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THEREGISTER HERALDWednesday, August 14, 2013 Beckley, West Virginia ◆ Single copy: 75 cents

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WEATHER

Championship celebration

By Mannix PorterfieldREGISTER-HERALD REPORTER

CHARLESTON — There may benothing new under the sun, and thatincludes crimes against children, butfor some in the Women’s Caucus ofthe House of Delegates, accounts pro-vided by state troopers of abuse andneglect have been stark revelations.

The special committee working intandem with monthly legislative in-terims will learn even more Tuesdaywhen State Police Lt. Reggie Patter-son, the agency’s recruitment coordi-nator, addresses the panel.

“I think they’re learning thingsthey didn’t know,” Delegate LindaPhillips, D-Wyoming, says of thewomen serving on the Select Commit-tee of Child Abuse and Neglect.

“We were awarethat it is a huge prob-lem.”

At various times inthe past, authoritieshave appeared beforethe Crimes AgainstChildren Unit or theCommittee on Chil-dren, Juveniles andOther Issues, orHealth and HumanResources.

“So, there havebeen lots of commit-tees that have theState Police addressthem,” Phillips said.

“They have hadsome inkling but itmight have been ashort, one-hour meet-ing and it was over.And you get some in-formation but not in-formation like we’regetting now. It wasnot in depth.”

Now, with the Women’s Caucus al-lowed to conduct meetings through-out the interims session, it can serveas a clearinghouse of sorts for all da-ta that will be applied to legislationfor the 2014 session, Phillips pointedout.

“Right now, we’re getting informa-tion and it’s all kind of mind-bog-gling, I think,” she said.

By November, the caucus hopes tohave sufficient data to bring into fo-cus where it wants to go with possiblecorrective legislation.

“I know the first lady (JoanneTomblin) is interested,” Phillips said.

“When her schedule permits, she isgoing to attend the meetings. I don’tknow if she will address the caucus,but she plans to be there and willhave questions. She is totally, 100percent in support of this whole en-deavor. We have asked the governor’soffice to send someone to attend eachmeeting.”

Foggy view

F. BRIAN FERGUSON/THE REGISTER-HERALD

Brian Scott, of Beckley, captures the beauty of the New River National Riv-er from the main overlook at Grandview on a stormy Tuesday afternoon.

By Mannix PorterfieldREGISTER-HERALD REPORTER

The last thing many an unwantedmutt ever saw in this world was theinside of a gas chamber.

Now, the practice of putting an an-imal down with the use of gas is al-most history in West Virginia,thanks to a $3,000 grant given theRaleigh County Animal Shelter bythe Humane Society of the UnitedStates.

In fact, says the organization’sstate director, Summer Wyatt, theonly county that still operates a gas

chamber is Wyoming.Back in 2009, in a move launched

by the HSUS, the state Legislatureoutlawed the use of gas chamber asa means to euthanize stray animals,but a few that still relied on thatmethod were grandfathered in.

With a financial assist from theHSUS, the Beckley facility now eu-thanizes animals only via a chemicalinjection, Wyatt explained.

“They hardly ever euthanize atall,” she said.

“They have a wonderful rescueand adoption program, working withOperation Underdog. They do just a

miraculous job of getting these ani-mals out and adopted, so that theireuthanasia rate is next to nothing.”

Wyatt said the removal of the gaschamber opens up additional operat-ing space for the facility.

“It also removes the persona thatthey gas animals, which theyhaven’t been doing for some time,”she said.

Shelter Director Pam Romansicsaid the gas chamber hasn’t beenused in the year she has workedthere.

TroopersprovidesoberingtestimonyChild abuse, neglectstats ‘mind-boggling’

2013Legislature

Grant helps shelter shut gas chamber

Phillips

See SHELTER, 13A

See CAUCUS, 13A

By Cody NeffREGISTER-HERALD REPORTER

Has someone robbed me? Whywould someone do this? Do I callthe police or security?

All of these questions racedthrough Gary Chrislip’s mind ashe walked to his car at the end ofthe 2013 Boy Scout Jamboree.

