GSC Announces December 2011 Graduates

Glenville State College has awarded degrees to sixty-three students who completed requirements for graduation during the 2011 Fall semester.

A Recognition Program honoring the December graduates was held on Tuesday, December 13, 2011 in the Mollohan Campus Community Center Ballroom for family and friends.

GSC Provost Dr. John Peek presided over the ceremonies with GSC President Dr. Peter Barr congratulating the graduates as they were recognized on stage.

The December graduates are eligible to participate in the 138th Glenville State College Commencement Ceremony scheduled for Saturday, May 05, 2012.

The GSC December graduates are listed as follows according to their county of residence:

Braxton County:

•  Anna Marie Williams of Burnsville graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education with specializations in Early Education (PreK-K) and Elementary Education (K-6).

•  Brittany Nicole McIntosh of Gassaway graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Natural Resource Management.

•  Bobbi J. Nicholas of Sutton earned a Regents Bachelor of Arts Degree.

•  Krystle Jean Vaughan of Gassaway earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Natural Resource Management.

•  Lillian Beth Dennison of Clem also received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Natural Resource Management.

Calhoun County:

•  Sarah Jane Harper of Grantsville received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing.

•  TaLonnie R. Mefford of Grantsville earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education with a specialization in Biology (9-Adult).

•  Victoria Ryann Vineyard of Arnoldsburg received an Associate of Arts Degree in General Studies. She is also pursuing a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education with a specialization in History which she plans to complete in May of 2013.

Doddridge County:

• Jacob Dean Myer of West Union graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education with a specialization General Math-Algebra (5-9).

•  Alicia Renee Cayton of West Union earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education with specializations in Early Education (PreK-K) and Elementary Education (K-6).

•  Melissa Jane Smith of West Union received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education with specializations in Early Education (PreK-K) and Elementary Education (K-6).

Gilmer County:

•  Karen Lea Griffith of Glenville received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Management.

•  Dustin M. Dent of Troy earned a Regents Bachelor of Arts Degree.

•  Rachel Lynn Bush of Glenville received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Behavioral Science with an emphasis in Psychology/Sociology.

•  Tristen James Hacker of Normantown graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Management.

•  Scott Lee Hacker of Normantown earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Management.

•  Leslie Jean Campbell of Glenville received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education with specializations in Early Education (PreK-K) and Elementary Education (K-6).

•  Marciea Lea Jenkins of Glenville was awarded a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Management.

•  Karl Bryan Duval of Glenville earned a Regents Bachelor of Arts Degree.

•  Lori Ann Rosenburg of Troy graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Behavioral Science with an emphasis in Psychology/Sociology.

•  Owen Justin Macklin of Glenville received an Associate of Science Degree in Business.

•  Marilynn Louise Burkowski of Glenville graduated Summa Cum Laude with an Associate of Science Degree in Forest Technology.

•  Michael David Murphy of Normantown earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Natural Resource Management.

•  Stephanie Renee Legg of Glenville received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Management.

•  Richard Hunter Doss II of Glenville was awarded a Bachelor of Science Degree in Behavioral Science with an emphasis in Criminal Justice.

•  Robin Riddle of Tanner earned a Regents Bachelor of Arts Degree.

Lewis County:

•  Lisa Joanne Darby of Weston graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education with a specialization in Spanish (5-Adult).

•  Michelle Lea Parker of Alum Bridge earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Behavioral Science with an emphasis in Criminal Justice.

Roane County:

•  Veronica Elice Hamrick of Spencer received a Regents Bachelor of Arts Degree.

•  Brittany Renee Berkhouse of Left Hand earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education with specializations in Early Education (PreK-K) and Elementary Education (K-6).

Glenville: Important Public Meeting for Gilmer/Calhoun County Farmers & Ranchers – Today

The WV Farm Service Agency (FSA) State Office Management Team will hold a public meeting in Gilmer County to solicit public comment regarding USDA’s proposed office consolidation plan in which the Gilmer/Calhoun County FSA office is being considered for consolidation.

This action is being undertaken as a result of budget and staff reductions to FSA. This means that FSA cannot maintain every existing county office location and continue to provide producers the best possible customer service.

WHO:   USDA WV Farm Service Agency Management Team - Alfred Lewis, State Executive Director

WHAT:    Public meeting for Gilmer and Calhoun County farmers and ranchers offering a forum for producers to weigh-in on the proposed consolidation of the Gilmer/Calhoun County FSA office.

WHEN:    January 31, 2012 =  1:00 PM

WHERE:   Gilmer County Recreation Center, 1365 Sycamore Run Rd, Glenville, WV

‘Zorcutt’s Flying Machines and Other Devices’ at GSC Art Gallery

The work of mixed media Artist Zachary Orcutt is being featured in the Glenville State College Fine Arts Gallery. His exhibit, ‘Zorcutt’s Flying Machines and Other Devices,‘ will be on display through March 02, 2012.

“Being an artist is a leap of faith - defying expectations, defying convention, pushing boundaries, and expanding the realm of what is possible.  The ability to fly, as well as the dream of flight, has proven to be fertile ground for my artistic imagination and a timeless metaphor for growth, transformation, and transcendence,“ said Orcutt.

‘Zorcutt’s Flying Machines and Other Devices’ are on display in the GSC Fine Arts Gallery

“It is an honor to have Zachary Orcutt’s sculptures here at GSC. He has a vivid imagination and his installations pieces are a tremendous learning experience for our students. The work makes you think that you really could use it to fly,‘ said GSC Professor of Art Liza Brenner.

Orcutt’s opening reception will take place in the GSC Art Gallery on Monday, February 06, 2012 from 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM.

The show will be open to the public Monday through Friday from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM and one hour before all GSC Fine Arts events.

Orcutt is a Professor of Art at West Virginia University Parkersburg where he teaches ceramics, bronze casting, and art appreciation. He received his Bachelors of Fine Art from Syracuse University and Masters of Fine Art from Bowling Green State University. Orcutt resides in Parkersburg, West Virginia (Wood County).

For more information about this event or upcoming art exhibits, contact Brenner at “Liza.Brenner@glenville.edu” or 304.462.6346.

G-otcha™: Area Regional Jail Incarcerations – 01.30.12

Imprisonment Status:  Pre-Trial Felon
Charles Freeman Barr
	Full Name:	Barr,  Charles Freeman
	Height:	6’  2”
	Weight:	195 lbs.
	Birth Date:	05.10.1978
	Gender:	Male
	Booking Date:	01.30.2012
	Facility:	North Central Regional Jail
	Imprisonment Status:	Pre-Trial Felon

Offender Court Order Information

Court Info Number	Issuing Agency Location
12-F-2	DODDRIDGE COUNTY - Bail Amount: $0.00

 

 

Imprisonment Status:  Pre-Trial Felon
Misty Dawn Sullivan
	Full Name:	Sullivan,  Misty Dawn
	Height:	5’  7”
	Weight:	135 lbs.
	Birth Date:	07.15.1972
	Gender:	Female
	Booking Date:	01.28.2012
	Facility:	Central Regional Jail
	Imprisonment Status:	Pre-Trial Felon

Offender Court Order Information

Court Info Number	Issuing Agency Location
11-F-45	BRAXTON COUNTY - Bail Amount: $500,000.00

 

Imprisonment Status:  Misdemeanor Pre-Trial
David Allen Bailey
	Full Name:	Bailey,  David Allen
	Height:	6’  1”
	Weight:	215 lbs.
	Birth Date:	07.18.1986
	Gender:	Male
	Booking Date:	01.28.2012
	Facility:	Central Regional Jail
	Imprisonment Status:	Misdemeanor Pre-Trial

