KINGWOOD, W.Va. –The West Virginia National Guard’s Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy, North program graduated 85 cadets as part of Class 66 Friday.
The ceremony took place at the West Virginia National Camp Dawson in Kingwood.
According to a release, Class 66 featured 46 cadets graduating with their high school diploma. Of those graduating, 39 percent plan to join the workforce, five percent plan to join the military, 40 percent plan to attend a vocational/technical program, and 16 percent of the

CHARLESTON, W.Va. –There is a new leader of the West Virginia Offices of the Insurance Commissioner.
Governor Patrick Morrisey Friday appointed Erin Hunter to serve as the commissioner, effective July 1. Hunter will succeed Commissioner Allan L. McVey, who is retiring effective June 30.
“Erin Hunter has spent more than a decade serving West Virginians through the Offices of the Insurance Commissioner and has earned a reputation as a knowledgeable and effective leader,” Morrisey said. “I am

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — A Martinsburg man convicted of multiple sex offenses has received the maximum sentence under the law.
On Thursday, Paul Edward Ritenour, Jr., 54, of Martinsburg was sentenced to the maximum sentence under the law according to Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney Joseph Kinser.
Kinser tells The Panhandle News Network that amounts to “an indeterminate sentence of 355-1040 years.”
In April, Ritenour was convicted on two dozen sex-related offenses, making him subject to the more

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The National Weather Service has placed a number of West Virginia counties under a severe thunderstorm watch until 9 p.m. Friday.
NWS graphic
The storm threat covers Fayette, Greenbrier, Hardy, McDowell, Mercer, Monroe, Nicholas, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Raleigh, Randolph, Summers, Webster and Wyoming counties.
A strong storm cell hit parts of Logan, Lincoln, Boone, Kanawha and counties to the southeast of the Kanawha Valley Friday afternoon. The National Weather issued a