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NEWS HOTLINE: 304-255-4400 TO SUBSCRIBE: CALL 304-255-4444 or 800-950-0250 TEACHERS SUE MONROE COUNTY BOARD OF ED REGION | Page 2A JASON SLAY NAMED TENNESSEE STATE ASSISTANT COACH SPORTS | Page 3B THE REGISTER HERALD Wednesday, October 9, 2013 Beckley, West Virginia Single copy: 75 cents Volume 134 Number 112 INSIDE TODAY WEATHER WORTH ITS SALT Tresa in the head. Bowling filed an appeal ing that they did agree that some of the testimony entered 15 PERCENT OUTSTANDING COMMITMENT Community leaders inducted into UC-Beckley Hall of Achievement By Wendy Holdren REGISTER-HERALD REPORTER Five outstanding individ- uals were recognized Tues- day night, as they were in- ducted into the University of Charleston-Beckley Hall of Achievement. Sherrie Hunter was pre- sented with the community service award; Frank Wood was given the career achievement award; Dan Bickey was awarded with the distinguished service award; Linda Sumner was given the Amanda Marcel- la Adkins spirit award; and Mona Wiseman was select- ed for the distinguished friend award. “These individuals were selected based on their com- mitment to this institution See DOH, 13A See LEADERS, 13A See BOWLING, 13A See RONCEVERTE, 13A TASTY TREATS AND CRAFTY TRICKS LIFE!, 1B TASTY TREATS AND CRAFTY TRICKS LIFE!, 1B

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CyanMagentaYellowBlackR-H Page 1A

■ NEWS HOTLINE: 304-255-4400 ■ TO SUBSCRIBE: CALL 304-255-4444 or 800-950-0250

TEACHERS SUEMONROE COUNTY

BOARD OF EDREGION | Page 2A

JASON SLAY NAMEDTENNESSEE STATE

ASSISTANT COACHSPORTS | Page 3B

THEREGISTER HERALDWednesday, October 9, 2013 Beckley, West Virginia ◆ Single copy: 75 cents

Volume 134Number 112

BRIDGE . . . . . . . . 11A

CALENDAR . . . . . . 11A

CLASSIFIED. . . 7B-14B

COMICS . . . . . . . . 10A

DEAR ABBY . . . . . 11A

DEATHS . . . . . . . . . 6A

HISTORY . . . . . . . 11A

HOROSCOPES. . . . 10A

NATION & WORLD 13A

OPINION . . . . . . . . . 4A

SPORTS . . . . . . 3B-6B

STATE & REGION . . 3A

STOCKS . . . . . . . . . 9A

TELEVISION . . . . . 11A

INSIDE TODAY

Partly cloudy.20% chance

of rain.High 66. Low 46.

Details, Page 13A

WEATHER

■ WORTH ITS SALT

BRANDI UNDERWOOD/THE REGISTER-HERALD

Fayette County Highway Administrator Danny Hypes stands amid piles of thewhite stuff — salt — under the salt dome. Inventory includes more than 4,000 tons ofsalt, 18,000 gallons of salt brine and 500 tons of a special salt and gravel mixture.

CHRIS HANCOCK/FOR THE REGISTER-HERALD

Frank Wood, from left, Sherrie Hunter, Linda Sumner, and Dan Bickey allwere honored and entered into the University of Charleston–Beckley Hall ofAchievement Tuesday. Inductee Mona Wiseman was not present.

W.Va. DOH preps forwinter’swrathBy Brandi UnderwoodREGISTER-HERALD REPORTER

OAK HILL — While the weather isstill mild and sunny right now, theWest Virginia Division of Highways isalready preparing for the inclementwinter weather around the corner.This week, snow removal equipmentis being tested, inventory is being com-piled and practice “dry runs” are inmotion.

“In October of every year we do whatwe call a ‘dry run.’ It lets us know ifeverything is working properly. Weput all of our plows and spreaders onand we get them calibrated to releasethe right amount of material on theroad,” said Fayette County HighwayAdministrator Danny Hypes.

“Basically, the purpose of the dryruns is to let us know if all of oursnow-maintenance equipment isworking well,” said Hypes.

Statewide, West Virginia DOHworks to develop Snow Removal andIce Control (SRIC) strategies, whichare tailored to the particular conditionsaffecting each district. Hypes said thatthe Fayette County district deals witha lot of ice in valley areas and deepsnow on the east side of the county, es-pecially in the area of Lookout.

The Fayette County DOH has 60employees and 20 trucks to maintainroughly 880 miles of county roads, and11 employees and five trucks to main-tain U.S. 19, Hypes said.

Between the three county offices

■ W.VA. SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS

Ronceverteproposedsewer ratehike movesforwardBy Tina AlveyREGISTER-HERALD REPORTER

RONCEVERTE — On aunanimous vote, with no dis-cussion, Ronceverte CityCouncil approved the firstreading of an ordinance thatwill raise sewer rates by 15percent, on average. An in-formation sheet distributedto media representatives inthe audience warned of addi-tional hikes to come.

Before the current rateproposal becomes law, itmust be subjected to publiccomment and pass a secondcouncil reading, after whichpertinent information mustbe submitted to the state’sPublic Service Commission.The rate hike will become ef-fective no earlier than 45days after the ordinance’s fi-nal approval.

The proposed raise willtake the charge for city cus-tomers from $13.08 to $15(an increase of 14.6 percent)for the first 1,000 gallons ofusage and from $8.61 to $10(a 16 percent increase) foreach subsequent 1,000 gal-lons of usage.

The vast majority of thewastewater treatment plant’susers are customers ofGreenbrier County PublicService District No. 1, whichserves Lewisburg and Fair-lea. As of last fall, the PSDhad 2,600 customers to Ron-ceverte’s 830 direct cus-tomers.

The proposed rate hikewill probably affect PSD No.1’s customers, because in-cluded in the rate scheduleis a 15 percent raise in theresale price, from $2.52 to$2.90 per 1,000 gallons. That“bulk rate” is the amount thecity charges the PSD; thePSD sets its own rates basedin part on that charge.

No one at the PSD office inFairlea on Tuesday was au-thorized to address the pos-sibility of an increase in itsrates in light of Ronceverte’s

Christopher Bowling murder conviction upheldBy Wendy HoldrenREGISTER-HERALD REPORTER

The West Virginia SupremeCourt of Appeals upheld theconviction of a Daniels manfor the first degree murder ofhis wife.

Christopher Wayne Bowl-ing, now 41, formerly ofDaniels, fatally shot his 34-year-old wife, Tresa, on Jan.

31, 2010.Bowling claimed that while

sitting on the couch next toTresa, he removed his hand-gun he routinely kept in hisback pocket and he noticed thegun’s slide was out of battery.

