MOUNT MORRIS, Pa. (AP) - A West Virginia man is dead after a mining accident in southwestern Pennsylvania.

Officials with the Morgantown, West Virginia-based Mepco say 31-year-old Jeremy Neice was fatally injured Saturday evening near Mount Morris, about 50 miles south of Pittsburgh.

Green County emergency authorities say the Danville, West Virginia man was in an accident around 6 p.m.

Mine officials say they have suspended operations at the mine and that federal and state mine safety agencies have been notified. They say the company is "deeply saddened" by Neice's loss.

The accident comes about six months after the state Department of Environmental Protection cited Mepco for another miner's death at the same mine.

In Around West Virginia today: inside a school during a bomb threat, Handle with Care continues to expand, schools offer free mental health courses, and more.

n The executive editor of The Exponent Telegram was inside a Harrison County middle school during a non-credible bomb threat. School administrators had to review surveillance footage and interview students while police combed the school. He said the school system "has a good procedure in place, with caring administrators and staff doing all they can to keep students safe."

n The Handle with Care program that started in Charleston has expanded to Harrison County, according to The Exponent Telegram. Police agencies that participate in the program send notifications to schools after kids are present during traumatic incidents. As a result, educators know to "handle with care" the next day, and be understanding instead of reprimanding the child for any outbursts, sleepinees or lack of focus.

n Lewisburg City Council held an emergency meeting Friday morning and spent 90 minutes in executive session discussing litigation. Mayor John Manchester told The Register-Herald potential litigation has been threatened regarding the city's efforts to enact a nondiscrimination ordinance extending protections to the LGBT community. City Council also voted to postpone second reading of the ordinance to Feb. 1.

n Berkeley County public schools are offering free "mental health first aid" classes in Martinsburg. Attendees will learn the signs of mental health problems and learn about depression, anxiety, trauma, psychosis and substance abuse, according to The Journal. The course is aimed at adults.

n A federal public defender for the Southern District of West Virginia says PTSD defenses are becoming more common, according to The State Journal. Christian Capece, federal public defender, told the newspaper about a former Marine who admitted to selling stolen military equipment, an offense that could have resulted in 57 months in prison, who was sentenced to five months in prison plus three years supervised release. The story also described incidents when defendants used military service as a defense but the court was not more lenient.

Reach Erin Beck at erin.beck@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5163, Facebook.com/erinbeckwv, or follow @erinbeckwv on Twitter.

A Charleston woman was killed early Sunday morning after she was hit by a truck, and a Putnam County man was charged in the incident Monday afternoon.

Carli Elizabeth Sears, 20, was pronounced dead at Ruby Memorial Hospital on Sunday, according to the Morgantown Police Department. Sears was hit by a black pickup truck around 2:30 a.m. Sunday on Stewart Street, callers told emergency dispatchers in Morgantown. The truck then drove off.

Police Chief Ed Preston said Sears was walking on the sidewalk when she was hit.

Alexander Hambrick, 19, of Winfield, turned himself in Monday, Preston said. Hambrick was initially charged with violating Erin's Law, a state law that requires motorists involved in crashes resulting in injury or death to stay at the scene. Violators of that law face a prison sentence of one to five years and a fine of not more than $5,000.

Police said early Monday they had found the truck they believed had hit Sears, hours before Hambrick's arrest was announced.

The Morgantown Fire Department and Monongalia County EMS also responded to the accident scene on Sunday morning. Emergency responders tried to treat Sears at the scene, then took her to the hospital, according to a news release.

Sears was a student at the University of Mississippi, according to an email the school sent out Sunday night. She was a junior majoring in hospitality management, and was a member of the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority, according to the school.

"The University of Mississippi community mourns the tragic loss of Carli Sears," Brandi Hephner LaBanc, vice president of student affairs, said in a statement. "We are simply heartbroken by this news. Our thoughts are with all of her family and those in the Ole Miss family that shared in her life."

Snodgrass Funeral Home in South Charleston is in charge of the funeral arrangements. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home, with the service at 11 a.m. Friday at First Presbyterian Church in Charleston.

Reach Erin Beck at erin.beck@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5163, Facebook.com/erinbeckwv, or follow @erinbeckwv on Twitter.

In what has seemingly become an annual ritual at the Capitol, members of West Virginians for Better Transportation rallied Monday for increased funding to repair and maintain the state's deteriorating road system.

For a second straight year, legislative leaders pledged support to increase highways funding at the “Fix Our Roads Now” rally, but again, offered little in the way of specifics for how they will raise millions in additional road funds.

One exception was Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Chris Walters, R-Putnam, who said his committee will be taking up legislation to keep tolls on the West Virginia Turnpike, a source of $85 million of annual revenue that is currently set to expire in 2019.

“That's funding we cannot afford to lose in our budget,” Walters said.

Walters also said his committee will not act on a Tomblin administration bill that would move about $9 million a year of sales taxes collected on purchases of materials used for road construction or maintenance from the Division of Highways' budget to the general revenue fund to help close budget shortfalls in the current and fiscal 2016-17 state budgets.

Otherwise, leaders who spoke Monday acknowledged the need for increased highways funding, but were vague about how to raise those funds.

House Speaker Tim Armstead, R-Kanawha, told a smaller-than-usual rally turnout, “We're going to continue to make sure we have adequate funding, and make it a priority.”

He cited a just-completed $500,000 audit of the Division of Highways commissioned by the Legislature, which identified $25 million to $50 million of potential annual savings. However, in a study released last spring, the governor's Blue Ribbon Commission on Highways concluded that the state needs $750 million to $1.l billion a year of additional funding to adequately maintain and construct the state highway system.

