Wva

The West Virginia University Berkeley County Extension Office is offering the Dining with Diabetes Program at 6 p.m. Wednesdays, June 6, 13, 20 and 27 at the Bedington Ruritan Building, 3947 Williamsport Pike, Martinsburg. A follow-up meeting will be schedule for September. This 2-1/2 hour class is open to anyone with diabetes or pre-diabetes, or their family members. The classes are free but space is limited and registration is required. Participants must attend all class sessions.  Up-to-date information is shared about nutrition, meal planning, exercise and understanding common diabetes-related medical tests.

A Martinsburg man entered a guilty plea Monday in U.S. District Court in Martinsburg, U.S. Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld II said Wednesday. Douglas D. Starling, 49, entered a plea of guilty to one count of an Indictment charging him with possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and oxycodone in Martinsburg, Ihlenfeld said in a news release. Starling, who is in custody pending sentencing, faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $1,000,000. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin K. Reisenweber and was investigated by the Martinsburg Police Department.

Submissions are due Sunday, May 1, for the West Virginia Fiction Competition. The short-story competition is open to any West Virginia resident or student attending a school in West Virginia. Original, unpublished stories of between 500 and 2,500 words written by authors of any age are eligible. The first-place winner will receive the West Virginia Fiction Award and $500. The winning story will be read at the Appalachian Heritage Festival concert in September at Shepherd University.

A man wanted by the West Virginia State Police on six counts of sexual abuse of a minor was arrested last month by members of the Mountain State Fugitive Task force, a deputy U.S. Marshal announced Friday. Donald Freedman Graham, 29, of Kearneysville, W.Va., was arrested Feb. 27 after task force members converged on a mobile home where he was located, according to a news release from deputy U.S. Marshal Jon LaLiberte. The case pending against Graham was investigated by State Police Trooper W.R. Garrett and LaLiberte said in the news that additional victims were identified and interviewed after the man's arrest.

The 6th annual Pickin' in the Panhandle will celebrate the Mountain State's best barbeque with two competitions at the Lazy A Campground in Hedgesville, W.Va., Sept. 7 to 9. “These competitions showcase the best in BBQ, with teams coming from all over the mid-Atlantic and as far away as Missouri to compete,” Jennifer Jensen, co-director of the festival, said in a news release. Pickin' is also host to a backyard BBQ competition with cash prizes for the winner.  This year, the festival will bring back the Tastin' Tent, where attendees can sample the contest submissions and vote for their favorite.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- A Virginia man charged in the June 6 deaths of a Bunker Hill, W.Va., woman and her 3-year-old son waived his right to a preliminary hearing Monday in Berkeley County Magistrate Court. Antonio Prophet, 34, of Lorton, Va., who is charged with two counts of murder, did not appear in the courtroom for the hearing, which attracted several family members and friends of victims Angela Kay Devonshire, 22, and Andre White. The waiver signed Monday allows the state's double murder case against Prophet to be bound over to circuit court, where evidence can be presented to a grand jury for indictment.

More than 200 members of convention and visitors bureaus from across West Virginia are in Shepherdstown this week to network and talk about tourism. U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., was the keynote speaker Tuesday, the second day of the three-day Governor's Conference on Tourism at the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center. Rockefeller said many people don't understand how important tourism is to West Virginia's economy. “The tourism industry - and it is an industry - accounts for more than 44,000 jobs in West Virginia and more than $4 billion in consumer spending,” he said.

West Virginia State Police have released the names of two people whose bodies were found in a fire Friday at a mobile home in Berkeley County. The bodies of David Hutzler and his son James Hutzler were found in the mobile home after the fire that was reported at about 8:25 a.m. at 436 Apple Harvest Drive west of Glengary, W.Va., Sgt. Ed Anderson said. A published death notice listed David Hutzler's age as 56 and his son James Aquilla “Mack” Hutzler as being 9 years old. Anderson said he couldn't comment on whether the fire had been intentionally set. “It's an ongoing investigation,” Anderson said.

A remembrance walk in memory of Tommy Kegarise, who died in a car crash Oct. 14 in West Virginia, will be held Sunday night in Hagerstown. The walk will begin at 6:45 p.m. at the main entrance to City Park along Virginia Avenue. It will continue to Rose Hill Cemetery on South Potomac Street. Donations will be collected to help the family with funeral expenses.

A Martinsburg, W.Va., man died in a one-vehicle crash early Saturday on Interstate 70 west of Beaver Creek Road, according to Maryland State Police. Jorge Alberto Silva-Alvarez, 45, was driving a 2003 Chevrolet Trailblazer that went off the left side of the road, crossed the center median and overturned several times before coming to rest in the fast lane of eastbound I-70, police said in a news release. Troopers responded to the crash at 3:34 a.m., police said. Witnesses said the vehicle had been swerving back and forth on the highway and traveling at a high rate of speed for some distance before swerving into the median, according to police.