tested positive.
Franz gave the committee a sample of a drug testing policy that has been
used in a different district.
He suggested the BOE consider some of the aspects of
that plan when they write
their own.
Dempsey said the committee is taking the information presented by Franz
under consideration, and
will meet again in May.
She said the Board plans
to have a policy in place
by the beginning of the fall Employees of the Mingo County Sheriff’s Department and other county offices gathered around Rosie Crum, the widow of
athletic season, in August Sheriff Eugene Crum, who has been appointed to fill the vacancy left by his death. Also pictured are members of Crum’s im2013.
mediate family.
Editorial
On tax day,
consider the
hidden costs of war
David Elliot
Syndicated Columnist
April 15 isn’t just Tax Day. It’s also known as the Global
Day of Action on Military Spending. People around the
world mark the occasion by protesting the vast resources
allocated to militaries, often at the cost of human needs.
According to a new report issued by the National Priorities Project, of every tax dollar the federal government
collects, 26.5 cents goes to the Pentagon one way or another. By comparison, a single penny goes to science, 1.4
cents to transportation, 2.1 cents to energy and the environment, and 3.5 cents to education.
That means of every tax dollar, just 8 cents gets channeled into those four important categories. Combined,
it’s less than one third of the total revenue the Pentagon
absorbs.
One notable reason the Pentagon soaks up so much of
our federal budget is its exorbitant weapon systems. Take
the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. A decade after parts manufacturing for this boondoggle first began, it’s still not deployed. Experts say that by the time it’s been operable for
a few decades, the F-35 will have cost us somewhere in
the neighborhood of $1.5 trillion to build, fix, maintain,
and fix again.
There are many hidden Pentagon costs as well.
Did you know that the government spends $40 billion
each year caring for our veterans and their surviving family members? A recent Associated Press investigative
report revealed just how much we are paying for wars
fought generations ago — and foreshadows how much we
will still be paying generations from now.
Remarkably, we still pay out benefits to family members
of World War I veterans. In a few isolated cases, family
members of veterans of the Spanish-American War and
Civil War are still collecting payments too.
The benefits Uncle Sam pays out to Vietnam veterans
continue to rise, even though that conflict ended some
four decades ago. Today we pay $22 billion a year to these
vets and their families. By comparison, we pay a little
more than half of that, $12 billion annually, to veterans
and their family members who served in either of the Iraq
conflicts or Afghanistan.
The Vietnam War (and World War II, for that matter)
serves as a warning when we try to assess not just the
current but the future expenses tied to the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. World War II ended 68 years ago, yet
it continues to cost taxpayers $5 billion a year. The cost
of the benefits paid to its veterans didn’t peak until 1991,
the AP reported.
Remarkably, the Vietnam War’s costs, unlike those
for World War II, are still rising. The benefits paid to
its veterans and their family members stand at $270
billion since 1970. Using World War II and Vietnam as
yardsticks, we can probably expect the government-paid
health care costs of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to
rise for another four decades or so before they peak, probably between 2050 and 2060. We’ve already paid more
than $50 billion since 2003.
No one denies that our veterans and their family members deserve it. We put them in harm’s way and they
fought and sacrificed their limbs — and all too often their
lives. These benefits aren’t Pentagon pork. They’re a cost
of war.
This Tax Day, knowing that a quarter of the money we
are paying to the federal government will go to the Pentagon, we should be aware of this cost of war — wars past,
wars present, and wars still to be fought.
For many reasons, we should stop waging so many
wars. And we should demand that we stop paying for the
things we can’t afford — such as obsolete and antiquated
weapons systems — so that we can afford the things we
need. That includes health care and survivors benefits for
those who have sacrificed.
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■
An Upward Look
For if ye do these things
“Wherefore the rather,
brethren, give diligence
to make your calling and
election sure: for if ye do
these things, ye shall never
fall.” (2 Peter 1:10)
In his letter to the believers, Peter reminded them
of the great and precious
promises Jesus had made
to them in scripture that
are their because of their
calling to faith in Christ.
They are called away from
the corruption of the world
to conformity with Christ,
and Peter urges them to
progress by forging a chain
of eight Christian virtues
form faith to love. (1:57) If a believer does not
transform profession into
practice he becomes spiritually useless, perverting
the purpose for which he
was called. (1:8-11)
When we acmeasure, they
cept Christ as
will keep us
our Lord and
from being inSavior through
effective, and
faith
other
unproductive
qualities
in
in our knowlour lies should
edge of our
be added. We
Lord
Jesus
should
purChrist. If any
sue Christian
one does not
virtue, knowlhave
them,
edge, temperPeter says he
ance, patience,
is nearsighted
godliness,
and blind, and
brotherly kindhas forgotten
Mae Stallard
ness, and love.
that he has
As we read
been cleansed
about the qualfrom his past
ities that identify us when sins.
we accept Christ we must
We are encouraged to be
examine our lies and de- all the more eager to make
termine if we have grown our calling and election
spiritually in the different sure. For if we do these
areas Peter mentioned.
things, we will never fall,
If we possess those and we will receive a rich
qualities in increasing welcome into the eternal
kingdom of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. Help
us to be faithful to our calling Lord Jesus.
Poem: The Lord Jesus
made to us many promises,
If we are faithful to Him,
And those who are obedient,
Will receive the welcome
He promised to them.
So help us heavenly Father,
To make our calling and
election sure,
And one day we will be
with Him,
Happy, safe, and secure.
Dear Lord, we praise
you for your precious
promises to always be
with us. For Christ’s sake.
Amen.
Who pays for Social Security and Medicare?
Jack Stevenson
For the Daily News
Legions of politicians and commentators tell us that Social Security
and Medicare are unsustainable because these “entitlements” will become too expensive.
Both programs are financed by
taxes that are deducted from our
paychecks. During each of the
past 29 years, Social Security tax
collections exceeded the amount
paid to Social Security beneficiaries. Those excess collections are
paid into the Social Security Trust
Fund, and that fund is managed by
the U.S. Treasury. Figures given by
Mattea Kramer et al in A People’s
Guide to the Federal Budget indicate that Social Security has on
deposit in the Treasury about 2.8
trillion dollars.
Each payday, 6.2 percent of your
wage or salary is deducted for Social
Security. Your employer also contributes 6.2 percent for a total 12.4 percent tax to pay for your future Social
Security benefits.
Medicare was not so well planned.
Only 1.45 percent of your wage or
salary is deducted as a tax to support
Medicare. Your employer contributes
another 1.45 percent for a total tax
of 2.9 percent to meet your future
Medicare needs. That amount of tax
is not sufficient to fund the program.
Sixty percent of lifetime medical
costs occur after age 65. If we want
the Medicare program to succeed
in the future, we will have to pay a
higher tax rate to support it.
Social Security and Medicare are
established by titles of U.S. law and
are called “entitlements.” However,
from a practical viewpoint, we are
“entitled” to Social Security and
Medicare if we are willing to pay the
taxes necessary to support the programs. If we are not willing to pay
the taxes during our working years,
these programs will be curtailed in
some manner.
Beyond paying taxes, we must address the rising cost of health care.
Much of that must be accomplished
by government and by health care
managers. However, many of us can
help reduce the “preventable” health
care costs—those eating, drinking,
smoking, and addictive drug use
habits that cause so many problems.
Nation
Obama budget: Spending cuts, higher smokers’ taxes
Andrew Taylor
Jim Kuhnhenn
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Mixing
modest curbs on spending with
tax increases reviled by Republicans, President Barack Obama
proposed a $3.8 trillion budget
on Wednesday that would raise
taxes on smokers and wealthy
Americans and trim Social Security benefits for millions.
Obama’s 2014 blueprint combines a $242 billion infusion of
new spending for road and rail
projects, early education and
jobs initiatives — all favored by
Democrats — with longer-term
savings from programs including Medicare and the military. It
promises at least a start in cutting huge annual federal deficits.
The president pitched his plan
as a good-faith offer to his GOP
rivals since it incorporates a proposal he made to Republicans
in December that wasn’t radically different from a GOP plan
drafted by House Speaker John
Boehner. But it follows January’s
bitterly fought 10-year, $600
billion-plus tax increase that has
stiffened GOP resolve against
further tax hikes.
“I have already met Republicans more than halfway, so in
the coming days and weeks I
hope that Republicans will come
forward and demonstrate that
they’re really as serious about
the deficit and debt as they claim
to be,” Obama said.
He was having a dozen Senate
Republicans to the White House
for dinner Wednesday evening in
hopes of building a dialogue on
the budget and other topics.
After four years of trillion-dollar-plus deficits in his first term,
Obama’s plan projects a $973 billion deficit for the current budget
year and red ink of $744 billion
for the 2014 fiscal year starting
in October. By 2016, the deficit
is seen as dropping below 3 percent of the size of the economy, a
level that many economists say is
manageable.
