BOONE COUNTY, W.Va. –A former Boone County Commission employee is going to prison for possession of child pornography.
Gregory Neal Hager, 41, of Madison, was sentenced Wednesday to seven year and three months in prison, to be followed by 25 years of supervised release.
According to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s office, in December 2023, law enforcement had executed a search warrant on Hager’s residence in Madison. While searching they seized an external hard drive connected to his desktop.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Lottery has topped $1 billion in sales with two months left to go in the fiscal year.
The latest financial numbers were released during the state Lottery Commission meeting Wednesday in Charleston.
Revenues are at nearly $1.2 billion at the 10-month mark of the budget year. Lottery revenues for April topped $111 million, which represents about $11 million more than projected.
The Lottery said revenues from both Racetrack Video Lottery and Limited Video

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The House of Delegates Health and Human Resources chairman says he won’t support cuts to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funding.
Chairman Evan Worrell, R-Cabell, was a guest Wednesday on MetroNews “Talkline.”
Worrell said the House finance committee was meeting when Gov. Patrick Morrisey indicated there was a $40 million structural gap in TANF funding.
Morrisey, responding to questions during a press conference last week, suggested the state might have to

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The board of the West Virginia International Yeager Airport unanimously approved their 2027 Fiscal Year budget during their monthly meeting Wednesday.
The airport expects $14.6 million for its operating revenues, a 3.3-percent increase from Fiscal Year 2026. The budget allocated $12.24 million for operating expenses, a 2.9-percent increase from the previous fiscal year.
The airport is raising prices for airlines with landing fees, terminal rentals, and per passenger.
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Parkways Authority Executive Director Chuck Smith said the authority has hired an architectural engineering firm to help design its new headquarters at the former Charleston Moose Lodge on Kanawha Boulevard.
Chuck Smith
Smith told MetroNews the authority approved the hiring of ZMM Architects and Engineers during its meeting held Tuesday at Tamarack in Beckley.
“They’ll start immediately on the looking at the building, seeing what it’s pluses and minuses are,

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Monongalia County Commission eliminated a fire protection contingency fund and heard concerns about a local home shelter during the commission’s meeting Wednesday in Morgantown.
Sean Sikora
The fund was established in October 2024 following the creation of the All-County Fire Protection Fund and the County Fire Protection Fund by state lawmakers.
Local firefighters took issue with the fund because the Morgantown Fire Department, not considered a county volunteer fire

WESTON, W.Va. — A Pittsburgh man has entered a guilty plea in connection with helping an alleged gang member to sell fentanyl in the northern part of the state.
Federal prosecutors said multiple agencies began surveillance of a property on Broad Street in Weston due to suspected drug activity in September 2024.
Through the effort police stopped a car driven by Ramon Sims, 29, of Pittsburgh, and his passenger, Shawn Galin Whitley, Jr., a suspected gang member from Charlotte, North Carolina, and