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin did not mention highways funding in his State of the State address last week.

House Roads and Transportation Committee Chairman Marty Gearhart, R-Mercer, told the rally the Legislature is looking at “innovative ways to fund roads that don't increase taxes,” but did not provide details.

Noting that legislatures in every surrounding state have increased transportation funding, Senate Majority Leader Mitch Carmichael, R-Jackson, said, “We will be doing the same thing. We will make this a priority in West Virginia.”

Carmichael, who stood in for Senate President Bill Cole, R-Mercer, added, “Trust me, we hear from our constituents every day about the condition of our roads and bridges. We're looking every day for ways to improve the infrastructure in our state.”

Made up of more than 300 groups and organizations representing contractors, construction trades unions, chambers of commerce, economic development authorities, and various highways authorities, West Virginians for Better Transportation has rallied at the Legislature annually since 2012.

On Monday, the group launched a “Fix Our Roads Now” media campaign that includes billboards and newspaper, radio and TV advertising, including a 30-second spot that resembles a video game with a car that loses points every time it hits a pothole — depicting the higher costs of vehicle maintenance from driving on bad roads.

Reach Phil Kabler at phik@wvgazettemail.com, 304 348-1220, or follow @PhilKabler on Twitter.

Seasonal car problems are beginning to crop up for drivers as cold and snowy weather finally hits West Virginia.

With temperatures dipping into the single digits Monday morning and 3 to 5 inches of snow expected Friday, those in the automotive industry say its better late then never to make the necessary fixes to your vehicle.

Rob Newman, the manager at Glen's Towing in Charleston, said his company already has seen an increase in the number of calls the company receives from people who need their battery jump started. He said people should check the top of their battery for the service date, which shows when the battery was manufactured.

Newman said they always have calls for jump starts on very cold mornings, but he said Monday mornings are usually the busiest because, in some cases, people don't start their cars for two days over the weekends.

For people who charge their cellphones using the cigarette lighter port, Newman advises that the chargers be removed when the vehicle isn't running in order to save battery power.

Another common problem that people face is overused oil in their engines, Newman said. When drivers don't change their oil regularly it is thicker and has a more difficult time moving through the engine when it is cold.

"Change your oil when it is due," Newman said. "Dirty, sludgy oil is tougher to circulate through the engine."

But oil isn't the only vehicle fluid that can have problems in the winter.

The towing companies, Newman said, also receive calls about vehicle's engines overheating as a result of their radiators freezing up. He said it is important for people to check their anti-freeze levels, too.

Newman advises drivers to allow their vehicles to warm up for at least three to five minutes and to leave the engine running for another three to five minutes once they get to their destination.

Outside of that, he said people should listen to their vehicles.

"Any little lights that pop up, you should take that seriously," Newman said.

Bob Jarrett, store manager at NAPA Auto Parts on Virginia Street West, said he already has seen a spate of people coming into the parts store for new batteries and other winter supplies.

Jarrett specifically advised people with diesel vehicles to get an "anti-gel" additive to stop their fuel from condensing. He said it was important for diesel owners to plug in their vehicles overnight so that the vehicles will start in the morning.

With the snows that are expected to hit the Charleston area on Friday, he said it could be beneficial for drivers to carry snow shovels and tire chains for extreme circumstances. He said anyone with a normal car should use cable chains instead of the linked tire chains used on larger trucks.

Jarrett said drivers should be proactive in maintaining their vehicle and correcting issues before something goes wrong.

"If not," he said, "it will rear its ugly head pretty quick on you."

Here is a checklist of parts and common problems that drivers might encounter during the winter months:

n Batteries should be checked to ensure they are not outdated, and terminals should be cleaned so that there isn't any corrosion.

n Engine oil should be changed regularly to ensure that the cold weather doesn't cause sludge to build up.

n Gas tanks should be full to ensure moisture doesn't build up in the lines and freeze. There also is a gasoline additive available in stores to prevent those lines from freezing.

n The levels of antifreeze for the vehicle's radiator should be maintained.

n Wiper-blades should be turned off when the car is not running in order to prevent the wiper's motor from being damaged when the wipers are frozen. A piece of cardboard placed under windshield wipers can also prevent the blades from sticking to the window.

n Tires should be checked to ensure they have enough tread to maneuver the vehicle in snow and ice. Cat litter can also be kept in a vehicle's trunk in order to help with tire traction if a vehicle is stuck.

n Warm clothing and blankets can also be kept in the trunk in case the passengers of a vehicle are stranded for an extended period of time.

Reach Andrew Brown at andrew.brown@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4814, or follow @Andy_Ed_Brown on Twitter.

Huntington is set to lose 121 jobs as a result of CSX Transportation consolidating its administrative staff into other regional offices.

The Jacksonville, Florida-based railroad and transportation company announced Monday afternoon that many of the 121 management and union employees at the company's Huntington office would have a choice in several months to either leave the company or move to another regional office in locations like Atlanta, Baltimore or Louisville, Kentucky.

"At the conclusion of the transition period, the timing of which may vary by role, many employees will be given an opportunity to fill positions in other areas of the network," CSX stated in a press release.

The company also emphasized that other CSX employees in the city and surrounding region, including those at the Huntington locomotive shop, would still have a job.

The Huntington administrative staff had been responsible for customers in parts West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio, largely in what the company termed the central Appalachian coal fields.

CSX stated that the company's coal-related revenues had declined by $1.4 billion in the past four years.

"Today's announcement is part of CSX's focus on reducing structural costs and aligning resources with demand in its coal fields," the press release stated, "and follows the reduction of train operations at Erwin, Tennessee, and the closing of mechanical shops at Corbin, Kentucky."

