September 18, 2025 • 16 mins
Today on MetroNews This Morning:
--Calhoun County Commission moves forward on the removal of a county commissioner from office
--A huge turnout is expected at the Capitol tonight to honor and remember Charlie Kirk
--Attorneys for plaintiffs in the suit challenging state vaccine requirements want to become Class Action status
--In Sports: Some big games on the slate in West Virginia high school football this week
--Calhoun County Commission moves forward on the removal of a county commissioner from office
--A huge turnout is expected at the Capitol tonight to honor and remember Charlie Kirk
--Attorneys for plaintiffs in the suit challenging state vaccine requirements want to become Class Action status
--In Sports: Some big games on the slate in West Virginia high school football this week
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is Metro News this Morning, bringing you this morning's
biggest news headlines from across the state.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
It's Thursday, September eighteenth, twenty twenty five. Good morning. I'm
Chris Lawrence, and we are ready to get the day
started with the information you're gonna need in West Virginia
on this Thursday. First, the forecast. It sounds like a
broken record. Unchanged sunshine, clear skies, temperatures in the eighties
and nineties for a high, cool nights, and only a
slight chance of spotty rainfall. It's about the best we
(00:32):
can do. We'll have that full forecast for you in
just a moment. Right now, though, let's get up to
date on the news of the day in West Virginia
at the Metro News anchored ass this morning is Jeff Jenkins.
Good morning, Jeff, Good.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Morning, Chris, and thank you. The Calhoun County Commission is
making the first move toward the possible remover removal of
a commissioner from office.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
The Calhoun County Commission met for the first time on
Wednesday to address the recent arrest of a commission member
and to formally begin the process of removing them from office.
Thirty nine year old Jacob mccumbers was recent charged with
fifty counts of sexual abuse by a parent, guardian, custodian
or person of trust. Commissioned President Craig Arthur.
Speaker 5 (01:08):
I am directing our prosecuting attorney and or retained attorney
to research and, if feasible, to prepare resolution for this
Commission to approve to seek the removal of Jacob mccumbers
as Counting County Commissioner.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
The request will first go to a circuit judge, who
can then seek the appointment of a three judge panel
from the Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court. The
panel would then hold a hearing, take testimony, and issue
a ruling. I'm Morgan Pemberton, WV Metronews dot com.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Mombroe County Board of Education voting this week to fire
an administrator at Mountain View Elementary School after he was
a leslie drunk at the school and had alcohol there.
The now former employee has been charged with public intoxication
and child in endangerment. The Kenawll County community at bell
is without a police Chief Mayor David Fletcher says he's
sent a letter of termination to Chief Robert Glenn. Glenn's
(01:57):
been on administrative leaf for months as part of a
criminal investigation. Resserre telling Council members this week the investigation
is close to wrapping up.
Speaker 6 (02:05):
The court system hasn't made it through there yet, hasn't
been indited val the grand jury.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
You've got to be indicted by the grand jury, and
it's an investigation unit.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
No word yet on what Glennac allegedly did. He has
asked for a civil service hearing to appeal his termination.
A large crowd expected this evening at the state capital
for a vigil and service remembering the life of conservative
activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated last week at Utah
Valley University. The vigil set for six this evening on
the Knar River side of the Capitol. Organizers are calling
(02:36):
it a call to courage honoring the life and legacy
of Charlie Kirk. Mason County Delegate Jonathan Pinson says, this
will be a service with a message.
Speaker 7 (02:43):
We want to recognize his life and we're going to
memorialize his life. But more than just memorializing his life,
we want to motivate other people to live out the
same testimony in the same actionable points that Charlie Kirk
lived out.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
Pens says there will be a great level of security
and safety at tonight's vigil. He says it will be
a safe place for residents and their families. Lawyers representing
a group of Raleigh County parents in their attempt to
gain religious exemptions to the state school entry vaccination requirements,
seeking class action status for that case. The filing says
the lawsuit should cover all families seeking an exemption. Metro
(03:21):
new state wide course by Brad mclhaney says the case
as it stands now is local only.
