Welcome back to EP Digest. Every Thursday morning, the best local news, events, and happenings from Morgan, Berkeley, and Jefferson counties. Let's get into it.

Jefferson’s County Administrator Resigns, and $2 Million in Ambulance Bills Go to Collections

Jefferson County Administrator Edwina Benites announced her resignation at the County Commission’s Nov. 5 meeting. Her last day is Dec. 3, the Journal reports. Commissioners had planned to discuss her letter in executive session, but Benites asked that anything about her employment be discussed in public. “I have resigned from the position and my last date in the office will be Dec. 3. I have no contract,” she said. There was no further discussion or action, and no successor had been named. In her letter, Benites thanked county staff: “Public service is never the work of one individual or one office.” The Journal has the meeting.

The ambulance bills: at the same meeting, commissioners approved a contract with a collection agency to go after $2,060,613 in unpaid county ambulance bills, Observer WV reports. About $735,000 of it predates fiscal 2020, and some bills go back to 2014. The agency keeps 30% of whatever it collects. Chief Financial Officer David Bound estimated the county could realistically recover about $1 million. Observer WV has the numbers.

Why the money matters: the county ran operating deficits in fiscal 2024–25 and 2025–26, and this year’s budget projects another, Observer WV reports. The commission has covered the gaps by drawing down its general fund carryforward, the savings built up from earlier surpluses. That balance fell by about $1 million between July 2025 and July 2026, based on figures the county gave the State Auditor. The reserves story.

The buildings: commissioners approved $2.5 million for Waynesboro Construction and $1.6 million for Falkbuilt Modular Wall Systems to build out space at 393 N. Lawrence St. for the health department, probation and the day report center. Facilities director Laura Kuhn said the project once looked like more than $6 million and staff cut more than $2 million from it. The tax office, engineering, planning and zoning, and the prosecuting attorney’s office move there this winter. Commissioners also voted to open negotiations to sell the county building at 120 S. George St.; the buyer wasn’t named. “It’s a big day for the county and for Charles Town,” Commission President Pasha Majdi said.

Valley North: the commission voted to send its letter to Valley Link Transmission Company asking for a real presentation and answers to its questions, ahead of Valley Link’s open house at the Ranson Civic Center on Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 4PM. Commissioner Cara Keys compared past sessions to a “science fair.” “They are talking, but they’re just not listening,” Commissioner Mike Mood said. The public can park in the county lot for the open house. The Journal has the votes.

The Kessel Fire Burns 260 Acres on Cacapon Mountain

The Kessel Fire, which started on Cacapon Mountain the afternoon of Monday, Nov. 9, had burned about 260 acres in and around Cacapon Resort State Park by Wednesday evening and was 60% contained, Morgan County 911 said, citing West Virginia Division of Forestry estimates, WBOY reports. It was about 70 acres Tuesday evening, after jumping its containment lines that morning. Fire companies from Morgan County and across the region, the Division of Forestry and a West Virginia National Guard helicopter have worked it. Forestry crews kept at it through Wednesday night and planned controlled backburns, and 911 said the fire will likely take an extended period because of the terrain, access and fuel on the ground. The public is asked to stay away from the fire area. Drinks and non-perishable food for crews can be dropped off at the Berkeley Springs Fire Department, 34 N. Mercer St. No cause has been released. WBOY has the latest; the Messenger has the first two days.

A new county clerk: Morgan County commissioners voted 3–0 on Nov. 4 to appoint Connie Cox as County Clerk, about 12 hours after polls closed on the last election run by retiring Clerk Kim Nickles, the Morgan Messenger reports. Cox starts Dec. 19 and will serve the rest of Nickles’ term, through Dec. 31, 2028. Commissioners interviewed four applicants Oct. 26. Commissioner Bill Clark pointed to Cox’s strength on the budget and finance side of the job. Commission President Joel Tuttle called it a tough choice and said he hopes Cox can learn the office alongside Nickles. Two other veteran employees of the office are expected to retire soon, too. The clerk keeps the county budget and payroll, land records, voter registration and elections, estates and vital records. The Messenger has the vote.

