Latest news with #WOWK
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Gospel singer Squire Parsons dies at 77
ASHEVILLE, NC (WOWK) — Well-known southern gospel singer Squire Parsons, famous for writing the classic 'Sweet Beulah Land,' has died, as confirmed by personal friends. He was 77 years old. Parsons was born in West Virginia and after graduating from West Virginia Institute of Technology with a BS in music, he became the band director at Hannan Junior Senior High School, where he wrote 'Sweet Beulah Land.' A man with an open asylum case was deported. His lawyers want to know if there are others Dr. John. R. Carlisle, the principal at Hannan High School, told 13 News in an exclusive interview that he had been talking with Parsons by phone over the last few weeks because Parsons is going to be honored at the campus, along with other notable alumni. 'I called him, and he sent me the manuscript for 'Sweet Beulah Land' that he wrote on his way to work at the high school,' said Carlisle. 'He finished the first part of the song after he got to work. He told me he was driving into work and looked up at the sun, and it made him think of an old gospel hymn his dad used to sing, and that caused him to write 'Sweet Beulah Land.'' Squire Parsons photo from a 1970 WV Tech yearbook (Photo Courtesy: West Virginia State Archives) Carlisle said he had just sent Parsons a message recently and hadn't heard back from him, and then he got the sad news today that Parsons had died. 'I had invited him to come in for our celebration at Christmas and was hoping he'd get to sing 'Sweet Beulah Land' here for that,' Carlisle said. 'We will now make it a celebration of Squire Parsons.' Carlisle said a plaque with his sheet music and an autographed photo will go up on a wall in the school in Parsons' memory. ''Sweet Beulah Land' is such an inspiring and beautiful song,' Carlisle said. 'He is such a big part of Hannan history, and we want to honor his memory.' Robin Richardson, who now lives in Fraziers Bottom, was a student in Hannan's band under Parsons, and she said she and all of the band members loved him. 'He was just one of a kind,' Richardson told 13 News. 'He was a good, Christian man and an inspiration to all of us. He actually wrote a lot of his songs in our band building.' If penny production halts, could you cash yours in? Richardson's bandmate, Kathy Coleman-Tate, told 13 News that she kept in contact with Parsons and, just two days ago, he even liked a photo of her mother that she put up on Facebook for Mother's Day. 'He started at Hannan as the band director in 1970 and said he was only going to stay there one year, and he stayed until 1975 when I graduated,' Coleman-Tate said. 'He stayed until the Lord called him on to other things.' Coleman-Tate said Parsons lived not far from her in North Carolina, and she saw him once there and once in nearby Huntington. 'I was so proud. I would tell everybody that he was my band director, and they couldn't believe it because he was such a great singer,' Coleman-Tate said. 'They just loved him, too. They couldn't believe he was my band director. He was just a great man. He was so nice to everybody.' Coleman-Tate said she read on Facebook in the early morning hours that Parsons had died. 'I will love that song forever,' she said. The sheet music for 'Sweet Beulah Land' by Squire Parsons. (Photo Courtesy: Dr. John R. Carlisle, Hannan High School) Parsons composed many other well-known Gospel songs, including 'The Master of the Sea,' 'Walk On,' 'He Came To Me,' 'I Call It Home,' 'I Sing Because' and 'I'm Not Giving Up.' Parsons was ordained as a minister at Trinity Baptist Church in Asheville, NC. John Roberts, executive director of Mountain Mission in Charleston, said Parsons sang every year at the church's annual Christmas benefit. Smokey Robinson accused by former housekeepers of sexual assault and rape 'We had the privilege of having Squire Parsons sing every year for 40 years,' Roberts said. 'It was an event that helped feed nearly 1,000 families every Christmas, and he would come and sing for us, and sometimes his brothers would come up on stage and join him.' Roberts said he has fond memories of Parsons, whom he called 'the gentle giant.' 'He was about 6-feet-6, but he was the most gentle person,' Roberts said. 'He would sing 'Sweet Beulah Land' every year because that was his signature song, but he would change it a bit for Christmas.' Roberts said Mountain Mission sent a tractor-trailer load of flood relief supplies down to Parsons' church following Hurricane Helene and the severe flooding last year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.
