Students Kicked Out of Webster County High School

Seniors Ben Cochran (left) and Austin Hayes were among the students

finally kicked out of Webster County High School this evening during
graduation ceremonies.  Ben and Austin proudly show off their track
medals in this photo taken by teacher Connie Robinson.

Local Lawyer Suspended 60 Days

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals suspended a local Webster County lawyer for 60 days from the practice of law, ordered him to be supervised for 18 months, to pay restitution within 24 months in an amount believed to be in excess of $47,000.00, and issued other sanctions.

The full majority opinion can be accessed at the link below:

Click Here for Majority Opinion

One justice dissented and did not believe the lawyer should be suspended for any length of time:

Click Here for Minority Opinion

Legal counsel for the West Virginia State Bar disciplinary committee had sought a longer suspension, so this decision could be construed as a small victory for the lawyer.

Governor to Veto Budget; State Government Shutdown Nears

As expected, a spokesman for West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin announced today that the Governor will veto the 2016-17 budget passed by the West Virginia Legislature late yesterday.

The Governor believes it is fiscally irresponsible to pass a budget based on a huge $200 million raid of the State's rainy day fund.  The budget passed yesterday also uses about $35.5 million in one time account sweeps and a small $30.5 million in budget cuts.  By raiding the rainy day fund to such a large extent, the State's credit and bond ratings will plummet.

It was noted that it took the then Democratically controlled legislature 20 years to build up the rainy day fund to $1 billion, which represented a savings account ratio of 25 percent considering the annual State budget of about $4 billion.  Now, in less than two years under a Republican controlled legislature, the rainy day fund would be reduced to $600 million, a 40 percent reduction.

While Republicans announced yesterday that they would override any veto, the likelihood of an override is basically non-existent as it requires a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and House to override a budget veto.  This is because in the West Virginia Senate there are 18 Republicans and 16 Democrats and the expected vote along party lines will fall far short of the two-thirds needed to override the veto.

The veto is expected to occur Friday or Saturday, leaving legislators only about 25 days to come up with a new budget to avoid a state government shutdown on July 1.  With all the political bickering by both parties, and in light of their failure to come up with a reasonable budget that does not rely so heavily on raiding rainy day funds, a state government shutdown appears to be nearing reality.

Neighboring Lawyer's Law License Temporarily Suspended

A lawyer from neighboring Clay County had his law license temporarily suspended today while an investigation into allegations of misconduct continue.  The full opinion, including the facts leading to the suspension, can be read by clicking on the link below.

Court's Opinion on Clay Lawyer's Temporary Suspension

WV Legislature Passes 'Fictional' 2016-17 Budget

The West Virginia Legislature passed a budget for the 2016-17 year based on a huge raid of the State's rainy day savings account.

The legislature was faced with a $270 million dollar deficit to fill in the budget.  Over $203 million of that amount will come from raiding the rainy day fund.  The balance of the budget deficit was filled by nearly equal one time sweeps of leftover account balances ($35.5 million) and small actual budget cuts ($30.5 million).  No new taxes are included in the budget.

Governor Earl Ray Tomblin has indicated he would veto any budget that so heavily dips into the rainy day fund.  The $203 million raid of the rainy day fund amounts to 20 percent of its current balance, which will reduce negatively the State's bond rating.  Balancing a budget by spending savings fails to address the revenue shortages caused by the declining coal industry and fails to address Republican claims of waste in state government.  Nevertheless, along party lines, the Senate approved the budget 18 to 16 (all democrats voting no) and the House of Delegates approved the budget 60 to 37 (local Delegate Dana Lynch joined with most Democrats in voting no).

It is highly likely that if the Governor makes good on his promise to veto this budget, the Legislature will continue its party line bickering at the rate of $35,000.00 per day cost for the special session and come up with no budget leading to a state government shutdown on July 1.

House Speaker's Announcement on Budget Passage

Webster County Budget Problems Continue to Grow

According to reliable sources at the Webster County Courthouse, the county's budget problems continue to mount.

For example, tax collections at this point will fund only about a quarter of the county's payroll in the month of June, 2016, which may lead to widespread layoffs or the possibility of four day work weeks for courthouse employees.

In addition, today, Circuit Clerk Jeannie Moore informed Family Court staff that her office had no money to pay for postage to send out court orders and required notices.  That funding shortfall was alleviated when she was given permission to put up to $1,000.00 on a credit card to pay postage costs.

Webster County Deputy Sheriff Arrested for DUI

According to a criminal complaint filed in the Webster County Magistrate Court, Webster County Deputy Sheriff Shay Cogar was arrested last week for Driving Under the Influence.  It is not clear at this point as to whether Cogar is still employed with the Sheriff's department.

A criminal complaint is not proof of any crime, but merely contains allegations against a person which must be proved in Court beyond a reasonable doubt.