Speaker 6 (03:26):
The case in Raleigh County was filed by parents who
were asserting that the school system should honor religious exemptions
to the state's compulsory vaccination law. So far, it's been
understood that the outcomes in the local courtroom were to
apply specifically to those families.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
Read more on the class action status request story posted
by Brad at wv Metronews dot com. State Department Environmental
Protections decision to approve an air quality permit for a
data center power plan in Tucker Counties being challenged the
group's Tucker United, the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, and the
Sierra CLEVIC joined an appeal to the decision into the
State Air Quality Board. Steer Club chairman Jim Coats and
(04:03):
says DEEP was wrong when it agreed with the developers
about the plant's impact.
Speaker 8 (04:07):
They claimed that this would be a minor source of
their pollution. Well, this is a power plant the size
of Moundstorm or Mitchell or some of the big power
plants here in West Virginia, and we just don't believe
that that is a minor source of pollution.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Coachs Intel's metro news or groups want the State dep
to dig much deeper into the plants for the project.
Representatives of the DEEP will be at the Harlest Center
in Gilbert this evening for an in person meeting with
Mingo County residents on the developers' plans for two gas
power power plants that would fuel a data center. Developers
are seeking an air quality permit. The Dep's Terry Fletcher
with more on the applications.
Speaker 9 (04:41):
The applications are for off grid electric generating facilities. They're
not actually data centers themselves, but it's our understanding that
their intended us is to potentially power data centers in
the future.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
This evening's in person Public meetings schedules start at four
thirty at the Harlest Center in Gilbert, Or, West Virginia
has already hired three hundred and fifty people for its
new plant that's under construction in Mason County. Vice president
general Manager Johnny Jacobs tells Metro News the company will
have the first entry level pool hirings in the coming months.
That's entry level pool. Jacob says, these are generational jobs.
Speaker 10 (05:16):
The people that were hiring today, their children, their grandchildren
going to have opportunities to see and work at this facility.
You know, we had facilities that have just recently celebrated
their fiftieth year of being in the community and touching
lives throughout that entire time.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Jacobs, Aguesst Winsdale Metro News talk line says, when it's done,
the new Core plant will have two point five million
square feet under roof for sheet steel production.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Thank you, Jeff. Coming up in a moment in a
Metro News backgrounder, Marshall President Brad Smith talking about his
recent historic donation to the Marshall for All program that'll
be coming up, and then Daniel Woods will have to
check on sports as we are nearing the football weekend
in West Virginia. We'll hear more about that with Daniel.
Stay tuned.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
West Virginia Outdoors is in state's only hook and bullet
radio show dedicated to the more than quarter million hunters
and anglers across the state. Award winning host Chris Lawrence
has been tracking down hunting and fishing stories for more
than twenty five years.
Speaker 9 (06:12):
Whenever my brother needed because they'd hit the line.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
So my brother jumped in the water with the net
and came out of the water with the fish in
the net. So that's a pretty cool experience. You owe
your brother dinner for that.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Oh yeah, whether it's hunting and fishing news or just
compelling stories about the enjoyment of the great outdoors.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
First thing we always talk about in trapping's location, location, location.
Speaker 11 (06:33):
If the animals aren't there location, you're not going to
catch them there, so you obviously have to find.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
You This sans the reason you obviously have to find
a good area.
Speaker 10 (06:41):
You know where gray foxes are at.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
West Virginia Outdoors covers it all Saturday mornings at seven
oh six am and for your daily fix, Outdoors Today
brings you two and a half minutes of news and
notes from the woods and water every weekday morning on
Metro News, the Voice of West Virginia.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Come up, Daniel, well, as we have sports for us
right now in our background. Er Marshall University's Marshall for
All program will grow stronger thanks to the historic gift
from its president, Brad Smith and his wife Elie. The
two announced a gift of fifty million dollars earlier this
week to go toward the program, which helps students get
a college education through Marshall without having to take on debt,
and Smith says he has worked hard to be in
(07:20):
his position and his duty to give back and make
things better for the next generation.
