BECKLEY, W.Va. — Unlike most natural disasters West Virginia’s Natural Resources Police had plenty of time to plan and react to the most recent high water event in southern West Virginia.
“We knew we were going to get flooded somewhere, but we didn’t know exactly where. But we were prepared enough that when I left for work on Saturday morning I had a trailer hooked up to my vehicle with a boat knowing we would be deployed somewhere,” said Sgt. Dennis Feazell of the West Virginia Natural Resources Police.
All DNR law enforcement members are specifically trained in swift water rescue to some degree as part of their day to day duties.
A man and his dog are successfully pulled out of harm’s way by Natural Resources Police Officers as flooding raged through the West Virginia coalfields PHOTO: NRPO Association
“We regulate the commercial whitewater industry, so we’ve always had a swiftwater rescue team. But with the rise in non-motorized watercraft like kayaks, we made a decision a couple of years ago to train all of our guys in swiftwater rescue and that keeps the public safe,” Feazell said.
Advertisement
The training paid of when the rainfall started. Feazell was working in the area of Mercer County around Oakvale and Spanishburg initially.
“The calls started rolling in and we worked all over Mercer County on the first night. We were hearing that McDowell County was getting hammered, but there was just no way to get in there to see if we could help anybody. That was a rough situation,” Feazell said.
Instead by Monday he was redirected to work on Marrowbone Creek in Mingo County.
“In my experience in the first 24 hours we were part of pulling out and rescuing 25 to 30 people just in my little section,” he explained.
Initially those they were helping were in immediate danger. Some were stranded in their vehicles as the water swept them away. Others were in houses where the water was rising and there was no way out.
Advertisement
“Those first eight hours a lot of them were in peril,” said Feazell. “We rescued one man in Oakvale from the back of his truck and it washed away. There were others in Spanishburg where I was working whose homes were filled up with water.”
Overall, Governor Patrick Morrisey noted in Friday’s media briefing first responders, which included Natural Resources Police, pulled more than 130 people out of harms way in which their homes or vehicles had become surrounded by water.
BRIDGEPORT, W.Va (WDTV) – West Virginia lawmakers continued working as the Saturday midnight deadline approaches.
Senate Action
The Senate passed 12 bills, including one requiring adult content websites to use age verification to block minors. Senators also passed a bill creating a Cold Case Task Force.
House Bill 49-90, targeting gift card crimes, and House Bill 54-37, the Vape Safety Act, also passed unanimously. All four bills now go to the House for concurrence.
Advertisement
Delegates passed Alyssa’s Law, allowing teachers to wear mobile alert buttons that notify 9-1-1 and trigger a school lockdown in emergencies. The bill is named after a victim of the 2018 Parkland shooting.
Bill 4005, which clarifies jobs prohibited for workers under 16 — including bar work and logging — also passed. Both bills now head to Governor Patrick Morrisey’s desk.
Senate Bill 4 would require bystanders to stay at least 30 feet from first responders.
Senate Bill 75 would allow West Virginia law enforcement to cooperate with officers in bordering states. A bill from the Education Committee would allow teachers with at least 15 years of experience to become certified as school principals.
For more legislative coverage, go to our website at wdtv.com.
The West Virginia Mountaineers (10-3) welcome the Maryland Terrapins (10-5) to Kendrick Family Ballpark Tuesday afternoon the first encounter between the two programs since 2023 and the first meeting in Morgantown since 2018. The first pitch is set for 2:00 p.m. EST and the action will stream on ESPN+.
Advertisement
The Mountaineers captured their fourth consecutive series of the season after taking two of the three games from Columbia over the weekend. West Virginia sophomore Matt Ineich and senior Brodie Kresser both blasted grand slams during the series. Ineich lifted WVU in game two with a walk-off grand slam in the 10th in game two, and Kresser ignited a 16-1 rout, capping a six-run second inning in the series finale.
Advertisement
Gavin Kelly leads West Virginia at the plate with a .436 batting average with a Big 12 leading nine doubles. Ineich and senior Paul Schoenfeld has raked in a team-leading 16 RBI apiece, while senior Matthew Graveline has clubbed a team-high three home runs.
On the mound, West Virginia is expected to start sophomore David Hagen. The right-hander has made four appearances on the season, including one start. He last started in the home-opener against Ohio where he pitched two scoreless innings and recorded a strikeout to collect his first win of the season. He holds a 1.00 ERA with five strikeouts on the season.
After starting 3-4, Maryland is 7-1 in its last eight games. The Terrapins won two of three at UNC Wilmington in the season opening series, followed by a midweek win against Georgetown before getting swept at Louisiana. The Terps bounced back with a pair of midweek wins versus Delaware and swept a one-win Wagner team.
Junior Brayden Martin is batting a team-best .443 to go with four doubles and 12 RBI. Redshirt freshman Ryan Costello leads the Terps in home runs (9) and RBI (21) and is third in batting average at .328, while freshman Ty Kaunus has a team-high seven doubles and has .269 batting average.
Advertisement
Maryland is scheduled to start freshman Nic Morlang. The right-hander has four appearances on the season, including four starts. He allowed five earned runs in his appearances, coinciding with his two starts, in six innings of work. In his last two appearances in relief, He’s allowed one earned run on five hits.
Advertisement
West Virginia leads the all-time series 8-5, including a five-game winning streak over Maryland.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to a series of parties in Morgantown over the weekend.
Morgantown police officers, West Virginia University Police and state police responded to reports of overcrowded parties, underage drinking, physical altercations and multiple injuries.
Morgantown Communications Director Brad Riffie said several citations were issued for open containers and underage consumption.
Advertisement
Two large parties were dispersed and six arrests were made without incident.
None of the reported injuries are believed to be serious or life-threatening.
The Morgantown Fire Department assisted in the operations.
