November 12, 2025 • 40 mins
Executive Director of National Security and Cyberspace Programs at West Virginia University Bill Walker on the Mountain State Cyber Summit in Morgantown today.
Morgantown Police Department Chief Eric Powell and Sgt. Tyler Bradford, Field Training Officer on recruiting efforts.
Voice of the Clay Battelle High School Football Team- Ethan Collins on their record season and playoff game this weekend.
Morgantown Police Department Chief Eric Powell and Sgt. Tyler Bradford, Field Training Officer on recruiting efforts.
Voice of the Clay Battelle High School Football Team- Ethan Collins on their record season and playoff game this weekend.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
This is the Talk of the Town from Morgantown to Klerksburg.
If it's happening, we're talking about it. Call the show
toll free at one eight hundred seven sixty five eight
two fivey five. Now Here is your host for the
Talk of the Town, Mike Nolting.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Well, good morning, and welcome to the Wednesday edition of
Talk of the Town. I'm Mike Nolting, and you'll be
able to locate me out on x as your news
guy producing this fine program. Today, we've got Ethan Collins.
You'll be able to get Ethan at eight hundred seven
sixty five eight two five five, and then of course
(00:44):
your con do it into the program the text line
at number three oh four Talk three oh four. Certainly
hope to hear from you throughout the day. Today was
a great Veterans Day in a great parade in the
city of Morgantown last night, and thanks to every everybody
that came together to make that happen. Now this morning,
(01:04):
we're going to spend a minute or two with the
Executive Director of National Security in Cyberspace Programs at West
Virginia University, Bill Walker. Now, at this hour, some of
the top leaders are exploring the latest advances in cyber defense,
threaten intelligence, AI, and the digital future, and they're doing
(01:24):
it at the Morgantown Marriotte at Waterfront Place.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
We're going to talk to Bill at.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Nine point fifteen and find out what's happening on the
waterfront today. Morgantown Fire Department Chief Gary fresh Hour and
Tyler Bradford we're going to join us to talk a
little bit about the latest recruiting efforts in order to
expand their ranks. And we'll wrap up the program with
the voice of the Clay TOTELCBS Ethan Collins, also the
(01:50):
producer of this program, and we're going to talk about
their season and the playoff game coming up a Saturday afternoon.
Then in between there, we've got our crack staff of
detectives out tracking down Mond County Sheriff Todd Forbes because
it is a Wanted Wednesday and we want to be
sure and highlight his slate of featured felons. Let's take
(02:14):
a look at a couple of headlines. Then we'll get
straight to the program well and into the longest federal
government shutdown in history could be hours away. Second District
Congressman Riley Moore says, if an afternoon vote goes through,
the pain won't end immediately, but relief will be on
the way. That vote could come around at four o'clock
(02:35):
this afternoon. And this our state Board of Education is
holding They are reviewing their annual school safety report as
part of their monthly gathering in the capital city. Now,
the board will also be reviewing enrollment figures from county districts.
We'll be following those totals from the local region. How
(02:56):
the search for the Mind forman missing and the Rolling
thunder Mind in Nicholas County is still a rescue operation.
That's according to Governor Patrick Morrissey. Do Watering efforts continue
and officials say six thousand gallons a minute are being
pumped from the search area. Section leader has been trapped
in the Mind since Saturday seventeen. Others were able to
(03:19):
escape that flood and finally back in August, seventy four
year old Stephen limro Hitting killed seventy year old Paula
Sylvis on eight fifty seven and Morgantown Street in Fair Chance, PA. Now,
this past Sunday, just hours away from his Monday afternoon
(03:41):
Stephen Limero died at his home. Officials haven't released any
additional details in that case.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
Cloud's forty two degrees and Metro Newsaki Weather says it's
going to be a fall November day, clouds and high
in the mid to upper forties.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
We'll be back with Bill Walker. We'll be talking about
the cyber Summit. It's happening down on the waterfront. We'll
do that next on Talk of the Town AM fourteen
forty FM one oh four point five WAJR.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Now back to the Talk of the Town.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
Good Wednesday morning.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Bill Walker is the executive Director of National Security in
Cyberspace Programs and WVU at the WVU Cyber How About
This at West Virginia University. But before that, he spent
nearly a decade leading the United States Cyber Commands the
Cyber Defense Headquarters. Today he's down on the waterfront for
(04:55):
the cyber Summit. We've got to Bill Walker on the phone. Bill,
Good morning, sir. How are are you?
Speaker 4 (05:01):
Good morning? I'm fantastic.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Oh good deal. Bill.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
I guess West Virginia kind of stormed onto the cybersecurity
scene back in twenty twenty three when it was announced
that WVU would team up with Marshall to form a
national Center of Excellence for cybersecurity and critical Infrastructure. And
since then we've had we've seen exercises like Locked Shields
(05:26):
has been held here a few times. But in a
short period of time, we've become a cybersecurity force.
Speaker 4 (05:35):
You're exactly right, we have. And as you said, I
spent about the past decades standing up US Cyber Command
and was fortunate enough to be the chief of staff
at that organization. And you know, we were looking for
partners places we could go for true partnership, and thanks
to some great conversations with then Senator Mansion and Senator Capito,
it let us right here to start those conversations in
(05:57):
West Virginia, where we found both Brad Smith and Gordon
Gee to be the most willing partners we've seen at
any institutions across the country. And so the decision was
easy from the Cyber Command perspective that we were planting
the flag here. First they didn't ask what was in
it for them. They simply said, what can we do
to serve our nation? And they certainly answered the call.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Now, before we talk about the summit that's happening here,
in Morgantown today, give us an update of what is
happening on the Marshall campus with the physical construction of
the brick and mortar facility.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
Well, it's a fantastic facility. I've been fortunate enough to
be personally involved with getting that facility going for the
past couple of years. It is built to the standards
that we wanted from the Department of Defense. But it's
also a classroom, it's a place for the community, it's
a place for industry. And so they broke round on
that just a few months ago and looking to get
(06:55):
that thing opened up before classes start in twenty twenty seven.
And it's really going to be really the anchor for
the new innovation district there in Huntington. And it was
purpose built also to be a connective tissue to West
Virginia University as well as we solve some really complex
national security challenges together.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Bill Walker is the executive director of National Security and
cyber Space Programs at WVU and the WVU Cyber Summit
is going on now at the Waterfront and I think,
you know, when we think of cyber attacks, I think,
you know a lot of people really don't understand the
(07:35):
breadth and depth of what we're talking about, because we're
talking about everything from medical records to your school records
to utility companies.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
You're absolutely right, and the Mountain State Cyber Summit represents
a collaborative effort to bring together some of the brightest
minds from across government, industry, and higher education to confront
one of the defining challenges of our time, and that's
securing the digital domain that underpins absolutely everything that is
a part of our way of life. And so, as
(08:08):
someone who has spent much of my career working in
the intelligence and national security community, I can tell you
that the threats we face today are broader and faster
and more complex than ever. So cybersecurity in itself is
not just a technical issue. It's actually a strategic imperative
that affects everything from economic stability and critical infrastructure to
public safety and international relations.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Well, what does artificial intelligence do to kind of up
the ANNI to make sure you're on your game?
Speaker 4 (08:39):
Well, I'm glad you asked that question, because AI is
a very important part of what we're representing with this. Again,
this is not just about cybersecurity. When we say w
cyber it includes AI. It's engineering, it's all the different
things quantum computing, but AI in itself is transforming every
aspect of our digital world. It's revolutionize how we communicate, innovate,
(09:01):
and solve problems. But it's also changing how our adversaries operate.
AI is being weaponized to automate disinformation, exploit data, and
target critical systems at a scale we've never seen before.
So understanding that shift and preparing for it is essential
for every single sector, and that's what we're here to do.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Bill Walker is with us, and Bill happens to be
the executive director of National Security and Cyberspace Programs at
WVU the Mountain State cyber Summit going on at the Waterfront.
It'll get started here at the top of the hour
at ten o'clock.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
Now, help us understand.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
What people are going to learn when they walk away
from this this afternoon.
