McWhorter family: 8:45 a.m. today at Horner Genealogy Library to research genealogy. A lunch will be available at the library at 11:30 a.m. for $10 per person. A Poker Run will begin at 2 p.m. at the library and will culminate with a bonfire and hot dogs at Bill and Ann Davisson's farm on Long Run Road. Gather at 11:30 a.m. Sunday at the McWhorter Church in McWhorter. A group photo will be taken at noon, and a buffet lunch begins at 12:30 p.m. at the church. Entertainment will be provided at 1:30 p.m., followed by a business meeting, door prizes and more. Contact Celeste Kvetensky at 913-526-0968, cskten@yahoo.com; Jim Fletcher at 715-344-6036, jimfletcher47@hotmail.com; or Cathy Weber at 304-745-5788, johnrobertweber@frontier.com.

South Charleston High Class of 1976: 40th Reunion, Friday and July 30. Friday will feature a game at the Appalachian Power Park. On July 30, meet at the Holiday Inn (former Ramada Inn). Contact Alisa Milam Tyler at 304-744-6600 or email schs76eagles@gmail.com.

Sissonville High School Class of 1976: 40th Reunion, Aug. 6 at the Holiday Inn and Suites Charleston West (former Ramada Inn) in South Charleston. Registration is $60 per person, and make checks payable to Mary Goff Brown. Mail to Christi Taylor Miller, 31 Western Drive, Hurricane, WV 25526. Contact Anita Kidd Shaffer at 304-389-0673 or email sissonvilleclassof76@gmail.com.

Reunion notices may be submitted by mail to The Charleston Gazette, 1001 Virginia St. E., Charleston, WV 25301, faxed to 304-348-1233, or e-mail: gazette@wvgazettemail.com. Notices will be run one time free. Please include a contact person's name and a daytime telephone number. Information will not be taken by phone.

Police have identified a Charleston man who died in a motorcycle wreck on Saturday afternoon.

Peter Guy Bibeau, 54, struck a cement barrier on the south side of Interstate 77 north near the intersection with Interstate 64, according to a news release from Charleston Police Department.

The wreck was reported at about 3:40 p.m. Charleston police and responders responded and found the motorcycle in the emergency lane of the interstate.

Bibeau was pronounced dead shortly after first responders arrived.

An Elkview man was arrested Monday after police say they watched a video appearing to show him saying "the only good cops out there are dead cops."

Matthew Lane Furby, 26, is charged with making threats of terroristic acts. He also allegedly spit on police officers and is charged with assault.

Furby's mouth was covered by a "spit mask" on Monday afternoon when he was brought to Kanawha Magistrate Court for arraignment. Magistrate Pete Lopez set bail at $100,000.

It was early Monday morning when Furby allegedly posted a sometimes incoherent rant on Facebook about police officers.

The post reads "Kill em all first, especially before they kill you while your hands are in the air saying don't shoot I'm unarmed."

In the video, he says, "the only good cops out there are dead cops. Everyone load up and be prepared to go to war because if we don't take a stand now they'll kill us all. Rise up, fight for your guns and don't take no sh--. Don't hesitate to fire because they won't hesitate to fire on you."

He also says "they rape women while they're handcuffed. Kill every one you see."

Detective W.S. Hunter Jr., with the Kanawha Sheriff's Office, was contacted Monday by a fellow deputy about the video being on Facebook, according to a criminal complaint filed against Furby.

When deputies questioned him, Furby admitted to making the video, Hunter wrote, "in retaliation and as a result of being angry with law enforcement."

Furby also was charged Monday with breaking and entering at a business on Charleston's West Side.

According to police, Furby entered the warehouse for Dem 2 Brothers and a Grill and put several cans of Coca Cola in his pockets. He was confronted by police outside the business, according to a criminal complaint.

After that alleged incident, police issued an alert asking officers to be on the look out for the man based on concerns for their safety, said Charleston police Lt. Steve Cooper.

- From staff reports

Attorneys for former Capital High principal Clinton Giles, Kanawha County's school board and board member Pete Thaw argued Monday over whether Thaw's comments about Giles in February 2015 were defamatory and whether the comments make the whole board liable.

"Those are all statements of opinions and beliefs and cannot be the subject of a defamation case," said Andy Brison, a Charleston-based attorney for the board, during a hearing Monday on requests filed by Thaw and the board to dismiss the case.

"There are no facts alleged in [Giles'] complaint that the board of education authorized Mr. Thaw to make those statements or ratified those statements after the fact," Brison told Kanawha Circuit Court Judge Charles King.

At the Feb. 9, 2015 meeting, the five-member board accepted Giles' retirement, which he gave notice for the day he was charged with a misdemeanor for failing to immediately report an alleged sexual assault of one student by another at his school.

After the board adjourned the meeting, which had included a closed session, at least two other board members declined to comment about Giles to the Charleston Gazette, but Thaw did speak. Speaking to reporters for several outlets, Thaw called Giles "insubordinate."

"He ought to resign because, frankly, you cannot have an environment where the children are not safe," Thaw said. "... When you have rape, I would think that you would run to the phone and report it."

He also said: "I do regret that we're letting him call the tune on when he quits."