Obama cast his budget as a
compromise offer that would
bridge differences between Republicans and their desire for
reducing government spending
and Democrats who want more
revenue from taxpayers. But it’s
difficult to overstate the gulf between Obama and the conservatives who are in the GOP driver’s
seat in Congress.
While the budget proposal
will not prompt any immediate congressional action, it will
probably surface this summer
when Republicans are expected
to demand additional reductions
in the deficit in exchange for increasing the nation’s borrowing
authority.
Obama claims $1.8 trillion in
deficit savings over the coming
decade, but the budget tables
show the savings are actually
$1.4 trillion. And $1.2 trillion of
that is devoted to reversing automatic, across-the-board spending
cuts required because of Washington’s inability to follow up a
2011 budget pact with further
deficit action.
“This is worse than a status
quo budget,” said House Budget Committee Chairman Paul
Ryan, R-Wis. He said it has about
$1 trillion in new taxes, $1 trillion in new spending with deficit
reduction of only $119 billion
over 10 years under GOP math
that sorts through questionable
interpretations employed by the
White House.
For instance, Obama claims
$167 billion in lower war costs
— money the administration
never intended to spend — and
uses that “savings” for road projects and other undertakings it
bills as jobs initiatives.
The real cuts include $400 billion scrubbed from health care
programs like Medicare over the
coming decade, including cuts
in payments to drug companies
and higher Medicare premiums
for people who are better off.
The administration would
modestly cut the annual operating budgets for both the Pentagon and domestic agencies
while reprising ideas like higher
Transportation Security Administration fees on airline tickets,
the end of Saturday mail delivery
and higher pension contributions for federal workers.
“He does deserve some credit
for some incremental entitlement reforms,” said Boehner,
R-Ohio. “But I would hope that
he would not hold hostage these
modest reforms for his demand
for bigger tax hikes. Listen, why
don’t we do what we can agree
to do?”
No panic despite missile test Evacuation may
bog down traffic
Jean H. Lee
PYONGYANG, North Korea —
As the world braced for a provocative missile launch by North Korea,
with newscasts worldwide playing
up tensions on the Korean Peninsula,
the center of the storm was strangely
calm.
The focus in Pyongyang on
Wednesday was less on preparing for
war and more on beautifying the capital ahead of the nation’s biggest holiday: the April 15 birthday of the nation’s founder, Kim Il Sung. Soldiers
put down their rifles to blanket the
barren ground with sod and students
picked up shovels to help plant trees.
But the impoverished, tightly
controlled nation that has historically used major holidays to draw
the world’s attention by showing off
its military power could well mark
the occasion by testing a missile designed to strike U.S. military installations in Japan and Guam.
South Korea’s foreign minister
said the prospect of a medium-range
missile launch is “considerably high.”
North Korean officials have not
announced plans to launch a missile
in defiance of U.N. Security Council
resolutions barring Pyongyang from
nuclear and missile activity.
But they have told foreign diplo-
mats in Pyongyang that they will
not be able to guarantee their safety
starting Wednesday and urged tourists in South Korea to take cover,
warning that a nuclear war is imminent. Most diplomats and foreign
residents in both capitals appeared
to be staying put.
The European Union said there
was no need for member states to
evacuate or relocate their diplomatic
missions, but it called on North Korea to “refrain from further provocative declarations or action.”
The threats are largely seen as
rhetoric and an attempt by North Korea to scare foreigners into pressing
their governments to pressure Washington and Seoul to change their
policies toward Pyongyang, as well
as to boost the military credentials of
its young leader, Kim Jong Un. North
Korea does not have diplomatic relations with the U.S. and South Korea,
its foes during the Korean War of the
1950s, and has pushed for a peace
treaty to replace a 60-year-old armistice.
On the streets of Pyongyang, there
was no sense of panic.
Downtown,
schoolchildren
marched toward statues of the two
late leaders, Kim Il Sung and Kim
Jong Il, dragging brooms to sweep
the hilltop plaza where they tower
over Pyongyang. Women with coats
thrown over traditional dresses
rushed through the spring chill after leaving a rehearsal for a dance
planned for Kim Il Sung’s birthday
celebrations.
At the base of Mansu Hill, a group
of young people held a small rally to
pledge their loyalty to Kim Jong Un
and to sing the Kim ode, “We Will
Defend the Marshal With Our Lives.”
Kim Un Chol, the 40-year-old head
of a political unit at Pyongyang’s tobacco factory, said he had been discharged from the military but was
willing to re-enlist if war breaks out.
He said North Koreans were resolute.
“The people of Pyongyang are confident. They know we can win any
war,” he told The Associated Press.
“We now have nuclear weapons. So
you won’t see any worry on people’s
faces, even if the situation is tense.”
Kim Jong Il elevated the military’s
role during his 17-year rule under a
policy of “military first,” and the government devotes a significant chunk
of its annual budget to defense. Human rights groups say the massive
spending on the military and on
development of missile and nuclear
technology comes at the expense of
most of its 24 million people. Twothirds face chronic food shortages,
according to the World Food Program.
Post office not eliminating Saturday mail
Pauline Jelinek
WASHINGTON — The
financially
beleaguered
Postal Service backpedaled
on its plan to end Saturday
mail delivery, conceding
Wednesday that its gamble
to compel congressional
approval had failed.
With limited options for
saving money, the governing board said the agency
should reopen negotiations
with unions to lower labor
costs and consider raising
mail prices.
Yet the board also said
it’s not possible for the
Postal Service to meet its
goals for reduced spending
without altering the delivery schedule. Delaying
“responsible changes,” the
board said, only makes it
more likely that the Postal
Service “may become a
burden” to taxpayers.
Congressional reaction
was mixed, mirroring differences that have stalled a
needed postal overhaul for
some time. Some lawmakers had urged the agency
to forge ahead with its
plan, while others had said
it lacked the legal authority
to do so.
The Postal Service said
in February that it planned
to switch to five-day-aweek deliveries beginning
in August for everything
except packages as a way
to hold down losses.
That announcement was
risky. The agency was asking Congress to drop from
spending legislation the
longtime ban on five-dayonly delivery.
Congress did not do that
when it passed a spending
measure last month.
“By including restrictive
language … Congress has
prohibited implementation
of a new national delivery schedule for mail and
package,” according to the
board.
Disappointed but not
wanting to disregard the
law, the board directed the
Postal Service to delay putting in place the new delivery schedule until Congress passes legislation
that gives the agency “the
authority to implement a
financially appropriate and
responsible delivery schedule.”
The board made the decision in a closed meeting
Tuesday.
“This is good news for
rural communities, businesses, seniors, veterans
and others who depend
on consistent and timely
delivery of the mail,” said
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
TAMPA, Fla. — Joshua and Sharyn
Hakken seemed to have a charmed life,
doting on their two young boys, buying a comfortable home and building
successful careers as engineers. It all
derailed last year when police in Louisiana found the family inside a hotel
room with drugs, weapons and promises from the parents to take “a journey
to the Armageddon.”
The couple is now jailed on charges
they kidnapped the boys from their
grandparents in Florida and sailed to
Cuba on a boat called “Salty” to elude
U.S. authorities. The family arrived in
Florida early Wednesday morning, accompanied by federal, state and local
authorities after being handed over by
Cuban officials. Four-year-old Cole and
2-year-old Chase are now with their
grandparents, and their parents are in
jail, closing a bizarre ordeal that began
with an Amber Alert and ended with
diplomatic intervention.
Friends of the couple said the family
seemed happy and had no marital problems.
“This is a train that went completely
off the tracks, and I don’t have any explanation for how it can go off the track
that badly basically in a year and a half.
It’s very bizarre,” said Darrell Hanecki,
who employed Sharyn Hakken for
nearly a decade at Hanecki Consulting
Engineers.
Hanecki said she was an easygoing
and relaxed employee who worked from
the home they owned in sunny Tampa so
she could spend more time with the kids.
AP National Writer
Regulators and congressional investigators
clashed Wednesday over a new report warning
that in the event of an accident at a nuclear plant,
panicking residents from outside the official evacuation zone might jam the roads and prevent others
from escaping.
The report by the Government Accountability
Office, which acts as the investigative arm of Congress, challenges a three-decade-old fundamental
of emergency planning around American nuclear
power plants: that preparations for evacuation
should focus on people who live within 10 miles
of the site.
The GAO found that people living beyond the
official 10-mile evacuation zone might be so frightened by the prospect of spreading radiation that
they would flee of their own accord, clog roads, and
delay the escape of others. The investigators said
regulators have never properly studied how many
people beyond 10 miles would make their own decisions to take flight, prompting what is called a
“shadow evacuation.”
As a result, the GAO report says, “evacuation
time estimates may not accurately consider the impact of shadow evacuations.”
However, Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the
federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, shot back
in an email statement: “We disagree with the view
that evacuations cannot be safely carried out.”
