A4 Wednesday, December 19, 2012
News
Spirit of JEFFERSON and FARMER’S ADVOCATE
Take sugary drinks out of schools, Legislature told CHARLESTON – Health officials want the Legislature to eliminate sugar-sweetened drinks from the state’s public schools. Helen Matheny, chairwoman of the West Virginia Healthy Lifestyles Coalition, cites the state’s high rankings for obesity and Type 2 diabetes in recommending the action last week. West Virginia sought to limit soft drinks in schools with a law passed last decade. But Matheny says its wording has created a conflict with state Board of Education and U.S. Department of Agriculture policies. Matheny said the Healthy Lifestyles Coalition recommends the law’s repeal. It also wants public schools to require that a least half of every physical education class involve moderate to rigorous activity. The coalition is also calling for schools to share their gym and exercise-related facilities more with their communities. Early Christmas: State workers will get an early start on their Christmas break. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin says public employees will get a full
Around
day off on Monday, Dec. 24, meaning they’ll have a four-day holiday weekend. State rules require public employees to have Monday afternoon off when Christmas occurs on a Tuesday. Fewer bucks bagged: Fewer bucks were taken during West Virginia’s two-week season this year. Some 56,173 bucks were taken during the firearms season that ended Dec. 1, according to the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. The number is based on preliminary numbers from checking stations statewide. Division director Frank Jezioro says that’s a 7 percent decline from the 2011 season. It’s also 7 percent below the previous five-year average. The top 10 counties for the firearms buck season for 2012: Preston, Greenbrier, Randolph, Mason, Jackson, Hampshire, Monroe, Ritchie, Wetzel and Hardy.
set to go before the West Virginia Supreme Court. City Solicitor Rosemary Humway Warmuth said the city believes there were numerous errors made when Ohio County Judge James Mazzone ruled Kotson be placed back on administrative leave without pay. He was arrested in November 2011 by West Virginia State Police. Days later, the city manager fired Kotson, but the city contends the termination had nothing to do with the charges. In September, Kotson stood trial for first-degree sexual abuse, with a jury finding him not guilty on one count. A mistrial was declared for another count after jurors could not reach a verdict. In October, Judge Arthur Recht acquitted Kotson on WHEELING that charge. Next spring, Kotson is set to Officer appealing: The case of stand trial again in Ohio County, on a former Wheeling Police officer is charges including second-degree
sexual assault, ing, fishing and horseback riding. first-degree sexual abuse and bur- BLUEFIELD glary. Aid for band: After a robFAYETTEVILLE bery wiped out the Bluefield High Band Boosters’ savings this fall, Rafting outfit- it appeared the band wouldn’t be ter hailed: Edi- able to perform at Disney World tors at Southern next spring. Living maga- But a campaign launched by zine have chosen the Bluefield Daily Telegraph has a West Virginia raised $2,573 for the May trip. rafting outfitter The boosters’ concession stand as one of its 12 unique “experience was robbed of about $1,000 worth gifts” to give to friends or family of cash and concessions. members this year for Christmas. The magazine’s December is- MARTINSBURG sue suggested that a whitewater rafting adventure with Adven- Hidden camera charge: An tures on the Gorge would be a Eastern Panhandle man has been perfect gift “that doesn’t fit under arraigned on charges he set up a the tree” in its Travelers Best of hidden camera in a high school to secretly videotape an underage the South section. According to Adventures on the girl changing clothes. Gorge, the business is “perfect for Brent Andrew Grubb, 43, of Inadrenaline junkies who just don’t wood was arraigned Tuesday on get the idea of lounging in a ham- one felony count of attempting to mock.” The magazine highlighted produce obscene matter. He was that a gift trip to the resort could released on bond. feature not just whitewater rafting, An arrest warrant says Grubb but also zipline canopy tours, hik- could be seen looking into the
the State
Safety
Manchin FROM PAGE A1
would see this type of attack on our children,” he said Monday during a conference call with the media. “Everything should be on the table. We should be talking about everything as we approach this.” Manchin, who declined to be specific about what policies he would support, said he believed the gun rights lobby
Shenandoah fails to sell: Plans to sell a Martinsburg landmark have fallen short. Maryland-based Gateway Holdings wanted at least $550,000 for the downtown Shenandoah Hotel – the amount owner Ben Fogle still owes the bank for investments he’s made in the property – but $185,000 was the highest offer. The five-story hotel opened in 1926 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. – Compiled by Christine Miller Ford, with information from The Associated Press
be fortresses,” he said. “Look at Jefferson High School and the way the building’s been added onto over the years. You have a building with more than 100 doors.” A single officer with a handgun likely would be no match for an Adam Lanzastyle attacker with semi-automatic weapons, Dougherty said. And the sprawling building design in place in so many schools nationwide wouldn’t lend itself to coverage by a single officer, he said. For instance, a guard positioned on the Charles Town end of Jefferson High who needed to respond to a disturbance on the Shepherdstown side of the school would
have to travel an eighth of a mile, Dougherty said. “It’s just not practical,” he said. Parents and others seeking changes after the Connecticut attack would be better served looking at the mental health system, gun laws and other issues, said Dougherty, who works as the national director of homeless veterans programs at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Dougherty said schools need to have on staff enough counselors to ensure all students struggling with emotional issues and other problems have someone to talk with. “We have to make sure our social services are in place so that when young people start
to unravel, we deal with that,” he said. “We need to make sure they don’t become despondent and out of control.” People with mental health needs ought to have the same access to care as a person with a physical ailment, said Dougherty, who left the school board in 2002 but returned four years later and was re-elected in 2010. “There’s still a stigma attached to mental illness but we need to begin to see that asking for counseling when that’s needed is no different than a person with arthritis seeking a knee replacement.” It’s clear the system is in need of recal-
ibration when Americans can gain access to a high-powered weapon more quickly and easily than they can get an appointment for a mental health evaluation, Dougherty said. On Monday as U.S. Sens. Mark Warner of Virginia and West Virginia’s Joe Manchin – both pro-gun Democrats – announced they would support discussion of new gun legislation. Dougherty said he, too, believes the time has come to look at stricter gun laws. “It’s what the senators were saying earlier – this incident brings us to a point where we need to discuss the issue,” Dougherty said Monday night. “I’ve always been a strong supporter of the Second Amendment, but how can there be a claim that we need semi-automatic or fully automatic guns for any kind of hunting?” As talk of gun control unfolds on the national stage, Dougherty says there’s a way for parents and other local residents to make a difference close to home: by working with students as reading volunteers or in other capacities. “A lot of our children have two caring parents, but some need more positive attention in their lives,” Dougherty said. “More adults becoming more involved with our schools – it’s a way for something positive to come out of this tragedy.”