Bowling claimed that whileattempting to fix the gun, itfired unexpectedly, shootingTresa in the head.

Bowling filed an appeal

with the Supreme Court May29, 2012, citing seven errorsand requesting a new trial.

The errors cited by the de-fense included the pretrialhearing procedure, impanelingthe jury, the exclusion of evi-dence and witness testimony.

The Supreme Court re-viewed each of the errors, not-ing that they did agree thatsome of the testimony entered

into court was hearsay, butultimately, the errors did notimpact the ruling of the case.

“After carefully reviewingthe record and arguments ofthe parties, we conclude thatthe errors were in fact harm-less,” the document said. “Ifthis evidence had been com-pletely excluded from the

■ 15 PERCENT

■ OUTSTANDING COMMITMENT

Community leaders inducted intoUC-Beckley Hall of Achievement By Wendy HoldrenREGISTER-HERALD REPORTER

Five outstanding individ-uals were recognized Tues-day night, as they were in-ducted into the Universityof Charleston-Beckley Hallof Achievement.

Sherrie Hunter was pre-sented with the communityservice award; Frank Woodwas given the careerachievement award; DanBickey was awarded withthe distinguished serviceaward; Linda Sumner wasgiven the Amanda Marcel-

la Adkins spirit award; andMona Wiseman was select-ed for the distinguishedfriend award.

“These individuals wereselected based on their com-mitment to this institution

See DOH, 13A

See LEADERS, 13A

See BOWLING, 13ASee RONCEVERTE, 13A

TASTY TREATS AND CRAFTY TRICKS LIFE!, 1BTASTY TREATS AND CRAFTY TRICKS LIFE!, 1B

23-inch CyanMagentaYellowBlackR-H Page XX Jumps

FromPageOne 13ATHE REGISTER-HERALD

Wednesday, October 9, 2013www.register-herald.com

Yesterday’s high 64°Yesterday’s low 38°Record high 86° in 2007Record low 20° in 1953

Precipitation (period ending 6 p.m. yesterday)

Sunrise today 7:27 a.m.Sunset today 6:55 p.m.

• For statewide fishing reports on-line, visit: www.wvdnr.gov/fishing/weekly_fishreport.shtm

• For the latest river and stream reports, which are updated at 8 a.m. each day

by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, phone the following numbers:

Bluestone Lake 304-466-0156Lake, New River, Greenbrier River information

Summersville Lake 304-872-5809Lake, Meadow River information

R.D. Bailey Lake 304-664-9587Lake information

• SIX-DAY FORECAST • W.VA. FORECAST

• SEVERE WEATHER, ROAD CONDITIONS

• LAKES, STREAMS, FISHING LOTTERY

To report severe weather, call the National Weather Service toll-free

at 877-633-6772

Current weather and alerts on-line:www.WVVA.com

West Virginia road conditionswww.transportation.wv.gov or

877-WVA-ROAD

www.register-herald.com

• NATIONAL FORECAST

• ALMANACLast 24 hours

0.00inches

For year32.12inches

For month0.43inches

Daily 3: 7-7-0 Daily 4: 1-7-3-8Cash 25:01-08-09-13-19-22

Powerball:Est.: $108 million

Mega Millions:6-15-19-23-40Mega Ball: 5 Est.: $14 million

O1SUD451

decision to raise the resale price.

According to the writ-ten information providedat Monday evening’scouncil meeting, Roncev-erte’s sewer rates werelast increased in 2008.The current proposedhike will support day-to-day operations, accordingto the information sheet.

Although no figureswere provided, the infor-mation sheet notes thatthe city “is required toset future rates that con-sider the cost” of aplanned upgrade of itswastewater treatmentplant. The existing planthas been described by anengineer employed bythe city as “simply wornout.”

In previous public pre-sentations, the price tagfor the new vertical loopreactor plant was set at$28 million, but theprinted information pro-vided Monday noted, “Itis impossible to deter-mine exactly what all thecosts will be.”

The projected date forsubstantial completion ofthe new plant — atwhich time yet anotherrate increase could be ex-pected to be implemented— is 2016.

In a related matter,council also unanimouslyapproved the first read-

ing of an update to thecity’s sewer use regula-tions. Except for minortweaks, the regulationshave remained largelyunchanged since the or-dinance was adopted in1948, according to MayorDavid Smith.

Smith said the mainreason the ordinance isgetting a major overhaulnow is to bring it intocompliance with stateregulations. Such issuesas the dumping of medi-cines in the sewer sys-tem, industrial uses andregulations on septichaulers have been updat-ed, according to the may-or.

The ordinance also in-cludes prohibitions ondepositing materialsranging from grass clip-pings and animal partsto explosive materialsand radioactive waste.Some of the more com-mon substances flushedinto the sewer system —such as detergents,swimming pool drainageand high concentrationsof fats, oils or greases —are also specifically pro-hibited.

The second and finalvote on the sewer use or-dinance is expected to beconducted at council’sNov. 4 regular meeting,at which time the pro-posed sewer rate in-crease should also be upfor final approval.

— E-mail: [email protected]

RONCEVERTEContinued from 1A

— Falls View, Lookoutand Oak Hill — currentinventory includes morethan 4,000 tons of salt,18,000 gallons of saltbrine and 500 tons of aspecial salt and gravelmixture, known as SRICmix, which serves a dualpurpose of lowering themelting point of ice andproviding traction for ve-hicles.

During dry runs, DOHtrucks dispense snow-maintenance material ontheir premises to meas-ure how much salt orSRIC mix is being re-leased from their spread-ers. From their measure-ments they can deter-mine whether the ma-chines need to be recali-brated.

“We don’t want toomuch (material), but wedon’t want to underesti-mate what we’re puttingon the road either,” Hy-pes said. “The main thing

is to keep travel and thepublic safe.”

“We’ve been in touchwith the NOAA WeatherService talking withthem, and rumor has itwith the Farmer’s Al-manac that a couple bigsnows are on the way,”Hype said. “We’re cross-ing our fingers and hop-ing it’s not.”

However, if this year isanything like 2012, snowshowers in a few weekswouldn’t come as a sur-prise. If that is the case,Hypes assures residentsthat the Fayette CountyDOH is prepared, just asthey were last year forSuperstorm Sandy.

All of the storage build-ings across the countyare full and their stockpiles are at the ready, ex-plained Hypes.

“We’ve got an abun-dance of salt and graveland we’re ready to go,”Hypes said. “We’ll beready to get out thereand hit the roads beforethey start getting slick.”

— E-mail: [email protected]

DOHContinued from 1A

and their leadership inthe community,” saidBridgette Borst, 2007UC Director of Alumniand Parent Relations.

Sherrie Hunter said itreally warms her heartto be selected as a com-munity service award re-cipient.