Offender Court Order Information

Court Info Number	Issuing Agency Location
12M-	CALHOUN COUNTY - Bail Amount: $5,000.00

 

 

Imprisonment Status:  Pre-Trial Felon
Jason Wright
	Full Name:	Wright,  Jason
	Height:	6’  0”
	Weight:	172 lbs.
	Birth Date:	03.16.1989
	Gender:	Male
	Booking Date:	01.27.2012
	Facility:	Central Regional Jail
	Imprisonment Status:	Pre-Trial Felon

Offender Court Order Information

Court Info Number	Issuing Agency Location
11E-43	GILMER COUNTY - Bail Amount: $0.00

 

 

Imprisonment Status:  Misdemeanor Pre-Trial
William Carson Stutler
	Full Name:	Stutler,  William Carson
	Height:	5’  9”
	Weight:	160 lbs.
	Birth Date:	08.09.1987
	Gender:	Male
	Booking Date:	01.25.2012
	Facility:	Central Regional Jail
	Imprisonment Status:	Misdemeanor Pre-Trial

Offender Court Order Information

 

Court Info Number	Issuing Agency Location
12M-65	LEWIS COUNTY - Bail Amount: $10,000.00

 

 

Imprisonment Status:  Pre-Trial Felon
Markus Wayne Wilt
	Full Name:	Wilt,  Markus Wayne
	Height:	5’  8”
	Weight:	150 lbs.
	Birth Date:	06.28.1992
	Gender:	Male
	Booking Date:	01.22.2012
	Facility:	Central Regional Jail
	Imprisonment Status:	Pre-Trial Felon

Offender Court Order Information

Court Info Number	Issuing Agency Location
11F-159	LEWIS COUNTY - Bail Amount: $30,000.00

 

 

Imprisonment Status:  Misdemeanor Pre-Trial
Jennifer Lynn Broce
	Full Name:	Broce,  Jennifer Lynn
	Height:	5’  6”
	Weight:	120 lbs.
	Birth Date:	03.09.1985
	Gender:	Female
	Booking Date:	01.20.2012
	Facility:	North Central Regional Jail
	Imprisonment Status:	Misdemeanor Pre-Trial

Offender Court Order Information

Court Info Number	Issuing Agency Location
11M-316	RITCHIE COUNTY COURT - Bail Amount: $0.00

 

 

Imprisonment Status:  Convicted Felon
Randy Scott Gaddy
	Full Name:	Gaddy,  Randy Scott
	Height:	5’  3”
	Weight:	155 lbs.
	Birth Date:	04.04.1990
	Gender:	Male
	Booking Date:	01.19.2012
	Facility:	Central Regional Jail
	Imprisonment Status:	Convicted Felon

Offender Court Order Information

Court Info Number	Issuing Agency Location
11F-20	BRAXTON COUNTY - Bail Amount: $0.00

 

 

Imprisonment Status:  Pre-Trial Felon
Michelle Lynn King
	Full Name:	King,  Michelle Lynn
	Height:	5’  6”
	Weight:	150 lbs.
	Birth Date:	03.07.1966
	Gender:	Female
	Booking Date:	01.18.2012
	Facility:	Central Regional Jail
	Imprisonment Status:	Pre-Trial Felon

Offender Court Order Information

Court Info Number	Issuing Agency Location
10-F-53	LEWIS COUNTY - Bail Amount: $0.00

Groundhog Day with French Creek Freddie at the West Virginia State Wildlife Center

West Virginia State Wildlife Center’s official weather prognosticator, French Creek Freddie, is poised to forecast the onset of spring on Thursday, February 02, 2012, at 10:00 AM.

French Creek Freddie has undertaken his annual ritual at the West Virginia State Wildlife Center since 1978.

“Celebrating Groundhog Day at the Wildlife Center has become a very popular event,” said Wildlife Center Biologist Gene Thorn.  “Each year several visitors gather with anticipation to witness Freddie’s first glimpse of the New Year and his annual prediction,” added Thorn.

The tradition of Groundhog Day is rooted in early European legend.  According to tradition, Groundhog Day stems from similar beliefs associated with Candlemas Day. For centuries, early Christian clergy would bless candles and distribute them to the people.  During the conquest of the northern country, Roman legions supposedly brought this tradition to the Teutons, or Germans, who concluded that if the sun made an appearance on Candlemas Day, the hedgehog would cast a shadow, thus predicting six more weeks of bad weather. The Germans would recite: For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day, so far will the snow swirl until the May.

Early German settlers in the New World found another burrowing animal, the woodchuck, or groundhog, to be more plentiful then the hedgehog. Thus, the groundhog replaced the hedgehog as the traditional “wise animal” in North America.

Woodchucks are true hibernators and spend all winter in burrowed-out dens.  They usually go in their den about mid-November and stay until early to mid-February, when they awaken and begin searching for a mate.

For more information about the annual Groundhog Day Celebration at the Wildlife Center, contact the West Virginia State Wildlife Center at P.O. Box 38, French Creek, WV 26218, phone: 304.924.6211 or visit the DNR’s website at www.wvdnr.gov.

Reminder for Parents: Additional Shot Requirements

Additional school shots will be required for the 2012-2013 school year.

• 7th Graders must show proof of a booster dose of Tdap vaccine which protects against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (whooping cough) and a dose of MCV4 (meningitis) vaccine.

• 12th Graders also must show proof of a single dose of Tdap, plus a booster dose of the meningitis vaccine. If your child will be turning 16 before school starts, they must get the meningitis vaccine booster in order to go to the 12th grade.

Your child can get these and any other needed immunizations at the Minnie Hamilton Health System Grantsville Office, Glenville Office, or the School Based Clinics.

For more information regarding the new requirements or to make an appointment call the Grantsville Office at 304.354.9244 or our Glenville Office Pediatric Clinic at 304.462.5909.

Glenville FBC: Valentine’s Dinner - Sunday, 02.12.12

Glenville: Monthly Flea Market

 

Glenville Fire House

First Saturday and Sunday of every month

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

$5.00 a table

Can set up Friday evenings

For further information please contact Becki Reed at 304.906.0951

Public Notice: City of Glenville - Ordinaces Regarding Dogs

Local Democrats Collecting Needed Items for Community Resources Inc.

Ron Paul: Failed Fed Policies Prolong the Agony

The Federal Reserve’s interest rate price-setting board, the FOMC, met last week.  They will continue to set the federal funds rate at well below 1%, and plan to keep it low until the end of 2014.  That’s a year and half longer than they planned when they met just last month.  Chairman Bernanke says they are keeping interest rates so low for so long because the economic outlook warrants it.

The fallacies in their reasoning would be amusing if they weren’t so dangerous.  The Fed wants to keep the price of money at essentially zero – in other words “free” – to boost the economy.  But the boost they are attempting won’t get here for another three years.  That’s not a recovery.  And we’ve already tried this tactic.  That’s how we got into this mess in the first place: with interest rates artificially low for a very long time.  Free money doesn’t stimulate growth, as Japan’s two lost decades clearly show.  Artificially low interest rates only serve to punish saving, distort market signals, and cause further malinvestment.  They also do nothing to address the only real solution to our economic woes: liquidation of the bad debt that hangs around the neck of the world’s economy, preventing recovery.  Artificially low interest rates merely ensure that we remain a debt-financed consumer economy guaranteed to end up with a weaker economy and higher prices.

What baffles me even more is that two decades after the collapse of Soviet planning and decades more since the U.S. and economists purportedly rejected the idea of price setting, we find nothing wrong with the Fed setting the price of money.  We all agree it is a bad idea to have a board saying the price of wheat should be $250 a ton today, or carpenters wages should be $25 an hour until the end of 2014.  But we are perfectly comfortable with having a board set the price of one half of every transaction in our economy.  And our markets are supposedly free.

