Welcome back to EP Digest. Every Thursday morning, the best local news, events, and happenings from Morgan, Berkeley, and Jefferson counties — tailored to what you actually care about. No doom-scrolling, no algorithm. Just the stuff that matters in the Eastern Panhandle. Let's get into it.

Berkeley County Schools Puts the State on Notice Over Funding

Berkeley County Schools has formally told state officials it plans to sue over West Virginia’s school funding formula. State law requires 30 days’ notice before a suit like this, and the board sent it Wednesday, Oct. 21, West Virginia Public Broadcasting reports. The board voted unanimously in June to authorize the litigation, which covers locality pay, special-education funding and the formula itself. WVPB has the notice.

Superintendent Ryan Saxe frames the case as one question: whether the state system can “adequately support what school districts are responsible for providing.” The district says it spent $38 million more on special education last year than state aid covered, money that “must be absorbed locally,” Saxe said. As a border county, Berkeley competes with Maryland and Virginia on teacher pay and leans on more than 200 permanent substitutes a year. “We simply have not been able to recruit enough certified teachers,” Saxe said.

The next day, Thursday, Oct. 22, Saxe and board members sat down with local senators and delegates ahead of the 2027 session. The district runs 73 autism classrooms; when school started, 11 had no teacher assigned, and about four were still unfilled at the meeting, even with a new $3,000 supplement for those teachers. The district also wants relief from rising PEIA insurance costs, which officials say can wipe out a raise — “the pay raises have not been commensurate enough to offset those PEIA increases,” Saxe said — plus permission to keep job postings open until filled. Sen. Jason Barrett said a locality-pay bill stalled in the House last session. The Journal has the meeting.

The bigger picture: a separate challenge is already at the state Supreme Court, where the ACLU of West Virginia, citing Lincoln County, asked the justices to order the formula fixed. The court moved the state’s response deadline from Oct. 30 to Nov. 20; any oral argument would likely come after January. The state Board of Education has voted 7–1 that the current $2 billion system is “unconstitutional and inadequate.” Statewide enrollment is down 8,270 students this year, and education officials warn 8 to 20 schools could face closure or consolidation. MetroNews has the statewide picture.

What’s a notice of intent to sue? Before suing a West Virginia state agency or official, state law requires the person or group to send written notice at least 30 days ahead, describing the claim and what they want. The waiting period gives the state a chance to review the claim and settle it. The notice is not the lawsuit; the district can file once the 30 days run.

Early Voting Ends Saturday. Here’s What’s on Your Ballot.

Early voting for the Nov. 3 general election ends Saturday, Oct. 31. In Morgan County, vote at the courthouse, 77 Fairfax St., Berkeley Springs, 9AM - 5PM. Berkeley County votes 8AM - 5PM at the Dunn Building, 400 W. Stephen St., Martinsburg; Bedington Ruritan, 3947 Williamsport Pike; and the South Berkeley VFD main station, 7556 Winchester Ave., Inwood. Jefferson County votes at the Government Complex, 393 N. Lawrence St., Charles Town, 9AM - 5PM. On Election Day, polls are open 6:30AM - 7:30PM. Every ballot also carries a state constitutional amendment on citizenship and voting.

In Morgan County: the County Commission race is incumbent Republican Joel R. Tuttle against Democrat Judith Ann Shumate. House Districts 89 and 90 and a Circuit Court seat (Joe Kinser vs. Richard D. Stephens) are also contested. Mountain State Spotlight’s Morgan guide.

In Berkeley County: a round of WRNR-TV10 and Stubblefield Institute forums put the contested races side by side. For County Commission, incumbent Eddie Gochenour said the commission opposed House Bill 2014 and pushed for data-center safeguards on noise, lighting, setbacks and water use, and noted road fixes are mostly the state’s job. Challenger ‘Z’ Lansdowne said the county should “slow the roll” until roads catch up, and on data centers: “I feel sideswiped. I feel bamboozled.” Both oppose the Valley Link power line.

In House races, incumbent Donald Lee Bennett and challenger Elizabeth Sanchez both backed income limits on the Hope Scholarship and an elected state school board. Incumbent Chuck Horst raised Fourth Amendment concerns about Flock-style cameras; challenger Cara Waldeck focused on health care. Incumbent Michael Hite said the state hasn’t kept up with growth on Route 9; challenger Brad Noll called for more local control over development, including data centers. The Journal has the forums.

In District 91 (southern Berkeley County), Republican Chris Clagett, whose past social-media posts about Black women and Muslims drew criticism from both parties in September, is still on the ballot against Democrat David Michaels. State law bars the Republican Party from replacing him at this point, West Virginia Watch reports; state GOP chair Josh Holstein said the party “condemns the language used on social media.” West Virginia Watch has the race.

