Charleston Daily Mail

Beloved Teacher Will Be Missed: ; Husband and Wife Hit; by Car and Killed While Walking Along I-64

Kent and Bethana Brewer's deaths along Interstate 64 have left a family broken and a community trying to pick up the pieces. The couple left behind two sons and three daughters.

Deeply Indebted Nitro Resisting Private Bailout

Although they're deeply in debt, Nitro city officials say they don't want any handouts. Mayor Rusty Casto said the city has about $500,000 in unpaid bills, and more than half of that amount is for its rising costs of providing health care insurance to city employees. Its coverage is through the Public Employees Insurance Agency.

Kanawha Sick Day Usage Plunges: ; School System Sees Drop in First Month of New Policy

Kanawha County teacher absences were down by 30 percent, but the amount of money spent on substitute salaries was up in September - the first full month of school with a new attendance policy in effect. Under the policy approved by the school board in June, employees can get bonuses of up to $1,050 a year for holding down their use of sick days.

A Brother's Love Is More Than Skin Deep

Students Proud of Quick-Fire Film

State Supreme Court Admits New Lawyers

Paper Reports Lawmaker Elbowed Bar Patrons: ; Allegation Called 'Ludicrous' by; Rahall Spokeswoman

A newspaper that covers Congress has reported that Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., pushed, shoved and elbowed several patrons at a popular Washington, D.C., watering hole. The Hill reported Wednesday that Rahall was recognized at the Capitol Lounge on Pennsylvania Avenue treating bar customers rudely and assertively. According to The Hill's sources, the 58-year-old Beckley native shoulder-checked his way through a crowded bar area to a bar stool at the far end of the lounge.

Students Proud of Quick-Fire Film

Jack Burgess, Tyler Chiartas, Ian Rahman and Garret Rhodes woke up early on the morning of Oct. 13 with no idea what lay ahead of them. The four George Washington High School seniors had decided to enter Apple Insomnia Film Festival, an online film competition in which competitors have 24 hours to write, act and edit a three- minute film.

Fred Thompson Watching His Waistline

GREENVILLE, S.C. - When Republican White House hopeful Fred Thompson heard he was going to a country-style restaurant in South Carolina, he said his eyes lit up, knowing a good Southern breakfast awaited. "But doggone, they brought me in a fruit plate," Thompson said to laughs at Tommy's Country Ham House.

Musharraf Pledges Elections: ; Bhutto Denounces Promise, Calls for Leader to Step Down

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan's parliamentary elections will he held by mid-February, a month later than planned, the country's military ruler said today, a day after President Bush urged him to hold the vote on time. Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto denounced President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's pledge as insufficient and said he should step down as army chief within a week.

Presidential Library Can't Locate 80,000 Reagan Artifacts

LOS ANGELES - The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum can't locate or account for tens of thousands of valuable mementos of Reagan's White House years, according to a published report. An audit by the National Archives inspector general concluded that the library in Simi Valley was unable to properly account for more than 80,000 objects out of its collection of some 100,000 artifacts, the Los Angeles Times reported on its Web site Wednesday night.

Va. Deputy Is Nation's Tallest Man: ; Norfolk Resident George Bell Is 7-Foot-8, Wears Size 19 Shoes

NORFOLK, Va. - To all those people who blurt out "Wow, you're tall!" as they stare up at George Bell: He knows. And now, the world will know, too.

Weather Almanac

Yesterday's high 46 Record high 82, 1938

Regional Weather

Hi Lo Otlk Akron 45 34 Cldy

National Weather

Hi Lo Otlk Anchorage 37 31 Cldy

Nation & World

Helicopter crash kills at least four

Rising Star Honors Brother's Memory: ; a Brother's Love Is More Than Skin Deep; Capital Player's Tattoo Keeps Sibling Close to His Heart

DAILY MAIL SPORTSWRITER It wasn't long after his little brother's death that Keion Wright, all of 12 years old, decided to get a tattoo.

Poker Players Won't Face Charges

WINFIELD - Putnam County Sheriff Mark Smith said six people who were robbed at gunpoint while playing an illegal poker game will not face criminal charges. On Nov. 1, Kimberly Steinbrecher and Jacqueline Dennis allegedly entered a storage building behind a bar on W.Va. 34 near Hurricane. They pointed guns at a gathering of men, getting away with more than $27,000 in cash, according to a criminal complaint.

Justices Refuse to Hear Tobacco Petition

A massive tobacco trial involving more than 1,000 plaintiffs will likely go off as scheduled following a state Supreme Court ruling. Justices on Wednesday voted 4-1 to refuse a petition filed by lawyers for five major tobacco companies asking they invalidate a plan for the trial devised by Ohio County Circuit Judge Arthur Recht.

Clarksburg Principal Takes Issue with Study: ; Robert C. Byrd High School Listed Among U.S. 'Dropout Factories'

Robert C. Byrd High School in Clarksburg has been designated a West Virginia School of Excellence. In 2003, it had the second highest Promise scholarship retention rate in the state, with more than 90 percent of graduates who received a Promise keeping it after their freshman college year.