8/9/2019 Front page The Herald-Dispatch, Oct. 27, 2009

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KABUL A U.S.military helicoptercrashed Mondaywhile returning fromthe scene of a fire-fight with suspectedTaliban drug traf-fickers in westernAfghanistan, killing10 Americans includ-ing three DEAagents in a not-so-noticed warwithin a war.

Faces of the Ti-StateCo-founder of HOT, Helen Freeman,makes a difference teaching at HHS

Commuity / 1C

IdexBusiness 5B

Classifed 1D

Comics 6B

Crossword 3D

Editorials 4A

Horoscope 5D

Lie 4C

Local 3A

B. Lucas 4C

Movies 5C

Nation 5A

Obituaries 2C

Sports 1B

Television 5C

www.herald-dspatch.com

Huntngton, West VrgnaVol. 109 No. 300

Showes late i the day

6550Weathe / 6A

Oe game at a timeMarshall sticks to motto, focusingon next C-USA clash at UCFSpots / 1B

Huntington, West Virginia www.herald-dispatch.com First Edition 50

TUESDAYOctobe 27, 2009

CSI hitsHutigtoMU ForensicScience ProgramsCSI: Huntingtonplayed host to 15people who showedup for the firstcourse in a four-week program attheir crime scenehouse downtown.Local / 3A

Bya Adamsi cocetAfter three decades

and the sale of 60million records,Bryan Adams isbringing his soloacoustic show tothe Paramount ArtsCenter at 8 p.m.Thursday, Oct. 29.Life / 4C

Max & Emasi touble?Max & ErmasInc. has filed forChapter 11 bank-

ruptcy protectionin Pittsburgh listingbetween $1 millionand $10 million indebts.Busiess / 5B

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By CHRISTIAN ALEXANDERSEN

The Herald-Dispatchcalexandersen@herald-dispatch.com

WAYNE Some towing companiesin Wayne County claim that local lawenforcement officers are using their powerto unfairly give friends and family mem-bers involved in towing more business.

The West Virginia Ethics Commis-sion is looking into allegations that somecompanies get preferential treatment.The Wayne County Office of EmergencyServices sent on Oct.19 about 100 pages oftow logs to the com-mission for its review.It was unknown whofiled the complaint.

But Braxton Adkins,who started JBs Tow-ing & Auto Salvage inHuntington in 2001,

said hes hired a law-yer in hopes of chang-ing Wayne Countysordinance to allowequal towing for everytowing service in thecounty. Another tow-ing company operator,who declined to benamed, said he also questions the currentsystems fai rness.

Earlier this year, Wayne County Com-mission re-approved an ordinance layingout a three-step procedure for calling atowing company when a vehicle in anaccident requires towing.

The procedure is to be carried out in thisorder: owners choice, the closest availableand capable towing service and policeofficers discretion. The closest availabletowing service is to be determined by thebusiness located closest to the accident

as defined by the address of the towingservice filed with the Public Service Com-mission of West Virginia, according to theordinance.

Commission President Charles Sam-mons said the governing body decided torenew the ordinance because it was a goodpolicy that was followed and understoodthroughout the county.

However, Jim Cooper, operations super-visor at Wayne County Dispatch 911, saidhis employees have always followed atwo-step process for towing and not themandatory three-step process.

Wayne policyquestionedby towingcompaniesEthics commissionlooks into preferentialtreatment allegations

Please see TOWING/6A

Nine out of10 times, theowner has a

request of whothey want.

Unless theyrefrom out of

town, they know

who they wantto tow their

vehicle.

Jim Cooperoperations supervisor

at Wayne CountyDispatch 911

By JOHN RABYThe Associated Press

CHARLESTON Statehealth officials estimate the

availability of swine flu vaccinesfor shipment to West Virginia should

more than double in the coming weeks andincrease dramatically in December.