In Jefferson County: two County Commission seats are contested. In the Harpers Ferry district, incumbent Republican Pasha Majdi faces Democrat Lanae Johnson and the Constitution Party’s Tricia Jackson; in Kabletown, incumbent Republican Steve Stolipher faces Democrat Mary Mickey Reagan and the Mountain Party’s Danny Lutz. All four House districts, 97 through 100, are contested. Mountain State Spotlight’s Jefferson guide.

Bath Residents Press the Town on Water

Local restaurant owners and residents packed Bath town hall Tuesday, Oct. 20, frustrated by slow and mixed communication during the recent water emergency, the Morgan Messenger reports. The boil-water alert went out Friday, Oct. 16, at 5PM and stayed in effect until samples could be tested Monday, Oct. 19, so some businesses closed for the weekend. “We felt abandoned,” one longtime restaurant owner said. Councilwoman Mary Lynn Hickey said she is writing a crisis communications plan. “This wasn’t good. We are going to improve,” said Mayor Greg Schene.

A second water source: the council announced funding to buy a reservoir for sale west of town: up to $200,000 from the town, $120,000 from the county and up to $800,000 from the state, Schene said. The water works’ 1,500 current customers would keep their own source; Hickey said the new one would support the county’s development goals. At its meeting the next day, the County Commission said Bath had asked it for $200,000, said it has no money set aside for that, and made no decision. Councilwoman Reba Dalson, elected in June, also resigned to be closer to her family; the council will appoint a replacement. The Messenger has the meeting.

Also in Morgan County: dozens of residents came to the County Commission’s Oct. 21 meeting at the Paw Paw fire hall to push to keep the Paw Paw Senior Center open after Senior Life Services pulls out. Former commissioner and judge Glen Stotler asked the county to budget $15,000 a year, plus $7,500 for the rest of this fiscal year, for a new nonprofit, the Paw Paw Senior Coalition, to run the center. “We’re holding out for a hero,” he said. “You guys could be that hero.” The health clinic that owns the building has agreed to a $1-a-year lease, and the town has waived water and sewer. The Messenger has the meeting.

And a new County Clerk: Kim Nickles retires in December, and the County Commission plans to interview the four applicants before the Nov. 3 election: Ginger Roksandich, Lisa Webster, Denise Sotomayor and Connie Cox. State law requires the appointee to be from Nickles’ party, the Republicans. Whoever is chosen serves Dec. 19 through the end of 2028, the Morgan Messenger reports. The Messenger has the details.

Berkeley’s Growth Plan Heads to the County Commission

The Berkeley County Planning Commission voted unanimously to send the draft comprehensive plan to the County Commission, then took public comment. Residents asked for firmer protection for farmland, a policy barring utility extensions into areas marked for conservation, and clear rules for data centers. “This is a plan to make the county ready, we’re asking for rules,” said resident Frank Muth, who wants data centers kept in planned industrial districts, with buffers, hearings, independent studies and assurances they won’t raise electric rates. Speakers pointed to House Bill 2014, which lets some projects move through a state process that can override local decisions, and to the proposed data center near Bedington. “How can we make the plan enforceable?” another speaker asked. The plan sets a 10-to-20-year vision; commissioners called it a working document to be reviewed every five years. The Journal has the hearing.

Also in Berkeley County: the County Commission adopted a policy for spending the impact fees it has collected on new homes for nearly a year. Every request now needs a commission vote, grants get used first, and the money can only pay for new capacity on projects in the county’s Capital Improvement Plan. Gochenour wants a city’s sign-off on any project inside city limits. Current fees: $5,362 per new single-family home, $3,759 per multifamily unit and $4,013 per mobile home. Details.

The Hill Top House Law Gets Its Day in Court

The state Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday, Oct. 21, in a group of Harpers Ferry residents’ challenge to the 2020 Tourism Development District Act, the law written to clear the way for rebuilding the Hill Top House Hotel. The residents’ lawyer, Bob Bastress, said the law’s effect “was to displace virtually all municipal regulation” in a district. Chief Justice C. Haley Bunn pressed him on standing, noting most special-law challenges come from towns; Bastress said Harpers Ferry “has simply expressed no opinion.” Solicitor General Michael Williams defended the law: “There is no such right to be regulated by a town instead of the state.” He said the Legislature extended the window for new districts to 2030; Hill Top House is still the only one. The court has not ruled. The Journal has the arguments.

