MARTINSBURG, W.Va. – A West Virginia woman is desperately seeking help after a large sinkhole, 15 feet deep and 6 feet wide, appeared in her front yard, leaving her fearful and frustrated.

La Sharn Newbill, who bought her home in a new development in 2020 after being recently widowed, said the sinkhole has turned her dream home into a nightmare since it emerged in August. 

La Sharn Newbill says she’s run out of options trying to get help for a sinkhole that emerged in her front yard.

Despite reaching out to several entities, including her homeowners’ association, insurance, the developer, attorneys, and local utilities, Newbill says she’s been told that the responsibility to fix the sinkhole falls on her.

“I am scared because my bedroom is right at the front,” Newbill said, adding, “Heartbreaking, that’s all I gotta say. It’s very heartbreaking.”

She is afraid to use her driveway and fears that the sinkhole could eventually consume her home.

Planning documents from Berkeley County show the developer agreed to erosion and sediment control standards during construction in 2019, but no resolution has been offered to Newbill. 

A neighbor mentioned that a smaller sinkhole had appeared in 2021 in the middle of the street, which the county repaired.

Sinkholes are not uncommon in this area of West Virginia, which is known for Karst topography — a type of landscape where soluble rocks can be eroded by water, creating underground cavities. 

Joe Lebold, a geology professor at West Virginia University, explained that sinkholes in this region are difficult to predict.

“You certainly can have a change in subterranean drainage that causes Karst Topography in the first place, a new channel opens up, or a cave gets a little bit bigger. Something that wasn’t detectable before can certainly cause problems,” Lebold said.

Newbill says she had no idea that sinkholes were a possibility when she moved in and wishes she had known the risks earlier.

For now, she continues to seek answers, hoping to avoid spending thousands of dollars on repairs. 

FOX 5’s attempts to reach the developer and county officials were unsuccessful.

West Virginia high school football is back and so begins our Player of the Week polls for the state. Teams showcased more of what they’ve got heading into Week 7 of the regular season.

As such, we have 11 athletes nominated this week for the SBLive’s West Virginia Football Player of the Week award from October 10-12, and we ask you, the fans, to help decide who should indeed be the top athlete selected. 

SBLive voting polls are intended to be a fun way to create fan engagement and express support for your favorite high school athletes and teams. Unless expressly noted, there are no awards for winning the voting. Our primary focus is to highlight the abilities and accomplishments of all the athletes and teams included in our poll. You can vote as often as you wish and are encouraged to share our polls with others. The use of voting bots and other forms of automated voting are not allowed. Individuals will be removed from the poll if any form of automated voting can be verified. – SBLive Sports

Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20th. The winner will be announced in the following week’s poll. Here are this week’s nominees: 

The junior quarterback had a strong outing in the team’s 42-18 victory over Moorefield, completing 14-of-17 passes for 226 yards and three touchdowns.

The junior running back was a workhorse in Wheeling Central Catholic 38-6 win over Catholic Central, scoring a touchdown and rushing for 130 yards on 16 carries.

The senior running back was the workhorse in Wahama’s 54-7 victory over Campbell County, rushing for 145 yards on just four carries and scoring three touchdowns.

Brown went off yardage wise on the ground in a 30-23 win over Parkersburg, rushing for 149 yards on 10 carries and scoring a touchdown.

The junior quarterback led the way in St. Albans’ 29-7 win over South Charleston, with Lilly completing 13-of-25 passes for 140 yards and two touchdowns.

McAllister finished completing 13-of-23 passes for 277 yards and three touchdowns in a 36-23 loss to East Fairmont.

In a 61-7 win over Lincoln County, Moody had a huge night and completed 17-of-26 passes for 256 yards and four touchdowns.

The Doddridge County freshman running back was the catalyst in the team’s 26-6 win over Harrison, rushing for 85 yards on 14 carries and scoring two times.

Evans was terrific in the club’s 41-0 win over Van, the quarterback threw for 54 yards and rushed for 188 on 16 touches, scoring five touchdowns.

The senior quarterback was terrific in a 55-14 win over Calhoun, with Collins completing 22-of-24 passes for 403 yards and six touchdowns.

Vellaithambi nearly broke state records in Hurricane’s 63-28 win over Capital last week, totaling 441 all-purpose yards and an astounding nine touchdowns.

Follow SBLive Tennessee throughout the 2024 high school football season for Live Updates, the most up to date Schedules & Scores and complete coverage from the preseason through the state championships!

Be sure to Bookmark High School on SI for all of the latest high school football news.

To get live updates on your phone – as well as follow your favorite teams and top games – you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App|

— Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivesports

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (WTAP) – West Virginia Central Federal Credit Union showed their support for local nonprofits Tuesday morning for their annual Day of Giving at the Grand Pointe Conference Center.

The Day of Giving recognizes local nonprofits and the efforts the credit union makes to support them. This year, Credit Union Vice President of Development Kathy Dye said they’ve donated over $240,000 to over 200 nonprofits.

Organizations receiving funds include the Boys and Girls Club, Habitat for Humanity, humane societies, local schools, and more.

Dye said the Day of Giving is an example of the credit union’s overall mission of “people helping people.”

“This is one of the pillars of who we are, so it just comes natural to us to do that,” she said. “And we believe our communities, when we support these organizations, they thrive. So, just all of us working together makes a really good outcome.”

Dye said it’s exciting to be able to meet people from the different nonprofits and talk about the work they do to uplift the community.

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