Chrislip, a resident of Con-necticut, looked at the garbagebag that had been duct-taped tohis passenger side window andjust knew that someone hadbusted the glass.

“My heart sank,” Chrislip said.“I got to feeling bad and justthrew my bags in my trunk. Itold myself, ‘I’m just going to sitdown here in the car and get mythoughts together.’

Scouts’ gooddeed keepsConn. man’scar high, dry

See GOOD DEED, 13A

RICK BARBERO/THE REGISTER-HERALD

The West Virginia Miners hold up the trophy Tuesday night after winning the 2013 Prospect League Championship gameagainst the Quincy, Ill., Gems in extra innings. See related editorial on Page 4A and story with photos on Page 3B.

23-inch CyanMagentaYellowBlackR-H Page 13A

FromPageOne 13ATHE REGISTER-HERALD

Wednesday, August 14, 2013www.register-herald.com

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“I never wanted to useit, had no desire to useit,” she said.

In addition, the grantwill allow the shelter topurchase some thingsintended to enrich thelives of animals keptthere.

Romansic said oneproject in mind entailssome kennels out backto retain the animalsduring routine cleaning.

“We’ve got somemakeshift kennels,”

she said.“We want to set up

something so we can ac-tually put them in whilewe’re cleaning so theycan get some fresh airand don’t have to worryabout them getting outand getting hold of eachother. We’re waiting onestimates from the fenc-ing company. That’s mygame plan.”

Using a chemical in-jection removes the ele-ment of cruelty attachedto the gas chamber, shesaid.

“Chemical euthanasiais really the acceptedform in modern day

shelters or veterinarymedicine as opposed togas chambers,” the statedirector said.

“We in West Virginiaare really proud that wehave eliminated all thegas chambers exceptone. Even though eu-thanasia is a terriblething, in any way, in anycapacity, especially withthe millions of animalsbeing euthanized, theleast we can do for themis to euthanize them hu-manely and not makethem suffer in those lastminutes.”

Wyatt said her organi-zation hopes to work

with the WyomingCounty shelter to re-move the last bastion ofeuthanasia by gas.

Raleigh County is oneof the few animal shel-ters where feral cats al-so are accepted.

“They have a wonder-ful interactive cat roomwhere cats can live in amore normal habitatand move around andplay, which contributesto adoption, when peoplecan see how cats wouldnormally live and playand be themselves,rather than just being ina small cage, looking atthem,” she added.

SHELTERContinued from 1A

“I glanced over in thepassenger seat and see alittle piece of cardboardthat said ‘You left thewindow open so we triedto help. BSA was here.’They didn’t sign it. I’mthinking, ‘I left my win-dow open? Well, it’s dryin here. This is great!’and I started to feel bet-ter. I looked in my glove-box and console andeverything was where Ihad left it.”

People here firstlearned of the good deedin a posting on a site foradult Scout leaders,blog.scoutingmagazine.com.

Chrislip said it was al-so a surprise that no onehad messed with the carbefore the Scouts camealong, he added.

“I think that says a lotabout the people aroundin West Virginia,” hesaid. “Anyone could havecome along and puncheda hole in the bag andtaken everything. I doremember people beingreally helpful when Ilived in West Virginia.My car would breakdown and people wouldstop and ask if theycould help. Everyone’salways willing to helpeveryone out.”

Gary had been the for-tunate recipient of the

Boy Scouts’ desire tohelp. After being in-volved with the BoyScouts of America forover 45 years, Gary sayshe was used to Scouts do-ing all they can to help.

“It was a very wonder-

ful and kind thing to do,”Chrislip said. “My carwould have been ruinedwith all of the rain thatwe had been getting.These Scouts made al-most two rounds withthe duct tape on the bag

to make sure that it wassealed. They really wentbeyond the call of duty.That’s just the wayScouts do things,though.”

— E-mail: cneff@register-herald.com

GOOD DEEDContinued from 1A

The Women’s Caucusnumbers 21, and it hasextended an invitation toSen. Donna Boley, R-Pleasants, the lone fe-male in the Senate, tojoin its ranks.

Phillips pointed out theWomen’s Caucus repre-

sents one-fifth of theHouse membership, anumber that cannot beignored.

