Oceana News

Physically exhausted but spiritually exulted, a group of teens returned Saturday from a mission trip in Oceana, West Virginia.

Physically exhausted but spiritually exulted, a group of teens returned Saturday from a mission trip in Oceana, West Virginia.

Another local resident was arrested over the weekend and was accused of property theft charges.

A Pineville man has been charged with 47 counts of possession of child pornography.

An Oceana man has been charged with grand larceny, eight counts of petit larceny and three counts of tampering with an auto.

The reversed litigation stems from several thousand claims that were filed following flooding that swept through southern West Virginia in early July 2001.

Police in Wyoming County say 18-year-old Christopher Webb allegedly told some homeowners in the area he was a policeman.

An Oceana man is facing multiple charges after illegally entering a home in Crany early Tuesday morning.

Wyoming County deputies file charges. Story by Rontina McCann Email Other Stories by Rontina McCann PINEVILLE -- Families in the Kopperston area of Wyoming County got a rude awakening Tuesday morning from a man ...

Raleigh County Circuit Judge Robert Burnside Wednesday granted a motion to reconsider the jail sentence of a Wyoming County woman, but denied an identical motion for her husband.

Thumbs up ... to City National Bank for donating $75,000 to the Greater Greenbrier Valley Community Foundation that will benefit residents of Greenbrier and Pocahontas counties and the surrounding areas.

Police in two counties arrested six people this week in separate cases involving copper theft.

“It's difficult for me to understand why they haven't switched.”

In Pittsburgh, if you want to call attention to the health of our oceans, the closest you're going to get to saltwater is the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium . via Pittsburgh City Paper

“This will bring some jobs to Oceana. This will bring some much-needed medical services to the area. It's a win-win for everybody and Nola Rose is the reason.”

Oceana will soon be home to a regional dialysis center, according to officials. "As of today, it is a reality," Mayor Nola Rose said Wednesday. via Register-herald.com

A Wyoming County, W. Va. man pleaded Monday guilty to one misdemeanor count of wrongfully seeking workers compensation benefits in an amount less than $1000, according to West Virginia Insurance Commissioner, ... via Insurance Journal West

Posted Sunday, February 17, 2008 ; 11:34 PM Updated Monday, February 18, 2008 ; 12:11 AM Watch Story Video No one was injured in the incident Story by Hillary Crowder Email Bio Other Stories by Hillary Crowder ... via WVNS-TV Ghent

Wednesday, February 21, 2007 My home town and Chief Cornstalk... A recent post on this site highlighted an Indian Chief named Cornstalk. See this article. My home town, Oceana, Wyoming county, West Virginia is connect to this famous Indian Chief. Here's how. In an official sounding article "COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY WORKERS OF THE WRITERS PROJECT WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION IN WEST VIRGINIA" published in August 1940, the connection is described. See the entire publication. The first settler in Wyoming county was an Englishman by the man of John Cooke. Indian uprisings in the western part of Virginia and along the Ohio River called John Cooke to military duty in 1774. A member of Captain Buford's Bedford County Riflemen, he marched with General Andrew Lewis to meet the forces of Cornstalk, Chief of the Northern Confederacy, at Point Pleasant. Before the actual fighting began in this battle, however, John, and others were dispatched to Fort Clendenin for supplies; nevertheless, he is listed on the Point Pleasant Monument as a soldier in that battle. Later he and family returned. Site of the first settlement, county seat for 57 years, and today the center of a developing industrial area, Oceana, in the drama of Wyoming County, has held the center of history's stage. In 1799, John Cooke, weary of his less adventurous homeland near the Narrows of New River, brought his four stalwart sons to the confluence of the Laurel and Clear Forks of the Guyandot River, and with axe and whipsaw built the first permanent home in the region. And finally...Cassville, no Sumpterville, then Oceana... William Cooke, third son of the first settler, donated the one-acre square, and around it surveyed a townsite of thirty, one-fourth acre lots, which were sold to relatives and friends. At first named Cassville to honor the American statesman, Lewis Cass, the town was renamed Sumpterville in a court order dated 22 November, 1851, because Cassville already existed in Wayne County. In 1853, Thomas Dunn English, author of "Sweet Alice, Ben Bolt", who was then practising law in Wyoming County, persuaded the court to change the name to Oceana to honor the younger of Chief Cornstalk's daughters. So, first John Cooke fought Cornstalk then his town was named after Cornstalk's daughter...its a small world.