Dr. Cathy Slemp, the state health off icer, saidMonday the H1N1 vaccines are currently targeted

for five higher-risk groups. They include pregnantwomen, health-care workers, caregivers of chil-dren younger than 6 months old, people ages 6

months to 24 years, and people ages 25 to 64 withunderlying health risks.

Slemp says those groups comprise about halfof the states 1.8 million residents, but theres onlyenough vaccine to cover up to 5 percent of thepopulation.

Slemp says most vaccines are currently beingshipped to public health departments, but eventu-ally more private clinics will receive them.

Jump in swine flu vaccine

supply expected in W.Va.MOrE InSIDE:ON 3A: Shots available at Lawrence County Health Dept.

ON 3C: Flu clinics in Cabell and Wayne counties

DEA agets amog dead i Afghaista

By CURTIS JOHNSONThe Herald-Dispatchcujohnson@herald-dispatch.com

KENOVA Investigatorscharged an out-of-state tractor-trailer driver Monday in connec-tion with the death of a disabled

man who was well-known tomany people in Kenova.

Deris Scott, 68, died about 10a.m. Monday after his motorizedwheelchair collided with the rearportion of a wide-turning tractor-trailer. The impact knocked Scottto the ground, but the truck con-tinued on, dragging the wheel-chair underneath its trailer.

Pieces of the wheelchairstretched for a quarter mile. Thebase landed two blocks south,next to a grocery store at Chest-nut Street. The actual padded

chair lay next to the curb at Syca-more Street, south of the townsgreen-painted underpass.

Police credited another motor-ist with chasing the tractor-trailerand forcing it to stop just northof the Interstate 64 interchange,

approximately three-quarters ofa mile from the crash site.

The driver Michael J. Joyce,43, of South Carolina wascharged with felony negligenthomicide, along with two mis-demeanors, failure to stop atthe scene and accident causingdeath, said Bob McComas, chiefof the Kenova Department ofPublic Safety. The chief describedthe crash as a freak accident,but tragic. Indications were the

Kenova man killedwhile crossing street

Curts Johnson/The Herald-Dspatch

Wayne County Prosecutor Tom Plymale, let, joins anotherinvestigator at one o our scenes l inked to a atal accident Mondaymorning in Kenova. Authorities said the rear portion o a tractor-trailer hit a disabled man as he crossed 14th Street.

-

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SOURCE: ESRI AP

PAK.

TURK.UZBEK. TAJIK.

Kabul

AFGHANISTAN

Helicoptercrashes

Helmandprovince

Badghisprovince

0 200 mi

0 200 km

Moe o 5A

Please see ACCIDENT/6A

By BRYAN CHAMBERSThe Herald-Dispatchbchambers@herald-dispatch.com

HUN TIN GTON Huntington City Councilunanimously approved aresolution Monday eve-ning committing fundingtoward the Paul Ambrose

Trail for Health.The city will commit

$113,100 for the project,which is the same amountthe Rahall TransportationInstitute at Marshall Uni-versity is committing.

The funding will be usedas a local match to apply

for a Congestion Mitiga-tion and Air Quality grantfor the construction oftwo segments of the trail,according to Charles Hol-ley, director of develop-ment and planning.

One segment will con-nect Harris Riverfront

Park to 3rd Street West,while the other will con-nect the riverfront parkto McClelland Park inHighlawn. Portions of thetrail in Highlawn will use ashare-the-road concept onexisting streets.

The 26-mile trail will

connect existing path-ways to newly construct-ed walkways and somespecial bicycle lanes onHuntington streets. Thefinished project will con-nect all of the citys parksto each other and its threelargest employers, Cabell

Huntington Hospital, St.Marys Medical Center andMarshall.

The Paul AmbroseTrail for Health honorsthe memory of the CabellCounty native and Marshall

Council unanimously approves trail funding

Please see COUNCIL/6A

8/9/2019 Front page The Herald-Dispatch, Oct. 27, 2009

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Ftzpatrck

driver never saw Scott crossingthe intersection and never real-ized the collision had occurred,McComas said.