The investigation was requested by four U.S.
senators: Democrats Barbara Boxer of California,
Robert P. Casey Jr. of Pennsylvania and Sheldon
Whitehouse of Rhode Island, and independent Bernard Sanders of Vermont. They asked for the report
in 2011 in response to an Associated Press investigative series reporting weaknesses in community
planning for nuclear accidents, including the likelihood of surprisingly large shadow evacuations.
In an interview Wednesday, Casey said the report suggests that “we need to do more to ensure
that these residents who live outside of the 10-mile
radius have access to and understand evacuation
procedures.” He said legislation may be needed but
gave no details.
But GOP Rep. Darrell
Issa of California, chairman of the House Oversight and Government
Reform Committee, bemoaned the decision to
back away from a “delivery
schedule that polling indicates the American people
understand and support.”
Postal officials said that
to restore the service to
long-term financial stability, the agency must have
the flexibility to reduce
costs and come up with
new revenues.
“It is not possible for
the Postal Service to meet
significant cost reduction
goals without changing its
delivery schedule — any
rational analysis of our
current financial condition
and business options leads Kantele Franko
to this conclusion,” the The Associated Press
board statement said.
BERGHOLZ, Ohio — Bare feet and work boots shuffle
on the wooden floor of the Amish schoolhouse as the children settle into tight rows of scuffed metal desks across the
room from their parents — the men on one set of benches,
women on another, some cradling younger children.
They have gathered to celebrate the end of school, but no
She brought the boys into the office a few one claps or cheers. The only voices raised are those of the
times to show them off to her colleagues. students as they begin singing, the melodies rising and dip“The kids were really well-behaved. ping like the surrounding hills. A warm breeze carries the
From everything I could tell, she was religious lyrics, mostly in German, through open windows
a great mom. Her kids were definitely and over the fields where families will mingle afterward.
her priority,” Hanecki said.
The ceremony is typically in late April, but this school
He said Sharyn Hakken was pragmatic year was cut short to allow some youngsters a few more
and responsible, graduating from the Uni- days of family time before their parents leave for federal
versity of South Florida in 2008. She oc- prison.
casionally gave advice to Hanecki’s daugh“It’s a happy day on the outside, but not on the inside.
ter, an aspiring engineer, and encouraged On the inside, a lot of times we’re crying, but we have to
her to stay in school and finish her degree. keep our spirits up for the children’s sake,” said Martha
She resigned in 2011, saying it was Mullet.
too difficult to juggle work with carHer husband, Sam Mullet Sr., is the group’s leader and
ing for an infant and toddler.
is among nine men already behind bars on hate crime conSharyn Hakken’s husband, Joshua, victions for hair- and beard-cutting attacks against fellow
also seemed to show few signs of trou- Amish. He was sentenced to 15 years, the longest term of
ble. He attended the U.S. Air Force the 16 defendants.
Academy from 1996 to 1998 but did
Seven aren’t yet in prison. Come Friday, five of them
not graduate, according to academy — four women and one more man — from this tight-knit
spokesman Sgt. Vann Miller, who de- group in rural eastern Ohio will enter the prison system in
various states.
clined to provide further details.
US couple jailed for fleeing with kids
Kelli Kennedy
Mike Schneider
Jeff Donn
Amish gather
before prison terms
State
Tomblin signs
Rahall: President’s budget a ‘mixed bag’
wide-ranging
education bill
Chad Abshire
Staff Writer
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep.
Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) released a statement Wednesday regarding President
Barack Obama’s budget request for the
fiscal year 2014.
“The President’s proposed budget is a
mixed bag – some very good proposals;
some purely awful,” Rahall said. “While I
strongly support the investments for vital
infrastructure so necessary to building
our economy, I cannot endorse any budget that undercuts Social Security and
Medicare, as this one does.”
Rahall said that both social security and
medicare “have their own set of challenges and they ought to be dealt with separately from the overall budget,” and that
they shouldn’t be “used as piggy banks to
offset some fanciful grand bargain, as the
President proposes in his budget.”
“Seniors, many on fixed incomes, have
a moral claim on the benefits they have
earned over a lifetime of paying into
Social Security and Medicare; those obligations must be honored,” Rahall said.
“This budget has some bright spots, but
it also is deeply flawed.”
Lawrence Messina
MTV cancels ‘BUCKWILD’ after star’s death
Vicki Smith
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — MTV
said Wednesday it is canceling its
West Virginia-based reality TV show
“BUCKWILD” a week after the accidental death of 21-year-old star Shain
Gandee.
Network spokesman Jake Urbanski
confirmed the news, saying it was
“not an easy decision.”
“But given Shain’s tragic passing
and essential presence on the show,
we felt it was not appropriate to
continue without him,” the network
said. “Instead, we are working on a
meaningful way to pay tribute to his
memory on our air and privately.”
On Sunday, MTV will air a special, “BUCKWILD: WV to the NYC,”
which was shot before second-season
filming had begun. The network said
Shain’s parents, Dale and Loretta
Gandee, support the move.
Gandee and two others were found
dead of carbon monoxide poisoning
on April 1. Gandee’s SUV was stuck
in a mud pit near his home in Sissonville, its tail pipe submerged. That
could have allowed the invisible gas
to fill the vehicle’s cabin.
Gandee, his 48-year-old uncle, David Gandee, and 27-year-old friend
Donald Robert Myers had last been
seen leaving a bar at 3 a.m. March
31. Friends and family searched all
day for them, and authorities issued
a missing-persons report the following day.
The Gandees were buried Sunday after a joint memorial service
in Charleston that drew hundreds
of friends, family and fans. Cameras
were not allowed inside the Charleston Municipal Auditorium or at the
private family burial in Thaxton
Cemetery.
Shain Gandee, nicknamed “Gandee Candy” by fans, was a breakout
star of the show that followed the antics of young friends enjoying their
wild country lifestyle. Season one
was filmed last year, mostly around
Sissonville and Charleston.
Gandee favored four-wheelers,
pickups and SUVs over cellphones
and computers, and “mudding,” or
off-road driving, was one of his favorite pastimes. It was no coincidence
some mourners arrived in mud-splattered trucks.
Shooting was underway on season
two at the time of Gandee’s death,
but MTV said film crews were not
with him over Easter weekend and
hadn’t filmed him since earlier that
week.
MTV said the half-hour series in
the old “Jersey Shore” time slot was
pulling in an average of 3 million
viewers per episode since its premiere and was the No. 1 original cable series on Thursday nights among
12- to 34-year-olds.
Some fans reacted angrily to the
decision on social media, launching
a campaign to keep the show alive
using the hash tag (hash)KeepBuckwildForShain on Twitter. Cast member Cara Parrish was also among
those objecting.
“I think MTV should show reality.
Losing Shain broke all our hearts,”
Parrish tweeted.
Although the idea of filming without Gandee “hurts me clear through
my soul,” she wrote, “the thought of
turning our backs on his dreams is
worse.”
But many others, including some
at Gandee’s funeral, said the show
just wouldn’t have been the same
without him.
The network issued a statement
from Loretta and Dale Gandee,
thanking fans for their thoughts and
prayers.
“We have truly felt all the love and
know that Shain is resting peacefully,” they said. “Shain was an incredible, outgoing and positive person
who was loved by whoever he met.
We are honored that we were able to
let the world see what a wonderful
son we had.”
Shain Gandee was the third
BUCKWILD cast member to make
unwanted headlines.
Last month, 24-year-old Salwa
Amin was sent back to jail for violating the terms of her bond following
a February arrest on drug charges.
She is facing two counts of drug possession with intent to deliver and remained behind bars without bond on
Wednesday.
State Police say a multi-agency
task force arrested Amin and two
other people at a Summersville residence after receiving a tip from an informant. A search found oxycodone
pills, heroin and $3,000 in cash.
Another cast mate, Michael Douglas Burford, was charged in February
with driving under the influence.
Some detractors, including U.S.
Sen. and former West Virginia Gov.
Joe Manchin, had publicly worried
about the show and its cast before
the first episode aired.
Manchin asked MTV to cancel the
show, telling the network’s president
that it would profit from the “poor
decisions of our youth” and that it
played to ugly, inaccurate stereotypes
about the people of West Virginia.
Bail bondsmen attack pretrial release bill
David Gutman
CHARLESTON, W.Va.
— West Virginia bail
bondsmen oppose a pretrial release bill that they
say would cut into their
business and reduce accountability for people
who flee while awaiting
trial, but the bill’s supporters say it addresses those
who bondsmen aren’t serving and is part of the state’s
larger effort to reduce jail
crowding.
The bill would let counties create supervised
release programs for inmates awaiting trial. All
pretrial releases would be
at the discretion of a judge
or magistrate. The court
would rely on standard
risk assessment tests and
would be advised by a local committee of prosecutors, law enforcement and
defense attorneys.
The bill’s supporters
said that people are languishing in county jails
while they await trial because they cannot afford
bail. It costs counties $49
per day to house an inmate
in a regional jail. For people released before trial,
counties would have to
pay the courts $7 a day in
supervision fees. Regional
jails in West Virginia are
dangerously overcrowded.
