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September 23, 2025 15 mins
Today on MetroNews This Morning: 
--West Virginia finally gets some measurable rain to help turn the tide on a growing drought
--Charleston native and college football coach Shawn Clark has died
--The Supreme Court heads to Marshall
--In Sports: The state high school baseball tournament is also headed to Marshall 
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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 is Tuesday, September twenty third, twenty twenty five. Good morning,
I'm Chris Lawrence. Ready to get your days started with
the information you're gonna need in the Mountain state this morning.
That forecast is calling for spotty shower activity, but we
could see some heavy downpours here and there, and that's
certainly the kind of forecast we've been needing to hear
for a while in West Virginia. We'll run down that

(00:31):
full forecast for you in just a moment, but first
let's see what's been happening overnight with the check of
news at the Metro News anchored desk. Finally, some rainfall.
Parts of West Virginia had downpours overnight, and some of
them were pretty strong. The first rain most places have
seen in weeks, and at this point about anything, it
is a welcome sight. Joe Curtiss, meteorologist at the National

(00:51):
Weather Service, and said it's possible we'll see more this week,
but it largely depends on where you're located.

Speaker 1 (00:56):
The rest of this week, it's going to be really
hit or miss.

Speaker 3 (00:59):
Pretty much every day, so either you'll get it or
you'll be stuck with the dry weather like what we've seen.

Speaker 2 (01:05):
Some of the downpours were hard enough to create minor
flash flooding. However, we've had no reports this morning of
any significant impact from the rain or the wind. A
Taylor County man has been charged with a sexual assault
from years past. Twenty seven year old Ryan Osborne of
Flemington was arrested this week in charge with the sexual
assault of a juvenile. The victim telling troopers that Osborne

(01:26):
had committed the assault four or five years ago and
was an adult at the time of the incident. He
has charged with first degree sexual assault and lodged in
the Tigered Valley Regional Jail. Some tense moments Monday in
the Terra Alta town hall, Mayor Josh Dodge posted to
Facebook that the town hall was closed following a potential exposure.

(01:48):
He would later reveal that somebody had brought in a
lost wallet to the town hall and inside that while
it was some kind of drugs that created an exposure
and contamination. Police are now investigating the incident, but authorities
of unindicated what kind of a substance was in that
wallet that created the situation. He nicknamed himself the Wolf
of West Virginia. But now thirty five year old Theodore

(02:11):
Miller of South Charleston is headed to prison. He was
sent as Monday to seven years behind bars in order
to pay close to four hundred thousand dollars in restitution
after you frauded numerous people from the spring of twenty
twenty two until September of twenty twenty four through real
estate investment schemes. Marshall University will be the venue for

(02:33):
today's hearing of the State Supreme Court.

Speaker 4 (02:35):
The Supreme Court of Appeals will reconvene this morning at
the Jones Edwards Performing Arts Center to hear oral arguments
in three cases. Marshall students in About two hundred high
school students from Huntington and Capitel Midland High School will
be attending. This event is part of Marshall's Court on
Campus program, which gives students the opportunity to connect what
they are learning in the classroom with real world legal proceedings.

(02:56):
One case involves whether a judge at the Circuit court
level has the thorty to issue an order permitting the
involuntary medication of a person deemed incompetent to stand trial.
First arguments are scheduled to begin at ten am. I'm
Morgan Pimberton, Wvmetronews dot com.

Speaker 2 (03:11):
He was a native of Charleston and a rising star
among college football coaches. However, Sean Clark's rise has been
halted with his death in Florida. Clark, a graduate of
George Washington High School and Appalachian State, died on Sunday
in an Orlando hospital after he suffered a medical episode
earlier this month. Clark had become the offensive line coach
at UCF last year after leaving a successful run as

(03:34):
the head coach of his alma mater, Appalachian State. He
leaves behind a wife and two children. Clark was fifty.
The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee says discussions about
increasing the minimum time that a convicted killer must serve
if they are granted mercy is not a new discussion
at the legislature. The topic recently came to light on
Metro News talk Line when Kenawuk County Commissioner Bensilango suggested

(03:56):
the minimum needs to be raised from fifteen to thirty
five years now Selango's brother in law was murdered when
his wife was a teenager, and now therefore is to
deal with a parole hearing every few years, which is,
in his words, gut wrenching. But Judiciary Chairman JB. Acres
said they've had bills to increase that venimum before. The opposition, however,
comes from an ironic place.

Speaker 5 (04:17):
Some prosecutors have objected because they said that this might
impact their ability to get plea agreements in some of
their murder cases if the penalty gets quote unquote too high,
and some descendants will just roll the dice a trial.