Kenova Elementary Schoolcustodian Steve Sullivan andBernard Little were among thefirst witnesses to respond. Sul-livan heard the collision andwatched sparks fly as the truckdrove away. He yelled andmotioned for its driver to stopto no avail.

Little heard the impactfrom across U.S. 60 at theDollar General. Little, a mem-ber of the stores managementteam, rushed to the crashand placed his jacket overScotts body. He died withinmoments.

Word quickly spread to Scotts

brother, Ara. He hurried to thescene looking for answers.

He was a great guy, every-body liked him, he said.

Scott was a double ampu-tee whose disability stemmedfrom his previous work withthe state Division of Highways.Ara Scott said his brothersdisability led him to befriendothers who used wheelchairs.They frequently moved aroundthe town.

Used car dealer Ron Fergu-son frequently saw Deris Scottpass by and described him tobe a local fixture. Fergusonsdealership is located at 14thStreet and U.S. 60. He heardMondays impact, but initiallybelieved the truck hit the curbor a utility pole. He estimateshe hears that sound 50 times aday, but he said this sound was

different.This one was a little bit loud-

er than usual, he said.Kenova Elementary sits

across 14th Street from Fergu-sons dealership. Employees atthe school were among thosewho reportedly witnessed dif-ferent aspects of the crash.Principal Deidre Farley heardsirens from the respondingofficials. Some of her teacherssaw its aftermath. She said thestudents were shielded fromthe scene; classrooms did nothave windows facing the crashsite.

United Bank employee Mor-gan Keyser heard the impact ablock away. She looked outsideand saw the smoke coming fromthe wheelchair at Chestnut and14th streets. She said 14th Streetmotorists travel too fast withoutpaying attention, causing eachintersection to be particularlydangerous.

Its ridiculous. It really is,she said.

McComas said pedestrian-involved crashes are rare inKenova, but he acknowledged14th Street and its intersectionscan be dangerous because ofvehicle speed as motorists usethe city route as a short cut fromInterstate 64 to U.S. 60. He esti-mates officers have written 25 to30 tickets during the past twoweeks.

Farley was not among those

who believe the intersection isoverly dangerous, but she saidsafety concerns do keep herfrom allowing students fromcrossing at the busy intersec-tion. She said a city policeofficer also watches the areawhen children are near theroad.

Farleys preschool studentswere among those used to see-ing Deris Scott out and about.Aide Anndrea Meadows andher students would frequentlysee Deris Scott on walks to thelibrary.

He was just a very nice man.He would always speak to thekids and say, I hope you havea good day, she recalled. Imgoing miss him, but I think thekids will miss just saying Hi .He was just a common guythey always saw.

McComas also was accus-tomed to seeing Deris Scott

wheel through downtown. Thechief said he became emotionalduring interviews earlier in theday.

He was a super nice guy,McComas said. Life is so timid.One minute youre here. Thenext minute youre dead.

Investigators closed 14thStreet between Chestnut andOak streets to reconstruct thecrash.

The Kenova Departmentof Public Safety investigat-ed the crash with assistancefrom the West Virginia StatePolice, Wayne County Sher-iffs Office and the WayneCounty Prosecutors Office.An enforcement unit from thestate Public Service Commis-sion also was involved sincethe accident included a com-mercial vehicle.