There are currently 1,700
prisoners who should be
in state prisons but are being kept in regional jails
because there is no room.
The House is expected
to vote Friday on a wideranging bill that would
attempt to halt growth in
the state’s critically overcrowded prisons. Carl
Reynolds, senior legal and
policy advisor at the Council of State Governments,
conducted the nine-month
study that became the basis for that bill.
Reynolds said the pretrial release bill would work
well with the broader prisons bill. He said they are
conceptually linked and
both require similar risk
assessment evaluations for
people in jails and prisons.
At a public hearing
Wednesday, bail bondsmen
said that they are account-
able for people out on bail
but that no one would
be held accountable for
people let out on pretrial
release programs.
Bill Garvin, the president of the West Virginia
Surety Bail Bond Agents
Association, said that bail
bondsmen travel the country to track down absconders. He said he currently
was pursuing a case in
Hawaii.
The bill arose out of pretrial release pilot programs
that have been operating in
five counties. Jim Lee, the
chief probation officer in
Brooke County, said that
in the three years of their
pilot program every person
showed up for his or her
court date.
Gov’s purchasing, state reserves bills die
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) —
Proposals to change West Virginia
purchasing rules and increase its
emergency reserves won’t pass this
legislative session.
The House Finance Committee decided to request studies of both topics
Wednesday instead of advancing bills
from Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s agenda.
The governor wanted to end the
practice known as secondary bidding. That measure also sought to
require annual training for top executive branch officials on purchasing
rules.
The other bill renewed Tomblin’s
push to enlarge the state’s main
Rainy Day fund. It now equals 13
percent of general revenue spending. The governor wanted that level
raised to 15 percent.
The demise of these two measures
follows Tuesday’s rejection of his
proposal to weigh how pending legislation might affect jobs. The House
Judiciary Committee voted it down
after numerous amendments.
W.Va. House bill bars excluding gays from juries
CHARLESTON, W.Va.
(AP) — Gays and lesbians
could no longer be excluded from serving on juries,
under a bill passed by the
West Virginia House Judiciary Committee.
The bill passed Wednes-
day would include sexual
orientation among the factors that courts cannot use
to exclude jurors. Currently
courts cannot ban jurors
based on race, color, religion,
sex, nation of origin, economic status or disability.
Del. Stephen Skinner offered the sexual
orientation amendment
to a bill that concerned
disqualifying jurors who
have been convicted of
felonies. The amendment passed 17-6 over
Republican opposition.
Earlier this session Skinner sponsored a bill that
would have barred housing
and employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. That bill stalled
because of limited support.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia counties will
soon have more leeway when hiring educators and scheduling 180 days of student learning each year, after Gov.
Earl Ray Tomblin on Wednesday signed wide-ranging
public schools legislation that topped his agenda this session.
The measure, which takes effect June 30, also offers
loan forgiveness to teachers who commit to critical-need
subject and geographic areas. It will repay nationally certified teachers when they renew that status. It also furthers Tomblin’s goals of ensuring high school seniors are
ready for college or career training, and that third-graders
are reading at grade level by the end of that year.
“Its changes are real, and it will improve the lives of our
kids,” Tomblin, a Democrat, told the crowd in his Capitol
reception room before the signing. “It focuses not only on
quantity but the quality of time that our children spend in
the classroom.”
The bill followed an in-depth audit that questioned
West Virginia’s low-ranking student achievement scores,
given the billions of dollars it devotes annually to public
schools. Tomblin’s response heeded its recommendation
that factors besides seniority should help steer teacher
hiring and transfers. The bill also limits non-instruction
time while allowing counties to adjust for snow days to
meet the state-required 180 days. The audit found that
none of the 55 county’s school districts met that mandate
during the year it studied.
But groups representing teachers and school workers
persuaded lawmakers to scale back those parts of the bill.
They also had language removed that would have offered
temporary licenses to participants in the national Teach
for America program. The measure instead sets up a
study of alternative ways to grant teaching certificates.
Leaders of these groups joined Tomblin and top legislators at the podium Wednesday. Senate President Jeff
Kessler, D-Marshall, singled the groups out for applause.
“No one got everything that they wanted, but everyone
got something that they wanted,” said Christine Campbell, incoming president of the American Federation of
Teachers-West Virginia.
Wednesday’s ceremony also featured officials from business groups that rallied behind Tomblin’s effort. Brenda
Nichols Harper, a lawyer for the state Chamber of Commerce, praised the governor for making the issue this session’s top priority.
“We will be at the table from here on out on education.
We want a great workforce,” said Janet Vineyard, chairwoman of the West Virginia Business and Industry Council.
The audit found the state education system rigid with a
top-heavy bureaucracy and laws “detailed to the extreme.”
That prompted lawmakers to amend Tomblin’s measure
so that the Department of Education trims personnel
spending by 5 percent in each of the next two years. The
resulting cut for the proposed 2013-2014 budget is estimated at $850,000.
Promising to go further, Tomblin has enlisted the state
Board of Education while issuing executive orders to pursue additional changes.
“This bill is a huge step in the right direction, but I
want to emphasize that it’s just the beginning,” the governor said.
Dale Lee, president of the West Virginia Education Association, told the audience he hoped that meant teacher
pay raises, tackling child poverty and giving educators
more time to collaborate. Lawmakers are, meanwhile,
pursuing additional measures before their session ends
Saturday.
The Senate Education Committee, for instance, advanced a House-passed bill Tuesday that repeals 26 sections of state law targeted by the audit. That measure also
devotes funding to local-level educator training — teachers now routinely travel to Charleston for that — and for
digital-age learning tools.
And the state board has budgeted $1.6 million to hire
16 staffers to provide county-based professional development through the Regional Education Resource Agencies,
President Wade Linger announced at the signing.
The bill targets third-grade reading partly by requiring
all 55 counties to offer full-day education to 4-year-olds
five days a week, while providing for the necessary staff.
The readiness provisions require schools to test high
school juniors and then offer remedial classes to those
who need it when they’re seniors.
The classroom hiring changes put seniority alongside
10 other criteria including relevant specialized training
and past evaluations. County school boards can weigh
each factor as they choose, unless an already-employed
teacher is among the applicants. All criteria are then
given equal weight except faculty senate and principal
recommendations, which count double. An applicant who
wins both recommendations as well as the county superintendent’s is guaranteed the job.
“This bill is an example of what government can do
when everybody sits down and works together on one
common goal: what’s best for our children. We did that,”
said House Speaker Rick Thompson, a Wayne County
Democrat.
Forced-sterilization
law faces repeal
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A unanimous West Virginia Legislature has voted to repeal a law that had allowed
for involuntary sterilizations.
The Senate agreed to send Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin a Housepassed measure striking down the statute on Tuesday.
The law allowed forced sterilization of people deemed
mentally incompetent. State officials say it was applied regularly in the 1920s and ’30s.
But science has debunked views held then that human
traits considered defective could be eliminated through sterilization.
Officials say West Virginia’s law hadn’t been used since the
1950s. They also believe it may be the last such law among
the states.
DAILY NEWS
Sports
THURSDAY,
APRIL 11, 2013
Joey Fields to coach WV all-stars
Kyle Lovern
Sports Editor
RED JACKET — Last
year’s head coach of the
West Virginia all-stars in
the annual Hatfield & McCoy Senior All-Star game,
Joey Fields, will return to
try to get another win for
the Mountain State.
“I am super excited
about having the opportunity to coach in the game
once again,” Fields said.
“The Senior Bowl is a
great way to kick-off the
upcoming football season.”
“But for me as a coach,
what I enjoy the most
is the relationships you
build with the players and
coaches,” Fields added.
“Coach (Yogi) Kinder
has continued to do a
great job over the years
with the game. We had a
great group of guys last
year. I expect the same
with this group - Hady
Ford, Josh Sammons
and Chase Moore will be
my assistants. They did
a great job for me last
year.”
Fields is also assisting
Kinder with the Mingo
Central Miners.
The game was moved
to Harless Stadium last
season for the first time.
It had previously been
played at Matewan High
School.
Fields said he will get
his players from Mingo,
Wayne, Logan, Wyoming and McDowell
Counties.
The Kentucky squad,
which will be coached
by former UK star David Jones, will get their
roster from eastern Kentucky counties including Pike, Martin, Floyd
and Johnson.
Several players from
local schools such as
Belfry, Mingo Central,
Phelps, Pike Central,
Tug Valley and Sheldon
Clark are expected to
play this summer.
West Virginia rolled
over the Kentucky squad
37-12, as Logan graduate Joe Street rushed for
four touchdowns and
was named the Mountain
State’s offensive MVP in
last year’s game.
Kentucky coach David
Jones, who coached in the
game back in 2011, says
he hopes to turn the table
on the West Virginia allstars this summer. Jone’s
team won that season and
he plans to have a more
competitive
Bluegrass
squad come August 3.
The 18th annual all-star
game will played on Saturday, August 3 at 8 p.m.