The Fed policies of low interest rates, Operation Twist, and rounds of quantitative easing are all attempts to keep the economy alive artificially. But the 12 FOMC participants cannot manage the economy any better than the bureaucrats of the Soviet Union.  The policies haven’t worked. They won’t work. Real economic recovery cannot come until we liquidate the bad debt, until we eradicate the poor decisions we made over the last decade, and start with a sound foundation. It is time we acknowledge the truth of the Fed’s activities: they are merely using fancy words for price setting.

Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon was correct in the 1920s when he said “liquidate everything.“  That’s what we did in the severe depression of 1920-21, and we recovered so quickly it is never even talked about.  We didn’t take his advice after the 1929 crash, and ended up with the Great Depression.  We are committing the same mistakes, destined to live in this Great Recession for a decade or more—it has already been four years, the Fed says it will be at least three more!  It’s time we start rethinking what the Fed’s policies are really doing to our economy, because obviously, by their own admission, they haven’t helped.

NATO/G8 In Chicago - At A Global Crossroads: Turn Against War

On January 25, the host committee for the G8/NATO summit in Chicago in May unveiled a new slogan for the event, “The Global Crossroads.” The mood of the organizers is upbeat and positive. This is a grand opportunity to market Chicago with an eye for the tourist dollar and the city is ready, the committee assures us, to deal with any “potential problems.”

One of the potential problems that the committee is confident that it can overcome, according to a report by WLS-TV in Chicago, is “the prospect of large-scale protests stealing the stage as the world watches.” The new slogan stresses the international character of the event and the prestige and economic benefit that hosting world economic and political leaders is expected to bring to Chicago. “We’re a world class city with world class potential,” declares Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “If you want to be a global city, you’ve got to act like a global city and do what global cities do,” says Lori Healey who heads the host committee and who previously led the city’s unsuccessful bid to host the 2016 Olympics.

All indications, unfortunately, are that Chicago is preparing to “act like a global city and do what global cities do” and it appears to want to follow the lead of other “global cities” in dealing with mass demonstrations threatening to “steal the stage;” think Tehran, Beijing, Cairo, Moscow and Seattle, to name a few.

One of the chilling developments the hosting committee announced was that the Illinois State Crime Commission is “urgently seeking Iraq-Afghanistan combat veterans to work security positions for the G8 summit.” The commission’s chairman clarifies that is for “private security” and not to work with the Chicago police. As in other “global cities,” these veterans will be used as private mercenaries without the legal protections and benefits of public employees. The Veterans Administration reports treating about 16% of the 1.3 million of veterans of these two wars for post-traumatic stress disorder and many more do not seek help. In answer to a potentially volatile situation in the streets of Chicago, the commission is not seeking workers trained in conflict resolution, but it has an urgent need for ex-soldiers trained in the violent chaos of Iraq and Afghanistan. These veterans urgently need treatment and meaningful employment, but at the “global crossroads,” they are offered only temp jobs as rent-a-cops protecting the interests of their exploiters.

Beyond touting the overblown promise of money that the summit is expected to bring (”To penetrate international markets takes time and money,” said Don Welsh, Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau) the city and its welcoming committee do not encourage education or reflection on what NATO and the G8 are and what they do. Despite its claims, NATO was never a defensive alliance. It is structured to wage “out of area” wars in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, as well as to “contain” China. NATO’s creed is aggressive, expansionist, militarist and undemocratic. The G8 represents the economic interests of its member states. It is not a legal international entity established by treaty but acts outside the law, with NATO as its enforcer. Chicago law enforcement might better spend its resources on preparing to arrest and prosecute the war criminals, terrorists, torturers, and racketeers coming as invited constituents of G8 and NATO rather than getting ready for mass arrests of citizens coming to Chicago to exercise their right to protest these crimes.

The morning after the host committee unveiled its new slogan, some of us with the Chicago-based Voices for Creative Nonviolence met to discuss our part in the response to the city of Chicago “bringing the war home” by welcoming NATO and G8.

We at Voices found ourselves in agreement with the host committee that Chicago is indeed a global crossroads. This is true not for the world’s financial elite, war profiteers, military brass and heads of state officially welcomed there in May, but for those who come to Chicago from the all over the continent and around the globe to visit or to make their lives there without the criminal intent of NATO and the G8. In May, especially, Chicago will be a global crossroads for the thousands of good people who will gather in the city to lend a hand and take to the streets for justice and peace.

Chicago in May is also a crossroads in that it is a critical place and time for us all to take stock of where we have been and where we are going. We are at a crossroads- do we continue on the road of war and economic exploitation of the planet that NATO and the G8 are committed to, or do we abandon that road and turn a corner toward economic justice and a world at peace. We are at a crossroads and our choices are stark: global domination and the economic and ecological devastation that it makes inevitable or global community.

With this in mind, Voices for Creative Nonviolence decided to call our efforts leading up to the NATO and G8 summit, “At A Global Crossroads: Turn Against War.” We are starting the ground work for a walk starting on May 1 from Madison, Wisconsin, to arrive in Chicago in time for the summit on May 19.

~~  Brian Terrell - former mayor of Maloy, Iowa ~~

Public Notice: Gilmer County Commission Jail Roof Bids – 02.15.12

The Gilmer County Commission will be accepting bids for the roof replacement of the Old Gilmer County Jail located at 10 Howard Street, Glenville, WV 26351, beside the Gilmer County Courthouse.

Bids will be accepted until February 15, 2012 at 9:00 AM.

For more information contact the Gilmer County Clerk’s Office.

Public Notice: Gilmer County Commission Used Computer Equipment Bids – 02.15.12

The Gilmer County Commission will be accepting bids for used computer equipment.

The equipment for bids includes 3 computer keyboards, 5 computer tower with Windows XP operating system and Microsoft Office, a Richoh Lanier LD335C copier, and IBM typewriter.

Bids will be accepted until February 15, 2012 at 9:00 AM.

For more information contact the Gilmer County Clerk’s Office.

WV: The Legislature Today - January 30, 2012

Bon Appétit: Roast Chicken

Ingredients:

  1/2 cup dry white wine
  2 lemons, cut in half
  6 large cloves garlic
  1 (4 pound) whole chicken
  1 1/2 teaspoons cold butter
  2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

Pour the wine into a 10-inch cast-iron skillet; set aside.

Place the lemon halves and garlic cloves into the cavity of the chicken.

Slide half of the butter underneath the skin of each breast.

Rub the chicken all over with Dijon mustard, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place into the cast-iron skillet.

Bake the chicken in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and continue baking until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 1 hour more.

An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone should read 180 degrees F (82 degrees C).

Remove the chicken from the oven, cover with a doubled sheet of aluminum foil, and allow to rest in a warm area for 15 minutes before slicing.

Ask the Doctor: Exercise Helps Condition

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am a 43-year-old mother of three children, and I also teach school.
Since last spring, I have lost all energy, and my muscles seem to hurt all over.
I have consulted three doctors.
None has found anything wrong with me or my tests.
The last doctor has suggested fibromyalgia.
I am scheduled to see him again in three weeks.
I know nothing about this illness, and I wonder how it’s treated.
Please summarize for me. - L.J.