CBS News
29-04-2025
- Business
- CBS News
West Virginia waitress receives $2,000 tip from customer
A waitress at a restaurant in West Virginia received a $2,000 tip over the weekend. According to a post on Facebook, a server at DaVinci's Restaurant in Williamstown received a $2,000 tip on a $148.41 order. "There are Sundays, and there are SUNDAYS. Today, one of our servers received an amazing gratuity. You can imagine her excitement! We are so fortunate to have such generous customers," the restaurant's Facebook post said on Sunday, showing the receipt. In an interview with CBS affiliate WOWK, Chris Bender, the owner of DaVinci's Restaurant, said the server "was shaking when she came back." "She was shaking and kept saying she couldn't take it, and I told her, 'Yes, you can,'" Bender told the TV station. Bender said the waitress who received the tip is a single mother who drives a car with two spare tires. She also does not have a cell phone, Bender added. "She said she's going to pay her rent and put the rest into her savings," Bender told WOWK. "This was much-needed and well-deserved. This is absolutely life-changing for her." Bender said the waitress received the $2,000 tip after the customers ordered an Italian meal and a dessert, Mississippi Mud Pie. The two customers liked the Mississippi Mud Pie so much that they ordered 10 pieces for the road. DaVinci's Restaurant has been a staple in Williamstown since it was established in 1980, according to its website.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Yahoo
2 adults, 3 kids found dead inside Ohio home from carbon monoxide poisoning
Five people, including three children, were found dead inside an Ohio home this week from carbon monoxide poisoning. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The Gallia County 911 center received a call around 10:44 a.m. on Tuesday about five unresponsive people inside a Clay Township home, according to a social media post from Gallia County Sheriff Matt Champlin. TRENDING STORIES: Missing woman's body found buried in concrete under a shed Man battling cancer shot at on I-70 coming home from chemotherapy Paper mill closing after 200 years in Ohio; almost 800 workers impacted When first responders got to the home, they confirmed the five people inside had died. The two adults were identified as Brian A. Doss, 35, and Lora Schuman, 34, according to WOWK and WSAZ. The children have not been identified at this time, but WOWK reported their ages were 9, 8, and 5. The sheriff's office said all five victims lived at the home. The Gallia County Coroner determined that all five people died as a result of exposure to carbon monoxide gas inside the home. Champlin said the investigation remains open to allow investigators to 'seek further details surrounding the events of this tragedy.' 'This situation is one that we all hope will never occur. Today's tragic loss of life has shattered and changed the lives of many forever,' Champlin said in the post. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Yahoo
Baby's corpse, busted casket found on grounds of West Virginia cemetery
SALT ROCK, W.V. (WOWK) – A baby's corpse and a busted casket were found at a cemetery in Salt Rock, West Virginia, on Thursday evening, according to the Cabell County Sheriff's Office. They said the infant boy's body was found on the ground at the Baylous Cemetery around 7 p.m., and the casket was discovered over a hillside not far from where the child was discovered. Pearl Harbor, USS West Virginia sailor's remains set to return home to NC The original burial site is unknown, and the boy's body was sent to the medical examiner's office, according to the sheriff's office. A criminal investigation is underway, the sheriff's office said. According to West Virginia law, unlawfully disinterring or displacing a body 'or any part of it' as well as damaging caskets is considered a felony that could result in up to five years in prison. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Miami Herald
19-03-2025
- Miami Herald
White couple abused their Black adopted children, WV officials say. ‘You are a monster'
A white couple will serve decades in prison after being convicted of trafficking and abusing their five Black adopted children, West Virginia officials and news reports said. A woman received a maximum sentence of up to 215 years in prison, and a man will serve up to 160 years in prison, Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney Debra Rusnak said in a March 19 news release. Both of the adoptive parents are in their 60s. McClatchy News is not naming the parents to protect the identity of the children involved. 'I want you to know that you are a monster,' the couple's eldest daughter told them in court, according to the Associated Press. The two were convicted Jan. 29 on human trafficking, civil rights and child abuse charges, including forced labor and neglect, according to a news release. McClatchy News reached out to the parents' attorney March 19 but did not receive an immediate response. They were arrested in October 2023 when their two oldest adopted children were found trapped inside a locked barn without running water in Sissonville, WOWK reported. Deputies had to use a crowbar to get the children out of the barn, the Associated Press reported. According to the outlet, all five children, ranging in age from 5 to 16 years old at that time, were turned over to Child Protective Services. Sissonville is about a 15-mile drive north from Charleston.