Kyle Lovern is the sports editor for
the Williamson Daily News. Comments or story ideas can be sent to
klovern@williamsondailynews.com
or klovern@civtasmedia.com
Kyle Lovern | Daily News
Joey Fields will once again coach the W.Va. senior all-stars in
the annual Hatfield-McCoy Bowl this summer. Fields is also
an assistant coach for Mingo Central’s Yogi Kinder. Fields
coached the Mountain State squad to a win last year.
WV-KY All-Star
game scheduled
at Mingo Central
Kyle Lovern
Sports Editor
These three Tug Valley seniors will be playing in the Scott Brown Memorial Classic in Beckley this Saturday. The Class
A all-stars will play against the Class AA senior all-stars. Pictured, left to right, Aaron Muncy, Mikey Newsome and
Austin Brewer. Several of the state’s top players will be participating in the event.
Three in Beckley all-star game
Kyle Lovern
Sports Editor
BECKLEY — Coach Garland
“Rabbit” Thompson and three of
his players from the Tug Valley
Panther state championship squad
will be participating in the annual
Scott Brown Memorial Classic
this Saturday at Beckley.
Thompson will coach the Class
A squad against the Class AA
team. Panther seniors Austin
Brewer, Mikey Newsome and
Aaron Muncy were also selected
to play on the Class A squad.
The game will be played at the
Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center and the two rosters
are loaded with talent.
After the first game, which
starts at 4 p.m., a game featuring national talent will be played.
One of those teams will have four
players who have signed with
WVU and another player, Donte
Grantham, who is being recruited
by the Mountaineers and other
D-1 schools.
Between the two Class A and
AA teams, there will be six firstteam all-staters. There are also
several
secondNull of Sissonville.
team, third-team
Robert C. Byrd’s
and honorable menBill Bennett, who
tion selections.
led his squad to
Joining the Tug
the Class AA semiValley players on
finals this season,
the Class A all-star
will coach the Class
squad are Keith
AA team.
Mullins of Greater
The
national
Beckley Christian,
game, which will
Colby Ennis and
feature four WVU
Josh Martin of
signees - Devin WilGreenbrier West.
liams, Elijah MaAll three played
con, Brandon Watagainst Tug Valley
kins and Nathan
Tug Valley Coach Garland Adrian - playing
this season.
Others
on “Rabbit” Thompson will be on the same team,
Thompson’s squad coaching the Class A all-stars will begin at 6 p.m.
will be Cody White in Beckley this Saturday.
In between the two
of Meadow Bridge,
games, there will be
Zach Casto of Charleston Cathoa dunk contest and 3-point shootlic, and Jake Grimmett of Midland
ing contest.
Trail.
Tickets are available at the
The Class AA team will have
Beckley-Raleigh
County ConvenBrett Morris of Webster County,
Travon Horton, Devante Waites tion Center box office, by calling
and Shaquille Washington all of the Convention Center at 1-888695-0888 or online at www.beckFairmont Senior,
Tyler Sprouse of Bridgeport, leyconventioncenter.com.
Brett Bowling of Wyoming East, Kyle Lovern is the sports editor for the WilShane Greco of Independence, liamson Daily News. Comments or story
Iziah Hill of Robert C. Byrd, Josh ideas can be sent to klovern@williamsondaiGanoe of James Monroe and Zack lynews.com or klovern@civtasmedia.com
The first annual WV-KY Senior All-star basketball
game is being planned for Saturday, May 4, at Mingo Central High School.
The game is being sponsored by Consul Energy.
There will be two games, one for the gals and one for
the guys.
The girl’s contest will be held first, followed by a dunk
contest and 3-point competition and then the boy’s game.
Rosters are currently being filled for both squads. Several top-notch players from southern West Virginia and
eastern Kentucky are expected to play.
The coaches for the teams have been selected.
Frankie Smith, current coach for Sheldon Clark High
School, will coach the boys’ team, while Clay Campbell,
current coach for Pike Central Lady Hawks, will coach
the girl’s squad for the Bluegrass State.
For the Mountain State squad, Nick Cabell of Scott
High School will coach the boys’ team, while David Hanshaw and Julius “Boo” Hatcher will call the shots for the
girl’s squad.
“Some of the best talent from southern West Virginia
and eastern Kentucky will be featured,” said Steve Cook,
an officer for the MCHS Basketball Boosters Club. “There
will be some college coaches at the games scouting and we
encourage everyone to come out and support this event.”
A large crowd is expected for the games and competitions. Organizers are hoping to make this an annual event.
Mingo Central head basketball coach Brad Napier is
one of the directors of the senior all-star games.
Austin Banks (4) of Mingo Central will be one of the senior
all-stars who will be playing in the first annual WV-KY all-star
game which will be held at Mingo Central. Several top-notch
seniors will be participating in the even. There will be a girls
game and a boys game. In between the two games there will
be a dunk contest and 3-point shooting competition.
Duty leads Belfry Pirates past Pike Central
Kyle Lovern
Sports Editor
GOODY, Ky. — The Belfry Pirates got three shutout
innings from southpaw Joey
Duty in relief and came from
behind to defeat district rival Pike Central 4-3 Monday
night at Massey Energy Field.
The Hawks scored first in
the 2nd inning when Blake
Clark led off with walk, advanced on passed ball and
then scored on single by DH
Hunter Clark. Dylan Wright
then singled for PCHS.
In the 4th inning the Hawk’s
Hunter Clark led off with
walk, then Cameron Hamilton
walked with one out, and both
scored on single to left by Wes
Pugh as the visitors took a 3-0
lead.
Belfry scored two runs in
the bottom of the 4th inning.
With one out, Zack Francisco
walked, Duty singled, pinch
hitter Garrett Fannin walked
to load bases. Francisco
scored on sac fly by Caleb
Stanley.
Duty then scored on single
to left field by Madison Ghormley.
In the 5th inning, Belfry’s
Keaton Taylor led off with a
walk and then stole 2nd base.
He advanced to third on an
error by the catcher. Reed
Williamson was then hit by a
pitch for second time in game.
With one out, Taylor and Williamson each scored on wild
pitches as the Pirates took the
lead 4-0.
Duty got the win on the
mound in relief of Taylor. He
had four strikeouts in three
innings and only issued one
walk and gave up one hit. Mac
Justice took the loss for the
Hawks.
Belfry, coached by Michael Hagy, is now 4-6 on the
season, while Pike Central
dropped to 7-5. The Pirates
were scheduled to host Phelps
today (Thursday), weather
permitting.
Score by innings:
PC (7-5)…0 1 0 2 0 0 0 - 3 5 3
BHS (4-6)…0 0 0 2 2 0 x - 4 2 2
WP: Duty, 4 K’s, 1 BB; 1 H; LP: Mac Justice
Belfry head baseball coach Michael Hagy is shown talking to his pitcher, catcher
and infielders during a mound conference Monday night against Pike Central. The
Pirates came from behind to beat the Hawks 4-3.
an infant under the age (18)
eighteen years.
Case No.: 13-D-177
ORDER
On this day came Petitioner
Nancy Helbert, otherwise
known as Xavier Olguin, pro
se, and moved the Court to allow him/her to file his/her Petition Name Change of Minor
pursuant to West Virginia Code
48-25-101, et seq..
Cards club Reds,
Westbrook
throws shutout
R.B. Fallstrom
AP Sports Writer
ST. LOUIS — Jake Westbrook pitched a five-hit
shutout and the St. Louis
Cardinals backed him with
four home runs Wednesday
in routing the Cincinnati
Reds 10-0.
Jon Jay, Carlos Beltran
and Matt Adams homered
in a span of seven at-bats
off Homer Bailey as the
Cardinals took two of three
from the NL Central champions.
Matt Carpenter added a
two-run homer on a fourhit day. Adams homered
for the second straight
game and added an RBI
double and walk.
The Cardinals have dominated the Reds at home
the last decade, losing just
three of 28 series with two
splits.
Westbrook (1-1) threw
his fourth career shutout,
walking four and striking
out three.
Westbrook pitched his
first shutout since Aug. 9,
2006, against the Angels
when he was with Cleveland, and this was his 15th
career complete game. He
held the Reds hitless in
six at-bats with runners in
scoring position, and contributed his 11th career
RBI with a single in the
seventh for St. Louis’ final
run.
Bailey (1-1) had gone 23
straight shutout innings
— including his no-hitter
against Pittsburgh last
season — before the Cardi-
■
nals broke open a scoreless
game with four runs with
two outs in the fifth.
Bailey was charged with
seven runs in five-plus innings and dropped to 3-8
with a 5.52 ERA against
the Cardinals, including
0-4 with a 6.93 ERA at
Busch Stadium.
The Cardinals advanced
only two runners into scoring position in the first
four innings and Bailey got
two quick outs to start the
fifth before running into
trouble against the top of
the lineup. St. Louis scored
10 runs on 11 hits in the
fifth, sixth and seventh off
Bailey, Logan Ondrusek
and Alfredo Simon.