“It seems like just yes-terday I was a student atBeckley College,”Hunter said. “I try tocontinue to do what wasfostered in me as ayoung adult at BeckleyCollege, to be invested inthe community and to bea part of the solution,not part of the problem.”

She said she wastaught to extenuate thepositive and she feels asthough she may havebeen able to accomplishthat.

“It’s our responsibilityto lift the community upand make it shine.”

Hunter is the directorof education for theRaleigh County SolidWaste Authority and shelends much of her timeto Raleigh County Makeit Shine, the annual Ed-ucation Conference onLitter Control, Mac’s ToyFund, the Earth Day10k/5k Race, the Nation-al Day of Prayer readingin Beckley, the CatholicDiocesan School Board

of Wheeling-Charlestonand the United Way ofSouthern West Virginia.

Frank Wood said hewas humbled and grate-ful to be presented withsuch an honor.

He has been in thenewspaper industry forthe past 44 years, and hesaid it has “made my lifericher, more meaningfuland more satisfying.”

Wood is the publisherof Beckley Newspapers,which includes manag-ing day-to-day opera-tions of the Beckley Reg-ister-Herald, the FayetteTribune an the Mont-gomery Herald.

He has been honoredfor his community andvolunteerism numeroustimes throughout his ca-reer, including the 2013Beckley-Raleigh CountyChamber of CommerceCommunity ServiceAward winner and the2009 Governor’s ServiceAward recipient for vol-unteerism.

Dan Bickey, owner ofMine Power Systems,Inc., said he was happyto be awarded for his ef-forts in the community.

“I’ve been giving backto the community since Istarted a business backin 1977,” Bickey said.

He said he is striving tomake Beckley’s NevilleStreet into a tourist at-traction, similar to thedowntown Lewisburgarea.

“Beckley has been good

to me. I’m from Connecti-cut, but I met my wifehere and I’ve made a lotof friends here. I nowhave four children, 12grandkids and two great-grandkids.”

Bickey said much ofthe work he is doing is forhis family, and he contin-ues to build his businesswith them in mind.

He holds degrees fromBeckley College, ConcordUniversity and the Uni-versity of Charleston.

Linda Sumner said re-ceiving her award wasan overwhelming feelingof humility.

“There are so manywonderful and well-de-serving people inRaleigh County who con-tribute so much to theircommunity,” Sumnersaid. “I am humbled.”

She represents Raleighand Summers Counties inthe House of Delegatesfrom the 27th District. Alifelong Raleigh Countyresident, she holds de-grees from Beckley Col-lege, Morris Harvey Col-lege (now the Universityof Charleston) and WestVirginia University.

Sumner also volun-teers at the RaleighCounty Commission onAging serving meals orplanting flowers. Shesupports many othercommunity activities in-cluding picking up litterfor Sherrie’s Sweep, a se-mi-annual Raleigh Coun-ty Make it Shine event.

Mona Wiseman, whowas unable to attend theceremony Tuesday,worked in several differ-ent healthcare settingsthroughout her career,from hospital laborato-ries to working as aphysician assistant. Sheparticipated in numerousresearch projects, co-au-thored many articles,and received invitationsto present her findings onthe international level.

Wiseman rounded outher career by starting ahome medical equip-ment business and oper-ated it for 20 years be-fore retiring. Wisemanand her husband,Chuck, helped establisha respiratory care pro-gram at the formerMountain State Univer-sity, as well the Wise-man Family EndowedScholarship Fund.

“We are thrilled to in-duct these five very de-serving communitymembers into the UC-Beckley Hall of Achieve-ment,” UC-Beckley Pres-ident Jerry Forster said.

“They have given in-valuable support to theUniversity and theGreater Beckley areaover their diverse ca-reers. We hope our cur-rent students will learnmore about these in-ductees as they are ex-cellent examples of liv-ing the UC mission.”

— E-mail: [email protected]

LEADERSContinued from 1A

trial, the State wouldhave still providedenough evidence to sup-port Mr. Bowling’s con-viction.”

The Supreme Courtadded, “After a thoroughreview of the record pre-sented for consideration,the briefs, the legal au-thorities cited and thearguments of Mr. Bowl-ing and the State, wefind that while the cir-cuit court erred by ad-mitting certain testimo-ny as detailed herein,the errors are harmlessand do not warrant re-versal of this case.Therefore, we affirm Mr.Bowling’s conviction.”

Raleigh County Prose-cuting Attorney KristenKeller said she is “ex-tremely gratified thatthe Supreme Court up-held Bowling’s convic-tion.”

“It is especially impor-tant for the family andfor the defendant’s twolittle girls to have finali-

ty. I’m sure they willcontinue to grieve fortheir mom, but theydon’t have to worryabout the criminal jus-tice system at thispoint.”

Justice MenisKetchum, however, didnot agree with the ma-jority opinion of the oth-er Supreme Court jus-tices.

“The majority opinionholds that the prosecutorerroneously introducedinto evidence five differ-ent inadmissible state-ments, three of whichwere constitutional er-rors,” Ketchum wrote.

He called the situationa “mess of a trial” andsaid, “It all reminds meof the trial in ‘Alice inWonderland,’ with theQueen demanding thatthe accused be ‘Sen-tence(d) first — verdictafterwards.’ By the ma-jority’s measure, I guessthe Sanhedrin gave Je-sus Christ a fair trial.”

Ketchum ended hisdissent by saying, “Un-der the majority opin-ion’s philosophy, wemight as well start fu-

ture criminal trials withthe prosecutor stating,in front of the jury,‘bring the guilty S.O.B.in here!’ I dissent. Thiscase is terrible.”

Justice MargaretWorkman dissented, aswell, but has not filedher opinion in writing.

■ ■ ■According to court doc-

uments, Bowling called911 and hung up. Dis-patchers called back andBowling said he acciden-tally shot his wife.

The dispatcher in-structed him to placepressure on the woundwith a towel to slow thebleeding while policeand rescue services weredispatched.

According to the state-ment of facts, Bowlingrequested that the oper-ator dispatch specific po-lice officers he knew per-sonally.

When police arrived,they found Tresa alive,but bleeding profuselyfrom the head and suf-fering from laboredbreathing.

Police took Bowling infor questioning, and “At

no time during the ques-tioning did Mr. Bowlinginquire as to the well-be-ing of his wife or the twochildren.”

Bowling was arrestedon Feb. 2, 2010 and histrial began in June.

The state called morethan 20 witnesses, in-cluding Tresa’s oldestchild, a 10-year-olddaughter who was pres-ent in the house at thetime of the shooting.

The child said sheheard her mother say,“It’s not my fault,” di-rectly before the gunshotrang out.

Other witnesses testi-fied about previous actsof violence they sawBowling direct towardTresa.

