Reimbursement Claims by Local Legislators During Regular & Special Sessions

In contrast to some of their colleagues who donated some of their salary/reimbursement back to the State, local House of Delegate member Dana Lynch and local Senators Greg Boso and Robert Karnes all appear to have received their salaries and travel/food/lodging reimbursements for the regular and special legislative sessions in 2016.

Each of the three local legislators receive an annual salary of $22,550.00.  In addition, they can claim reimbursement for travel, meals, and lodging while in session at the legislature.  

According to records from the State Auditor's office, Lynch has claimed $11,735.72 since the start of the legislative session in mid-January, 2016. Lynch was recently paid $1,803.12 on June 7, 2016 for reimbursements for the special session.  Boso was paid a total of $10,912.80, including $1,383.80 for the special session.  Karnes was paid a total of $11,107.50, including $1,445.00 for the special session.  It is likely that all three legislators will be claiming more for the recently concluded special session and more for that additional special session which will begin this Saturday.

Anyone can view total compensation and vendor payments for anyone working for the State and/or receiving payments from the State by logging onto vista.wvsao.gov and creating an account.

Senator Greg Boso

Senator Robert Karnes

Delegate Dana Lynch

Ghost Town: No, Not Webster Springs

The New River at Thurmond, West Virginia (photo taken from bridge crossing the New River over to Thurmond).

While some may claim Webster Springs is becoming a ghost town, a visit to Thurmond, West Virginia in Fayette County reveals a true ghost town.

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Thurmond had five (5) permanent residents.  The park ranger at Thurmond now says there are but three permanent residents.  

Thurmond was once a prosperous coal mining and railroad town.  Today, it is part of the New River Gorge National River park service.  The old Thurmond railroad depot is now a visitor's center and the town boasts several buildings on the National Register of Historic Places.

Thurmond makes for an entertaining half day trip from Webster County.  Drive South on U.S. Route 19 past Oak Hill to the Glen Jean exit and simply follow the signs to Thurmond (about six miles along a narrow, winding road).  Thurmond sits along the New River where many whitewater rafting companies begin their trips down the New River.  The video below shows some of the highlights of a trip to Thurmond.

Some Legislators Donate Their Special Session Pay Back to the State

(l. to r.) Senator Chris Walters (R-Putnam), State Treasurer John Purdue, Delegate Andrew Byrd (D-Kanawha), Delegate Doug Reynolds (D-Cabell), Delegate Matthew Rohrbach (R-Cabell) and Delegate Ron Walters (R-Kanawha).

A group of West Virginia legislators (shown above) donated their special session pay back to the State of West Virginia in light of their failure to come up with an acceptable and responsible budget.

The Commentator wonders if our local representatives (Delegate Dana Lynch, Senator Robert Karnes, and Senator Greg Boso) will do the same.

Click Here for Full Press Release from those Legislators who Donated Their Pay Back to the State

COMMENTARY: Legalize Medical Marijuana; Decriminalize Recreational Use

It is time for West Virginia to come out of the dark ages and not be last in everything.  West Virginia should consider passing laws decriminalizing recreational use of marijuana, or, at the very least, to legalize medical marijuana.

As a past criminal defense lawyer and assistant prosecutor, and now as a Family Court Judge, the editor of the Commentator has witnessed the inordinate time, effort, and money wasted on prosecutions of people possessing or using recreational amounts of marijuana.  We allow sale and use of tobacco and alcohol products that have known adverse health effects and cause societal problems. We justify the same by warning people of its dangers.  The same can be done with recreational marijuana use, and the State can profit from taxing marijuana sales, from business revenues created by start up marijuana farms, and by increased jobs and income tax revenue.  Four states have legalized recreational use and are raking in tens of millions of dollars in tax revenues, curing budget problems in those states.

Overwhelming numbers of medical studies point to the benefits of prescribed marijuana to treat cancers, chronic conditions, seizure disorders, and more.  The federal government now allows Veterans' Administration doctors to prescribe medical marijuana to its patients.  Sixteen states have legalized medical marijuana, as have the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico.  West Virginia should join that crowd at the very least.