should be a part of the conversation. “We should bring the NRA in on these discussions,” he said. “They need to be at the table.” Manchin, who noted he would always defend Second Amendment rights, said he was open to considering a ban on assault weapons — a term that has not been clearly defined — and high-capacity magazines. “The assault rifles, I guess, that were designed for the military with multipleround clips – when I hunt I never have
more than three rounds in my gun,” he said. “I don’t know people who go hunting with assault rifles, with 10 or 20 or 30 rounds in their gun.” He said he was “anxious to see” a proposed assault rifle ban drawn up by California Democrat Sen. Diane Feinstein and that he would consider a bill discussed by New York Sen. Charles Schumer that would limit magazine capacity to 10 rounds. Manchin said many on Capitol Hill are “afraid to even talk about” gun con-
trol measures out of fear for political repercussions. “I’m not saying there are going to be mammoth changes,” he said. Manchin also said public mental health policy should be examined, though he did not have any specific proposals and warned that federal budget issues could conceivably hamper reform. “We’ve cut back in so many different ways,” he said. “If you can’t pay for it you can’t do it. So if we’re talking about help to the mentally ill, it has to be paid
for, and you can’t do it unless you get finances in order.” Manchin said it might also be time to examine America’s feelings about depictions of violence in media and entertainment. “Not only do we promote violence, but we glorify it sometimes,” he said, pointing to violent video games and movies. “We’ve got to re-evaluate who we are as a society. (But) we’ve got to be very careful. We have a First Amendment too.”
FROM PAGE A1
gunned down 20 children and six staff members. The attack, believed to have taken just five minutes, ended with Lanza’s suicide as police closed in. “I would describe myself as a stoic person, but the thought of someone going into a school and killing little children this way, it literally makes me sick,” Dougherty said. “A 20-year-old [adult] deliberately killing little children – it’s just hard to fathom.” Dougherty said he understands the impulse behind calls for greater security at schools. “Of course we want to make sure all our buildings are as safe as possible,” he said. “In recent years, we have added more security at all our schools – doors are locked to ensure the only people there are the people who are supposed to be there – but schools can’t be prisons.” Some have suggested school systems hire armed guards to patrol each campus. “In the case of a school system our size, we’d need a security force roughly as large as the sheriff’s department,” Dougherty said. Even if funding for such an increase in school staff were to be found, Dougherty said it would be difficult for a single officer to supervise an entire school building. “None of our buildings are designed to
camera to ensure it pointed to a specific area of the dressing room. Footage shows a side profile of the girl changing outfits. The incident occurred at a 2011 dance production at Martinsburg High School. Berkeley County Schools Superintendent Manny P. Arvon says an outside organization had rented the high school for the performance. If convicted, Grubb faces up to three years in prison.
“None of our buildings are designed to be fortresses. Look at Jefferson High School and the way the building’s been added onto over the years. You have a building with more than 100 doors.” Peter Dougherty, Jefferson County school board president
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Jefferson County Fire and EMS Log Date of Calls Dec. 7– Dec. 13, 2012 Harpers Ferry Friendship Co #1
EMS CALLS
Nationwide has been serving West Virginia for over 75 years! Charles Town..............725-3434 Kearneysville..............725-5567 Inwood..............................229-6722
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AUTO • HOME • LIFE • BUSINESS
MAGENTA YELLOW
BLACK
1
Total EMS
7
25
18
56
9
8
Structure Vehicle Brush Rescue & MVAs Haz Condition Automatic Alarm EMS Assist Other
1
2
1
2
1
1
1 1 1 2
1
1
1
2
1 1 7
Total Fire
6
9
3
12
4
2
1
0
13
34
21
68
13
10
1
85
1 3 1
1
2 2 11 1
1 2 2 7 2
4 1
3
7
6 1 4 7 3 19 9
1 1 1 2 3 1
2
STA 11
Chest Pain Breathing Diabetic Seizures Injuries Veh Acdt Inj Med Emerg Other
1
4
JCAA
9
1
1 1 3
0
10 1 6 11 5 33 10
85
FIRE CALLS
www.jonesinsurancewv.com
CYAN
Charles Shepherds- Charles Blue Middle- Bakerton Town town Town Ridge way Citizens Independent Mountain Co #2 Co #3 Co #4 Co #5 Co #6 Co #7
TOTAL BY COMPANY
1 4 1
1
2
1