The fucking moron State Senator Robert Karnes mocking the mask mandate at the 2021 legislative session: 

Webster County Senator Illegally Holds Office

Webster County Senator Robert Karnes (Republican) is in a lot of hot water.

The Charleston Gazette recently uncovered facts which show he is illegally holding office as a State Senator as he did not meet the minimum eligibility requirements when he was elected in 2014.

Article 4, Section 4 of the West Virginia Constitution states that no person shall be elected to state office unless they have been a resident of West Virginia for at least five years prior to their election.

Karnes voted in Florida in 2010. To be eligible to vote in Florida, a person must declare he is a resident of that state. Obviously, since he declared his Florida residency when he voted in 2010, he had not been a resident of West Virginia for the required five year period "next preceding" his election in 2014.

In short, Karnes is illegally holding office in West Virginia and needs to be removed due to such illegality.

When a Gazette reporter asked Karnes if he voted in Florida in 2010, Karnes lied to the reporter denying the same. His denial is an obvious falsehood, as the Robert Karnes who voted in Florida has the same exact birth date of Senator Karnes and listed a Florida address which, you guessed it, is the same address used by other officers of his Florida-based business.

To show Karnes' guilty conscious in this matter, consider this fact: The day before the Gazette article was published on May 27, 2017 uncovering his ineligibility to hold office, Karnes cancelled his Florida voter registration. What a hypocrite. Karnes is clearly trying to defraud the voting authorities in either or both West Virginia and Florida.

But Karnes' obvious guilt in this matter does not stop there. When an Upshur County Delta Record reporter questioned Karnes about his ineligibility, and whether he voted in Florida in 2010, this was his response:

"Yeah, I really don’t have any idea. I can’t swear that I didn’t. It’s not something I’m going to go back and look at. I have no idea if I did or not. I have a life, and that’s really not the obsession of my life. It’s not really an important factor as far as I can tell. Is this a hit job? I thought you wanted to talk about the issues and what we were doing down here (in the state Legislature). I don’t really want to hear about this.”

Of course Karnes does not "want to hear about this." He does not want the public to know he defrauded them when he ran for State Senate in 2014 knowing he was ineligible. And as to his squirming comment that he does not recall whether he voted, because "it's not really an important factor," why is he in public office if voting is not important?

The West Virginia Constitution provides a process of removal on grounds of official misconduct and incompetence. It was official misconduct for Karnes to accept the office of State Senator when he knew he had not been a resident of West Virginia for the required five years. Karnes is also incompetent (in many ways) because he was not such a five year resident. While incompetence is not defined in the West Virginia Constitution, a legal meaning from Black's Law Dictionary (a gold standard in defining the legal effect of words) provides that incompetence is "the condition of lacking power to act with legal effectiveness." Karnes cannot legally exercise the powers of his office as he was ineligible to run for that office in the first place.

Webster Boys Track Athletes Post Decent Results at State Meet

The 2017 State Track Meet at Laidley Field in Charleston is now history, and the Webster boys' track team placed 15th out of 25 Class A teams competing, with several respectable race results.

In the 100 meter dash, freshman Reece Nutter and freshman Cole Deel placed fifth and sixth respectively out of eight competitors in the finals. Deel was fourth and Nutter was sixth in the 16 runner preliminaries to qualify for the finals.

Another freshman, Dawson Tharp, placed fifth out of eight competitors in the finals of the 200 meter dash (after having placed fifth out of 14 in the preliminaries to qualify for the finals).

Senior Korbin White had a good showing in the preliminaries of the 110 meter hurdles, placing eighth out of 16 to qualify for the finals, but faded in the finals finishing seventh out of the eight finalists.

In the 4 x 100 meter relay finals, the team of Reece Nutter (freshman), Dawson Tharp (freshman), Cole Deel (freshman), and Jarod Romano (senior) placed fifth out of the 16 teams competing.

In the 4 x 200 meter relay finals, the team of Nutter, Tharp, Deel, and senior Korbin White placed fifth out of the 16 teams competing.

In the 4 x 100 meter shuttle relay finals, the team of Korbin White, sophomore Seth Vandevender, junior Mathias Palmer, and junior Nathaniel Casto placed sixth out of the 16 teams competing.