Bath’s water: Berkeley Springs Water Works has withdrawn the petition it filed with the state Public Service Commission in August for a moratorium on new water hookups, Bath Councilwoman Mary Lynn Hickey said Nov. 3. New hookup requests stay on hold until the PSC finishes a full review of the system. Five leaks found during last month’s water emergency are being fixed, she said. The next day, Morgan County commissioners voted unanimously to commit $100,000, probably from hotel/motel tax money, toward land for a second public water source, half of what the town asked for and contingent on the county approving a purchase plan. The town is building a $1 million “funding stack” toward a $1.2 million parcel with wells and springs; Mayor Greg Schene has said the state could put in $800,000, which the governor’s office had not confirmed. Asked about rumors the source is meant for a data center, Commission President Joel Tuttle said, “Absolutely not.” The moratorium and the county’s pledge.

Also in Morgan County: a Berkeley Springs data center is now mostly a pinball arcade. Tech entrepreneur Jeff Martin opened Pinball Castle in June in the space where he and his brother ran a small data center for 25 years, in the same building as Morgan Wireless, the internet provider he started. It has a little over 30 machines, mostly from the 1980s, with about 20 more on the way. Play is paid by the hour, day or month, and there are tournaments every Wednesday. The name nods to Berkeley Springs Castle. Courthouse News has the story.

Running for Josh: three Berkeley Springs runners earned second-team All-State at the Class AA cross country championships in Ona, in a season the Indians and Lady Indians dedicated to former teammate Josh Walls. Junior Bella Shoemaker finished 14th, and senior Jay Nazelrod and freshman Rylee Yost each finished 20th. The Messenger has the meet.

And the BSHS Hall of Fame: the 2025 class is Jeff Shaw, Jessica Dietrich, Bill Fox and the 1993 softball team. The 2026 class is Gary Gaither, Matt Mason, April Hickerson, Gary “Spook” Spielman, Carrol Fleeny Bohrer and the 2005 girls cross country team. Ceremony details are coming. The list.

Third-Party Candidates Ran Strong in Berkeley

Two Berkeley County races last week turned in unusually strong showings for third-party candidates, West Virginia Watch reports. In Martinsburg, Constitution Party candidate Tara B. McCoy took 43% against Republican Del. Mike Hornby, seven points better than Hornby’s Democratic challenger did in 2022. In the 16th Senate District, Sen. Jason Barrett (R) won with 60% over Libertarian Travis Bost of Gerrardstown. Bost won 5,013 of the 12,973 votes cast in Berkeley County, on about $1,000 to Barrett’s $264,000. Bost credits local control of data centers and the proposed power line through Jefferson County. Neither race had a Democrat on the ballot, and county Democratic chair David Valente said the party will “definitely” target those seats next time. West Virginia Watch has the races.

Turnout: 32.8% of Berkeley’s registered voters cast ballots, and 42.8% of Jefferson’s, the Journal reports from Secretary of State data. That’s each county’s lowest general-election turnout in data going back to 2018, but well above the May primary, when Berkeley turned out 12.6%. County Clerk Anthony Pettrucci said about 19,000 people voted on Election Day and about 13,000 voted early. The Journal has the numbers.

Also in Berkeley County: WVU Medicine Berkeley Medical Center will start an open-heart surgery program in January 2027, it announced Nov. 9. Hospital leaders said the program has been in the works for about 15 years, and the aim is that only the most complex cardiac cases leave the area. Dr. Mehrab Marzban will be the lead surgeon, and the hospital is still hiring for the team. Details.