Speaker 12 (07:24):
I am a capitalist at heart. I believe if someone
works hard and they're able to create their opportunities and
create wealth, that is not a bad thing. That is
what our nation is based on. That's what a free
market's based on. At the same time, I believe that
all of us are put on this earth to help
those around us. One of the favorite quotes I have
is Mahatma Gandhi, who said, if you want to find yourself,
(07:45):
lose yourself and service to others. None of us create
wealth or become successful on our own, and we have
to realize that it's our obligation, our responsibility, and our
privilege to help the next one in line. So I'm
a big believer that I came into this world with
not I don't mean my family had nothing. My family
certainly worked very, very hard for what they had. But
(08:05):
I came into this world basically, you know, with no
clothes on my back, as my mother delivered me. And
I want to go out the same way. We want
to give while we live, and I'll finish with this.
I know you hear me many times quote these terribles,
but I love this Greek proverb. The society grows great
when the current generation plants trees under whose shade they
(08:27):
will never sit. That's the way my wife and I
look at life. We want to leave the next generation
better than we found it, and then the hope they
do the same thing for the ones that follow them.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
That is Marshall President, Brad Smith. So the sports desk
and Daniel Woods is in this morning and Daniel big
Knight of high school football coming up on Friday night.
We visited with some of the players last night on
the high school Sports Line.
Speaker 11 (08:55):
That's right, Chris. A lot of excitement coming up this
Friday night, some big games across the state, including North
Marion against Fairmont Senior that's obviously a huge one in
Class Triple A every year. And you can go back
and listen to the podcast version of last night's edition
of the High School Sports Line. One team that has
started to turn some heads this year is Clay Battell.
(09:15):
The CBS are ranked number seven in the Metro News
Class A Power ranking. Second year head coach Aaron Lepoe
says they're building on a talented foundation.
Speaker 13 (09:24):
We felt like we were young last year. We have
a lot of those players back in Wessell County closing
one hundred high school, and there's been an influx of
some players from there. That's also been just a shot
in the arm of energy and talent, and so we
feel like we have a talented team.
Speaker 11 (09:37):
Clay Btel does have this week off. You can hear
that full interview on wv Metronews dot com. WVU was
onto Big Twelve Conference play this week, meeting Kansas on Saturday.
Jayhawks quarterback Jalen Daniels is a true dual threat and
Mountaineer pass rusher Braden Sniders, says they need to learn
from their mistakes against Ohio QB Parker Navarro.
Speaker 13 (09:56):
They're very similar quarterbacks for sure, as far as the
threat of the run in and everything, So we got
to learn from that tape.
Speaker 11 (10:04):
WVU and Kansas kickoff Saturday at six. Marshall is coming
off of its first win of the season with a
dominant defensive performance against Eastern Kentucky. Defensive lineman Braden Ward
had a sack against the Colonels and says the Herd
defensive line is a complete unit.
Speaker 14 (10:17):
This is amazing just to watch everybody like do they
thing out there, like everybody to like do their own thing,
and so you always preaching like run to the ball,
run to the wall, and like that's just so Saturday.
Speaker 11 (10:29):
The Herd take on Middle Tennessee State at seven on Saturday.
The NCAA Transfer Portal is changing for college football with
the approval of a proposal that limits portal entries to
a single ten day window at the beginning of each year.