Two jurors were dis-missed from the first tri-al, prompting RaleighCounty Circuit CourtJudge John Hutchison todeclare a mistrial.

At the conclusion ofthe next trial in July2011, the jury reached aguilty verdict and recom-mended no mercy.

— E-mail: [email protected]

BOWLINGContinued from 1A

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHARLESTON — Thestate Board of Education hasapproved a policy that wouldgive county school boards inWest Virginia more flexibilityto develop their school calen-dars.

The policy adopted Thurs-day would also hold boardsmore accountable for keepingstudents in school for 180days, The Charleston Gazettereported.

Counties would be requiredto develop a calendar thatguarantees at least thatmany days of instruction, in-cluding making up schooldays canceled because of in-clement weather.

Joe Panetta, an assistantsuperintendent for the stateDepartment of Education,said in the past, boards wererequired to schedule 180days, “but if they had to can-cel and didn’t have the time to

make them up, they were for-given.”

Last year alone, heavysnow from Superstorm Sandytoppled trees and power linesand forced students in somecounties to miss more than aweek of school in October andNovember. And a March 6storm dumped up to 2 feet ofsnow that closed schools inmore than half the state.

A story in the Feb. 5 Regis-ter-Herald noted that allcounties in its circulation areaused all of the snow days thatwere built into the calendar.

CyanMagentaYellowBlackR-H Page 1A

■ NEWS HOTLINE: 304-255-4400 ■ TO SUBSCRIBE: CALL 304-255-4444 or 800-950-0250

FOOTBALLCOMPLETE COVERAGE

PLUS FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTSSPORTS | Section B

ACCELERATEDEFFORTS BUT

NO AGREEMENTBUDGET BATTLE | Page 9A

ARMED CARJACKINGINJURES MAN

DRUG SWEEPS CONTINUEPOLICE NEWS | Page 3A

THEREGISTER HERALDSaturday, October 12, 2013 Beckley, West Virginia ◆ Single copy: 75 cents

Volume 134Number 115

BRIDGE . . . . . . . . . 9B

CALENDAR . . . . . . . 9B

CLASSIFIED. . . 11-14B

COMICS . . . . . . . . 10B

DEAR ABBY . . . . . . 9B

DEATHS . . . . . . . . . 6A

HISTORY. . . . . . . . . 9B

HOROSCOPES. . . . 10B

NATION & WORLD . 9A

OPINION . . . . . . . . . 4A

SPORTS . . . . . . . 1-8B

STATE & REGION . . 3A

STOCKS . . . . . . . . 12A

TELEVISION. . . . . . . 9B

INSIDE TODAY

Cloudy, 30%chance of rainHigh 69. Low 52.

Details, Page 13A

WEATHER

Sewer rate hikemuch higher thanpreviously revealedBy Tina AlveyREGISTER-HERALD REPORTER

It turns out that Roncev-erte’s true sewer rate hikeproposal is substantiallyhigher than the amountpublicly revealed duringMonday evening’s city coun-cil meeting.

An information sheet dis-tributed to media represen-tatives in attendance atthat meeting outlined a pro-posed raise averaging 15percent, but the ordinancecouncil voted to approve onfirst reading Monday refersto that relatively modesthike as “Phase I.”

Surprisingly, that sameordinance also includes aheretofore unpublicized“Phase II” which will more

than double current sewercharges.

Phase II of the rate hike— the portion that will au-tomatically go into effect up-on “substantial completion”of Ronceverte’s wastewatertreatment plant construc-tion project, probably some-time in 2016 — specifiesthat the charge for city cus-tomers will rise to $28 forthe first 1,000 gallons and$20 for each subsequent1,000 gallons of usage, asmeasured by water meterreadings.

The current charge is$13.08 for the first 1,000gallons and $8.61 for eachsubsequent 1,000 gallons.

The resale rate — which

State BOE approves calendar changes

By Tina AlveyREGISTER-HERALD REPORTER

FAIRLEA — The Mattie C.Stewart Foundation’s ChoiceBus wrapped up a sweepthrough the region with a Fri-day visit to Greenbrier EastHigh School, where some 250seventh-eighth-and- ninthgraders learned more aboutthe importance of the choicesthey make every day.

“We are trying to start a di-alogue — trying to get thestudents to talk among them-selves about these issues,” ex-

plained Kim Groover, execu-tive director of Communitiesin Schools of GreenbrierCounty (CISGC).

“This program helps thestudents realize that the im-portant choices don’t startwhen they’re 16 or 17; theystart right now, when they’re12, 13, 14 years old,” Grooversaid, noting some teachersplan to incorporate the infor-mation presented in TheChoice Bus into other drop-out prevention programs al-ready under way at theschool.

Ghost tour

See RATE HIKE, 13A

■ RONCEVERTE

Truck, train collide near Cheat MountainOne dead, more than 20 others injured

See TRAIN, 13A

The policy adoptedThursday would also

hold boards moreaccountable for

keeping students inschool for 180 days.

See CALENDAR, 13A

Half classroom, half recre-ated prison cell, the ChoiceBus is the setting for a pres-entation designed to showstudents the power of their

One half of the interior of the Choice Bus is set

up as a stark jail cell, complete with bars, locking

door, toilet and hard bed.

PHOTO COURTESY OFMATTIE C. STEWART FOUNDATION

Choice Bus visits Greenbrier County schools

See CHOICE BUS, 13A

John Luckton, above, looks overgraves at Wildwood Cemetery. Atright, Luckton examines the graveof John Beckley. For the next threeThursday evenings, investigativeghost tours will be given in the oldWildwood Cemetery. The dates areOct. 17, 24 and Halloween, Oct.31. Tours last from 7 to 8:30 p.m.Luckton, with Ghost Tours ofLewisburg, said the tour will leavefrom Main Street in front of theRaleigh County Courthouse andthere are only a limited number ofspots available, by reservation on-ly. He recommends bringing acamera, small light or cell phonewith a flashlight app for this ghost-hunting adventure. The cost is $13per person. For more informationor to make reservations, call 304-256-TOUR (8687).

F. BRIAN FERGUSON/THE REGISTER-HERALD (2)

By John RabyTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The driver of a loaded logtruck that collided Friday witha sightseeing train carrying 63passengers and four crewmem-bers on a scenic leaf-peepingcircuit in West Virginia’s moun-tains was the lone fatality in anaccident that injured 23 others,authorities said.

At least six of the injuredwere hospitalized in seriouscondition after the accident,which came at the height of fallfoliage season in the state’srugged Appalachian regionabout 160 miles east ofCharleston, officials added.

Randolph County SheriffMark Brady said two of thetrain’s passenger cars flippedon their sides after impact at a

rail crossing with a mountainhighway, the log truck was ren-dered a “total loss” and thetruck driver was pronounceddead at the scene.