Reach Andrew Brown at andrew.brown@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4814, or follow @Andy_Ed_Brown on Twitter.

In a year when virtually every state agency and department is facing budget cuts, the state Supreme Court's 2016-17 budget is slated to grow by $4.2 million to $143.6 million — but Chief Justice Menis Ketchum told members of the House and Senate Finance committees that's strictly because of legislative mandates.

“Our budget has increased from $139 million to $143 million, and the reason it increased is because of these legislative mandates that the Supreme Court is required to pay,” Ketchum said during budget hearings. “I'm a skinflint, and I'm not happy at all with this budget.”

Among the mandates Ketchum cited: Last year, the Legislature passed bills increasing salaries for magistrates and staff, as well as adding four circuit court and two family court judges, at a total cost of $1.35 million a year.

Similarly, the Justice Reinvestment Act requires the Supreme Court to have drug courts operating in every county in the state by this July 1, at an additional cost of $1.12 million.

About 85 percent of the Supreme Court's budget is mandated by law, which Ketchum said makes it difficult to cut spending.

“Every time we try to cut our budget, there's another bill passed that says, the Supreme Court pays for it,” said Ketchum, who said it's frustrating to not be able to reduce spending during the current state budget crisis.

“We've got a fiscal responsibility to this state, and it's broke,” he said. “It's a little bit hard when we get additional costs thrown on us.”

Ketchum said he's particularly concerned the Legislature could mandate creation of an intermediate appeals court, which he said could cost in excess of $15 million a year.

“I'm scared to death about what it's going to cost for an intermediate appellate court,” he told the Senate Finance Committee. It was the only reference made in either committee to the proposed mid-level court.

He said the legislative mandates are squeezing the high court's own operating budget.

“We're getting to the point of laying off people,” Ketchum said. “We've got to be fiscally responsible. It's going to hurt people, but if we have to, we've got to do it.”

Meanwhile, Ketchum outlined to both committees what he said could amount to $10 million of annual savings, if the Legislature would undo three mandates:

n Eliminate drug courts, which will cost $5 million a year, whose functions could be handled by circuit judges and probation officers, Ketchum said.

“The judges have the tools in their tool box to do these very same things without special courts,” he said.

Sen. Jeff Kessler, D-Marshall, questioned whether the savings to the court system would be lost to higher Corrections costs to incarcerate drug offenders — noting a key reason the drug courts were created was to keep nonviolent drug offenders out of prison.

n Eliminate special sex offender probation officers. A provision of the 2006 law increasing penalties for sex offenders whose victims are under 18 created special probation officers to supervise those offenders when they are released from prison, and made those officers employees of the Supreme Court, not county employees.

At $3 million a year, Ketchum said not only could the work of the special officers be handled by regular probation officers, but said the special officers have little oversight.

“How do I know if someone in Tucker County is actually working?” he asked.

n Repeal a provision in the law requiring the Supreme Court to pay counties for the costs to lease space for family courts.

“We don't pay rent for circuit courts or magistrate courts, but for some reason we pay it for family courts,” he said.

Currently, the Supreme Court pays $1.25 million to lease space for family courts, but Ketchum said he's afraid that amount could soar, as other counties follow the lead of the Monongalia County Commission, which recently doubled the Family Court rent there from $12 a square foot to $24 a square foot.

Also Monday, Ketchum said:

n The Supreme Court has budgeted $2.9 million for employer contributions to the Judicial Retirement System fund, which is currently about 150 percent funded, but is awaiting a letter from the Consolidated Public Retirement Board's actuary verifying that most of that funding can be freed up for other uses.

n He will not be appointing a retired judge to the bench to hear oral arguments Tuesday afternoon in the petition to the court over which political party should be allowed to nominate a replacement for former Sen. Daniel Hall, who resigned from the Senate on Jan. 4.

Ketchum said it would not be appropriate to appoint a retired circuit court judge to hear the matter, which involves constitutional law.

Reach Phil Kabler at philk@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1220, or follow @PhilKabler on Twitter.

A Charleston woman has gathered more than 60,000 diapers to give away to families in need.

Ellen Johnstone started Diaper Drop Charities after she realized diapers are not covered by the Women, Infants and Children program or other social programs for people in need.

"[Low-income] families cannot get diapers for their children," Johnstone said Monday at the offices of the Johnstone & Gabhart law firm, where boxes of diapers were being delivered. "They leave their child in a diaper for too long. They will try to air dry a diaper and put it back on a child."

In addition to potential medical problems, parents who are unable to provide fresh diapers for their children aren't able to enroll their child in daycare, Johnstone said. In turn, the child misses out on social enrichment and the parent may have to miss work and fail to provide for the family.

After Johnstone put out a letter to family and friends, diaper donations started pouring in. She received 5,000 physical diaper donations and ordered 60,000 more diapers with the monetary donations she received.

Johnstone has always wanted to help, but after having two children, finding a worthy cause became even more important to her.

"Diapers sounded boring at first. It's very basic, there's nothing glamorous about it," Johnstone said. "But once I realized there is no social program that helped to fund diapers, that's when it all came together and I knew this is what I have to do."

Johnstone has paired with Covenant House and the Charleston YWCA to distribute the diapers to families who need them.

Diaper donations are generally overlooked when people think of ways to donate, Johnstone said.

YWCA and Covenant House employees told Johnstone that diapers are something people ask for every day.

"It's a need they struggle to make because diapers are expensive. It is something people don't think to donate," she said.

Diaper Drop Charities is an official 501(c)3 organization. With Johnstone running the organization, there aren't any expenses or administrative costs, so 100 percent of donations go to charity, according to Johnstone.

