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TIMESWEST VIRGINIAN

Fairmont, W.Va.Vol. 115, No. 230

INDEXMadeline FletcherEffie Hawkins

John HinermanEloise KovachHarold Lawson

John “Jack” MartinWilda “Woody” Prahl

Mary SeccuroElizabeth Jane Shutler

— Page 4A AGAINST

THEODDS

DEATHS

Keep fightingChrissy Daugherty does whatever she can to give back to

the community and to raise awareness about colon cancer.If someone spends a few minutes talking with her, they

may not even realize that she’s going through a battle her-self.—Page 8B

BYPAMELAPRITTFORTHETIMESWESTVIRGINIAN

CHARLESTON — Secretary ofCommerce Keith Burdette told theJoint Committee on Tax ReformMonday that it isn’t the state’s taxstructure keeping businesses away.Instead, Burdette told the commit-

tee, companiesthat investigatethe MountainState for expan-sion or start-upfind that lack offlat land is thebiggest disincen-tive. Less than 3percent of land isthe state is con-sidered level, hesaid.“Location is

our No. 1 prob-lem,” Burdettesaid. “We don’tlose prospectsover taxes; I’mnot sure we lose them over regula-tions any more. We lose them oversite.”Legal and regulatory issues rank

Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, he said.Burdette said lack of an educated

workforce also hurts West Virginiawhen businesses want to locate here.He said it should be “no surprise”that states with the lowest number ofresidents who have college degreesalso have the lowest median income.According to the U.S. Census

Bureau, 18.3 percent of state resi-dents have college degrees, 10 pointslower than the national average. Themedian income in West Virginia is$39,170, 48th in the nation, accord-ing to the bureau.Burdette said CNBC ranks the

state No. 7 for cost of doing businessbecause of its competitive tax cli-mate, utility costs, cost of wages andcost of rent for office or industrialspace.However, the state ranks much

lower in workforce issues (36th) foreducation level, number of availableemployees, productivity and workertraining programs, as well as infra-structure (42nd), because of access totransportation, quality of roads andbridges, commute time and safedrinking water, according to theCNBC rankings.In economy, CNBC ranked West

Virginia 36th because of strength and

Program would helpkeep children in schoolBYANGELEEWILEYTIMESWESTVIRGINIAN

FAIRMONT — Officials are work-ing toward implementing a programthat would keep children in school.At the Marion County Board of

Education meeting on Monday at the

central office, board members unani-mously approved an application forfunds to provide a school-based proba-tion officer in Marion County.The Truancy Diversion Initiative is

something that came about from SenateBill 393 that was passed during the lat-est legislative session.Charles Hlusko, the attendance direc-

tor for Marion County Schools, saidGovernor Tomblin set aside $2 millionthat would be divided between all

counties in West Virginia for theTruancy Diversion Initiative.The $2 million was then given to the

West Virginia Board of Education.

The Marion County BOE would payhalf of the officer’s salary, which is about$30,000, while the other half of the moneywould come from theWest Virginia BOE.

During Monday’s meeting theMarion County BOE membersapproved to give 50 percent of thefunding toward the initiative.They also approved for Gary Price,

the superintendent of Marion CountySchools, to apply for a grant from theWest Virginia Board of Education forthe remaining funds to employ the pro-bation officer.

‘Firedup’

United MineWorkers ofAmericaInternationalPresident CecilRoberts (right)talked to around1,200 currentand retired coalminers and theirfamilies Mondayin Scott Depot toprotest of recentarguments madeby Patriot Coal.

was a police presence from theWest Virginia State Police.In generating Monday’s

protest, Roberts said Patriot’scourt hearing, which was can-celed, was for the company tofile chapter 11 and chapter 13motions to terminate a contractand pension plans between themand the UMW.Despite the cancelation of the

hearing, the UMWwent on withthe rally.Just a few hours before the

rally was set to start, Patriotannounced they filed an assetpurchase agreement with withERPCompliant Fuels LLC(ERP), an affiliate of VirginiaConservation Legacy Fund Inc.(VCLF), in Federal BankruptcyCourt.According to a press release

from Patriot, the agreement pro-vides for the acquisition of sub-stantially all of Patriot’s assetsand liabilities not included in thepreviously announced saleagreement with BlackhawkMining LLC in June.The release states under the

terms of the agreement,VCLF/ERPwould acquire,among other assets and liabili-ties, the Federal MiningComplex in northernWestVirginia. This would include theFederal 2 mine, the Corridor G

Union ralliesoutside Patriot

Coal over pension,health benefitsBYEMILYGALLAGHERTIMESWESTVIRGINIAN

SCOTTDEPOT—As TravisCatsonis, Patrick Park andRussell Wright marched and ral-lied through a small businesspark they had one commonquestion.“What’s our future?”The three men are current coal

miners in North Central WestVirginia and members of theUnited MineWorkers ofAmerica (UMW).These men joined 1,200 cur-

rent and retired miners and theirfamilies Monday to protestrecent Patriot Coal arguments inFederal Bankruptcy Court.In May, Patriot filed chapter

11 bankruptcy for the secondtime.The coal company is expected

to argue in federal court that itshould be allowed to eliminateits collective bargaining agree-ment with the UMW and to stripany obligation to continue mak-ing contributions to the UMWA1974 Pension Plan.Patriot was set to have a hear-

ing in Federal Bankruptcy CourtMonday in Richmond, Virginia,but it was canceled.The rally was led by UMW

PHOTOS BY EMILY GALLAGHERUnited Mine Workers of America member and retired miner Jack Rinehart yellsa chant at a rally Monday in Scott Depot. The UMW was protesting recent argu-ments from Patriot Coal involving the UMWA 1974 Pension Plan.

