Local News

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The City of Morgantown could see the implementation of new permits in blue curb parking neighborhoods and a rate increase in parking garages within city limits.

Morgantown Parking Authority (MPA) Director Dana McKenzie presented proposals in front of Morgantown City Council during their monthly committee of the whole, where they requested permission from the council to be given authority to implement up to a twenty percent rate increase for monthly permits at each parking garage. This was followed by requests to expand landlord permits into different neighborhoods and institute Airbnb permits for blue curb parking. The implementations are aimed at updating the rates to be equally competitive with other municipalities and expanding parking opportunities for business owners and residents, both full-time and part-time.

“One thing that I would like to suggest is the possibility of allowing the parking authority to take the parking permit prices, have twenty percent added to the permit prices, as the market allows,” said McKenzie in his presentation to council.

If approval is granted by the council, the increase in monthly parking permits for the garages would be applied to all three locations on University Avenue, Spruce Street, and the Wharf District. According to McKenzie, this would be the first time that the rates have been raised for the monthly permits at Morgantown parking garages in over ten years, maintaining below-market values for similar permits in other municipalities found in research. With an aim to keep rates at reasonable, competitive prices, McKenzie also added that there’s no intent from the MPA to take the rates past the twenty percent request.

“I don’t really see it fluctuating that much more than that (in pricing) either way, as far as what our research has shown with the different lots in the area,” said McKenzie. “We’re really not that far off year to year, if it was going to be something that would be a major change, I think it’s something where the ball would be in you guys’ (council) court,” he said.

The MPA also requested the authority to extend the blue curb permit offerings in Morgantown neighborhoods. This would include an extension of the permit terms for permanent residents from one year to two years, the inclusion of business permits, Airbnb permits, temporary permits for rental vehicles, and the extension of permits for landlords outside of the Sunnyside Neighborhood. McKenzie mentioned those proposals after discussions with business owners and property owners who wish to provide more services for their tenants.

“With this particular permit, is it gives them the ability to park anywhere in the city, as far as residential goes,” said McKenzie in relation to the new landlord permit offerings. “If a landlord has an apartment in Sunnyside, he can use it there, if he has an apartment over in South Park, he can use it there,” he said.

If the MPA is given approval to expand the permit options, landlord permits would be sold for $50 per year, visitor permits and resident permits would remain the same at $20 per year. Temporary permits would still be available for $5 per occurrence. Airbnb permits would be offered at $50 per year.

No action was taken by Morgantown City Council, but they were open to formally endorsing any changes made by the MPA. The funds taken from parking garage hourly and monthly permit rates (valued at over $2 million annually before the rate increases) would be applied to support the MPA’s over 20,000 parking spots across Morgantown city limits. The hope for McKenzie and the MPA is that after years of not raising permit rates to help customers, they’ll be endorsed by the city to do so.

“Now I understand the goal behind the passes is to keep our prices as low as possible to be fair, but as high as possible so that we meet our budget projections,” McKenzie said.

Rates of $.75 per hour for the parking garages will remain the same if the policy change is enacted.

An ordinance that would implement a new payment system for parking meters was proposed by the MPA and was taken to the council’s agenda. This removes verbage in Section 365 of the city code that would remove parameters for the rates for city parking meters.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The West Virginia University Muslim Student Association (MSA) led a protest and march Sunday from the Mountainlair to the Monongalia County Courthouse calling for lasting peace for the Palestinian people.

President of the MSA, Omar Ibraheem said Palestinian people have been suffering at the hands of the Israelis for decades and they are calling for an immediate stop. He asserts the oppression has killed many Palestinians and forced countless others from their homes as settlements expanded.

“The fact is that the Palestinian people have been harassed and oppressed for over 75 years,” Ibraheem said. “So, our main goal right now is to remove that oppression and that harassment the Palestinian people have been under.”

While generally in favor of protests on other college campuses across the country, Ibraheem isn’t currently aware of any WVU investments in Israeli-related areas. He said he has the right to know where the university spends money generated by tuition payments from students and families.

“The majority of the major colleges across American are invested in this foreign country, Israel which is actively killing Palestinian people and genociding the people in Gaza,” Ibraheem said. ” That’s what we’re standing against. We’re calling for that.”

The Morgantown event was largely peaceful and included chants of “Free, Free Palestine,” and “Ceasefire now,” while carrying signs that read “Free Gaza,” and “End the Occupation.”

“We had Jewish students protesting with us, we had Christian students protesting with us,” Ibraheem said. “We had people all around protesting with us.”

Ibrahim said they have experienced threats, vandalism to their office, and in one instance another with a bullhorn attempted to drown them out by calling them terrorists.

“Here at our own university we have been harassed by a few Zionist students at every event we’ve had,” Ibraheem said. ” We are actually in the process of an active investigation against that student.”

