CHARLESTON — Residents can start purchasing beer and wine earlier and even on Sunday mornings starting Monday.

ATHENS — Athens and Oakvale are two other municipallties in Mercer County awaiting stimulus funding and the guidelines on how it can be spent.

CHARLESTON — Gov. Jim Justice said Friday the mask mandate will be lifted June 20, the 158th birthday of the state, regardless of where the COVID vaccination percentage stands.

CHARLESTON — West Virginia residents 16 to 35 years old who are fully vaccinated for COVID will soon receive a special gift card for $100, unless they choose to obtain an electronic savings bond.

PRINCETON — Two people were injured Thursday after a tractor trailer crashed over an embankment on Interstate 77 in Mercer County.

PRINCETON — Millions of people remember the white sailor cap that a man marooned on a tropical island wore while he and his fellow castaways appeared on television every week, and the day is coming when fans can relive those memories when they get to see his hat, shirt and other items in person.

ATHENS — After a year’s suspension due to the pandemic, Concord University held a two-day live commencement, its 146th, Friday, May 7, and Saturday, May 8, at the Main Gym of the Carter Center.

PRINCETON — On Monday, the first in-person meeting of the Princeton City Council in more than a year convened and saw the city honor a retired 26-year Princeton firefighter.

GRUNDY, Va. — The Wall That Heals, a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, will open to the public Thursday at Poplar Gap Park in Grundy. It will remain on display in Buchanan County through Sunday, May 9.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said Friday during a conference call he continues to focus only on infrastructure in the proposed $2.3 trillion American Families Plan and the GOP’s $568 billion alternative is a “good starting point” for negotiation.

BRAMWELL — The Town of Bramwell is ready for the $140,000 from the American Rescue Plan, with a project already in mind.

BLUEFIELD — With caravans of ATV tourists arriving daily in Mercer County and other parts of southern West Virginia, the Hatfield-McCoy Trail expects to well exceed the record trail pass sales seen in 2020 despite losing weeks of ridership to a global pandemic.

CHARLESTON — Public schools around the state are ready to start offering the COVID vaccine to students 12 to 15 years old next week, if approval is given by the FDA (Federal Drug Administration).

CHARLESTON — West Virginia American Water filed a request last week with the Public Service Commission of West Virginia (PSC) to adjust its water and wastewater rates.

BLUEWELL — Final tallies are not in, but thousands of trash bags have been filled with roadside litter and trash from illegal dumps during this year’s Keep Mercer Clean campaign.

PRINCETON — A combination of COVID-19, a desire to leave big cities, a desire to retire and a greater desire to work from home have fueled a greater desire for homes in Mercer County and other parts of southern West Virginia.

BLUEFIELD — A drop in the number or residents wanting COVID vaccinations has forced the Mercer County Health Department to cut its vaccination clinic days from three days a week to two and to use expanded hours one of those days to serve people after work.

BLUEFIELD — The Mercer County Health Department’s needle exchange program has been offered since September 2019 and continues, but new legislation will “cripple” some programs and possibly end others.

BLUEFIELD — A pandemic made 2020 a rough year for the tourism industry, but spring weather has arrived and tourists eager for outdoor recreation are coming back to Mercer County and the surrounding region.

GREEN VALLEY — The Mercer County Board of Health made a decision Wednesday to revamp the Mercer County Health Department's web site.

PRINCETON — Mercer County’s superintendent of schools announced Tuesday her upcoming retirement after 47 years in the school system with 32 of those years in the administration of Mercer County Schools. Born in Mercer County, Superintendent Deborah Akers started her career as an elementary s…

BLUEFIELD — The Chamber of Commerce of the two Virginias is planning to have a Cole Chevy Mountain Festival in Bluefield this year.

PRINCETON — When burglaries and break-ins occur and property is stolen, law enforcement tries to track down the stolen goods by inquiring at pawn shops and other places where it could be sold; a free computer database could makes this process easier for both business owners and investigators.

TAZEWELL, Va. — Spring is here, the air is getting warmer, flowers are blooming and hungry bears fresh from their winter hibernation are awake and sniffing around for their breakfasts.

PRINCETON — Mercer County Schools will receive $9.6 million in state funding needed to construct a new elementary school which will replace the aging schools in Brushfork and Bluewell.

