Highlander Basketball Season Set to Begin

It is that time of year again for the Highlander boys and girls to hit the hardwoods for their first basketball season as Class A teams.

The girls open their season December 2 at Calhoun County.  Their first home game is scheduled for December 9 against Roane County.

The boys' team, under new head coach Mike Gray, opens play at Doddridge County December 6 and play their first home game on December 8 against Valley-Fayette.

Full schedules posted by the WVSSAC can be found at these links:

Boys Schedule

Girls Schedule

Neighboring Judge-Elect in Hot Water

Judge Gary Johnson lost the election by 220 votes.

Longtime Nicholas County Circuit Judge Gary Johnson lost a close election this past May.

His opponent, Summersville lawyer Steve Callaghan, won the election by a mere 220 votes.

Many blame Johnson's loss on misleading advertising by Callaghan.  Shortly before the election, Callaghan's campaign sent out a postcard suggesting that Johnson was drinking beer with President Obama at the Whitehouse and that Obama and Johnson were conspiring together to kill coal jobs in West Virginia.  The postcard was a total fabrication. 

Steve Callaghan faces a one
year suspension.

Today, the Disciplinary Board of the West Virginia State Bar Association recommended to the West Virginia Supreme Court that Callaghan's license to practice law and his ability to be sworn in as the new judge for Nicholas County be suspended for a period of one year.  If the high court adopts that recommendation, Callaghan will not be able to serve as judge until January, 2018.

Attorneys for the Bar Association wanted a two year suspension.  Callaghan's attorney said the decision violates Callaghan's free speech rights and did not believe any suspension was warranted.

Trail Camera Photos Sunday Before Gun Season Opens

Photos taken by two trail cameras at the Webster-Braxton County border near Route 15.

Brett Morris Collects 1000th Point in College Career

Former Webster County basketball standout Brett Morris scored his 1,000th point in his college career on Saturday as his Glenville State College Pioneer basketball team fell at Shepherd University 89 to 86.

Morris, who holds Webster's all time highest career point total and single game scoring records, tallied 13 points to go over the 1,000 point mark.  Morris also grabbed 12 rebounds in the game against Shepherd.

Wearing the familiar #23 (his high school basketball uniform number), Glenville State College Pioneer senior Brett Morris scored his 1,000th point in his college career this past Saturday (photo from GSC athletic department website).

Greedy Oil & Gas Company Loses Case before WV Supreme Court

In a rather complex case involving how much an oil and gas company must pay the mineral owners in royalties, the West Virginia Supreme Court ruled today in favor of the mineral owners.

Three private individuals owned about 75 percent of the oil and gas rights under certain property in Doddridge County.  The oil and gas has been leased to various companies since 1906.  Presently, the lease is held by EQT Production Company ("EQT"), a company who has been in Webster County for the past several years buying up oil and gas leases.

Under West Virginia law, when a lease is as old as is the one in this case (dating back to 1906), the oil and gas company must pay the mineral owners a royalty of one-eighth of the value of the oil and gas extracted regardless of what the old lease may have said.  In this case, greedy EQT tried to get around paying the mineral owners their full one-eighth royalty by deducting from that one-eighth royalty all types of post-production costs incurred after the oil and gas was extracted (such as refining, transporting, etc.).

The West Virginia Supreme Court ruled against EQT, concluding that the mineral owners are entitled to their one-eighth royalty without any deductions.

The full text of the Court's opinion can be found at this link: Gas Companies Lose

Mountain Valley Pipeline Dealt Huge Defeat by WV Supreme Court

The proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline project slated to run through Webster County and to generate as much as $1.6 million in tax revenue to the County in its first year of operation lost a major case today before the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.

MVP surveyors had sought to enter private property without landowner permission to conduct pipeline surveying.  A Monroe County Circuit Judge ruled that MVP could not enter onto private property without the landowner's permission because the MVP project does not serve a public purpose.  Only government or certain private entities vested with the power of eminent domain can enter without permission.  For eminent domain to apply, the project must be for a public purpose.

Today, West Virginia's high court agreed with the Circuit Judge.