The truck driver was not im-mediately identified and newsphotographs from the scene atWest Virginia’s Cheat Moun-tain showed large, heavy logsjumbled beside the two toppledtrain cars amid a chaotic sceneof first responders aiding

23-inch CyanMagentaYellowBlackR-H Page XX Jumps

FromPageOne 13ATHE REGISTER-HERALD

Saturday, October 12, 2013www.register-herald.com

Yesterday’s high 66°Yesterday’s low 52°Record high 88° in 1913Record low 22° in 1951

Precipitation (period ending 6 p.m. yesterday)

Sunrise today 7:30 a.m.Sunset today 6:51 p.m.

• For statewide fishing reports on-line, visit: www.wvdnr.gov/fishing/weekly_fishreport.shtm

• For the latest river and stream reports, which are updated at 8 a.m. each day

by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, phone the following numbers:

Bluestone Lake 304-466-0156Lake, New River, Greenbrier River information

Summersville Lake 304-872-5809Lake, Meadow River information

R.D. Bailey Lake 304-664-9587Lake information

• SIX-DAY FORECAST • W.VA. FORECAST

• SEVERE WEATHER, ROAD CONDITIONS

• LAKES, STREAMS, FISHING LOTTERY

To report severe weather, call the National Weather Service toll-free

at 877-633-6772

Current weather and alerts on-line:www.WVVA.com

West Virginia road conditionswww.transportation.wv.gov or

877-WVA-ROAD

www.register-herald.com

• NATIONAL FORECAST

• ALMANACLast 24 hours

Traceinches

For year32.13inches

For month0.44inches

Daily 3: 1-9-6 Daily 4: 6-1-9-4Cash 25:1-4-5-8-10-11

Powerball:Est.: $133 million

Mega Millions:3-27-37-45-48Mega Ball: 46 Est.: $22 million

O1SUD451

choices, with an emphasis on showing thepotential damage to their futures they riskby choosing to drop out of school.

Among the statistics cited in the programare the facts that every 26 seconds a childdrops out of high school and that eight outof 10 dropouts end up in prison.

According to Chet Pennock, lead presen-ter on The Choice Bus that visited Green-brier County, the program has changedsomewhat since the last time the bus was inthe local area.

“It’s not as somber now,” Pennock said ofthe film shown to students seated on thebus. “We’re spending more time with allkinds of choices students make, includingcareer and personal choices.”

Participating students are encouraged towrite down three careers they are interest-ed in pursuing and to learn about the choic-es they will need to make in order to achievetheir goals. They are also asked to sign apledge that they will make good choices inlife, graduate from high school and hangaround with other people who will have apositive impact on their lives.

Pennock estimated each of the two ChoiceBuses on the road at any given time will vis-it an average of six schools a week, reachinganywhere from 50 to 350 students a day.

The Choice Bus program is fundedthrough a grant from the State Farm Foun-dation and drew plenty of support from lo-cal government officials and State Farmagents, according to Groover, whose CISGCpartnered with the insurance agency foun-dation and local agents to bring the pro-gram to Greenbrier County.

While in the region, the bus visited West-ern Greenbrier Middle School, as well asGreenbrier West and Greenbrier East highschools.

Based in Birmingham, Ala., The MattieC. Stewart Foundation was created in 2007to help interested stakeholders, such as ed-ucators and community leaders, reduce thedropout rate and increase graduation rates.

For more information about The MattieC. Stewart Foundation, visit www.mattiec-stewart.org.

— E-mail: [email protected]

CHOICE BUSContinued from 1A

At that time, Raleigh had used eightdays; Nicholas, 10; Fayette, five; Summers,nine and Wyoming, eight. A number forGreenbrier County was not listed in the sto-ry.

The policy, which is expected to go into ef-fect in fall 2014, will be up for public com-ment for 30 days.

Before voting on a schedule, county schoolboards would have to hold at least two pub-lic hearings.

“This gives the entire community achance to talk about the calendar now,”Panetta said.

State schools Superintendent JimPhares said the policy is not aimed at ad-dressing the question of year-round schoolsbut it allows counties to develop a calendarthat best fits their specific needs. Schooldistricts in areas that receive a lot of snowcan choose to avoid sending students toclass when bad weather is expected, hesaid.

“We’re not cracking down on counties,” hesaid. “We’re providing guidance. Our chargewas to try to provide as much flexibility forcounties in order to meet the guidelines.”

CALENDARContinued from 1A

is the amount paid by PublicService District No. 1, serv-ing Lewisburg and Fairlea— will rise from its currentlevel of $2.52 to $5.42 per1,000 gallons, a 115 percentincrease. The PSD now billsits customers a minimum of$19.10 per month, as acharge for 2,000 gallons.

While the informationsheet distributed Mondayalluded to “future rates,” itdid not include those fig-ures, nor did it specify thatthose rates were actually be-ing voted upon during themeeting at hand. There wasno public discussion of theordinance among councilmembers prior to the vote.

Neither Lewisburg MayorJohn Manchester nor PSDNo. 1 general manager LisaD. Bennett, both of whomattended Monday’s councilsession, believed that infor-mation presented at the

meeting would lead to theconclusion that the ordi-nance being voted on wentbeyond the announced im-mediate 15 percent in-crease.

“I thought it was simplythe first reading of the firstinstallment,” Manchestersaid in an interview withThe Register-Herald Friday.

Bennett secured a copy ofthe full ordinance and for-warded it to the newspaper.In an e-mail that accompa-nied the attached ordinance,Bennett noted, “At the coun-cil meeting on Oct. 7, (Ron-ceverte) Mayor David Smithonly mentioned the rates forthe first phase.”

When contacted by tele-phone, she referred all ques-tions about her agency’s po-sition on the rate hike toSteve Hunter, who is thePSD’s attorney.

“We are going to get ouraccountant to give us athumbnail sketch of the fig-ures and compile a rate im-pact study,” Hunter said. “Ibelieve the raise Ronceverte

is asking for will drive ourrates through the sky.”

He added, “I fully expectthat we will file a protestwith the (state) Public Ser-vice Commission as soon asRonceverte City Counciladopts this ordinance.”

The ordinance is sched-uled for a public hearingand second and final read-ing at council’s next regularmeeting, on Nov. 4 at 7 p.m.at City Hall.

Hunter said he does notbelieve Ronceverte’s plan tobuild a new, state-of-the-artsewer plant — a $28 millionproject that is at the heart ofPhase II of the rate increaserequest — is really neces-sary to address the prob-lems afflicting the existingsewage treatment plant.

“Some engineering firmhas sold them on this expen-sive technology,” Huntersaid. “They could spend a lotless and fix the old one.”

