West Virginia

Judge asks for more time to make ruling on West Virginia vaccine exemptions

Published

7 months ago

October 9, 2025

Judge asks for more time to make ruling on West Virginia vaccine exemptions

BECKLEY, W.Va. (WOWK) — The judge in the vaccine religious exemption case did not reach a ruling in Thursday’s hearing, despite expectations that he would.

Judge Michael Froble said in a Raleigh County courtroom that he was not confident enough to make a final decision, given the amount of evidence and testimony to review.

“The court is wanting to take this under advisement,” Froble said. “I don’t believe at this point, I’m ready to make the ruling. I think that would be inappropriate.”

Multiple people took the stand yesterday to discuss their experience and knowledge of the ongoing litigation, including West Virginia Board of Education President Paul Hardesty, who has stood firmly with the board’s position to hold the state’s compulsory vaccination law (W. Va. Code § 16-3-4.)

Shannon McBee, the state’s epidemiologist, also testified. She discussed the mechanics of Governor Patrick Morrisey’s executive order that allowed for the religious exemptions.

The court also heard from two parents yesterday with immunocompromised and/or disabled children in the West Virginia public school system.

The final witness in the hearing, West Virginia health officer Dr. Mark McDaniel, testified today that he was overall unfamiliar with religious exemptions and only dealt with medical exemptions in his job, which he has held for only a few weeks.

When asked for his opinion- both personally and professionally- he said he could not provide one.

“I don’t have a personal opinion,” McDaniel said. “At this point, I’m just new to the job. I really haven’t worked out the data myself.”

All parties made their closing arguments, including counsel representing school boards, parents and health boards.

They discussed a variety of points, including:

School extracurricular activities without vaccine requirements
The origin of the compulsory vaccination law (W. Va. Code § 16-3-4.)
West Virginia legislature involvement
All parties involved (janitors, custodians, bus drivers, etc.)
Applying ERPA (Equal Protection for Religion Act)
Proving that said illnesses were caused by unvaccinated children in the said public school

The hearing was originally expected to end on Thursday, but the court ultimately decided to review further.

Froble instructed all counsel to submit the respective paperwork needed to make the final ruling.

At this time, there is no specific word on when that decision will take place.

Source link

Click to comment

West Virginia

West Virginia Lottery results: See winning numbers for Mega Millions, Daily 3 on May 5, 2026

Published

4 hours ago

May 6, 2026

Press Room

The results are in for the West Virginia Lottery’s draw games on Tuesday, May 5, 2026.

Here’s a look at winning numbers for each game on May 5.

Winning Mega Millions numbers from May 5 drawing

12-22-50-51-55, Mega Ball: 10

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Daily 3 numbers from May 5 drawing

7-1-6

Check Daily 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Daily 4 numbers from May 5 drawing

2-1-0-0

Check Daily 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash 25 numbers from May 5 drawing

03-04-05-09-10-14

Check Cash 25 payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the West Virginia Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 11 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10:59 p.m. ET Tuesday and Friday.
Lotto America: 10:15 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Daily 3, 4: 6:59 p.m. ET Monday through Saturday.
Cash 25: 6:59 p.m. ET Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.

Source link

West Virginia

Verizon outage reported in West Virginia

Published

16 hours ago

May 5, 2026

Press Room

Verizon outage reported in West Virginia

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – The Verizon Network is currently experiencing a widespread outage across West Virginia.

A service alert was sent to residents in Kanawha County.

Verizon customers should still be able to call 911.

If a Verizon customer experiences an issue with contacting 911, a landline should be used if possible.

However, only contact 911 if there is a true emergency.

At this time, Verizon is not giving an estimated time for restoration.

Source link

West Virginia

First official Alyssa’s Law funds announced

Published

1 day ago

May 5, 2026

Press Room

First official Alyssa’s Law funds announced

JACKSON COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) – Alyssa’s Law passed through the West Virginia Legislature, creating a fund to bring panic buttons and other life-saving technology to schools statewide.

Del. Jonathan Pinson, R-Mason, who helped create Alyssa’s Law, said, “Every teacher, every staff member equipped with a wearable panic button that allows them a literal one push to the 911 center, to local law enforcement and EMS.”

Alyssa Alhadeff was a 14-year-old who died alongside 16 other students in the Parkland school shooting in 2018. Her parents are giving the first official funds to West Virginia through the organization called Make Our Schools Safe.

“They’ll make a contribution this evening of $48,888,” Pinson said. “That number 8 is recurring because it was Alyssa’s volleyball number.”

The state Department of Education is giving $348,888 to the fund, as well.

In Jackson County, local funding helped bring in panic buttons, and deputies are required to spend time in schools every week.

Jackson County Sheriff Ross Mellinger said the panic buttons give local law enforcement maps and an alert to their phone.

“It’s a pretty big lift to get the money and we’re looking at $9.5-10 million to get this thing done, and the sad reality is if we had a school shooting tomorrow, we would bend over backwards to get you the money then, but at that point it’s too little too late,” Mellinger said.

He said he wants to be proactive and encourages other counties to do the same.

Pinson said the cost of technology will drop over time, and Alyssa’s Law allows more safety upgrades in the future.

Pinson said Jackson County is a perfect example of what kind of upgrades are possible.

“Right here in Jackson County, they are unveiling AI driven cameras that can immediately alert the school and local law enforcement if a person of concern were to come on campus,” he said.

Leaders hope this technology can save lives across West Virginia. Pinson said the initial cost for panic buttons is about $20,000 per school and the fund is held with Homeland Security until hitting the goal of about $10 million.

Source link