The implications of the high court's decision may doom the pipeline project.  Since the Court agreed the pipeline only serves the private financial interests of the MVP, and serves no public purpose as the State gets no benefit from the pipeline, landowners who do not want the pipeline can refuse to let surveyors on their property.  In addition, landowners cannot be forced to consent to the pipeline being built on their property since the MVP will not be vested with the power of eminent domain to force landowners to do what they want.

Whether this puts a stop to the pipeline remains in doubt.  MVP's only option now is to re-route their proposed pipeline through landowners who consent and do not object.  This is good news for private landowners as they can ask for a better lease price or simply tell MVP to take their pipeline elsewhere.

Click here for the full text of the Court's opinion:  Pipeline Loses

Write In Candidates Fail Again

"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

Time and time again in Webster County, write-in candidates attempt futile campaigns against candidates whose names appear on the ballot.  And guess what?  The write-in candidates keep losing by large margins.

Last night was no different.

Three time candidate Johnny Sandy, who previously lost to Sheriff David Bender in 2012 and earlier this year in the primary election to Dave Cutlip, attempted a write-in campaign against Cutlip in yesterday's general election.  And, wait for it.... strike three occurred.  Sandy lost to Cutlip in a landslide, 1,724 votes for Cutlip to 891 for Sandy.

Similarly, first time candidate Torli Bush ran a write-in campaign against incumbent House of Delegates member Dana Lynch.  Bush barely registered and Lynch coasted to victory over Bush with about 10 percent of the vote, and  Lynch's closest competitor was perennial Republican candidate Duane Borchers, followed by a Mountain Party candidate.

In the past 25 years in Webster County, the only time a write-in candidate actually won was when the write-in candidate was facing another write-in candidate, but never against a candidate whose name appeared on the ballot.

And so history keeps repeating itself with these futile write-in campaigns.

Webster Early Voting Totals Near 15%

Of the 5,917 registered voters in Webster County, 908 voters (or 15.35% of the total) cast an early ballot at the Webster Courthouse (the early voting period ended November 5).  The 908 early votes easily surpassed the 599 early votes cast in the May, 2016 primary election (the general election early voters represent a 51.5% increase over the primary early voters).

On Top of Old Smokey

The Webster County Courthouse's 19th century coal furnace heating system reared its dirty, smokey head today causing coal fumes to infiltrate much of the courthouse. 

Attempts at lighting the old coal furnace failed today, leaving some in the Courthouse a bit chilly this morning.  In addition, the fire alarm frequently went off to the enjoyment of those involved in court proceedings in both the Circuit and Family Court.  

At one time in the not too distant past, the Courthouse had a $350,000.00 rainy day fund set aside to cover the anticipated costs of a new modern heating and air conditioning system, but declining revenues and the ballooning jail bill wiped out that fund a few years back.

Air Mail Football Delivery

Highlander Football Season Comes to Disappointing End

On Friday night, the stars were aligned for the Webster County Highlander football team to grab a playoff spot with a win against visiting Clay County.  All four teams that Webster needed to lose tonight for Webster to move into the 16th and final playoff spot did in fact lose.  Unfortunately, so did the Highlanders, 8 to 7, and with the loss, their season and playoff hopes came to a crashing end. Webster led tonight's game 7 to 0 until Clay grabbed and 8 to 7 lead in the fourth quarter.  With time running out, the Highlanders drove to the Clay 3 yard line, but a penalty and a muffed snap on a potential game winning field goal sealed the Highlander's fate, and Clay took over on downs and ran the clock out.

Highlander Football Team Ranked 19th

The Webster County Highlander football teams enters its final regular season game (this Friday at home against Clay County) currently ranked in a tie for 19th with three teams in the battle to be one of the top 16 teams in Class A to make the playoffs.  A loss eliminates Webster from the playoffs while the win gives the team a chance at the 16th spot.

Early Voting Numbers High

As of Noon, Tuesday, November 1, 2016, a total of 526 voters cast their ballots for the November 8, 2016 General Election.  According to County Clerk Eva Green, the 526 early votes are more (at this point in the early voting) than were cast in the primary election earlier this year. Only 599 early votes were cast during the entire early voting period in the primary election.  Early voting at the Webster County Courthouse continues through November 5, 2016.