Based on his experienceas the Public Service Com-mission’s former generalcounsel, Hunter noted the

agency “very seldom inter-venes” in municipal ratecases, but “they will jump inand make sure costs are rea-sonable.”

Noting Lewisburg resi-dents comprise a large per-centage of PSD No. 1’s cus-tomer base, Manchester toldThe Register-Herald, “Al-though the full impact of therate increase that will occurafter construction is com-pleted has yet to be re-vealed, my sense is that itwill be significant and willcreate a hardship on a lot ofworking people.

“I would encourage anycustomer of Ronceverte whopays a sewer bill or any cus-tomer of Public Service Dis-trict No. 1 — all of whosebills will be affected — to at-tend the second reading ofthe ordinance on Nov. 4 at 7p.m. to learn more and toprovide input.”

The newspaper’s effortsFriday to reach Ronceverte’smayor were unsuccessful.

— E-mail: [email protected]

RATE HIKEContinued from 1A

shaken passengers leavingthe train.

Brady said the accidentoccurred at a train crossingon U.S. 250 at a bridge onthe mountain. The over-turned passenger cars laybeside the tracks, roped offwith yellow crime scene tapeas police, firefighters andothers looked on.

“The railroad crossing sig-nals were flashing at thescene. As all emergency per-sonnel arrived, we observedthe signals flashing at thetime,” Brady said in a tapednews conference held withhospital officials whoemailed the audio recordingto The Associated Press.

“At this juncture of the in-vestigation, it appears thatthe log truck had runthrough the crossing signalsand struck the passengercars of the train,” Bradyadded in the recorded state-ment emailed by DavisMemorial Hospital spokes-woman Tracy Fath.

Brady also said all of 63train passengers and fourcrewmembers were taken tothat hospital in Elkins, sev-eral miles away. Brady did-n’t immediately return amessage from AP with a dis-patcher at his sheriff’s office.

Fath told AP 23 peoplewere treated there for in-juries and of that number,six were hospitalized in seri-ous condition and two in sta-ble condition. Four of thoseadmitted were transferredto a Morgantown hospitalwhile three were admittedto Davis Memorial.

TRAINContinued from 1A

She declined to elaborateon the nature of the injuriesor identify those hurt.

Fath also said 42 otherstaken from the train byschool bus to the hospitalwere later found to be un-harmed, despite mistakenearly accounts by an officialsuggesting dozens of thosehad suffered lesser injuries.

She said those who weren’thurt received “comfort care”before leaving the hospital.

The accident was reportedat 1:30 p.m. Friday and in-volved a train owned by theDurbin & Greenbrier Rail-road train, on an excursionin the region, officials said.

Traffic backed up behindthe route, which was closedindefinitely in the area.

Randolph County emer-gency services director JimWise, the first to confirmthere was a fatality, said heknew of no previous acci-dent at that crossing in re-cent memory.

“It was a pretty good im-pact,” Wise told AP. “Thetracks actually go acrossU.S. 250 there, right on topof the mountain.”

The Durbin & GreenbrierRailroad operates severaltrains in the area, includingthe Cheat Mountain Sala-mander that runs Tuesdaysthrough Saturdays in Octo-ber on a 6.5-hour trip. Therailroad said there werethree passenger cars Fridayon the 88-mile roundtripthat left Elkins on a route

taking passengers to eleva-tions of more than 4,000feet.

The train travels about 25mph along a boulder-strewnriver, crossing a bridge bare-ly wider than the train,rumbling through an 1,800-foot tunnel and then passingan abandoned rail bridge.

A railroad executive didnot immediately return callsfor comment.

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblinspokeswoman Amy ShulerGoodwin said state Depart-ment of Environmental Pro-tection crews were sent tothe site to help clean up alarge fuel spill. NeitherGoodwin nor Wise knewwhether the spill came fromthe truck or the train.

AP PHOTO/THE POCAHONTAS TIMES, GEOFF HAMILL

Crews work at the site where a truck carrying logs down Cheat Mountain on U.S. 250crashed into the side of a train taking passengers on a scenic tour in rural Randolph Coun-ty Friday. The crash killed one person and injured more than 20 others, according to emer-gency services officials.

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■ SEVERAL AGENCIES WILL COOPERATE ON ENFORCEMENT

New Raleigh County truancy policy begins todayBy Jessica FarrishREGISTER-HERALD REPORTER

Last year, more than 50 per-cent of Raleigh County stu-dents met the strict definitionof truancy at certain parts ofthe school year, a RaleighCounty Circuit Court judgesaid Wednesday as a new tru-ancy policy was unveiled.

Judge John Hutchison was

joined by school and other judi-cial officials as a new school at-tendance policy was explainedin detail. The new policy will beenforced beginning today.

The new policy involves co-operation among Hutchison,the sheriff’s department, theprosecutor and public defenderoffices, Raleigh magistrates,juvenile probation officials andthe Department of Health and

Human Resources.“The change in the program

is a recognition that these kindof cases need to be handledquickly,” Hutchison said in hiscourtroom Wednesday.

The new policy will expeditethe process of ensuring thatparents and truant students re-ceive notifications of truancy.

Sheriff’s deputies will deliv-er the truancy notifications to

the parents — somethingRaleigh Sheriff’s Capt. SkeeBarley said deputies havebeen doing for several weeksnow — and prosecutors andmagistrates will file juvenilepetitions and petitions againstparents more quickly.

The public defender’s officewill defend those who don’thave attorneys, and DHHR of-ficials will offer assistance andresources in cases where cer-tain supports are needed forthe family.

Criminal complaints will befiled against parents, wherewarranted, Hutchison said.

Fall color pile upDrug sweepleads to arrestof 20 Beckley residentsBy Jessica FarrishREGISTER-HERALD REPORTER

Law enforcement officers arrestedabout 20 Beckley residents on felonydrug charges in a citywide sweepWednesday.

Beckley Police Department Chief TimDeems said every charge involved thesale of illegal drugs like prescriptionpills, cocaine and methamphetamine.

He added that his office will releasesuspects’ names today.

The investigation led to a total of 69warrants issued Wednesday on bothstate and federal charges.

“We do these types of sweeps a coupletimes a year, but these types of investi-gations can take several months,” saidDeems.

The suspects were arrested and takento BPD for processing. Each appearedbefore a magistrate and most were re-manded to Southern Regional Jail inlieu of bond, reported Deems.

The majority of the warrants, 35, in-volved the illegal sale of prescriptiondrugs.

Deems noted a small increase in war-rants for cocaine and “crack” cocaine ar-rests, 19, while the remaining 15 war-rants were for the sale of marijuana,methamphetamine and other drugs.