Thaw cautioned that he couldn't give an "unbiased opinion" of Giles because of past issues with him "pushing the envelope," though he didn't specify what these issues were. He said voting to hire him as Capital's principal 13 years ago was the "second-worst mistake I ever made." When asked for the worst mistake, Thaw said "she's still active in the system" and declined to name her.

About a month after that meeting, Kanawha Circuit Judge Carrie Webster dismissed the charge against Giles after saying she didn't believe county prosecutors acted in bad faith but that the law didn't support his prosecution. Kanawha Prosecuting Attorney Charles Miller didn't object to the dismissal.

In January 2016, Giles filed a lawsuit against both the board and Thaw individually, accusing them of defamation and false light invasion of privacy. Giles' complaint cites some of the statements Thaw made to reporters Feb. 9, 2015, pointing out they were included in a WCHS-TV evening broadcast.

"The wrongs complained of in this action occurred during interviews gratuitously provided to the news media," Giles argued in the lawsuit, which requests judgment against Thaw and the board for lost income, injury to Giles' reputation, emotional distress, humiliation and embarrassment.

"Thaw's statements were made recklessly, delivered in a malicious tone, and in utter disregard of, or with the intent to injure, the rights of Mr. Giles to the presumption of innocence and a fair trial," the suit states.

Giles' attorney, Jim Cagle, said the only issue for King to decide was whether Thaw's statements were "capable of defamatory meaning."

"What Mr. Thaw said was that this man was guilty of the crime that was charged," Cagle said.

He argued Thaw's statements implied "undisclosed defamatory facts," such as Thaw knowing something that made Giles unqualified for his position, or knowing something that made Giles guilty of a crime that he was ultimately not found guilty of.

Johnnie Brown, a Charleston-based attorney whom the board hired to specifically represent Thaw, said the standard for a false light claim requires the public disclosure of highly offensive private facts that the public has no legitimate interest in.

"Those statements do not disclose facts, public or private," Brown said.

King didn't make a ruling following Monday's roughly half-hour hearing. The judge asked the sides to submit proposed orders and precedent-setting rulings for him to consider.

Reach Ryan Quinn at ryan.quinn@wvgazettemail.com, facebook.com/ryanedwinquinn, 304-348-1254 or follow @RyanEQuinn on Twitter.

Police arrested a Lincoln County mother Tuesday afternoon after her 3-year-old son drowned in the Little Coal River on Monday.

Nicole Hall, 28, of Alum Creek, is charged with child neglect resulting in death, according to a Lincoln County Magistrate Court official.

State Police Trooper C.A. Lewis of the Hamlin detachment said police were looking for Hall at her son's father's home in Shrewsbury Tuesday afternoon.

The boy's father had custody of the child, but had dropped him off at the Hall's house in Alum Creek on Sunday.

"The father was just kind of being a nice guy," Lewis said. "The boy wanted to see his mother."

Hall told police she and the boy had been playing outside on the porch, then she went inside to use the restroom at about 2 p.m.

He was gone when she returned. She told police that for about 20 minutes, she assumed the boy was playing hide and seek.

"After that she began to panic, but she never called 911," Lewis said.

The boy's father called multiple times before Hall finally answered at about 5 p.m., Lewis said.

After the boy's father left Shrewsbury and arrived at her home, he and off-duty Charleston police officer Jamie Wilson, who lives near Hall, called police at about 6:20 p.m. Sunday.

The boy's body was found tangled in a log dangling in the river, about 50 yards from the house, less than half an hour later.

Lewis, who was one of four state troopers who responded, said both parents were visibly distraught. He said he doesn't know how long Hall was actually in the house, because no one else was at the home. He said it wouldn't have been difficult for the boy to reach the river.

However, he also said that Child Protective Services had received several allegations of child neglect in the past about Hall. He said no claims were ever substantiated.

CPR was administered before the boy was transported to Thomas Memorial Hospital and pronounced dead.

Reach Erin Beck at erin.beck@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5163, Facebook.com/erinbeckwv, or follow @erinbeckwv on Twitter.

A Kanawha County magistrate's assistant admitted earlier this month that she stole money from the office.

Doris Aliff resigned her job as an assistant about two weeks ago after paying back the $1,150, Kanawha Prosecuting Attorney Charles Miller said Tuesday.

The money was reported missing in April and Kanawha sheriff's deputies had attempted to talk to Aliff, who worked for Kanawha Magistrate Tim Halloran. She left after being asked by sheriff's deputies to take a polygraph exam, and hadn't returned to work since, two Kanawha magistrates told the Gazette-Mail in June.

Prosecutors decided not to charge Aliff after considering "questions about her mental status at the time" the money was taken, said Miller.

Instead, Aliff - in addition to paying back the money and resigning - agreed to a pre-trial diversion program, which requires her to stay out of trouble for a year.

Aliff voluntarily went to deputies earlier this month and started cooperating with their investigation, according to Miller.

"The amount was so close to being a misdemeanor," Miller said about his decision to grant a diversion agreement rather than filing criminal charges. Prosecutors can pursue felony charges when an amount is over $1,000, according to state law.

At the end of each shift, a magistrate's assistant is supposed to deposit the money collected that day from fines, among other court costs, into a small safe in the office. The night the money was taken, an assistant left money in a drawer instead of putting it into the safe, an assistant previously said.

