Charleston Daily Mail

Exhibition Mine to Get New Draw: ; Beckley Tourist Attraction Adds Company Store to Rebuilt Coal Camp

ECKLEY - The complex above the popular Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine reopened this week, but visitors interested in the main attraction - the trip underground - will have to wait until June. And waiting a couple of months will yield another reward. Construction is nearly complete on a $3.5 million replica of a coal company store.

Brickstreet Meeting Plan Irks Manchin: ; Governor Says It Is Wrong to Take Business to Kentucky

HUNTINGTON - Gov. Joe Manchin said it is wrong for BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co. to have its annual meeting for agents in Kentucky instead of West Virginia. It was reported Tuesday that BrickStreet managers and agents would meet today through Friday at the Griffin Gate Marriott Resort & Spa in Lexington. In 2006 and 2007, the gathering took place at The Resort at Glade Springs near Beckley.

Man Gets $8 Million for Crash Caused by Missing Guardrail: ; Father,Son Slid Off 75-Foot Embankment in Snowstorm On W.Va. 218

A Weirton man is set to receive $8 million from the state after a jury found that the Division of Highways failed to replace a 27- foot section of guardrail that may have stopped him from plummeting 75 feet over an embankment. Keith West, 37, had his hip and right arm crushed in January 2005 when the Ford F-150 he was riding in veered off a snow-covered W.Va. 218 in Monongalia County.

Former Un Official Found Guilty of Accepting Bribes Is Sentenced

NEW YORK - A former United Nations procurement official convicted of accepting bribes was sentenced to eight years and a month in prison. Sanjaya Bahel, 57, was sentenced Tuesday after a jury found he had helped a friend win $100 million in U.N. contracts in exchange for a huge discount on two luxury Manhattan apartments and cash.

Greyhound Breeding, Tire Chain Bills Vetoed

Greyhound breeders, county assessors and school bus fleet managers all face one less change to state law after Gov. Joe Manchin vetoed recently passed legislation affecting each of them. The governor says a pending lawsuit prompted his Tuesday veto of a measure that would alter how the state allots money from its Greyhound Breeding Development Fund.

Nitro Delays Approval of Candidates

Nitro City Council is holding off on approving a final list of candidates for city offices until next week. Allegations were made earlier this week that some city candidates turned in petitions with forged or improper signatures, and that City Councilwoman Gertie Estep called prospective candidates with candidate papers that were already filled out.

House Challengers Call for Changes to Promise: ; Incumbents Say Students Shouldn't Be Required to Stay in State

The Promise Scholarship, state taxes and legislative pay raises are among the issues splitting Democratic candidates vying for a 30th District seat in the House of Delegates. Three incumbents and five challengers met Tuesday with the Daily Mail editorial board to delve into such issues still lingering from the recent legislative session.

Ohio Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Child-Sex Charges

LEBANON, Ohio - A former children's services lawyer accused in an Internet child-sex sting pleaded guilty to two charges. Barry Mentser, 48, of New Albany, pleaded Tuesday to importuning and attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, his attorney and a prosecutor said. Authorities dropped a charge related to spreading material harmful to juveniles.

Group of Ga. Third-Graders Aimed to Hurt Teacher

WAYCROSS, Ga. - A group of children ages 8 to 10 apparently were mad at their teacher because she had scolded one of them for standing on a chair, authorities say. That led the third-graders, as many as nine boys and girls, to plot an attack on the teacher at Center Elementary School in south Georgia.

First Slayings Since 1996 Stun Alaska Town: ; Police Say Teen Stabbed Four to Death, Injured Fifth

SITKA, Alaska - Not much new happens in this sleepy little southeast Alaska fishing community, and the locals seem to like it that way. But a call to 911 last week ruined their sense of peace.

Lesbian Partner Allowed to Travel: ; Pelosi Intercedes On Behalf of Gay Lawmaker to Have Companion Join Her in Europe

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon at first blocked Rep. Tammy Baldwin's domestic partner from traveling on a military plane with a congressional delegation on a trip to Europe but gave in after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi intervened. The Pentagon said it was merely following House rules, which do not define domestic partners as spouses. Pelosi's office countered that the Pentagon has its own rules about who can go on its planes.

Bernanke Warns of Recession: ; Federal Reserve Chair Didn't Use the Word but Said the Economy May Shrink, Signaling Start

WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned Congress today that the economy may shrink over the first half of this year, which would signal the start of a recession. Yet, he didn't offer assurances of further interest rate cuts. In prepared testimony to Congress' Joint Economic Committee, Bernanke didn't use the word recession. But it's the closest he has come to date to suggesting that possibility, given a trio of crises - housing, credit and financial - that has pummeled the c...

Weather Almanac

Yesterday's high 73 Record high 91, 1974

Regional Weather

Hi Lo Otlk Akron 54 29 Cldy

National Weather

Hi Lo Otlk Anchorage 41 32 Cldy

Nation & World

Four schools lose grades over break

School Overtime Pay Hits $1.2 Million Mark: ; More Than Half has Been Paid to Maintenance Department's Workers

The Kanawha County school system has racked up $1.2 million in overtime payouts this school year. More than half of that - $744,173 - has been paid to workers in the maintenance department. The Kanawha County schools budget this year is $218 million.

Black Fly Spraying Begins in State Today

PIPESTEM - The annual black fly spraying program along three southern West Virginia waterways is about to begin. Betsy Reeder, the Department of Agriculture's Black Fly Control Program coordinator, says the larvae spraying along the New, Greenbrier and Bluestone rivers will begin today. It will continue through fall, depending on the weather.

Police and Courts

Woman accused of battery, escape

Justices Hear Ex-Maid's Appeal: ; Woman Says She Merits Benefits; Company Says She Left Job Voluntarily

A former maid assigned to Massey Energy chief Don Blankenship says she deserves unemployment benefits after her workload expanded to include four homes, a customized tour bus and a German Shepherd while her hourly wages grew by 30 cents. A lawyer for Deborah May also told the state Supreme Court on Tuesday that occasional tantrums and physical abuse by Blankenship added to the stress that forced her to quit in November 2005.