Gov. Jim Justice announced Friday that West Virginia’s General Revenue collections for September 2021 came in at $84.6 million above estimates. “We’re almost numb to good news about our revenue numbers now, but a whopping surplus like this ought to be the number one thing that we think about,” Gov. Justice said. “It really takes a lot of good work by lots of people, pitching a near-perfect game, and I couldn’t be more proud.”  September collections of $504.5 million were 19.1% ahead of prior year receipts.  Year-to-date collections of $1.19 billion are $142.7 million above estimates. The end of September…

Numerous activities are planned during Fort Ashby Days this weekend. The event, hosted by Ashby’s Fort Museum, kicked off Friday with an outdoor concert by country singer Glen Shelton. On Saturday at 10 a.m., a grand feature parade will travel from the Mineral County Fairgrounds along state Route 28 to the Old Fort on Dan’s Run Road. A flag-raising will start the day of craft demonstrations by woodworkers, a blacksmith, an 18th century clothier, a gunsmith, musical instrument maker and more.

The 39th Annual Great Allegany Run will be held on Saturday, October 2, and will benefit the Allegany County Habitat for Humanity. The 15K race begins at 8:00 am at Mason's Lodge in Mount Savage and ends on Centre Street on the Downtown Cumberland Mall. A 5K race also begins at 8:00 am in front of the Queen City Creamery in Cumberland. After the race, the awards ceremony will be held at Mezzo's on Centre Street and runners will enjoy food, drinks and prize drawings.

The Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives today announced the establishment of the Office of Immigrant Affairs to better promote English language programs, strengthen access to career options, and assist with paths to U.S. citizenship. The new office is statutorily required by SB 85, which passed in the 2021 legislative session. “This new office is especially timely as Maryland continues to welcome more of our Afghan allies,” said Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives Director Steven McAdams. “We will be standing up service centers around the state, a multi-lingual hotline, and a website to provide greater access and combat hate crimes.” Lorena…

Students in eleven West Virginia counties will have extra help preparing for college and career training programs, thanks to a $24 million grant awarded to the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (Commission). The U.S. Department of Education has announced that the Commission will receive a “Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs” (GEAR UP) grant – its third consecutive GEAR UP award – to support college-planning and readiness services for more than 17,500 students over the next seven years.   “This is absolutely tremendous news for some of West Virginia's most deserving and rural communities. I’m really proud of…

Weekly COVID-19 Update:  For the 7-day period of September 24-30, 2021, Allegany High School met the Maryland Department of Health definition of a school-wide outbreak of COVID-19 by having three or more classrooms/cohorts having at least two or more positive cases within a 2-week period.  This school, along with Fort Hill High School, Mountain Ridge High School, and the Career Center remain on the MDH list of schools with School Wide Outbreaks.   There were no schools with classroom or cohort outbreaks reported.   ACPS had six staff members and 46 students reported as positive for COVID-19 during this time. …

A Cumberland man suspected of killing an elderly city woman in her South End home as well as his brother and sister-in-law in Ellicott City has been arrested.  Jeffrey Allen Burnham, 46, was taken into custody about 9 a.m. Friday in Davis, West Virginia, according to Howard County police.  He had pulled to the side of the road while driving a 2007 red Corvette he allegedly stole from his brother’s home. He was taken into custody without incident and a gun was reportedly located inside the vehicle. Burnham was named as the suspect in the Wednesday murder of 83 year…

A Cumberland man wanted for killing an elderly woman in her South End home Wednesday evening is also a suspect in the shooting deaths of two people in Ellicott City. Jeffrey Allen Burnham, 46, remains at large. Burnham was sighted about 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the Irons Mountain area east of Cumberland driving the red Corvette, city police said Friday morning. The first victim, Rebecca Reynolds, 83, was found in her residence in the 500 block of Fourth Street around 7:20 p.m. Wednesday. Her death was ruled a homicide by the state medical examiner’s office. Howard County authorities said Thursday…