"As excited as I am for how many diapers we have here today, I'm really excited for what the future holds for Diaper Drop and for the community," Johnstone said.

Ellen Allen, executive director of Covenant House, described Diaper Drop Charities as "life-changing" for many families in Charleston.

"I think it's one of the most critical needs that's overlooked," Allen said. "It can also keep young mothers out of the workforce, because you have to drop off a day's worth of diapers when you go to daycare."

Deb Weinstein, executive director of the YWCA, said this diaper donation will allow the organization to ask donors for other items now that their diaper needs are met, giving them one less thing to worry about.

Both Weinstein and Allen agreed that diaper shortage is a problem and celebrated working together to meet the needs of community members.

"What Ellen (Johnstone) shared with you about people reusing diapers is real. It's done out of desperation. People do not do this out of choice, they do it out of desperation and children are sick because of it," Weinstein said. "This is a tremendous gift that Ellen Johnstone has created for the community and done for the community."

This is the first year for Diaper Drop Charities. Johnstone hopes the organization grows and helps even more people in need.

Diaper donations can be dropped off at the Johnstone & Gabhart offices at 1125 Virginia St. E., Charleston, WV 25301. Monetary donations can be mailed to PO Box 385, Charleston, WV 25321.

Reach Laura Haight at laura.haight@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4833 or follow @laurahaight_ on Twitter.

With about 150 volunteers working in churches, neighborhood centers and soup kitchens around the state on Monday, West Virginia University launched a new community service initiative challenging college students to give back to their communities one day each month.

The initiative, launched to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., is part of a larger plan for WVU students to complete 1 million hours of community service by 2018, a challenge university leaders have extended to West Virginians and one they hope will expand outreach across the state.

For students in Charleston, one of three cities where WVU sent service teams, giving back to needy communities for Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday had a deeper meaning.

"When you go to school, you can feel like a visitor sometimes," said Nia Waters, a recent graduate who now works with AmeriCorps. She also helped the university's Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion coordinate Monday's outreach programs.

"Giving back makes us feel like we're part of something," she said.

And that something, one student said, is being part of something bigger.

"If you provide opportunities, students will go out and do it," said Andrew Sutherland, a communications studies senior who heads student community service at WVU. He said people may think college students are apathetic, but they are quick to rise to challenges.

"Some will get even more involved," he said, adding that students on campus go as far as organizing their own events.

While cold weather and snow kept some students from participating Monday, more than 30 students traveled to Charleston to work on various projects at American Red Cross, HOPE Community Development Corporation and the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store. Remaining volunteers worked in Morgantown and Fairmont.

In Charleston, students unloaded furniture from trucks and sorted floor tiles for Habitat for Humanity, inventoried supplies for Red Cross or cleaned Grace Bible Church, where HOPE is located.

Students were thankful for the chance to use their day off Monday to give back, Waters said.

"A few told me they were happy they had something meaningful to do on MLK Day," she said.

It might not have been glamorous work or a march of solidarity through the streets, but the group at Grace Bible Church, which Waters led, considered their service as important.

Armed with scrubbers and all-purpose cleaner, the group of mostly black students crouched between pews as they cleaned their wooden surfaces. Their laughter echoed through the tall-ceilinged sanctuary.

"It makes sense to come back here," Waters said of working at Grace Bible Church. She said a church is the ideal place to give back to on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. She noted King started a movement from a pulpit.

"He wanted people to be equal, not separated," she said.

Working on Charleston's West Side, one of West Virginia's most economically challenged and troubled areas, was a way for students to continue the reverend's work, Waters said.

With mounting racial tension across the country prompting protests and spawning groups like Black Lives Matter, Waters said giving back to the community is a way to effect change.

"We say how much black lives matter, but we don't do anything about it," she said. "This is a way for us to get out there and say we're not a statistic. This is how we do that: by getting involved."

Monday's outreach was the first official event of the 12 (Big!) Days of Service Initiative, which will have students participating in 12 monthly large-scale community service events in 2016.

Reach Samuel Speciale at sam.speciale@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-7939 or follow @samueljspeciale on Twitter.

The residents, bundled up in hoodies and coats, ran up the hill when they saw Daniel Moore arrive with some hot soup.

"They see me come," Moore said, "they come a-running."

Moore, whose wife Betty does the cooking, regularly drops off hot meals, blankets, coats and other items for the residents of "Tent City," located along the Elk River near the Spring Street Bridge.

"The good Lord tells me to do it," Moore said. "I'd hate to be down on my luck like that."

A light snow fell as Tent City residents worked to keep the fire going Monday afternoon, hours before the temperature was expected to drop to around 5 degrees.

"We're surviving," said one of the residents, Dorothy Bradfield.

She and others there were more focused on making sure a visitor was warm. "Stand here," they'd say, gesturing to the warmest spot by the fire.

Bradfield's boyfriend, who said he wanted to go by the name Ezekiel for the article, said he doesn't complain anymore.

"God taught me not to complain so I don't complain," he said. "I just wish he would turn off the air conditioner."

Comments about the cold do escape, at times. "I swear, it's colder than my ex-wife out here," said another resident, Charles Sandbron.

And Vallary woke up cursing the cold this morning. But she was smiling and welcoming in the afternoon.

That's how she said she was treated when she arrived.

"They just welcomed us in," she said. "That's what they do with everyone."

There are other options for people who don't have a home to go to.

About 15 more people have arrived over the past few days at Union Mission Crossroads Men's Shelter. The shelter sees an increase in residents when the temperature drops, said Rex Whiteman, Union Mission's president and CEO.

The shelter doesn't turn people away, Whiteman said.

