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CSX issues update on West Virginia train derailment

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CSX issues update on West Virginia train derailment


MORGAN COUNTY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – CSX has issued an update on Monday’s derailment in West Virginia.

CSX crews worked through the night as they began the process of gaining access to and removing the ten rail cars involved in the train derailment that occurred yesterday at 4:16 p.m. in Morgan County.

CSX says the safety of the community and everyone on site is their top priority as the crews continue their work of removing the equipment, making repairs to the rail lines, and completely restoring the area.

Service is expected to resume on one of the two rail lines impacted by the incident by 1 p.m. this afternoon.

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Repairs on the second line will continue throughout the day and are expected to be completed tomorrow afternoon.

CSX says it appreciates the swift response of the local first responders yesterday.

None of the derailed cars carrying hazardous materials lost any of their contents, there were no injuries as a result of the incident and no danger to the public.

The cause of the incident is under investigation.

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What to watch for when Arizona men’s basketball hosts West Virginia

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What to watch for when Arizona men’s basketball hosts West Virginia


Arizona ended up blowing out Cincinnati on Wednesday night, winning by 26 thanks to a 37-13 run over the final 14 minutes. Before that it was a slugfest, as most of the games have been during Big 12 play and how they all figure to be from here on out.

Throw in the fact the Wildcats are one of three unbeaten teams left in college basketball, not to mention a unanimous No. 1 in the Associated Press poll for the first time in school history, and it can all feel a little stressful being at the top.

Tommy Lloyd acknowledged that after the win over the Bearcats, then tapped into his experience being part of unbeaten teams from his time at Gonzaga.

“I’ve been on a few of these runs before and I think it’s important to know that winning is not a burden,” Lloyd said. “The winning shouldn’t feel heavy.”

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Arizona (19-0, 6-0 Big 12) is two wins away from tying the school record for best start in school history. It can get one step closer on Saturday afternoon when it hosts West Virginia (13-6, 4-2).

Here’s what to watch for when the Wildcats and Mountaineers meet at McKale Center:

Further rotation tightening?

Arizona’s starters played 147 of a possible 200 minutes against Cincinnati, most of any game in Big 12 play and only fewer than at UConn (149) and the season opener against Florida (150). Tobe Awaka had his normal 20 minutes, which isn’t going to change with how Lloyd likes to rotate his frontcourt, but Anthony Dell’Orso only played 14 minutes and Dwayne Aristode 11.

Dell’Orso is mired in the worst slump of his UA tenure, if not his career. He’s missed his last 14 shots, his only points in the past three games coming on a pair of free throws against Cincinnati, and in six Big 12 games he’s averaging 4.5 points with 17 of the 27 coming at TCU.

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Aristode is clearly the 8th man in the rotation, out there more to spell players at the 2, 3 and 4 than anything else, but Dell’Orso was a starter a year ago and Lloyd specifically had him come off the bench this season so he could provide offensive spark. That’s happened at times, like 20 against UCLA, 13 against Alabama and the TCU performance, but if he’s not scoring he doesn’t bring much else to the table.

“Hang with it,” Lloyd said when asked about Dell’Orso. “What you do is really hard. I love Delly. I love how he’s handling this and I have a real strong belief that we’re going to get the best from Delly when we need it. Not that you don’t want it or need it every night, but he is going to deliver. So I’m going to hang with him. I’m not going to change anything.”

Arizona is 27 of 87 from 3-point range in Big 12 play, a 31 percent accuracy that ranks 12th out of 16 teams. The Wildcats hit seven apiece at Utah and TCU but are 10 of 37 from outside in the last three games.

Brayden Burries has been the UA’s most prolific perimeter shooter, both in attempts (83) and makes (29), but as a 59 percent shooter on 2s he isn’t one to hunt shots from outside. Nobody on Arizona is, not like with Caleb Love last season or others in the past, which has resulted in the UA ranking third-to-last in the country in 3-point attempt rate.

So far, the lack of 3-point shooting hasn’t hurt Arizona. But it might at some point, so Lloyd is keeping a close eye on if something needs to change.

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“I’m gonna let it play out,” Lloyd said. “It’s a figure it out as it goes deal, and it’s a game by game deal. I would have to see how a team is going to defend us just to force us to shoot a bunch of threes. When our guys are standing in the gym by themselves, they make threes. So are you not going to guard the whole team? I know isolating that single variable is so easy to do and get fixated on. There’s a lot of components to winning a basketball game.”

