Area News
January snow, Round 2
Somewhere between six and nine inches of snow fell across the region Sunday, January 16 and into Monday morning, finishing off with a layer of freezing rain. Offices and businesses that were not already closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day stayed shut Monday as many roads around the county remained covered. Highway crews moved…
Read MoreMorgan County Partnership gets $702,864 opioid-substance use initiative grant
by Kate Evans The Morgan County Partnership was awarded a $702,864 grant for a three-year program that will provide parent education, school-based substance use prevention programming and therapeutic supports for county youth and families that are opioid and substance use affected. The Partnership’s Opioid-Affected Youth Initiative grant was awarded by the Department of Justice’s Office…
Read MoreForney is 2022 commission president
Morgan County Commissioner Sean Forney will act as the county’s Commission President this year, taking on the role that Joel Tuttle has held for five years. During the commission’s first meeting of 2022 last Wednesday, January 5, Tuttle said he was ready for someone else to take the president’s title. He nominated Forney, who just…
Read MoreGood Samaritans help Good Samaritan get back to street cleanup
by Trish Rudder A Good Samaritan is defined as a person who helps other people and especially strangers when they have trouble. We found that Morgan County has many Good Samaritans who came to the aid of Berkeley Springs resident Ellen Lachewitz (Watson) right before Christmas. Lachewitz had been seen along U.S. 522 with a…
Read MoreActive cases of COVID locally top 200; state reports outbreak at Stonerise center
by Kate Evans Amid a national spike in COVID cases, local viral infections rose in Morgan County again last week, hitting 216 active cases on Monday. Another four county deaths were attributed to the virus last week. The highly-infectious respiratory virus also hit vulnerable residents in the local nursing home. The West Virginia Department of…
Read MoreThree school bus runs cancelled last week due to no drivers
by Kate Evans Two Morgan County Schools bus runs and one Head Start bus runs had to be shut down last week because there were no substitute bus drivers available to transport students. Morgan County Schools Transportation Director Tammy Painter said that on Tuesday, January 4 it was Bus 16-10, a Paw Paw route that…
Read MoreLawmakers say focus of 2022 session is preparing for growth & making state a good place to live, work
by Kate Shunney The 2022 session of the West Virginia Legislature opens this Thursday, January 13 and runs through April 10. Lawmakers from around the state will gather at the State Capitol to introduce bills and debate legislation during the 60-day session. As each year’s new session opens, delegates and state senators prepare to weigh…
Read MoreFriday night fires both started in flues
by Kate Evans Area firefighters responded to two separate fires on Friday night that both started in flues. Crews dealt with icy road conditions as they responded to the fires. Northwoods Drive fire The fire call for a structure fire at Northwoods Drive near Hedgesville came in to Morgan County 911 Dispatch Center around 11:49…
Read MoreDHHR warns of fraud messages about vaccine status
The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) has received reports of individuals receiving spam text messages asking them to validate their driver’s license through the state’s Division of Motor Vehicles in partnership with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No such message has been generated by DHHR and should be…
Read MoreBath council to spend ARPA funds on premium pay for town employees & Streetscapes
by Trish Rudder At the December 21, 2021 Bath Town Council meeting, with the approval of the Bath Finance Committee, the council members approved the $131,000 federal American Rescue Plan Act (Covid-19 Relief) funds that were allocated to the town. The funds are to be disbursed as follows: Councilman Chris Chapman said $48,000 is to…
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