Jay’s second homer just
cleared center fielder ShinSoo Choo’s leaping attempt
at the wall. Carpenter followed with a single and
Matt Holliday hit an RBI
double, prompting a visit
from pitching coach Bryan
Price.
Beltran then hit his first
homer of the season on to
make it 4-0.
Adams hit a two-run
homer in the sixth off Bailey. Carpenter’s two-run
shot homer three batters
later made it 8-0.
NOTES: Jay has 19 career homers, six of them
against the Reds. … Choo
was 0 for 2 with a walk and
hit by pitch to end a fourgame streak of two hits
each game. … Cincinnati’s
Todd Frazier was 0 for 11
in the series after opening
the season with a six-game
RBI streak.
It is ORDERED that a hearing
on the matter and things set
forth in said Petition shall be
heard in open Court on the
16th day of May, 2013 at 9:30
a.m. before the Honorable
Thompson, Judge of the Family Court of Mingo County,
West Virginia.
LEGALS
LEGALS
PUBLIC NOTICE OF BLASTING OPERATIONS
Notice is hereby given that
Central Appalachia Mining,
LLC, P.O. Box 1169, Pikeville,
KY 41502 intends to conduct
blasting activities on surface
mine Permit No, S500811 located approximately 3.5 miles
northeast of Edgarton in
Magnolia District of Mingo
County, West Virginia.
Blasting activities will not be
conducted at times other than
those announced in the blasting schedule except in the
event of an emergency situation where rain, lightening, or
other atmospheric conditions,
or operator or public safety requires unscheduled detonations.
Blasting will be conducted
between the hours of sunrise
and sunset every day (except
Sundays) between April 21,
2013 and April 20, 2014.
Ten minutes prior to and immediately after each blast, all
access to the specific area will
be safeguarded from unauthorized entry. The warning signal
prior to each blast shall be
from an air horn, audible to at
least one half mile from the
blast. The warning will be given three (3) minutes prior to
detonation and will consist of
three (3) short blasts of five (5)
seconds duration with five (5)
seconds between each blast.
The all clear signal shall be
one long blast from an air horn,
of twenty (20) seconds duration.
Blasting shall be conducted in
such a way so as to prevent
adverse impacts to the public
or the environment.
IN THE FAMILY COURT OF
MINGO COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA
4:11
Sports Briefs
Louisville’s Russ Smith leaving for NBA
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Junior guard Russ Smith
will leave Louisville early to enter the NBA draft, according to his father.
Russ Smith Sr. said the Cardinals’ leading scorer “did
it all” during a college career that culminated with Louisville’s 82-76 victory over Michigan on Monday night for
the NCAA championship. That title, two Big East crowns
and an all-conference first-team selection this season completes a resume he said made it easy for his son to move
on to the next level.
Smith’s father said his son will announce his decision
in the next week.
The 6-foot-1 Smith averaged 18.7 points this season,
including 22.3 in six NCAA tournament games. But he
struggled in the Cardinals’ title-clinching victory, missing
13 of 16 shots and finishing with nine points.
Jayhawks’ McLemore declares for NBA draft
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The hardest decision of
Ben McLemore’s life turned out to be no question at all.
Kansas coach Bill Self made sure of it.
The talented guard announced Tuesday that he will enter the NBA draft after perhaps the most successful season by a freshman in the school’s proud basketball history.
And just in case he thought twice about passing up professional riches, Self was ready to shove him out the door.
The second-team All-American is expected to be a lottery pick in June after breaking the Jayhawks’ freshman
scoring record held by Danny Manning. McLemore averaged nearly 16 points for a team that went 31-6 and won a
share of its ninth straight Big 12 championship.
Reds place Marshall on DL with tendinitis
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Cincinnati Reds left-hander Sean
Marshall, who’s been bothered for several weeks by left
shoulder tendinitis, has been placed on the 15-day disabled list.
The move was made retroactive to Monday, and righthander Logan Ondrusek was recalled from Double-A Pensacola and was expected to arrive in time for Wednesday’s
game against the Cardinals.
Marshall has appeared in one game, working a scoreless inning.
Ondrusek had a 7.59 ERA in 10 spring training appearances and was optioned to Pensacola the day before the
opener. In three appearances in the minors, he allowed
one hit in 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
Visit us online at
www.williamsondailynews.com
Entered this 8th day of April,
2013.
The Honorable Miki Thompson
4:11,18
Nancy Helbert, Parent and Petitioner
as PARENT of Xavier Olguin
an infant under the age (18)
eighteen years.
LEGAL ADVERTISEMENT
Coal-Mac, Inc. dba Phoenix
Coal-Mac Mining, Inc.,
P.O. Box 1050, 22 Mine Road
Harless Wood Industrial Park,
Holden, WV 25625 (304)
792-8400 surface mine permit
number S-5021-08 situated in
the Lee and Island Creek
Districts of Mingo and Logan
Counties, WV, approximately
2.5 miles north of Ragland,
WV will be conducting blasting
activities in accordance with all
State and Federal Laws
as approved by the Department of Environmental Protection.
Blasting activities will be conducted between sunrise to
sunset, Monday through
Saturday during April 21, 2013
through April 20, 2014. No
blasting will be conducted on
Sundays.
access to the specific
area will be safeguarded from
unauthorized entry. The warning signal prior to each
blast shall be from a siren audible to at least one mile from
the blast. The warning will
be given three (3) minutes prior to detonation and will consist of three (3) short signals
of five (5) seconds duration
with five (5) seconds between
each signal. The "ALL
CLEAR" signal shall consist of
one (1) long warning signal to
twenty (20) seconds
duration from a siren.
adverse impacts to
the public or the environment.
those announced in
the blasting schedule except in
the event of an emergency
situation where rain,
lightening, or other atmospheric conditions, or operator or
public safety requires
unscheduled detonations.
4:11
Case No.: 13-D-177
ORDER
On this day came Petitioner
Nancy Helbert, otherwise
known as Xavier Olguin, pro
se, and moved the Court to allow him/her to file his/her Petition Name Change of Minor
pursuant to West Virginia Code
48-25-101, et seq..
It is ORDERED that a hearing
on the matter and things set
forth in said Petition shall be
heard in open Court on the
16th day of May, 2013 at 9:30
a.m. before the Honorable
Thompson, Judge of the Family Court of Mingo County,
West Virginia.
It is further ORDERED that Petitioner shall publish notice of
the time and place for the petition for Change of Name in a
Class I legal advertisement in
compliance with Article three,
Chapter fifty-nine of West Virginia Code. Said publication
shall take place at least ten
days before the scheduled
hearing in this matter and shall
contain a provision that the
hearing may be rescheduled
without further notice of publication. Petitioner is also
ORDERED to bring proof of
such publication to the hearing
in this matter.
Entered this 8th day of April,
2013.
Miscellaneous
The Honorable
Miki Thompson
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Zeller leaving Indiana for NBA
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Indiana’s Cody Zeller
is expected to announce his future plans Wednesday afternoon.
The university has called a 4 p.m. news conference and
the 7-foot sophomore center may be leaning toward turning pro this year after skipping last year’s draft to return
to school and chase a national championship. Teammate
Victor Oladipo, a 6-foot-5 junior, announced he was leaving for the NBA on Tuesday.
Zeller opened this season as a preseason favorite for
national player of the year. He wound up leading the Hoosiers in scoring (16.5 points) and rebounding (8.1), was a
second-team All-American and is projected to be a top 10
pick in June’s draft.
Zeller’s older two brothers, Luke and Tyler, also have
played in the NBA this season.
It is further ORDERED that Petitioner shall publish notice of
the time and place for the petition for Change of Name in a
Class I legal advertisement in
compliance with Article three,
Chapter fifty-nine of West Virginia Code. Said publication
shall take place at least ten
days before the scheduled
hearing in this matter and shall
contain a provision that the
hearing may be rescheduled
without further notice of publication. Petitioner is also
ORDERED to bring proof of
such publication to the hearing
in this matter.
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Holden, WV 25625 (304)
number
S-5021-08DAILY
situatedNEWS
in
WILLIAMSON
2.5 miles north of Ragland,
WV will be conducting blasting
activities in accordance with all
State and Federal Laws
as approved by the Department of Environmental Protection.
Sundays.
twenty (20) seconds
such a wayLEGALS
so as to prevent
adverse impacts to
those announced in
4:11
LEGAL ADVERTISEMENT
Coal-Mac, Inc. dba Phoenix
Holden, WV 25625 (304)
number S-5023-99 situated in
2.5 miles northeast of
Ragland, WV will be conducting blasting activities in accordance with all State and
Federal Laws as approved by
the Department of Environmental Protection.
