radioNOVO News WV News Roundup for July 31, 2026

Good morning. Here is your West Virginia State Roundup.Governor Patrick Morrisey held a flood recovery update in Weston yesterday, praising the steady progress of cleanup efforts across central West Virginia. The National Guard and state highway crews have already cleared six thousand tons of debris from flood-damaged areas in Lewis and Upshur counties, with totals expected to top twenty thousand tons before operations conclude. Governor Morrisey urged patience for impacted residents and issued a strong warning against looters and price-gouging scammers targeting flood victims, asking residents to verify credentials and report any suspicious activity.West Virginia’s annual Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday kicks off at midnight tonight and runs through Monday, August third. Governor Morrisey highlighted the upcoming tax-free weekend, pointing out that the state’s six-percent sales tax will be waived on eligible school supplies under fifty dollars, clothing items under one hundred twenty-five dollars, and laptops under five hundred dollars. State officials estimate the weekend will save Mountain State families more than three-and-a-half million dollars in total.In faith news, the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston has officially welcomed its new leader. Bishop Evelio Menjivar was installed earlier this month as the tenth bishop of the diocese, succeeding retired Bishop Mark Brennan. Bishop Menjivar, who immigrated to the United States from El Salvador over thirty years ago, will shepherd Catholic parishes and schools across all fifty-five West Virginia counties.In sports, first-round play is underway at the West Virginia Open at The Resort at Glade Springs. Nine golfers broke par during Wednesday's opening round on the Cobb Course, with Pat Carter and Winfield native Chris Williams sharing the early lead at four-under-par sixty-eight. The field will be trimmed to the top sixty players following today's second round.And in Marion County, a Fairmont man already facing federal drug charges is now facing felony witness intimidation charges. Thirty-six-year-old Michael Fisher is accused of circulating photos of a state witness and sending harassing messages in an attempt to intimidate them ahead of his trial. He is being held at the North Central Regional Jail on a fifty-thousand-dollar bond.I’m Codi Gaboff, radioNOVO News, a service of Seven Mountains Media.