The sweep was a collaborative effortof BPD, Raleigh County Sheriff’s De-partment, West Virginia State Policeand the U.S. Marshal Service’s FugitiveTask Force.

“We were able to serve the warrantswithout any incidents or problems,”added Deems.

— E-mail: [email protected]

■ CITYWIDE INVESTIGATON■ LEWISBURG

Proposedsewer ratescould haveripple affect,mayor warnsBy Tina AlveyREGISTER-HERALD REPORTER

LEWISBURG — A Roncev-erte ordinance proposing asubstantial boost in sewerrates will have a ripple effectthroughout eastern Greenbri-er County, Lewisburg MayorJohn Manchester warns.

While the initial raise beingfloated is a modest 15 percenton average, Ronceverte’s ordi-nance includes a second phaseof hikes to take effect once anew wastewater treatmentplant is in service. Expected tokick in as early as 2016, thatsecond phase is projected tomore than double current sew-er rates, both for city customersand for Public Service DistrictNo. 1, which pays Ronceverte abulk rate that forms the basisfor PSD customer charges.

PSD No. 1 serves the Lewis-burg/Fairlea area, a serviceregion that was expanded justthis year to include the EcholsAcres subdivision.

Bringing his city council upto date on the sewer rate situ-ation during a Tuesdayevening meeting, Manchestersaid if Ronceverte officials ap-prove a second reading of theproposed ordinance, as ex-pected, PSD No. 1 customers“are looking at a significantrate increase.”

Ronceverte approved thefirst reading of the two-phaserate hike ordinance Oct. 7.The second reading — cou-pled with a public hearing —is scheduled for Nov. 4.

Manchester used figuresfrom his own bill from PSDNo. 1 to roughly extrapolatethe impact the second phaseof the proposed rate increasewill have on Lewisburg andFairlea customers. He empha-sized he could only offer an es-timate, however, because PSDNo. 1 has not yet announcedthe exact amount of rate in-creases its customers will bepaying if Ronceverte’s pro-posed 115 percent hike comesto fruition.

■ OPEN FOR BUSINESS

Congress votes to end shutdown, avoid defaultBy David EspoAP SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

WASHINGTON — Upagainst a deadline, Congresspassed and sent a waitingPresident Barack Obama leg-islation late Wednesdaynight to avoid a threatenednational default and end the16-day partial governmentshutdown, the culmination of

an epic political drama thatplaced the U.S. economy atrisk.

The Senate voted first, a bi-partisan 81-18 at mide-vening. That cleared the wayfor a final 285-144 vote in theRepublican-controlled Houseabout two hours later on thelegislation, which hewedstrictly to the terms Obamalaid down when the twin

crises erupted more thanthree weeks ago.

The legislation would per-mit the Treasury to borrownormally through Feb. 7 orperhaps a month longer, andfund the government throughJan. 15. More than 2 millionfederal workers would bepaid — those who had re-mained on the job and thosewho had been furloughed.

After the Senate approvedthe measure, Obama hailedthe vote and said he wouldsign it immediately after itreached his desk. “We’ll beginreopening our governmentimmediately and we can be-gin to lift this cloud of uncer-tainty from our businessesand the American people.”

RICK BARBERO/THE REGISTER-HERALD

Tony Calfee, maintenance worker at the Raleigh County Courthouse, rakesleaves on the courthouse lawn.

register-herald.comWatch video

See VOTE, 12ASee SEWER, 12A

See TRUANCY, 12A

23-inch CyanMagentaYellowBlackR-H Page XX Jumps

The following is a list of incidents re-ported to police agencies Oct. 15;however, the call may have resultedin something other than what wasoriginally reported.

Beckley Police Department Not available

Raleigh County Sheriff’s Department

4-wheeler complaint: Glen Morgan Animal problem: Beckley, Bradley,Grandview Attempted breaking and

entering: Beaver Attempted burglary: Mount Tabor Burglary: Fitzpatrick, Crab Orchard Check welfare: Bradley, Midway,Harper Heights Fraud: Lester, Beckley Motor vehicle accident: TolleyTown, Shady Spring, Beckley,Ghent, Glen Morgan Noise complaint: Shady Spring

Possible DUI: Harper Reckless driver: Beaver Shoplifting: Glen Daniel, MacArthur,Bradley, Shots fired: Bolt Stolen vehicle: MacArthur Suspicious vehicle: Glen Morgan Threats: Bradley Unwanted presence: Glen White

NEWS OF RECORD

FromPageOne12A THE REGISTER-HERALD

Thursday, October 17, 2013 www.register-herald.com

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O1SUD451

Manchester estimatedthe 2,000 gallon-per-month customer’s annualincrease would be around$263, if PSD No. 1matches Ronceverte’s115 percent hike. Goingup one notch, the mayorsaid an average monthlyusage of 3,000 gallonswould cost the customer$375 per year more thanthe current charge.

Manchester noted thatthe revenue needed tosupport the debt and op-erating expenses associ-ated with the new $28million plant could turnout to be lower than esti-mated, which would, pre-sumably, lower the feesRonceverte will chargebeginning in 2016. ButManchester predictedthe cost of the plant and,therefore, the rate in-crease will remain “closeto projections.”

He warned such a hugejump in the sewer ratewould affect not only in-dividual households, butalso businesses and in-dustry, creating a rippleeffect throughout the re-gion’s economy.

“It would adversely af-fect a lot of things in ourarea,” Manchester said.“It is a major game-changer in many ways.”

Manchester said he as-sumes “many people” willattend the Nov. 4 Roncev-erte City Council meet-ing, noting that whileLewisburg cannot directlycontest the rate hike,PSD No. 1 “surely will.”

Public Works DirectorMark Carver, who servesas Lewisburg’s represen-tative on PSD No. 1’sboard, said the agency’sengineer believes Roncev-erte could address itsquality problems by retro-fitting improvements onthe existing plant. Thatwould be a much cheaperproject, he pointed out.

The River City’s posi-tion on the need for a newtreatment plant wassummed up during a pub-lic meeting in Septemberof last year by Roncev-erte’s consulting engineerFrederick L. Hypes, whosaid, “The (existing)plant’s simply worn out.”

Hypes said Ronceverteofficials “made a wisechoice” in selecting thevertical loop reactor de-sign for the new plant,which is slated to be con-structed near the site ofthe existing treatmentfacility on the banks ofthe Greenbrier River.

Carver said the plant’scustomer base — whichlast year was estimated

by PSD engineer CrissHaynes at just over 3,400individuals and business-es, 1,600 of whom arewithin the Lewisburg citylimits — is simply notlarge enough to absorbthe kind of debt Roncev-erte is taking on with theconstruction of such anexpensive new plant.

Carver acknowledgedthat the PSD would passalong to its customersany rate increase Ron-ceverte ultimately ap-proves.

