Claysville News

With Republican lawmakers pushing to legalize fracking, Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue issued an executive order Monday that creates a task force to develop regulations for the controversial natural gas drilling method.

In this July 27, 2011 file photo, a crane boom towers over the pumps and storage bins where the hydraulic fracturing process in the Marcellus Shale layer to release natural gas was underway at a Range Resources site in Claysville, Pa.

In this July 27, 2011 file photo, a crane boom towers over the pumps and storage bins where the hydraulic fracturing process in the Marcellus Shale layer to release natural gas was underway at a Range Resources site in Claysville, Pa.

U.S. Army Sgt. Nathan P. Kennedy "would do anything to make people laugh," according to his friend, Nick Rowlins.