Arizona is getting almost 58 percent of its points on 2s, another 20 percent at the line. Against Cincinnati it had 48 points in the paint and went 20 of 28 from the line, and this season has outscored every opponent in the paint and had only six games where the other team took more free throws than it made.

Arizona only had 65 possessions against Cincinnati, per KenPom.com, third-fewest of the season behind the 63 each against UConn and San Diego State. West Virginia’s adjusted tempo for the season is 62.9, eighth-slowest in the country, and the fastest game the Mountaineers have had in Big 12 play was against Kansas when there were 67 possessions apiece.

“They try to get you in a possession game,” Lloyd said.

West Virginia is coached by Ross Hodge, its fourth different head coach in as many seasons. Hodge spent the previous two seasons at North Texas, where he had been promoted from assistant following Grant McCasland’s hiring at Texas Tech.

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Hodge’s North Texas teams were even slower than this West Virginia one, but equally strong on defense. His current squad allows 40.3 percent shooting and 62.1 points per game, though in Big 12 play it’s allowing 70.6 per game.

“Ross is one of these guys who’s been around in the game,” Lloyd said. “He knows how to win basketball games, and his teams always have a real identity on the defensive end of the floor, and then offensively they’re a team that usually has a shooter or two that can knock down multiple threes.”

Leading scorer Honor Huff is shooting 39.5 percent from 3, while North Dakota transfer Treysen Eaglestaff was 6 of 9 from 3 in Wednesday’s win at ASU.



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West Virginia Public Service Commission recommends ‘further investigation’ of Parkersburg trash service

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West Virginia Public Service Commission recommends ‘further investigation’ of Parkersburg trash service


(Photo illustration – MetroCreativeConnection)


PARKERSBURG — The staff of the West Virginia Public Service Commission recommended “further investigation” of Parkersburg’s plan to contract out its sanitation service, but the city attorney says that won’t delay implementation of an agreement with Waste Management.
“The city has clear legal authority to enter into contracts to provide essential services such as solid waste disposal,” City Attorney Blaine Myers said Thursday.
In a memo posted Wednesday to the PSC’s website, staff attorneys say services related to the collection and disposal of garbage are under the agency’s jurisdiction and state code “requires the Commission’s consent and approval prior to entering into contracts.” They note vehicles owned and operated by a municipality are exempt from regulation but that only applies if the municipality’s vehicles are used to provide the service.
Parkersburg City Council approved an ordinance authorizing a five-year contract with Waste Management to provide trash collection services on a pair of 6-3 votes this month. Property owner Carole Hanlon in December asked the PSC and other state agencies to review the city’s actions and hold public hearings on the matter.
“Staff recommends further investigation to determine compliance with applicable statutes and Commission regulations,” the memo says.
It mentions Hanlon’s request for a hearing but does not mention whether one will be held or a timeline for the investigation.
Myers said Thursday the city is doing something many other municipalities in West Virginia have done.
“The implementation of the contract with Waste Management will not be impaired or delayed by any review by the Public Service Commission,” he said.
The memo also says any intrastate carrier contracting with the city must submit its contract to the commission for approval. Interstate carriers need to register as “a Harper carrier,” which is a federal designation, as the PSC does not regulate interstate commerce.
Council has held two special meetings this month regarding proposals to contract out both solid waste and recycling services. Most speakers at the Jan. 6 public hearing opposed the Waste Management contract. Council approved the first reading of that ordinance in a second meeting that night but tabled a proposed contract for subscription-based recycling service with Rumpke.
On Tuesday, council held a special meeting focused on recycling, during which council President Andrew Borkowski announced a proposal to reduce the monthly charge for those who wanted to participate in curbside recycling from $15.35 to $3.50, while adding a $1.50 recycling surcharge to all residents’ sanitation fees. Many speakers argued the cost should be borne by all residents as recycling is a beneficial public service.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Parkersburg resident Trish Pritchard asked about the status of Hanlon’s petition to the PSC. At that point, before the release of the memo, Myers said he was not aware of any action the agency had taken beyond assigning a case number.
The PSC site lists more than 50 letters or messages submitted in relation to the case, with only one saying it was in favor of the new service. Among those submitting messages online was Councilman Chris Rexroad, who voted against the Waste Management contract ordinance.
“An overwhelming majority of the residents of Parkersburg do not support the privatization of the city sanitation services,” his message said.
Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com
***
Filings in the Public Service Commission case regarding Parkersburg sanitation can be viewed online at https://tinyurl.com/harpe885. The case number is 25-0999-MC-P.



