Surbaugh Remains Incarcerated Despite Grant of Bail

Julia Surbaugh

Despite being granted bail on February 19, 2013, alleged murder defendant Julia Surbaugh remains incarcerated at the Central Regional Jail.

Circuit Judge Richard Facemire set bail at $130,000.00 and if it was posted then Surbaugh was to be placed on home confinement. As of March 21, Surbaugh has yet to post the bail. On Monday, April 15, 2013, at 9:00 a.m., Judge Facemire is scheduled to conduct a status hearing Surbaugh's case.

Our prior story on the grant of bail to Surbaugh can be accessed at this link:

http://webstercommentator.blogspot.com/2013/02/judge-facemire-grants-julia-surbaugh.html

Jail Bill Declines for February

For the first time in four months, the County's bill for Webster inmates housed in the Regional Jail declined.

For February, 2013, Webster County was billed a total of $44,017.60, for an average daily cost of $1,572.06. Even considering that February had 28 days compared to other months, the bill was a marked decline from the prior three months. The bills for November, December, and January were $55,192.80, $57,828.00, and $55,778.40 respectively.

Of the total February bill, $37,185.62 or 84.5% was for felony offenses and $6,832.00 or 15.5% was for misdemeanor offenses. In February, there were 36 inmates held on felony charges, and 22 of those 36 (or 61.11%) were held on drug related charges.

Vernal Equinox Captured by Local Photographer

Local photographer Thomas R. Fletcher of Cowen captured this image at Glade View at the very moment of the Vernal Equinox, 7:02 AM EST March 20, 2013.  The image was “retweeted” by CNN’s Christine Romans earlier today [photo courtesy of Thomas R. Fletcher].

An equinox occurs twice a year (around 20 March and 22 September), when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator. The term equinox can also be used in a broader sense, meaning the date when such a passage happens. The name "equinox" is derived from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night), because around the equinox, night and day are about equal length. The "vernal equinox" occurs in the Spring.

Fletcher's contact information is as follows:

PROSE & PHOTOS

Thomas R. & Deborah A. Fletcher

Mail: PO Box 799

Courier: 66 Prince Glade Road

Cowen, WV 26206

Web: www.proseandphotos.com

http://thomas-r-fletcher.artistwebsites.com/

E-mail: info@proseandphotos.com

Syndicated Features, Stock Photo Library

'Guardian George' Got It Right

'Guardian George' told us on February 2 that there would
be six more weeks of Winter.  He was right.

While a lot of folks on the East Coast are complaining about the failures of certain famous groundhog predictions, we are pleased to report that the groundhog here in Webster County known as "Guardian George" got it right.

Readers will recall on February 2, 2013 (Groundhog Day), that Guardian George clearly saw his shadow (see photo), signifying six more weeks of Winter. Now that Spring has officially arrived at least on the calendar, a check of statistics from the National Weather Services shows that temperatures for Webster County were well below normal temperatures for over 90% of the last six weeks.

Both the more famous Pennsylvania's Punxsutawney Phil and West Virginia's French Creek Freddie said we would have an early Spring as neither of those groundhogs saw their shadow. They could not have been more wrong, particularly given the continued cold snap this week.

Our prior story on Guardian George can be accessed at this link:

http://webstercommentator.blogspot.com/2013/02/six-more-weeks-of-winter-says-guardian.html

Medical Marijuana Bill Failed in Committee Vote; Reintroduced with Additional Sponsors

The Health and Human Resources Committee of the West Virginia House of Delegates overwhelmingly rejected the proposed medical marijuana law introduced by Taylor County Delegate Mike Manypenny, a Democrat, which was the subject of our recent article in the Commentator.

The bill (actually defeated in late February, 2013) was introduced by Manypenny by him alone. After the Committee's rejection of the bill, Manypenny as lead sponsor, and nine other Delegates, re-introduced the proposed medical marijuana law on Tuesday, March 19, 2013, and it again has been assigned to the same Committee for consideration.

Our prior article on the proposed law can be accessed at this link:

http://webstercommentator.blogspot.com/2013/03/compassionate-use-of-medical-marijuana.html

The re-introduced law can be accessed at this link:
http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb2961%20intr.htm&yr=2013&sesstype=RS&i=2961

Controversy Brewing Over Guns-n-Hoses Game Friday

Brett Morris, after being
"deputized" to play for the
Guns basketball team.

It appears that the 4th Annual Guns-n-Hoses charity basketball game scheduled for this Friday is already embroiled in a heated controversy between the Webster Springs Fire Department (the "Hoses") and local law enforcement (the "Guns").

As previously reported by the Commentator, the Hoses had planned to add a couple "ringers" to their team to counter the ringer-laden Guns' team. It now appears that one of those ringers, Highlander basketball standout Brett Morris, may have been recruited to play for the Guns. During a practice session Tuesday evening near Cowen, Morris was "deputized" as a reserve deputy by local law enforcement and will now be playing for the Guns, and not the Hoses. This will obviously be a serious blow to the Hoses' chances this Friday to break the three game winning streak by the Guns.

The game will be played at the Webster Springs Elementary School gym on Friday, March 22, with tip off at 7:00 p.m. and doors opening at 6:00 p.m. All proceeds benefit the Webster Springs Athletic program.

Driving Revoked for DUI Lands Man in Jail

According to the Regional Jail website, at 5:40 p.m. on Tuesday, March 19, 2013, a man was booked into the Central Regional Jail on a Webster County felony charge of Driving While Revoked for DUI, Third or Subsequent Offense.

Danny Jay Rowan

Danny Jay Rowan, age 48, was charged with the felony and granted a $25,000.00 bail, which has not been posted as of 7:30 p.m. on March 19. The penalty for this felony is contained in West Virginia Code §17B-4-3. It states that:

(b) Any person who drives a motor vehicle on any public highway of this state at a time when his or her privilege to do so has been lawfully revoked for driving under the influence of alcohol, controlled substances or other drugs, or any combination thereof, or for driving while having an alcoholic concentration in his or her blood of eight hundredths of one percent or more, by weight, or for refusing to take a secondary chemical test of blood alcohol content, is, ... for the third or any subsequent offense, the person is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in a state correctional facility for not less than one year nor more than three years and, in addition to the mandatory prison sentence, shall be fined not less than three thousand dollars nor more than five thousand dollars.

This article will be updated when more specifics of the criminal complaint filed against Rowan are known. An arrest is not an indication of a person's guilt but merely a charge filed by a law enforcement officer who had probable cause to believe that a person may have committed a crime.