ANSWER: Fibromyalgia is an elusive condition.
It’s defined as widespread body pain, an ache-all-over feeling, just like you describe.
Accompanying symptoms include disturbed sleep and fatigue.
No lab test, X-ray or scan discloses anything amiss.
One aid to diagnosis is tender points, specific body sites where finger pressure elicits pain far out of proportion to the pressure applied.
No one has a definite answer about what’s going on.
One popular explanation is that people with fibromyalgia perceive pain with heightened sensitivity because of an imbalance of brain chemicals and a misfiring of brain nerves.
Disturbed sleep is another consequence of these disorders.
Often the first treatment for fibromyalgia is an antidepressant.
It’s given not so much to relieve depression - although fibromyalgia is a depressing situation - but to restore normal brain cell communication and normal brain chemistry to dampen the brain’s magnified perception of pain.
Savella and Cymbalta are such antidepressants that are approved for the treatment of fibromyalgia.
Another medicine often prescribed is Lyrica, a drug whose primary purpose is seizure control.
Heat and massage might decrease pain.
Exercise is an essential part of treatment.
It sounds absurd to ask someone in pain to exercise, but a carefully graded exercise program goes a long way toward restoring normal feeling.
You can start with something as simple as a walk.
Increase the time, the pace and the frequency of walking until you are finally doing 30 minutes a day at a brisk clip.

Daily G-Eye™: 01.31.12

Submit photos for this daily feature. You may select to have your name listed as well.
Send your photo(s) to “tellus@gilmerfreepress.net”

Stargazing - 01.31.12

Several giant stars lumber across the sky tonight.

The list includes Aldebaran, the orange eye of Taurus, which is high in the south in mid evening; yellowish Capella, which is high overhead, and Pollux, one of the twins of Gemini, in the east.

Sirius B

On the night of January 31st, 1862, Alvan Clark and his son, Alvan Graham Clark, were testing a lens for a new telescope. Clark and his sons were the world’s leading telescope makers. In fact, many of their creations are still in use today, more than a century after the last of them was produced.

The new lens was one of the world’s largest — 18-and-a-half inches in diameter. To test it, the Clarks turned it toward Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. Within moments, the younger Clark discovered that the star had a companion — a dot so faint and so close to Sirius itself that it had never been seen through the star’s glare.

The companion had been predicted, though, by German astronomer Friedrich Bessel.

Beginning in 1834, Bessel spent a decade measuring the motions of Sirius and other stars across the sky. He found that Sirius seemed to have a “wiggle” in its path. From that, he deduced that the bright star had an unseen companion, and that the two bodies orbited each other once every 50 years. The Clarks confirmed Bessel’s deductions, bringing accolades for both Bessel and themselves.

The companion was named Sirius B, while the bright star became Sirius A. And since Sirius itself is nicknamed the Dog Star because it’s the brightest star of Canis Major, the big dog, Sirius B was nicknamed “the Pup.”

Astronomers quickly found that it was a strange puppy, though — a type of star they couldn’t explain.

G-MM™: Meditation Moment - 01.31.12

‘Young woman, I say to you arise.’

In two related episodes, Mark records the cure of a ritually unclean woman who had endured a painful malady for twelve years, and the raising to life of the 12-year-old daughter and only child of Jabirus.

The stories are linked not only by a sense of desperation that marked the approach to Jesus of the unnamed woman of little status and the important synagogue official, but also by their faith and courage.

In the presence of Peter, James and John and the little girl’s parents, Jesus (himself now ritually unclean from this contact with the woman) restores life to the child and the hope of descendants to her mother and father.

Let us visualize the scene and enter prayerfully into the mystery of the one who said, ‘I have come that they may have life.’

2 Samuel 18:9-10, 14, 24-25, 30 – 19:3. Listen, Lord, and answer me—Ps 85(86):1-6. Mark 5:21-43.

John Floyd Stutler

John Floyd Stutler

Age 73, of Jane Lew, WV, passed away Saturday, January 28, 2012, at his residence.

He was born April 21, 1938, in Weston, WV, the son of the late John S. Stutler and Ora Mae Perkins Stutler.

John was retired from Midwest Steel and J.O. Jett Trucking, and he served in the U.S. Marine Corps.

John is survived by his wife, Judith Ann Allman Stutler, whom he married August 25, 1978.

He is also survived by his son, Shane Stutler, of Columbia, Mississippi; daughter, Eugena “Jeanie” Cart and Ernest of Charleston, WV; two stepsons, Joseph Lockhart and Deborah of San Antonio, TX, and Tommie Rinehart and Jennifer of Pricetown, WV; a stepdaughter, Jacqueline Lockhart of Indiana; 13 grandchildren; and one sister, Viola Lefevre of Darlington PA.

John was preceded in death by three sisters and two brothers, Margaret Merrimen, Mary Maxwell and Regina Stutler and Kenneth Stutler and William Stutler.

John was a member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

He loved to work in his garden, and enjoyed hunting. He was a loving husband, father and grandfather, and he will be missed by all who knew him.

Friends and family called at the Davis Funeral Home, One Olen Thomas Drive/Rt. 98, Clarksburg on Monday from 2:00 - 8:00 PM.

Funeral services will be held Tuesday, January 31, 2012, at 11:00 AM with the Pastor James Volpe officiating.

Interment will follow in the Broad Run Cemetery.

Stanley Rogucki Sr.

Stanley Rogucki Sr.

Age 96, of Worthington, passed away on January 25, 2012, at Ruby Memorial Hospital.

Mr. Rogucki was born on November 20, 1915, a son of the late Charles and Veronica (Sockolcki) Rogucki.

On August 18, 1936, he married Mary Sega Rogucki, who passed away on June 18, 1998.

Stanley is survived by his two sons, Frank Rogucki and wife Anna Jean of Glenville, WV, John Rogucki and wife Sharon of Northfield, OH; daughter, Teresa Rogucki Schultz and husband Frederick of Spring Hill, FL; his special companion, Green Eyes the Black Cat; and 15 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren.

In addition to his parents and his loving wife, he was also preceded in death by his oldest son, Stanley Rogucki; daughter, Mary Ann Rogucki Lawson; and two brothers, Charles and Frank Rogucki.

Stanley retired from Consol on December 31, 1982, after 54 dedicated years. He was a supervisor (Boss) in Coal Mines since 1940 at the Four States Mine 20.

He has lived in Rosemont and Glenville, West Virginia. Stanley was an avid baseball fan.

He was a member of Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Monongah, WV.

Friends called at the Harmer Funeral Home, Shinnston on Sunday, January 29, 2012, from 2:00 - 8:00 PM.

The Holy Rosary was recited at 7:00 PM.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, January 30, 2012, at 10:00 AM with Father Steve Joseph as celebrant.

Interment followed at the I.O.O.F. Cemetery, Rosemont.

A service of the Harmer Funeral Home, Shinnston.

01.31.12

History on January 31, yyyy

Today is Tuesday, Jan. 31, the 31st day of 2012. There are 335 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Jan. 31, 1961, NASA launched Ham the Chimp aboard a Mercury-Redstone rocket from Cape Canaveral; Ham was recovered safely from the Atlantic Ocean following his 16 1/2-minute suborbital flight.

On this date:

In 1606, Guy Fawkes, convicted of treason for his part in the “Gunpowder Plot” against the English Parliament and King James I, was executed.

In 1797, composer Franz Schubert was born in Vienna.

In 1865, Gen. Robert E. Lee was named general-in-chief of all the Confederate armies.

In 1917, during World War I, Germany served notice it was beginning a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.

In 1929, revolutionary Leon Trotsky and his family were expelled from the Soviet Union.

In 1944, during World War II, US forces began a successful invasion of Kwajalein Atoll and other parts of the Japanese-held Marshall Islands.

In 1945, Pvt. Eddie Slovik, 24, became the first US soldier since the Civil War to be executed for desertion as he was shot by an American firing squad in France.

In 1950, President Harry S. Truman announced he had ordered development of the hydrogen bomb.

In 1958, the United States entered the Space Age with its first successful launch of a satellite into orbit, Explorer I.