Speaker 4 (09:48):
Well, first of all, we're going to start absolutely every panel,
everything we're doing, and the entire brief day with a
threat briefing. We have to ensure that people understand what
the threat is and the depth of it. So you know,
Nation States, criminal organizations, and independent actors. They're leveraging technology
in ways that challenge all of our systems daily. So
(10:09):
the same tools that power innovation and global connectivity are
also being exploited for disruption and harm. And we talked
about those AI derived threats, the data theft, the vulnerable
supply chains that are unfortunately now an everyday part of
the modern threat landscape. So we're going to be talking
about how our response must be coordinated and informed and proactive.
(10:30):
But that's also why this is a summit and not
a conference, because w CYBER and our partners here and
across the country are working to strengthen our collective resilience
through research and education and engagement. And so today's panels
are not only going to highlight the problems, but also
key in on how we can address these challenges from
(10:50):
multiple perspectives, from policy operations, emerging technology, workforce development, and
public and private partnerships. Because at the end of the day,
we all so no, this is also about economic development,
and we want to make sure that this is the
right powerhouse of an economic engine to draw in some
of these industry partners which we have with us today
(11:11):
to hang a shingle in West Virginia provide jobs for
West Virginians because we know we can be that hub
to be a talent typeline as well.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Just a couple of things I wanted you to highlight
for us, if you would. At eleven twenty five, you're
going to be looking at indicators in intents, intent, intelligence
insights into critical infrastructure attacks. Now we've seen water systems
within an hour of where we're sitting in the state
of Pennsylvania have been attacked like that. What's the message
(11:41):
during that particular session.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
So that particular session, we've got experts from across the
entire nation, representing government, military, nonprofits, and industry as well,
because as I said before, we're creating an ecosystem here
in what we are doing, because that's what it takes.
It takes government, academy, and industry to get after these
(12:06):
Because when we say critical infrastructure, people think, of course energy,
they think, you know, natural gas, water and those sorts
of things. But the sixteen sectors of critical infrastructure cover
everything from hospitals to our emergency services, to manufacturing to
malls to schools, and so it is vitally important that
we start to truly identify the threats and then find
(12:28):
ways to work together. Because as the FBI Director and
many others have told us, even in public hearings in Congress,
this is not a matter of if, it's when, and
that when is now. We know that nation state actors
are right now prepositioned on critical infrastructure throughout this country
in every single state, and can take advantage of that
(12:49):
by manipulating it or even turning it off at a
time and place of their choosing. And we as Americans
are certainly not going to allow that vulnerability to exist.
And so that's what we're here.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
To solve now at twelve twenty this afternoon, you're going
to be talking about when practice meets panic and why
realistic cyber exercises matter. And earlier in our conversation when
we talked about the facility on the campus of Marshall University,
I remember when that announcement was made and there was
a lot of detail dedicated to the fact that this
(13:23):
was going to be very very similar to skiffs and
what they have at the Pentagon and things like that.
So talk about what's in that facility and what you're
going to be sharing this afternoon.
Speaker 4 (13:37):
Well, as I said before, that's going to be such
an amazing facility. That was phase one of a construction
plan to get a physical manifestation of the things we
need in order to keep that plant, that cyber flag
plant here in West Virginia. We're working right now on
getting similar items going to WU. I don't want to
(13:59):
get ahead of any announcements there, but we're working on
the same thing. You've got to adapt and have the
right technologies and the right physical pieces so that we
can have that shared powerhouse between the two universities. But
as someone who's been on two distinct sides of the
cyber battlefield, from operational command to now academia, I've seen
firsthand that theory alone doesn't hold up under pressure. That
(14:21):
in cyber you can't PowerPoint your way out of a breach.
So you have to train for it, and you have
to feel the pressure and the friction and the failure
and then learn how to recover. And so what we're
talking about in the panel that you mentioned is bringing
together again industry experts and the international lead for exercise
Locked Shields, which is the largest cyber defense exercise on
(14:42):
the planet, involves over fifty countries. And when I was
at Cyber Command, I was fortunate about five years ago
to be able to also plant that right here in Morgantown,
West Virginia, and so the duty has chosen to keep
that event here every single year, and we're going to
host it again next year. And so they're going to
talk about some of the other exercises that we're looking
(15:02):
to do here, like hack the hospital, defend the airport,
because these aren't just theoretical drills, they're live fire stress
tests of technology and decision making and of human coordination.
And so that's what we're going to talk about a
lot during that particular panel.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
Bill Walkers, the executive director of National Security and Cyberspace
Programs at WVU, And last thing I've got for you,
Bill is I was at that Lockshields event five years
ago and it was absolutely amazed at the mix of
academia and West Virginia National Guards students, faculty, researchers just
(15:39):
really really taken aback by that mix. But I think
that's how you recruit for the next generation in cybersecurity warfare.
Speaker 4 (15:49):
That is one hundred percent right. And that's why it's
that trifecta of government, academia, and industry that has to
work together so well because we are training that next
year generation of defenders, whether or not they go into
military uniform, they go into the intelligence community to go
in as a DoD or a DHS civilian. We don't
(16:09):
have enough. There is an international shortage of five million
people in cyberspace right now, and in the US alone
it's getting north of five hundred thousand openings. So we
cannot train these people fast enough. But they've got to
be trained the right way. We're not trying to train
people to create efficiencies and how they purchase technology. We're
(16:29):
trying to create cyberspace operations experts that know how to
come in and deal with these things. And that's also
why we have other partners with us today. For example,
from the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services, which is the
largest division in the FBI. We're three thousand employees just
down the road here from us in Morgantown. They're also
(16:50):
going to be here to talk about the law enforcement
side and how the FBI is defending some of the
most advanced and secure systems in the world, supporting law
enforcement intelligence professionals not only in the US but internationally.
And we happen to have an endless amount of internships
that go in there and a lot of their employees
come straight out of our talent pipeline, and the same
(17:11):
thing for having Wes Diedrich, the director of NASA, which
also has its IV and V location just down the road.
We are a constant pipeline. We're constantly changing our curriculum
because technology and cyber goes stale in five minutes, and
so we are at the forefront of keeping the talent
pipeline evolved in the right way and making them available
(17:31):
for that workforce.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
The Mountain State Cyber Summit is going on today down
at the waterfront. We've been speaking with Bill Walker, executive
director of Cyber, National Security and Cyber Programs at WVU,
and Bill please pass pass my thanks onto Katie Farmer,
executive director of Strategic Priorities. Without her, we wouldn't be talking.
Speaker 4 (17:56):
Katie Farmer is one of the most wonderful people on
the earth. Without her, we wouldn't have been able to
pull this off as well. So we definitely need to
recognize her and everyone else at WU that's done such
an amazing job in creating a conference that got so
large we had to cut off registration. We will have
well over six hundred people and we cannot wait for
next year, when I'm sure we'll have over one thousand.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
All right, good, good deal, Hey Bill, it's been a pleasure.
Thank you for your time.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Absolutely take care of yourself and have a great summit. Now,
let's see. The welcome will begin at ten am this
morning down on the waterfront end. Those programs run through
just about four o'clock four thirty. They'll have some closing
remarks at four to twenty five. One other thing you
might want to put on your list for today is
(18:47):
WVU President Michael T.
Speaker 3 (18:49):
Benson.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
He'll be addressing that summit coming up at twelve forty
this afternoon. Coming up next, going to spend a couple
of minutes with marketown chief Gary fresh Hour. He's going
to bring along Tyler Bradford. We're going to talk about
their efforts to expand their ranks and some enhanced recruiting
(19:11):
here in the city of Morgantown.
Speaker 3 (19:13):
We'll get caught up with that next.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
And of course there's a lot happening across the great
state of West Virginia. The search for the trapped miner
in Nicholas County at the Rolling thunder Mine continues, and
that is still a rescue operation, according to Governor Patrick Morrissey,
so our thoughts and prayers are certainly with the people
on the ground there. Had an opportunity to speak with
(19:38):
our rescue expert Josh Brady yesterday. He's got complete confidence
in the people there on the ground.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
We are talking about your town. Now back to the
talk of the town.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
A good Wednesday morning, idiots, nine thirty five. At the
top of the hour, the Cyber Summit will kick in
on the waterfront. Also, the regular meeting of the Mond
County Commission will also get started. On the phone, we've
got Aaron Taylor, the communications director with the Mond County
Sheriff's Department.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
Aaron, good morning, How are you.
Speaker 5 (20:28):
Good morning, Mike. How are you today?
Speaker 3 (20:30):
Hey, I'm doing good. It's a pleasure to have you
on the air.