BLUEFIELD —Bluefield State College remains on track for two historic projects to be completed this year, moving its health sciences programs into a residential setting in the former Bluefield Regional Medical Center and providing its first on-campus student housing in more than 50 years.

CHARLESTON —Appalachian Power, along withWheelingPower,have submitted Expanded Net Energy Cost (ENEC) and Vegetation Management Program (VMP) filings to the Public Service Commission of West Virginia (PSC) that would raise residential customer rates by about 6 percent.

Princeton Senior High School announces the following students to their third quarter honor roll for the 2020/2021 school year:

PRINCETON — A former forestry laboratory that was opened with President Kennedy’s help in the early 1960s now has tenants using its many offices and plenty of space for more.

CHARLESTON — After Gov. Jim Justice blasted House members in general and House Speaker Roger Hanshaw in particular at a noon news conference Friday on tabling his Justice 4 All personal income tax elimination plan, the House decided to vote on it after all later in the afternoon, dealing Jus…

ATHENS—Concord University will hold a Peace Pole dedication and Unity March on April 20. The event is open to the public. Participants will gather—socially distanced and masked—in front of the Jerry and Jean Beasley Student Center beginning at 3 p.m. and will then march to the Peace Pole sit…

PRINCETON — Mercer County 911 has all the computers and high-tech fixtures expected at a modern dispatch center, but gold balloons, party streamers and some nearby treats give the facility some festive atmosphere for National Telecommunicators Week.

PRINCETON — Parents and other fans getting upset at school basketball or football games is not uncommon, but increasing reports about spectators cursing and threatening school officials or other fans prompted Mercer County’s prosecuting attorney, school officials and law enforcement agencies…

PRINCETON — Twirling blue and silver pinwheels are things that delight children, but they’re also a way of reminding adults that not all childhoods are loving and carefree.

PRINCETON — During the monthly meeting of the Princeton City Council Monday night, there were several indicators that long-delayed reopenings may soon come to fruition.

CHARLESTON — Anglers looking for an exciting fishing adventure in West Virginia will have opportunities to catch tiger trout this spring. Recently, Gov. Jim Justice announced that the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) will stock this unique sport fish in lakes and streams a…

ATHENS — In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Athens-Concord Town Social Committee announced recently the cancellation of the event for 2021.

PRINCETON — Despite the pandemic, Mercer County has been experiencing considerable growth, and local leaders are optimistic about what is to come.

PRINCETON — More than 50 percent of the population of Mercer County now has at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, but many residents are still reluctant to participate.

BLUEFIELD — Two more COVID-19 related deaths have been reported in Mercer County.

CHARLESTON — Negotiations on trying to reach a compromise on a proposed plan to eliminate the personal income tax in the state are ongoing, but so far all issues have not been resolved.

CHARLESTON — Part of the West Virginia State Senate’s plan to help offset the revenue loss from eliminating the personal property tax is to use taxes raised through a sales tax on marijuana, which could be legalized for recreational purposes if the federal government decriminalizes it.

PRINCETON — Outside the early spring air was warm, but inside the building’s cool interior was a theater showing all the signs of coming back to life.

PRINCETON — Three incumbents and three newcomers will comprise the field for the June 1 Princeton City Council ward election.

CHARLESTON — Area residents could see another increase in their power bills.

ATHENS — Beloved author Louisa May Alcott will be brought to life in a living history performance by Concord University senior, Hannah Gates, on Thursday, April 8 at 7 p.m.  as a part of Concord University’s “The Little Women Project,” a series of performances and presentations celebrating t…

BLUEFIELD — A new transit center that will give commuters a safe, dry and well-lit place where they can wait for buses taking them to work, errands and home was celebrated Monday when West Virginia’s governor joined other dignitaries for a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony.

BLUEFIELD — State officials on Wednesday identified another two previously unreported COVID-19 deaths in Mercer County. In neighboring McDowell County, the health department also confirmed a new virus-related death Wednesday.

PRINCETON — A round of COVID-19 vaccinations this month for students ages 16 and up and their parents is be readied at a Mercer County clinic.

PRINCETON — A Mercer County man is facing a felony threats of terrorist acts charge after allegedly threatening deputies in another county and threatening to blow up a store in Virginia.