Thursday, January 22, 2015
50 Cents Volume 117 Issue 3
Legislators ready for 2015 session By Amanda Smythers amanda@theputnamstandard.com As the first session of the 82nd West Virginia Legislature gets underway, budget cuts are all but certain and Cabell County is no exception. Sen. Robert Plymale (Dist. 5 – D) said that in his 21 years as a state lawmaker, he has never experienced a more challenging budget year. “I think the budget overall will be the overriding issue we will be facing,” he said. “The area of Cabell and Wayne counties that I represent has Marshall in it and there are some pretty significant budget cuts. The budget cuts to medical education is pretty significant.” Del. Carol Miller (Dist. 16 – R) said while cuts are difficult, they are necessary to avoid using the Rainy Day Fund. “We need to be very careful about doing something like that,” she said. “We need to make sure that we don’t affect our bond rating. It means that there’s not a lot of money to spare and we’re going to have to be very diligent about what we do cut and what we do fund.” Another item the house and senate will look at is the formation of public charter schools, an idea that Plymale said is worth looking into. However, newly elected Del. Sean Hornbuckle (Dist. 16 – D) has concerns about the demographics of the schools. “Historically, charter schools will group affl uent kids and group lower socially economic kids, and what
Huntington Mayor Steve Williams joined the hundreds marching through Huntington in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Residents march & remember MLK By Amanda Smythers amanda@theputnamstandard.com Residents of Cabell County joined together to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, singing together in the streets as they walked from 16th Street Baptist Church to Marshall University. Following a moving civil rights recollection from NAACP member Wendy Thomas, a diverse group of individuals marched together bear-
ing signs, children and in one case, a Torah. “It represents a collection of people from various walks of life, various ethnicities, social classes and religious and ethnic groups,” said Maurice Cooley, director of the Center for African American Students at Marshall University and co-sponsor of the event. “And that is what Dr. King fought for. He didn’t just fight for one group. He fought for the rights and the
freedom of all.” This is the first year Marshall has directly sponsored the annual march, which local NAACP chapter president Sylvia Ridgeway, who also serves as the president of the state chapter, said helped bring a collection of Marshall students who might otherwise have not heard about the march. Members of the Delta Sigma Theta See MLK, Page 6
See Legislature, Page 3
Lady Knights lose close game to Hurricane, 59-57 By Michael Circle michael@theputnamstandard.com
Intercounty rival Hurricane edged out the Cabell Midland Lady Knights 59-57 in the final seconds before the buzzer sounded. Midland coach Matt Adkins said that although the game was tough, the competition gave the Lady Knights some perspective. “Tonight they scored two better than us and they beat us but I think, going down the stretch as we get going, this should give our
team some confidence to play with a team like [Hurricane],” Adkins said. “Everybody was involved. Everybody got in the game and gave us good minutes and, you know, played the role.” The two-point deficit was within inches of being a three-point turnaround that would have sent Cabell Midland (4-5) home with a win. Midland’s junior Haley Haggerty took the ball from the throwin, positioned herself at the arc and fired but the last-second shot narrowly missed the hole and fell
into Hurricane (10-1) hands. “Basketball is a game of inches sometimes,” Adkins said. “That last shot, an inch more and we would have won but I’m proud of them. We went to our strengths and we played. I’m proud of them.” Haggerty was upset after the missed shot but was still proud of her team and their teamwork. “I feel really good about our play tonight,” Haggerty said. “It just shows we’re building as a team and we’re going to keep improving, keep working hard to compete with
teams like these.” Midland started the scoring early with a shot in the paint by Morgan Bennett. The lead was lost on a 3-pointer by Hurricane’s Abby Watson. The Lady Knights battled tough with the Redskins through four quarters. The game was tied at the end of first half after a steal and put-in by Summer Stephenson. After the half, Midland got off to a fast start and grabbed an early lead in the third quarter, 33-31. The See Girls, Page 6
INSIDE THIS EDITION: Calendar of Events, pg 2 n January indictments in Cabell, pg 9 n