Speaker 5 (20:32):
Erin.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
Now, let's see today we've brought in thirty of these
folks without standing warrants.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
Now that's something to be proud of.
Speaker 5 (20:43):
Well, Mike, we're up to thirty three since I believe
the sheriff talked to you last we had we had
two come in last week. One of them was a
walk in, so we're we like those they come in.
They turned themselves in with no problem and we've taken
care of that warrant for them.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
And I think it's important to point out for the
audience that, you know, when we mentioned outstanding more, sometimes
people can really get excited about that.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
But like you just said, sometimes it could just be
paying a fine.
Speaker 5 (21:12):
Right, Yeah, it's a lot of different things. That's more
of Sheriff Forbes specialties. I'm just the guy that puts
the information out there.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
Mike, Okay, gotcha? Okay, So who we're looking for today?
Speaker 2 (21:24):
Eron, and before you get started, you can go to
Montageliashriff dot gov and take a look at all these suspects.
Speaker 5 (21:33):
Yes, they are all up there as well as at
Facebook page too. So first up this morning, we have
Jimmy Lee Butler. We're looking for Jimmy for a failure
to yield the right of way to an emergency vehicle,
expired registration, endangerment clean from an officer. Lindsey Marie Eddie.
She's a failure to appear in trespassing. Brian Lee Martin
(21:58):
is violation of home confinement. Then we have Jeremiah Riggleman DUI,
third offense driving on a suspended or revoked license. And
then last up, we have Travis Carls Hue intoxication or
drinking in public, illegal possession of alcohol, obstructing an officer,
(22:19):
disorderly conduct, and we'll throw in failure to appear for
old Travis.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
He's a busy guy, isn't he.
Speaker 5 (22:27):
Yeah, he's definitely keeping us on our COEs.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
Okay, Now, what's the best way to get information to
the department?
Speaker 3 (22:34):
If somebody knows whereabouts of these folks.
Speaker 5 (22:37):
Well, you can definitely give us a call for sure, Mike.
We have a tip line posted on our web page.
You can email anonymously. You can call us directly at
three oh four two nine one seven two six oh.
You know, you can send a direct message to us
on our Facebook page. We've received a couple of them
(22:58):
there as well. So we appreciate everything that everybody's been
trying to do and assist us on this project. You know,
we've gotten calls from PA, Virginia and even out as
far west as northern California. So people are watching this
and paying attention and trying to do their part.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
Okay, Aaron, appreciate your time today, Be safe and tell
the sheriff that we'll give him a pass this week.
Speaker 5 (23:27):
All right, Mike, I certainly will. And you guys have
a good day.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
Okay, we'll do it. You take care all right. In studio,
we just happened to have the other top.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
Law enforcement officer, or one of the other top law
enforcement officers in the community, Morgantown Police Chief Eric Peal. Hey,
good morning, Eric, How are you?
Speaker 6 (23:44):
Good morning?
Speaker 3 (23:44):
How are you hey? I'm doing good. Thank you very much.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
Now, let's see you have brought an officer with you.
If you could introduce us to our guest here today.
Speaker 6 (23:54):
Certainly this is Sergeant Tyler Bradford. He's a head of
our FDO program on night shift and he's kind of
stepped up a little bit for us in recent times,
volunteering his services to help us enhance our recruitment efforts.
Speaker 3 (24:11):
Okay, hey, I guess Tyler, if you could help.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Us understand how important is the role of a field
training officer.
Speaker 7 (24:19):
It's one of the most important roles in our police department.
It gets sets a good baseline for new officers out
of the academy and really hammers in what they learned
at the police academy and how we do things at
the Morgantown Police Department.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
What's the difference in being a field training officer at
night as opposed to being one in the.
Speaker 7 (24:41):
Day, different call types. Daytime is a lot of reports
and vehicle accents. Midnight shift, you really could be just
about anything.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
And I guess what do you see in the new
recruits that you have been.
Speaker 3 (25:00):
What do you call it? Are they following you or
are you leading them?
Speaker 7 (25:05):
As to me personally or the field training officers.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
As a field training officer, are they following your lead?
Or are you kind of like over their shoulder, you know,
maybe providing an evaluation then an after action report after
an interaction.
Speaker 7 (25:20):
So it's broke down in phases. The first phase it's
kind of they're watching you, and as time goes on,
you're watching them and adding input and trying to help
them along the way.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
Okay, okay, what do you see in this group recruits?
Speaker 7 (25:33):
Well, we only have one on FTO right now when
he was a certified officer out of Randolph County. He's
doing very very well. With most of our certified guys
coming in, they have a pretty good idea of what's
going on. We actually shorten the FTO for certified officers
that is approximately a month and a half compared to
the three month FTO, So that is a benefit if
(25:56):
you're certified want to come to us. We shortened the
FDO try to tamline the process for you.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
So one of the things that always amazes me is
the memorizing the streets.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
It's difficult.
Speaker 7 (26:09):
It's easier now with Google Maps and the technology that
we have. It's certainly easier than when I started and
when Chief Pals started.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
So yeah, so I guess it helped the listeners understand.
You give somebody across street and intersection and pretty much
you have to have it in your head.
Speaker 7 (26:29):
We're pretty understanding from the get go. But yeah, it
is important to get there and know where you're going
and to help the citizen that you need to help.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
Sure, okay, Chief Pal tell us about working for the
Morgantown Police Department.
Speaker 6 (26:42):
Well, sure. I wanted to actually just bring it to
the attention of the public in general that we are
continuously testing. We've got test dates coming up in January
the twenty fourth, and all of our test dates are
set for the coming year twenty twenty six. We'll have
another one in April and then July and October, so
(27:08):
if you're at all interested, mark those months down as
possible dates. I think we've done a pretty a good
job of making it very easy to apply. All anybody
has to do is go to our website, which is
MORGANTOWNPD dot com. There's a big button at the very
(27:28):
top of the screen. It says apply. With apply here
you hit that, it takes you to an application that's
on the city website. There's a twenty five dollars fee
associated with it, so you have to submit your fee
before submitting the app actual application, but after that you'll
receive Once the application is received in processed, you'll receive
(27:49):
a letter either via email or regular mail from the
city Clerk's office just explaining the process and how what
the steps are involved, giving you links to things like
practice tests, and also providing the criteria that you're being
judged on with respect to the physical Agility test, which
(28:12):
pretty much matches what the requirements are for the State
Police getting into their basic academy.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
If somebody came to you and ask you, Hey, what
could I study to prepare me for even a practice test?
Speaker 3 (28:25):
Is it general knowledge or is it Yeah?
Speaker 6 (28:27):
It's general knowledge. We recently changed the formatting of the test.
I'm not going to say it's easier, but it's different
because we were finding that we were having a lot
of people not getting through the actual written portion, so
we decided to go in a different direction and see
how that played out. But there is lots of resources
(28:48):
out there, just in general any library. You know, you
go online bookstore and find test taking practice tests. But
we also provide a direct link that's more applicable to
our specific tests through either the email that's sent to
you from the city clerk's office.
Speaker 3 (29:09):
You know.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
Another thing I don't think people take the time to
understand is the fact that while you are not the
university police department, you are the police department in the
university city.
Speaker 3 (29:20):
You know, you get to deal with a different kind
of people.
Speaker 6 (29:24):
Well, sure, I think it's uh. We're not only trying
to provide services to the permanent residents of Morgantown, but
we're also here for those temporary residents that are here
part time attending school but living in our communities, which
(29:46):
you know is everywhere and encompasses just about every community
within the city of Morgantown. So yeah, we we have
a lot of interaction with with college students quite a bit.
We share a cooperative zone in a heavily you know,
populated student area of town, you know, the North Spruce,
(30:06):
North Willie in that area. So yeah, uh, we're we're
definitely interacting with just about everybody.
Speaker 3 (30:13):
Okay, good deal.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
Well, Sergeant Bradford, thank you very much for coming in.
Really do appreciate your time, because if you're working nights,
you're here on your time.
Speaker 7 (30:23):
Yes, sir, thank you very much.
Speaker 6 (30:25):
Yeah, I wanted to add to Sergeant Bradford's also the
main contact with our ride with the Recruit Program, which
is also an application you can access through our web website.