International President Cecil Roberts andSecretary-Treasurer Dan Kane, who “firedup” UMWmembers.It began in the parking lot of the Teays

Valley Cinemas with comments fromRoberts and Kane. The two and others on

the UMW executive board led a marchjust down the road to Patriot headquarters.UMW officials said they had no plans

of their members being arrested and hadintended a peaceful protest. No arrestswere made during the protest but there

West Virginia’stax structureisn’t keepingbusinesses away

Secretary ofCommerce

Keith Burdettesaid CNBC

ranks the stateNo. 7 for cost ofdoing businessbecause of its

competitive taxclimate, utilitycosts, cost of

wages and costof rent for office

or industrialspace.

United MineWorkers of

AmericaInternational

PresidentCecil Roberts(second fromright) yells achant into amicrophone

outside ofPatriot Coal

headquartersin ScottDepot.

United Mine Workers of America members chantduring a rally.

�� For video footage and a slideshow of photos

from Mondayʼs protest, visit timeswv.com.

BOE members approve funding for Truancy Diversion Initiative

SEE BOE, PAGE 8A

“We have a lot of different support mechanisms to help studentsbe successful in their quest to graduate from high school. Thiswill be the opportunity for students to have someone interveneif they are not working well toward graduation and notattending regularly.” — GARY PRICE, SUPERINTENDENT OF MARION COUNTY SCHOOLS

SEE TAX, PAGE 8A

SEE UNION, PAGE 8A

TIMES WEST VIRGINIANPAGE 8A TUESDAY, AUGUST 18, 2015

Marion County Five-Day Forecast

Almanac

Temperature:

Precipitation:

Today Tom.City Hi Lo W Hi Lo W

Today Tom.City Hi Lo W Hi Lo W

W-weather, s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice.

-10s -0s 0s 10s 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 100s 110s

Cold front

Warm front

Stationary front

ShowersT-stormsRain

FlurriesSnowIce

Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2015

The patented AccuWeather.com RealFeel Temperature® (RFT) is an exclusive index of the effects of temperature, wind, humidity, sunshine intensity, cloudiness, precipitation, pressure and elevation on the hu-man body. Shown is the highest and lowest value for the day.

Cassville

Morgantown

Arthurdale

Kingwood

Grafton

Fairmont

Mannington

Shinnston

Bridgeport

Clarksburg

Westover

81/67

The Nation

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and

tonight’s lows.

Get Your Hour-by-Hour™ Weather Forecast24 Hours a Day at TimesWV.com by

AccuWeather.com Desktop™

The Region

Arthritis Index Today

UV Index Today

0-2, Low; 3-5, Moderate; 6-7, High;8-10, Very High; 11+, ExtremeThe higher the AccuWeather.com UV IndexTM number, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.

National Weather

81° 68° 83° 62°80° 57°79° 60°84° 69°

Today FridayThursdayWednesdayTonight Saturday

RFT: 89° RFT: 89°/57°RFT: 86°/61°RFT: 94°/68°RFT: 68° RFT: 91°/60°

Through 5 p.m. yesterday

High ....................................... 93°Low ....................................... 64°

24 hours to 5 p.m. yest. ... 0.00"

8 a.m. ....................................... 1Noon ........................................ 64 p.m. ....................................... 3

Sun and Moon

Moon Phases

The Arthritis Index shows howtoday’s weather conditions affect arthritis sufferers.

High

Sunrise today ............ 6:36 a.m.Sunset tonight ........... 8:13 p.m.Moonrise today ....... 10:17 a.m.Moonset today ........ 10:12 p.m.

Anchorage 68 52 sh 68 49 sAtlanta 85 72 t 85 71 tBaltimore 89 70 t 82 71 tBoston 88 71 t 85 68 pcCharleston, SC 85 75 t 88 75 tCharlotte 82 71 t 88 71 tChicago 82 68 c 77 57 tCleveland 82 67 t 87 63 tColumbus 81 70 pc 85 65 tDallas 98 78 s 84 66 tDenver 72 48 t 73 53 pcMyrtle Beach 84 75 t 88 76 tLas Vegas 107 79 s 106 79 sLos Angeles 83 65 pc 81 65 pcNew York City 91 74 s 83 73 pcOrlando 91 75 t 92 75 tPhiladelphia 93 74 t 85 74 tPhoenix 107 85 s 106 84 sSt. Louis 88 69 t 76 60 tWash., DC 92 74 t 84 76 t

Beckley 74 65 pc 80 66 tBluefi eld 76 68 t 80 67 tBuckhannon 80 67 pc 82 68 tCanaan Valley 74 62 t 77 63 tCharleston 82 69 pc 84 70 tClarksburg 82 67 pc 84 68 tCumberland 84 69 pc 85 70 tElkins 79 64 pc 82 66 tGrafton 81 67 pc 84 69 tHuntington 81 68 pc 82 67 tKingwood 80 67 pc 83 68 tLogan 82 70 pc 86 70 tMartinsburg 85 67 pc 81 69 tParkersburg 82 68 pc 84 67 tPittsburgh 81 68 pc 85 69 tSnowshoe 72 63 pc 76 63 tWeirton 82 67 pc 86 70 tWeston 80 67 pc 84 69 tWestover 84 70 pc 87 70 tWheeling 80 67 pc 84 67 t

83/69

83/68

80/6784/70

81/67

81/68

81/68

82/67

80/67

81/67

Not as warm witha thunderstorm in

spots

Sunshine and patchy clouds

A couple ofshowers and aheavy t-storm

A shower andt-storm around in

the p.m.

