Sports Established 1845 Spring Forth Moorefield Softball Bests Indians in Doubleheader 1B OOREFIELD M Close up view of a Lilac blooming in EXAMINER Moorefield. and Hardy County News USPS 362-300 TWO SECTIONS • 16 PAGES 94¢ VOLUME 124 - NUMBER 14 Wednesday, April 8, 2015 East Hardy is 2015 School of Excellence Renovations Making School Physically Excellent Too By Jean A. Flanagan East Hardy High School Prin- had to submit tons of evidence and Moorefield Examiner cipal Brad Simmons speaks with your school was investigated, but pride of the school’s recent recog- that’s no longer the case,” he said. “When the West Virginia De- nition as a West Virginia School Two other high schools, Bridge- of Excellence for 2015. It was the port High in Harrison County partment of Education adopted only high school in the state to be and George Washington High in the Next Generation standards, named a High Performance Re- Kanawha County, were named they changed the designation for ward School and a High Progress High Performing Reward Schools. Photo by Jean Flanagan successful schools. East Hardy Reward School. “What’s so remarkable about As construction comes near its end at East Hardy High School, freshman Taelon Anthony enjoys the new High School has always been cat- “There used to be a long drawn this is that it was done through all media center’s book selection. egorized as a Success School.” out application process, where you Continued on page 8 New Attorneys County Take Different Lost Dept. Tact with Heads Supreme City Bristle at Court Appeal Budget By Jean A. Flanagan Blaze Moorefield Examiner Cuts John W. Cooper and John A. Kessler, attorneys for the Hardy County Commission and individual By Jean A. Flanagan commissioners J. Michael Teets and William “JR” Moorefield Examiner Keplinger, respectively, have both filed amended appeals in the case regarding the purchase of the “It would be different if we got Baker building and the establishment of an emer- all the tax money at one time, at gency ambulance fee. the beginning of the year,” said Cooper was appointed to represent the Com- Hardy County Clerk Gregg Ely. mission by Senior Status Judge Andrew Frye Jr. “We get the majority of the tax when he disqualified attorneys Bridget Cohee and money in March and August. So Ancil Ramey with Steptoe and Johnson, LLC for we use our carryover from one conflicts of interest. year to the next to get us through Teets and Keplinger, individually, recently hired until the end of July.” Kessler of Carey, Scott, Douglas and Kessler, Last year Hardy County antici- PLLC. Their offices are located in Charleston. pated a budget surplus, or carry- The appeal to the Supreme Court comes as the over, of $1.5 million. In reality, it result of several rulings Frye made last year. He was only $730,000. “We had more than $400,000 in expenses we hadn’t planned,” Ely said. The court should review Some of the unplanned ex- this issue because holding penses included: $182,000 paid to the Hardy two county commissioners County Emergency Ambulance Authority. personally liable for $90,000 paid for attorneys’ fees $1,130,000 that they voted for Commissioners J. Michael Teets, William “JR” Keplinger in good faith to spend for and the County Commission to “ defend themselves against a law- the county’s best interest is suit. manifestly unjust. $13,000 to remodel the Pros- ecuting Attorney’s office. Almost —John A. Kessler $8,000 of that was for carpeting. Attorney for Mike Teets Approximately $4,000 came from and JR Keplinger a drug forfeiture case. $11,000 jail bill ordered by the was appointed to hear the case brought by five Circuit Court to be paid to anoth- members of the Hardy County community who er county for the arrest of a de- fendant wanted in Hardy County. sought to nullify the purchase of the Baker build- Photo by Sara Riggleman ing and void the emergency ambulance fee. $8,000 to relocate the West Vir- Wendy Miller, John Elmore, B. Wayne Thomp- ginia University Extension Office. son, Ovid Need and Bonnie Haggerty also sought “There were also a lot of little to remove the two commissioners from office. things, but they add up,” Ely said. Family Home Destroyed Some of those “little things” That petition was denied by a three-judge panel who found there were insufficient grounds for re- “ were a $2,000 door, $1,300 to up- moval. date fire extinguishers, an $1,800 Frye ruled the purchase and the fee void, say- sewer pump and $5,300 to up- ing the commissioners violated the Open Govern- In Thursday Morning Fire grade the courthouse Automated mental Proceedings Act. He ordered the county External Defibrillators (AED). to return the collected emergency ambulance