Aliff is in her 70s, according to Miller, which was another reason he didn't charge her.

"It's sad that someone who has worked so long has to end her career that way," he said.

Reach Kate White at kate.white @wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.

Local grocery store owner Don Tate was indicted last week on charges related to an alleged burglary last year, one of 116 people indicted by a Kanawha County grand jury.

According to Prosecuting Attorney Charles Miller's office, Tate was indicted on charges of burglary, breaking and entering and petit larceny.

Tate, who owns several Fas-Chek and Save-A-Lot grocery stores, was arrested in July 2015 after he allegedly crawled through a window of a home on Chappell Road and took a vacuum cleaner. The incident was captured by video surveillance cameras.

At his arraignment, Tate said that he had bought the vacuum cleaner at an estate sale, but forgot to take it home.

An indictment does not mean a person is guilty of a crime; it just means the grand jury has found enough evidence to warrant a criminal trial.

Those indicted should report to the following Kanawha circuit judges at the following times:

Judge Jennifer Bailey, Aug. 3, 9 a.m.

Carl Andrew Chew, 24, of Dunbar, conspiracy and drug charges; Shannon Claytor, 45, of Charleston, forgery and uttering; Joseph Dupas, 40, of Charleston, forgery and uttering, forgery of a fingerprint card and obstruction; Shante Jo Daniels, 23, of Red House, child neglect creating a risk of serious bodily injury and death and DUI with minor; Nick Trent Hanson, 22, of Hamlin, first-degree robbery, wanton endangerment and felon in possession of a firearm; Zachary Brice Harless, 28, of Cross Lanes, breaking and entering and grand larceny; Amanda Dawn McCallister, 28, of St. Albans, breaking and entering and grand larceny; Cody Alexander Hudson, 22, of St. Albans, fleeing in vehicle with reckless indifference to the safety of others, grand larceny and prohibited person in possession of a firearm; Jimmy Leon Petry, 32, of Chesapeake, forgery and uttering; Joseph Lee Smith, 33, of Chesapeake, forgery and uttering; Timothy Scott Pierson, 51, of Charleston, malicious wounding; Danny Markell Rucker, 24, of Clendenin, first-degree robbery; Thomas Lee Sampson, 25, of St. Albans, fleeing in a vehicle from police with reckless indifference to the safety of others; Matthew James Vance, 43, of Charleston, prohibited person in possession of a firearm and third offense driving while license revoked for DUI; Joshua Dewayne Wooten, 26, of Cross Lanes, burglary, grand larceny, petit larceny, possession of a stolen vehicle and breaking and entering; David Michael Ball, 33, of Nitro, burglary and petit larceny.

Judge Charles E. King, Jr., Aug. 8, 1:30 p.m.

Rebecca Sue Celedon, 35, of Rock Creek, second offense shoplifting and fleeing in vehicle with reckless indifference to the safety of others; Jonathan Charles Cochran, 25, of Charleston, grand larceny; Carlo Lamonte Gray, 25, of St. Albans, conspiracy and drug charges; Elijah Robert Carl Hammons, 19, of Cross Lanes, first-degree robbery, breaking and entering, grand larceny; James Isaac Hammons, 21, of Cross Lanes, first-degree robbery, breaking and entering, grand larceny and possession of a stolen vehicle; Randy Gerald Harris, 26, of St. Albans, possession of a stolen vehicle; Andrew Gerald Lee, 31, of Charleston, conspiracy and drug charges; Clifton Michael Martin, 23, of Charleston, conspiracy, first-degree robbery and fraudulent use of an access device; James Clifford Rodgers, 25, of Charleston, conspiracy, first-degree robbery and fraudulent use of an access device; Patrick William Stewart, 36, of St. Albans, conspiracy and drug charges; Robert Lee Stone, 23, of Charleston, conspiracy and drug charges; Charles Lavell Sweatte II, 24, of Charleston, burglary and grand larceny; Brian Dangelo Terry, 31, of Nitro, conspiracy and drug charges; Jeremy R. Walker, 28, of Hurricane, fleeing with reckless indifference to the safety of others, conspiracy and drug charges; Russell Lee Warttenburg, 24, of St. Albans, conspiracy, drug charges, breaking and entering and petit larceny; Jeremy Matthews Jeffers, 22, of Hometown, breaking and entering and petit larceny.

Judge Duke Bloom, July 29, 10 a.m.

