TALCOTT, W.Va. — Talcott Fire Chief Bill Costomiris says an apartment building in Summers County is a total loss after a Sunday morning fire.
The blaze was first reported just after midnight Sunday morning at the Hedrick House Apartments in Hinton. Fire crews arrived and learned all residents of the building had been evacuated. Residents were evacuated from another building in the three building complex.
But, the fire was fully involved and visible from several miles. Interior attack of the fire

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A southern West Virginia nonprofit economic development organization is continuing its efforts to bring more people to the state.
The Advantage Valley organization serves a nine-county footprint, including the Charleston and Huntington metropolitan areas combined. Founded over two decades ago, Advantage Valley markets those two MSAs (Metropolitan Statistical Areas) as one.
President and CEO Terrell Ellis said they’re in the process of updating a housing study from 2023. Bowen

CHARLESTON, W.Va – 22-year-old Gavin Smith could spend the rest of his life in prison for the murders of his mother, stepfather, and two brothers, hearing his sentence nearly six years after he shot and killed his four family members in Elkview.
Gavin Smith
As part of a binding plea agreement, Kanawha County Circuit Judge Kenneth Ballard handed down a sentence of life plus 80 years for one count of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder on Monday. Smith accepted the

Today on MetroNews This Morning:
–A state of emergency is in place in Wood County after a massive weekend warehouse fire
–Sentencing today for a man who killed his parents and two little brothers
–The new CEO of Vandalia Health talks about the role
–In Sports: Gavin Kelley to play for Team USA Collegiate Team
Listen to “MetroNews This Morning 7-6-26” on Spreaker.

The post MetroNews This Morning 7-6-26 appeared first on WV MetroNews.

RUPERT, W.Va. — A facility harvesting rare earth minerals is set to bring hundreds of jobs to Greenbrier County.
The existing Greenbrier Smokeless Coal mining operation in the Sewell seam is collaborating with companies Flash Metals USA, AmForge, and GreenMet to build a mineral processing hub in Rupert.
The investment is $150 million of private money.
State Senator Jack Woodrum, R-Summers, joined MetroNews “Midday” last week to discuss the project.
Jack Woodrum
“We look at West Virginia’s past,

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Members of the West Virginia National Guard will be dispatched this week to the areas of Boone, Raleigh, and Logan Counties which are under a State of Emergency today.
The Governor declared the State of Emergency following heavy rains on June 22nd which caused high water that damaged more than 120 homes in Boone County alone.
“Missions like this we’ve done in the past. It’s basically conducting debris removal operations,” said Captain Mike Garcia of the West Virginia National