In 1971, astronauts Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell and Stuart Roosa blasted off aboard Apollo 14 on a mission to the moon.

In 1992, leaders of the U.N. Security Council’s member states held an unprecedented summit, after which they issued a declaration on collective security, arms control and nuclear non-proliferation.

In 2000, an Alaska Airlines jet spiraled into the Pacific Ocean off Port Hueneme, Calif., killing all 88 people aboard.

Ten years ago:

The Bush administration handed abortion opponents a symbolic victory, classifying a developing fetus as an “unborn child” as a way of extending prenatal care to low-income pregnant women under the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said in a speech that the United States had to prepare for potential surprise attacks “vastly more deadly” than those on 9/11.

Kentucky, cited by the NCAA for more than three dozen recruiting violations, was placed on three years’ probation.

Five years ago:

President George W. Bush, visiting Wall Street, delivered his “State of the Economy” speech in which he took aim at lavish salaries and bonuses for corporate executives.

Delaware Sen. Joe Biden formally launched his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Nine blinking electronic devices planted around Boston threw a scare into the city in what turned out to be a marketing campaign for a late-night cable cartoon.

Best-selling author and columnist Molly Ivins died in Austin, Texas, at age 62.

One year ago:

A federal judge in Florida declared the Obama administration’s health care overhaul unconstitutional, siding with 26 states that argued people cannot be required to buy health insurance.

Egypt’s military promised not to fire on peaceful protests and recognized “the legitimacy of the people’s demands.“

Myanmar opened its first parliament in more than two decades, an event greeted with cautious optimism by opposition lawmakers despite the military’s tight management of the event.

WV Lottery - 01.30.12

7-2-5

1-3-7-0

01-04-11-14-19-22

A Second Chance: State Superintendent Goes Before House This Week with An Education Plan

State Superintendent of Schools Jorea Marple goes before the legislature again this week.

She received a tongue lashing from Senate Finance Committee Chair Roman Prezioso last Thursday during her presentation of the department’s legislative priorities.

He did not feel the Department was focusing enough on students and their education.

The question is what type of a reception will she receive when she makes her presentation before the House Finance Committee Monday afternoon?

During last week’s presentation, Marple told the Senate Committee, the Department of Education is taking the Governor’s Education Audit, released last year, very seriously.

The 143-page document covered everything from a system that is too tightly regulated, to non-efficiencies and improving education delivery.

Marple says there are valid points within the document.

“There are many recommendations within that audit that align to the current direction that we’re going and support the things that we’re doing.“

Marple went on to say that the Department will try and implement as many suggestions as possible.

“We’re committed to studying those recommendations and make decisions based upon whether or not that’s good for children, if that’s good for our professional community and we will work hard to do that.“

The audit estimates the state could save $115-million over a 5-year period if the recommendations in the documents are implemented.

The Department of Education’s priorities for this session, approved by the state Board of Education, include addressing the OPEB debt, pay raises for teachers, technology infrastructure, funding for the Regional Education Service Agencies (RESAs), and mentoring in education.

Those five priorities don’t all match up with the Governor’s Education Audit.

West Virginia Lawmakers Want to Allow Mascot’s Musket

Musket-toting mascots have been a fixture for decades at Parkersburg South High School home athletic events. It’s when the school’s Patriot mascot has gone on the road that troubles brew.

Now, several lawmakers from Parkersburg South’s home district _ Wood County _ want to give the mascot the same protection under state code already afforded to West Virginia University’s popular Mountaineer mascot.

“With the rise in awareness of safe schools, it has become an issue” on the road, said Parkersburg South Principal Tom Eschbacher.

A handful of school administrators and law enforcement officers have stopped Alex Burdette _ the high school senior who dons the Patriot costume _ from carrying his musket at away games, citing the 17-year-old state Safe Schools Act.

The law prohibits firearms possession on school grounds but allows for local exemptions if approved by a principal or local board of education.

Like the Mountaineer mascot, which makes appearances at WVU games and other events across the state, Burdette’s musket uses black powder but no ammunition. It’s still considered a firearm.

Burdette has been told to cease fire at several away games, including by a police officer at a football game at John Marshall last fall.

“He didn’t look too thrilled that I had a gun,“ Burdette said. “When I fired it for our first touchdown, he gave me an even weirder look, and then he came up to me and said, `hey, musket, come over here!‘ He said it was city ordinance that I couldn’t fire the gun. He told me to either lay it down by the fence or actually put it away on the bus.“

Burdette said he’s been told similar stories by previous mascots.

Wood County Democrat Dan Poling wants school spirit to triumph over legal objections.

Poling is a 1972 Parkersburg South graduate and the lead sponsor of the House version of the bill that would amend the Safe Schools Act to include Parkersburg South’s mascot.

“It’s one of them unintended consequences of that law,“ he said. “We wanted to put that exemption there. It’s been a tradition at that school for years.“

The same goes for Glenville State College. The Pioneers have had 74 mascots, who wear a custom-made buckskin outfit, a coonskin hat and carry a musket at home football and basketball games.

The Pioneer mascot is limited to traveling to a few select road games. Athletic director Janet Bailey said she’s never heard anyone cite the law in turning away the mascot, although a rival school’s athletic director once claimed the musket’s firing might incite a riot.

Parkersburg South shares its nickname with five other high schools: George Washington, Independence, Midland Trail, Washington and Wheeling Park. There are also schools like the Renegades of Westside and the Warriors of Pocahontas County. None has a weapon-wielding mascot.

Poling’s bill has been assigned to the House Judiciary Committee. A version introduced by Sen. Dave Nohe, R-Wood, has been referred to the Senate Education Committee.

The bills have language that would exempt the Parkersburg South mascot, acting in his or her official capacity, from the weapons ban on school property. Poling also has asked the House committee to look into including the Glenville State mascot, too.

The law’s tweak would mean Burdette won’t need permission to carry his musket at away games.

Poling said so far he’s seen little opposition from other lawmakers.

Eschbacher said the issue needed to be addressed in the Legislature.

“It’s a matter of school and community spirit and it’s something that even our fans who travel to away games have come to expect,“ Eschbacher said. “We believe it’s something that needs to be contained within West Virginia code so that we have _ I don’t want to say a right _ it needs to be covered so we have the ability to fire the musket.“

As a senior, Burdette’s high school days are numbered. Although Parkersburg South stopped the mascot’s appearances at basketball games a long time ago because of noise issues when the musket was fired in a gymnasium, Burdette would like to revive the tradition, if only to be able to carry the musket on the court.

“I would be honored,“ he said.

~~  John Raby – AP ~~

G-LtE™: A State of Gilmer County’s Education System Address

Findings of The Governor’ Education Efficiency Audit In the audit’s overview, it is noted that West Virginia’s public education system caters to many constituencies, and it is noted… “One fact is noteworthy about all these variegated constituencies: They are all adults.”

The report also states…”With a new Governor and new Superintendent of Education, West Virginia is poised to create an education system base on a different perspective and direction: that of the student…”

Page One of this report sums it up well: eliminating excess bureaucracy (in the state’s school systems), better relating the education system to future needs of the young people, raising educational standards across the state, and several more innovative goals.

On Page 15 of this report, you will find the following paragraph: “West Virginia’s education system is unique in the country in one major factor – the Department of Education, governed by a State Board, is constitutionally separate from the Executive or Legislative Branch. The system is detailed to the extreme in statutory language that results in an education system that has little flexibility to modify policy and operations without changes to Code. We have encountered no other state that insulates its education system so much from gubernatorial – or voter – control; restricts local initiative so much on the part of districts, building principals, and teachers; and vests so much authority for education at the state level. This is, of course, the citizens’ choice. But it runs counter to most of the concern and thinking in educational reform today that individual initiative and accountability should be encouraged, while responsibility for education must ultimately come to a single point at the top of the pyramid and that the individual ultimately responsible must him- or herself be accountable to the voters.”

