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LIHEAP spring subsidy starts April 15
LIHEAP spring subsidy program starts April 15 and runs until May 30, the Big Sandy Area Community Action Program announced. This program is available to households with income up to and including 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines, and you could qualify for an electric benefit. Previous LIHEAP assistance does not affect your eligibility. Residents…
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Leadership ousted at Southern West Virginia Community & Technical College
CITIZEN STAFF REPORT LOGAN, W.Va. — The president of Southern West Virginia Community & Technical College (SWCTC) was placed on administrative leave Monday. The action followed a vote by the West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education, marking a sharp shift in leadership at the troubled institution. During an emergency virtual meeting April…
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Sheriff solves copper theft case
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN BEAUTY — Copper theft that left thousands without phone and internet service during recent flash flooding led to the arrest of a Beauty man by Martin County Sheriff John Kirk. Ricky J. Sartin, 60, was arrested April 9 at his residence on Gordon Hollow Road and charged with receiving stolen…
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Death threat, bomb threat lead to student’s arrest
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — Police arrested a Martin County High School student last week after he allegedly threatened to kill fellow students and bomb the school, authorities said. The Martin County Sheriff’s Office responded to the school April 7 after a female student reported receiving violent threats. According to a police report,…
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Man in jail after allegedly firing gunshots at juvenile
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN PILGRIM — A 46-year-old Pilgrim man remains in jail after allegedly firing gunshots at a juvenile and threatening to shoot another, according to law enforcement officials. Dennis Scott faces charges of wanton endangerment involving the discharge of a firearm, along with two counts of terroristic threatening. Authorities say Scott fired…
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Grand jury returns indictments in Martin County
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — The Martin County grand jury returned a slate of indictments involving nearly a dozen individuals in its April 3 session. Charges range from drug trafficking and wanton endangerment to receiving stolen property and terroristic threatening. Josh Scott, AKA Joshua Scott, 38, of Debord, faces charges of receiving stolen…
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Flash floods batter Martin County
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN MARTIN COUNTY, Ky. — Storms quickly caused a crisis across Martin County as they did across Kentucky, the Midwest and the Midsouth over the weekend. Louisville, Frankfort and Owensboro saw catastrophic flooding, while there were 93 tornadoes in the affected areas of the country. In Martin County, from the head…
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Inez Fire Department rescues 12 from floodwaters
The Inez Fire Department sprang into action during severe flooding last week, rescuing 12 individuals across Martin County. Crews first responded to Blacklog, where they rescued two stranded motorists. They found another stranded motorist on Route 40 in Tomahawk and one more at the mouth of Halls Branch. As water levels continued to rise, firefighters…
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Five years on the run: Kentucky murder suspect captured in South Carolina
CITIZEN STAFF REPORT GAFFNEY, S.C. — U.S. Marshals arrested a West Virginia man last week in South Carolina, nearly five years after he allegedly committed murder in Kentucky. Officers took Charles Ray Blevins, 38, of Williamson, into custody March 31 in Gaffney, South Carolina. Blevins had been wanted in Kentucky since July 2019 for first-degree…
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Cable-cutting thieves strike in Beauty
Deputies say enough is enough “We can’t keep them in jail, but we can put them in jail.” —Chief Deputy Sheriff Chris Kidd BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN BEAUTY — Thieves hit Gordon Hollow in the early hours of Sunday morning, slicing through a main Optimum cable and an AT&T phone line between 3 and…