Players can now enter the portal from January second through
the eleventh, and players competing in the College Football Playoff
will have five days following the end of their team
(10:50):
season to enter Previously, the winter portal window began in
early December before Bowl games, and the second transfer window,
which occurred in April, has been eliminated and NFL football
is coming back to the nation's capital. The Washington DC
Council approved the Washington Commander's plan to move back into
the city limits and build a new stadium at the
site of the former RFK Stadium on Wednesday.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
Thank you, Daniel. Get the day started with the information
you're going to need in the Mountain State. Every weekday
morning on the West Virginia Morning News. You can catch
us on the radio at a number of Metro News
affiliate station each morning around the state from six am
to nine am, a full three hours of news, sports, weather,
and more. We also stream it live at the website
wdvmetronews dot com. Check it out The West Virginia Morning
(11:34):
News Now with today's commentary the Dean of West Virginia Broadcasters,
Hoppy Kerchiable Chris.
Speaker 15 (11:40):
The assassination of Charlie Kirk is a tragedy, a young
life snuffed out by a deranged shooter. It was yet
another example of political violence that is anathema to what
we profess to be as a country, a place that
values and protects free speech and different opinions. We are
rightly concerned about the safety of our political leaders and
public figures, but we should also be worried about how
(12:03):
the Kirk murder is serving as a mechanism for those
in leadership positions who want to use the tragedy to
curtail or punish speech. The Associated Press reported this week
quote without establishing any link to last week's shooting. The
Republican president and members of his administration have discussed classifying
(12:23):
some groups as domestic terrorists, ordering racketeering investigations, and revoking
tax exempt status for progressive nonprofits. President Trump has repeatedly
cast broadside blame on the left for Kirk's murder, while
conveniently ignoring inflammatory rhetoric on the right, as well as
his own incendiary language. After all, he was the primary
(12:45):
provocateur of the January sixth insurrection, where five people died
and one hundred seventy police officers were injured. Attorney General
Pam Bondi has picked up the baton. She did so
earlier this week when she said on a podcast that
in individuals engaged in quote hate speech would be prosecuted.
She said, there's free speech and then there's hate speech,
(13:07):
adding that the Justice Department is targeting anyone with hate speech.
Either the top law enforcement officer in the country does
not understand the First Amendment or she chose to ignore it.
She quickly tried to correct herself after blowback from multiple groups,
including those on the left and the right. Stephen Miller,
(13:27):
the influential White House Deputy Chief of Staff, was right
there with Bondi. He said, with God as my witness,
we're going to use every resource we have at the
Department of Justice, Homeland Security, and throughout this government to identify, disrupt, eliminate,
and destroy this network and make America safe again for
the American people. Well what network exactly. Miller and others
(13:51):
on the far right are attempting, without specific evidence, to
suggest that Kirk's killer is part of some vast left
wing conspiracy. Vice President JD. Vance is also piled on
by falsely suggesting that political violence is more common on
the left than the right. The threat of a crackdown
on speech from members of the Trump administration is a
(14:11):
textbook trademark of authoritarian governments. Use your power to quell dissent,
it is undemocratic and an assault on the Bill of rights. Speech,
particularly unpopular speech, including so called hate speech, is sheltered
from government interference. In the landmark case of Whitney versus California,
(14:31):
Justice Lewis Brandeis wrote that the founding fathers believed free
speech was integral to liberty. He wrote, they believe that
freedom to think as you will and speak as you
think are means indispensable to the discovery and spread of
political truth that without free speech and assembly, discussion would
be futile. Now, there are exceptions to free speech, but
(14:54):
they are rare. For example, in Brandenburg versus Ohio, the
Supreme Court found that the government can prohibit speech if
it is directed at inciting or producing imminent lawless action.
It's important to note here that the First Amendment does
not apply to private employers and their employees. So yes,
(15:15):
someone in the private sector can be fired for what
they say. Notably, the late Charlie Kirk understood the First Amendment,
and he knew that his often provocative speech was protected
from government interference or prosecution. That is a lesson that
is lost on an administration that wants to punish people
for what they say.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Chris, Thanks Hobban. Hobby's commentary has posted at wv metronews
dot com. You're West Virginia. About the forecast for this Thursday,
warmer with mostly clear skies and the end of the
week is looking pretty much the same. No rain chances
are currently expected. Clouds will increase early next week as
a disturbance slowly approaches in the west, but only spotty
(15:56):
range showers at best are expected out of that as well.