201850

WSAZ FIRST WARNING WEATHER

H Lo H Lo H Lo

Albuquerque 54 39

Anchorage 41 39

Asheville 64 40

Atlanta 65 49

Atlantic City 62 42Baltimore 62 39

Boston 57 45

Bualo 64 37

Burlington,Vt. 51 31

Charleston,S.C. 64 60

Charlotte,N.C. 61 48

Chicago 55 51

Dallas-Ft Worth 54 54

Denver 55 21

Des Moines 54 40

Detroit 64 42

Duluth 42 39

El Paso 61 47

Fairbanks 24 18

Greensboro,N.C. 62 46

Honolulu 88 75

Houston 70 64

Indianapolis 68 43Jacksonville 77 56

Kansas City 56 41

Little Rock 60 55

Los Angeles 91 60

Memphis 73 49

Miami Beach 88 74

Milwaukee 53 52

Mpls-St Paul 50 42

Nashville 69 38

New Orleans 69 58

New York City 60 46

Norolk,Va. 65 54

Orlando 88 66

Philadelphia 64 46

Phoenix 84 59

Pittsburgh 66 36

Raleigh-Durham 64 44

Reno 74 38Richmond 65 43

Sacramento 78 51

St Louis 56 54

St Petersburg 85 66

Salt Lake City 57 32

San Diego 85 59

San Francisco 69 57

Santa Fe 50 32

Seattle 52 47

Tampa 85 61

Tucson 83 50

Tulsa 60 49

Washington,D.C. 65 45

Fo school closigs, oad coditios ad latest foecasts,go olie to www.heald-dispatch.com/weathe

LONG-RANGE FORECASTfrom the National Weather Service

REGIONAL FORECASTYESTERDAYS TEMPERATURES

Charleston 64 46 Cldy 66 52 Cldy

Cincinnati 64 43 Rain 63 51 Cldy

Lexington 61 45 Rain 64 51 Cldy

Louisville 62 47 Rain 66 51 Cldy

Today Tomorrow

Today will be mostly cloudy and breezy with showers later in the day with a high o 65

degrees and a low o 50 degrees.

Watch WSAZs First Warning Weather with meteorologists Tony Cavalier, Josh

Fitzpatrick, Marina Jurica and Chris Bailey.

CHARLESTON: A slight chance o showersater 2 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 63.

Light and variable wind. Chance o precipitation

is 20 percent.

BECKLEY: A chance o showers, mainly ater

3 p.m. Cloudy, with a high near 58. Light s outh

wind. Chance o precipitation is 30 percent.

New rainall amounts o less than a tenth o

an inch possible.

PARKERSBURG: Increasing clouds, with a high

near 62. Calm wind becoming south around

5 mph.

MORGANTOWN: Partly sunny, with a high near

62. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph.

WEDNESDAY: A chance of showers, mainlybefore 9 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 66.West wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipita-tion is 30 percent. New rainfall amounts betweena tenth and quarter of an inch possible. Wednes-day Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 47.Calm wind.

THURSDAY: Sunny, with a high near 73. Thurs-day Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 53.

FRiDAY: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy,with a high near 72. Chance of precipitation is30 percent. Friday Night: A chance of showers.Cloudy, with a low around 55. Chance of precipi-tation is 50 percent.

SATURDAY: A chance of showers. Mostlycloudy, with a high near 67. Chance of precipita-tion is 50 percent. Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy,with a low around 45.

PRECiPiTATiONas of 9:05 p.m. from the

National Weather Service

Total past 24 hours: noneTotal this month: 2.07 inchesTotal this year: 41.67 inches

TEMPERATURESSundays high: 63Sundays low: 34Mondays high: 69Mondays low: 33High one year ago yesterday: 69Low one year ago yesterday: 40Normal high: 63

Normal low: 41Record high: 87 in 1939Record low: 21 in 1962Sunrise today: 7:51 a.m.Sunset today: 6:36 p.m.

OHiO RiVERHuntington: 26.23 feet, risingAshland: 34.46 feet, steady

TRAVEL FORECASTHartsield Atlanta International Air-port: CLOUDY, 71/53Douglas International Airport, Char-lotte, N.C.: CLOUDY, 76/57Pittsburgh International Airport:RAINY, 59/49

Tri-State

Weather

HIGH: 65 LOW: 50 RAINY

Local6AThe Herald-Dispatch Huntington, WV, Tuesday, October 27, 2009 Questions? Call the newsroom at 304-526-2798 www.herald-dispatch.com

If the vehicle owner doesnot have a preference in atowing company, Cooper saidlaw enforcement officials usetheir discretion in determin-ing which company gets thecall.

