BRUCETON MILLS, W.Va. — Two Bruceton Elementary School aides are facing charges after being accused of dragging an autistic student into a room with no supervision.
State police in Preston County have charged Melissa Kent, 61, and Leah Nolan, 41, with misdemeanor maltreatment of a disabled child and are free on a $2,500 bond each.
Troopers began the investigation into the alleged incident April 26 that was reported to the Preston County prosecutor on April 2.
Authorities said the investigation

POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. — A major deal for a new data center under construction in Mason County.
Various business reports Thursday said Anthropic which runs Claude AI will pay Nscale $45 billion over six years to rent about a third of the storage space coming at Nscale’s Monarch Compute Campus north of Point Pleasant.
Nscale has not commented.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey described the reports as ” an extraordinary vote of confidence in our state and the strategy we put in place.”
Morrisey also posted on

ROMNEY, W.Va. — The West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind dedicated its new Administration Building Memorial Thursday on the historic campus in Romney.
The memorial creates a new entrance to the school campus in Romney. (Photo: Appalachian Drone Photography/Cole Roomsburg)
The memorial is the outline of the front of a building in memory of the former Administration Building that was destroyed in a February 2022 fire.
Schools for the Deaf and Blind Superintendent Clayton Burch said the

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A labor dispute in West Virginia recently passed the 100-day mark.
Joshua Sword
Members of Teamsters Local 175 remain on strike against The Beverage Market.
The union members hit the picket line near Sissonville in Kanawha County on May 12. Most of the striking workers are drivers who deliver Coors, Miller, and Modello beer to stores and bars across 30 West Virginia counties.
West Virginia AFL-CIO President Josh Sword said the striking workers are maintaining their energy.

CHARLESTON, W.Va – The trial date is set for a former Kanawha County sheriff’s deputy charged in federal court with sexually assaulting a female inmate.
Cass Close (WVRJA)
Cass Close, 56, of Charleston, entered a not guilty plea to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law on Thursday. He is accused of sexually abusing an inmate at the Kanawha County Judicial Building in July 2025 while working as a court bailiff.
Federal Magistrate Judge Dwane Tinsley set Close’s trial for October 6

FARMINGTON, W.Va. — Two women died in a head-on crash near Farmington in Marion County Wednesday evening.
Police said the wreck happened on Helens Run Road at around 5:45 p.m.
Authorities said Jessica Frye, 39, was travelling south on Helens Run Road when she crossed the center line and collided with a vehicle being driven by Cheyenne Russ, 26, who was travelling north.
Russ died at the scene. Frye died during the HealthNet transport to J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, authorities

BUCKHANNON, W.Va. — Multiple agencies and partners, including representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), continue recovery efforts from the July 21 in flood in Buckhannon.
Randy Sanders
President Donald Trump issued a federal disaster declaration not long after the flood and FEMA soon moved into an office on the second floor of the Upshur County Development Authority. City spokesman Randy Sanders said FEMA has been meeting with residents, business owners and city

Ross Adkins Jr.
HOLCOMB, W.Va. — A dispute between neighbors left one dead and one jailed in Nicholas County.
State Police were called to the home in the community of Holcomb which is near Richwood around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. According to witnesses Ross Adkins Jr, 31, of Richwood and Nathan Facemire, 44, of Richwood got into an argument which escalated into gunfire.
Troopers says Facemire was fatally shot in the incident. Troopers arrested Adkins and he’s lodged in the Central Regional Jail.
The