PUTNAM IN REVIEW: JAN. 16-22

Pliny man sentenced 11 months for shooting hunter, then fleeing

Donald Robinson should have taken the 10 days in jail when he gotthe chance. Robinson, who pleaded guilty in December to shooting afellow hunter in the back, was sentenced Jan. 15 to 11 months injail.

In October, Robinson had been offered a lighter sentence of 10days in jail and one year of probation if he pleaded guilty, but hebacked out of a plea agreement.Robinson, 23, of Pliny in Putnam County, had already beenconvicted in magistrate court of the May 1997 negligent shooting ofDavid Boggess. Robinson had been sentenced to one year in jail and a$5,000 fine, and had appealed the sentence to circuit court.Robinson told a probation officer that he shot his 22-caliberrifle into some brush because he thought he heard a turkey. When heheard a man cry out for help, he fled.The victim, Boggess, was hunting on a relative's land at the time,said Gary Amick, the state Division of Natural Resources officer whoworked on the case.So was Robinson, who lacked permission to be there.Six months later, DNR officials were investigating Robinson on aspotlighting charge. As they interviewed witnesses, they learnedthat Robinson had been involved in the May shooting.Boggess told Circuit Judge O.C. Spaulding he wanted Robinson toget the maximum penalty for the shooting.Robinson will lose his hunting license for five years, the maximumallowed by law. Spaulding also ordered him to pay Boggess' medicalbills of $5,200.Porn-free Internet service growsIn just nine months of offering pornography-free Internet access,Christian Internet Services has seen its clientele balloon -especially among Putnam County parents.Now, county business leaders are making plans with the TeaysValley Internet provider to launch a countywide electronic village,offering one-stop information on everything in Putnam County.The concept is still in its infant stages, said Gayle Vest,director of the Putnam County Chamber of Commerce. Plans should bemore concrete by March, but right now planners envision somethingalong the lines of the much-publicized Blacksburg Electronic Villagein Blacksburg, Va.In Blacksburg, where the network is supported by Virginia Tech anda combination of grants, residents can log on from their homecomputers or free terminals at public libraries. One site provideslinks to everything from area job listings to government agencies.Putnam's electronic village would cover not just one city, butgovernment agencies, businesses and organizations countywide.Several individual pages exist now, including an extensive Web sitemaintained by Putnam County schools. Other organizations have onlyskeleton Web sites now, and they're not consolidated into one easy-to-find site.Turn lane approved for Poca High SchoolThe state Division of Highways will add a turnlane to W.Va. 62 atPoca High School to ease rush-hour tie-ups as school buses andvehicles attempt to turn left into the school grounds.An easement that allows construction of a 8-foot turn lane wasapproved by Putnam County school board. The agreement will requirethat a guardrail be installed to prevent accidents on the existingslope, a concern raised by board member Kim Sharp.The lane will be constructed this summer as part of a roadresurfacing project planned from the intersection of W.Va. 25 to thePoca town limits, said Mike Jones of the highways division District1design officeThe turn lane should be completed by the time the next school yearstarts, he said.Shot for game program deemed not so hotFour Winfield High School seniors "shooting for success" inbasketball may have fired a photo shot heard around the county.The four, whom school officials describe as outstanding students,were photographed with a high-powered deer rifle for the coverpicture on this year's basketball program.The program, which went on sale for the first time Jan. 15, wasproduced by the school's athletics boosters.County and school administrators, as well as Winfield AthleticDirector Joyce Vessey, were shocked at what they saw.The Safe Schools Act bans weapons of any sort from school groundsor school-sponsored activities.Under the policy, any student who brings a gun to school isautomatically suspended for a year. However, the superintendent isable to shorten that time if it's deemed appropriate. Exceptions tothe act, however, include programs or raffles conducted with theapproval of the county board of education or school which includethedisplay of firearms.But neither school officials nor school board members