"If we don't have enough room, we put bed rolls on the floor," he said.

People pick Tent City - where about 15 to 20 people sleep at night - for different reasons.

One got kicked out of a shelter. One said he had words with a shelter employee. One said a local shelter has bedbugs.

About every day or every other day, they say, another load of supplies is dropped off.

At night, they sleep in sleeping bags and tents and use donated hand-warmers.

People drop off all kinds of supplies - the sleeping bags, tents and hand-warmers were donated. So were clothes, hygiene products, water, propane heaters, canned and boxed goods.

Ezekiel and Bradfield have been living there for about three weeks.

"Everything you see here's been donated since we've been down here," Ezekiel said.

Pastor Larry Westfall, who leads the Hissom Tabernacle Church nearby, just wishes people would be a little more thoughtful about their giving.

"Their needs are specific," he said. "We think we know what they need, but we're wrong."

Westfall notices that sometimes donors think more about what they personally don't need, such as used clothes that don't even fit anyone at Tent City, than what the residents need, such as socks and toiletries, including pads and tampons. He recommended asking the Tent City dwellers what they need, or working through an agency.

"Potato chips just don't help a lot of times," he said.

Stacy Jones, who raised $700 to donate propane heaters, said she asked the residents what they needed first.

"They end up with a bunch of clothes," she said. "They will actually take it to Salvation Army or Goodwill because they want to be able to give back to other people that don't have it."

Still, sitting in front of a fire made with donated firewood Monday, Bradfield said she was grateful.

"It makes me believe there are still people who believe in God in this world and there's still hope," she said.

Reach Erin Beck at erin.beck@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5163, Facebook.com/erinbeckwv, or follow @erinbeckwv on Twitter.

On Jan. 12, Carlton Smith went about his normal day. He finished his shift as a West Virginia University police officer and then headed to the Coliseum to work extra duty detail for the men's basketball game against Kansas. He had no idea he would be a viral sensation once the game ended.

A snowstorm had hit Morgantown hard that evening. With roads gridlocked, many fans had to abandon their cars and trek through the snow to make it to the game. One of those who couldn't make it was the person scheduled to sing the national anthem. Smith said the organizers, who knew he was a vocalist, asked him to step in.

Within five minutes, Smith took the floor. The crowd had no idea that the man in the police uniform could sing - really sing.

"Oh, say can you see," he began quietly. As the song progressed, its sweet soulfulness entranced the throng as Smith, performing a capella, gradually put it through its paces with an unadorned conviction.

By last line, the crowd was his, punctuating the "Oh!" in the old Baltimore Oriole tradition. He allowed himself to finish with a bit of melisma, a simple embellishment as he began the home stretch with "wave."

Smith said he's always a nervous wreck before he performs, and this time was no different, especially without having any time to prepare. It must be added that, lyrically and musically, the tune can be a challenging one, regardless of the artist.

"[I had] no warming up whatsoever, I wish I did," Smith said. "They got me a bottle of water from one of the cheerleaders nearby."

His friend, sportswriter Geoff Coyle, posted a picture of him singing the national anthem on Facebook, and immediately friends and family began requesting the video of the performance.

Since Coyle posted the video on YouTube and Facebook, the video has received more than 268,000 views and topped 600 shares.

On Monday morning, he sang the anthem on Fox and Friends in New York City, something he never expected to happen.

"That was amazing, kind of surreal in a way. I wasn't expecting it at all - I wasn't expecting any of this to happen," Smith said. "It was all just a very surreal experience. I've tried to embrace it and it was just really fun to do."

In the past, Smith has won WVU's Mountaineer Idol talent contest and made it to Hollywood on the Fox network's "American Idol."

He's also no stranger to performing The Star-Spangled Banner. He's sung at numerous WVU and Morgantown sporting events.

"It feels good because I've tried everything to get my name out there, just to be noticed because singing is what I love," Smith said. "It feels good that finally I'm getting recognition, singing possibly our nation's greatest song, on a stage at a school that I love, it all felt pretty good."

Smith said the best part about this experience was that he received such recognition for singing the national anthem, a song that has a special place in his heart.

"I am a police officer because of that - because of that patriotism," he said. "I think I am a police officer because the people of this country and whatever community I may be in are worth protecting and serving."

Coyle has been friends with Smith since their freshman year at WVU years ago. Coyle originally posted the video for Smith's friends and family, but he knew almost immediately that it was going to go viral.

"While I didn't anticipate it, I completely understand it," he said. "As West Virginia fans, they have something to be proud of because he's a graduate. As Americans, I feel that people are very proud to see a member of their law enforcement, with last-minute notice, stepped up to sing the nation's anthem as well as he did."

He said while his friend's fame from the video was unexpected, it makes sense to him.

"Carlton really is one of the kindest and most talented people I've ever met," Coyle said. "He deserves all of the recognition he's getting and I just hope someone out there in the music industry is paying attention and takes a chance on a police officer in Morgantown, West Virginia."

West Virginia could become the third state to ban a common procedure used for second-trimester abortions.

State lawmakers are lining up to support legislation (SB 10/HB 4004) that would ban so-called “dismemberment abortions.”

Republican legislators have modeled their bill after similar bans in Oklahoma and Kansas, but the laws in those states are being held up by court challenges.

The bill’s supporters say they want to stop a “barbaric” abortion practice spotlighted in a series of undercover videos that targeted Planned Parenthood last year. The videos sparked outrage among anti-abortion activists, and Planned Parenthood sued the makers of the video last week.

“Dismemberment abortion is a barbaric practice that we wouldn’t do to a criminal,” said Sen. Dave Sypolt, R-Preston, the bill’s lead sponsor in the Senate.

