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Brooke school board to meet
WELLSBURG -- The Brooke County Board of Education will meet at 6 p.m. Monday at its office at 1201 Pleasant Ave.
Weirton man taken into custody
NEW CUMBERLAND - A Weirton man is in custody on several charges as part of an ongoing investigation by the Hancock County Sheriff's Department into the manufacturing of explosive materials.
Kevin Anthony Reed, 54, was arrested on pending warrants for providing false information to law enforcement, interference with an investigation and possession of stolen property while sheriff's deputies were executing a search warrant at 4401 Kings Creek Road Tuesday evening.
The search warrant pertained to an ongoing investigation into stolen property and the manufacturing of explosive materials.
Reed was transported to the West Virginia Northern Regional Jail, where he is being held on a $7,500. All charges are listed as misdemeanors, according to the jail's website.
Assisting were the West Virginia State Police, Hancock Brooke Weirton Drug Task Force, Weirton Police Department and the Weirton Fire Department.
Railroads work to aid first responders
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- In the chaos after a Norfolk Southern train careened off the tracks and caught fire in eastern Ohio in February, it took roughly 45 minutes for firefighters to learn exactly which chemicals were involved.
Now the railroad industry is trying to ensure that never happens again.
Ever since that Feb. 3 derailment prompted concerns about rail safety nationwide, the major railroads have redoubled their efforts to make sure that more and more first responders can immediately look up the contents of any freight train.
This week, the two counties that handled the initial response to the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border were set up with the AskRail program that will allow dispatchers to look up everything a train is carrying as soon as they get one car number. That is part of an effort the Association of American Railroads trade group launched this spring to sign up emergency dispatch centers in the program.
"It's going to allow us to make better, more informed decisions quicker — not only for the responders but for the community," said Eric Brewer, director of emergency services in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. Previously, first responders would have to either track down the train crew to get a copy of the train's contents or reach out to the railroad directly -- both of which can take precious time.