The number of underclassmen who made decent showings for the Webster boys' team only bodes well for the school's future track competitions.

According to results posted, the Webster girls' team did not compete in enough events to be ranked as a team.  Carson Short, Sierra King, Madison Loughridge, and Jordan White finished 14th out of 16 teams in the finals of the 4 x 800 meter relay. Short, King, Loughridge, and White did a little better in the 4 x 400 meter relay, finishing 12th out of 16 teams.

Brett Morris Signs to Play in European Basketball League

Former Webster County Highlander and Glenville State College basketball standout Brett Morris signed a contract today to continue his career with a team named BC Mess of Luxembourg in Europe. Brett is scheduled to report to training camp in August with the basketball season ranging from October to May.

Additional information about the BC Mess team can be found at this website: BC Mess of Luxembourg

Photos of Brett from his Facebook page.

Luxembourg is a small european country surrounded by France, Germany, and Belgium. BC Mess has their headquarters in the town of Mondercange, in the southwest of Luxembourg. The predominant languages spoken in Luxembourg are Luxembourgish (thanks to a commenter alerting us to that fact), French and German.

Last Tuesday in Webster Springs

Those curves in front of the courthouse claimed another victim last week.

Sex Offender's Appeal Rejected for Fifth Time

Convicted sex offender Alvin Chambers.

In what seems like an endless ability to appeal a criminal conviction, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals today again rejected the appeal of sex offender Alvin Chambers.

Chambers was convicted by a jury in 2005 of four felony counts of sexual assault and sexual abuse by a parent, guardian, or custodian. Judge Jack Alsop sentenced Chambers to a term of not less than 20 but not more than 40 years in prison. Chambers appealed that conviction and sentence to the Supreme Court and it was rejected back in 2006.

After his 2006 appeal denial, Chambers filed his first writ of habeas corpus, which is effectively another appeal saying he is being detained wrongly. That first writ was denied in 2007 (he did not appeal the rejection of his first writ). In 2010, Chambers filed his second writ of habeas corpus and it was denied in 2011. Chambers appealed the denial of his second writ to the Supreme Court and it was rejected in 2012. In 2013, Chambers filed his third writ which was denied and he appealed it to the Supreme Court, who denied it in 2014.

Which brings us to his filing of his fourth writ in 2015, which was denied by the Circuit Judge, and appealed yet again to the Supreme Court. Today, the Court denied this fourth writ, which is effectively Chambers' fifth appeal attempt to get his conviction and sentence thrown out.

Chambers claimed defects in jury instructions and that his trial counsel was ineffective. Without spending much time explaining why, the high court today found no errors in Chamber's trial.

The full opinion can be read at the link below:

Full Text of Opinion

Meth Maker's Appeal Rejected

Convicted conspirator
and meth maker Patricia Palmer.

Today, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals rejected the appeal of convicted meth maker Patricia Palmer.

Palmer was found guilty of the felony crimes of  conspiracy to make meth and making meth by a Webster County jury in April of 2015. Judge Jack Alsop sentenced Palmer to not less than one but not more than five years on the conspiracy conviction and to not less than two but not more than ten years of the making meth conviction, running the sentences consecutively so that her actual term of confinement is not less than three but not more than 15 years.

At her jury trial, a State Police chemist verified the substances found at Palmer's residence were used in meth making. Palmer complains in her appeal that the sealed evidence analyzed by the chemist had a date on it one week earlier than the date of the crime. The high court did not buy into that technicality to overturn Palmer's convictions as she admitted on the day of her arrest that she had just been to the store to buy one of the ingredients used in making meth and that her and her co-conspirators "were just making some shit to smoke," statements which the jury considered. Palmer was also caught by police red-handed with what looked like meth, which she described as a "white bottle with white gunk."

Click this link for the Court's full opinion:
Palmer Appeal Rejected

Delegate Lynch and Buddies Fail Again

Webster County House of Delegates member Dana Lynch, and Senators Robert "Crazy" Karnes and Greg "Bozo" Boso joined the rest of the clowns at the West Virginia Legislature in failing to pass a budget prior to the expiration of the current legislative session.

The legislators have known since June of 2016 that the budget this coming year would have serious deficits. But yet they collectively waited until the end of the current session yesterday to try to come up with a budget.

They failed.