A thunderstormaround early; patchy clouds

Partly sunny

First Full Last New

Aug 22 Aug 29 Sep 5 Sep 13

Pennsylvania

HARRISBURG— Hereare the Pennsylvania Lotterynight selections for Monday:

Pick 2: 5-5Pick 3: 7-2-6Pick 4: 3-7-0-6Pick 5: 0-6-2-5-3Treasure Hunt: 05-11-22-

36-38Cash 5: 05-14-22-23-27

West Virginia

CHARLESTON (AP) —TheseWest Virginia lotterieswere drawn Monday:

Cash 25: 01-04-18-20-24-25

Daily 3: 6-6-1Daily 4: 7-2-8-2

Hot Lotto

DESMOINES, Iowa (AP)— The winning numbers inSaturday evening’s drawing ofthe “Hot Lotto” game were:03-04-22-24-25. Hot Ball: 10.

Powerball

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) —The winning numbers inSaturday evening’s drawing ofthe “Powerball” game were:03-13-17-42-52. Powerball:24. Power Play: 4.

Mega Millions

ATLANTA (AP) — Thewinning numbers in Fridayevening’s drawing of the“Mega Millions” game were:12-15-20-52-71. Mega Ball: 3.

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“We have a lot of differentsupport mechanisms to help stu-dents be successful in their questto graduate from high school,”Price said. “This will be theopportunity for students to havesomeone intervene if they are notworking well toward graduationand not attending (school) regu-larly.”Through the Truancy

Diversion Initiative, one proba-tion officer would travel to differ-ent schools throughout MarionCounty.“They will be taking referrals

from the schools, and then theywill provide truancy diversiontypes of programs,” Hlusko said.“It will be a like an informal typeof a probation where they willhave to abide by a certain set ofrules.”Hlusko said the goal is to help

students get back on track andprovide them with a truancydiversion, which will keep themfrom getting involved fully in thejuvenile court system.“I think it is going to be a

tremendous help,” Hlusko said.“There are a lot of students whowe just can provide enough serv-ices to. That is one of the reasonsSenate Bill 393 came about.”Hlusko said the officer will be

an employee of the courts. Thejob for the probation officer willbe posted through the SupremeCourt.Price said he also believes this

initiative will benefit students inMarion County.“I think it will help because this

person will be able to directlyimpact some students who wehave been unable to reach as faras getting them to understand theimportance and necessity ofattending school on a regularbasis,” Price said.Hlusko said this initiative will

be a year-to-year program. Hesaid the officer will be employedfor the 2015-16 school year andthen officials will review the pro-gram at the end of the schoolyear.He said he hopes this probation

officer will work with MarionCounty schools for years to come.Hlusko said the probation officerwill mainly work in the highschool and middle school levels.In other business:• The next Marion County

BOE meeting will be held at 6p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 8, at thecentral office.

Email Angelee Wiley at awi-ley@timeswv.com or follow heron Twitter@AWileyTWV.

Tax CONTINUED FROMPAGE1A

diversity, job growth and cre-ation, the state’s fiscal health andthe number of major corporationsheadquartered in the state.While the state’s leaders often

tout the quality of life in theMountain State, CNBC ranked it40th because of crime rates,inclusiveness, the quality ofhealth care and health insurancecoverage, the overall health ofstate residents, local attractionsand environmental quality.And the state is last in technol-

ogy and innovation because oflack of support, the number ofpatents issued to residents, itsrecord of high-tech business for-mation and the number of federalhealth, science and agriculturalgrants to the state.Other ratings played into the

overall state ranking — educa-tion (34th), business friendliness(48th), cost of living (24th) andaccess to capital (43rd). Burdettesaid lawmakers should not paythat much attention to rankings— because businesses don’t.“Companies aren’t making

decisions simply based on CNBCor any other state ranking. Thecost of doing business isabsolutely a key element,” hesaid. “But you have to acknowl-edge that it is also clear it isn’t

the only consideration. If it was,80 percent of the businesses inthe country would be clamoringto come toWest Virginia.“Simply making us the lowest

cost state without acknowledgingand focusing attention andresources on other factors whichmake an attractive business cli-mate would be a mistake.”Committee members also

heard about the Earned IncomeTax Credit fromWVU’s Directorof the Bureau of Business andEconomic Research, Dr. JohnDeskins.Deskins said the federal credit

— which pays extra money toworking people who file anincome tax return — is alsocalled a negative income tax.The EITC is an incentive to

enter the workforce, Deskinssaid, especially among singlemothers, and has other benefits,such as improved health.That may be important in a

state with the worst workforceparticipation rate in the nation, hesaid.However, Deskins was luke-

warm about the EITC being a fixfor the state’s problems.“I’m not sure we’ll be able to

overcome the challenges we face(with an EITC),” he said.

Sen. Mike Hall, R-Putnam, co-chair of the committee, said theconcept of the credit — muchlike a business tax credit — wasmeant to drive activity.“There’s some empirical evi-

dence that it does actually incentpeople to work,” he said.“Whether the state can afford toadd this credit when we’re goingto be down $170 million ...”Hall said the cost of the EITC

would be about $37 million.“That’s pretty big for us right

now,” he said.Delegate Eric Nelson, R-

Kanawha, the committee’s otherco-chair, said 160,000 WestVirginians are already eligible forthe state credit. *”Maybe that’s not the driver,”

he said.Hall said residents who receive

benefits like Medicaid worryabout losing those benefits whenthey go to work, and suggestedthat a phased-in program thatwould allow them to keep bene-fits for a time.“I don’t think anybody is going

to jump up and go to workbecause we’re going to give thema small Earned Income TaxCredit at the state level,” Hallsaid. “They’re not jumping to goto work because they get it at the

federal level.”Both Hall and Nelson said

raising the “zero level,” the high-est income that pays no incometax could have a bigger impacton state residents.Ted Boettner, executive direc-

tor of theWest Virginia Center onBudget and Policy, said the EITCis critical to any tax reform in thestate.“It encourages work, moves

families from welfare to work,increases labor force participation— especially among singlemothers — and it lowers povertyrates,” Boettner said. An EITC isconservative policy. It is anti-welfare.Boettner pointed out that it

improves physical and mentalhealth without adding to thehealth budget and is easy toadminister.“It also creates jobs because

almost all of it goes back into thelocal economy, spurring privatebusinesses to create more jobs,”he said.The committee meets again

Aug. 31. The topics will be salesand use tax and streamlining.