Abortion rights advocates counter that the legislation would put women’s lives in danger, forcing them to undergo riskier procedures or forgo abortions.

“Unfortunately, politicians in West Virgina seem bent on not only taking us back in time, but putting us at the forefront of an extreme national agenda,” said Margaret Chapman Pomponio, executive director of West Virginia Free. “West Virginia should not be a testing ground for dangerous and extreme legislation that sacrifices women’s health.”

The National Right to Life Committee is urging states to adopt what it calls “model legislation” to prohibit the dilation and evacuation abortion procedure commonly used for women who are more than 12 weeks pregnant. Exceptions could be made to prevent death or extreme physical harm to women.

The anti-abortion group West Virginians for Life has named the abortion-restriction bill as their top priority for the 60-day legislative session that got underway last week.

“We need to eliminate this practice that could lead to the sale of baby parts wherever that may occur,” said Wanda Franz, president of the group. “Passing this law would prevent abortionists from doing the type of abortion that allows them to harvest baby parts as described in the undercover videos.”

The legislation bans doctors from using forceps, clamps, scissors or similar instruments on a live fetus to remove it from the womb in pieces.

Doctors use the dilation and evacuation procedure in about 95 percent of second-trimester abortions nationally. Lawyers for abortion rights groups in Kansas and Oklahoma have argued that previous U.S. Supreme Court rulings don’t allow states to ban the most common technique for terminating a pregnancy.

Judges in Oklahoma and Kansas have blocked bans from taking effect in those states.

“Voters want a legislature that is focused on improving education, increasing access to health care and jobs,” Chapman Pomponio said. “This bill does the opposite: It aims to take away health care and imprison our doctors.”

Lawyers for anti-abortion groups have argued that doctors could avoid violating the ban by giving the fetus a lethal injection or by severing its umbilical cord before performing an abortion. The legislation doesn’t apply to a fetus that dies before instruments are used to remove it from the womb.

The West Virginia bill outlaws “causing the death of an unborn child, purposely to dismember a living unborn child and extract him or her one piece at a time from the uterus.”

Eleven GOP House of Delegates members and 11 state senators are sponsoring the “Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act.”

“This is a commonsense follow-up to what we’ve seen in our country with Planned Parenthood this past year,” said Delegate Lynne Arvon, R-Raleigh.

Last week, Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit against the Center for Medical Progress, the group that released the undercover videos, which purport to show Planned Parenthood executives discussing the illegal sale of baby parts. The lawsuit alleges that the videos were illegally recorded and deceptively edited — and part of a “smear campaign” against Planned Parenthood.

Last year, a law prohibiting abortions 20 weeks after conception took effect in West Virginia, even though Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin vetoed the ban over concerns that a court would strike it down. The Republican-controlled Legislature overrode the governor’s veto in March. The 20-week abortion ban is based on the disputed theory that a fetus can feel pain at that point. Eleven states have some version of the 20-week ban.

Reach Eric Eyre at ericeyre@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4869 or follow @ericeyre on Twitter.

"Any preacher worth preaching is supposed to make you feel some discomfort."

The Rev. Nelson Rivers' voice thundered from the pulpit at Asbury United Methodist Church on Monday as he sought to shed light on Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy - one that is often watered down or simply forgotten for the rest of the year.

Rivers was the guest speaker at the West Virginia Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 2016 Commemoration, an ecumenical service hosted by the Martin Luther King Jr. State Holiday Commission. Rivers is pastor at Charity Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, South Carolina.

The commemoration kicked off with speakers representing the Muslim and Jewish communities who spoke of King's vision for social change in the context of their respective religions.

"God wants us all to be good, equal, loving and just, and Dr. King told us we should all live by these simple rules," said Ibtesam Sue Barazi, from the West Virginia Islamic Association. "Now it's our responsibility to follow Dr. King's footsteps and carry the torch for justice."

This year's event theme, titled "There's Still Work To Be Done; If Not Now, When? If Not You, Who?" was reinforced by Rivers' message that the fight for equality and justice lies not on the mountaintops, or the high points people experience at church or joyful events, but in the valleys.

"At these annual celebrations, we say wonderful things about each other and come together, but it'll be another year before this many whites and blacks, Jews and Muslims, come together in the same place," Rivers said.

King is often mischaracterized as peaceful and mild by those who recall his work half a century later, he said.

"They didn't lock him up 30 times because he was a happy, go-along fellow; they did not try to kill him over and over again because he was such a sweet guy," Rivers said. For that time period, "Dr. King was a radical replica of Jesus Christ."

U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., listened as Rivers explained that Martin Luther King Jr. Day, preceding Black History Month in February, sets off a 45-day period that he dubs "the season of blackness."

"Black is gonna be in, black is gonna be stylish and popular; black people are going to be asked to speak all over America," he said. "And all the work you do in 365 days is going to be crammed into 45 days."

But it's the challenges people face in day-to-day life - in the valleys - where the effort toward racial equality must continue, he said.

He named Black Lives Matter as one movement working toward that goal. Despite some public criticism of Black Lives Matter, its vision is exactly what King's own movement pursued, Rivers said.

After the Birmingham, Alabama, church bombing in 1963, "not one white church held a prayer vigil or said a word about the [Ku Klux] Klan members who lived and worshiped with them - because the black lives did not matter," he said.

He also noted the way Dylann Roof was treated while in police custody after he allegedly killed nine people, including South Carolina state senator The Rev. Clementa Pinckney, last June in a mass shooting at the historic Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.