Just click on the link at the bottom of the
thing and you can apply. And he coordinates the ride
with the Recruiter Program for interested officers. And that's another
(30:46):
good opportunity for people to come in and get an
understanding of what we do, how we operate, and how
they can better prepare for a test that might be
come in the future.
Speaker 3 (30:56):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
Okay, well, guys, I'll tell you what in CLO. I
want to thank you both and the department for your
service and really do appreciate what you do each and
every day, and each and every night for you. Thank you,
thank you all right, clouds forty two degrees. When we
come back, we're going to talk single a high school
football on Talk of the Town. AM fourteen forty f
(31:20):
M one oh four point five W A j R.
Speaker 1 (31:39):
Join the conversation at one eight hundred and seven sixty
five eight two fivey five. This is the Talk of
the Town.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
Good Wednesday morning, Clouds forty two. It is nine forty eight.
The Clay BOTTELCBS are the third ranked single eighteen. We've
got the Voice of the CBS, Ethan Collins in studio
and Ethan, I guess I want to start right here.
Are the CBS meeting or exceeding expectations?
Speaker 8 (32:06):
Depends on who you ask, If you ask me, if
you ask the coaching staff, if you ask the players.
They said that they would be meeting expectations, even though
I probably would have said coming into this season that
the goal would have been to just host a playoff game,
not two. So right now they're set to host two
if they can make it past this first round. If
(32:27):
you ask other people around single at who follow football
just kind of heavily, I would say that a lot
of those people would say that they are exceeding expectations.
This is a team that was just on the cusp
of the playoffs last year, was one of the first
teams out after a devastating loss to Magnolia on the
last game of the year, and weren't in the playoffs,
(32:49):
and now they're top three seed, which is the highest
in the school's history. The previous one was in twenty fourteen,
where they were four and they made it to the semifinals,
who ended up losing to the state runner up in
Saint Mary's.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
Well, do me a favor and talk a little bit
about the makeup of the team and how we got
to where we are.
Speaker 8 (33:09):
Well, it's a team that brought back four of their
five starters on the offensive line, and everything in football
starts with your offensive line. So you have four of
those five starters come back on the offensive line, and
the one starter that didn't come back was filled in
(33:29):
with a one hundred transfer who started at one hundred
pretty much all four years of high school. You looked
at it and you said, Okay, this is going to
be a predominantly passing team. You have Brandon Ponts off
who's possibly an All state wide receiver, in my opinion,
the best wide receiver in single A no questions asked
a quarterback who started the majority of the season last
(33:54):
year coming back improving in Corey Cohen. And we always
say that the biggest jump from a player's ability is
from sophomore to junior season. He's a junior this year.
And then you had a guy who as soon as
I saw him in summer workouts, everybody talked about him.
His name was Cody Clovis. He was from Santa Fe,
(34:14):
New Mexico. His dad is an All state wrestler, decided
to come here and finish out his high school career.
And when I say elite speed, I mean elite speed.
And then you had Trey Huggins, the former hundred quarterback,
also coming in at the wide receiver position. But the
problem is Mike, they don't have to pass if they
(34:36):
don't want to. Behind that good offensive line that they have.
They have two good running backs both named Caleb Caleb
Hall and Caleb Snodgrass along with Corey Cohen, so they
have a really good run game. This is possibly one
of the most balanced offenses I've ever seen in single
at they can hurt you on the run and they
can hurt you in the past. But I haven't even
(34:56):
talked about the best thing about this team statistically, the defense.
Statistically we are the best we I say we the
CBS are the best defense in single A. They've only
given up about eleven points per game. Just had to
shut out in the pouring down rain against a new
offense that Magnolia tried to install and beat us with.
(35:18):
I think they're the best defense in single A. It's
to me, it's no question. I mean, this team gets picks,
this team forces fumbles, this team gets sacks, forces turnovers.
I mean, anything that you need to come up with
with a crucial stop, I would rely on this CEB's
defense in single A.
Speaker 3 (35:36):
Ethan Collins is with us.
Speaker 2 (35:38):
He is the voice of the Clay Battel CBS, who
are ranked third in the state, the highest ranking ever. So,
with all that being said, and at nine to one,
what's it like going to a game in the city
of Blacksville.
Speaker 8 (35:51):
Well, I can tell you you get that small town
feel right outside of the suburbs of one of the
biggest cities in Morgantown. And being from Williamstown, West Virginia.
I can say that that hits a little bit close
to home. I was raised in a small town just
outside Parkersburg and Marietta, and you still kind of get
(36:12):
that same feel when you go into Blacksville. It's a
small town, it's got that small town field, but there's
a lot of people who are starting to move out there,
possibly that want that small town field but need to
work in a big city like Morgantown. I say big
city in terms of West Virginia. Morgantown is a big city.
Speaker 3 (36:32):
But at the.
Speaker 8 (36:32):
Same time, though, this community and all of the towns
surrounding it, I'm not talking just Blacksville, I'm talking Core
I'm talking some of the hundred community. Any of these
small towns that are surrounding it have really rallied around
this team and has used it as kind of a
(36:54):
building block of hope to just have something to celebrate
about in this small community.
Speaker 2 (37:00):
Coming up Saturday afternoon, it will be a one pm
kick with a fourteenth ranked Richie County. They're four and six,
you're nine and one.
Speaker 8 (37:09):
What happens, well, Richie County's a lot better than that
four and six record indicates. We talked about it on
our pregame show, which by the way, is looking to
be three and a half hours long. I'm finishing it
up editing right now, so three and a half hour
long pregame show.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
Richie can't approval from the program director for that monstrosity.
Speaker 8 (37:28):
Well, it's it's just going on YouTube, so it's no
big deal. I'm sure Kyle would approve it though, if
I if I threw it out to him.
Speaker 3 (37:34):
But I'm just kidding.
Speaker 8 (37:35):
Richie County, I think went into this season thinking they
were double A. The constant reclassifications and stuff like that,
you don't know where you could end up classification wise.
Richie County probably thought they were going to be a
double A, played a double A schedule, ended up having
a four and six record, and with playing a double
A schedule, ended up sneaking into the playoffs. However, looking
(37:56):
at them on film, we have a significant line advantage.
They do have a quarterback that's mobile and can hurt
you with his legs as well as his arm. They
have a decent run game. I think they'll give us
a little bit of trouble in the beginning, but taller
heads will prevail. I think Clevetel wins this one forty
two to fourteen.
Speaker 3 (38:13):
Forty two to fourteen. You heard it here first.
Speaker 8 (38:16):
I did say that they would blow out meadow Bridge
the last time you had me on the show, and
they blew out meadow Bridge.
Speaker 3 (38:23):
That's fact. That's a fact.
Speaker 2 (38:25):
Okay, So we'll be watching Clay Battel or listening, I'm
sure on Saturday afternoon.
Speaker 8 (38:30):
One more thing, if I could. Morgantown plays on Friday.
University plays on Friday. Clavetel is the only game that
is in mind County because West Virginia's on the road
against Arizona State. Clay Bettel is the only game in
mont County that's on a Saturday afternoon. So go out
watch your university, watch your Morgantown High then come to
the Easter or the western side of the county, come
(38:52):
out to Blacksville, pack the stadium, and let's watch the
CBS take on a win against a Richie County rebels.
Speaker 3 (38:57):
You know what, Ethan, that's a great idea. Definitely.
Speaker 8 (39:01):
I've been told the best chili dogs in Mond County.
Speaker 3 (39:04):
Okay, well there you go.
Speaker 2 (39:05):
Okay, Hey, thank you Ethan very much, and good luck
to the CBS. Thank you absolutely Okay, good deal, thank
you very much. Ethan Collins also the producer of Talk
of the Town, and he'll be on the dials for
talk Line as well. Now coming up at the top
of the hour, it will be the kickoff of the
Mountain State Cyber Summit down on the waterfront and that
(39:27):
will run through the balance of the day today. Also
at the top of the hour, commissioners in Montagelia County
will gavel in for their regular meeting. Doesn't look like
there's anything too major on the agenda, but the work
session in the afternoon does include an information session with
(39:47):
the President and CEO of mountainin Transit, Maria Smith. They'll
do that at eleven and then get an update on
the west Ridge bankruptcy coming up at one o'clock this afternoon.
