radioNOVO News WV July 23, 2026

Good morning,Severe weather continues to keep state officials on high alert across the Mountain State. Governor Patrick Morrisey has declared a statewide State of Preparedness for all fifty-five counties following forecasts calling for severe thunderstorms, flash flooding, and damaging winds. The declaration activates the State Emergency Operations Plan, mobilizing resources and emergency personnel to assist local communities hit by localized flooding and downed power lines. Residents are urged to monitor local alerts and avoid driving through flooded roadways.In related recovery news, Governor Morrisey has formally requested a federal Major Disaster Declaration from President Donald Trump to secure federal assistance for Boone and Logan counties following devastating June flooding. Damage assessments show nearly two-hundred homes were damaged or destroyed. If approved, the declaration will unlock direct federal housing, legal, and counseling aid for affected families, along with statewide hazard mitigation funding.Turning to state criminal justice news, federal prosecutors in Charleston are investigating a former Kanawha County sheriff's deputy accused of sexual assault. Former deputy Cass Close was originally scheduled for an August trial on state charges involving a female inmate at the Kanawha County Judicial Building. However, federal authorities issued a formal target letter to Close, signaling that federal civil rights charges may be filed. Close remains held in jail on one-hundred-thousand-dollars bail as state and federal prosecutors coordinate the investigation.In cold case developments, advanced DNA testing has finally identified human remains discovered twelve years ago along the Elk River in Kanawha County. The sheriff's office confirmed the remains belong to forty-nine-year-old Jeffery Allen Blake, who went missing in 2014. Investigators used specialized DNA analysis through the University of North Texas to make the positive match and are now appealing to the public for any information regarding Blake’s final whereabouts in the Clendenin area.And in higher education news, two Northern Panhandle educators have been named among the five finalists for the 2027 West Virginia Teacher of the Year award. Weir High School teacher Morgan Bricker and Elm Grove Elementary educator Dr. Stefanie Cirilli were recognized for their decades of combined excellence in the classroom, with the statewide winner to be officially crowned this September.I’m Codi Gaboff, radioNOVO News, a service of Seven Mountains Media.