On Page 16, in the Background and Overview section, the report states, “The West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) has a formidable responsibility to oversee 55 school districts plus institutional education and the Schools for the Deaf and Blind in pursuing its mission to ensure that every child in West Virginia receives a quality education. To accomplish this goal, the WVDE is responsible for functions ranging from regulatory oversight to providing technical assistance and support to county districts and schools. Perceptions of WVDE’s primary role vary. Department employees believe they are engaged with the counties, providing technical assistance and support. District employees and representatives of various professional organizations in the state, in contrast, see the Department as concerned primarily with regulatory functions and not as a significant resource for assistance in tackling particular problems; these groups describe the Department as distant from the real-world problems of operating a school district. Additionally, the Department is described as operating in “silos” that can sometimes lead to duplication of efforts, inefficiency, and contradictory guidance.”

On Page 30, readers will find the following among Recommendations:

#2 – “Increase span of control to not less than 1:10 ratios of supervisors to subordinates, thus reducing the number of offices within the department. WVDE is most out of step in the area of management positions compared to its neighboring states. Reducing the number of offices and managers will have the added benefit of consolidating functions and reducing the “silos” that result in overlap and duplication of effort. In addition, a rethinking of titles, positions, job descriptions and responsibilities will require a comprehensive effort to lay a foundation for change. “

#3 – “Reduce the number of positions in the department. The number of staff overseeing the K-12 system in general (besides management and supervisors noted above) is well above comparisons to surrounding states. As shown above, WVDE has ratios of staff to number of students and number of schools that is significantly lower than surrounding states. And as noted, WVDE has been successful in recent years in beginning to reduce overall staff counts through attrition; this commendable trend should be continued and reinforced.“ “Based on a phase-in plan to reduce positions through reorganization and attrition, it is possible for WVDE to save $ 21.2 million over five years.”

Page 15 through Page 31 provides comparative information (to other states), and a breakdown on the WVDE. It is well worth reading, and a link to the report is here on GFP.

Click to READ a PRINTABLE copy of the REPORT

Now we move on to how the WVDOE is exercising its control over Gilmer County’s schools.

The State is hiring uncertified persons for positions.

The State provided and approved waivers for the following (after they took over), and they are not certified for the positions they hold:

- Guidance counselor at High School

- Special Ed teacher at Troy Elementary

- An administrator at the Board Office (not qualified – does not have WV certification)

- An English teacher is teaching Social Studies at GCHS (not qualified to teach social studies)

The State laws stipulate that the Board Members are not allowed to review certifications of prospective employees – how can the elected Board be held accountable for the hiring of uncertified personnel?

Only the State can say a prospective employee is certified for their prospective position. How did all of the supposedly uncertified personnel employed by the Gilmer Board (as reported in the OEPA’s initial report) become employees? How is the OEPA able to blame the lack of certifications (which the State now calls miscodings) on the Gilmer Board, when the State has the “final say?”

The State is not requiring itemized invoices from contractors/vendors.

Recent payments for contractual services were not made upon receipt of itemized invoices from the contractors.

Pomeroy does technology work for the county schools, and they do not submit itemized invoices because they are “chosen” by the State as a technology service provider.

There was an invoice for $18,500 from Wildlife Removal Service, Inc. for removal of bat guano from Troy Elementary. The contractor did not provide an itemized daily invoice. (The last time the guano had to be removed, school board maintenance personnel cleaned it out, and it did not cost the county one extra cent.)

A payment of $10,000 was made to a Hooten Company, but for what?

The State is authorizing payments to contractors/vendors without itemized invoices, when one of the “dysfunctional actions” of the Board, and one of the many excuses in the list for the State’s take-over, was that the Board did not require itemized invoices (from lowest bidding/winning contract vendor) in order to make payments.

Bye the bye, many in Gilmer County wonder just who are/were the people called CUBIES that initiated the State’s take-over of Gilmer County’s schools…

Who are/were the CUBE Members?

This question was posed not too long ago on GFP, asking just who were the members of the CUBE group? Below please find a list, separated according to their contribution, of the majority of the CUBE members (some still remain unknown).

The following CUBE members were among the more vocal advocates for State take-over of Gilmer County’s school system; they also submitted letters and/or emails, and lo and behold, they have signed up to run for the office of Gilmer County Board of Education member in 2012 (makes one wonder, perhaps?):

•  **Kris Phares-Snyder (also wrote letter and/or email(s) advocating State take-over. She was recently RIF’d (Reduction in Force) from the Calhoun-Gilmer Career Center, and has no job as of June 30, but has not resigned as employee of BOE. She has reportedly stated that she did not have to resign from her employment because she is paid by Calhoun County.

[Question: If she is not a Gilmer County employee, why were Gilmer’s state-appointed superintendent Blankenship and elected board member Phyllis Starkey allowed vote on the matter of her RIF? (Blankenship voted in favor, and Starkey voted against the RIF.)]

•  **Tammy Cundiff – reportedly had to resign as substitute teacher in Gilmer County to run.

•  **Tracy Rexroad

These CUBE members wrote letters and/or emails urging the State Department of Education to take over Gilmer County’s school system:

•  Desi Garrett – most vocal, and “founding father”
•  Lenora Marks
•  LeAnn Phares
•  Stacey Harlow – very vocal
•  R. Terry Butcher
•  Dawn McHenry
•  Cindy Langham

These additional CUBE members were also advocates for the State take-over of Gilmer County’s school system:

•  Hilary Miller
•  Barbara Miller
•  Shelley DeMarino
•  Susan Williams
•  Debbie Skinner
•  Doug Skinner
•  Dorothy Rhoades
•  Laura Rhoades
•  Tommy Ratliff
•  Tom Ratliff
•  Nasia Butcher
•  Denny Pounds
•  Cindy Pounds
•  C****** *****
•  Wanda Reed
•  Diane Sharpe
•  Laura Chapmam

Respectfully,

Abigail Adams

Lawmakers to Look at Bill That Could Lead to OPEB Debt Being Paid Off in about 24 Years

A Kanawha County State Senator says, if lawmakers approve a proposed bill dealing with what West Virginia owes for health care benefits for future retirees, the state could be on track to pay off that debt within about 24 years.

As of now, the benefits, called OPEB, are estimated at $10 billion total.

“West Virginia is becoming a national leader in addressing this issue,“ Senator Brooks McCabe said.  “We have done more recently than any other state.  We really are taking a look at our sins of the past.“

In December, the Finance Board for the Public Employees Insurance Agency addressed about half of that debt by voting to increase premiums for current retirees by 9% and cap the amount the state pays toward premiums for retirees in the form of subsidies.

Legislators must now find a way to cover the rest, the other $5 billion, that is owed.

A solution is now out at the State Capitol in the form of a proposed bill Senator McCabe detailed on MetroNews Talkline.

He says the legislation has three parts.

1) It identifies a source of funding for the OPEB Trust Fund by $30 million a year.

Senator McCabe says that money will likely come from the money set aside each year to pay down the state’s workers’ compensation debt.  That debt will be paid off in 2016, freeing up the $30 million needed annually plus much more.

“That’s one piece of it that is new,“ he said of the proposal.

2)  It puts into code the changes the PEIA Finance Board made to the cap on the subsidy amount.  Every month, the state sets aside $343 for each active worker for future health care costs.  To hold costs down, the growth for those premiums, based on inflation, will be limited to 3% each year.

3)  It takes the OPEB liability largely off the books for county school systems in West Virginia to help clean up their balance sheets.