According to Ibraheem, the protest at Columbia University escalated because President Nemat Shafik has violated the free speech rights of students. The support protesters are receiving from faculty members is further proof Shakik is choosing not to listen to the students.

“They are standing for something right, they are holding their university accountable for divesting in a foreign country,” Ibraheem said. ” Why does a university need to invest in Israel, that makes no sense to me.”

Executive Director of Communications for WVU, April Kaull said,” As a state agency, West Virginia University does not have any investments Israel-related or otherwise.”

MANNINGTON, W.Va. A Mannington man has been arrested and charged with violating state marriage laws. Deputies from the Taylor County Sheriff’s Department allege Christopher Carpenter, 28, was already married to a woman in Maryland when he tied the knot with another woman in Marion County in March of 2021.

The couple now lives in Taylor County.

Carpenter’s West Virginia wife suspected he was still married to a woman in Maryland and contacted deputies from the Taylor County Sheriff’s Department for help. Deputies contacted authorities in Garrett County, Maryland, who verified Carpenter married to the woman in Maryland in 2018 and the Union was not officially dissolved until March of this year.

Deputies did verify there was a divorce decree filed in Maryland on March 18, 2024, three years after his marriage to the woman in West Virginia.

Carpenter has been charged with felony bigamy, punishable by a maximum sentence of five years behind bars if convicted.

Carpenter is in the North Central Regional Jail, being held in lieu of a $5,000 bond.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The proposed Renaissance Academy in Monongalia County came from planning discussions with local leaders to address changing academic needs in a digital world and to broaden the curriculum to prepare students for the future.

Voters will be asked to approve a bond request on the May 14 primary ballot for $142.6 million to fund the project. A sample ballot is available for review at the Monongalia County Clerk’s website.

On WAJR’s “Talk of the Town,” Superintendent Eddie Campbell said the panelists determined there was a need for a more career-focused delivery system that offered vocational and technical options. The number of students who apply for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA), the form that determines the financial support available for students entering college, is at an all-time low. That would be consistent with a national trend of fewer high school seniors going to college and instead opting to enter the workforce.

“The need was to upscale our career and technical education programs so that we were creating a skill set for students so they could go into high-level skilled trades work,” Campbell said.

According to Campbell, Monongalia County does not have a comprehensive high school. A facility dedicated to a full suite of education opportunities, from college prep to vocational and technical.

“Many of our students who want to avail themselves of both STEM and career technical education don’t have the opportunity to do that; they have to make choices in their curriculum, and we’re trying to eliminate those choices,” Campbell said.

The details of the Renaissance Academy have been developed through site visits to similar facilities in Colorado and Virginia. Campbell said officials learned similar facilities like the Cherry Creek Academy in Englewood, Colorado, and the Academies of Loudoun in Leesburg, Virginia, challenge students through engagement. The young people of today want to learn in an environment that includes hands-on components and real-world applications.

“The biggest piece of data you can look at is that they have 99 percent attendance rates and no discipline issues—discipline issues decline significantly in these schools,” Campbell said. “Those are pieces of data you look at and say, This is a model that creates student engagement.”

Surveys taken locally show students want to be engaged; in fact, more than 50 percent of the students said if they weren’t involved in athletics or a club, they really weren’t motivated to come to school. The Renaissance Academy concept gives students relevance, which Campbell said will develop motivated learners.

“Students today really learn in a different format,” Campbell said. “The Renaissance Academy is an attempt to directly attack that problem; we want to engage our students in active learning.”

The Renaissance Academy has an expressed mission of addressing the 50 percent of the student body that lacks the motivation to embrace learning. Campbell expects many students who graduate from the academy to be able to enter the local workforce with a certification and meaningful employment.

“We’re trying to create a future-forward facility that will give our kids the ability to address those skillsets that are going to allow them to work in future-forward types of employment.”

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. Detectives in Morgantown are looking for those involved in a shooting outside the Liquid Lounge early Saturday that injured two people.

Police responded to a shots fired call at 2:51 a.m. and found a female with a graze wound at the scene. She was transported to J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital for treatment.

Another male victim presented at J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital with a gunshot wound to the foot and was treated.

West Virginia University Executive Director of Communications April Kaull said no students were involved in the incident.

Information about the incident can be left by calling 304-284-7522.

RANDOLPH COUNTY, W.Va. –– A Randolph County resident is facing multiple felonies after firing a weapon to “scare cats away.”

Police responded to the East Dailey area of Randolph County and made contact with Seth Dewitt, 33, who told them he had no knowledge of shots being fired in the area.

The police then went to speak with the caller, who told them that they had heard gunshots from their living room and saw a man pointing a pistol at the driveway of a home next door.

The witness also provided a description and said the subject fired three shots before going back inside.

At the home, police saw Dewitt through the front door, attempting to climb into the attic.

Dewitt then told police that he was a convicted felon and was trying to hide the weapon in the attic, and he gave them permission to go get it.