A Metro News talk line this morning ten oh six
David TJ they'll be speaking with US Senator Shelley more
(40:09):
Capital and they'll also have EPA Administrator Lee Zelden on
the program with them. They'll get that started at ten
oh six, and don't forget today Wednesday, Metro News High
School Sports Line will kick That will air this evening
(40:30):
on WAJR. Right now, clouds and forty two degrees will
be back to wrap up the program right after this
on Talk of the Town AM fourteen forty FM oneh
four point five WAJR
This is the Talk of the Town from Morgantown to Klerksburg.
If it's happening, we're talking about it. Call the show
toll free at one eight hundred seven sixty five eight
two fivey five. Now Here is your host for the
Talk of the Town, Mike Nolting.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Well, good morning, and welcome to the Wednesday edition of
Talk of the Town. I'm Mike Nolting, and you'll be
able to locate me out on x as your news
guy producing this fine program. Today, we've got Ethan Collins.
You'll be able to get Ethan at eight hundred seven
sixty five eight two five five, and then of course
(00:44):
your con do it into the program the text line
at number three oh four Talk three oh four. Certainly
hope to hear from you throughout the day. Today was
a great Veterans Day in a great parade in the
city of Morgantown last night, and thanks to every everybody
that came together to make that happen. Now this morning,
(01:04):
we're going to spend a minute or two with the
Executive Director of National Security in Cyberspace Programs at West
Virginia University, Bill Walker. Now, at this hour, some of
the top leaders are exploring the latest advances in cyber defense,
threaten intelligence, AI, and the digital future, and they're doing
(01:24):
it at the Morgantown Marriotte at Waterfront Place.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
We're going to talk to Bill at.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Nine point fifteen and find out what's happening on the
waterfront today. Morgantown Fire Department Chief Gary fresh Hour and
Tyler Bradford we're going to join us to talk a
little bit about the latest recruiting efforts in order to
expand their ranks. And we'll wrap up the program with
the voice of the Clay TOTELCBS Ethan Collins, also the
(01:50):
producer of this program, and we're going to talk about
their season and the playoff game coming up a Saturday afternoon.
Then in between there, we've got our crack staff of
detectives out tracking down Mond County Sheriff Todd Forbes because
it is a Wanted Wednesday and we want to be
sure and highlight his slate of featured felons. Let's take
(02:14):
a look at a couple of headlines. Then we'll get
straight to the program well and into the longest federal
government shutdown in history could be hours away. Second District
Congressman Riley Moore says, if an afternoon vote goes through,
the pain won't end immediately, but relief will be on
the way. That vote could come around at four o'clock
(02:35):
this afternoon. And this our state Board of Education is
holding They are reviewing their annual school safety report as
part of their monthly gathering in the capital city. Now,
the board will also be reviewing enrollment figures from county districts.
We'll be following those totals from the local region. How
(02:56):
the search for the Mind forman missing and the Rolling
thunder Mind in Nicholas County is still a rescue operation.
That's according to Governor Patrick Morrissey. Do Watering efforts continue
and officials say six thousand gallons a minute are being
pumped from the search area. Section leader has been trapped
in the Mind since Saturday seventeen. Others were able to
(03:19):
escape that flood and finally back in August, seventy four
year old Stephen limro Hitting killed seventy year old Paula
Sylvis on eight fifty seven and Morgantown Street in Fair Chance, PA. Now,
this past Sunday, just hours away from his Monday afternoon
(03:41):
Stephen Limero died at his home. Officials haven't released any
additional details in that case.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
Cloud's forty two degrees and Metro Newsaki Weather says it's
going to be a fall November day, clouds and high
in the mid to upper forties.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
We'll be back with Bill Walker. We'll be talking about
the cyber Summit. It's happening down on the waterfront. We'll
do that next on Talk of the Town AM fourteen
forty FM one oh four point five WAJR.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Now back to the Talk of the Town.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
Good Wednesday morning.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Bill Walker is the executive Director of National Security in
Cyberspace Programs and WVU at the WVU Cyber How About
This at West Virginia University. But before that, he spent
nearly a decade leading the United States Cyber Commands the
Cyber Defense Headquarters. Today he's down on the waterfront for
(04:55):
the cyber Summit. We've got to Bill Walker on the phone. Bill,
Good morning, sir. How are are you?
Speaker 4 (05:01):
Good morning? I'm fantastic.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Oh good deal. Bill.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
I guess West Virginia kind of stormed onto the cybersecurity
scene back in twenty twenty three when it was announced
that WVU would team up with Marshall to form a
national Center of Excellence for cybersecurity and critical Infrastructure. And
since then we've had we've seen exercises like Locked Shields
(05:26):
has been held here a few times. But in a
short period of time, we've become a cybersecurity force.
Speaker 4 (05:35):
You're exactly right, we have. And as you said, I
spent about the past decades standing up US Cyber Command
and was fortunate enough to be the chief of staff
at that organization. And you know, we were looking for
partners places we could go for true partnership, and thanks
to some great conversations with then Senator Mansion and Senator Capito,
it let us right here to start those conversations in
(05:57):
West Virginia, where we found both Brad Smith and Gordon
Gee to be the most willing partners we've seen at
any institutions across the country. And so the decision was
easy from the Cyber Command perspective that we were planting
the flag here. First they didn't ask what was in
it for them. They simply said, what can we do
to serve our nation? And they certainly answered the call.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Now, before we talk about the summit that's happening here,
in Morgantown today, give us an update of what is
happening on the Marshall campus with the physical construction of
the brick and mortar facility.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
Well, it's a fantastic facility. I've been fortunate enough to
be personally involved with getting that facility going for the
past couple of years. It is built to the standards
that we wanted from the Department of Defense. But it's
also a classroom, it's a place for the community, it's
a place for industry. And so they broke round on
that just a few months ago and looking to get
(06:55):
that thing opened up before classes start in twenty twenty seven.
And it's really going to be really the anchor for
the new innovation district there in Huntington. And it was
purpose built also to be a connective tissue to West
Virginia University as well as we solve some really complex
national security challenges together.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Bill Walker is the executive director of National Security and
cyber Space Programs at WVU and the WVU Cyber Summit
is going on now at the Waterfront and I think,
you know, when we think of cyber attacks, I think,
you know a lot of people really don't understand the
(07:35):
breadth and depth of what we're talking about, because we're
talking about everything from medical records to your school records
to utility companies.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
You're absolutely right, and the Mountain State Cyber Summit represents
a collaborative effort to bring together some of the brightest
minds from across government, industry, and higher education to confront
one of the defining challenges of our time, and that's
securing the digital domain that underpins absolutely everything that is
a part of our way of life. And so, as
(08:08):
someone who has spent much of my career working in
the intelligence and national security community, I can tell you
that the threats we face today are broader and faster
and more complex than ever. So cybersecurity in itself is
not just a technical issue. It's actually a strategic imperative
that affects everything from economic stability and critical infrastructure to
public safety and international relations.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Well, what does artificial intelligence do to kind of up
the ANNI to make sure you're on your game?
Speaker 4 (08:39):
Well, I'm glad you asked that question, because AI is
a very important part of what we're representing with this. Again,
this is not just about cybersecurity. When we say w
cyber it includes AI. It's engineering, it's all the different
things quantum computing, but AI in itself is transforming every
aspect of our digital world. It's revolutionize how we communicate, innovate,
(09:01):
and solve problems. But it's also changing how our adversaries operate.
AI is being weaponized to automate disinformation, exploit data, and
target critical systems at a scale we've never seen before.
So understanding that shift and preparing for it is essential
for every single sector, and that's what we're here to do.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Bill Walker is with us, and Bill happens to be
the executive director of National Security and Cyberspace Programs at
WVU the Mountain State cyber Summit going on at the Waterfront.
It'll get started here at the top of the hour
at ten o'clock.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
Now, help us understand.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
What people are going to learn when they walk away
from this this afternoon.
Speaker 4 (09:48):
Well, first of all, we're going to start absolutely every panel,
everything we're doing, and the entire brief day with a
threat briefing. We have to ensure that people understand what
the threat is and the depth of it. So you know,
Nation States, criminal organizations, and independent actors. They're leveraging technology
in ways that challenge all of our systems daily. So
(10:09):
the same tools that power innovation and global connectivity are
also being exploited for disruption and harm. And we talked
about those AI derived threats, the data theft, the vulnerable
supply chains that are unfortunately now an everyday part of
the modern threat landscape. So we're going to be talking
about how our response must be coordinated and informed and proactive.