Build-up Berkeley: a local beekeeping farm, Glory Ridge Farm and Apiary, won the Berkeley County Development Authority’s Build-up Berkeley pitch competition Nov. 6 at the Apollo Civic Theatre, and the $10,000 prize that goes with it. Owned by Shayne and Julie Weister, it sells honey, beeswax lotion bars and lip and beard balms at Orr’s Farm Market and other local shops. Weister plans a building for honey extraction and processing that doubles as a beekeeping classroom. Details.

Sponsor a day: for National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, the Strong and Stable Families Work Group is running a Sponsor-a-Day for Community Cup Coffee and More, the faith-based Martinsburg cafe and nonprofit that serves people in recovery and people experiencing homelessness. $263 covers a day of the cafe’s costs, and sponsors get a shout-out on its social media. Details.

Jefferson Lands a Record Three Preservation Grants

For the first time, Jefferson County won three of the eight grants the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia awarded this year through its Frontier to Statehood program, $130,418 in all, the Journal reports. They’re 25% matching grants backed by the National Park Service.

Halltown Colored Free School ($31,000): new plaster and wainscoting inside and a period-correct front door for the 1870 schoolhouse, which educated Black children after the Civil War. The Halltown Memorial Chapel Association hopes to finish this phase next year. Conrad Shindler House, Shepherdstown ($73,168): masonry and interior repairs from spring to fall 2027 at the home of the George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War. Entler Hotel, Shepherdstown ($26,250): roof repair and painting on a complex that dates in part to 1786, with bids by year-end and work in the spring. The Journal has all three.

Also in Jefferson County: the Shepherdstown Volunteer Fire Department rolled its new Tanker 3 into Station 3 on Sunday, Nov. 8, with neighbors helping push it into the bay. The truck is dedicated to longtime chief Leon Catrow, who joined in 1959. The department also cut the ribbon on Station 3’s renovated living quarters, with an expanded day room, a slide in place of a fire pole and bigger bunk rooms. Shepherdstown architect Jim King donated the design. The department says it paid for the work and the tanker without going into debt. Details.

End of an era at Jefferson High: John Lowery, the only baseball coach Jefferson High has ever had, has retired after 54 seasons. Since 1973 the Cougars won 12 state titles and 27 regional titles and put together 49 straight 20-win seasons. He finished 1,500–395–3 at Jefferson, with the 1,500th win coming in this year’s Class AAAA state tournament. He has the most wins in West Virginia history and ranks second all-time among U.S. high school baseball coaches, the Journal reports, citing the National Federation of State High School Associations. “It is not a one-man deal. It is a community deal,” Lowery said. The Journal has the career.

Federal Sentences in Berkeley County Cases

Drug trafficking: U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey announced federal prison sentences totaling 37 years in a group of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine cases from Berkeley and Mineral counties. In the Berkeley County cases, Brenton Daniel Berens, 38, and Shannon Lynn Smith, 40, both of Martinsburg, were each sentenced to 60 months for their roles in an operation that used a residence to store and package fentanyl and cocaine; officers seized nearly a pound of fentanyl there. Investigators traced the drugs to Rodney Harry Augustine of Baltimore, who was convicted and is set to be sentenced in 2027. Malachi Brian Maurice Younger, 23, was sentenced to 41 months for trafficking fentanyl and cocaine in Berkeley County and into Maryland. Two Keyser men were sentenced in the Mineral County cases. U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided. The Journal and PNN have the details.

A Hedgesville sentencing: a 20-year-old Hedgesville man, Octavious Young, was sentenced to five years in federal prison for distributing child sexual abuse material, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced. He was also ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution and must register as a sex offender. West Virginia State Police investigated after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children sent cyber tips. Details.

Upcoming home games: Fri., Nov. 13, Class AAAA playoffs, first round: Hurricane at Martinsburg, Parkersburg at Musselman, Jefferson at Spring Mills. Kickoff times TBA. Martinsburg, Musselman and Spring Mills volleyball were scheduled to open the AAAA state tournament in Charleston Wednesday, with Musselman and Martinsburg the top two seeds.

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