Wednesday, September 05, 2007 The Oceana, West Virginia, Monster... The following is not from a Twilight Zone episode, it is from a news report in The Independent Herald, in Pineville, West Virginia. A creature is lost in Oceana, West Virginia, in 1978. The Oceana Creature by Ron Mullens; Courtesy of the Independent Herald Is a seven-foot humanoid monster with Olympic jumping ability and an unearthly cry stalking the night shrouded streets of Oceana? Patrolman Bill Pratt of the Oceana Police Department says the monster exists "and it isn't any (censored) bird, either!" Pratt says he had his close encounter with the beast early Monday morning while on patrol near the Oceana Town Hall. Others who have heard the creature's call or who have caught fleeting glimpses of the unidentified varmint write it off as misdirected crane or heron which somehow mistook the town of Oceana for the marshlands of the Atlantic or Gulf Coast. But Pratt, questioned by town officials, citizens, Department of Natural Resources personnel, the news media and even monster chasers from Ohio and beyond, remains steadfast in his contention that what he saw near the Johnny Aliff residence early Monday morning was not a bird "and it wasn't like anything else I ever saw."

By John Blankenship Register-Herald columnist They tremble. They sweat. Their stomachs ache and their heads throb. They have difficulty sleeping. They vomit and would do anything for a fix. They are suffering a case of withdrawal pain. Yet they are slaves to neither drink nor drugs. Their addiction is gambling. And if they strike you as extreme cases, or if your image of the inveterate gambler is the occasional born loser who gets juiced and blows a few thousand bucks at the horse track or at the roulette wheel, consider this: - The number of hard-core compulsive gamblers in America is conservatively put at more than 1 million. Some studies say it is three times that high. - They cost society literally billions of dollars in theft and fraud to finance their habits. In one case alone, a stockbroker misappropriated $36 million — including embezzling $13 million from a bank — to cover his gambling debts. Even some hall-of-fame caliber ball players have succumbed to the strangle-hold of gambling, betting money on ballgames or wagering at the dog track. Experts today warn that compulsive gambling has reached alarming proportions. Some say it is due to the spread of legalized casino gambling in resorts like Atlantic City and Las Vegas. Others blame the proliferation of state lotteries, which offer “instant” results to players who used to have to wait days to see if they hit the jackpot in the local numbers game. Whatever the reasons, few disagree that the problem of pathological gambling is growing worse. Only recently has it become accepted as a severe mental disorder, a progressive habit that destroys families, costs jobs, and leads to bankruptcy, crime and frequently to prison. In fact, courts increasingly are being presented with compulsive gambling as a legal defense for crimes like embezzlement and fraud. In some cases, judges have suspended prison terms on condition that the accused seek professional help and make restitution. Gamblers Anonymous, a group that relies on peer counseling to help those who want to stop gambling, has grown to nearly 1,000 chapters throughout the nation since it began half a century ago. Who are the compulsive gamblers?

A former employee of Twin Falls Resort State Park was charged in connection with stealing copper from one of the park restrooms.

By Mary Catherine Brooks : Wyoming County Bureau chief *A former employee of Twin Falls Resort State Park was charged in connection with stealing copper from one of the park restrooms. Joe Sizemore, of Saulsville, was charged with three felony counts and one misdemeanor, according to Assistant Park Superintendent Nathan Hanshaw. The charges include breaking and entering, destruction of property, among others, Hanshaw said. Sizemore’s bond was set at $25,000. Officials are dismayed that anyone would destroy park facilities. “People come from Pineville, Oceana, Mullens, throughout the area to enjoy the park,” Hanshaw emphasized. “Now, this facility will be down because of the theft. It’s a shame.” He said it will take at least a week for employees to re-plumb the restroom, followed by extensive repairs to walls where the copper was ripped out. Park officials are investigating the possibility of banning Sizemore from the park. “If that happens, it will be the first time in the history of Twin Falls,” Hanshaw said. Additional arrests are expected. The investigation is continuing by park officials and the West Virginia State Police.*