Speaker 2 (04:29):
Acres agreed, however, he understood what Selango was saying and
that they do need to address the impact a constant
reliving of the case has on survivors of the victims.
And the SSAC has announced that the state High school
Baseball Championships will relocate from Charleston to Huntington during the
twenty twenty six event. Marshall's Jack Cook Field has been

(04:51):
selected as the venue to host those state championship games
for at least three years, and then there's an option
to renew in twenty twenty nine. The Virginia SSAC Board
of directors finalized the decision at a recent meeting after
reviewing bids from other communities around the state. Charleston's Gomart
Ballpark had hosted the state baseball tournament for the past

(05:12):
two decades, and prior to that, Charleston's Watt Powell Park
had been to the venue for many many years. Well,
coming up, we'll hear more about the passing of Sean
Clark and more about the selection of Marshall's Jack Cook
Field is the venue for baseball the state baseball tournament
in West Virginia. Daniel Woods will join us to talk

(05:34):
about that and more. Stay with us.

Speaker 6 (05:37):
It's the time of the year when Friday nights are special,
and that's because Friday Night's are reserved for high school football.
This is Fred pur Singer inviting you to join Dave
Jeckman and me every Friday night through November twenty eight
for year number twenty four of Game Night. Every Friday night,
we'll bring you all the scores and stories from around
the state. We'll take your phone calls and talk about

(05:57):
your favorite team. It's Game Night presented by a Mountain
State Assessment of Trends and Community Health Survey. Visit Wvmatchsurvey
dot Org.

Speaker 7 (06:06):
Week five of the high school football season continues Friday
night with our go Mark Game of the Week Elkins
in Philip Barber Last Catch Bluefield An Independent, Morgan Down
versus Spring Nills, Spring Valley and Saint Aubans, Rone County
and Braxton County and Cissant Villain Raeven's Wood Paul on
Metro News TV. Brought to you by the Thrasher Group,
Marshall University, hand On Mountaineer Challenge Academy. Download the free

(06:27):
Metro News TV app on your iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple TV,
Roku or Fire TV, or visit doubledv Metro newstv dot
com for more information.

Speaker 2 (06:40):
Still ahead, we'll get an update on sports. But right
now in our background are a native son of West
Virginia who had ingrained himself to the world a college
football has died way too young. Our Daniel Woods takes
a look at the passing of Charleston native Sean Clark.

Speaker 8 (06:57):
Tributes are pouring in following the death of the native
son and beloved college football coach. Charleston native Sean Clark
died Sunday night at the age of fifty in Orlando,
after being admitted on September ninth following a medical emergency.
Clark graduated from George Washington High School before going on
to earn All American honors at Appalachian State and then
moving up the coaching ranks, becoming head coach at his

(07:19):
alma mater from twenty twenty to twenty twenty four. After
parting ways with Appalachian State last December, he was hired
by UCF head coach Scott Frost as the Knight's offensive
line coach for the twenty twenty five season. Clark is
survived by his wife and two children. I'm Daniel Woods
wv Metro News dot Com.

Speaker 2 (07:42):
And Daniel Woods is at the sports desk as well
this morning. That was tough news to hear yesterday that
Sewn Clark so young had passed away. What else you
got going on in sports this morning, Braddy, Well, Chris.

Speaker 8 (07:56):
We had a huge announcement yesterday from the West Virginia
Secondary School Activities Commission because the state high school baseball
tournament is moving to Huntington. The WVSSAC made that announcement
yesterday that Jack cook Field at Marshall University is the
new host of the tournament through at least twenty twenty eight,
with an option for twenty twenty nine. The tournament is

(08:16):
going to expand from four teams in each class to
eight for the twenty twenty six tournament, and it's going
to be the first played at the new stadium that
opened in twenty twenty four. The state baseball tournament previously
had been held in Charleston since nineteen eighty, and the
twenty twenty six tournament is scheduled to be played from
June sixth through the thirteenth. It'll be the first to
include an eight team, single elimination bracket for all four classes.

(08:40):
West Virginia is set to play the first Big Twelve
men's Conference basketball game of the season, according to a
report by John Rothstein of CBS. He says the Mountaineers
will take on Iowa State on January second on the
road at Hilton Coliseum to kick off the league season.
Speaking of the Big Twelve Conference schedule, it's available in
its entirety for the WVU women's basketball team released by

(09:03):
the conference on Monday. Key dates include the conference opener
against Houston that will be played at the Coliseum in Morgantown.
December twenty first, the Mountaineers hit the road in league
play for the first time, taking on Kansas New Year's Day,
and later. The Mountaineers play their only two game homestand
of the conference season on February seventh and eleventh against
Arizona State and UCF. That schedule includes home and home

(09:25):
matchups for WVU against UCF, Cincinnati, and TCU, while the
other twelve conference members are each on the schedule once
six at home and six on the road. The Detroit
Lions are riding high after overcoming the Baltimore Ravens last
night thirty eight to thirty on Monday Night Football. The
Detroit defense sacked Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson seven times. Waltamire Gibbs,

(09:48):
and David Montgomery each got into the end zone twice.
On the ground, the Lions ran for two hundred and
twenty four yards on the way to their second win
of the season, while the Ravens fall to one and two.
Former Marshall running back rashen A Lee made an impact
on the game for Baltimore. He returned four kickoffs, averaging
over twenty six yards per return with a long of
forty three. Auburn is moving forward without its longtime men's