Sundays.
twenty (20) seconds
adverse impacts to
those announced in
4:11
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BLONDIE
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Mort Walker
Today’s Answers
Tom Batiuk
Chris Browne
Brian and Greg Walker
THE LOCKHORNS
MUTTS
William Hoest
Patrick McDonnell
Jacquelene Bigar’s Horoscope
zITS
THE FAMILY CIRCUS
Bil Keane
DENNIS THE MENACE
Hank Ketchum
Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman
CONCEPTIS SUDOKU
by Dave Green
HAPPY BIRTHDAY for Thursday,
April 11, 2013:
This year you are unusually forthright and dynamic. A partner could be
quite the opposite. You might not be
sure what to do. Listen to this person’s
woes, but don’t enable him or her.
If you are single, you become very
possessive when relating to a specific
person. Is it you, or is it the other
party? Remember, you cannot change
anyone. If you are attached, the two
of you juggle your finances fairly well.
You will reach your mutual goal in the
near future. TAURUS is stubborn.
The Stars Show the Kind of Day
You’ll Have: 5-Dynamic; 4-Positive;
3-Average; 2-So-so; 1-Difficult
ARIES (March 21-April 19)
HHHH Follow your intuition. A
moneymaking idea of yours might
have tremendous value. Try it out on
several trusted friends who will take
turns playing devil’s advocate. You
want their feedback, even if it is negative. You can make adjustments later.
Tonight: Indulge a little.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
HHHHH A friend who might be
artistic or just unreliable might play
a significant role in what goes on.
Remain confident, and don’t lose
sight of your goals. A partner or an
associate pushes you hard and could
become controlling. Is this jealousy?
Tonight: You make the call.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20)
HHH Understand that something
is going on behind the scenes. You
might fear the worst, but try to remain
optimistic. You easily can balance a
situation. A partner might be uptight
about money. A change in how you
handle funds could relax this person.
Tonight: Get some R and R.
CANCER (June 21-July 22)
HHHHH You might be questioning
what is happening within your immediate circle. Friends surround you, and
they seem to support you. A creative
venture or a matter involving a loved
one could go south. Know that this,
too, will change. Tonight: Where the
fun is.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)
HHHH Others observe you a little
too closely for your comfort. You might
wonder if you could do something offbeat without being noticed. Let go of a
controlling situation. The only way to
win is to not play. A family member’s
negativity could irritate you. Tonight: A
force to be dealt with.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
HHHH Keep reaching out to
someone at a distance — you need
to speak to this person. Avoid all
assumptions until you do. Someone
could seem aloof, but this behavior
is not intentional; he or she is preoccupied with something else. Tonight:
Wherever there is good music.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
HHHH You discover the power
of two. You often push very hard to
achieve certain results. If you teamed
up with someone, the process would
be easier and just as successful, if
not more successful. Use care with
spending, and count your change.
Tonight: Talk and visit with friends.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
HHHH You might want to try
something different. You also might
not be sure which way to go with a
loved one. Please note your detachment. People certainly will not react
the same way they would if you were
your usual smiling self. Tonight: Go
with a friend’s suggestion.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
HHHH Stay level-headed and
focused. You could be amazed at
what you can accomplish while others
dillydally around. Be more expressive
and open with a co-worker or close
friend. You will see a different side
emerge in this person as a result.
Tonight: Squeeze in some exercise.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
HHHHH Your creativity emerges,
and it attracts many people. Your
interest in a situation allows greater
give-and-take. If a friend cops an
attitude, ignore his or her unpleasant mood. Share a great idea with a
friend, get some feedback and then go
for it. Tonight: Play the night away.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
HHH If you could work from
home, would you? You just might get
an opportunity to try this out. If you
are OK having no one but yourself
around, it just might work. A boss or
an older friend seems off-kilter. Reach
out to this person to find out what’s
going on. Tonight: Order in.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)
HHHH Make and return calls in
the morning. A message initially could
disappoint you, but in the long run, it
will give you the space to do what you
want. A family member lets you know
how much he or she adores you.
Enjoy the moment. Tonight: Out and
about at a favorite haunt.
Jacqueline Bigar is on the Internet
at www.jacquelinebigar.com.
Nation
Technology stocks rise sharply Bin Laden raid
Steve Rothwell
AP Markets Writer
NEW YORK — Technology
stocks roared back Wednesday,
driving the Standard & Poor’s 500
and Dow Jones industrial average
to record highs.
The industry has lagged the
broader market this year, but
surged after network communication company Adtran reported
earnings that were double what
Wall Street analysts expected.
That boosted optimism that businesses will increase spending on
technology equipment.
Chipmakers Micron and Intel jumped, as did other network
equipment makers like Cisco and
JDS Uniphase. Stocks were also
up on an optimistic reading of the
Federal Reserve Bank’s latest minutes.
Technology stocks rose 1.8 percent, the most of the 10 industry
groups in the S&P. That’s a big
change from tech’s weak performance this year. The group is up
just 4.7 percent, trailing the S&P’s
gain of 11.3 percent.
“Tech has performed so poorly,
it’s oversold and warrants some
interest here,” said Scott Wren, a
senior equity strategist at Wells
Fargo Advisors. “If the economy
continues to improve there is going to be some capital spending.”
The stock market is reversing
course from last week, when inves-
tors’ confidence fell because of an
unexpectedly poor report on the
U.S. job market and other signs
that the economy slowed in March.
The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 128.78 points, or 0.9
percent, to 14,802.24. It was the
third straight gain for the bluechip index and its biggest one-day
rise in a month. The Dow surged
in the first three months of the
year and is still up 13 percent in
2013.
The Nasdaq composite, which is
heavily weighted with technology
stocks, had the biggest percentage gain of the three main indexes
Wednesday, rising 59.39 points, or
1.8 percent, to 3,297.25 The S&P
rose 19.12 points, or 1.2 percent,
to 1,587.73.
Investors are seeing positive
news in the minutes from the
Federal Reserve’s latest meeting,
which were released Wednesday. The minutes revealed that
policy makers are becoming more
confident that the U.S. economy
can grow without the help of the
bank’s stimulus program, said Brian Gendreau, a market strategist
at Cetera Financial Group.
Many Fed members indicated
they want to slow and eventually
end the central bank’s bond-buying program before the end of the
year, as long as the job market and
economy show sustained improvement. The $85 billion in monthly
bond purchases has kept interest
rates extremely low, with the goal
of encouraging borrowing and
spending.
“The idea that the Fed thinks
that we are closer to the restoration of normality might be positive
for the market,” said Gendreau.
Among stocks making big
moves, Facebook rose 98 cents, or
3.7 percent, to $27.57 after General Motors said it would start
running ads on the social network
site. Adtran rose $2.75, or 14 percent, to $22.46, and JDS Uniphase
rose 64 cents, or 4.8 percent, to
$13.98.
Hospital stocks fell heavily after
Deutsche Bank lowered its recommendation on the companies
because their prices have risen
so much that they no longer offer
good value. Private hospitals have
surged over the past year in anticipation that health care spending
will increase following the introduction of Obama’s health care
plan.
Health Management Associates plunged $2.06, or 16 percent,
to $10.53. Tenet Healthcare fell
$2.38, or 5.5 percent, to $41.14
and Community Health Systems
dropped $1.65, or 3.8 percent, to
$42.26.
Bond yields fell as investors
moved money out of safe U.S.
government debt and into riskier
assets. The yield on the 10-year
Treasury note rose to 1.81 percent
from 1.75 percent late Tuesday.
Weiner says he may run for NYC mayor
Jennifer Peltz
NEW YORK — A bold
comeback attempt or the
height of chutzpah?
In what could be the
start of one of the most
intriguing second acts in
American politics, Anthony Weiner, the congressman who tweeted himself
out of a job two years ago
with a photo of his bulging underpants, is considering jumping into the
New York City mayor’s
race.
The Brooklyn Democrat
said in a New York Times
Magazine story posted
online Wednesday that he
realizes he would be an
underdog, but he wants to
“ask people to give me a
second chance.”
“I do recognize, to some
degree, it’s now or maybe
never for me,” Weiner, 48,
said in a long and highly
personal profile that he
clearly hoped would be
the start of his rehabilitation.
But are voters ready to
forgive? Will they at least
stop giggling long enough
to hear what he has to
say?
Political analysts say
Weiner would face a steep
climb to get past his past,
but his political skills, his
rich reserve of campaign
money and the dynamics
of a crowded Democratic
primary could make him a
player, if not a clear winner, in the contest this
fall to succeed Michael
Bloomberg as mayor of
the nation’s largest city.
Known as a congressman for his in-your-face
style, he could punch up
the forums and debates.
And he certainly doesn’t
lack for name recognition,
for better or worse.
“He’d be a real candidate,” said Maurice
“Mickey” Carroll, director
of Quinnipiac University’s
polling institute. “His
pluses are known. His minuses are known.”
But Weiner’s problem
could be less about what
he exposed than about his
attempts to cover it up.
“People will say, ‘Why
should we trust him
again? He lied to us before
— he’ll lie to us again,’”
said veteran New York
Democratic political consultant George Arzt, who
isn’t working with any
candidates in the mayoral
race.