Pamela Pritt is a reporter forthe The (Beckley) Register-Herald, a sister paper of theTimes West Virginian.

Union CONTINUED FROMPAGE1A

Mining Complex in southernWest Virginia and other miningpermits for purposes of landreclamation and water qualityimprovement.“With the two sales, Patriot

will most likely be out of thecoal business,” Roberts said.“Which we predicted when theyfiled for bankruptcy the secondtime around.”The release provided by

Patriot didn’t mention theUMW’s pension plan. However,it did mention that VCLF/ERP isassuming liabilities in excess of$400 million in connection withPatriot’s workers’ compensation,state black lung and environmen-tal obligations.Roberts said UMW officials

have been able to talk withBlackhawk leaders and havebeen working to find an agree-ment.“Those potential owners have

been in to see us,” Roberts said.“We’re in hopes of workingsomething out with them.”Although discussions with

Blackhawk is a step in the rightdirection for the UMW, Robertssaid Patriot can still file motionsin court to eliminate its contractwith the UMW and any obliga-tion to continue making contri-butions to the UMWA’s pensionplan.“We could have ended up

without our jobs and would havehad to fight from the outside in,”he said. “Right now it looks like

things are looking up for us.”That good news, according to

Roberts, is that an employerwants to talk with the UMW.With Patriot’s announcement

Monday of the purchase agree-ment and agreement with poten-tial buyer Blackhawk, Robertssaid he believes the efforts theUMW has put forth over the pastfew years has made a difference.“These people want to fight

for their jobs, healthcare andpensions, that’s why they (werehere Monday),” Roberts said. “Ifthey had not fought back, I don’tknow where we’d be.”In fighting for their jobs,

Catsonis, Park and Wright joinedUMW members from WestVirginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania,

Kentucky and Ohio at the rally.Catsonis, an underground

electrician at the the Federal 2mine, said he participated in therally because he was frustrated.He said he wanted to stand

with his fellow UMWmembers.The 37-year-old is one of the

youngest miners that is left onthe 1974 pension plan. He said ifthe contract is stripped away hewill be one of many to feel theeffects.“I want to stand with the

retirees,” Catsonis said.Park, who is a heavy media

operator at the preparation plantat Federal 2, said he is alsoinvolved in the pension plan.“I want to show (Patriot) that

we have solidarity and we’re not

going to stand for what they’retrying to take away,” he said.Wright, who works on the

Longwall of Federal 2, said dur-ing the past few years his con-cerns have risen.“In the coal fields today,

everyone seems to be a little onedge,” Wright said. “You don’tknow what this company isgoing to take from you.”Roberts said with the rally he

hoped to show Patriot that thosein the UMW — like Catsonis,Park and Wright — will fight fortheir jobs and what was prom-ised to them.

Email Emily Gallagher ategallagher@timeswv.com or fol-low her Twitter@EGallagherTWV.

BYLOLITAC.BALDORASSOCIATEDPRESS

JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. — Faced with esca-lating aggression from Russiaand China, the Pentagon is plan-ning to increase its use of dronesby about 50 percent over the nextseveral years, using the Armyand civilian contractors to putmore of the unmanned aircraft inthe air.The decision to add Army and

civilian-operated missions to themix was triggered because theAir Force — which had beenrunning about 65 combat airpatrol missions a day — asked to

decrease that number to 60because of stress on the force.But 60 patrols don’t come closeto meeting the demands of topmilitary commanders facinggrowing security threats aroundthe world.Senior U.S. officials said that

while drones have been usedlargely to target terrorists and col-lect intelligence over combatzones, those needs may shift inthe coming years.Top military leaders, including

the incoming chairman of theJoint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. JosephDunford, have named Russia asthe nation’s most serious securitythreat. And China’s rising mili-

tary power and island-buildingprogram in the South China Seahave increased tensions andprompted a greater demand forU.S. surveillance and intelligenceacross the Pacific.One senior defense official said

Pentagon leaders are taking thosesecurity challenges into accountas they decide how armed andunarmed drones will be usedacross Europe and the Pacific.The officials spoke on conditionof anonymity because theyweren’t authorized to discuss theissue publicly.Pentagon leaders have been

wrestling with the problem forsome time, as the need for more

airstrikes and surveillance bydrones over Iraq and Syria to bat-tle the Islamic State group offsetsa decline in unmanned flightsover Afghanistan as the war therewinds down. Under the plans laidout by senior defense officials, theAir Force would continue to pro-vide 60 daily drone missions,while the Army would conductabout 16, and U.S. SpecialOperations Command and civil-ian contractors would do up to 10each.“It’s the combatant command-

ers, they need more. They’retasked to do our nation’s businessoverseas so they feel that stress onthem, and it’s not getting better,”

said Air Force Maj. Gen. J.D.Harris, Jr., vice commander ofAirCombat Command at Joint BaseLangley-Eustis. “There’s just notenough of the Air Force to goaround.”The civilian contractors would

fly surveillance drones, not thearmed aircraft. But senior defenseofficials said they need at least asmall contractor contribution inorder to reach the total of 90 com-bat air patrols per day.The key unanswered questions,

however, are how the Pentagonwill pay for the additional patrolsand how the military will sort outand analyze the growing torrentof data pouring in.