(10:11):
basketball coach, as Bruce Pearl announced his retirement on Monday.
Pearl won two hundred and forty four games in eleven
seasons with the Tigers, qualifying for seven NCAA tournaments and
making two Final Four appearances, including one last season. Pearl's son, Steven,
who played for his father at Tennessee and has been
part of the Auburn program since twenty fourteen, is stepping

(10:33):
in as head coach and does so without an interim tag,
signing a five year contract with the university and in
the NFL some significant injuries coming out of Week three,
former Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa is finished
with the season, diagnosed with a torn acl on his
right knee. Bosa suffered that injury late in San Francisco's
win over the Arizona Cardinals Sunday, and test later revealed

(10:55):
the tear, which will require season ending surgery. The Los
Angeles Chargers will without running back Naji Harris for the
remainder of the season as well. He went down with
a torn achilles tendont in Sunday's win over Denver.

Speaker 2 (11:06):
Thanks Daniel weekdays from noon to three get caught up
on what's been happening throughout the morning. With Metro News
Midday Dave Allen and Amanda Baron, have you covered with
the information you're gonna need to get caught up on
what you may have missed in the morning duties at work.
Check them out on Metro News Radio or the live
stream at ww metronews dot com from noon to three.
Now with Today's commentary the co host of Metro News Talkline,

(11:29):
Dave Wilson Chris.

Speaker 3 (11:31):
Throughout human history, people have challenged each other's views and ideas. However,
since the invention of the Internet, it has become remarkably
easy to publicly chastise someone for their words or perceived mistakes.
Now this phenomenon is commonly referred to as cancel culture.
In my lifetime, both the left and the right have
utilized their political influence to cancel on popular and controversial speech.

(11:55):
This has sparked debate within our political discourse about whether
cancel culture it serves as a means of accountability or
as a form of censorship and punishment. The reality is
the pendulum of cancel culture has swung in both directions,
with some politicians adjusting their positions based on partisan signals
and shifting public sentiments. Currently, this debate centers around comments

(12:17):
related to the assassination of conservative activists Charlie Kirk. Several
media personalities have faced firings or suspensions due to their comments. Additionally,
numerous private citizens have been dismissed from their jobs for
making publicly disparaging remarks. Now, the Trump administration has also
exerted pressure through the FCC on broadcast companies to limit

(12:38):
speech critical of Kirk and his career. As a result,
many on the left have raised concerns about government overreach
and emphasized the importance of the First Amendment. The current
state of council culture has likely been intensified by a
backlash against the progressive council culture of twenty twenty, during
which the left tightly controlled the Overton window, making discussions

(13:00):
about controversial social or political topics potentially career ending. But
these are just the latest examples of cancel culture that
have occurred in my lifetime. Go back to two thousand
and two, ABC fired Bill Maherr and canceled his late
night show Politically Incorrect for his comments about the nine
to eleven hijackers. He remarked, quote we have been the

(13:21):
cowards lobbing cruise missiles from two thousand miles away. That's cowardly.
Staying in the airplane when it hit the building. Say
what you want about it. It's not cowardly. Although mar
later apologized, ABC terminated the show following a prolonged controversy.
Longtime radio host Rush Limbaugh found himself in trouble after
ESPN executives added him to the network's NFL coverage. In

(13:43):
two thousand and three. During a discussion about then Eagles
quarterback Donovan McNabb, Lindball stated, quote, the media has been
very serious that a black quarterback do well. There is
a little hope invested in McNabb, and he's got a
lot of credit for the performance of his team that
he did not deserve. Defense carried this team. Initially, the
network defended as comments, but Limbaugh ultimately resigned amid increasing

(14:06):
public pressure. These are just a couple of examples of
how the pendulum of cancel culture can shift from one
side to the other. Both the right and the left
have made the mistake of believing that the pendulum will
not swing back in their direction and the cancel culture
will not eventually come after them. As Chris Tirewalt pointed
out on Metro News talk Line last week, we have

(14:27):
a first Amendment because free speech is unpopular and the
temptation to restrict it is eternal. Chris, thanks Dave, and
he's back at ten oh six with TJ. Metis for
Metro News talk Line. Now that West Virginia by theforecash
shower and some thunderstorm activity will continue today. By late
this afternoon, though, and into the evening, we will likely
see a lull in that activity. By early tomorrow morning,

(14:50):
though things are going to ramp up again. No severe
weather expected today, but we could see some isolated instances
of flooding. It should be minor due to the lack
of rainfall we've been receiving, although some areas that are
prone to flooding in low lying areas and poor drainage
areas may have issues. Stronger thunderstorms tomorrow afternoon and into
tomorrow evening could produce damaging when gus. In addition, there's

(15:12):
a threat for flash flooding tomorrow. Chances for showering thunderstorm
activity continue all the way through the end of the
work week, and temperatures is going to be near their
seasonable values.

Speaker 2 (15:22):
And now you are up to date and have yourself
a great day for Dave Wilson and Daniel Woods. I'm
Chris Lawrence and this is Metro News for forty years,
the voice of West Virginia.

Speaker 1 (15:33):
Metro News This Morning is an exclusive production of the
Metro News Radio Network. All rights reserved.
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