And now you are up todate, have yourself a great
day for hoppy Kerchival, Daniel Woods, and Jeff Jenkins. I'm
Chris Lawrence and this is Metro News for forty years,
the voice of West Virginia.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Metro News This Morning is an exclusive production of the
Metro News Radio Network. All rights reserved.
This is Metro News this Morning, bringing you this morning's
biggest news headlines from across the state.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
It's Thursday, September eighteenth, twenty twenty five. Good morning. I'm
Chris Lawrence, and we are ready to get the day
started with the information you're gonna need in West Virginia
on this Thursday. First, the forecast. It sounds like a
broken record. Unchanged sunshine, clear skies, temperatures in the eighties
and nineties for a high, cool nights, and only a
slight chance of spotty rainfall. It's about the best we
(00:32):
can do. We'll have that full forecast for you in
just a moment. Right now, though, let's get up to
date on the news of the day in West Virginia
at the Metro News anchored ass this morning is Jeff Jenkins.
Good morning, Jeff, Good.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Morning, Chris, and thank you. The Calhoun County Commission is
making the first move toward the possible remover removal of
a commissioner from office.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
The Calhoun County Commission met for the first time on
Wednesday to address the recent arrest of a commission member
and to formally begin the process of removing them from office.
Thirty nine year old Jacob mccumbers was recent charged with
fifty counts of sexual abuse by a parent, guardian, custodian
or person of trust. Commissioned President Craig Arthur.
Speaker 5 (01:08):
I am directing our prosecuting attorney and or retained attorney
to research and, if feasible, to prepare resolution for this
Commission to approve to seek the removal of Jacob mccumbers
as Counting County Commissioner.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
The request will first go to a circuit judge, who
can then seek the appointment of a three judge panel
from the Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court. The
panel would then hold a hearing, take testimony, and issue
a ruling. I'm Morgan Pemberton, WV Metronews dot com.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Mombroe County Board of Education voting this week to fire
an administrator at Mountain View Elementary School after he was
a leslie drunk at the school and had alcohol there.
The now former employee has been charged with public intoxication
and child in endangerment. The Kenawll County community at bell
is without a police Chief Mayor David Fletcher says he's
sent a letter of termination to Chief Robert Glenn. Glenn's
(01:57):
been on administrative leaf for months as part of a
criminal investigation. Resserre telling Council members this week the investigation
is close to wrapping up.
Speaker 6 (02:05):
The court system hasn't made it through there yet, hasn't
been indited val the grand jury.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
You've got to be indicted by the grand jury, and
it's an investigation unit.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
No word yet on what Glennac allegedly did. He has
asked for a civil service hearing to appeal his termination.
A large crowd expected this evening at the state capital
for a vigil and service remembering the life of conservative
activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated last week at Utah
Valley University. The vigil set for six this evening on
the Knar River side of the Capitol. Organizers are calling
(02:36):
it a call to courage honoring the life and legacy
of Charlie Kirk. Mason County Delegate Jonathan Pinson says, this
will be a service with a message.
Speaker 7 (02:43):
We want to recognize his life and we're going to
memorialize his life. But more than just memorializing his life,
we want to motivate other people to live out the
same testimony in the same actionable points that Charlie Kirk
lived out.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
Pens says there will be a great level of security
and safety at tonight's vigil. He says it will be
a safe place for residents and their families. Lawyers representing
a group of Raleigh County parents in their attempt to
gain religious exemptions to the state school entry vaccination requirements,
seeking class action status for that case. The filing says
the lawsuit should cover all families seeking an exemption. Metro
(03:21):
new state wide course by Brad mclhaney says the case
as it stands now is local only.