After police found four pistols, four rifles, and one shotgun, Dewitt admitted to discharging a firearm to scare a cat out of his yard.

Police said Dewitt also admitted to several serious felony charges in the state of Florida, including possession of a short-barreled rifle or machine gun, possession of controlled substances, and armed burglary of a dwelling. All offenses that make owning a firearm for Dewitt illegal.

Dewitt is facing nine felony counts of prohibited person in possession of a firearm and is being held at Tygart Valley Regional Jail in lieu of a $40,000 bond.

PHILIPPI, W.Va. A high-speed chase in the city of Philippi resulted in two arrests on Sunday.

Police clocked four motorcycles traveling at 78 miles per hour in a 45-mile per hour zone on US Route 50 in Philippi.

Police began to pursue with lights and sirens at speeds reaching 90 miles per hour. As the motorcyclists fled, they passed several cars in a passing zone.

On Main Street in a 25-mile per hour zone, police chased the motorcycles reaching 90-miles per hour at 5 p.m., a busy time of day.

At a dead end near the area of Philippi Discount Tire Services Center, the motorcyclists drove through a yard onto a walking path, then drove off the curb and split up.

One of the motorcyclists, Greyson Christopher Bevan, was pursued on Pike Street, then on Morrel Hollow Road, where he crashed and was arrested.

Another rider, Jake Ryan Williams, was also arrested on Morrel Hollow Road.

It is unclear at this time whether the other two drivers were identified or detained.

Greyson Christopher Bevan and Jake Ryan Williams are both being held in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail, each in lieu of a $15,000 bond.

MONONGALIA COUNTY, W.Va. After more than 100 years serving the county and 97 years in their Osage location, the Scott’s Run Settlement House has announced plans to move to the Cheat Lake area. Executive Director Michael Richard said their new home is the former location of the Cheat Lake United Methodist Church at 750 Fairchance Rd.

“We’re still continuing the same services,” Richard said. “We’re still going to serve all of Monongalia County, but from a much newer location and from a place that makes sure that as we grow as an organization, we can continue to meet the needs of the community.”

The Osage location is a four-story building with limited accommodations for disabled people, according to Richard. He said many programs attract much more traffic than can safely be handled at the Osage location.

“Our current building is not really conducive to what we provide for services now, and there is a need for expansion,” Richard said. “We have six permanent parking spots at our location, and we have programs that bring in sometimes hundreds of cars a day.”

All of the services will relocate to the Fairchance Road location, but for the remainder of 2024, Richard said some services are scheduled to be offered at the Osage location.

“We’re also going to continue to serve food pantry appointments and our senior box pick-ups once a week at our current Osage location for those in the western part of the county for the rest of the year at least,” Richard said.

The move is scheduled to begin on May 25, and Richard hopes it will be done by June 9, and normal operation will begin at the new location on June 10.

“It’s going to be an effort,” Richard said. “We’re going to try to get as many volunteers as we can to help us move the food pantry and other items.”

Programs include a backpack feeding program, home repair, a free and fresh market, and seasonal programs for holidays throughout the year. Richard said many times they are able to connect people to services offered by other non-profits when there are gaps in the programs they provide.

“Even if it is something we can’t help you with, we have a full-time social worker that is able to refer services to other non-profits in the area,” Richard said. “We really want to be a place to help with whatever issues you might have.”

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A retired West Virginia University Police Department K-9 officer has died due to complications from cancer.

Ginger was a golden retriever who served for 12 years in explosives detection and security at large events in Milan Puskar Stadium and the Coliseum.

Giner retired and passed away in April.

She was named the K-9 of Excellence by the Governor’s Office and the American Kennel Club in 2016.

FAIRMONT, W.Va. — A Monongah woman is accused of being involved in a crash that injured a 7-year-old while under the influence of alcohol over the weekend.

On Saturday, officers from the Fairmont Police Department responded to a crash at Mary Lou Retton Drive for a single vehicle.

At the scene, police determined that Amanda Craig, 43, ran off the road, hit a tree, and parked a vehicle. Two injuries were reported in the crash.

When the police spoke to Craig, they said she was slurring her words, appeared to be disoriented, and was unsteady on her feet.

Craig told officers something darted out into the roadway, causing them to take evasive action, causing the crash.

A child in the car had chest injuries from the seatbelt.

During the investigation, police discovered there were no skid marks or indications that Craig hit the brakes. A witness told police they helped the injured child after Craig got out of the car after the crash and lit a cigarette.

Police also learned Craig’s driving privileges were definitely suspended, and she was unable to pass a field sobriety test. Craig told police she has taken opioid pills in the past but has not in the last three weeks.

Police did determine Craig was under the influence of opioids.

Craig has been charged with gross child neglect, creating a risk of injury, and is being held in the North Central Regional Jail in lieu of a $10,012 bond.