Charleston Gazette

Preparing for Swine Flu: ; Kanawha First Responders Receive H1n1 Vaccines

Kanawha County health officials gave an early batch of H1N1 swine flu vaccines to emergency responders Thursday. Between 50 and 100 nasal flu vaccinations were given to first responders - mostly paramedics and firefighters for the Charleston Fire Department and Kanawha County Ambulance Service - said Dr. Rahul Gupta, chief health official for the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department.

Mental-Health Client Deaths Raise Questions: ; Other Incidents Lead State to Revoke License, but Northwood Still Operating

Three clients of Northwood Health Systems, one of West Virginia's largest mental health providers, have died while under the agency's care in the last two months. Two of these deaths and other incidents led the state Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification not to renew Northwood's license to operate.

Preparing for Swine Flu: ; School Closings for Flu Not Always Best, Officials Say; Counties Urged to Be Lenient with Attendance Policies

Worried parents should know that closing schools is not always the best option when dealing with swine flu, state Health Officer Cathy Slemp and state Superintendent of Schools Steve Paine said Tuesday. Paine hopes parents rest easy about keeping children home when they have a fever and other flulike symptoms, and has urged county superintendents to be lenient with their attendance policies.

Marsh Fork: ; Jay, Rahall Join Call for Massey to Fund School

As a group of citizens ranging in age from 50 to 83 began a march against mountaintop removal Thursday, two more West Virginia political leaders called on Massey Energy to help fund relocation of a Raleigh County elementary school that has become a symbol in the ongoing coalfield controversy. Sen. Jay Rockefeller and Rep. Nick J. Rahall, both D-W.Va., called on Massey Energy to help fund the relocation of Marsh Fork Elementary School away from a huge Massey slurry impoundment and coal-process...

Herta Mueller Wins Nobel Prize for Literature

STOCKHOLM - Herta Mueller, a little-known Romanian-born author who was persecuted for her critical depictions of life behind the Iron Curtain, won the 2009 Nobel Prize in literature Thursday in an award seen as a nod to the 20th anniversary of communism's collapse. The decision was expected to keep alive the controversy surrounding the academy's pattern of awarding the prize to European writers.

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Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009 West Virginia:

Things to Do Today

Music * CARBON COUNTRY: 7 to 10 p.m. Admission by donation. Elk River Community Center, 902 Main St., Elkview. Call 304-965-3722.

Readers' Voice

You sportswriters are kidding yourselves if you think anyone cares about high school athletics outside of the participants and their mothers. Where in Charleston, South Charleston, or Kanawha City could I find a good home-cooked vegetable platter? I'd like a platter with fried okra, beans of any kind, greens of any kind and other wholesome veggies. All I can find is a la carte and that is too expensive. If this is not available here maybe someone should start selling one and help the obesity ...

Obituaries: ; Obit

Obituaries Today Asbury, Mark A. Barnett, Daisy I. Cabell, Charles C. Carter, Agatha V. Casto, Ida V. Chandler, Phyllis H. Cox, Gladys L. Dill, Ernest O. Jr. Fitzwater, Chester W. Gaylor, Barbara J. Hamrick, Verley B. Higginbotham, Charles E. Howell, Philip G. Koerner, Maj. Morgan P. Looney, Daniel J. Martin, Jean McVey, Johnny R. Minnich, Helen Sauer, Lue A. Skees, Phyllis Stowers, Odell L. Vickers, Pauline B. White, Judith A. Zeliff, Robert H. Mark A. Asbury

Jury Finds Astor's Son Guilty of Looting Her Estate

NEW YORK - Brooke Astor's 85-year-old son was convicted Thursday of exploiting his philanthropist mother's failing mind and helping himself to her nearly $200 million fortune. Anthony Marshall now faces a mandatory jail sentence of at least one year - and perhaps as many as 25 years.

State Briefs

Elks lodge wins back liquor license A Harrison County Elks lodge has regained its liquor license, more than eight months after a raid targeting its video raffle machines.

Ben Ali, Founder of Landmark Ben's Chili Bowl in D.C., Dies

WASHINGTON - Ben Ali, the founder of Ben's Chili Bowl diner, a landmark in Washington's black business and entertainment district and a frequent stop for politicians and celebrities, has died. He was 82. Ali died of congestive heart failure Wednesday night at his home, his daughter-in-law Sonya Ali said Thursday. Ben Ali was born in 1927 and opened the restaurant with his wife, Virginia, in an old movie house in 1958, when Dwight D. Eisenhower was president and public school integration was b...

Moon Crash Is Designed to Kick Up Ice

WASHINGTON - For as long as man has looked up, the moon has inspired romance, poetry and songs. Man also likes blowing things up. Now we get to do both - in the name of science. The aim of today's deliberate crash of two unmanned NASA spacecraft into the moon is to see if they can kick up some ice. It is the 20th lunar crash, most of them done on purpose, since the Russians first did it 50 years ago last month.

Around the World

Amsterdam 65 53 Rain Athens 78 66 Clr

Todays Forecast Around the Country and Thursdays Temperatures to 8 P.M.

Anchorage 50 42 Cldy Atlanta 79 64 Cldy

War-Zone Chemical Exposure: ; Va Chief to Jay: Doctors to Monitor W.Va. Guardsmen; U.S. Senate Hears of Dangers 1092nd Engineers Subjected To

Members of the West Virginia National Guard who were exposed to a highly toxic chemical in Iraq in 2003 will receive special medical monitoring, the secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs pledged Thursday. Secretary Eric Shinseki's assurance came in a letter to U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller in response to the West Virginia Democrat's concerns about the long-term health ramifications for soldiers who were exposed to the carcinogenic chemical sodium dichromate.

Domestic Violence: ; W.Va. Program Regulations Voided; States Rules for Victims Are Biased Against Men, Kanawha Circuit Judge Decides

A Kanawha County circuit judge has voided West Virginia's regulations for domestic-violence programs, saying they discriminate by denying abused men access to publicly funded shelters and female abusers access to treatment. In a decision received Tuesday, Judge James C. Stucky said Family Protection Services Board rules for licensing domestic-violence shelters, certifying advocates and distributing state funding distort lawmakers' intent and violate the West Virginia Men & Women Against Discr...

Getting Into College: ; Act-Ing Up; Schs Earns Honors From American College Test Board for Raising Scores

Students at one Kanawha County high school have made substantial gains on the ACT college entrance exam, and the school will receive a national honor as a result, school officials have learned. South Charleston High School has been selected to receive the ACT College and Career Readiness Award, ACT Education Division President and Chief Operating Officer Cynthia B. Schmeiser wrote in a Sept. 23 letter.

West Virginia Book Festival: ; Author to Discuss Learning Disabilities

Dr. Larry Silver, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Georgetown University and author of a book on learning, language and motor disabilities, will be among the first speakers at the West Virginia Book Festival this Saturday morning. Silver will discuss topics from his book, "The Misunderstood Child," at 10 a.m. in the Charleston Civic Center.