Some people claim marijuana is a gateway drug to other dangerous drugs.  Studies on that claim are contradictory at best.  Further, with marijuana illegal, people turn to the black market which leads to other drugs from the drug dealers.  Legal, regulated sale and use of recreational marijuana could actually help a drop in hard drug use, as the experience in Colorado proves (their teen and adult drug use has dropped since legalization of marijuana).

If West Virginia waits until every other state legalizes recreational marijuana and/or legalizes medical marijuana, West Virginia will miss out on a golden opportunity to cash in on all the economic benefits from legalization.  Our State is in desperate financial times with the declining and soon to be non-existent coal revenues.  Legalization of marijuana in some form (medical or otherwise) can help to fill those revenue gaps.

Kanawha County House of Delegate member Mike Pushkin recently introduced a bill in the West Virginia legislature to decriminalize recreational marijuana.  The Commentator urges our local Delegate Dana Lynch and local State Senators Greg Boso and Robert Karnes to support these measures and at the very least to legalize medical marijuana.

A Look Back: 1995 Plane Crash Not Discovered Until 2001

On November 28, 1995, 31 year old pilot Colin Campbell departed the Braxton County Airport in a small Cessna twin engine plane headed for Lynchburg, Virginia, on a flight path that crossed Webster County from the Northwest to the Southeast.  

Sometime that morning around 9:40 a.m., Campbell crashed the plane in a heavily wooded area of the Monongahela National Forest on the Pocahontas County side of the border between Webster and Pocahontas counties near the Williams River.  Campbell did not survive.  

Led by the Webster County Emergency Services Office and countless volunteers, a search ensued the next day in heavy snow conditions.  Dwayne McCourt was one of those volunteers.  As he would later find out, he had walked within a 100 feet of the plane wreckage just a few days after the wreck, but never saw any sign of the plane or its pilot due to the heavy snow.

It took McCourt nearly six years to find the wreckage when he and John Reed, the then coroner and funeral home director, flew over the crash site in November, 2001 and spotted it.  Local law enforcement and emergency authorities, along with McCourt and Reed, then made their way to the crash site the next day.  

No sign of Campbell's body was ever located, although bits and pieces of his clothing were found next to the cockpit area of the wrecked plane. Authorities concluded after nearly six years, animals and decomposition eliminated any chance to find Campbell's remains.  Nonetheless, McCourt's discovery provided some closure for Campbell's family.

The National Transportation Safety Board concluded that Campbell flew the plane into rising terrain. The wreckage was located almost in a straight line from the Braxton airport to Lynchburg.  Campbell was likely flying in low clouds with his visibility obstructed by the impending snow storm and missed clearing the top of the mountain by just 200 feet (which mountain was the highest mountain in his flight path).

On November 22, 2001, the editor of the Commentator flew over the wreckage site and on November 23, 2001 hiked to the site, all of which is shown in the 20 minute video below (start video from beginning).

Click Here for NTSB Accident Report

Sportsmanship at the State Track Meet

Winfield High School track coach posted a great photo (taken by Kerry Riffle) of sportsmanship at the recent State Championship track meet in Charleston, along with these thoughts:

Sportsmanship isn't just reserved for the people on the field. Here is an example of sportsmanship from two Class A runners, Hunter Riffle (right) & Trey Hester of Doddridge County High School, helping Austin Hayes of Webster County HS off the track after he just won the individual state title in the Class AA Boy's 1600m at the West Virginia High School State Track & Field Championships at Laidley Field in Charleston, WV on May 21, 2016.

Simple definition of sportsmanship: fair play, respect for opponents, and polite behavior by someone who is competing in a sport or other competition.

BREAKING NEWS: Multiple Explosions Heard at Webster County High School

Multiple explosions in the gymnasium of the Webster County High School were heard this evening at about 7:45 p.m. and school officials captured all of it on video, as seen below.

All rights to video reserved to Webster County High School (this video represents a one minute fair use of the 50 minute graduation ceremony).  The Commentator is an ad-free, no fee online source for news and commentary about Webster County.