Wesley D. Andrews, 27, of Charleston, conspiracy and drug charges; Jonathan Banard Anthony, 22, of Detroit, Michigan, conspiracy and drug charges; David Alexander Burch, 48, of Charleston, malicious wounding; Michael Cash, 29, of Cross Lanes, grand larceny and possession of stolen vehicle; Donald Alex Elkins, 41, of Charleston, obtaining by worthless check and fraudulent schemes; Dominque M. Ely, 22, of Charleston, conspiracy and drug charges; Paul Oliver Fleet, 31, of Hugheston, conspiracy and drug charges; Timothy Eric Garnes, 35, of Charleston, fleeing with reckless indifference to the safety of others, conspiracy and drug charges; Cody Lee Hager, 23, of Whitman, malicious wounding; Benjamin Noah Adkins, 22, of Marmet, malicious wounding; Dallas Noah Adkins, Jr., 47, of Marmet, malicious wounding; Nathaniel Scott Hall, 33, of Ripley, attempt to transport contraband into the jail; Michael J. Harris, 24, of Charleston, conspiracy, drug charges and possession of imitation controlled substance; Maurice Anthony Jarrett, 40, of Charleston, breaking and entering, attempted petit larceny, disarming a law enforcement officer, wanton endangerment, felon in possession of a firearm and malicious wounding on a government representative; William M. Lester, Jr., 65, of Beckley, fraudulent schemes and computer fraud; Amy McGrew, 45, of Charleston, conspiracy and drug charges; Carrie Cunningham, 33, of Elkview, conspiracy and drug charges; James Howard Meadows, 29, of Charleston, third offense domestic battery; Kelly Lynn Means, 49, of Charleston, conspiracy and drug charges; Johnny Ray Hunt, 64, of Charleston, conspiracy and drug charges; Nelson Maynard Mitchell, 46, of Belle, second-degree robbery; Douglas Edward Williams, 27, of Belva, accessory after the fact; Riley Elizabeth Mitchell, 30, of Hansford, possession of a stolen vehicle and drug charges; Erid Alfredo Rosario, 22, of New York, New York, taking the identity of another; Timothy Wayne Smith, 46, of Charleston, burglary; Jovante James Turner, 22, of Charleston, conspiracy and drug charges; Tyrone Lamont Brown, 22, of Detroit, Michigan, conspiracy and drug charges; Bobby Ray Williams, 37, of Dunbar, conspiracy and drug charges.

Judge Tod Kaufman, July 28, 8:30 a.m.

Victor Raymonte Coltey, 54, of Charleston, first-degree sexual assault, sexual abuse by a parent, guardian and custodian, incest, third-degree sexual assault and first-degree sexual abuse; Eric Wayne Good, 40, fraud and related activity in connection with an access device; Steven Ulan Hammon, 36, of Cross Lanes, wanton endangerment, prohibited person in possession of a firearm, possession of stolen vehicle, fleeing in vehicle with reckless indifference to the safety of others and third and subsequent driving while license revoked for DUI; Fred Wallace Hammon, Jr., 35, of Cross Lanes, prohibited person in possession of a firearm; William J. Hodges, 27, of Poca, conspiracy and drug charges; Orleta Holmes, 34, of Dunbar, third offense shoplifting; Daniel Alan Lanham, 22, of South Charleston, fraudulent use of an access device; Kantrell J. McLeod-Kennedy, 31, of Charleston, conspiracy and drug charges; Jeremy J. Morgan, 30, of St. Albans, conspiracy and drug charges; Tiffany Peters, 27, of St. Albans, conspiracy and drug charges; Melanie Paul, 48, of Charleston, welfare fraud; Robert Walden Rogers, 42, of Bruno, second-degree arson and grand larceny; Clarence Walter Santanio, 26, of Diamond, breaking and entering, grand larceny and petit larceny; Jessica Nicole Searls, 30, of Hurricane, burglary, petit larceny and grand larceny; Randy Scott Spence, 22, of South Charleston, fraudulent use of an access device; Aaron Kendall Stover, 27, of Charleston, breaking and entering and escape; Travis Scott Striker, 23, of Charleston, fleeing in vehicle from police with reckless indifference to the safety of others.

Judge James C. Stucky, Aug. 3, 2 p.m.

Samuel Joseph Bass, 49, of Cedar Grove, fraud and related activity in connection with an access device; Marc Anthony Booker, 24, of St. Albans, conspiracy and drug charges; Cedric Coping, 39, of an unknown location, conspiracy and drug charges; Everett Lee Harvey, 20, of Charleston, burglary; William Curtis Hicks, 39, of Bluefield, obtaining by false pretense and fraudulent scheme; Brian Keith Maddy, 31, of Charleston, attempted second-degree sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault, domestic battery, unlawful restraint and drug charges; John J. Rowe, 43, of Charleston, distribution and exhibition of materials depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct; Robert Lee Thompson, 31, of Eskdale, fleeing in vehicle from police with reckless indifference to the safety of others.

Judge Joanna Tabit, Aug. 10, 2 p.m.

Douglas Richard Eddy, 42, of Charleston, first-degree sexual assault, first-degree sexual abuse and use of minors in filming sexually explicit conduct and distribution and exhibition of materials depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct; Jay Dean Litten, II, 39, of Alum Creek, possession of a stolen vehicle and driving while license revoked for DUI; Brett Allen Myers, 27, of Elkview, felon in possession of a firearm; Lewis Joseph Myers, 32, of Charleston, child neglect creating a risk of serious bodily injury and death; Tiffany Mae Freeman, 22, of Charleston, child neglect creating a risk of serious bodily injury and death; Amanda Sue Pennington, 33, of Charleston, fraudulent use of an access device; Mathew Brian Smith, 23, of Hurricane, driving in an impaired state causing death; Larry A. Stevens, 43, of Clarksburg, conspiracy, drug charges and possession of a stolen vehicle; Virgil Eugene Stutler, 27, of Charleston, forgery and uttering; William Kenneth Thomas, 44, of Cleveland, Ohio, sexual abuse by a parent, guardian, custodian and person in position of trust and first-degree sexual abuse.