(10:30):
But that's also why this is a summit and not
a conference, because w CYBER and our partners here and
across the country are working to strengthen our collective resilience
through research and education and engagement. And so today's panels
are not only going to highlight the problems, but also
key in on how we can address these challenges from
(10:50):
multiple perspectives, from policy operations, emerging technology, workforce development, and
public and private partnerships. Because at the end of the day,
we all so no, this is also about economic development,
and we want to make sure that this is the
right powerhouse of an economic engine to draw in some
of these industry partners which we have with us today
(11:11):
to hang a shingle in West Virginia provide jobs for
West Virginians because we know we can be that hub
to be a talent typeline as well.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Just a couple of things I wanted you to highlight
for us, if you would. At eleven twenty five, you're
going to be looking at indicators in intents, intent, intelligence
insights into critical infrastructure attacks. Now we've seen water systems
within an hour of where we're sitting in the state
of Pennsylvania have been attacked like that. What's the message
(11:41):
during that particular session.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
So that particular session, we've got experts from across the
entire nation, representing government, military, nonprofits, and industry as well,
because as I said before, we're creating an ecosystem here
in what we are doing, because that's what it takes.
It takes government, academy, and industry to get after these
(12:06):
Because when we say critical infrastructure, people think, of course energy,
they think, you know, natural gas, water and those sorts
of things. But the sixteen sectors of critical infrastructure cover
everything from hospitals to our emergency services, to manufacturing to
malls to schools, and so it is vitally important that
we start to truly identify the threats and then find
(12:28):
ways to work together. Because as the FBI Director and
many others have told us, even in public hearings in Congress,
this is not a matter of if, it's when, and
that when is now. We know that nation state actors
are right now prepositioned on critical infrastructure throughout this country
in every single state, and can take advantage of that
(12:49):
by manipulating it or even turning it off at a
time and place of their choosing. And we as Americans
are certainly not going to allow that vulnerability to exist.
And so that's what we're here.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
To solve now at twelve twenty this afternoon, you're going
to be talking about when practice meets panic and why
realistic cyber exercises matter. And earlier in our conversation when
we talked about the facility on the campus of Marshall University,
I remember when that announcement was made and there was
a lot of detail dedicated to the fact that this
(13:23):
was going to be very very similar to skiffs and
what they have at the Pentagon and things like that.
So talk about what's in that facility and what you're
going to be sharing this afternoon.
Speaker 4 (13:37):
Well, as I said before, that's going to be such
an amazing facility. That was phase one of a construction
plan to get a physical manifestation of the things we
need in order to keep that plant, that cyber flag
plant here in West Virginia. We're working right now on
getting similar items going to WU. I don't want to
(13:59):
get ahead of any announcements there, but we're working on
the same thing. You've got to adapt and have the
right technologies and the right physical pieces so that we
can have that shared powerhouse between the two universities. But
as someone who's been on two distinct sides of the
cyber battlefield, from operational command to now academia, I've seen
firsthand that theory alone doesn't hold up under pressure. That
(14:21):
in cyber you can't PowerPoint your way out of a breach.
So you have to train for it, and you have
to feel the pressure and the friction and the failure
and then learn how to recover. And so what we're
talking about in the panel that you mentioned is bringing
together again industry experts and the international lead for exercise
Locked Shields, which is the largest cyber defense exercise on
(14:42):
the planet, involves over fifty countries. And when I was
at Cyber Command, I was fortunate about five years ago
to be able to also plant that right here in Morgantown,
West Virginia, and so the duty has chosen to keep
that event here every single year, and we're going to
host it again next year. And so they're going to
talk about some of the other exercises that we're looking
(15:02):
to do here, like hack the hospital, defend the airport,
because these aren't just theoretical drills, they're live fire stress
tests of technology and decision making and of human coordination.
And so that's what we're going to talk about a
lot during that particular panel.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
Bill Walkers, the executive director of National Security and Cyberspace
Programs at WVU, And last thing I've got for you,
Bill is I was at that Lockshields event five years
ago and it was absolutely amazed at the mix of
academia and West Virginia National Guards students, faculty, researchers just
(15:39):
really really taken aback by that mix. But I think
that's how you recruit for the next generation in cybersecurity warfare.
Speaker 4 (15:49):
That is one hundred percent right. And that's why it's
that trifecta of government, academia, and industry that has to
work together so well because we are training that next
year generation of defenders, whether or not they go into
military uniform, they go into the intelligence community to go
in as a DoD or a DHS civilian. We don't
(16:09):
have enough. There is an international shortage of five million
people in cyberspace right now, and in the US alone
it's getting north of five hundred thousand openings. So we
cannot train these people fast enough. But they've got to
be trained the right way. We're not trying to train
people to create efficiencies and how they purchase technology. We're
(16:29):
trying to create cyberspace operations experts that know how to
come in and deal with these things. And that's also
why we have other partners with us today. For example,
from the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services, which is the
largest division in the FBI. We're three thousand employees just
down the road here from us in Morgantown. They're also
(16:50):
going to be here to talk about the law enforcement
side and how the FBI is defending some of the
most advanced and secure systems in the world, supporting law
enforcement intelligence professionals not only in the US but internationally.
And we happen to have an endless amount of internships
that go in there and a lot of their employees
come straight out of our talent pipeline, and the same
(17:11):
thing for having Wes Diedrich, the director of NASA, which
also has its IV and V location just down the road.
We are a constant pipeline. We're constantly changing our curriculum
because technology and cyber goes stale in five minutes, and
so we are at the forefront of keeping the talent
pipeline evolved in the right way and making them available
(17:31):
for that workforce.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
The Mountain State Cyber Summit is going on today down
at the waterfront. We've been speaking with Bill Walker, executive
director of Cyber, National Security and Cyber Programs at WVU,
and Bill please pass pass my thanks onto Katie Farmer,
executive director of Strategic Priorities. Without her, we wouldn't be talking.
Speaker 4 (17:56):
Katie Farmer is one of the most wonderful people on
the earth. Without her, we wouldn't have been able to
pull this off as well. So we definitely need to
recognize her and everyone else at WU that's done such
an amazing job in creating a conference that got so
large we had to cut off registration. We will have
well over six hundred people and we cannot wait for
next year, when I'm sure we'll have over one thousand.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
All right, good, good deal, Hey Bill, it's been a pleasure.
Thank you for your time.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Absolutely take care of yourself and have a great summit. Now,
let's see. The welcome will begin at ten am this
morning down on the waterfront end. Those programs run through
just about four o'clock four thirty. They'll have some closing
remarks at four to twenty five. One other thing you
might want to put on your list for today is
(18:47):
WVU President Michael T.
Speaker 3 (18:49):
Benson.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
He'll be addressing that summit coming up at twelve forty
this afternoon. Coming up next, going to spend a couple
of minutes with marketown chief Gary fresh Hour. He's going
to bring along Tyler Bradford. We're going to talk about
their efforts to expand their ranks and some enhanced recruiting
(19:11):
here in the city of Morgantown.
Speaker 3 (19:13):
We'll get caught up with that next.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
And of course there's a lot happening across the great
state of West Virginia. The search for the trapped miner
in Nicholas County at the Rolling thunder Mine continues, and
that is still a rescue operation, according to Governor Patrick Morrissey,
so our thoughts and prayers are certainly with the people
on the ground there. Had an opportunity to speak with
(19:38):
our rescue expert Josh Brady yesterday. He's got complete confidence
in the people there on the ground.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
We are talking about your town. Now back to the
talk of the town.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
A good Wednesday morning, idiots, nine thirty five. At the
top of the hour, the Cyber Summit will kick in
on the waterfront. Also, the regular meeting of the Mond
County Commission will also get started. On the phone, we've
got Aaron Taylor, the communications director with the Mond County
Sheriff's Department.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
Aaron, good morning, How are you.
Speaker 5 (20:28):
Good morning, Mike. How are you today?
Speaker 3 (20:30):
Hey, I'm doing good. It's a pleasure to have you
on the air.
Speaker 5 (20:32):
Erin.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
Now, let's see today we've brought in thirty of these
folks without standing warrants.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
Now that's something to be proud of.
Speaker 5 (20:43):
Well, Mike, we're up to thirty three since I believe
the sheriff talked to you last we had we had
two come in last week. One of them was a
walk in, so we're we like those they come in.