fee A two-story home on Back Road Moorefield, Rio and Bergton, Va. The two adults and three children According to Ely, the reduction in carryover has necessitated cuts to the citizens of the county. The commissioners Drive in Lost City was destroyed by Volunteer Fire companies responded. who lived in the home escaped with- complied with that order. fire Thursday morning. The West Virginia Division of High- across the board in every depart- out injury. No one else was hurt. ment. “We have to rebuild that He further ordered Teets and Keplinger, indi- According to Hardy County 911, ways provided traffic control and Po- carryover, or we will be short this vidually, to reimburse the county the $1.13 million the call was received at 4:49 a.m. on tomac Edison was called to cut power The cause of the fire is under inves- time next year,” he said. cost of the Baker building. He said because of the Thursday, April 2. Mathias Baker, to the home. tigation. OGPA violation, they did not have the authority to Continued on page 8 purchase the building. In their appeal to the WV Supreme Court, Co- hee and Ramey provided 14 points or assignments of error. The first was that the Circuit Court did Teets and Keplinger Hire Attorneys for Appeal not consider the findings of fact adjudicated by a three-judge panel that found insufficient reason to By Jean A. Flanagan filed as counsel for J. Michael Teets County $1.13 million and pay Moore- cil Ramey, as well as the law firm of remove Teets and Keplinger from office. Moorefield Examiner and William “JR” Keplinger, in the ap- field attorney J. David Judy $112,000 Steptoe and Johnson, were disquali- Cohee and Ramey also wrote: peal filed in September 2014. The no- in legal fees. Attorneys with Steptoe fied from representation because of •the Circuit Court erred finding the County In communication with the West tices were dated Thursday, March 26. and Johnson filed an appeal to that or- conflicts of interest. Parsons attorney Commission violated the OGPA Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, Hardy County Commissioners Teets der with the WV Supreme Court John Cooper was assigned to repre- •the Circuit Court erred in failing to consider Charleston attorneys Michael Carey, and Keplinger were ordered by Judge By order of Judge Frye on Feb. sent the Hardy County Commission in evidence of intent in violation of the OGPA Continued on page 8 John Kessler and David Pogue have Andrew Frye Jr. to reimburse Hardy 19, attorneys Bridget Cohee and An- the appeal. CONNECT www.MoorefieldExaminer.com INDEX On Twitter On Facebook Opinion Page 2 Hardy Times Page 3 Sports Page 1B News: @MoorefieldEx Moorefield Examiner Sports: @HardyCoSports News Page 3 Obituaries Page 4 ClassifiedsPage 4B 2 - MOOREFIELD (WV) EXAMINER, Wednesday, April 8, 2015 OPINION Wear Blue Friday MY UNBASED OPINION Down the barn lane from Big attain such status, but I never had find him at Walters & Heishman House, a grassy spot by a rusty the gumption. offices, corner of Washington and One social problem that gives us nightmares is child woven wire fence near corner of Home from school, James Elm Streets across Elm Street from our old machine shed. My father, BY passed the Bar Exam and became Hardy County Court House. He abuse and child neglect. Every time we hear or read James Ogden Heishman and I DAVID O. “official.” Worked a while for him- occupies an office, formerly How- a story about children who have physically abused, were discussing, admiring, teas- HEISHMAN self, then applied for and was ac- ard Krauskopf’s home away from ing a small bright haired boy, my cepted as Hardy County Assistant home. sexually abused or neglected a child, we can not un- son, James Ogden Heishman, who Prosecutor under Lucas See in Howard’s been out of commis- derstand the adult who is responsible for such horrif- stood against the fence near us. He 2008. In 2013, James left the Pros- sion several years due to paralysis was two or three years old, pouting ecutor’s office and went to work for from a swimming accident. Unable ic acts. There are times we are literally sick with the a little. James grew through Moorefield Moorefield’s Walters & Krauskopf to travel and perform his old legal thought of a child so treated. Normally we called him Jamey. public schools where he made de- Law Firm, Jack H. and his son, Na- duties, his office has been empty. I Today it was “Mr Jackson”. I have cent grades and played some tough than Walters, Partners. think James’ acquisition of that of- The father who sexually molests his daughter. The a bad habit of tacking my own nick basketball. At six feet two inches, One of Hardy County’s older law fice is fortuitous.