Judge Carrie L. Webster, Aug. 8, 2:30 p.m.

Briana Kate Atkins, 18, of Charleston, conspiracy and drug charges; Ashton Carte, 22, of St. Albans, drug charges; Glema Chandler, 41, of Prestonburg, Kentucky, conspiracy and drug charges; Ellis Hunter, 33, of Wayland, Kentucky, conspiracy and drug charges; Darius Levante Coles, 19, of Charleston, malicious wounding; Harry Lee Nguyen, 20, of Charleston, malicious wounding; Joshua Lee Holbert, 35, of Charleston, fraud and related activity in connection with an access device; Angela Rena Jones, 46, of St. Albans, forgery and uttering and obtaining by false pretense; Eva Darlene Miller, 49, of Hometown, third offense shoplifting; Thomas Edward Oxley, Jr., 37, of Charleston, malicious wounding, second offense domestic battery and battery on a government representative; James Minter Snyder, 37, of Dunbar, third offense driving while license revoked for DUI and DUI; Charles D. Stanley, 26, of St. Albans, conspiracy and drug charges; Justin A. Hurt, 27, of St. Albans, conspiracy and drug charges; Frosti Annamay Stapleton, 32, of Dry Branch, taking the identity of another person and fraudulent use of an access device; Donald Lee Tate, 82, breaking and entering, burglary and petit larceny; Geremy Chad Tippett, 31, of St. Albans, breaking and entering, grand larceny and possession of a stolen vehicle; Michael Eugene Ward, 33, of Charleston, conspiracy and drug charges; Shawn Patrick Winfree, 33, of Cedar Grove, third offense domestic assault/battery, crashes involving damage to vehicle and reckless driving; Joshua Paul Young, 34, of Charleston, kidnapping, wanton endangerment, felon in possession of a firearm and domestic battery; Michael Wayne Zabrieszack, Jr., 31, of St. Albans, prohibited person in possession of a firearm.

Reach Jared Casto at jared.casto@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4832 or follow @JaredCasto on Twitter.

Obama administration lawyers on Tuesday dropped their appeal of a federal court ruling that said the Interior Department was wrong to remove the site of the Blair Mountain labor battle from the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

Department of Justice lawyers, representing Interior's National Park Service and the Keeper of the National Register filed a motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia asking to voluntarily withdraw their appeal.

In April, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton had granted a motion for summary judgment sought by a coalition of environmental and historic preservation groups that challenged a decision by state officials and the federal government that Blair Mountain should be delisted. Walton said that the determination to delist Blair Mountain - made at the urging of a lawyer for coal companies that own potential mining sites in the area - violated federal law, in part because it was based on "very little, if any, indicia of reasoned decision making."

Tom Crosson, a spokesman for the park service, said that the agency had decided to accept the district court's ruling and revisit its December 2009 decision to delist Blair Mountain.

The legal fight traces its roots to the late August and early September 1921 "armed conflict between coal miners and strikebreakers" during the United Mine Workers efforts to unionize West Virginia's southern coalfields.

A Logan County man was sentenced Tuesday to five years probation for aiding in the straw purchase of a firearm.

Bobby D. Blankenship gave up his career as a federal firearms licensing agent to help a man transfer firearms that he knew was prohibited from having guns, U. S. District Judge Thomas Johnston told Blankenship before handing down his sentence.

"It's really unfortunate you chose to throw away long term employment and a clean record for Terry Tomblin, whose been sentenced two times by this court," the judge told Blankenship.

Blankenship worked for years at Big Eagle Gun and Pawn, and, before admitting to a federal crime, had no criminal history.

"I feel nervous and ashamed," Blankenship said, reading from a statement he had prepared before the sentencing. "I've never been in trouble like this and I promise I will never be in trouble like this again."

Johnston said he believed Blankenship when he said he wouldn't commit another crime - partly because of his age and health problems.

The judge scolded Blankenship for "playing fast and loose" with the system used to keep guns out of the hands of the wrong people, but the judge said everything Blankenship has lost because of it, might be punishment enough.

Federal advisory sentencing guidelines recommended Blankenship be sentenced to spend between a year and 18 months in prison and ordered to pay a fine of up to $30,000.

The judge said he wouldn't impose a fine.

In a deal with prosecutors, Blankenship pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting another individual in knowingly making a false statement on a federal form required to transfer firearms. He allowed in 2012 the illegal transfer of eight firearms.

Based on the facts he admitted to, Johnston ruled Blankenship had committed a felony. The charge also can be filed as a misdemeanor.

Johnston will sentence another man later this week in a separate case who admitted to the same aiding and abetting charge.

In his 10 years on the bench, Johnston said these are the first two cases he's presided over involving the charge.

Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.

The Kanawha County Sheriff's Office is looking for two boys believed to have been abducted by their mother.

The sheriff's office says Hunter Ross Smith, 13, and Ryder Lee Smith, 7, were reported missing around 11 a.m. Tuesday. Deputies say the boys' grandmother allowed them to stay overnight with their mother, Jennifer Renee Smith, 33, of Charleston, who does not have custody of them.

The boys were not returned the next morning and no one was heard from them since, according to the sheriff's office.