Pentagon plans to increase drone flights by 50 percent

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TIMESWEST VIRGINIAN

Huskies rally to 26-23 victory over Bees— Page 1B

Advice .............................7AArrests ............................4AClassifieds...................4-6BComics............................6AFaith Journeys..........7-10BGood Morning ................3AMarion Pride ...................5APuzzles............................3A

Sports ..........................1-3BStocks.............................8AWeather.........................10A

TIMESWEST VIRGINIAN

Fairmont, W.Va.Vol. 115, No. 276

INDEX

Charles AlbertsonRobert MooreCarol Stewart

Anna Sweeney— Page 4A

DEATHS FAITH JOURNEYS

Calling a realityWayne Efaw has always felt that he

was needed to spread God’s word. “Iused to go to a church in Seven Pinesyears ago when I was a child,” he said.“As a young child, I got that calling thatI need to preach.” — Page 10B

FRIDAY NIGHTSCOREBOARD

NORTH MARION 26EAST FAIRMONT 23BRIDGEPORT 71ELKINS 29LEWIS COUNTY 40BUCKHANNON-UPSHUR 15NOTRE DAME 41GRAFTON 40LIBERTY 24BRAXTON COUNTY 21HEDGESVILLE 19PRESTON 7PETERSBURG 32PHILIP BARBOUR 7MORGANTOWN 29MUSSELMAN 21SOUTH HARRISON 48CALHOUN COUNTY 13

Complete scoreboard on Page 3B

BYEMILYGALLAGHERTIMESWESTVIRGINIAN

MORGANTOWN—As John Harden held up asign that read “Keep the Promise” in one hand, he helda copy of the U.S. Constitution in the other.Harden was just one of the 1,500 United Mine

Workers ofAmerica (UMW) members present for arally in Morgantown Friday in hopes of drawing atten-tion to pensions and health care.During the rally, which was held at the Morgantown

Event Center, Harden said he thought about his futureas well as his family’s future. As a retired coal minerfrom Logan, he said he has issues with his lungs.“My lungs are so shot that I might need a lung transplant,”

Harden said. “This is a life-or-death situation for me.”As the rally, led by Cecil Roberts, the international

president of the UMW, went on, Harden said he real-ized just how serious his situation was. But he alsothough about his brother.“He’s in the hospital in Logan,” Harden said. “But

it’s more important to stand up for his health care, myhealth care and the health care of these people.”When it came to the rally, Roberts said it’s to push

the passage of legislation to help people like Harden.The rally was set to support The Coal Healthcare andPensionsAct of 2015 (H.R. 2403).“Any time you can get a great crowd like this, it

sends a message to the politicians,” Roberts said.Politicians supporting the bill were also in atten-

dance at the rally.

‘Life-or-deathsituation’

BYEMILYGALLAGHERTIMESWESTVIRGINIAN

MORGANTOWN— Several laid-offand working coal miners voiced their con-cerns Friday to two U.S. congressmen.U.S. Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va.,

and U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., talkedwith about 10 individuals who said theyhad been laid off from a coal mine at somepoint in their career. Some of the peoplesaid they were recently laid off and arenow unemployed.

McKinley andWelch asked those inattendance what their concerns were. Someof the concerns included training, havingout-of-state workers, regulations beingpushed too hard and insurance.One miner suggested that money should

be budgeted to supply better equipment forthe mines.Of the concerns, Steve Shoyer from

Marion County told the congressmen he hadproblems with regulations on coal mines.

Laid-off West Virginiaminers in ‘survivor mode’

BYEMILYGALLAGHERTIMESWESTVIRGINIAN

FAIRMONT — A high-technologycompany in Fairmont alleges that adisgruntled former employee accessedconfidential computer files when hewas no longer employed there,according to a criminal complaintfiled in Marion County.Stephen Ray Cook, 30, was taken

into custody Friday after a warrant forhis arrest was issued last week.According to the Marion County

Magistrate Court, Cook is beingcharged with 48 counts of computerinvasion of privacy, a misdemeanor.Cpl. K.H. Totten III, with the West

Virginia State Police, wrote in thecriminal complaint that a representa-tive of Healthcare ManagementSolutions LLC filed a complaint withthe National White Collar CrimeCenter involving a former employee.Totten wrote that he initiated an inves-tigation into the complaint after it wasforwarded to him.The company alleges that a former

employee, identified as Cook,“wrongfully and maliciously”accessed its confidential computersystems on multiple occasions in early2015 after he left his employment atthe company. The complaint statesthat anyone who is not a current andauthorized employee of the companyhas no right to access its computer net-work and system.Cook is being accused of using his

Dominion Resources computer toaccess Healthcare ManagementSolutions’ systems, network, email

accounts, human resources records,calendars, password lists and softwarekeys along with other programs anddocuments.Totten wrote in the complaint that

during an interview with Cook, hereluctantly admitted to accessingHealthcare Management Solutions’computer system and network whilean employee of Dominion Resources.The complaint states Cook told

Totten that he logged into Healthcare

High-tech firm alleges disgruntled former employee accessed files

FROMTHEASSOCIATEDPRESS

CHARLESTON — The second day ofjury selection wrapped up around 5 p.m.Friday in the criminal case against formerMassey Energy CEO Don Blankenship.Sixteen jurors were dismissed Friday.In a filing Friday afternoon,

Blankenship’s attorneys objected to amotion by TheCharleston Gazette-Mail andWest VirginiaPublic BroadcastingInc. to open up thejury selection process.Currently, U.S.