They turned themselves in with no problem and we've taken
care of that warrant for them.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
And I think it's important to point out for the
audience that, you know, when we mentioned outstanding more, sometimes
people can really get excited about that.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
But like you just said, sometimes it could just be
paying a fine.
Speaker 5 (21:12):
Right, Yeah, it's a lot of different things. That's more
of Sheriff Forbes specialties. I'm just the guy that puts
the information out there.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
Mike, Okay, gotcha? Okay, So who we're looking for today?
Speaker 2 (21:24):
Eron, and before you get started, you can go to
Montageliashriff dot gov and take a look at all these suspects.
Speaker 5 (21:33):
Yes, they are all up there as well as at
Facebook page too. So first up this morning, we have
Jimmy Lee Butler. We're looking for Jimmy for a failure
to yield the right of way to an emergency vehicle,
expired registration, endangerment clean from an officer. Lindsey Marie Eddie.
She's a failure to appear in trespassing. Brian Lee Martin
(21:58):
is violation of home confinement. Then we have Jeremiah Riggleman DUI,
third offense driving on a suspended or revoked license. And
then last up, we have Travis Carls Hue intoxication or
drinking in public, illegal possession of alcohol, obstructing an officer,
(22:19):
disorderly conduct, and we'll throw in failure to appear for
old Travis.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
He's a busy guy, isn't he.
Speaker 5 (22:27):
Yeah, he's definitely keeping us on our COEs.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
Okay, Now, what's the best way to get information to
the department?
Speaker 3 (22:34):
If somebody knows whereabouts of these folks.
Speaker 5 (22:37):
Well, you can definitely give us a call for sure, Mike.
We have a tip line posted on our web page.
You can email anonymously. You can call us directly at
three oh four two nine one seven two six oh.
You know, you can send a direct message to us
on our Facebook page. We've received a couple of them
(22:58):
there as well. So we appreciate everything that everybody's been
trying to do and assist us on this project. You know,
we've gotten calls from PA, Virginia and even out as
far west as northern California. So people are watching this
and paying attention and trying to do their part.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
Okay, Aaron, appreciate your time today, Be safe and tell
the sheriff that we'll give him a pass this week.
Speaker 5 (23:27):
All right, Mike, I certainly will. And you guys have
a good day.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
Okay, we'll do it. You take care all right. In studio,
we just happened to have the other top.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
Law enforcement officer, or one of the other top law
enforcement officers in the community, Morgantown Police Chief Eric Peal. Hey,
good morning, Eric, How are you?
Speaker 6 (23:44):
Good morning?
Speaker 3 (23:44):
How are you hey? I'm doing good. Thank you very much.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
Now, let's see you have brought an officer with you.
If you could introduce us to our guest here today.
Speaker 6 (23:54):
Certainly this is Sergeant Tyler Bradford. He's a head of
our FDO program on night shift and he's kind of
stepped up a little bit for us in recent times,
volunteering his services to help us enhance our recruitment efforts.
Speaker 3 (24:11):
Okay, hey, I guess Tyler, if you could help.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Us understand how important is the role of a field
training officer.
Speaker 7 (24:19):
It's one of the most important roles in our police department.
It gets sets a good baseline for new officers out
of the academy and really hammers in what they learned
at the police academy and how we do things at
the Morgantown Police Department.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
What's the difference in being a field training officer at
night as opposed to being one in the.
Speaker 7 (24:41):
Day, different call types. Daytime is a lot of reports
and vehicle accents. Midnight shift, you really could be just
about anything.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
And I guess what do you see in the new
recruits that you have been.
Speaker 3 (25:00):
What do you call it? Are they following you or
are you leading them?
Speaker 7 (25:05):
As to me personally or the field training officers.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
As a field training officer, are they following your lead?
Or are you kind of like over their shoulder, you know,
maybe providing an evaluation then an after action report after
an interaction.
Speaker 7 (25:20):
So it's broke down in phases. The first phase it's
kind of they're watching you, and as time goes on,
you're watching them and adding input and trying to help
them along the way.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
Okay, okay, what do you see in this group recruits?
Speaker 7 (25:33):
Well, we only have one on FTO right now when
he was a certified officer out of Randolph County. He's
doing very very well. With most of our certified guys
coming in, they have a pretty good idea of what's
going on. We actually shorten the FTO for certified officers
that is approximately a month and a half compared to
the three month FTO, So that is a benefit if
(25:56):
you're certified want to come to us. We shortened the
FDO try to tamline the process for you.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
So one of the things that always amazes me is
the memorizing the streets.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
It's difficult.
Speaker 7 (26:09):
It's easier now with Google Maps and the technology that
we have. It's certainly easier than when I started and
when Chief Pals started.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
So yeah, so I guess it helped the listeners understand.
You give somebody across street and intersection and pretty much
you have to have it in your head.
Speaker 7 (26:29):
We're pretty understanding from the get go. But yeah, it
is important to get there and know where you're going
and to help the citizen that you need to help.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
Sure, okay, Chief Pal tell us about working for the
Morgantown Police Department.
Speaker 6 (26:42):
Well, sure. I wanted to actually just bring it to
the attention of the public in general that we are
continuously testing. We've got test dates coming up in January
the twenty fourth, and all of our test dates are
set for the coming year twenty twenty six. We'll have
another one in April and then July and October, so
(27:08):
if you're at all interested, mark those months down as
possible dates. I think we've done a pretty a good
job of making it very easy to apply. All anybody
has to do is go to our website, which is
MORGANTOWNPD dot com. There's a big button at the very
(27:28):
top of the screen. It says apply. With apply here
you hit that, it takes you to an application that's
on the city website. There's a twenty five dollars fee
associated with it, so you have to submit your fee
before submitting the app actual application, but after that you'll
receive Once the application is received in processed, you'll receive
(27:49):
a letter either via email or regular mail from the
city Clerk's office just explaining the process and how what
the steps are involved, giving you links to things like
practice tests, and also providing the criteria that you're being
judged on with respect to the physical Agility test, which
(28:12):
pretty much matches what the requirements are for the State
Police getting into their basic academy.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
If somebody came to you and ask you, Hey, what
could I study to prepare me for even a practice test?
Speaker 3 (28:25):
Is it general knowledge or is it Yeah?
Speaker 6 (28:27):
It's general knowledge. We recently changed the formatting of the test.
I'm not going to say it's easier, but it's different
because we were finding that we were having a lot
of people not getting through the actual written portion, so
we decided to go in a different direction and see
how that played out. But there is lots of resources
(28:48):
out there, just in general any library. You know, you
go online bookstore and find test taking practice tests. But
we also provide a direct link that's more applicable to
our specific tests through either the email that's sent to
you from the city clerk's office.
Speaker 3 (29:09):
You know.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
Another thing I don't think people take the time to
understand is the fact that while you are not the
university police department, you are the police department in the
university city.
Speaker 3 (29:20):
You know, you get to deal with a different kind
of people.
Speaker 6 (29:24):
Well, sure, I think it's uh. We're not only trying
to provide services to the permanent residents of Morgantown, but
we're also here for those temporary residents that are here
part time attending school but living in our communities, which
(29:46):
you know is everywhere and encompasses just about every community
within the city of Morgantown. So yeah, we we have
a lot of interaction with with college students quite a bit.
We share a cooperative zone in a heavily you know,
populated student area of town, you know, the North Spruce,
(30:06):
North Willie in that area. So yeah, uh, we're we're
definitely interacting with just about everybody.
Speaker 3 (30:13):
Okay, good deal.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
Well, Sergeant Bradford, thank you very much for coming in.
Really do appreciate your time, because if you're working nights,
you're here on your time.
Speaker 7 (30:23):
Yes, sir, thank you very much.
Speaker 6 (30:25):
Yeah, I wanted to add to Sergeant Bradford's also the
main contact with our ride with the Recruit Program, which
is also an application you can access through our web website.
Just click on the link at the bottom of the
thing and you can apply. And he coordinates the ride
with the Recruiter Program for interested officers. And that's another
(30:46):
good opportunity for people to come in and get an
understanding of what we do, how we operate, and how
they can better prepare for a test that might be
come in the future.
