Frank Raymond “Monty” Montgomery 1942-2020 Frank Raymond “Monty” Montgomery, beloved husband and patriarch, dedicated and caring man of his word, and charming rascal, passed beyond this life at the age of 78 due to complications from COVID-19. Monty, as he was known to all, was born on June 5, 1942 in Cleveland, Ohio. Raised by […]
Latest News
Early morning accident fatal for driver
A Morgan County resident has died as a result of an early Saturday morning accident, local emergency officials have said. The driver, who was fatally injured in the incident, was Tyler McCumbee, 26. According to the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department, which is investigating the crash, E911 received a report of a single vehicle accident in the […]
Jordin DeMarinis named WV Boys & Girls Club Youth of the Year
Jordin DeMarinis has been a lifelong member of The Boys & Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle’s Morgan County Unit since her first day of kindergarten. She has continued to grow up in the club by being a mentor, friend and role model to many other members. She is an active keystone member where she […]
Chip Shots
by Jim Buzzerd Fanless We’re one week closer to the West Virginia University Football Team’s Saturday, September 12 season opener against Eastern Kentucky and the game is still a go. I say it like that because in the midst of this pandemic, one has to consider that the plug on the season, or some games, […]
Schools to stagger start of grades in new school year
by Kate Evans Morgan County Schools published their staggered start schedule for the new school year last Friday on their website and Facebook page. The school system is set to reopen on Tuesday, September 8 along with other West Virginia schools statewide if their county’s COVID-19 status at the time permits. Staggered start Morgan County […]
Competing protests bring hundreds to downtown area
Rally organizers Larry Schultz, Katie Spriggs and speaker Kate Lehman lead the crowd in chants. by KATE SHUNNEY EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an updated version of the Messenger story posted on August 21. Community fears about violence and an influx of unknown protestors were widespread last week ahead of a planned Black Lives Matter rally in […]
Mayor proposes better notice on gas work, new learning projects for Hancock students
by Geoff Fox Hancock Mayor Ralph Salvagno brought up an issue he had with the gas company working on a line between Park N Dine and Shives Pizza recently. The issue came up after a gas explosion on August 10 in Baltimore where three homes were leveled and severely damaged a fourth. Two people were […]
Prepping the Memorial base
Local excavator Randy Kyne on Tuesday morning prepared the west end of the Fairfax Green for construction of the base for the Morgan County Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Contractors were expected to pour concrete for the foundation of the memorial structure later in the week. Memorial fund organizers Chuck and Linda Hampe watched over the morning work. […]
Local man arrested for making rally threats online
The Morgan County Sheriff’s Department last Friday arrested a Berkeley Springs man ahead of two downtown rallies, charging him with making threats of terrorist acts. Cpl. Scott Lemon charged David F. DeGraw, 55, of Cloverleaf Court with the felony charge after investigating DeGraw’s online activities surrounding a planned Black Lives Matter rally set for August […]
County Clerk fields hundreds more absentee ballot requests
The Morgan County Clerk’s office has had more than 400 direct requests to their office from voters wanting an absentee ballot for the November 3 general election. Voters can also file the ballot request through the West Virginia Secretary of State’s website, so the number of Morgan County ballot requests may be even higher, said […]