District Judge IreneBerger is questioningall prospective jurorswith her microphoneoff. The public listening to a live broad-cast in another room can’t hear questionsand responses.Blankenship’s attorney wrote that the

current method is necessary to preservehis right to a fair trial and potential jurors’right to privacy.Prosecutors did not immediately

respond to the motion.Prospective jurors return Monday at 9

a.m.The judge in the case against

Blankenship said she would requireexhibits used in the trial to be availablefor the media the next day.In a transcript of Thursday’s court ses-

sion, Berger said she will require prosecu-tors and defense attorneys to makeexhibits publicly available for the mediaby 9 a.m. the day after they were present-ed in court. She said it follows a 4th U.S.Circuit Court of Appeals ruling..A transcript of jury selection proceed-

ings shows how some prospective jurorsanswered questions about Blankenship.In the transcript of Thursday’s court ses-

sion, one person who called Blankenship a“scapegoat” was excused. Another wasdismissed after saying nothing she readpainted Blankenship in a good light.A possible juror who wasn’t dismissed

Thursday said she recalled nothing aboutthe Upper Big Branch Mine, where anexplosion killed 29 men in 2010. Anotherperson who wasn’t dismissed said sheremembered hearing about an explosionor something, but didn’t know whoBlankenship was.

Motion asksBlankenshipjury selectionbe more open

Blankenship

SEE JURY, PAGE 10A

UMW rallysends messageabout pensions,health care

�� For video footage and a slideshow of photos from Fridayʼs rally, log on to timeswv.com.UMW International President Cecil Roberts (center) speaks during a

rally Friday in Morgantown.

PHOTO BY EMILY GALLAGHERRetired coal miner and United Mine Workers of America (UMW) member John Hardenholds a copy of the U.S. Constitution in his left hand while attending the UMW rally inMorgantown Friday to draw attention to health care and pensions for miners.

PHOTO BY EMILY GALLAGHERU.S. Rep. David McKinley (left), R-W.Va., shakes handswith Marion County resident Steve Shroyer (right) during aroundtable discussion Friday in Morgantown.

SEE RALLY, PAGE 10A

SEEMINERS, PAGE 10A

SEE HIGH-TECH, PAGE 10A

TIMES WEST VIRGINIANPAGE 10A SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2015

Marion County Five-Day Forecast

Almanac

Temperature:

Precipitation:

Today Tom.City Hi Lo W Hi Lo W

Today Tom.City Hi Lo W Hi Lo W

W-weather, s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice.

-10s -0s 0s 10s 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 100s 110s

Cold front

Warm front

Stationary front

ShowersT-stormsRain

FlurriesSnowIce

Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2015

The patented AccuWeather.com RealFeel Temperature® (RFT) is an exclusive index of the effects of temperature, wind, humidity, sunshine intensity, cloudiness, precipitation, pressure and elevation on the hu-man body. Shown is the highest and lowest value for the day.

Cassville

Morgantown

Arthurdale

Kingwood

Grafton

Fairmont

Mannington

Shinnston

Bridgeport

Clarksburg

Westover

63/55

The Nation

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and

tonight’s lows.

Get Your Hour-by-Hour™ Weather Forecast24 Hours a Day at TimesWV.com by

AccuWeather.com Desktop™

The Region

Arthritis Index Today

UV Index Today

0-2, Low; 3-5, Moderate; 6-7, High;8-10, Very High; 11+, ExtremeThe higher the AccuWeather.com UV IndexTM number, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.

National Weather

62° 55° 72° 49°72° 48°70° 49°68° 50°

Today TuesdayMondaySundayTonight Wednesday

RFT: 55° RFT: 74°/50°RFT: 72°/51°RFT: 66°/53°RFT: 53° RFT: 76°/51°

Through 5 p.m. yesterday

High ....................................... 57°Low ....................................... 52°

24 hours to 5 p.m. yest. ... 0.01"

8 a.m. ....................................... 0Noon ........................................ 14 p.m. ....................................... 1

Sun and Moon

Moon Phases

The Arthritis Index shows howtoday’s weather conditions affect arthritis sufferers.

Moderate

Sunrise today ............ 7:18 a.m.Sunset tonight ........... 7:01 p.m.Moonrise today ....... 11:36 p.m.Moonset today .......... 1:17 p.m.

Anchorage 48 40 r 48 37 pcAtlanta 63 58 r 72 61 rBaltimore 60 55 r 65 52 rBoston 53 50 r 57 49 rCharleston, SC 77 68 r 79 63 shCharlotte 65 63 r 69 58 rChicago 57 51 c 61 56 shCleveland 52 49 r 67 53 cColumbus 56 52 r 72 56 cDallas 79 57 pc 82 59 pcDenver 69 46 c 67 46 pcMyrtle Beach 82 71 r 76 64 rLas Vegas 88 68 s 84 63 pcLos Angeles 84 66 s 73 61 rNew York City 56 52 r 64 52 cOrlando 84 66 pc 83 68 pcPhiladelphia 59 54 r 65 52 cPhoenix 95 70 s 94 68 sSt. Louis 66 53 pc 70 58 pcWash., DC 61 57 r 66 54 r

Beckley 61 57 r 67 54 cBluefi eld 61 58 r 66 55 rBuckhannon 63 55 r 68 50 cCanaan Valley 52 48 r 55 46 rCharleston 65 56 r 75 55 cClarksburg 64 52 r 70 51 cCumberland 53 51 r 60 50 cElkins 61 50 r 64 50 cGrafton 62 53 r 67 49 cHuntington 58 54 r 75 57 cKingwood 59 54 r 65 51 cLogan 65 59 r 75 56 cMartinsburg 54 50 r 62 49 rParkersburg 60 53 r 73 52 cPittsburgh 57 52 r 69 52 cSnowshoe 58 52 r 61 46 cWeirton 56 53 r 69 52 cWeston 66 51 r 70 49 cWestover 63 56 r 70 51 cWheeling 56 53 r 68 52 c