Speaker 6 (03:26):
The case in Raleigh County was filed by parents who
were asserting that the school system should honor religious exemptions
to the state's compulsory vaccination law. So far, it's been
understood that the outcomes in the local courtroom were to
apply specifically to those families.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
Read more on the class action status request story posted
by Brad at wv Metronews dot com. State Department Environmental
Protections decision to approve an air quality permit for a
data center power plan in Tucker Counties being challenged the
group's Tucker United, the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, and the
Sierra CLEVIC joined an appeal to the decision into the
State Air Quality Board. Steer Club chairman Jim Coats and
(04:03):
says DEEP was wrong when it agreed with the developers
about the plant's impact.
Speaker 8 (04:07):
They claimed that this would be a minor source of
their pollution. Well, this is a power plant the size
of Moundstorm or Mitchell or some of the big power
plants here in West Virginia, and we just don't believe
that that is a minor source of pollution.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Coachs Intel's metro news or groups want the State dep
to dig much deeper into the plants for the project.
Representatives of the DEEP will be at the Harlest Center
in Gilbert this evening for an in person meeting with
Mingo County residents on the developers' plans for two gas
power power plants that would fuel a data center. Developers
are seeking an air quality permit. The Dep's Terry Fletcher
with more on the applications.
Speaker 9 (04:41):
The applications are for off grid electric generating facilities. They're
not actually data centers themselves, but it's our understanding that
their intended us is to potentially power data centers in
the future.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
This evening's in person Public meetings schedules start at four
thirty at the Harlest Center in Gilbert, Or, West Virginia
has already hired three hundred and fifty people for its
new plant that's under construction in Mason County. Vice president
general Manager Johnny Jacobs tells Metro News the company will
have the first entry level pool hirings in the coming months.
That's entry level pool. Jacob says, these are generational jobs.
Speaker 10 (05:16):
The people that were hiring today, their children, their grandchildren
going to have opportunities to see and work at this facility.
You know, we had facilities that have just recently celebrated
their fiftieth year of being in the community and touching
lives throughout that entire time.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Jacobs, Aguesst Winsdale Metro News talk line says, when it's done,
the new Core plant will have two point five million
square feet under roof for sheet steel production.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Thank you, Jeff. Coming up in a moment in a
Metro News backgrounder, Marshall President Brad Smith talking about his
recent historic donation to the Marshall for All program that'll
be coming up, and then Daniel Woods will have to
check on sports as we are nearing the football weekend
in West Virginia. We'll hear more about that with Daniel.
Stay tuned.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
West Virginia Outdoors is in state's only hook and bullet
radio show dedicated to the more than quarter million hunters
and anglers across the state. Award winning host Chris Lawrence
has been tracking down hunting and fishing stories for more
than twenty five years.
Speaker 9 (06:12):
Whenever my brother needed because they'd hit the line.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
So my brother jumped in the water with the net
and came out of the water with the fish in
the net. So that's a pretty cool experience. You owe
your brother dinner for that.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Oh yeah, whether it's hunting and fishing news or just
compelling stories about the enjoyment of the great outdoors.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
First thing we always talk about in trapping's location, location, location.
Speaker 11 (06:33):
If the animals aren't there location, you're not going to
catch them there, so you obviously have to find.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
You This sans the reason you obviously have to find
a good area.
Speaker 10 (06:41):
You know where gray foxes are at.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
West Virginia Outdoors covers it all Saturday mornings at seven
oh six am and for your daily fix, Outdoors Today
brings you two and a half minutes of news and
notes from the woods and water every weekday morning on
Metro News, the Voice of West Virginia.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Come up, Daniel, well, as we have sports for us
right now in our background. Er Marshall University's Marshall for
All program will grow stronger thanks to the historic gift
from its president, Brad Smith and his wife Elie. The
two announced a gift of fifty million dollars earlier this
week to go toward the program, which helps students get
a college education through Marshall without having to take on debt,
and Smith says he has worked hard to be in
(07:20):
his position and his duty to give back and make
things better for the next generation.
