Charleston Daily Mail

Toll Plaza Cutback Proposed,: ; Parkways Commissioners Hiring Consultant to Curb Congestion; Toll Plaza Elimination Suggested

DAILY MAIL STAFF Imagine a future without a tollbooth at Chelyan on the West Virginia Turnpike.

Beauty Queens, Boxers and Big Ball Will Keep Civic Center Busy

DAILY MAIL STAFF During the next few weeks, Charleston Civic Center has to perfect the skills of a quick-change artist.

Old Macdonald Had an ... Alpaca?, Putnam County Couple Hoping to Turn Small Herd of Llama-Like Animals Into a Thriving Enterprise

DAILY MAIL STAFF LIBERTY- There's simply no verse in the song "Old MacDonald" for what Linda and T.J. Meadows have on their Putnam County ridge top farm.

West Side Patrols to Be Stepped Up, Nine New Officers to Be Sworn: ; in Today at City Hall Ceremony

DAILY MAIL STAFF Charleston police plan to step up patrols immediately on the violence-plagued West Side, and they hope more help will be on the way as department ranks swell by more than 20 officers over the next year.

Putnam Hospital Sponsors Seminar On Diet Fads, Fraud

Putnam General Hospital will offer a free seminar on weight loss fads and fraud from 10:30 a.m. to noon Jan. 17 at the Hurricane Valley Community Center. A free brunch will be included.

S.C. Council to Honor Those Who Died in War On Terror

South Charleston City Council voted to add language to a plaque at the South Charleston Memorial Ice Arena to honor those who have died in the war on terror. Currently, the plaque has language discussing the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Ex-Lawmaker Seeking Tapes of Meetings,: ; Mezzatesta Wants to Find Out What's Been Said About Him in Hampshire School Board Meetings

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Former House Education Chairman Jerry Mezzatesta has filed a Freedom of Information request with his employer in an effort to find out what people have written and said about him in Hampshire County.

Autopsy Shows: ; Bar Bouncers' Chokehold Killed College Student

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW ORLEANS - A college student who died in a New Year's Eve scuffle outside a French Quarter karaoke bar was suffocated by three bouncers who had him in a chokehold for 12 minutes, the coroner said. The bouncers were later booked with negligent homicide.

County Will Advertise for Manager, Hardy Says He Felt Rushed When Carper Expressed His Preference

DAILY MAIL STAFF Selection of a new county manager is shaping up to be the first big contentious issue of the year for the Kanawha County commissioners.

Parents Say Tardiness Was Their Fault, so They Do Detention, Too

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PEARLAND, Texas - Susan and Steven Manis say it was their fault their daughter was late for school so they shared her punishment - spending an hour with her in detention.

Weather

Almanac Yesterday's high 65

Weather

Tonight Rain. Lows around 40.

Weather

Regional forecasts Akron 42 31 Rain

Weather

National forecasts Anchorage 27 17 PCldy

Iraq's Interim Government Continues State of Emergency, Nine U.S. Soldiers Die in Separate Attacks

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's prime minister warned that insurgent strikes would only increase as the country's election draws closer on the same day the government extended a state of emergency and nine U.S. troops were killed, the deadliest day for American forces since a suicide attack on a U.S. base last month.

'You Wonder, Where Are the People?' , Bodies of Another 7,000 Tsunami Victims Discovered; Toll Climbs to More Than 147,000

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BANDA ACEH, Indonesia - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan described the devastation on tsunami-battered Sumatra island today as the worst he's ever seen, and authorities raised Indonesia's death toll by 7,000, bringing the overall total killed by the disaster to more than 147,000.

Nation &World

Man sues to bar prayer at Bush inauguration SAN FRANCISCO - An atheist who sued because he did not want his young daughter exposed to the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance has filed a suit to bar the saying of a prayer at President Bush's inauguration.

Flooding Damages Wheeling Homes, Businesses, Schools Were Closed in Several Counties

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Ohio River flooding damaged hundreds of Northern Panhandle homes and businesses, but emergency officials said the situation was not as bad as September floods that wreaked havoc on the same area.

Local Briefs

Groups donated money to help defeat McGraw The West Virginia Coal Association and a Wheeling physicians group both contributed heavily to And For the Sake of the Kids, a political group that attacked former Supreme Court Justice Warren McGraw during last year's campaign, according to federal filings.

Flood Causes 25 Barges to Break Loose On Ohio River, Fort Henry Bridge Pier Struck; Inspection Turns Up No Damage

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Twenty-five coal barges broke loose along the West Virginia section of the Ohio River as rain swelled the waterway.