62/55

62/55

60/5563/56

62/53

62/55

63/54

64/52

59/54

62/53

Cloudy andbreezy with rain

tapering off

Times of clouds and sun

Clouds limitingsun

Remaining cloudyand warmer

Plenty of clouds Beautiful with more sunshine

than clouds

Last New First Full

Oct 4 Oct 12 Oct 20 Oct 27

PennsylvaniaHARRISBURG— Here

are the Pennsylvania Lotterynight selections for Friday:

Pick 2: 9-1Pick 3: 3-6-6Pick 4: 5-5-5-2Pick 5: 4-5-7-7-4Treasure Hunt: 02-04-07-

11-27Cash 5: 18-21-30-31-36

West VirginiaCHARLESTON (AP) —

These West Virginia lotterieswere drawn Friday:

Cash 25: 03-06-09-14-18-23

Daily 3: 3-4-5Daily 4: 1-2-6-1

Hot LottoDES MOINES, Iowa (AP)

— The winning numbers inWednesday evening’s draw-ing of the “Hot Lotto” gamewere: 01-06-15-22-44. HotBall: 14

PowerballORLANDO, Fla. (AP) —

The winning numbers inWednesday evening’s drawingof the “Powerball” gamewere: 21-39-40-55-59.Powerball: 17. Power Play: 3.

Mega MillionsATLANTA (AP) — The

winning numbers in Fridayevening’s drawing of the“Mega Millions” game were:04-14-29-31-47. Mega Ball: 9.Megaplier: 2.

"#$%

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HOURS: MON-FRI 8-6 • SAT 8-4

Not valid with any other offer. Offer expires 10/31/2015

"'""(&

Rally CONTINUED FROMPAGE1A

Previously,Berger told thecourt reporter not to release thetranscript. It was viewable at acourthouse public terminal Fridaybefore access was restricted.The public, including reporters,

watched the proceedings from alive closed-circuit television feedfrom another room.At one point, Blankenship

could be seen listening in at thejudge’s bench when Berger wastalking to a prospective juror.According to a filing in federal

court, 88 potential jurors werebrought in Thursday. Of those, 42were excused.Blankenship smiled but didn’t

answer when a reporter talked tohim upon arriving Friday outsideU.S. District Court in Charleston.One of Blankenship’s attorneyssaid he wasn’t taking questions.The 65-year-old Blankenship is

charged with conspiring to breaksafety laws and lying to financialregulators about safety practicesat the Upper Big BranchMine.Blankenship faces up to three

decades in prison if convictedover how he ran the mine, whichexploded in 2010, killing 29 min-ers.

U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., U.S. Rep. Evan Jenkins,R-W.Va., and U.S. Rep. DavidMcKinley, R-W.Va., spoke atthe rally and promised theirsupport of legislation thatwould amend the SurfaceMining Control andReclamation Act of 1977. The

amendment would affectretired miners’ benefits.McKinley brought U.S. Rep.Peter Welch, D-Vt., with himto the rally.Manchin said he attended the

rally because he believesAmericans think they can livewithout coal mines, and those

people don’t realize the signifi-cance coal has on the nation.“Try it,” he said. “Tell me

what it looks like and tell mewhat it does for your family,job and life.”Manchin said he stands

beside the UMW membersfighting for health care.

“In West Virginia, there’s notone person that doesn’t knowsomeone affected by the devas-tation of black lung,” he said.“Shouldn’t we do somethingabout it?”Roberts said the Morgantown

rally was the first of several theUMW has planned across the

nation in hopes of drawingattention to these issues. Hesaid the next stop is WesternKentucky, followed by visits toIndiana, Illinois and Alabama.

Email Emily Gallagher ategallagher@timeswv.com or fol-low her on Twitter@EGallagherTWV.

Miners CONTINUED FROMPAGE1A

“It just blows my mind,”Shoyer said. “The EPA is justkilling us.”Another concern came from

Megan Bishop, who has beenlaid off. Her concern is that coalmines in West Virginia are nothiring in-state workers. She saidbecause of that, West Virginiaresidents laid off from the mines

are now in “survivor mode.”“The mines are over-flooded

with out-of-state workers,”Bishop said. “No one can worklocally anymore.”Welch told those in atten-

dance that although Vermontdoesn’t have coal mines, it obvi-ously has electricity.“You guys kept our lights

on,” he told them.Welch said it’s easy for politi-

cians and residents who are notin “coal country” to not under-stand the significance the indus-try has on the rest of the coun-try.“We have people who are

blind to the reality of the contri-butions you’ve made to the

community we even comefrom,” Welch told those at thetable.McKinley said it’s important

to sit down with those on thefront lines of the industrybecause they are the ones whoare affected. He said he willtake back the concerns of thosewho spoke up and pass it along

to others in Washington alongwith fighting to fix those con-cerns.“There’s no quick fix, but I’m

now pointed in the right direc-tion,” McKinley said.

Email Emily Gallagher ategallagher@timeswv.com orfollow her on Twitter@EGallagherTWV.

High-tech CONTINUED FROMPAGE1A

Management Solutions’ systemsafter being given a former co-worker’s login information.Totten wrote in the complaintthat three employees ofHealthcare ManagementSolutions verified that is nottrue.According to the complaint,

Cook did not like working forHealthcare ManagementSolutions because of work con-flicts and “people flicking himwith rubber bands.”Totten wrote in the complaint

that he consulted with MarionCounty Assistant Prosecuting

Attorney Katica Ribel, whoadvised Cook should be chargedwith 48 separate charges ofcomputer invasion of privacy.According to the complaint,

starting Jan. 15, Cook accessedHealthcare ManagementSolutions’ computer system andnetworks from his DominionResources computer on 20 datesfor a total of 48 times. The com-plaint states the last time Cookaccessed the system and net-work was on Feb. 16.Cook’s bond was set at $100

for each charge, totaling $4,800.According to West Virginia

Code, one count of computerinvasion of privacy is punish-able with a fine up to $500 or sixmonths in jail, or both a fine andjail.• A Pierpont Community &

