West Virginia

West Virginia trucking company files for bankruptcy

Published

2 years ago

December 13, 2024

West Virginia trucking company files for bankruptcy

A West Virginia-based trucking company, which hauls coal, logs and wood chips, recently filed for bankruptcy.

Cedar Trucking Co. of Glasgow, West Virginia, filed its Chapter 11 petition Tuesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.

In the seven-page bare-bones petition, Cedar Trucking, which seeks to reorganize, lists its assets as between $500,000 and $1 million, and liabilities as between $1 million and $10 million. The trucking company states that it has up to 49 creditors and maintains that funds will be available for distribution to unsecured creditors once it pays administrative fees.

Robert Keenan, who is listed as the president of Cedar Trucking, is representing himself pro se in the bankruptcy case. FreightWaves has reached out to Keenan for comment.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s SAFER website, Cedar Trucking has 22 drivers and the same number of power units. It obtained its common and contract authority in March 2020. The company’s bodily injury property damage coverage insurance remains active, according to FMCSA.

No reason was given as to why the company is seeking bankruptcy protection. However, in October, Cedar Trucking listed a number of 2018 Peterbilt tractors for sale on its Facebook page.

Among the largest creditors with unsecured claims against Cedar Trucking are the West Virginia Tax Division, owed nearly $1.1 million in payroll and other taxes; the Department of Treasury in Wheeling, West Virginia, owed nearly $305,500 in payroll and other taxes; and Workforce West Virginia in Charleston, owed nearly $18,000 for unemployment benefits.

The company’s trucks had been inspected 39 times, and six had been placed out of service in a 24-month period, resulting in a 15.4% out-of-service rate. This is lower than the industry’s national average of around 22.3%, according to FMCSA.

The trucking company’s drivers had been inspected 47 times over the same 24-month period, with none of its drivers being placed out of service. The national average is around 6.7%, according to FMCSA.

In the past two years, the company’s trucks had been involved in one injury crash and one tow-away.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge B. McKay Mignault has ordered Keenan and Cedar Trucking to submit the company’s schedules of assets and liabilities as well as the company’s statement of financial affairs with the court no later than 14 days after filing the voluntary Chapter 11 petition on Tuesday.

Cedar Trucking’s small business plan and its disclosure statement are due by June 9, 2025. A creditors meeting has not been scheduled.

Black lung suit

In July 2020, U.S. District Court Judge Joseph R. Goodwin entered a default judgment against Cedar Trucking, awarding nearly $50,000 to one of its former coal drivers, William D. Ramsey. Cedar Trucking had previously been ordered by the U.S. Department of Labor to pay Ramsey for black lung benefits. Goodwin also ordered Cedar Trucking to pay attorney fees of nearly $12,400 to Leonard J. Strayton, who represented Ramsey in the civil action. In September 2022, Stayton filed an application for post-judgment remedies in District Court against Cedar Trucking for his legal fees and to pay Ramsey’s judgment. The docket hasn’t been updated to reflect whether Cedar Trucking paid the court-ordered judgment and attorney’s fees.

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Community Catalyst Grant applications are open through West Virginia First Foundation through June 30 – WV MetroNews

Published

4 hours ago

June 18, 2026

Press Room

Community Catalyst Grant applications are open through West Virginia First Foundation through June 30 – WV MetroNews

The West Virginia First Foundation, which was established to use drug lawsuit settlement money to try to alleviate problems related to addiction, reported having access to $378.5 million in financial resources and noted that more than $34 million in grants have been awarded since the organization’s start.

The West Virginia First Foundation met for a few minutes Thursday at Ascend West Virginia in Charleston. The meeting was also available for view through streaming.

Executive Director Jonathan Board highlighted the launch of the Community Catalyst Grant application and a statewide needs assessment intended to identify service gaps.

Designed as a three-year, outcomes-driven investment, the program will support projects focused on public safety response, day report centers and generational prevention efforts. The program opened for applications on June 1 and remains open through June 30.

“We’re very encouraged by the interest and engagement so far,” Board said.

The board also approved a $4 million funding request for the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute. The project is focused on expanding access to innovative addiction treatment and recovery support tools while building the technology and infrastructure needed to support implementation across West Virginia.

Additional details about the project and funding agreement are to be released in the coming weeks following the completion of final documentation. West Virginia First Foundation and Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute plan to issue a joint announcement once the agreement process is complete.

“They’ve gone through a very rigorous process for the correct funding,” Board said. “Their team has presented an opportunity to fund a project that will build technology, training and support systems of care needed to expand access to an innovative addiction treatment approach throughout the state of West Virginia, and really beyond.”

The West Virginia First Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 2023 to manage and distribute 72.5% of the state’s opioid settlement funds, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. The organization is aimed at combatting the addiction crisis through grants and regional projects.