Cooper said he doesnt thinkits a conflict of interest for lawenforcement officers to makethe decision on which wreckerservice to call. Thats becausemost of the time off icers donthave to use their discretion,Cooper said.

Nine out of 10 times, theowner has a request of who theywant, Cooper said. Unlesstheyre from out of town, theyknow who they want to towtheir vehicle.

Bill Willis, director of the

Wayne County Office of Emer-gency Services, defended thedispatchers for taking the callsfrom police officers on thescene and sending out wreck-ers. It is not the responsibilityof the dispatchers, Willis said,to decide which towing com-pany gets the call.

I wont allow my dispatchersto make that decision becausetheres always allegations thatdispatchers pick their favor-ites, Willis said.

Sammons said he assumesthere must be a misunder-standing between the commis-sion and the Wayne CountyDispatch 911. Sammons said

he wouldnt discuss any pos-sible penalties associated withnot following a county ordi-nance.

If the ordinance isnt beingfollowed, well want to knowwhy its not being followed,Sammons said.

It is state code that any coun-ty operating an emergency tele-phone system establish a policythat provides the most prompt,fair, equitable and effectiveresponse to requests or dis-patches for emergency towingservice.

Adkins claims that his com-pany has received about 50 tow-ing calls from the county sincehe began his business. Othercompanies who have friendsand family members in locallaw enforcement, Adkins said,are the ones more likely to getcalls.

If we relied on calls just

in Wayne County, wed goout of business, Adkins said.We can fix this in 15 min-utes. When (officers) call 911,tell them to use the closestservice.

Tow logs from Wayne CountyDispatch indicate that 31 callsfor towing services were madein September. Seven companiesreceived calls but JBs Towingwas not one of them. MaynardsWrecker Service in Waynereceived the most calls, 12, inthe one-month period.

By comparison, JBs Towingreceived 24 out of 265 towingcalls from Cabell County Dis-patch 911 during the same time

period. Cabell County has amuch different process thanWayne. It uses U.S. 60 at YatesCrossing as the dividing line forthe towing companies locatedin the north and south of thecounty. Two companies in eachsection are on call alternatingdays. That gives tow companiesequal opportunity to get busi-ness from the county.

When Cabell Countys tow-ing policy was passed in June,Assistant County ManagerChris Tatum said the new poli-cy would ensure only the desig-nated wreckers are respondingto the calls. The policy wouldlessen the confusion aboutwhich companies are respond-ing to emergencies on givendays, he said.

Michelle Maynard, co-ownerof Maynards Wrecker Service,said she doesnt receive anyspecial treatment from law

enforcement officials. Maynardsaid her towing service mighthave received the most amountof calls because they cover alarge portion of Wayne andEast Lynn areas of the countyand have been in service formore than 40 years.

We just do our business andkeep our noses out of otherpeoples business, Maynardsaid.

Accidentn Continued from 1A

Towingn Continued from 1A

Othe City Coucil actioHere's a look at other

actions taken by HuntingtonCity Council on Monday night:

FiRE TRUCK: The councilunanimously approved thepurchase of a new fire truckfor the Westmoreland FireStation. The truck will cost$347,680 and will be paid forfrom the Westmoreland FireLevy Fund.

KEiTH-ALBEE: The coun-cil unanimously approved aresolution allocating $50,000

to the Keith-Albee PerformingArts Center for the construc-tion of accessible restrooms.The money had previouslybeen allocated for a businessimprovement district in thedowntown, but it was neverestablished.