Also in Jefferson County: the USDA turned down the Jefferson County Development Authority’s $75,000 grant request for a preliminary engineering report on water and sewer for Summit Point, the board learned Oct. 20. Executive Director Daryl Cowles also presented a $4,500 invoice from the Bowles Rice law firm, hired at the County Commission’s request to draft a public-private partnership with West Virginia American Water. Several board members asked to see the agreement; Cowles declined until he reviews it with American Water. Observer WV has the meeting.

A Deputy on Leave, a Jury Verdict and a Guilty Plea

In Morgan County: Sheriff Johnnie Walter told PNN that Cpl. Christopher Roper, arrested Oct. 7 by the West Virginia State Police on a domestic battery charge, is on administrative leave while State Police investigate. A civil service review is pending, and the county prosecutor has asked for a special prosecutor. Walter also described a traffic stop on North Washington Street in Berkeley Springs where, he says, a deputy found cocaine, ketamine, methamphetamine, MDMA, LSD and mushrooms worth about $33,570, and a search tied to a domestic-violence warrant that turned up 11 guns; PNN’s report names no one in either case. PNN has the update.

The charge against Roper is an allegation — he has not been convicted.

A jury verdict in Martinsburg: a Berkeley County jury on Friday, Oct. 16, convicted Russell Lorenzo Brown, 68, of Martinsburg, of attempted second-degree murder, four counts of malicious assault and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, Prosecuting Attorney Raymond E. Boyce Jr. announced. The case stems from a Feb. 15 incident at the Cozy Hideaway Bar on Eagle School Road. Brown faces 10.25 to 48 years; Judge Laura V. Faircloth presided over the three-day trial. The announcement.

A federal plea: a Martinsburg man, Stanley Delano Lum, 41, pleaded guilty in federal court to a cocaine distribution charge, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Oct. 20. According to court documents, he worked with an operation that sold large quantities of cocaine in Berkeley and Jefferson counties over two years; the office says members of the group allegedly kept firearms. No sentencing date was announced. The release.

Outside a Falling Waters church: deputies responded the morning of Oct. 18 to Marlowe Assembly of God on Williamsport Pike after reports of a neighbor yelling and possibly firing a gun; deputies say the noises were fireworks. According to the sheriff’s office, the man said he believed the church had interfered with his hunting. David Mitchell Bates, 39, of Martinsburg, is charged with obstruction and disruption of church services and was released on a $2,000 personal recognizance bond, the Journal reports. Details.

The charge is an allegation — Bates has not been convicted.

Trick-or-Treat Times and Trunk-or-Treats

Trick-or-treating, Saturday, Oct. 31: Bath (Berkeley Springs), 6PM - 8PM, and Hedgesville, 6PM - 7:30PM. The rest of the week’s spooky lineup:

Thursday, Oct. 29: Trunk-or-treats at the Eastern WV Regional Airport, 5PM - 7PM, and North Middle School, 4PM - 6PM. Newland Insurance (State Farm), 1664 Winchester Ave., Martinsburg, turns its offices into a free haunted walk-through, 5PM - 7:30PM.

Friday, Oct. 30: In Berkeley Springs, BlackCat School of Rock students play a free Mischief Night concert of Halloween songs and classic rock at the Star Theatre, 7PM. In Martinsburg, trunk-or-treats at Bethel Tabernacle (6PM) and CMA, with a costume contest (6PM - 8PM), plus Berkeley County Pride’s Tim Burton-themed Halloween party at 101 W. Martin St., 6PM - 9PM, pay what you can. Trick-or-Treat With the Horses at Sienna Rock Stables, Harpers Ferry, 5PM. The Historic Shepherdstown Museum hosts a paranormal investigation, 7PM - 9PM, $20 with advance registration.

Saturday, Oct. 31: Aaron’s Vendor Trunk-or-Treat in Martinsburg, 10AM - 4PM, Green Hill Cemetery’s Halloween open house in Martinsburg with vendors, tours and children’s activities, 12PM - 5PM, and a murder mystery for teens and adults at the Musselman–South Berkeley library, 10:30AM (register first). In Shepherdstown: Pumpkins & Poses yoga at Market House Plaza (10AM - 12PM), a candy art class at Badgerhound Studio (10:30AM - 12PM), free ghost tours at the Historic Shepherdstown Museum every half hour, 1PM - 3:30PM, and karaoke at Wind Gap Music, 2PM - 5PM. The Bull & Ghoul Halloween runs 2PM - 9PM at Bakerton Market, Harpers Ferry, and Abolitionist Ale Works in Charles Town throws a DJ dance party and costume contest, 7PM - 10PM.

Times come from organizers’ announcements and can change, so check before you go. Jefferson County’s event highlights.

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