The next regular meeting of the Foundation’s Board of Directors is scheduled for Sept. 17 although it’s subject to change.

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West Virginia

What UNC Head Coach Scott Forbes Said About West Virginia

Published

15 hours ago

June 18, 2026

Press Room

What UNC Head Coach Scott Forbes Said About West Virginia

West Virginia may have come up empty-handed in two tries against North Carolina in the College World Series, but they earned the respect of their head coach, Scott Forbes, who was incredibly complimentary of the Mountaineers following Wednesday’s game.

“I want to congratulate West Virginia. A heck of a team, a heck of a run,” he opened his postgame press conference with. “They are very well coached. They just play the game the right way. It’s a credit to their coaching staff. They come at you a lot of ways. A lot of speed, deep pitching staff, so we really had to work in those two games to beat them. I’ve been in their shoes, and I know what that feels like, and it’s a stinker. But man, they got a lot to be proud of, and they should be extremely proud of how they represented their university.”

The culture at WVU is as strong as it gets

Jun 5, 2026; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Steve Sabins celebrates with Pat McAfee in the stands after defeating the Cal Poly Mustangs at Kendrick Family Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

Multiple times this season, West Virginia looked like they were well on their way to a loss and were rewarded with a win because they never stopped playing hard. Everyone thinks of the two games against Kentucky in the Morgantown Regional, and rightfully so, but they also came back to win after trailing by eight against UCF and after trailing by five to BYU.

For a moment, there was a belief that the magical moment was going to come again during Wednesday’s game against Forbes’ Tar Heels. With two outs in the 7th and trailing 12-1, Armani Guzman busted his tail down the first base line to beat out a grounder to short. It ultimately led to a five-run inning for the Mountaineers, all of a sudden turning a laugher into a semi-interesting game. Gavin Kelly hit a solo home run in the 8th to make it a five-run deficit, and in the ninth, Ben Lumsden just missed a three-run shot that would have really put pressure on North Carolina, even with two outs.

To have your team still playing hard when trailing by 11 with their season likely about to come to an end, it says a lot about the character of this group, but also how deeply ingrained the culture is at WVU. There’s a reason this program has turned the corner over the last 14 or so years and is continuing to trend up. They’ve had the right people in place leading it.

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West Virginia

Proposed 107.5-mile transmission line could leave W.Va. ratepayers on hook for $440M-$900M

Published

1 day ago

June 17, 2026

Press Room

Proposed 107.5-mile transmission line could leave W.Va. ratepayers on hook for 0M-0M

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — A 107.5-mile transmission line project has been proposed, the MidAtlantic Resiliency Link, which would cut through parts of West Virginia to ultimately help power Virginia’s data center hub since there is not enough generation locally to serve them.

“Virginia gets the power and West Virginia gets the towers,” Del Chris Anders said. “What they did is they look west and said, hey, we’ll just use West Virginia but we’ll get this power and we’ll run this big extension cord. I’m all for exporting power from West Virginia. We are a power production state, but I’m not going to do so out of the wallets of West Virginians and allowing their property to be taken.”

During the 2026 legislative session, lawmakers put a bill on the table which was aimed at giving the state access to utilize these lines, but nothing made it to the finish line.

“We said, ‘Okay, if you’re going to run them through, you have to drop substations in West Virginia and by the way, West Virginia ratepayers will only pay for the amount of energy that stays within our state,’” Anders said.

A second line is also up for discussion. Valley Link Transmission hasn’t finalized any routes yet, but it would consist of 260 miles of transmission line and would add two substations between Frederick County, Maryland, and Putnam County.

With both of these lines, the main concern surrounding the proposals is who exactly is expected to foot the bill and whether or not it will ultimately fall back on West Virginia ratepayers.

“We’re going to be on the hook for anywhere between $440 million to over $900 million on both lines,” Anders said.

Lawmakers said those price tags continue to increase.

“At least for the MARL line, they went back to the grid operator, PJM, and said, ‘It’s going to cost significantly more money than it originally thought. Those estimates of the cost to West Virginia ratepayers are only going to go up,’” Del. Evan Hansen said.

These projects have gained bipartisan opposition. This is all beginning when representatives for these energy companies brought these proposals to lawmakers in January, noting that these lines would strengthen the entire grid.

But many lawmakers were not convinced, asking why they should support it if West Virginia has no direct benefit.

“It would increase our electric rates and private property owners might be faced with giving up their land or having their property values decline,” Hansen said.

It’s not only state officials voicing opposition. Public hearings have been held in the northern counties where community members shared their concerns with these projects that could go right through their backyards.

“We did hear from construction workers and electrical workers about the jobs, but otherwise it was uniformly against the construction of the project,” Hansen said.

An evidentiary hearing for MARL’s permit application will be held by the Public Service Commission on Oct. 26.

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