Hunter is described as 5 feet tall, 100 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. Ryder is described as 3 feet 8 inches tall with sandy hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Hunter Smith, Ryder Smith, or Jennifer Renee Smith should call 911. They can also leave tips at www.kanawhasheriff.us, email tips@kanawhasheriff.us or call 304-357-0169.

Four out of 33 convenience stores in Putnam County sold to underage persons during compliance checks throughout July.

The four salesclerks were cited for selling alcohol to underage persons, according to a news release from the Putnam County Sheriff's Department.

Winfield Quick Stop, Egnor Exxon, Corner Mart and Mid Valley Mart failed the compliance check, the release said.

West Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Administration and the Putnam County Sheriff's Department conducted the checks with funding from the Governor's Highway Safety Program.

State Attorney General Patrick Morrisey filed suit against a Putnam County construction company Wednesday.

The complaint alleges Great Finishes LLC, operated by David and Stacy Brinegar of Scott Depot, accepted down payments to replace and repair roofs without completing the work, according to a news release from the Attorney General's office.

The Brinegars previously worked for Quick Silver Restoration, which was shut down for the same unlawful practices, the release said.

Great Finishes LLC allegedly failed to complete five roofing jobs after receiving at least $22,964.80 in down payments, according to the complaint filed in Kanawha Circuit Court.

Another woman in Huntington allegedly paid $9,550.53 for no work and has received only 25 percent of her refund, the release said.

The company still owes about $15,000 for incomplete work, the release said. One customer was able to dispute the charge with a credit card company to receive a refund, while another filed a complaint with the Attorney General's Office.

The lawsuit is charging Great Finishes with failure to provide a three-day cancellation notice or its contractor's license within contracts, failure to complete work by the date promised and conducting business in a deceptive and fraudulent manner.

The Attorney General is asking to block Great Finishes from doing business in West Virginia and is seeking up to a $5,000 fine for each violation, the release said.

The Raleigh County Sheriff's Office is investigating complaints of a phone scam regarding jury duty, according to a news release from the office.

The perpetrators are contacting victims and telling them they've missed jury duty, then requesting payment via money cards to pay a "fine," the release said.

The Raleigh County Sheriff's Office does not contact residents regarding jury duty and would not require payment for anything over the phone, according to the release.

Residents with questions or concerns regarding jury duty can contact the County Circuit Clerk's Office at 304-255-9119.

Children could be endangered and some state facilities forced to close if the state Department of Health and Human Resources changes how it pays to place juveniles in residential treatment facilities when ordered to do so by judges, speakers told the Juvenile Justice Commission during a six-hour hearing Wednesday.

"I'm just very concerned for the safety of children," said Charles Johnson, a Charleston attorney representing seven residential treatment facilities. "We're no longer placing kids in places that can best serve their needs."

The treatment facilities are seeking an injunction in Kanawha Circuit Court to delay implementation of the new DHHR system for reimbursing those providers.

The Juvenile Justice Commission, created by the state Supreme Court to oversee juvenile justice issues, spent much of the day Wednesday listening to concerns about the pending reimbursement changes, including a 180-day limit on juveniles' stays at the facilities.

"Each child is an individual, and there's nothing about a 180-day deadline that's clinically indicated," Kari Sisson, executive director of the Association of Children's Residential Centers, told the commission.

"If they said, gee, you've got cancer, and we're only going to treat you for 180 days ... everyone would think that's ludicrous," Sisson said.

The pending DHHR contract would also replace bundled rates of $250 a day for residential placements to a standard rate of $178 a day for room, board and supervision, while requiring residential care facilities to bill separately for other services provided to each child on a fee-for-service basis.

That change, along with the elimination of three levels of classification of children based on treatment needs, could cause severe financial issues for residential centers that provide more intensive treatment options, commissioners were told.

Donald Cookman, a former state senator, circuit judge and prosecuting attorney, said the center where he serves on the board of directors - Davis Stuart in Lewisburg - stands to lose $900,000 a year under the new DHHR contract.

"Will that close the doors? I don't think so, but it certainly will cause problems with the services they render there," he said, adding that other facilities may not be able to absorb the cuts.

"I'm concerned what's going on here is going to close the doors of some of these facilities, and that's very disturbing to me," said Cookman, who said he became involved with Davis Stuart after seeing positive outcomes for the children he sent there as a judge.

Wednesday's hearing filled the Senate Judiciary Committee room in the Capitol, requiring some in the room to stand, while others spilled out into the west wing hallway, where the hearing was broadcast was video-streamed to a TV monitor.

Conspicuously absent was anyone from DHHR - a point not lost on Delegate Don Perdue, D-Wayne, a former House Health and Human Resources Committee chairman.

"I'm disturbed and deeply frustrated that no one from DHHR is here," Perdue said. "That is not the way to be collaborative."

Perdue added that he believes the DHHR changes are strictly aimed at budget cutting.

"What is driving this bus is the same thing that drives every bus - the totals - what is it going to cost us?" he said.

After the hearing, DHHR communications director Allison Adler said there were two reasons why DHHR wasn't represented at the hearing.

"DHHR has a circuit court hearing tomorrow, and it wasn't appropriate for Secretary [Karen] Bowling or any member of the DHHR team to attend this public forum to argue DHHR's case," Adler said. "These are contracts between the state and providers, and we could not jeopardize those ongoing discussions."