LAW ENFORCEMENT: Thecouncil advanced to secondreading of two separate ordi-nances involving the PoliceDepartment. The first is for thepurchase of four new policecruisers at a cost of $97,160.The funding for the purchasecomes from an Edward G.Byrne Department of Justicegrant.

The second ordinance willfurnish the Police Depart-ment with IT support through

the placement of a full-timetechnician at the department.The employee would be paid

$45,000 a year and contractedthrough Mountain State Com-puter and Network SolutionsCenter. The position alsowould be funded with a Byrnegrant.

DEMOLiTiON: The councilunanimously approved thesecond reading of an ordi-nance that renews the citysannual contract with R&BTassen Construction fordemolition and site clearanceof dilapidated structures. Theterms of the contract, $2.75per square foot, does notchange.

Development and Plan-ning Director Charles Holleysaid the contract quickens thedemolition process becausethe city no longer has to getapproval from City Councilevery time it needs to teardown a structure.

LAND BANK: The first read-ing of an ordinance authorizingthe mayor to transfer a handfulof city-owned properties to theHuntington Urban RenewalAuthority moved to a secondreading.

The properties will be col-lateral for a $1.5 million lineof credit that HURA is gettingto purchase delinquent taxliens at Cabell Countys tax

auction next month. The effortis part of the citys land bankprogram.

The properties to be trans-ferred include the Weed andSeed Center and a vacant lotbehind the center, a vacantlot behind the Fairfield EastCommunity Center and threevacant lots in the 2800 block of8th Avenue.

FEES: The council unani-mously approved the secondreading of an ordinance thatauthorizes the city to file liensagainst property owners forunpaid municipal service andrefuse fees.

STORMWATER: The councilunanimously approved thesecond reading of an ordi-nance that authorizes the citysparticipation in an intergov-ernmental agreement to con-solidate resources and raiseawareness about new federalstormwater regulations.

The agreement, which wouldeventually become known asthe Greater Kanawha Val-ley MS4 Association, couldinclude Kenova, Barboursville,Hurricane, Ceredo, SouthCharleston, Charleston, Dun-bar, Nitro, St. Albans, Poca,Milton, the West VirginiaDepartment of Transportation,Marshall and West VirginiaState University.

The associations budget

will be approximately $46,000and consist of funding from theparticipating entities.

University School of Medicinegraduate who died on AmericanAirlines Flight 77 when the jet-liner crashed into the Pentagonon Sept. 11, 2001.

The 32-year-old physicianwas senior clinical adviser tothe U.S. Surgeon General andwas involved in federal researchon the escalation of obesity inthe United States.

Work on the trail should beginin a year and be completed in

two years.Also Monday, the council

adopted 7-4 a resolution affirm-ing a court settlement in the lat-

est of a series of d isputes over apolicy that requires city workersto live in Huntington.

Under the settlement, whichalready was entered as an orderby Cabell Circuit Judge JaneHustead on Friday, all currentcity employees will be exemptfrom the residency require-ment. All workers hired afterthe settlement date, however,fall under the residency provi-sion.

Voting for the settlement wereNate Randolph, Steve Williams,Mark Bates, Frances Jackson,Scott Caserta, Sandra Clements

and Teresa Loudermilk. Votingagainst the settlement were JimInsco, Russ Houck, Jim Ritterand Rebeccah Thacker.

The same resolution wasrejected in August by a 6-5vote. Williams and Bates werethe two swing votes this time,citing new information theygathered in executive sessionslast month.

Williams and Bates said theychanged their opinion on thesettlement because had thecase been allowed to proceedin court, Hustead could haveordered the city to strictlyenforce the residency require-ment on all current employ-ees.

That could have meant as

many as 57 of the 109 mem-bers of the Huntington PoliceDepartment could have losttheir job, Williams said.

Counciln Continued from 1A

He was just a very niceman. He would always

speak to the kids and say,I hope you have a good

day.Anndrea MeadowsKenova Elementary aide