Weiner’s downfall came
in 2011 after a photo of
a man’s underwear-clad
crotch appeared on his
Twitter account. The
seven-term congressman
first claimed his account
had been hacked. Then
he denied sending the
picture but told reporters
he couldn’t say for certain
whether it was a photo of
him.
As more pictures surfaced, including one of
Weiner posing shirtless in
his congressional office,
the married congressman was forced to come
clean and acknowledged
exchanging inappropriate messages with several
women, though he said he
never met any of them. He
resigned within weeks.
If not the biggest scandal in U.S. politics, it was
perhaps one of the most
cringeworthy.
Weiner and his wife,
Huma Abedin, a longtime
aide to former Secretary
of State Hillary Rodham
Clinton, said they sought
the magazine interview
to show voters he is a
changed man: He entered
therapy soon after the
scandal broke and has
spent most of his time as
caregiver to the couple’s
13-month-old son, Jordan.
Abedin told the Times
she struggled to forgive
her husband.
“I did spend a lot of
time saying and thinking:
‘I. Don’t. Under. Stand.’
And it took a long time to
be able to sit on a couch
next to Anthony and say,
‘OK, I understand and I
forgive,’” she said.
Americans have proved
willing to forgive politicians many misdeeds.
Former South Carolina
Gov. Mark Sanford, who
turned “hiking the Appalachian Trail” into a
euphemism for an affair,
is on the road to redemption, having won the Republican nomination for
his old seat in Congress.
Other Democratic candidates greeted the prospect of a Weiner candidacy
with restraint Wednesday,
with several saying they
would welcome him to the
contest.
City Council Speaker
Christine Quinn, who has
led the Democratic pack
in polling, said only that
Weiner’s decision was up
to him and his family.
If Weiner gets into the
race, he would have a
campaign fund of more
than $4.3 million and the
possibility of nearly $1.5
million more in public
matching funds.
With several Democrats
vying for the nomination,
it’s far from clear that any
of them could emerge
with the 40 percent needed to avoid a runoff. Some
observers think Weiner
could at least make it to
the second round.
His candidacy could
prove a headache for both
the Democratic Party and
his rivals.
“His issue becomes the
issue — it will begin to
overshadow aspects of
this race,” said Democratic former state Assemblyman Michael Benjamin,
now a political consultant.
“And it brings up the quality of Democrats who are
running for public office”
to an electorate already
cynical about politicians,
he said.
For some voters, Weiner would be asking too
much.
“He isn’t a very smart
guy, based on what he
did. He can be swayed to
do the wrong thing,” said
Dave Smith, a construction worker.
But advertising worker
Ben Calarossi said he
would vote for Weiner:
“We all have social problems. We’re all sinners.”
member can be
WikiLeaks witness
David Dishneau
FORT MEADE, Md. — A military judge
cleared the way Wednesday for a member of the
team that raided Osama bin Laden’s compound to
testify at the trial of an Army private charged in
a massive leak of U.S. secrets to the WikiLeaks
website.
Col. Denise Lind ruled for the prosecution during a court-martial pretrial hearing for Pfc. Bradley Manning at Fort Meade, near Baltimore.
Prosecutors say the witness, presumably a Navy
SEAL, collected digital evidence showing that
the al-Qaida leader requested and received from
an associate some of the documents Manning has
acknowledged sending to WikiLeaks.
Defense attorneys had argued that proof of receipt wasn’t relevant to whether Manning aided
the enemy, the most serious charge he faces, punishable by life imprisonment.
The judge disagreed.
“The government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the intelligence is given to and received by the enemy,” Lind said.
The ruling means prosecutors can call the witness during the “merits,” or main, phase of the trial. They otherwise could have used his testimony
only for sentencing purposes.
The witness has been publicly identified only as
“John Doe” and as a Defense Department “operator,” a designation given to SEALs. Prosecutors
say he participated with SEAL Team Six in their
May 2011 assault on the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in which the terrorist leader was
killed. His testimony would help establish a chain
of custody for the evidence from its recovery to its
analysis by a computer expert.
Lind ruled later in the hearing that John Doe
must testify in civilian clothing and “light disguise” in a closed session at an alternate, secure
location to prevent disclosure of his identity or
details of the mission. The disguise cannot obscure his demeanor, body movements and facial
reactions.
Lind said the trial also would be closed during
the entire testimony of three other unidentified
“special” prosecution witnesses who will discuss
classified information. It might be closed during
part of the testimony of 24 other government witnesses to prevent release of classified information,
she said.
The judge ordered a closed pretrial hearing May
7-8 to test alternatives to closing large portions
of the trial. A sample witness will testify, using
code words, redacted documents and unclassified
summaries to avoid disclosing government secrets. Lind will then decide whether such a system
would work at trial.
Earlier Wednesday, Lind denied a government
motion seeking to lower the bar for convicting
Manning of violating the federal Espionage Act.
He is charged with eight counts of that offense.
Lind ruled, contrary to the motion, that prosecutors must prove Manning had reason to believe
that the information he leaked could hurt the
United States or help a foreign nation.
Lind released written copies of the day’s first
two rulings to reporters. It was the first time since
she got the case in February 2012 that she has
made her written orders publicly available. The
lack of contemporaneous public access to rulings
and motions is being challenged in the military
appeals courts by the Center for Constitutional
Rights, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and
several left-leaning pundits and publications, with
support from 30 news organizations, including
The Associated Press.
In February, the military began releasing Lind’s
older rulings amid numerous Freedom of Information Act requests. Her written rulings on Wednesday were distributed by a military attorney who
said Lind released them partly because neither the
prosecution nor the defense objected.
The hearing ended Wednesday.
Manning pleaded guilty in February to lesser
versions of some of the 22 charges he faces. Prosecutors have said they still intend to prove him
guilty of the all the original charges.
His trial is scheduled to start June 3 at Fort
Meade. It could last for 12 weeks.
Federal budget cuts ground Air Force aircraft
Brock Vergakis
NORFOLK, Va. — A top general says federal budget cuts that
will ground one-third of the U.S.
Air Force’s active-duty force of
combat planes including fighters
and bombers means “accepting the
risk that combat airpower may not
be ready to respond immediately
to new contingencies as they occur.”
Gen. Mike Hostage, commander
of Air Combat Command at Joint
Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia, issued the warning Tuesday as the
Pentagon braces for more effects
of the automatic spending cuts
triggered by the lack of a budget
agreement in Washington.
Hostage said that only the units
preparing to deploy to major oper-
ations, such as the war in Afghanistan, will remain mission-ready.
Other units would stand down on
a rotating basis, he added.
The Air Force didn’t immediately release a list of the specific units
and bases that would be affected,
but it said it would cover some
fighters like F-16 Fighting Falcons
and F-22 Raptors, and some airborne warning and control aircraft
in the U.S., Europe and the Pacific.
The Air Force says, on average,
aircrews “lose currency” to fly
combat commissions within 90 to
120 days of not flying. It generally
takes 60 to 90 days to train the
crews to mission-ready status.
Returning grounded units to
be ready for missions will require
additional funds beyond Air Combat Command’s normal budget,
according to Air Force officials.
The “stand down” will remain in
effect for the remainder of fiscal
year 2013 barring any changes to
funding.
“Even a six-month stand down
of units will have significant longterm, multi-year impacts on our
operational readiness,” Air Combat Command spokesman Maj.
Brandon Lingle wrote in an email
to The Associated Press.
The Department of Defense
overall faces a $487 billion reduction in projected spending over the
next decade and possibly tens of
billions more as tea partyers and
other fiscal conservatives embrace
automatic spending cuts as the
best means to reduce the government’s trillion-dollar deficit.
On Wednesday, when President
Barack Obama submits his fiscal
year 2014 budget, the Pentagon
blueprint is expected to include
requests for two rounds of domestic base closings in 2015 and 2017,
a pay raise of only 1 percent for
military personnel and a revival of
last year’s plan to increase health
care fees and implement new ones,
according to several defense analysts.
On Monday, Defense Secretary
Chuck Hagel said another huge
concern is the uncontrollable cost
the Defense Department is paying
for health care and other benefits.
He said money spent on that is not
being used on preparing pilots for
missions and troops for combat.
The greatest fiscal threat to the
military is not declining budgets,
Hagel warned, but rather “the
growing imbalance in where that
money is being spent internally.”
For affected units, the Air Force
says it will shift its focus to ground
training. That includes the use of
flight simulators and academic
training to maintain basic skills
and aircraft knowledge, Lingle
said. Aircraft maintainers plan to
clear up as much of a backlog of
scheduled inspections and maintenance that budgets allow.
On the same day, the Navy confirmed that the Blue Angels aerobatic team would be cancelling the
rest of its season.
Tom Frosch, the Blue Angels
lead pilot and team commander,
announced the news late Tuesday
at the team’s Pensacola Naval Air
Station headquarters while standing in front of the one of the iconic
blue-and-gold jets. Frosch said the
news marks the first time since the
Korean War that the team would
not make the air show rounds.