It is time for all three of them to resign for failing to do the one required piece of legislation each year, that being the State budget. Of course all three are concerned with collecting their paychecks which will stop them from resigning, so the only remedy is to vote them out in the next election.

Last year, they also failed to pass a budget on time and it cost taxpayers over $650,000.00 to pay them for a special session. It looks like another special session will be called at taxpayer expense yet again.

Girlfriend Put on Ice, Really

This story comes from the category that you just can't make it up.

All of this, of course, ALLEGEDLY happened.

Yesterday, a Richwood man consented to a police search of his residence. During the search, police found the man's off again, on again girlfriend dead in his refrigerator. He then confessed to strangling the victim.

Not surprisingly, the man has been charged with murder.

Missed Opportunity: "Sheriff" Given Was Right

The last time a train ran through Webster Springs was in May, 1971, when the "Salt Sulphur Special" took passengers for a scenic ride from the old Maryland B&O Depot near Baker's Island up the Elk River. "Sheriff" D.P. Given (who was never a Sheriff but had that nickname) urged the County to find a way to operate a scenic railroad to generate tourist dollars for the County. The photos below are the Salt Sulphur Special from May, 1971.

Hodam Mountain Rock Slide: Any Fossils?

The photos below are from the Webster OES/911 Facebook page. This rockslide today is on Route 20 on Hodam Mountain (between Diana and Hacker Valley). Sometimes, in the layers of rocks from these slides, fossils of different types can be found.

The photos below are rocks recovered from a rockslide near Diana several years ago, revealing fossils in the rocks.

Webster Deputy Involved in Shooting

Approved for Release from Office of Emergency Services/911: April 2, 2017 Product Type: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

**OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTING-SUSPECT INFORMATION NEEDED**

On April 1, 2017 at approximately 1844 hours Deputy David Vandevender of the Webster County Sheriff’s Office was conducting road patrol near Meadow Fork Road, off Rt 82, near Cowen, WV. Deputy Vandevender approached a vehicle stopped in the road. The driver appeared to be passed out. Deputy Vandevender approached the vehicle and was immediately shot with a small caliber handgun. Deputy Vandevender retreated while returning fire and the suspect fled. Deputy Vandevender returned to his patrol vehicle and gave chase but lost the vehicle. The round struck Deputy Vandevender in his bullet proof vest and he was not injured.

The vehicle was a Chevy Cavalier, light blue in color. The license plate was covered with a dark tinted cover and was obscured from view. A similar vehicle is pictured below. Anyone with information concerning this suspect, vehicle, or this incident please contact Sgt. Steve Murphy at 304-226-3200 or 304-637-0200 or 304-847-2122.

The '57 Chevy Project

Video link of cosmetic restoration:
Part 1 of 2

Part 2 of 2 coming late June/early July, 2017

Say It Isn't So

It is hard to believe that we have watched the last college game ever to be played by Brett Morris. This may also be the last video that I have had the pleasure making of Brett's play on the hardwoods, though I suspect we will see or hear of him playing in a professional league in another country. We hope so. It was tough making this video knowing the emotion Brett expressed to his many family and fans in attendance. The video at the link below shows some of Brett's play against West Liberty in the Mountain East Conference tournament Friday at the Charleston Civic Center.

Last College Game for Brett Morris

Glenville's Upset Bid Falls Short

Aided by generous officiating, the nationally ranked and number two conference seed West Liberty Hilltoppers survived an upset bid by the Glenville State College Pioneers 75 to 71 on Friday at the Charleston Civic Center in quarter final action in the Mountain East Conference tournament.

With the Glenville loss comes the end of the illustrious college career of Webster County native Brett Morris. Morris did everything he could to help the Pioneers, scoring 14 points, pulling down 13 rebounds, dishing out 4 assists, and blocking 4 shots. Teammate Terry Davis Jr. led the Pioneers with 23 points. Jon Dunmyer was the only other Pioneer in double figures with 12 points.

Here is a wvmetronews.com video clip of Brett with a three point play early in the second half:

Brett 3 Point Play

In the second half, and critically on a play with about one minute remaining in the game, the referees missed at least three calls costing Glenville points, as shown by the video link below:

3 Blind Mice Blow 3 Calls

Webster Building Blows Its Top Off

Talking about blowing your top off.

