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.)
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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.”
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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.
The WVU Medicine St. Joseph’s Rural Health Clinic is now accepting newborns at its Buckhannon office, with two providers — Rachel Burns, CPNP, and Sara Chipps, FNP-C — taking new pediatric patients. Read more →
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CHARLESTON, WV — The West Virginia Governor’s Highway Safety Program (GHSP) and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are reminding drivers that speeding has legal consequences. As part of the Speeding Slows You Down high-visibility enforcement campaign, drivers will see more law enforcement on the roads. West Virginia’s mobilization runs from July 6 through July 31, 2026.
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This campaign is designed to underscore the grave consequences of speeding and urge motorists to reduce their speed. This mobilization emphasizes the commitment of law enforcement to curb speeding behaviors and raise public awareness regarding the increased presence of officers on our nation’s roads during this mobilization period.
Speeding-related fatalities affect communities nationwide every year. In 2024, there were 11,288 speed-related traffic fatalities, accounting for 29% of all traffic fatalities. Young drivers have a higher chance of being involved in speeding-related crashes. In 2024, 39% of male drivers and 20% of female drivers in the 15- to 20-year-old age group involved in fatal traffic crashes were speeding.
In West Virginia, in 2024, speeding-related fatalities decreased 8% from the previous year, from 85 to 78. Our ultimate goal is zero fatalities, which points toward the importance of campaigns like this.
“Speeders don’t just put themselves in danger of serious injuries and death, they put other road users, including passengers, pedestrians, and bicyclists, at risk as well. We are asking drivers to please slow down; our goal is to save lives, and we’re putting all drivers on alert. The posted speed limit is the law. No excuses,” said Jack McNeely, GHSP Director.
The consequences of speeding can lead to a costly ticket, potential jail time, or worse, a crash resulting in injuries or death.
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For more information on speeding, visit NHTSA.gov/Speeding.
For more information about the West Virginia Governor’s Highway Safety Program, visit highwaysafety.wv.gov or call 304-926-2509.
Flood debris piles along Route 85 have been growing for more than a week. PHOTO: Chris Lawrence
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Members of the West Virginia National Guard will be dispatched this week to the areas of Boone, Raleigh, and Logan Counties which are under a State of Emergency today.
The Governor declared the State of Emergency following heavy rains on June 22nd which caused high water that damaged more than 120 homes in Boone County alone.
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“Missions like this we’ve done in the past. It’s basically conducting debris removal operations,” said Captain Mike Garcia of the West Virginia National Guard.
The number of guard personnel who will be activated is not yet known, but Garcia guessed it would be in the neighborhood of 15. The teams will be equipment operators with loading and hauling equipment to move household debris to a collection location.
“We’ve got loader teams, dump teams, and skid-steers and we’ll go around those areas and take any debris caused by the weather and the flooding and it is piling up, we’ll be able to remove that, ” he explained.
Garcia said at this point there has been no mission to haul relief supplies to victims as has been done in previous flood events. They are also disallowed from doing any work to assist homeowners on their own private property.
“West Virginia National Guard is not legally authorized to enter or conduct work on private property. Residents need to move any debris and bring it to the curb so that as we get on the ground, we’ll be able to assess where it will go,” Garcia added.
A stunning report dropped on the 4th of July from Kentucky Sports Radio’s Jack Pilgrim of On3 that former West Virginia guard Kerr Kriisa had been arrested by the FBI on alleged fraud charges.
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According to the report, Kriisa’s arrest was “in connection to a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme dating back to his time at West Virginia as a Mountaineer in 2023-24. He’s being extradited back to West Virginia with a court hearing scheduled for next week.”
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No further details have been released at this time.
Kriisa’s time as a Mountaineer
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Jan 20, 2024; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Kerr Kriisa (3) celebrates with students after defeating the Kansas Jayhawks at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect
Kriisa transferred from Arizona to West Virginia in the summer of 2023, expecting to be the point guard for Bob Huggins’ next team. Obviously, that went to the wayside when Huggins had his own off-court incidents that summer that ultimately led to his resignation.
Despite it being a brief period of time, Kriisa had developed a strong relationship with Huggins, and once the news dropped that he would no longer be the program’s coach, he put his name back in the portal. Interim head coach Josh Eilert had multiple conversations with him, and two days later, he withdrew his name, remaining a Mountaineer for a season.
Kriisa was suspended for the first nine games of that season after he admitted to accepting impermissible benefits during his time at Arizona.
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During that extremely brutal year for WVU, Kriisa had the best year of his collegiate career statistically, averaging 11 points, 4.7 assists, and 2.5 rebounds per game while shooting 42% from both the field and from three-point range.
Kerr’s two other stops post-WVU
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Jan 24, 2026; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats guard Kerr Kriisa (11) against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Desert Financial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
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After one season in Morgantown, Kriisa transferred to Kentucky, but only appeared in nine games before suffering what would be a season-ending foot injury. In those nine games, Kriisa saw limited action off the bench, getting roughly 17 minutes per night.
To round out his collegiate career, Kriisa made his way back to the Big 12, landing at Cincinnati. There, he was bothered by a separated shoulder, causing him to miss several games, including the matchup against the Mountaineers in Morgantown. He did play in the second game against West Virginia and was held scoreless on 0/2 shooting in 15 minutes of action. Ironically, that would be the final game he would play for the Bearcats.
In 19 games with Cincinnati, he averaged 5.8 points, three assists, and 1.3 rebounds per game, connecting on just 33% of his shots.