"They took [Roof] to Burger King to be fed before bringing him back, yet Tamir Rice was standing by with a [toy] gun in a place where you can carry a gun, and was shot dead in under two seconds," Rivers said, comparing Roof's treatment to that of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was shot and killed by Cleveland police in November 2014. A grand jury in December declined to indict the officers involved in the shooting.

"All lives matter is clear," he said. "Dr. King's movement was about making sure black lives matter."

By the end of his nearly 40-minute sermon, the church was filled with clapping, cheers and "Amens."

Monday's service also included a presentation of seven Living the Dream Awards, which honor West Virginians who exemplify principles characterized by King in his pursuit of social change.

Among the recipients was Michelle Mickle Foster, who was presented the Governor's Living the Dream award for her work with the Kanawha Institute for Social Research and Action, which serves more than 2,500 West Virginians annually. Foster recently was appointed as the executive director of the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation.

Due to frigid temperatures, the symbolic march following the service to the state Capitol grounds was canceled and attendees instead gathered in the lower rotunda to hear Capito, Manchin, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and others speak briefly.

"There's a particular pride for me as part of my legacy, that in the 1980s, my father, [Gov.] Arch Moore, created the Martin Luther King, Jr. State Holiday Commission, which lives and breathes today," Capito said. "I'm hoping West Virginians will be inspired by Dr. King's words not just today, but every day."

The Appalachian Children's Chorus and the Martin Luther King Jr. Male Chorus sang during the ceremony before a moment of silence was held to honor King.

Reach Elaina Sauber at elaina.sauber@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-3051 or follow @ElainaSauber on Twitter.

St. Albans book sale

The Advisory Board for the St. Albans Branch of the Kanawha County Public Library is sponsoring a Used Book Sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday in the community room on the second floor of the St. Albans Library. Prices range from a quarter to a dollar. All proceeds are used to support activities at the library. Contact the St. Albans Library at 304-722-4244 for more information.

Instructors needed

Putnam County Parks and Recreation Commission is looking for instructors to teach classes. Anyone who has a trade, whether it is cooking, sewing, exercise, dance, welding, etc. and would like to teach a class can contact the park office at 304-562-0518, ext. 101.

Hot cocoa hike

Greater Huntington Park and Recreation District will sponsor a 2-mile hike beginning at 10 a.m. Jan. 30 on the Huntington Museum of Art Trails. Hot cocoa and a nature-based craft will follow. For more information, email Stacey Leep at sleep@ghprd.org or 304-696-5954, or Cindy Dearborn at cdear born@hmoa.org or 304-529-2701.

Items for Bulletin Board may be submitted by mail to the Charleston Gazette-Mail, 1001 Virginia St. E., Charleston, WV 25301; faxed to 304-348-1233; or emailed to gazette@ wvgazettemail.com. Notices will be run one time free. Please include a contact person's name and a daytime phone number.

In Around West Virginia today: Byrd's appropriations exceed $10 billion, a Catholic committee supports social justice, some doctors refusing to prescribe naloxone, and more.

n The late Sen. Robert Byrd's appropriations to West Virginia totaled more than $10 billion. Ray Smock, the director of the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education, told WEPM, an affiliate of MetroNews, that they are still totaling a final number. "It's $10 billion and growing," he said.

n MetroNews spoke with the parents of Carli Sears, a 20-year-old woman from Charleston who died in what police said was a hit and run in Morgantown on Sunday. "She brought a smile to the room wherever she went, whatever she did," Brent Sears said. "Love them as much as you can, because it can be gone in a nanosecond."

n The Catholic Committee of Appalachia published a pastoral letter focused on achieving social justice and spreading a message of inclusivity, according to West Virginia Public Broadcasting. The committee first held listening sessions with groups that have historically been subject to discrimination, such as women, the homeless, people of color and the LGBT community. While the first and second pastorals were endorsed by church leadership, the letter is not endorsed by any bishops, although some bishops in southern Appalachia helped fund it.

In one section entitled "The Voices of Coalfield Residents," the authors wrote:

Extreme mining activity destroys

a person's sense of place and of home

along with the landscape.

People living in mining areas

in Appalachia and beyond

often grieve the loss of home

as they would the loss of a dear friend,

a condition some are calling

solastalgia

Studies have confirmed higher rates

of depression in the coalfields,

often related to this loss of place.

People of faith would be right

to consider this grief

a kind of spiritual death.

n Some doctors are not prescribing naloxone because they don't want to be labeled as the only doctor who will prescribe the opioid overdose blocker, according to Dr. Rahul Gupta, Commissioner for the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources Bureau for Public Health. C.K. Babcock, a professor from the Marshall University School of Pharmacy, told West Virginia Public Broadcasting that sometimes no one shows up at the naloxone classes he offers because doctors aren't prescribing the drug. He said some doctors are also worried about liability.

n A group of fraternity brothers attacked a man with a hammer in Buckhannon, according to WDTV. Jackson Dalton Tyler is being charged with malicious wounding, while others are being charged with aiding and abetting malicious assault.

Reach Erin Beck at erin.beck@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5163, Facebook.com/erinbeckwv, or follow @erinbeckwv on Twitter.

Mary C. Snow Elementary will dismiss students at 10:40 a.m. this morning because of a lack of heat according to a message from Kanawha County Schools.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - It's higher education day at the West Virginia Capitol.

Representatives of colleges and universities across the state are gathering Tuesday for the annual event to bring attention to their mission and the opportunities they offer.

The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission says participating institutions will distribute information and have representatives on hand to answer questions in the Upper Rotunda.

The higher education community also will be recognized with presentations in the Senate and the House of Delegates during morning floor sessions.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - The state Alcohol Beverage Control Administration has received a record 78 entries from high school students for a contest discussing the dangers of drinking and driving and underage alcohol consumption.