Adler said the DHHR has a duty to ensure that every child is placed in a safe and least restrictive environment. "It is critical that all appropriate behavioral health services are provided, and the new contracts ensure that takes place," she said.

Putnam Circuit Judge Phillip Stowers, commission chairman, said the commissioners called the hearing because they've had difficulty getting answers about what sort of services will be available for judges placing juveniles in residential centers.

"We're dismantling years of work," Stowers said.

Reach Phil Kabler at philk@wvgazettemail.com, 304 348-1220, or follow @PhilKabler on Twitter.

A Kanawha judge handed down the maximum sentence Wednesday but said he wished he could give more prison time to a man who bit a child.

Aaron Hudgins, who previously pleaded guilty to drug and child abuse charges, said before being sentenced Wednesday that he was high on methamphetamine and other drugs at the time he injured a 17-month-old boy.

He was sentenced Wednesday to spend one to 15 years in prison for possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine and between two and 10 years for child abuse.

Kanawha Circuit Judge Charles King ordered the sentences to run one after the other. The judge called the child abuse case one of the worst he has ever seen and described Hudgins' actions as "barbaric."

"You, sir, clearly establish that not all animals are in the zoo," King told Hudgins, before handing down the sentence.

Assistant Kanawha prosecutor Maryclaire Akers showed the judge photographs of the child's injuries. The toddler had bite marks on his shoulder, arm and on the left side of his face.

Tiffany Taylor, the child's mother, immediately took her son to the hospital when she returned home and found him severely injured. She said she had trusted Hudgins, who she had considered a friend, to watch her son. Hudgins told her at the time of the incident that the baby had been bitten by a dog.

Taylor already has pleaded guilty to drug and neglect charges stemming from the incident. On Wednesday, she asked the judge to give Hudgins the maximum sentence.

"Death wouldn't be good enough for him," she said.

Taylor's mother, and the child's grandmother, called Hudgins a monster. Her grandson still has nightmares from the abuse, she said.

Akers also called Hudgins a monster and told the judge about another incident involving the defendant allegedly biting someone.

In 2014, Hudgins was accused of battery and robbery for allegedly entering a woman's home and demanding she give him money. When she didn't, Hudgins bit the woman on the left side of her face Akers said. Hudgins was never convicted of that incident. The victim wouldn't cooperate with prosecutors.

After Wednesday's hearing, Taylor held her son against her chest outside the courtroom. He's healthy and safe now, she said.

Akers commended Taylor's cooperation with prosecutors. She was willing to provide any information law enforcement officers asked of her, the prosecutor said.

"When you think about a child carrying around scars of physical abuse from that age, it makes you shudder," Akers said after the sentencing.

Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.

An accountant and cashier for the Charleston Town Center Marriott is accused of embezzling thousands of dollars over the past 11 years from the hotel.

Federal prosecutors charged Mark Kuhn this week with wire fraud, alleging he embezzled more than $950,000 from the hotel by posting false information in the hotel's accounting system, which was transmitted to the computer server at Marriott headquarters in Frederick, Maryland.

The felony charge, unsealed Wednesday, was brought against Kuhn in the form of an information, which can't be filed without a defendant's consent and usually signals a defendant has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

As an accountant and general cashier, Kuhn was tasked with collecting and depositing the daily proceeds from various departments in the hotel. His job duties also required him to account for the cash and deposits in the hotel's records.

Cash from the gift shop and restaurant, among other places in the hotel, is deposited and recorded on the hotel's electronic accounting system. Information entered on that system is transmitted to the company's private server, located at company headquarters.

In November 2005, Kuhn began secretly taking part of the cash for himself, wrote Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Wright. Kuhn created fake ledger entries to make it appear as if the hotel had paid out cash for goods and services when it hadn't.

Kuhn allegedly used the money to pay off credit card debt, to take vacations and to buy vehicles and other personal items. The alleged scheme continued until Feb. 20 of this year, according to the charging document.

"Kuhn concealed his embezzlement by creating and posting false entries, that is, fictitious expenses, on the general ledger in the hotel's electronic accounting system," the filing states. "The false entries made it appear as if the hotel had paid out cash for goods or services, when in fact the hotel had not made such payments."

Ramona Jackson, general manager of the Charleston hotel, couldn't immediately be reached for comment Thursday.

Kuhn's case has been appointed to U.S. District Judge Thomas Johnston. He is being represented by the Federal Public Defender's Office.

Reach Kate White at

kate.white@wvgazettemail.com,

304-348-1723 or follow

@KateLWhite on Twitter.

A new smartphone app is aimed at keeping Kanawha County residents up to date on emergency news and prepared in the event of local disasters.

The app, KC Ready, was a joint effort by Kanawha County Emergency Management and Metro 911. Dale Petry, director of Emergency Management, said that KC Ready is a valuable resource to have when disaster strikes in the county or when residents simply want to prepare for the worst.

KC Ready can help clear the Metro 911 phone lines for those with emergencies as well, Petry said. The app does this by sending push notifications to its users about weather situations and traffic accidents using Metro 911's live feed, so that a large number of residents don't call in to report the same problem.

On top of these notifications, the "Kanawha Ready" tab serves as a resource for handling natural disasters like floods, tornados and winter storms. This section encourages users to create their own plan in the event of an emergency.

