ELKINS – Three major streets in town will feature temporary lane closures next week, the state Divison of Highways announced Thursday.
Harrison Avenue, 11th Street and Randolph Avenue in Elkins will have lane closures for road repairs beginning Monday, Aug. 31 hrough Friday, Sept. 4, a DOH press release states.
The lane closures will run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. each week day next week.
Special accommodations will be made for emergency vehicles, school buses and the United States Postal Service.

CHARLESTON – The parent company behind Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp is prepared to settle a nationwide lawsuit for more than $17 billion, with West Virginia set to receive up to $114 million if a judge approves the deal.
West Virginia Attorney General J.B. McCuskey announced Wednesday morning that Meta Platforms Inc. settled a federal consumer protection lawsuit, resolving claims brought by 47 states and several U.S. territories, for $17.1 billion.
At a press conference, McCuskey said this

ELKINS – A Randolph County man is facing a spate of charges after allegedly injuring an elderly woman and fleeing from police.
Andrew Stephen Purdum, 38, of Montrose, is charged with being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, a felony. He is also charged with multiple misdemeanors, including domestic assault; domestic battery; fleeing or attempting to feel from law enforcement in a vehicle; unlawful removal, injury to or destruction of property; and interfering with emergency

ELKINS — A Randolph County man faces a felony charge after allegedly breaking into a company’s trailer and stealing $750 of copper wire.
Mark Jay Courtney, 47, of Elkins, is charged with one count of entry into a building other than a dwelling, a felony. He is currently being held at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $10,000 cash-only bond, set by Randolph County Magistrate Mike Dyer.
According to the criminal complaint, filed by Sergeant K. Shiflett with the Elkins Police Department, on July

BUCKHANNON – Tom Keadle, a retired circuit judge who served Upshur and Lewis counties, has died.
Keadle retired as a circuit judge in 2013. He had been a judge since 1985 and an attorney since 1974.
A native of Alderson, Keadle had served four years in the United States Marine Corps, and was then a state trooper in both Romney and Buckhannon for nearly eight years. He then graduated from West Virginia University in 1971 and the WVU School of Law in 1974.
He practiced law in Romney from 1974-81

ELKINS – Probable cause was found in the case of a Randolph County man who was allegedly found with drugs while bicycling through Elkins.
Eric Lynn Armstrong, 43, has been charged with possession with intent to deliver fentanyl, a felony. He is being held in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $10,000 cash-only bond, set by Magistrate Mike Dyer.
On Wednesday, Armstrong appeared in Randolph County Magistrate Court for a preliminary hearing. He was represented by attorney Gregory Tingler, while

BUCKHANNON – Tom Keadle, a retired circuit judge who served Upshur and Lewis counties, has died.
Keadle retired as a circuit judge in 2013. He had been a judge since 1985 and an attorney since 1974.
A native of Alderson, Keadle had served four years in the United States Marine Corps, and was then a state trooper in both Romney and Buckhannon for nearly eight years. He then graduated from West Virginia University in 1971 and the WVU School of Law in 1974.
He practiced law in Romney from 1974-81

ELKINS – A Randolph County man is facing a spate of charges after allegedly injuring an elderly woman and fleeing from police.
Andrew Stephen Purdum, 38, of Montrose, is charged with being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, a felony. He is also charged with multiple misdemeanors, including domestic assault; domestic battery; fleeing or attempting to feel from law enforcement in a vehicle; unlawful removal, injury to or destruction of property; and interfering with emergency

ELKINS — A grand jury will hear a case involving a Beverly woman accused of child abuse after a juvenile in the care of her and her husband was allegedly found bound by zip ties in a bathroom.
Licha Faye Ortiz, 54, of Beverly, is charged with one count of child abuse creating risk of bodily injury, and one count of conspiracy, both felonies. Ortiz is being held at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail with no bond. She was initially released after her original $150,000 cash-only bond was posted;