Senator McCabe says the proposal could have a big impact.  “To get those sins of the past behind us, I think is huge for West Virginia,“ he said.

The 2012 Regular Legislative Session continues into March.

WVFSA: IMPORTANT PUBLIC MEETINGFOR GILMER & CALHOUN FARMERS & RANCHERS - 01.31.12

WVFSA SCHEDULES IMPORTANT PUBLIC MEETINGFOR GILMER AND CALHOUN COUNTY FARMERS & RANCHERS

USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced that Aflred Lewis, State Executive Director for WV FSA and members of his management team have scheduled a public meeting in Gilmer County on Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 1:00 PM at the Gilmer County Recreation Center Dining Hall located at 1365 Sycamore Run Rd in Glenville.

FSA’s public meeting will be the only one held to take public comment on USDA’s proposed office consolidation plan in which the Gilmer-Calhoun Counties FSA office is being considered for consolidation. Producers can also provide written comment by emailing “alfred.lewis@wv.usda.gov”  or sending written comment to WV State FSA Office, 1550 Earl Core Rd., Morgantown, WV 26505-1049 no later than February 10, 2012.

All public comments will be taken into full consideration prior to development or implementation of a final consolidation plan.

For more information, contact WV Farm Service Agency at 304.284.4800.

GCHS: Principal’s List - Second Nine Weeks - 2011-12

GILMER COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL’S LIST Second Nine Weeks 2011-2012
7THGRADE	8THGRADE	9THGRADE
Ferguson, Chandler	Frame, Ammanda	Benson, Katelyn
Fitzwater, Riley	Moore, Hunter	Chapman, Zach
Furr, Madisyn	Moore, Hannah	Hacker, Alexis
Jenkins, Janeeva		Johnson, Jaylin
Law, Dalton		Miller, Katelyn
McNeely, Tristan		Montgomery, Matthew
Moore, Tyler		Morris, Sebastian
Pritt, Nathan		Wright, Trevor
Shuff, Trey
Somerville, Carly
Tanner, Lucas
Watkins Colleen
10TH GRADE	11TH GRADE	12TH GRADE
Coombs, Sara	Allen, Morgan	Coombs, Elisabeth
Cunningham, Austin	Beirne, Guinevere	Fisher, Allison
Evans, Tara	Beron, Michaela	Knicely, Chelsea
Furby, Kayla	Ferguson, Conner	Pettit, Sydney
Gumm, Michaela	Frame, Kortney	Simmons, Hannah
Jackson, Richonna	Freeman, Jennifer	Smith, Jessi
Murphy, Michaela	Gordon, Larisa	Somerville, Olivia
Roberts, Hannah	Gregory, Lindsay	Steele, Tyler
Simon, Tabita	Jones, Jessica
Underwood, Ben	Lowther, Joshua
Wanstreet, Tyler	Moore, Cody
	Richison, Abbie
	Taylor, Alexandra
	Wagner, Lexsey

 

GFP - 01.30.2012
Community • Gilmer County • Glenville • Education • Events | Announcements • Greetings | Thank You | Congratulations •

• Permalink - Link to This Article

Print This Article

GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES - 01.30.12

Bezos Family Foundation: Bezos Scholars Program at the Aspen Institute

The Bezos Scholars Program at the Aspen Institute seeks students who are independent thinkers, demonstrated leaders, and engaged community members.

Participants meet one another and engage in seminars and informal meetings with the international leaders, acclaimed thinkers, and creative artists who participate in the annual Aspen Ideas Festival.

Following attendance at the Aspen Ideas Festival, the student/educator scholar teams will return home and create Local Ideas Festivals in their schools.

Maximum award: participation in the Aspen Ideas Festival, June 26 - July 02, 2012.

Eligibility: applicants’ schools must be public high schools (including charter and magnet schools) where at least 25% of students are eligible for the free/reduced lunch program.

Potential scholars must be legal U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents in their junior year with a GPA of 3.5 or higher and be taking Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate classes.

Scholar applicants should demonstrates leadership in school and community and have scored exceptionally well on PSAT/SAT/or ACT.

Deadline: February 02, 2012.

Pulse of the Planet: Kid’s Science Challenge

The Kid’s Science Challenge is a chance for students to submit an idea, question, or problem for a participating scientist to solve.

Maximum award: roundtrip airfare for the winner and his/her parent or legal guardian from a major airport nearest the winner home, hotel accommodations, and select events/sightseeing and meals, to visit the scientist who participated in his or her winning entry.

Eligibility: all legal U.S. residents who are students enrolled in 3rd through 6th grade at a public, private, parochial, or home school located in one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, or any of the U.S. territories and commonwealths, except in Puerto Rico.

Deadline: February 28, 2012.

NABT: BioClub Student Award

The National Association of Biology Teachers BioClub Student Award recognizes outstanding student members of a NABT BioClub.

The award is a great way to recognize that exceptional student who inspires you to be an even better biology teacher.

Maximum award: a textbook scholarship from Carolina Biological Supply Company and an award plaque.

Eligibility: any graduating senior who is a member of an NABT BioClub chapter and has been accepted to a two- or four-year college/university.

Deadline: March 15, 2012.

McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation: Academic Enrichment Grants

The McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation offers Academic Enrichment Grants designed to develop in-class and extra-curricular programs that improve student learning.

The foundation considers proposals that foster understanding, deepen students’ knowledge, and provide opportunities to expand awareness of the world around them.

Maximum award: $10,000 per year for three years.

Eligibility: educators employed by schools or non-profit organizations with the background and experience to complete the project successfully and who have direct and regular contact with students in grades pre-k to 12 from low-income households.

Deadline: April 15, 2012.

G-otcha™: Man Behind Bars for Abducting His Ex-Wife

Imprisonment Status:  Pre-Trial Felon
Shawn Asa Ashby
	Full Name:	Ashby,  Shawn Asa
	Height:	5’  8”
	Weight:	230 lbs.
	Birth Date:	02.01.1976
	Gender:	Male
	Booking Date:	01.28.2012
	Facility:	North Central Regional Jail
	Imprisonment Status:	Pre-Trial Felon

Offender Court Order Information

Court Info Number	Issuing Agency Location
12F-5	RITCHIE COUNTY COURT - Bail Amount: $50,000.00

 

Shawn Ashby, age 35, from Wirt County is charged with abducting his ex-wife.

Ashby’s ex-wife called 911 around 1:30 AM on Saturday morning, January 28, 2012.

She told dispatchers that Ashby called her multiple times and threatened to kidnap and rape her.

According to criminal complaint, two hours later, Ashby went to the victim’s house and forced her into his car.

West Virginia State Police Troopers found Ashby and the victim on WV Highway 47 in Ritchie County with a .22 caliber pistol and baseball bat in his car.

Ashby was taken to the North Central Regional Jail with bail set at $50,000.

GCHS Boys’ Basketball: Wirt County 58, Gilmer County 53

Gilmer County Titans fell to Wirt County Tigers 53-58, Friday night, January 27, 2012 in Elizabeth.

Anthony Aviles led the Titans with 14 points.

Austin Ratliff had 12 points.

Austin Cunningham scored 11 points.

Nick Roberts added 10 points.

Gilmer County will travel to Roane County next Wednesday, February 01, 2012.

Game starts at 7:00 PM.

Gilmer 12 18 11 12-53

Wirt 15 10 17 16-58

GILMER COUNTY (6-9)
Mitchell Hickman 0 0-0 0
Anthony Aviles 5 3-3 14
Seth Skinner 0 0-0 0
Nick Roberts 4 2-3 10
Austin Cunningham 4 2-2 11
Austin Ratliff 5 2-2 12
Donte Hall 0 0-0 0
Zack Chapman 1 0-0 2
Reed Ratliff 2 0-0 4
TOTALS: 21 9-10 53
3-Point Goals: Aviles 1, Cunningham 1.