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West Virginia Looks Poised for a Red Hot Start in 2026 if Everything Clicks

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West Virginia Looks Poised for a Red Hot Start in 2026 if Everything Clicks


On Wednesday, the Big 12 Conference unveiled the league slate for the 2026 football season, so now we know who, when, and where West Virginia plays each of its twelve regular-season games.

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Sometimes my stance will change on how difficult a schedule is after studying it a little longer, following the initial release, but I have to tell you, this year there is a clear opportunity for the Mountaineers to come out of the gates red-hot.

The non-conference slate

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Dec 27, 2025; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott looks on from the sideline during the third quarter against the Missouri Tigers at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Travis Register-Imagn Images | Travis Register-Imagn Images

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West Virginia opens up with home games against Coastal Carolina and UT-Martin, both of which should be comfortable wins. After that, they head to Charlotte for a neutral-site game against Virginia, giving you an idea as to where this team truly is and what its potential is.

I’m indifferent about how I see that game against the Hoos playing out. It’s not the same Virginia football program we’re accustomed to seeing struggling. Tony Elliott was finally able to get the Cavalier to turn the corner this past season, and now they are trending in the right direction. Entering league play at 2-1 is good, but if things are clicking offensively, they could be 3-0, which would be the team’s best start since 2018.

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The first half of the Big 12 schedule

WVU will host Oklahoma State, which has a first-year coach (Eric Morris), for the league opener, and then will hit the road to take on another first-year coach, Jimmy Rogers, and the Iowa State Cyclones. Facing a new coach doesn’t always guarantee a win, but the two programs are essentially starting from scratch, having lost so many players to the transfer portal.

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Now, you could say West Virginia is in a similar boat, and I would tend to agree. However, the one thing WVU does have is continuity with the staff, and they knew exactly what they needed out of the transfer portal, whereas Oklahoma State and Iowa State are simply filling out their roster — something Rich Rod and Co. did a year ago.

Following the trip to Ames, they return home for two home games against Arizona and Cincinnati.

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Oct 26, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats quarterback Noah Fifita (11) throws the ball during the fourth quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images | Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

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The Wildcats will be a bit of a challenge, considering veteran dual-threat QB Noah Fifita is returning for his senior year, and they are coming off a nine-win season. Assuming WVU can take care of business up to that point, there should be a strong crowd on hand that can help make things difficult. Winning that game against Arizona would be the Mountaineers sending a statement, especially if they come into that one at 4-0.

In the event they are perfect through five weeks, we could see the Mountaineers ending their drought of being ranked or at least on the cusp of doing so. The following week, West Virginia will have Cincinnati, who they’ve owned over the years, and they’ll be replacing some key pieces, including QB Brendan Sorsby, who is now at Texas Tech.

From that point on, though, the level of competition takes a big step up. Road games against TCU, Texas Tech, and Houston, and home games against Kansas and a dangerous Houston team that is seemingly on the rise.

As nice as the schedule sets up on paper, is it realistic to expect a 5-0 or 6-0 start?

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West Virginia University head coach Rich Rodriguez | Christopher Hall – West Virginia on SI

The short answer is no. Is it possible? Absolutely. That’s why I just punched up 500+ words on it. The huge turnover of the roster is something that can’t get lost in the shuffle. Yes, the Mountaineers should be significantly better in 2026.

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Yes, they should have an improved offensive line. And yes, they should have more consistent play from the quarterback spot. That can all be true, just as the concern of the chemistry with this group. It’s not going to be perfect out of the gates, and Rich Rod has to hope they don’t shoot themselves in the foot early on when they’re still trying to figure things out. If they can navigate those early bumps in the road, figure out who the quarterback is, and the right batch of guys up front, then there’s a good chance that red-hot start is in play, creating a ton of excitement around the program.

MORE STORIES FROM WEST VIRGINIA ON SI

West Virginia’s Road Win Pushes Bobby Hurley to Admit His Voice is Not Working

West Virginia is Winning Without Leaning on Honor Huff and That Changes Everything

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Stock Up, Stock Down: Treysen Eaglestaff is Heating Up, Honor Huff’s Struggles + More

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Ross Hodge Praises Maturity, Defense After WVU Captures First Road Win

Rapid Takeaways From West Virginia’s First Road Win of the Season



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