Also in this section is the "Build a Kit" function, which lets users identify which emergency items - flashlights, food, toiletries - they have, and which ones they should pick up.

Metro 911's Live Traffic tracker is incorporated into the "Emergency" tab of the app. The tracker identifies which streets are open and flowing normally and which roads you should avoid during your daily commute.

The "Local Information" tab links to local organizations that Kanawha County residents likely depend on. For instance, there is a direct link to the Appalachian Power "Outages and Problems" page along with the regularly updated West Virginia American Water "Latest Alerts" page.

The app went live around a month and a half ago and has been downloaded 4,894 times on the Apple App Store and 2,285 times on the Google Play Store. KC Ready has delivered 368,088 push notifications, 157,754 of which have resulted in the user opening the app. Many of these notifications were delivered during June's historic flood, Petry said.

KC Ready cost about $100,000 to make, Petry said, and was funded by private companies rather than taxpayer dollars. Some of the companies are represented within the app. Emergency Management and Metro 911 were aiming for quality, which Petry said they were assured of when 15 beta testers failed to crash the app.

In the future, Petry said that the Department of Highways would like to incorporate a real-time video stream of traffic to visually identify which roads may be closed or congested. This could be a way for Kanawha County residents to assure themselves that the route of their daily commute is clear before hitting the road.

This is just one way the app could get better in the future, Petry said, and the organizations behind it are looking for a number of new features to add in the future.

KC Ready is available to download for free on iOS and Android.

Reach Jared Casto at

jared.casto@wvgazettemail.com,

304-348-4832 or follow

@JaredCasto on Twitter.

Air-conditioning should be flowing throughout Kanawha County's judicial building by Friday morning, following weeks of outages that occurred during some of the hottest days of the year.

Part of Court Street was briefly shut down Tuesday afternoon to make way for a crane lifting an air compressor to the roof of the Judicial Annex, Kanawha County Manager Jennifer Sayre said.

For almost two weeks, neither of the two air compressors has worked. The compressors sit on the roof of the judicial building and provide AC to different parts of the building.

While preparations were being made last week to repair a compressor that had slowed to working at just 50 to 60 percent capacity, the other stopped working entirely, Sayre said. It was quickly determined to be a total loss.

“New parts were being ordered and preparations were being made to fix it and then on Tuesday evening, the heat and humidity occurred and there was a 'brown out' in Charleston,” Sayre said.

The outage meant all three of the county's buildings downtown — the judicial building, old courthouse and the Kent Carper Public Safety Building — lost power.

It was that outage that caused the second compressor to blow, Sayre said.

“It completely quit working,” she said.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service was predicting Monday that last week's heat wave, which produced temperatures well above 90 degrees, would continue into this week. Monday's temperature — while the judicial building was without AC — hit 93 degrees.

The courthouse operated without interruption, despite the heat, said Beverly Selby, court administrator for Kanawha County.

“No one passed out, court has not been canceled, everything has gone on as scheduled,” she said. “We've rounded up some fans and put them in offices and courtrooms, as needed.”

Some judges and courthouse employees had reported experiencing AC problems in their courtrooms and offices a month ago.

Last month, Kanawha Circuit Judge Joanna Tabit's courtroom was without air-conditioning during a three-day trial.

The AC was back on in Tabit's courtroom until last week. Wednesday was the most uncomfortable in Tabit's chambers, her secretary said Thursday.

Sayre said she had been aware of smaller AC problems occurring in the building, which seemed to lead up to the widespread outages last week.

She was confident, though, that the problems would be fixed Friday.

Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.

Police seized marijuana, crystal methamphetamine and prescription medications worth about $109,000 from a Charleston woman in Elkview on Saturday night, according to a news release from the Kanawha County Sheriff's Office.

Kelly Jean Arnett, 47, is charged with possession with intent to distribute narcotics and illegally possessing a firearm.

Kanawha County sheriff's deputies had responded at about 9 p.m. after callers reported a strong chemical odor at Elkview Apartments in Elkview.

Sgt. R. Mathis found a backpack he said was emitting the smell of marijuana lying next to a vehicle behind the building

Deputies said Arnett told them the backpack belonged to her and she was renting the vehicle. She gave them permission to look inside the backpack, according to the release.

Mathis said he found marijuana, crystal methamphetamine and prescription medications inside.

Deputies said Arnett had $5,900 in cash and a firearm.

Arnett was taken to South Central Regional Jail. She was not listed as an inmate there this morning.

Carol Casto will continue to lead the U.S. Attorney's Office in West Virginia's Southern District for at least 120 more days.

Casto, who was first assistant under former U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin, took over the office when Goodwin stepped down at the end of last year to run for governor.

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Friday appointed Casto to become interim U.S. attorney for 120 days -- unless a presidential appointment is made first, which is unlikely because the end of President Barack Obama's term is approaching.

If the 120-day appointment expires without a presidential appointment, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia may appoint a United States Attorney until the vacancy is filled, a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office states.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., has recommended that President Barack Obama nominate Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Ruby to become the next U.S. Attorney for West Virginia's Southern District. A spokeswoman for Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said in February that Capito would support that nomination "pending appropriate vetting."

It's ultimately the president's decision on who he nominates to replace Goodwin. The U.S. Senate then must confirm the nominee.