The Jorishie building in downtown Webster Springs suffered significant roof damage Wednesday as a result of the storms that blew through the county knocking power out to thousands. The photos below are from the Webster OES/911 Facebook page.

Morris Pours in 28 Points in Pioneer Playoff Pounding

Fresh off his selection to the first team all Mountain East Conference, Brett Morris poured in 28 points to lead the Glenville State College Pioneers to an easy 84 to 66 win over the University of Virginia at Wise in a first round playoff game on Wednesday evening at the Charleston Civic Center.

Glenville advances in the MEC tournament to face number two seed W. Liberty on Friday at Noon at the Civic Center.

The video at the link below shows some of Brett's points:

Brett Morris Highlights

The next video at the link below shows a dunk by Jalon Plummer and a 30 second clock buzzer beating three point shot by Terry Davis, Jr.:
Jalon Plummer/Terry Davis Jr. Highlights

Hunter Given: "Stick-to-it-tiveness"

Quietly, and without much fanfare, former Webster County athletic standout Hunter Given was recognized on Senior Night before the Glenville State College Pioneer basketball game against the West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats.

Hunter Given

Given has played for the Pioneers the past three years along with his roommate and other half of Webster's former dynamic basketball duo, Brett Morris. Accompanying Hunter during the pre-game recognition was his father, Sam, and brother, Logan.

Pioneer Coach Stephen Dye put Hunter in the starting lineup Saturday and the dynamic duo were once again gracing the hardwoods together. During his three years with the Pioneers, Hunter saw limited action, averaging only 2.7 minutes per game this season. Many other players in similar situations would have moved on or resigned, but Hunter stuck to it, always encouraging his teammates during the games and adding a force during practices. He deserves a lot of credit for standing with his team these past three years.

The video link below shows Hunter (#22) during the pre-game recognition and some of his playing time at the start of the game.

Hunter Given Video

Webster Playoff Hopes Dashed Early

The basketball season for the Webster County Highlanders boys' team and its hopes for a run in the playoffs came to a quick end Saturday with their 76 to 69 opening round loss to the Valley (Fayette) Greyhounds.

Valley held leads at the end of each quarter, leading 18-15 at the end of the first, 30-25 at halftime, and 53-46 at the end of the third. Valley's Spencer Dean led all scorers with 27 points. For Webster, Dalton Gray had 24 points, while Bradin Miller scored 16, Hayden Williams 13 and Dorian Groggs 12.

With the loss, the Highlanders finished the season with a 13 win, 10 loss record. Valley advances to play Charleston Catholic next week.

Brett Morris: A Class Act

Webster County native Brett Morris played his final home game as a Glenville State College Pioneer today in front of an appreciative crowd at the WACO Center in Glenville. The Pioneers came up short on the scoreboard 76 to 69 to the visiting West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats.

We placed two of these 3 x 5 foot banners inside the WACO
Center for Brett's final home game.

Brett showed he continues to be a class act both on and off the court. The link to the video below shows Brett being honored on Senior Night prior to tipoff, accompanied by his parents and his little buddy, Cruz Frymier, a two and one-half year old child battling kidney cancer. As to his play on the court, it would be very easy to upload clips of Brett today scoring points, blocking shots, grabbing rebounds, or dishing out assists (he had plenty of all of those). But the single play from today's game included in the video below epitomizes what a multi-talented threat he is during each and every game. Countless unimaginable times opposing players misjudge Brett's defensive prowess and this play is a classic example of Brett's abilities with this steal.

Brett Video

It has been a pleasure and honor following Brett around from his high school days at Webster County through his college career at Glenville. Brett has always put up with my numerous interviews, videos, photos, and requests to meet my relatives (even at times like today when many a player would rather not be bothered after a disappointing loss). During that process, I have also been fortunate to know his parents, Mike and Diane, class acts by themselves (and it is no wonder Brett developed into the person he is today with their guidance and encouragement).

Brett and his team will play in the MEC tournament next Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. at the Charleston Civic Center against UVA-Wise. We wish him well and as to his future, I have a sneaking suspicion we will see Brett back on the court, either as a player in one of the many foreign professional leagues or as a coach here in the States.

Cruz Frymier with his parents.

To donate to the Cruz Frymier Cancer Fund, please visit this link:

Cruz Fund