Sixteen high schools submitted essays or videos for the contest. Winners will be announced in late January. Prizes include $5,000 for first place, $2,500 for second place and $1,000 for third place. Prize money must be used for school-sanctioned events or equipment.

The agency says in a news release that students from the winning school will help develop a 60-second public service announcement which will air statewide during this year's prom and graduation seasons.

The NO School Spirits contest is funded with grants from State Farm, the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association and the Governors Highway Safety Program.

Before they go in front of the Kanawha County Commission next week, members of the county's Solid Waste Authority hope to find out more about their financial situation from the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Authority members want to know if they can use money from a DEP grant to buy a new building. The grant was for new equipment, but if the authority can buy the building, it won't need some of the equipment.

The Solid Waste Authority has found a building that is move-in ready. It's located close to their current location and the seller hasn't put the building on the market officially, thinking that the space might be shared while the seller finds a new location. It has not released information about the seller or the location.

If the Solid Waste Authority is allowed to move into the new space, it would be able to save money by no longer using Waste Management to transport its materials and no longer having to pay a processing fee to WV Cashin in Nitro.

Moving into that space, however, would depend on getting Charleston and South Charleston involved. Currently, the two largest cities in Kanawha County transport their recyclables to Beckley to be processed. That has allowed Charleston to use a single-stream recycling system, meaning that all recyclables are put in the same bin. If Charleston were to bring its recyclables to Kanawha County, while it would save money on transportation, it would have to either move away from single-stream or swallow some of the cost.

"Single-stream is definitely a lot more expensive on our end and that's what we've got to sit down and discuss," said James Young, executive director of the Solid Waste Authority. "We can no longer handle the total cost of recycling, if it's single-stream, dual-stream or whatever."

Part of the reason the Solid Waste Authority can't handle the cost of recycling is the current market. The Solid Waste Authority generated only $231 in recycling revenue in December, down from the $608 they received in November.

Beckley can afford to process a single-stream system because they supplement their recycling center with money from a landfill but the Solid Waste Authority doesn't have that kind of support, Young said.

"The more difficult it is on our end, the cost increases and that needs to be shared in some way," Young said.

The Solid Waste Authority hopes to reallocate the grant money so that it can get a processing facility up and running as soon as possible to minimize its losses. While the Solid Waste Authority is able to pay its bills for January, it only has around $3,800 left over for the next month.

If the DEP doesn't allow the Solid Waste Authority to use the grant money, the authority could still go through the loan process with the Solid Waste board, but it would take much longer to get the operation up and running. That could potentially require the Solid Waste Authority shutting down its drop site to save money until it gets a building operating.

Solid Waste Authority officials hope to meet with DEP before they go in front of the Kanawha County Commission on Jan. 28.

Reach Daniel Desrochers at dan.desrochers@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4886 or follow @drdesrochers on Twitter.

Instead of severe increases in co-pays, deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums that were part of a proposed $120 million of benefits cuts, people covered by the Public Employees Insurance Agency should see small premium increases - if the Legislature adopts Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's proposal to increase state funding for PEIA, the agency's executive director said Tuesday.

"That money gets us pretty darn close," Ted Cheatham said of the governor's proposal to increase PEIA general revenue funding by $43.48 million to cover an employer premium increase.

"We're in pretty good shape if what the governor proposed occurs," he added. "It's still going to hurt employees some."

The PEIA Finance Board will meet Thursday to adopt a revised 2016-17 benefits plan, based on the assumption the Legislature will approve Tomblin's proposal to increase funding for employer contributions to the health insurance program.

Under a state law requiring an 80-20 ratio of employer and employee contributions, Tomblin's plan will require a 9 to 12 percent increase in employee premiums, Cheatham said.

For single coverage for an employee making between $36,000 and $42,000 a year, that would work out to a $9 a month increase, from $83 to $92, Cheatham said.

For family coverage for an employee in the same salary bracket, the premium would go up $25 a month, from $262 to $287, he said.

For a lot of insurees, Cheatham said the small premium hikes are preferable to the $120 million of benefits cuts that would increase deductibles by $500 for single coverage and $1,000 for family coverage, and raise annual out-of-pocket maximums by $1,500 for single coverage and $3,000 for family plans.

Those cuts would also increase prescription drug costs, most significantly raising the co-pay for preferred brand drugs from $25 per prescription to 30 percent of the actual cost.

"When you do benefits cuts, as we were planning, 100 percent of the costs go to the employees, and they go specifically to employees using the services," Cheatham said.

Meanwhile, Cheatham said PEIA has just awarded a new pharmacy benefits management contract to CVS Caremark, a contract that should produce about $20 million a year of cost savings, beginning July 1.

Cheatham said he will propose keeping a few of the benefits changes tentatively approved by the Finance Board in December, including a new $500 emergency room copay for injuries incurred because of high-risk behaviors. That includes injuries from accidents while riding motorcycles or ATVs without helmets, driving under the influence or failing to wear seatbelts.

"We're looking at some very minor benefit changes that we probably need to make anyway," he added.

Tomblin's plan envisions using part of a proposed 45-cents-a-pack increase in cigarette taxes, and a 7.5 percent increase on taxes on other tobacco products to fund the employer premium increase.

Cheatham said Tuesday he's optimistic the Legislature will come up with the funding for PEIA.

"I've had several calls from legislators asking about PEIA," he said, adding, "I think most all of them want to solve the PEIA problem, on both the Republican and Democrat sides."

Reach Phil Kabler at philk@wvgazettemail.com, 304 348-1220, or follow @PhilKabler on Twitter.