Speaker 12 (07:24):
I am a capitalist at heart. I believe if someone
works hard and they're able to create their opportunities and
create wealth, that is not a bad thing. That is
what our nation is based on. That's what a free
market's based on. At the same time, I believe that
all of us are put on this earth to help
those around us. One of the favorite quotes I have
is Mahatma Gandhi, who said, if you want to find yourself,
(07:45):
lose yourself and service to others. None of us create
wealth or become successful on our own, and we have
to realize that it's our obligation, our responsibility, and our
privilege to help the next one in line. So I'm
a big believer that I came into this world with
not I don't mean my family had nothing. My family
certainly worked very, very hard for what they had. But
(08:05):
I came into this world basically, you know, with no
clothes on my back, as my mother delivered me. And
I want to go out the same way. We want
to give while we live, and I'll finish with this.
I know you hear me many times quote these terribles,
but I love this Greek proverb. The society grows great
when the current generation plants trees under whose shade they
(08:27):
will never sit. That's the way my wife and I
look at life. We want to leave the next generation
better than we found it, and then the hope they
do the same thing for the ones that follow them.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
That is Marshall President, Brad Smith. So the sports desk
and Daniel Woods is in this morning and Daniel big
Knight of high school football coming up on Friday night.
We visited with some of the players last night on
the high school Sports Line.
Speaker 11 (08:55):
That's right, Chris. A lot of excitement coming up this
Friday night, some big games across the state, including North
Marion against Fairmont Senior that's obviously a huge one in
Class Triple A every year. And you can go back
and listen to the podcast version of last night's edition
of the High School Sports Line. One team that has
started to turn some heads this year is Clay Battell.
(09:15):
The CBS are ranked number seven in the Metro News
Class A Power ranking. Second year head coach Aaron Lepoe
says they're building on a talented foundation.
Speaker 13 (09:24):
We felt like we were young last year. We have
a lot of those players back in Wessell County closing
one hundred high school, and there's been an influx of
some players from there. That's also been just a shot
in the arm of energy and talent, and so we
feel like we have a talented team.
Speaker 11 (09:37):
Clay Btel does have this week off. You can hear
that full interview on wv Metronews dot com. WVU was
onto Big Twelve Conference play this week, meeting Kansas on Saturday.
Jayhawks quarterback Jalen Daniels is a true dual threat and
Mountaineer pass rusher Braden Sniders, says they need to learn
from their mistakes against Ohio QB Parker Navarro.
Speaker 13 (09:56):
They're very similar quarterbacks for sure, as far as the
threat of the run in and everything, So we got
to learn from that tape.
Speaker 11 (10:04):
WVU and Kansas kickoff Saturday at six. Marshall is coming
off of its first win of the season with a
dominant defensive performance against Eastern Kentucky. Defensive lineman Braden Ward
had a sack against the Colonels and says the Herd
defensive line is a complete unit.
Speaker 14 (10:17):
This is amazing just to watch everybody like do they
thing out there, like everybody to like do their own thing,
and so you always preaching like run to the ball,
run to the wall, and like that's just so Saturday.
Speaker 11 (10:29):
The Herd take on Middle Tennessee State at seven on Saturday.
The NCAA Transfer Portal is changing for college football with
the approval of a proposal that limits portal entries to
a single ten day window at the beginning of each year.
Players can now enter the portal from January second through
the eleventh, and players competing in the College Football Playoff
will have five days following the end of their team
(10:50):
season to enter Previously, the winter portal window began in
early December before Bowl games, and the second transfer window,
which occurred in April, has been eliminated and NFL football
is coming back to the nation's capital. The Washington DC
Council approved the Washington Commander's plan to move back into
the city limits and build a new stadium at the
site of the former RFK Stadium on Wednesday.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
Thank you, Daniel. Get the day started with the information
you're going to need in the Mountain State. Every weekday
morning on the West Virginia Morning News. You can catch
us on the radio at a number of Metro News
affiliate station each morning around the state from six am
to nine am, a full three hours of news, sports, weather,
and more. We also stream it live at the website
wdvmetronews dot com. Check it out The West Virginia Morning
(11:34):
News Now with today's commentary the Dean of West Virginia Broadcasters,
Hoppy Kerchiable Chris.