Technical College student wasarrested after she allegedly stolemerchandise from a bookstoreon campus and later returned theitems for cash.Mya Kristina Hawkins, 21,

was arrested Thursday by offi-cers with the Fairmont StatePolice Department and is beingcharged with embezzlement.According to the criminal

complaint, Hawkins was anemployee of the FollettBookstore located on the sharedcampus of Fairmont StateUniversity and Pierpont betweenJuly 29 and Oct. 1.Ann Mazza, the vice president

of university communication atFairmont State, confirmed thatHawkins was a Pierpont student.Mazza said Follett owns thebookstore on campus andemploys its own staff.According to the complaint,

during her time employed at thebookstore, Hawkins removedmerchandise from the store by

concealing it in a backpack.Hawkins would then come

back to the store at a later dateand return the items she stole forcash, the complaint states.According to the complaint,

the total cost of the itemsinvolved in the transactions was$1,206.90.Hawkins was arraigned at the

Marion County MagistrateCourt Thursday, and had herbond set at $5,000.

Email Emily Gallagher ategallagher@timeswv.com or fol-low her on Twitter@EGallagherTWV.

JuryCONTINUED FROMPAGE1A

BYBENFOXASSOCIATEDPRESS

ELEUTHERA, Bahamas —Hurricane Joaquin destroyedhouses, uprooted trees andunleashed heavy flooding as ithurled torrents of rain across theBahamas on Friday, and the U.S.Coast Guard said it was trying toreach a disabled cargo ship with33 people aboard that lost con-tact during the storm.The Coast Guard said the

735-foot (224-meter) shipnamed El Faro had taken onwater and was listing at 15degrees near Crooked Island,one of the islands most batteredby the hurricane. Officials saidthe crew includes 28 U. S. citi-zens and five from Poland.“This vessel is disabled basi-

cally right near the eye ofHurricane Joaquin,” said Capt.Mark Fedor. “We’re going to goand try and save lives. We’regoing to push it to the opera-tional limits as far as we can.”Officials said they hadn’t been

able to re-establish communica-tion with the vessel, which wastraveling from Jacksonville,

Florida, to San Juan, PuertoRico. The Coast Guard said thecrew earlier reported it had beenable to contain the flooding.Fedor said there were 20- to

30-foot (up to 9-meter) wavesin the area, and that heavywinds could have destroyed theship’s communications equip-ment. The ship went missingwhen Joaquin was a Category 4storm. The hurricane has sincelost strength and become aCategory 3 storm.On Friday evening, Coast

Guard Petty Officer Jon-PaulRios said the planes and helicop-ters involved in the search hadreturned to base because ofdarkness and would resume thesearch for the ship at first light.Florida-based TOTE Services,

the ship’s owner, said in a briefstatement that it was workingwith the U.S. Coast Guard andtrying to establish communica-tion with the ship.The U.S. National Hurricane

Center said Joaquin’s threat tothe U.S. East Coast was fadingas new forecasts showed it likelyto curve out into the Atlanticwhile moving north and weak-

ening in coming days.But the slow-moving storm

continued to batter parts of theBahamas, cutting communica-tion to several islands, most ofthem lightly populated. Therehad been no reports of fatalitiesor injuries, said Capt. StephenRussell, the director of theBahamas National EmergencyManagementAgency.Officials were investigating

reports of shelters being dam-aged and flooded, as well as twoboats with a total of five peoplethat remained missing.About 85 percent of homes in

one settlement of a couple dozenhouses on Crooked Island weredestroyed, said Marvin Hanna,an Acklins representative. Hesaid he has had no communica-tion with Acklins since lateThursday morning.“At that time, vehicles were

floating around and the waterlevel was up to the windows ofsome homes,” he said.Residents reached by relatives

said they were “trapped in theirhomes, and reported feeling as iftheir structures were caving in,”Russell said. “It’s too dangerous

to go outside because the floodwaters are so high, so we askthat persons stay inside and tryto go into the most secure placeof their home.”Power also was knocked out

to several islands, and LeslieMiller, executive chairman ofthe Bahamas ElectricityCorporation, said the company“is in no position to do much” torestore electricity. “All the air-ports are flooded,” he said.Schools, businesses and gov-

ernment offices were closed asthe slow-moving storm roaredthrough the island chain.Streets were largely deserted

as people remained hunkereddown on the island of Eleuthera,which was bracing for heavywinds later Friday. Some peoplewere still making last-minutepreparations, includingAlexander Johnson, 61, whowas moving his fishing boatwith his brother, Solomon.“It looks like it’s going to

make a turn to the north, so wewon’t get it in full,” Johnsonsaid. “That’s good for us,because we’ve seen some roughones come through here.”

Security guard Patrick Bethelsaid he was thankful there hadbeen no reported casualties andwasn’t too worried about whatthe day would bring: “We justhave to see what God will do.God controls the storm.”Joaquin had maximum sus-

tained winds of 125 mph (205kph), according to the Miami-based hurricane center. By lateFriday night, the storm was cen-tered about 60 miles (95 kilome-ters) north-northeast of SanSalvador, Bahamas and wasmoving northeast near 10 mph(17 kph).The storm was expected to

continue north away from theBahamas, with some weakeningexpected on Saturday as if fol-lows a projected path fartherfrom the U.S. East Coast thanoriginally predicted.Rick Knabb, director of the

hurricane center, said Joaquin isexpected to pass well offshorefrom the eastern seaboard.“We no longer have any mod-

els forecasting the hurricane tocome into the East Coast,” hesaid. “But we are still going tohave some bad weather.”

Joaquin batters Bahamas; fate of cargo ship uncertain