With only one meetingheld so far, Phillips saidmen serving in the Househave shown an interestin the committee’s toil.

“I think they realizethis is something thatneeds to be addressedand changes are needed,”she said.

“Male staff membersthat we have are verymuch concerned andwant to make some goodchanges in the laws.”

In addition, SenateMajority Leader JohnUnger, D-Berkeley, wholed his chamber this yearinto forming the newChildren and PovertyCommittee, and the pas-sage of the “Feed toAchieve” law, is working

in tandem with the cau-cus on issues involvingchildren, with the currentfocus on homelessness.

With so many commit-tees involved in theprocess, Phillips said oneproposal, or several,should be offered whenlawmakers gather inJanuary to start the 2014session.

— E-mail: mannix@register-herald.com

CAUCUSContinued from 1A

SUBMITTED PHOTO

This cardboard sign was left on the passenger seat of Gary Chrislip’s car during the2013 Boy Scout Jamboree. Chrislip, a resident of Connecticut, found a garbage bag hadbeen duct-taped to his partly opened passenger side window. He first thought someonehad busted the glass but soon realized a Scout had done a good deed and kept the in-side of his car from getting soaked by torential rains that fell during the recent Jamboree.

CHARLESTON (AP)— The West Virginiachapter of the AmericanCivil Liberties Union’ssays the Division of Cor-rections isn’t protectingthe privacy of inmates’medical information, andit’s suing to demand bet-ter training of correction-al officers.

The lawsuit allegesthat a guard at the Beck-ley Correctional Centertold other officers and in-mates that one prisonerhad HIV. The inmate,identified only as JohnDoe in the KanawhaCounty Circuit Courtlawsuit, was then ha-rassed by the officersand other inmates.

The man has been in-carcerated since 1999and tested positive in2009 while at the Beckleyprison’s substance abusetreatment center.

ACLU lawyer SarahRogers tells theCharleston Gazette thatthe state lacks effectivepolicies to ensure that in-mates’ medical informa-tion is kept private.

“There’s a long historyof discrimination,” shesaid. “From what we’veseen, there are not effec-tive policies to make surethat employees at differ-ent facilities know thelaws and what the re-sponsibilities are to pro-tect privacy.”

But Corrections Com-missioner Jim Ruben-stein says all employeesare adequately trained inconfidentiality issuesduring a 40-hour orienta-tion that covers “criticalpolicy directives.”

“We have a policy thatdeals with confidentialityof information and re-lease of information,” hesaid, “and employeeswhen they review the pol-icy also sign a form ac-

knowledging they’ve readand understand it.”

The lawsuit says the fe-male guard took JohnDoe to a medical appoint-ment in Charleston inAugust 2011 and that sheinsisted on being in theexamining room despitethe inmate’s protests.The lawsuit says he waswaiting to be transferredto a work release centerand contends that hewasn’t a flight risk anddidn’t need to be accom-panied.

The lawsuit notes thathe was not handcuffedduring the drive and rodein the front seat.

It says the officerpledged to keep the med-ical information privatebut did not, insteadtelling other guards to becareful around him.

“Mr. Doe had managedto keep his diagnoses con-fidential until that pointand had never had con-flict with other inmatesin the past,” the com-plaint says. Since then,the inmate has beenmoved to three facilities,and each time, staff andinmates already knew hewas HIV-positive.

ACLU sues stateagency over inmatemedical information

A teenager reportedlydied Tuesday after arafting accident on theLower New River at theKeeney Rapids.

The teen was pulledfrom the river and givenCPR until an ambu-lance arrived to trans-port the victim toPlateau Medical Center,

according to informa-tion from Robin Snyder

of the National ParkService. The youth waslater pronounced dead.

NPS Rangers are in-vestigating the inci-dent.

Additional detailswere not available as ofpress time.

Teenager dies in raftingaccident on New River

“We have a policythat deals withconfidentialityof informationand release of

information andemployees whenthey review thepolicy also signa form acknowl-edging they’ve

read andunderstand it.”

JIM RUBENSTEIN,corrections commissioner