Capito

charlestown@herald-mail.com SUMMIT POINT, W.Va. - U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito climbed into a car used for high-speed road maneuvering exercises at the Summit Point Automotive Research Center Thursday morning to get a better feel for the track's ongoing anti-terrorism training. Employees of government agencies such as the U.S. State Department receive evasive driver's training at the 10-turn asphalt racetrack to help protect them from possible terrorist attacks. To handle increasing demand for the training, owners of the track are expanding the course by 8,700 feet at a cost of $5.6 million.

CHARLES TOWN, W.VA. -- Virginia Lynch Graf, a former Catholic nun with no money -- and so far no campaign organization -- stood in front of the Jefferson County Courthouse and told about 50 supporters Wednesday that she was launching a "dark horse" run against Republican U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito in 2010.  "Never before in my wildest dreams did I think I would be asking you to serve in this capacity," the 70-year-old Graf said. "But I do now. " Graf, president of Jefferson County Democratic Women, said she plans to visit all 18 courthouses in the sprawling Second District.

waynesboro@herald-mail.com SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - Albert Kave remembers how the Men's Club didn't become the Shepherdstown Lions Club 60 years ago, "because we wanted to keep the money in Shepherdstown. " Kave, 91, and Henry Snyder, 92, are original Shepherdstown Men's Club charter members. It was organized in 1945 to own and operate the War Memorial Building downtown and the 28-acre Morgan's Grove Park south of town as community facilities. Monday's picnic also served as the club's 60th anniversary celebration.

Long-term unemployment is “a real problem” facing the U.S. economy, a lead economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond said Wednesday during a bankers roundtable at Blue Ridge Community and Technical College near Martinsburg. Robert E. Carpenter said the percentage of Americans who have been unemployed for about six months or more has not moved much since 2010 and comprises a substantial portion of the total unemployment. Carpenter said the widely reported 8.3 percent unemployment rate released Aug. 3 by the Department of Labor does not include the number of discouraged workers who have quit looking for a job or those who have part-time work but still hope to find a full-time job. When those groups are added to the calculation, the unemployment rate doubles to about 16 percent, Carpenter said.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said Monday she is working to secure funding to upgrade communications equipment for local police and other emergency services in Jefferson County. Jefferson County's communication system handles dispatching for seven police departments, five fire departments and other operations, Capito said in a news release. The radio system is about 20 years old and has poor coverage and interference problems, Capito said. Capito said it is important for Jefferson County to have an upgraded radio system in case an emergency causes a mass evacuation from Washington, D.C. The new communication system was "secured" in a House bill June 29, and the issue is expected to be taken up in a similar bill in the Senate, Capito spokesman Jordan Stoick said.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - U.S. Rep Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., will visit the Eastern Panhandle Wednesday and present medals to a local veteran, offer a flag at an assembly at Hedgesville High School and tour a local business that is moving into a new facility. At 11:15 a.m., Capito will take part in a veteran medal presentation at Eagle Intermediate School, 730 Eagle School Road, Martinsburg. Chief Machinist Garnett L. Keisecome, a Pearl Harbor survivor from Berkeley County, has never received medals for his bravery and service in World War II. During an interview for a social studies project, Lauren Bartley, a student at Eagle Intermediate, discovered that Keisecome had not received his medals from the U.S. Government.

INWOOD, W.Va. - U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito and Anne Barth, her Democratic opponent in Tuesday's general election, responded to each other's negative campaign ads to kick off a forum Wednesday evening in Berkeley County that attracted more than 200 people to Musselman High School's auditorium. Capito, who is seeking her fifth term representing West Virginia's 2nd Congressional District, is being challenged by Barth, a former aide to U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd. "I have served I think with great integrity in this office and I am very insulted really when I see an insinuation ... that my vote is for sale," Capito said when asked to respond to an ad that notes campaign contributions she received from "big oil" and her vote on subsidies benefiting the industry.

charlestown@herald-mail.com MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito got her share of advice and questions Monday when local residents packed the lobby of a local medical center to vent their frustrations about several issues, including the cost of prescription medicine and their inability to get medical insurance. Much of the concern at the meeting at the Shenandoah Valley Medical Center focused on how senior citizens are dealing with high medical care costs, but John Restaino said many "working poor" face the same problems.

MARTINSBURG, W.VA. martinsburg@herald-mail.com A potentially bitter campaign was one of the reasons U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito decided not to challenge U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd next year, Capito told The Herald-Mail Wednesday afternoon. Capito, R-W.Va., discussed her decision after reading to students at Rosemont Elementary School in Martinsburg on Wednesday afternoon. "I knew it would be high profile, probably with a lot of negativity attached to it and that troubled me," she said of the campaign.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito was the special guest Saturday afternoon as the Berkeley County Republican Party held its annual Ronald Reagan Day Picnic. "Boy, we got our hands full in Washington, D.C., right now ... and we're standing as firm as we can without the numbers," said Capito, R-W.Va. "Nothing is more important than keeping people rolling on an off year. " Capito spoke about key political issues, including the war in Iraq, illegal immigration, lowering taxes and national security.