Speaker 15 (11:40):
The assassination of Charlie Kirk is a tragedy, a young
life snuffed out by a deranged shooter. It was yet
another example of political violence that is anathema to what
we profess to be as a country, a place that
values and protects free speech and different opinions. We are
rightly concerned about the safety of our political leaders and
public figures, but we should also be worried about how
(12:03):
the Kirk murder is serving as a mechanism for those
in leadership positions who want to use the tragedy to
curtail or punish speech. The Associated Press reported this week
quote without establishing any link to last week's shooting. The
Republican president and members of his administration have discussed classifying
(12:23):
some groups as domestic terrorists, ordering racketeering investigations, and revoking
tax exempt status for progressive nonprofits. President Trump has repeatedly
cast broadside blame on the left for Kirk's murder, while
conveniently ignoring inflammatory rhetoric on the right, as well as
his own incendiary language. After all, he was the primary
(12:45):
provocateur of the January sixth insurrection, where five people died
and one hundred seventy police officers were injured. Attorney General
Pam Bondi has picked up the baton. She did so
earlier this week when she said on a podcast that
in individuals engaged in quote hate speech would be prosecuted.
She said, there's free speech and then there's hate speech,
(13:07):
adding that the Justice Department is targeting anyone with hate speech.
Either the top law enforcement officer in the country does
not understand the First Amendment or she chose to ignore it.
She quickly tried to correct herself after blowback from multiple groups,
including those on the left and the right. Stephen Miller,
(13:27):
the influential White House Deputy Chief of Staff, was right
there with Bondi. He said, with God as my witness,
we're going to use every resource we have at the
Department of Justice, Homeland Security, and throughout this government to identify, disrupt, eliminate,
and destroy this network and make America safe again for
the American people. Well what network exactly. Miller and others
(13:51):
on the far right are attempting, without specific evidence, to
suggest that Kirk's killer is part of some vast left
wing conspiracy. Vice President JD. Vance is also piled on
by falsely suggesting that political violence is more common on
the left than the right. The threat of a crackdown
on speech from members of the Trump administration is a
(14:11):
textbook trademark of authoritarian governments. Use your power to quell dissent,
it is undemocratic and an assault on the Bill of rights. Speech,
particularly unpopular speech, including so called hate speech, is sheltered
from government interference. In the landmark case of Whitney versus California,
(14:31):
Justice Lewis Brandeis wrote that the founding fathers believed free
speech was integral to liberty. He wrote, they believe that
freedom to think as you will and speak as you
think are means indispensable to the discovery and spread of
political truth that without free speech and assembly, discussion would
be futile. Now, there are exceptions to free speech, but
(14:54):
they are rare. For example, in Brandenburg versus Ohio, the
Supreme Court found that the government can prohibit speech if
it is directed at inciting or producing imminent lawless action.
It's important to note here that the First Amendment does
not apply to private employers and their employees. So yes,
(15:15):
someone in the private sector can be fired for what
they say. Notably, the late Charlie Kirk understood the First Amendment,
and he knew that his often provocative speech was protected
from government interference or prosecution. That is a lesson that
is lost on an administration that wants to punish people
for what they say.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Chris, Thanks Hobban. Hobby's commentary has posted at wv metronews
dot com. You're West Virginia. About the forecast for this Thursday,
warmer with mostly clear skies and the end of the
week is looking pretty much the same. No rain chances
are currently expected. Clouds will increase early next week as
a disturbance slowly approaches in the west, but only spotty
(15:56):
range showers at best are expected out of that as well.
And now you are up todate, have yourself a great
day for hoppy Kerchival, Daniel Woods, and Jeff Jenkins. I'm
Chris Lawrence and this is Metro News for forty years,
the voice of West Virginia.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Metro News This Morning is an exclusive production of the
Metro News Radio Network. All rights reserved.
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