Latest news with #BluefieldRescueSquad
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Fatal accident reported on I-77 in Mercer County
MERCER COUNTY, WV (WVNS) – A fatal accident occurred on I-77. Mercer County 911 received a report of an accident at 2:38 a.m., according to a press release. Mercer County woman sentenced for witness tampering conspiracy in sex trafficking case Deputies with the Mercer County Sheriff's Department responded and found a tractor trailer had hit a vehicle that was parked on the right, alongside the road near the I-77 5-mile marker southbound. The vehicle that was hit had 3 people inside. 2 of the people inside the vehicle were found to be dead after further investigation. The third person was badly injured. The tractor trailer driver additionally sustained some minor injuries. The Bluefield Rescue Squad, East River Fire Department, Mercer County Sheriff's Office Accident Reconstruction, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement units, and the West Virginia Division of Highways helped on the scene. The names of those who were killed in this accident have not been released at this time out of respect for their family members. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Decision on Bluefield's federal funding request will come later
bluefield — It could be a while before a decision is made on a federal funding request for a new combined EMS facility in Bluefield. City Manager Cecil Marson announced last month that officials had submitted three projects for potential funding through a Congressionally Directed Spending award, formerly known as the federal earmark funding process. The city's funding request was sent to U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, as well as U.S. Senator Jim Justice, Those projects are the combined EMS facility for police, fire and rescue, the Union Street Sewer and Stormwater Project and a second stormwater project planned for the Midway area. But a funding decision won't be made immediately. The funding requests are for fiscal year 2026, according to Kelley Moore, communications director for Capito. Moore said Congressionally Directed Spending awards will be considered by the Appropriations Committee in the coming months as the committee members draft Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations bills. 'Senator Capito carefully reviews each request individually, as she always has with this process,' Moore said, adding that Capito is familiar with the combined EMS project for Bluefield. 'She is aware of the project you referenced, but is still in the process of reviewing all of the requests. So it's too early to discuss support,' Moore said. The city announced the combined EMS facility project in 2024 when a legal advertisement for architectural and engineering consulting firms to aid in designing and constructing a campus that would serve the Bluefield Rescue Squad, the Bluefield Police Department and the Bluefield Fire Department was published in the Bluefield Daily Telegraph. At the time, the city said the idea behind the campus is to relocate the city's fire and police departments as well as emergency services to a more centralized location in Bluefield so they can have quicker response times. A final location for the combined EMS campus has not yet been announced by the Bluefield Board of Directors. The amount of federal funding that will be available for the next cycle of Congressionally Directed Spending, or CDS awards, is not immediately known, according to Capito's office. 'In terms of how much funding will be available for the next round of CDS awards, CDS funding is capped at a certain percentage of total discretionary spending — typically around 1%,' Moore said. When the project was announced, officials said both the Bluefield Fire Department and the Bluefield Police Department had outgrown their existing quarters at Bluefield City Hall and were in need of more room. The Bluefield Rescue Squad, which is located next door to Mitchell Stadium off Stadium Drive, can also have problems sending ambulances on calls when events like the Beaver-Graham Game or the annual Holiday of Lights at city park create traffic backups. The federal funds being sought for the combined EMS facility would cover various expenses associated with the construction of the new campus. Although officials are seeking a federal CDS award, City Manager Cecil Marson said in an earlier interview that the city is applying for various grants for the projects with the CDS awards being just one funding option. Contact Charles Owens at cowens@
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
City board seeking public input about combined EMS, fire and police facility plans
Jan. 29—bluefield — Public input is being sought on a plan for creating a new Bluefield facility serving as a combined center for emergency medical services as well as the city's fire department and police department. The Bluefield Board of Directors announced Tuesday that in collaboration with the Bluefield Rescue Squad, the city is exploring the idea of building a new facility housing local EMS, the Bluefield Fire Department and the Bluefield Police Department. "We want to ensure this project best serves our community, and your feedback is crucial," according to the announcement posted Monday morning on the city's Facebook page. A link to the survey was also posted on the announcement. City Manager Cecil Marson spoke about the survey Tuesday during a Board of Directors meeting. "There's one other survey you're going to be seeing on he said. "But we are asking for some community feedback on our fire station, police station, and the rescue squad. So there is a public survey with that and we would like to hear some feedback from the community as we start to go down this road of looking at potential locations in the city, we would love to have some feedback from the community as we go through that process." The online survey asks the public how often they visit the current Bluefield Rescue Squad location along Stadium Drive and the police and fire department locations at Bluefield City Hall. Participants are also being asked what sort of amenities they would like to see such as waiting areas, a meeting room or rooms, signs leading to the facility and other details such as the agencies' response times during emergencies. The city announced the combined facility project back in July 2024 when a legal advertisement for architectural and engineering consulting firms to aid in designing and constructing a campus that would serve the Bluefield Rescue Squad, the Bluefield Police Department and the Bluefield Fire Department was published in the Bluefield Daily Telegraph. City Engineer Curtis French said then the idea behind the campus is to relocate the city's fire and police departments as well as emergency services to a more centralized location in the city so they can have quicker response times. Some preliminary work had been done and different locations for a campus such as North Street and Stadium Drive were being considered, but a site has not been chosen. The fire department and police department have been needing room for expansion since both have outgrown their quarters at Bluefield City Hall. The Bluefield Rescue Squad, which is located next door to Mitchell Stadium off Stadium Drive, can have problems sending ambulances on calls when events like the Beaver-Graham Game or the annual Holiday of Lights at Bluefield City Park create traffic backups. In other action Tuesday, the Bluefield Board of Directors unanimously passed two resolutions in memory of two outstanding community members, Buster Large and Bob Deskins. The proclamations celebrate their lasting impact on the city and region. Coach Large's brother Mark Large and sister Debra Fortenberry accepted the resolution on behalf of their family. The family of Bob Deskins was unable to attend. According to the proclamation for Charlie L. "Buster" Large Jr., "Large was a well loved teacher and coach who devoted his life to teaching and mentoring generations of students; and Whereas under the tutelage of Buster Large, the Bluefield High School basketball team won two state championships and appeared in five state championship games." According to the resolution for Willard "Bob" Deskins Jr., "Desksin was a well-known and respected businessman and community leader, who owned and operated the Deskins Grocery Store on College Avenue for many decades and after retirement from that enterprise started a new and successful candy business, which continues to operate in the city of Bluefield." — Managing Editor Charles Owens contributed to this story. Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@ Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@
