Charleston Daily Mail

We Can Hear You Now: ; Verizon Launches Service in Area Today

* Real life Can you hear me now? guy monitors wireless reception / 10A The heated competition for wireless communications customers in West Virginia gets hotter today as Verizon Wireless enters the Charleston-Huntington market with a $54 million investment that offers an array of wireless services.

Police Men Stole 100 Tons of Metal: ; Witnesses Claim to Have Seen Truck Full of Iron Pipe

State Police say two Boone County men stole and sold more than 255,000 pounds of gas line and other metal from Paint Creek over a nine-month period, reaping about $30,000 in the process. Joseph Arthur Callahan, 26, of Peytona, and David Alan Thomas, 33, of Seth, are both charged with felony conspiracy and grand larceny.

Dead Birds Found Outside Tucker School Were Lost in Fog, Officials Say

Teachers and students at Tucker County High School got an unusual surprise when they showed up to class to find hundreds of dead birds scattered along the parking lot and school property. Assistant Principal Mickel Bonnett encountered birds swarming around the school and flying into the windows when he came to work around 6:30 a.m. Monday.

Arrests of Priest and Counselor Stun Many: ; Two Men Were Stopped Sunday Evening After Officer Smelled Marijuana in Van

South Charleston Patrolman S. W. Miller was on duty with his police drug dog, Vader, when the odor of marijuana filtered into his police cruiser. It was the odor that eventually led to the arrest of a priest, shocking a congregation and a community.

Deposit Insurance Raise Proposed: ; Candidates, Bush Call for Lawmakers to Work Until a More Acceptable

Inside * State in good position to weather crisis, Manchin says / 2A * Lawmakers ignore leaders pleas to pass bailout plan / 3A

Highway Project Gets Green Light

CHARLES TOWN - Construction of W.Va. 9 between Charles Town and the Virginia line could soon move forward despite earlier concerns that an endangered animal was living in the area. Work on a 1.8-mile part of the highway stopped after officials reported that an isopod - a type of crustacean that can live in either shallow water or on land - was found in the area. Nearly $21 million slated for the project was reallocated for construction of the Fairmont Connector while environmental reviews wer...

Mayor's 19-Year-Old Son Charged with Dui After Crash: ; Bystanders Say He Got Out of Wrecked Car, Then Ran Away On Foot

The son of Charleston Mayor Danny Jones has been charged with driving under the influence. Zachary Francis Jones, 19, of Bays Drive was arrested Sunday.

Manchin Says State in Good Shape: ; Governor Says Ongoing Financial Crisis Should Have Minimal Effects On West Virginia Economy

West Virginia is in a fiscally sound position to weather the Wall Street storm, said Gov. Joe Manchin. The ongoing financial crisis will certainly put a dent in the West Virginia economy, Manchin said, but the effect should be minimal.

Politics Play Role in Bailout Vote

WASHINGTON - President Bush lobbied. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson pleaded. Vice President Dick Cheney worked on conservative Republicans. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi coaxed liberal Democrats. Barack Obama lobbied gently. John McCain worked the phones and boasted about how effective he was. But all that leadership failed to command much loyalty in either party Monday. When the financial rescue plan came to a vote, two- thirds of the House's Republicans and two-fifths of its Democrats ign...

Regional Weather

Hi Lo Otlk Akron 58 47 Cldy

National Weather

Hi Lo Otlk Anchorage 47 36 Cldy

N.Y. Man Shot While Holding Infant Son

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - The gunmen probably weren't expecting to see a baby. But that didn't keep them from firing at their target, a father who was cradling his 1-year-old son outside his house on Sunday morning, police said.

Nation & World

At least 168 killed in temple stampede

Police Find Girls' Bodies in Freezer

LUSBY, Md. - A bruised and starving 7-year-old girl walking alone on a gravel road led investigators to an even grimmer discovery: remains in a basement freezer that her adoptive mother said were the youngster's sisters. Authorities said Monday they believe the mother, Renee Bowman, is responsible for killing her other two daughters. The three girls were foster children in Bowman's care before she adopted them.

Good Intentions Can Be Very Destructive: ; Meaning Well Is No Substitute for Sound Judgment

WE know well the slick surface of the road to hell. Good intentions provide a deceptively safe route, where hazards are ignored to the eventual peril of the traveler. And it was with good intentions that lawmakers and financial firms took steps in recent years that have led to the financial crisis we find ourselves in today.

Lottery Nightly Drawing to Be Aired On Wsaz-Tv Beginning Oct. 6: ; Station Earned Local Rights From Wowk-Tv Because It has the Highest Viewership

The nightly number drawings of the West Virginia Lottery are moving to WSAZ-TV beginning Oct. 6. The network earned the local rights to air the lottery from WOWK- TV, which had them for the past six years.

W.Va. Native Chosen Bayer Chief: ; Greg Babe Is the First American-Born President of Gigantic German Firm

ROBINSON TOWNSHIP, Pa. - Greg Babe knew in the sixth grade that he wanted to be an engineer. What he didn't know is that roughly 40 years later, he'd find himself as head of chemical and pharmaceuticals giant Bayer Corp. Starting Wednesday, Babe, a New Martinsville native, will become Bayer Corp.'s first American-born president and chief executive officer.

Business Briefs

Hino Motors marks opening of plant

Obituaries: ; Obit

Katherine Prino Barber Katherine "Kat" Prino Barber, 93, of Huntington, widow of John Barber, passed away Saturday, September 27, 2008, in St. Mary's Medical Center.

Man Found with Corpse Admits to Drug Charge

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. - A New Zealand man who preserved his girlfriend's body on dry ice for a year has pleaded guilty to felony drug charges in California. Stephen Royds was arrested in March at a hotel in Newport Beach after police found him with 54 grams of cocaine. They also found the body of Monique Trepp stuffed in a plastic tub, surrounded by dry ice.