Latest West Virginia Headlines

All the headlines from our West Virginia Topic Page, ordered by recency.

W. Va. Woman Sentenced to Prison on Insurance Fraud Charges

Jul 25 2007 // West Virginai state officials convicted a Morgan County woman on three felony counts of insurance fraud, and she is currently serving time behind bars. Found guilty in December 2006, Deborah K. Wildberger solicited Michael...

News Currents

Jul 23 2007 // Federal court to hear Nationwide’s Miss. storm surge appeal A federal appeals court has set Aug. 6 as the date to hear arguments on whether Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. should be forced to cover storm surge damage...

Massey Subsidiary Fined $50,000 in West Virginia

Jul 20 2007 // Failing to perform a pre-shift examination at a West Virginia coal mine is going to cost a Massey Energy Co. subsidiary $50,000. U.S. District Judge John T. Copenhaver Jr. fined Richmond, Va.-based Massey’s White...

2 W. Va. Men Arrested on Felony Insurance Fraud Charges

Jul 17 2007 // West Virginia Insurance Department officials arrested two Cabell County men earlier this month on multiple felony charges including insurance fraud, third degree arson, conspiracy and burning insured property. Insurance...

Man Sentenced for Setting Fire that Devastated W. Va. Town

Jul 12 2007 // A man who admitted setting a fire that devastated downtown Elizabeth will spend up to 60 years in prison. Willie Trembly Jr., 20, of Wirt County pleaded guilty in May to three counts of second-degree arson, one count of...

MSHA Announces Plans to Improve W. Va. Mine Inspections

Jul 6 2007 // Federal inspectors missed obvious problems and failed to follow procedures at the Sago Mine in West Virginia and two other underground coal mines where 19 men died in high-profile accidents last year, the Mine Safety and...

U.S. Mine Agency Admits Shortcomings, Vows Safety Steps

Jul 5 2007 // Federal inspectors missed obvious problems and failed to follow procedures before three high-profile accidents that killed 19 men at underground coal mines in West Virginia and Kentucky last year, according to the Mine...

W. Va.’s Privatized Brickstreet Mutual Makes First Payment to State

Jul 5 2007 // West Virginia’s workers’ compensation insurer BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co. has made its first scheduled payment of $5.8 million on its outstanding surplus note to the state of West Virginia, Gov. Joe...

2 W. Va. Arsons Reminiscent of 2005 Spree in Kanawha County

Jul 2 2007 // Separate fires at a West Virginia school and a mobile home this week rekindled unpleasant memories of a string of arsons two years ago in which five volunteer firefighters were accused of destroying 11 buildings in eastern...

State Farm Announces Rate Decrease for W. Va. Homeowners

Jun 25 2007 // Just weeks after announcing an automobile insurance rate decrease, State Farm Insurance, the largest insurance provider in West Virginia, says it also will lower rates statewide for home insurance. The average West...

W. Va. Church Fire Ruled Arson

Jun 21 2007 // Fire officials have ruled a fire that damaged a Logan County, W. Va., church as arson. There are no suspects at this time in the fire at the Kistler Freewill Baptist Church, Kim O’Brien, spokeswoman for the state...

W. Va. Woman Pleads Guilty to Committing Insurance Fraud

Jun 20 2007 // West Virginia Insurance Commissioner, Jane L. Cline, announced that Kelly Cain pleaded guilty earlier this month to one felony count and one misdemeanor count of insurance fraud. Cain, 27, of Shinnston, admitted June 14...

W. Va. Woman Jailed for Committing Workers’ Compensation Fraud

Jun 13 2007 // An Upshur County woman was sentenced to serve time in a West Virgina correctional facility after pleading guilty to worker’s compensation insurance fraud. Stacie L. McLean, age 34 of Buckhannon, W. Va., pleaded...

W. Va. Judge Seals Records in Medical Malpractice Case

Jun 13 2007 // Legal documents in the numerous lawsuits filed against a former Putnam County General Hospital osteopath have been placed off limits by a West Virginia judge overseeing the cases. Putnam County Circuit Judge O.C. Spaulding...

W. Va. Mine Safety Chief Worries About Shortage of Inspectors

Jun 5 2007 // West Virginia is looking for a few good mine inspectors, but the state’s safety chief doesn’t know where they’ll come from. Ron Wooten, director of the state Office of Miners’ Health Safety and...

W. Va. Woman Pleads Guilty to Insurance Fraud Charges

Jun 5 2007 // Andrea R. Renquest pleaded guilty in Harrison County, W. Va. to one felony count and one misdemeanor count of insurance fraud. Renquest, 23, of Clarksburg, W. Va., admitted May 29 that she obtained a controlled substance...

County Indicts West Virginia Woman on Workers’ Comp Fraud

May 22 2007 // The Raleigh County, W. Va. Prosecutor’s Office indicted a Raleigh County resident on one felony count of wrongfully seeking workers’ compensation benefits. Angel M. Delung, 34, of Shady Springs, allegedly filed...

West Va.’s Summit Financial Acquires Kelley Agencies of Va.

May 21 2007 // West Virginia-based Summit Financial Group, Inc. has agreed to acquire Kelly Insurance Agency, Inc. and Kelly Property and Casualty Inc. headquartered in Leesburg, Virginia for $6.2 million in stock. The acquisition of the...

Security Again in Focus After 2nd Vehicle Mars W. Va. Capitol Complex

May 21 2007 // The second vehicle crash on the pedestrian-only campus of the West Virginia Capitol Complex is probably not going to prove as costly to repair as one that occurred in March, state officials said. Robert Davis, 76,...

W. Va. Extends State of Emergency Due to April Floods

May 18 2007 // Gov. Joe Manchin extended the state of emergency he declared April 15 in response to flooding, landslides, mudslides, heavy rain and high winds that affected 18 West Virginia counties between April 14 and April 18. The 18...