say theyknew of the picture before seeing it in its published form.The photograph was taken at a studio off campus, Principal VirgilRice said. He said he will discuss the situation with the school'sathletic boosters, but he does not anticipate any disciplinaryaction.Leon man pleads guilty to kidnappingThe last man in a three-person ring that kidnapped a Robertsburgwoman at gunpoint pleaded guilty in Putnam Circuit Court.Doug Abner, 25, of Leon faces a possible life sentence withoutparole for the November 1997 kidnapping. Abner, his brother Jamesand a 17-year-old Hurricane girl apparently planned to ransom IrisRossi for $100,000, police said.The three broke into Rossi's house at night, woke her, forced herat gunpoint into her Jeep and drove her to an abandoned water tankinMason County, police said. The Abners apparently left Rossi with thegirl, Amy Anthony, while they went to torch the Jeep, police said.Rossi clubbed Anthony on the head with a piece of wood and escapedunharmed.Rossi's husband, Sal Rossi, owns a wood products business inEleanor. He told police he slept through the kidnapping on theliving room couch.James Abner, 32, also faces possible life without parole afterpleading guilty in June. Both he and his brother pleaded tokidnapping, burglary and arson.If Judge Clarence Watt recommends mercy in the cases, both Abnerscould theoretically be paroled in 17 years.Anthony pleaded guilty to arson, burglary and conspiracy to commitkidnapping to escape a kidnapping charge. She faces a possible oneto 15 years in prison.Water line work could start in AprilThanks to a $6 million upfront commitment from West Virginia-American Water Co., construction could start on $15 million worth ofPutnam County water lines as soon as April, county commissionershavebeen told.That is, construction could begin if the state Public ServiceCommission quiets an opposing water provider by March.South Putnam Public Service District has squared off against thecounty, saying that it already had plans and funding to build partofthe water lines that West Virginia-American now wants to build.County commissioners have joined forces with West Virginia-American, saying that the private company fits better with a newcountywide water plan that dictates where, when and how water lineswill be built in Putnam County for the next 20 years.The PSC now has to determine whether South Putnam can go aheadwith a project it had planned for the Hurricane Creek area.South Putnam General Manager Fred Stottlemyer has argued that healready has partial funding, with a verbal commitment for more, tobuild the lines.Now West Virginia-American not only has committed enough money forthe Hurricane Creek lines, but for the Poca River and BuffCreek/Trace Fork areas as well, Gritt said.All three projects could start simultaneously in April, he said.The $6 million would pay for the projects until the county couldsecure permanent funding.U.S. 35 traffic will flow along Crooked Creek routeBarring an environmental surprise, Putnam County's new four-laneU.S. 35 will be built in the Crooked Creek area, state highwaysCommissioner Sam Beverage announced Jan. 21.Construction should start by late this year or early 2000. The$337.9 million road will run from Point Pleasant through PutnamCounty, connecting with Interstate 64 between the St. Albans andTeays Valley exits.Highways officials had narrowed their choices to the Crooked Creekroute and a more westerly route, which would have run through theCowCreek area and connected with I-64 near Teays Valley."This alternative, including its interchange with I-64, was chosenover the West Cow Creek alignment as a result of public comments onthe effects on various communities received following our December1998 informational public meeting," Beverage said in a preparedstatement."Although we have received popular support for this alignment, itwill be fully analyzed in an environmental document to be completedlater this spring. When the document is approved by the FederalHighway Administration, additional public comment will be soughtthrough the Division of Highways' public meeting process."County Commissioner Jim Caruthers said the Crooked Creek route isbetter for Putnam County. It will divert tractor-trailer traffic,which causes traffic jams and air pollution, away from Teays Valley.The route change is expected to cut down on the number of wrecks onU.S. 35 and W.Va. 34, where half of the county's traffic fatalitiesoccur.And, Caruthers said, it will open up new land for commercialdevelopment.Compiled by Tim Baker