Speaker 3 (30:56):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
Okay, well, guys, I'll tell you what in CLO. I
want to thank you both and the department for your
service and really do appreciate what you do each and
every day, and each and every night for you. Thank you,
thank you all right, clouds forty two degrees. When we
come back, we're going to talk single a high school
football on Talk of the Town. AM fourteen forty f
(31:20):
M one oh four point five W A j R.
Speaker 1 (31:39):
Join the conversation at one eight hundred and seven sixty
five eight two fivey five. This is the Talk of
the Town.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
Good Wednesday morning, Clouds forty two. It is nine forty eight.
The Clay BOTTELCBS are the third ranked single eighteen. We've
got the Voice of the CBS, Ethan Collins in studio
and Ethan, I guess I want to start right here.
Are the CBS meeting or exceeding expectations?
Speaker 8 (32:06):
Depends on who you ask, If you ask me, if
you ask the coaching staff, if you ask the players.
They said that they would be meeting expectations, even though
I probably would have said coming into this season that
the goal would have been to just host a playoff game,
not two. So right now they're set to host two
if they can make it past this first round. If
(32:27):
you ask other people around single at who follow football
just kind of heavily, I would say that a lot
of those people would say that they are exceeding expectations.
This is a team that was just on the cusp
of the playoffs last year, was one of the first
teams out after a devastating loss to Magnolia on the
last game of the year, and weren't in the playoffs,
(32:49):
and now they're top three seed, which is the highest
in the school's history. The previous one was in twenty fourteen,
where they were four and they made it to the semifinals,
who ended up losing to the state runner up in
Saint Mary's.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
Well, do me a favor and talk a little bit
about the makeup of the team and how we got
to where we are.
Speaker 8 (33:09):
Well, it's a team that brought back four of their
five starters on the offensive line, and everything in football
starts with your offensive line. So you have four of
those five starters come back on the offensive line, and
the one starter that didn't come back was filled in
(33:29):
with a one hundred transfer who started at one hundred
pretty much all four years of high school. You looked
at it and you said, Okay, this is going to
be a predominantly passing team. You have Brandon Ponts off
who's possibly an All state wide receiver, in my opinion,
the best wide receiver in single A no questions asked
a quarterback who started the majority of the season last
(33:54):
year coming back improving in Corey Cohen. And we always
say that the biggest jump from a player's ability is
from sophomore to junior season. He's a junior this year.
And then you had a guy who as soon as
I saw him in summer workouts, everybody talked about him.
His name was Cody Clovis. He was from Santa Fe,
(34:14):
New Mexico. His dad is an All state wrestler, decided
to come here and finish out his high school career.
And when I say elite speed, I mean elite speed.
And then you had Trey Huggins, the former hundred quarterback,
also coming in at the wide receiver position. But the
problem is Mike, they don't have to pass if they
(34:36):
don't want to. Behind that good offensive line that they have.
They have two good running backs both named Caleb Caleb
Hall and Caleb Snodgrass along with Corey Cohen, so they
have a really good run game. This is possibly one
of the most balanced offenses I've ever seen in single
at they can hurt you on the run and they
can hurt you in the past. But I haven't even
(34:56):
talked about the best thing about this team statistically, the defense.
Statistically we are the best we I say we the
CBS are the best defense in single A. They've only
given up about eleven points per game. Just had to
shut out in the pouring down rain against a new
offense that Magnolia tried to install and beat us with.
(35:18):
I think they're the best defense in single A. It's
to me, it's no question. I mean, this team gets picks,
this team forces fumbles, this team gets sacks, forces turnovers.
I mean, anything that you need to come up with
with a crucial stop, I would rely on this CEB's
defense in single A.
Speaker 3 (35:36):
Ethan Collins is with us.
Speaker 2 (35:38):
He is the voice of the Clay Battel CBS, who
are ranked third in the state, the highest ranking ever. So,
with all that being said, and at nine to one,
what's it like going to a game in the city
of Blacksville.
Speaker 8 (35:51):
Well, I can tell you you get that small town
feel right outside of the suburbs of one of the
biggest cities in Morgantown. And being from Williamstown, West Virginia.
I can say that that hits a little bit close
to home. I was raised in a small town just
outside Parkersburg and Marietta, and you still kind of get
(36:12):
that same feel when you go into Blacksville. It's a
small town, it's got that small town field, but there's
a lot of people who are starting to move out there,
possibly that want that small town field but need to
work in a big city like Morgantown. I say big
city in terms of West Virginia. Morgantown is a big city.
Speaker 3 (36:32):
But at the.
Speaker 8 (36:32):
Same time, though, this community and all of the towns
surrounding it, I'm not talking just Blacksville, I'm talking Core
I'm talking some of the hundred community. Any of these
small towns that are surrounding it have really rallied around
this team and has used it as kind of a
(36:54):
building block of hope to just have something to celebrate
about in this small community.
Speaker 2 (37:00):
Coming up Saturday afternoon, it will be a one pm
kick with a fourteenth ranked Richie County. They're four and six,
you're nine and one.
Speaker 8 (37:09):
What happens, well, Richie County's a lot better than that
four and six record indicates. We talked about it on
our pregame show, which by the way, is looking to
be three and a half hours long. I'm finishing it
up editing right now, so three and a half hour
long pregame show.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
Richie can't approval from the program director for that monstrosity.
Speaker 8 (37:28):
Well, it's it's just going on YouTube, so it's no
big deal. I'm sure Kyle would approve it though, if
I if I threw it out to him.
Speaker 3 (37:34):
But I'm just kidding.
Speaker 8 (37:35):
Richie County, I think went into this season thinking they
were double A. The constant reclassifications and stuff like that,
you don't know where you could end up classification wise.
Richie County probably thought they were going to be a
double A, played a double A schedule, ended up having
a four and six record, and with playing a double
A schedule, ended up sneaking into the playoffs. However, looking
(37:56):
at them on film, we have a significant line advantage.
They do have a quarterback that's mobile and can hurt
you with his legs as well as his arm. They
have a decent run game. I think they'll give us
a little bit of trouble in the beginning, but taller
heads will prevail. I think Clevetel wins this one forty
two to fourteen.
Speaker 3 (38:13):
Forty two to fourteen. You heard it here first.
Speaker 8 (38:16):
I did say that they would blow out meadow Bridge
the last time you had me on the show, and
they blew out meadow Bridge.
Speaker 3 (38:23):
That's fact. That's a fact.
Speaker 2 (38:25):
Okay, So we'll be watching Clay Battel or listening, I'm
sure on Saturday afternoon.
Speaker 8 (38:30):
One more thing, if I could. Morgantown plays on Friday.
University plays on Friday. Clavetel is the only game that
is in mind County because West Virginia's on the road
against Arizona State. Clay Bettel is the only game in
mont County that's on a Saturday afternoon. So go out
watch your university, watch your Morgantown High then come to
the Easter or the western side of the county, come
(38:52):
out to Blacksville, pack the stadium, and let's watch the
CBS take on a win against a Richie County rebels.
Speaker 3 (38:57):
You know what, Ethan, that's a great idea. Definitely.
Speaker 8 (39:01):
I've been told the best chili dogs in Mond County.
Speaker 3 (39:04):
Okay, well there you go.
Speaker 2 (39:05):
Okay, Hey, thank you Ethan very much, and good luck
to the CBS. Thank you absolutely Okay, good deal, thank
you very much. Ethan Collins also the producer of Talk
of the Town, and he'll be on the dials for
talk Line as well. Now coming up at the top
of the hour, it will be the kickoff of the
Mountain State Cyber Summit down on the waterfront and that
(39:27):
will run through the balance of the day today. Also
at the top of the hour, commissioners in Montagelia County
will gavel in for their regular meeting. Doesn't look like
there's anything too major on the agenda, but the work
session in the afternoon does include an information session with
(39:47):
the President and CEO of mountainin Transit, Maria Smith. They'll
do that at eleven and then get an update on
the west Ridge bankruptcy coming up at one o'clock this afternoon.
A Metro News talk line this morning ten oh six
David TJ they'll be speaking with US Senator Shelley more
(40:09):
Capital and they'll also have EPA Administrator Lee Zelden on
the program with them. They'll get that started at ten
oh six, and don't forget today Wednesday, Metro News High
School Sports Line will kick That will air this evening
(40:30):
on WAJR. Right now, clouds and forty two degrees will
be back to wrap up the program right after this
on Talk of the Town AM fourteen forty FM oneh
four point five WAJR
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