WVU Football Team Arrives Safely in Florida

Thanks to United Airlines pilot and Webster County descendant Roger Hall, II, the WVU football team has arrived safely in Florida to prepare for their bowl game against the Miami Hurricanes.  The photos below show the United charter jet sitting in the pre-dawn runway at the Clarksburg, West Virginia airport, some of the team boarding the jet (photo taken from cockpit), and the buses awaiting the team in Florida.

WVU Bowl Hopes in Hands of Webster County Descendant

The fate of the WVU Mountaineer football team in its upcoming game against the Miami Hurricanes lies in the hands of a Webster County descendant.

The Mountaineers play in the Russell Athletic Bowl on December 28, 2016, to be televised on ESPN at 5:30 p.m.  Many folks pin WVU's hopes for a win on a combination of a strong defense coupled with good performances on offense by quarterback Skyler Howard and his teammates.

Head coach Dana Holgerson and defensive coach Tony Gibson have drawn up the game plan.  WVU fans are packing for the trip South to watch the game live.  The athletes have finished last minute preparations.

But none of that matters unless a Webster County descendant comes through in the clutch.

Roger Hall, II, is a descendant of lifelong resident Walter Hall of Guardian, and is the son of Roger Hall, I, who lives part time in Webster County.  Roger, II's son is currently a student at WVU.

But it all comes down to the performance of Roger Hall, II.  He is the pilot for United Airlines that will be flying the team to Florida.  Hall will pilot a special charter for the WVU team that leaves Clarksburg on December 26 at 9 a.m. and arrives in Orlando, Florida about two hours later.

If Roger, II does what he has done for the past 30 years of his flying career, WVU will be in warm, sunny Florida ready to blow out the Hurricanes.  Our word of advice for Roger, II as he prepares to fly the team to a bowl victory is this:  "Keep the shiny side up, the dirty side down, and please, stay out of the trees."

Abandoned Nuttallburg WV Coal Town Video

Nuttallburg, WV Click link for video.

Webster Beats Clay 63 - 53

A balanced scoring attack helped the Webster County Highlanders boys' basketball team beat the Clay County Panthers in Clay by a final score of 63 to 53 on Thursday evening.

The game was tight for the first three quarters. Clay led 16 to 13 at the end of the first quarter and by 27 to 26 at halftime. Webster lead 43 to 42 at the end of three quarters and then outscored Clay 20 to 11 in the fourth quarter to pull out the win.

Webster had four players in double figures, led by Dalton Gray's 13 points. Dorian Groggs and Hayden Williams each had 12 points, and Bradin Miller chipped in 10 points. Rounding out the scoring for the Highlanders were Tyler Gray and Chase Rose with 6 points each, followed by Mathias Palmer and Cole McCourt with 2 points each.

With the win, Webster improves to 3 wins, 1 loss on the season. They travel next Tuesday evening to play the Midland Trail Patriots.

Typical Government Waste

In another fine example of wasteful taxpayer dollar spending, outgoing West Virginia Governor Earl Tomblin announced today the award of a Small Cities Block Grant of $1.5 million to the town of Clay for construction of 4.5 miles of new water line to serve only 54 households.

The grant is for $1.5 million but the total project cost is $2.3 million, which translates into over $42,592.00 per household to be served by the project.

If our local political leaders can get their act together, perhaps Bergoo could get $42,592.00 per household for the installation of a community septic system.  This would alleviate the ongoing dumping of untreated, raw sewage into the Elk River by the households along Leatherwood Creek in Bergoo.  

Treating raw waste dumping into the Elk River, which is the water supply for folks in Webster Springs, seems to be more of a pressing issue than 54 households getting public water.

Gang of Turkeys, Excited Gobblers on December 14, 2016

Highlanders Jack Richwood 77-65

Opening tipoff between Webster and Richwood.

The Webster County Highlanders boys' basketball team beat back a fourth quarter rally by the visiting  Richwood Lumberjacks Monday evening by a final score of 77 to 65 at Upperglade.

Webster took its first lead at 10 to 9 late in the first quarter and never surrendered the lead after that. The Highlanders led 33 to 25 at halftime and rolled to a 16 point lead at 61 to 45 with 6:28 remaining in the game.  This seemingly insurmountable lead was due in large part to 5 points scored by crowd favorite senior Michael Malcomb, who also added a block and a steal during this stretch of the game. The 16 point lead was also aided by senior Hayden Williams' two 3 point bombs in the third quarter.

Timeout during fourth quarter action against Richwood.

Richwood did not go away quietly, however, as they mounted a furious rally to pull within 6 points with about 2:30 remaining in the game. Sophomore Dorian Groggs, who led all players in scoring with 24 points, then sealed the win for the Highlanders with six made free throws in a row.

With the win, the Highlanders improve to 2 wins, 1 loss on the season.  They next play at Clay County this Thursday evening.

For the first time this year, senior Dalton Gray, one of Webster's leading scorers from last season, played for the Highlanders.  While he scored 17 points, his shooting percentage was less than normal as he shook off what appeared to be the lingering effects of a high ankle injury sustained earlier this year in practice.

Individual scoring for Webster: Malcolm 5; Williams 19; Groggs 24; Dalton Gray 17; Tyler Gray 4; Mathias Palmer 4; Cole McCourt 4.