WIRT COUNTY (5-11)
Caleb Bell 3 0-0 7
Matt Roberts 5 0-0 10
Jeremy Kerby 1 2-3 4
J.T. Nemeth 7 0-3 16
J.T. Stephens 0 1-2 1
Austin McVey 0 0-0 0
Josh Trembly 2 1-2 7
Trenton Hardbarger 2 0-0 4
Josh Quinn 3 1-3 9
TOTALS: 23 5-13 58
3-Point Goals: Nemeth 2, Trembly 2, Quinn 2, Bell 1.

WIRT COUNTY:
Shooting: 23 of 50
Rebounds: 21 (Nemeth 7)
Assists: 12 (Nemeth 6)
Steals: 7 (Quinn 3)
Turnovers: 5

GILMER COUNTY:
Rebounds: 24
Assists: 10
Steals: 2
Turnovers: 14

Dominion Hope: Decrease in Rates

Dominion Hope customers will pay 3.85% less for residential gas rates, the state Public Service Commission ruled Friday, January 27, 2012.

The interim order means Dominion will have to drop rates by 25 cents per 1000 cubic feet starting February 01, 2012.

Rates issued by commissioners in October 2011 were less than the amount requested by Dominion.  Friday’s order further reduces rates.

The ruling is part of an open case Dominion has with the Public Service Commission.

Purchased gas adjustment proceedings allow rate adjustments based on an estimate of future costs utilities will pay for their gas, according to a PSC release.

Those estimated future costs run from November 01 to October 30 of the next year, the release said.

Every year, commissioners adjust gas rates to account for those differences in the cost of gas.

Final rates are expected to be set in May.

GCHS: Honor Roll - 2nd Nine Weeks - 2011-12

 

GILMER COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL HONOR LIST 2nd Nine Weeks 2011-2012
7th GRADE	8th GRADE	9th Grade
Arden, Jacob	Bame, Michaela	Cottrill, Terri
Broome, Emily	Beall, Britney	Eberly, Caitlyn
Cottrill, Lydia	Beron, Mya	Ferguson, Michaela
Duskey, Brittany	Davis, Kaitlyn	Greene, Jimmi
Fox, Cassidy	Donaldson, Charles	Hough, Lauren
Fox, Dakota	Emerson, Justin	Luzader, Michaela
Hardman, Lauren	Harlow, Brooke	McCumbers, Sharon
Helmick, Mason	Helmick, Wyatt	Miller, Linda
Jones, Alex	Huff, Mackenzie	Moore, Shelby
Montgomery, Jason	Jedamski, Emilie	Pritt, Jordanne
Rader, Whitney	Jones, Lynnia	Ratcliff, Keri
Roberts, Bryce	Keith, Kathern	Self, Wesley
Sirbaugh, Lukas	Linger, Taylor	Stewart, Kayla
Springer, Carter	Loudin, Alexis	Wood, Carrissa
Wiant, Brittany	Marks, Autumn
	Moore, Kitric
	Price, Lexie
	Ramsey, Erin
	Richards, Cody
	Richards, Taylor
	Shiflet, Sarah
	Shiow, Cheruto
	Smith, Hunter
	Stout, Nathan
	Turner, Kindra
	Watkins, Kevin
10th GRADE	11th GRADE	12th GRADE
Baxter, Taylor	Bush, Ashley	Bell, Nathan
Beall, Lucas	Carr, Bridget	Buckhannon, Tanya
Bishop, Julie	Chapman, Sarah	Collins, Katelyn
Lamb, Amanda	Conrad, Jamie	Gumm, Landon
Lamb, Megan	Cool, Teayria	Miller, Desirae
Lilly, Austin	Frame, Natalie	Montgomery, Dylan
Lyons, Tonya	Frye, David	Moore, Laken
Marlatt, Jodi	Harkleroad, Tahni	Morris, Jordan
Martin, Emilie	Jenkins, Amanda	Powell, Brittney
Rader, Nicole	Jenkins, Christina
Sink, Stewart	Mann, Asia
Skinner, Seth	Marlatt, Dustin
Smith, Kenneth	Massey, Shayla
Sparks, Tristan	Ratliff, Brianna
Ullom, Adan	Rhoades, Kevin
Weese, Katelyn	Smith, Casey
White, Elania	Smith, Kayla
Young, Angela	Sprouse, Alexus
	Young, Tiffany

 

Gilmer County Recreation Center Chicken Dinner – February 05, 2012

Glenville: Bingo at GCVFD Every Monday Night

GSC January Premium Night – Tuesday, 01.31.12

The public is invited to the Glenville State College Mollohan’s Restaurant on Tuesday, January 31, 2012 from 4:30 until 7:00 PM for GSC’s January Premium Night.

The menu for the dinner includes:

•  Spanakopita
•  Puffy Chicken Wellington
•  Salt and Herb Encrusted Pork Steamship
•  True Twice and Baked Potatoes
•  Pasta Primavera
•  Fresh Garden Melody
•  Green Beans Almandine
•  Espresso Panna Cotta
•  Hot Chocolate Fudge Cake
•  Mousse with Fresh Berries and Mint

The costs for the December Premium Night are $11.99 for guests, $10.99 for seniors and faculty/staff using Flex Dollars, $8.99 for students using Flex Dollars, $5.99 for children under 12, and free for children under five.

Please call ahead for reservations.

To make reservations or for more information, contact the GSC Dining Services Office at 304.462.6360. Reservations may be left on the voice mail.

$22 Million in Home Heating Assistance for West Virginia Families and Seniors

Senator Jay Rockefeller today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released over $22 million in funds for West Virginia’s Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

“A warm home in the winter is one of the most basic human needs, like food, water and clothing,” said Rockefeller.  “We still face some tough economic times, but this critical money is there for families who need it so that they don’t have to choose between heating their home and putting food on the table.”

The funding will help families and seniors heat their homes and pay their energy bills this winter.

It comes from the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2012 which Congress passed in December with Rockefeller’s support.

In addition to this funding, West Virginia is expected to receive almost $7.5 million more for LIHEAP this year.

Rockefeller also joined 39 other Senators in signing a letter to President Obama urging him to avoid cutting funds for LIHEAP in his budget for the 2013 fiscal year which is expected to be released in the next few weeks.

Rockefeller added, “We can be diligent about reducing the deficit and trimming fat from the budget, but cutting programs like LIHEAP that provide needed assistance is not the way to do it, and I will continue to fight for this program and the people it serves.”

Click H E R E to view a copy of the letter to President Obama from January 18, 2012.

Background

In December of 2011, Senator Rockefeller introduced a bipartisan bill to make sure that LIHEAP is fully funded this year.  The LIHEAP Protection Act would make sure that this vital safety net will not be put on the chopping block so that struggling families and seniors can pay their home heating expenses throughout the winter.

LIHEAP is a block grant program under which the federal government gives annual grants to states, territories, and Indian tribal organizations to operate home energy assistance programs for needy households.  The program receives funding from two sources: contingency funds and regular funds.  Contingency funds are allocated to states at the discretion of the President and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.  These funds may be released at any point in the fiscal year to provide additional home energy assistance.  Regular funds are allocated in the annual appropriations bill.

LIHEAP provides energy assistance to about 111,500 West Virginia households a year. Of those households that received assistance in 2010, 25% were elderly, 52% were disabled, and 23% had children under five years old in the home.

West Virginians can seek assistance from LIHEAP by reaching out to professionally trained staff members at their respective County Assistance Offices.  Click H E R E to view a list of county offices throughout West Virginia.