“We have to work inconjunction with (Ron-ceverte) to raise ourrates,” he said.

Thus, the PSD’s ratesare expected to bump upslightly when Roncev-erte’s immediate 15 per-cent hike goes into effect,about a week beforeChristmas, and wouldtake a big jump in 2016when Ronceverte’s ratescould double.

Printed material hand-ed to newspaper re-porters at RonceverteCity Council’s Oct. 7meeting outlined onlythe rates proposed totake effect 45 days afterthe ordinance’s secondreading, alluding to “fu-ture rates” without speci-fying any amounts.

Those future rates —which are specified in theordinance up for adoptionat Ronceverte’s Nov. 4meeting — are based onprojections of the cost of thenew sewer plant, accordingto the printed material.

“While it is impossibleto determine exactly whatall the costs will be, theCity is required to projectthese in advance of theproject and must considerthe highest estimate,” theinformation sheet indi-cates. “Additional grantfunding could lower thisrate as well as (certaintargeted state) fundingwhich is unknown untilthe bonds are sold.”

The printed materialincludes the reasons thecity is undertaking sucha project: “to meet cur-rent permit limits, tocomply with DEP OrderNo. 6550, to protect theplant from flood eventsand to replace antiquat-ed and worn equipment.”

The order referenced inthe material was issuedSept. 15, 2008, by theWest Virginia Depart-ment of EnvironmentalProtection, describing sev-eral violations at Roncev-erte’s wastewater treat-ment plant and instruct-ing the city to take correc-tive action. The proposednew treatment facility isexpected to address DEP’scontinuing concerns.

— E-mail: [email protected]

SEWERContinued from 1A

Later, in the House,Rep. Harold Rogers, R-Ky., said, “After two longweeks, it is time to endthis government shut-down. It’s time to take thethreat of default off thetable. It’s time to restoresome sanity to this place.”

The stock marketsurged higher at theprospect of an end to thecrisis that also hadthreatened to shake con-fidence in the U.S. econ-omy overseas

Republicans concededdefeat after a long strug-gle. “We fought the goodfight. We just didn’t win,”conceded House SpeakerJohn Boehner as lawmak-ers lined up to vote on abill that includes nothingfor GOP lawmakers whohad demand to eradicateor scale back Obama’s sig-

nature health care over-haul.

“The compromise wereached will provide oureconomy with the stabil-ity it desperately needs,”said Senate MajorityLeader Harry Reid, de-claring that the nation“came to the brink of dis-aster” before sealing anagreement.

Senate Republicanleader Mitch McConnell,who negotiated the dealwith Reid, emphasizedthat it preserved a roundof spending cuts negoti-ated two years ago withObama and Democrats.As a result, he said,“government spendinghas declined for twoyears in a row” for thefirst time since the Kore-an War. “And we’re notgoing back on this agree-ment,” he added.

Only a temporarytruce, the measure set atime frame of early nextwinter for the next likely

clash between Obamaand the Republicansover spending and bor-rowing.

After weeks of grid-lock, the measure hadsupport from the WhiteHouse, most if not allDemocrats in Congressand many Republicansfearful of the economicimpact of a default.

Boehner and the restof the top GOP leader-ship told their rank andfile in advance theywould vote for the meas-ure. In the end, Republi-cans split 144 againstand 87 in favor. All 198voting Democrats weresupporters.

Final passage came inplenty of time to assureObama’s signature be-fore the administration’s11:59 p.m. Thursdaydeadline.

That was when Trea-sury Secretary JacobLew said the govern-ment would reach the

current $16.7 trilliondebt limit and could nolonger borrow to meet itsobligations.

Tea party-aligned law-makers who triggeredthe shutdown that beganon Oct. 1 said they wouldvote against the legisla-tion. Significantly,though, Texas Sen. TedCruz and others agreednot to use the Senate’scumbersome 18th-centu-ry rules to slow the bill’sprogress.

The shutdown initiallyidled about 800,000workers, but that soonfell to about 350,000 af-ter Congress agreed tolet furloughed Pentagonemployees return towork. While there waswidespread inconven-ience, the mail was de-livered, Medicare contin-ued to pay doctors whotreated seniors andthere was no interrup-tion in Social Securitybenefits.

VOTEContinued from 1A

The goal of the new pol-icy is to get students whoare out of school back inclasses more quickly,Hutchison added.

The judge added thatthe policy is aimed atproviding resources tostudents and keepingthem in school, ratherthan punishing them fortruancy.

About 80 percent ofthe prisoners in the pe-nal system didn’t gradu-ate high school.

“There lies the prob-lem,” said Hutchison.“The ultimate situationwe’re trying to avoid.”

Similar policies in oth-er counties have shownthat about 95 percent ofthose who appear beforea judge on a truancycharge one time neverhave to be served a sec-ond petition.

Attendance DirectorMillard Francis said thepolicy aims to help stu-dents stay in school andto identify factors in thefamily or the school thatmay pressure or enablethe child to skip school.

“We’re here to help thechildren in any way theyneed,” said Francis,adding that clothing

needs and other issuesmay come to light in thenew process.

The new policy will re-quire students to presentan excuse within 48hours of missing school.

After five unexcusedabsences, Sheriff’sdeputies will serve par-ents a CA2 form, whichrequires them to meetwith school officials andwork out a plan to pre-vent further truancy.

If the truancy contin-ues, petitions will befiled, and they will quick-ly appear before a judge.

Barley said many tru-ant students come from

transient families, andschool officials often don’thave the correct address.

Deputies are able to lo-cate the families andserve the forms morequickly than school offi-cials can mail them.

“When we show up atthe door with a letterfrom the BOE ... thatadds some seriousness toit,” Barley said.

Raleigh Prosecuting At-torney Kristen Keller saidshe’s requested an extraassistant attorney and ex-tra staffing to meet theadditional workload thatthe new policy is likely tocreate in her office.

Hutchison said thepublic defender’s officeand magistrate court arefacing similar chal-lenges.

Schools Superinten-dent Jim Brown saidFrances and AssistantSuperintendent CharlesPrice worked forabout eight months todevelop the policy.

He praised Hutchisonfor working with school of-ficials to enact the policy.

Hutchison said hisgoal is to reach studentswho are truant quicklyso that they can returnto school before they losetoo much instruction.

TRUANCYContinued from 1A

RICK BARBERO/THE REGISTER-HERALD

Raleigh County Circuit judge John Hutchison, right, speaks about the newtruancy policy. Listening, from left, Shelly Moore, secretary, Raleiegh CountySchool Attendence, Patty Bryant, assistant attendance director, Jim Brown, super-intendent, Raleigh County Schools, Millard Francis, director of attendance andKristen Keller, Raleigh County Prosecutor. See a video at www.register-herald.com