Drug crimes dominate Grand Jury indictments

Narcotics dealings and drug labs were responsible for over half of the true bills returned by the May 14 meeting of the Nicholas County Grand Jury. Of the twenty-two persons indicted, 13 had been charged with drug-related crimes, with the remainder being property or sex-related crimes. Those indicted and their alleged crimes are:

Charley Renee Ahart –2 counts, delivery of a controlled substance
Kniles Akers –2 counts, delivery of a controlled substance, 1 misdemeanor count, delivery of a controlled substance

Lester T. Barnhouse –possession with intent to deliver a substance (2 counts)

Amy Brown and Johnny L. Frame - grand larceny and conspiracy to commit grand larceny

Carmella G. Cadle and Charles S. Griffith - 6 counts, delivery of a controlled substance

Charles F. Chittum, Jr. - 4 counts, sexual assault 2nd degree

Allen R. Foster - 3 counts, delivery of a controlled substance

Allen R. Foster and Anthony Joe Petry - 2 counts, delivery of a controlled substance

Eric J. Hamrick - delivery of a controlled substance

Jeremy Scott King - 1st degree sexual assault, sexual abuse by parent, guardian or caregiver, incest, child abuse resulting in injury

John H. Lane III - operate/attempt to operate a clandestine drug lab, 2 counts

Stephen Edward Lewis II - failure to register as a sex offender

Paul Michael McKinney - 1st degree sex abuse, attempted sexual assault in 2nd degree, assault during commission of a felony

Timothy Meadows - embezzlement (13 counts)

Jerry Naylor - operate/attempt to operate a clandestine drug lab, possession of substance to be used as precursor

Roger Dale Proctor - possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, transport a controlled substance into West Virginia

Donald P. Wayne - possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, transport a controlled substance into West Virginia

Amanda L. Green-Wright - delivery of a controlled substance (2 counts)

 

 

 

 

The importance of trees

The Summersville Elementary School fifth grade classes participated in an Arbor Day Celebration sponsored by the Summersville Forestry Council recently which was capped off by the planting of a wild cherry tree pictured behind them on the school grounds. For more activities and photos of the Arbor Day Celebration, see page 8A.

 

 

 

 

Accidental fire damages Summersville Apartment Complex

An accidental fire damaged part of a Summersville apartment complex on Wednesday evening, May 8.

A spokesman for the Summersville Volunteer Fire Department said the fire occurred at 7:56 p.m. at the Summers Village Apartments on Robinson Street off Broad Street. The three-building complex is owned by Richard Myers of Salt Lick, Ky.

The spokesman said the fire started in Apartment 108 which was rented by Diana Boyce Hinkle on the ground floor of the building. The flames spread to the other seven apartments located on both floors of the building.

Fire destroyed the apartment where the fire began and destroyed 25 percent of apartment 107 located above it on the second floor. The six other apartments in the building all received some smoke or water damage.

Hinkle suffered smoke inhalation and was taken by Jan-Care Ambulance to Summersville Regional Medical Center where she was treated and released the following day.

An unidentified firefighter also suffered smoke inhalation and was treated and released from SRMC.

 

 

 

 

Summersville Planning and Zoning OK’s

Comprehensive Plan; considers annexation requests

The Summersville Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday evening, May 7, voted to recommend that the new Summersville Comprehensive Plan be adopted by the Summersville City Council.

The Commission also heard two requests to be annexed into the Summersville corporation limits.

Present for the meeting were Commission Chairman Mike Brown and members Joe Pratt, Dencil Moore, John Harper and Lisa Baker. Also present were Recorder Fred Reed and Building Code official Ashley Carr.

Comprehensive Plan
“I think we have a good blueprint for the future of Summersville,” said Recorder Reed about

the recently completed Summersville Comprehensive Plan.
The Comprehensive Plan was put together over the past eight to ten months by URS consultants of Morgantown with assistance from the West Virginia University  College of Law Land Use Center.

The Comprehensive Plan is a blueprint for the future of the city in the areas of land use, planning and zoning, streets and sidewalks, housing, services and economic development for the next 10 years. A Comprehensive Plan is required to be completed by the city, according to state law and must be completed by June 14. The most recent Comprehensive Plan was put together in the 1960s.

Chet Parsons and others of URS held a couple of public meetings to receive input from the community and also visited with local civic organizations, Nicholas County High School students and senior citizens at the Nicholas County Senior Center to receive additional input for the document.

The 88-page document was recently completed by URS for city officials to review.

The Commission voted unanimously to recommend to the Summersville City Council that they adopt the Comprehensive Plan at their May 13 meeting.

 

 

 

 

Courthouse trees; E-911 request addressed by Commission

The Nicholas County Commission on Tuesday, May 7, voted to remove six large, dying trees from the Nicholas County Courthouse Lawn.

The Commission also heard a request from the E-911 center to pay for the dispatchers to attend a fitness program, received an update on Courthouse facilities improvement projects and provided space for a handicapped employee to provide paper shredding for the Courthouse.

Present for the meeting were Commission President Yancy Short M.D.,  Commissioner John Miller and Commissioner Ken Altizer.

Removal of trees on Courthouse Lawn
In a follow-up to last month’s meeting, the Commission held a public meeting in regard to the proposed removal of trees from the Courthouse Lawn.

Arborist Bill Bihler of Alpine Tree Service and Fred Williams, Chairman of the Summersville Forestry Council, advised the Commission last month that two of the trees are dying and need to be removed as soon as possible, three other trees will probably need to be removed in a few years and another tree was planted in the wrong place.

The Commissioners noted that the large trees, due in part to having been improperly topped several years ago, have become a safety hazard and could fall on a person, vehicles or nearby buildings because of their poor condition. It was also felt that the trees wouldn’t be able to again survive storms such as the Derecho and Superstorm Sandy of last year.

There has also been a problem with crows roosting in the trees and leaving a large amount of excrement on benches and other fixtures on the Courthouse lawn and also at the entrance to the building.

Bihler said if the trees are removed, two sugar maples will be planted on the Courthouse lawn to replace them. Along with some other sugar maples that have been planted in recent years, they will provide shade for the Courthouse lawn in years to come.

The Commission voted unanimously to remove six large trees that are dying or not very good condition or planted in the wrong place from the Courthouse.

Present for the public meeting were Bihler, Williams and Summersville Forestry Council member  Bill Waters.

 

 

 

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