Bend-area firefighters indicted for arson; Kim Blake not among them

The daughter of Mason County’s emergency services director has not been indicted for her alleged role in a series of Bend-area arsons. However, two of her fellow volunteer firefighters and apparent co-conspirators have.

On Wednesday, the Mason County grand jury returned indictments against 52 people. Among those indicted were Jamar Juel Cuthbertson, and Brent Donavan Kapp.

Both Cuthbertson, 19, of Mason, and Kapp, 20, of West Columbia, were arrested and charged on January 11 with one count, and two counts of first degree arson, respectively. According to court records, their arrests stemmed from the state Fire Marshal’s Office investigation into the men deliberately setting fires so as to later respond them as firefighters.

Prior to their arrests, Cuthbertson was a member of the New Haven Volunteer Fire Department, and Kapp was a member of Mason’s volunteer squad.

According to court records, Cuthbertson was involved in setting fire to an outbuilding at 16698 Ohio River Road near West Columbia on September 29. The Fire Marshal’s investigation also linked Kapp to this fire.

About two weeks later on October 15, Kapp was involved in another alleged arson. Only this time, at an abandoned trailer at 286 Front Street in Mason.

Also implicated in the Fire Marshal’s investigation was Kimberly Sue Blake, daughter of Mason County Office of Emergency Services/911 Director Chuck Blake. Like Kapp, Kim Blake, 24, was a member of the Mason volunteer firefighter.

Blake’s brother, Chuck II, is the department’s chief.

According to court records, Blake and Kapp were driving around Front Street and allegedly set fire to the trailer because they “were bored and wanted something to do.” About 10-15 minutes prior to the fire being reported, Kapp and Blake were seen by Sgt. Woolard of the Mason Police Department pulling into in the fire station in a green Pontiac Sunfire.

Though the cases against Cuthbertson and Kapp were bound over to the grand jury, the case against Blake was dismissed on March 3. According to court records, Mason County Prosecutor Damon Morgan made the motion following the failure of Jason Baltic, assistant state Fire Marshal to testify at Blake’s preliminary hearing.

A subpona was apparently issued for Baltic to testify, but never served on him.

Subsequent to her arrest, Blake, who worked in the county 911 center as a dispatcher, was placed on paid administrative leave. According to records provided by the commission, she earned a salary of $23,952 last year.

During a special meeting held March 10, the commission took up the issue of reinstating Blake. However, she surprised everyone by tendering her resignation.

Commission President Rick Handley was quoted in the Point Pleasant Register saying that the commission would be conducting "a search of its records to see if Blake is due any back pay." Handley is seeking the Democratic nomination for a third term as commissioner.

Following the dismissal of the charges against Blake, Morgan said a case could still be presented against her during a future meeting of the grand jury. It was not immediately clear if Morgan declined to present Blake to the grand jury during this term, or if they declined to return a true bill against her.

In any event, Cuthbertson and Kapp, like all those indicted, are scheduled to be back in circuit court Wednesday, May 14 beginning at 9 a.m. to answer to the charges against them. Both Cuthbertson and Kapp are free on $5,000 and $10,000 bond, respectively.

Below, is a complete list of all 52 people indicted by the Mason County grand jury during its May term:

Anthony Darrell Black, 20, Point Pleasant – 2 counts breaking and entering, fourth degree arson, conspiracy, 2 counts grand larceny. Black is also charged separately with grand larceny, conspiracy and destruction of property; Billy Joe Bowman, 31, Point Pleasant –breaking and entering, grand larceny and conspiracy; David Allan Bowman, 31, Point Pleasant – breaking and entering, grand larceny and conspiracy; Timothy Dale Clagg, 29, Lesage – grand larceny, fraudulent scheme and conspiracy; Russell Lee Clinton, 36, Buffalo – grand larceny, fraudulent scheme and conspiracy; Gary Wayne Cochran, 37, Bancroft – grand larceny, fraudulent scheme, conspiracy; Harold Lee Cochran, 38, Buffalo – grand larceny, fraudulent scheme and conspiracy. Harold Cochran is also charged separately with burglary, battery and destruction of property; Christopher John Corbin, 29, Point Pleasant – 2 counts breaking and entering, fourth degree arson, conspiracy and 2 counts grand larceny; Michael Lee Craig, 30, Letart – grand larceny, conspiracy and aid in concealing stolen goods; Jamar Juel Cutherbertson a/k/a J. J. Cuthbertson, 19, Mason – first degree arson and conspiracy; Eli Wayne Freeland, 20, Pomeroy, Ohio – robbery in the first degree and conspiracy; David Lee Gibbs, 38, Point Pleasant –third or subsequent offense DUI, 2 counts third or subsequent offense driving on revoked-DUI, improper registration and no proof of insurance; Jonathan Franklin Gibbs, 23, West Columbia – 3 counts grand larceny; Charles Wesley Hazlett, 22, Point Pleasant – 2 counts possession of controlled substance with intent to deliver and conspiracy; Lindsey Michelle Hope, 24, Leon – 4 counts possession of a controlled substance and conspiracy; Larry Thomas Huffman, 44, Letart – second offense DUI, third or subsequent offense driving on revoked-DUI, improper registration and no proof of insurance. Huffman is also separately charged with 2 counts of burglary, domestic battery, 2 counts of destruction of property and petit larceny; Everett Albert Hunter, 31, Point Pleasant – failure to appear; Joey Keith Jeffrey, 31, Hurricane – domestic battery and 8 counts maliciously killing and animal; Donald Eugene Johnson II, 24, Mason – burglary and grand larceny; Keith Matthew Johnson, 41, Culloden – breaking and entering and petit larceny; Anthony Levi Jones, 27, Mason – 3 counts wanton endangerment, 3 counts battery and 2 counts assault; Brent Donavan Kapp, 20, West Columbia – first degree arson and conspiracy. Kapp is also charged separately with three counts of first degree arson and conspiracy; Ruth Ann Kerns, 34, Buffalo – grand larceny, fraudulent scheme and conspiracy; Dennis D. Knopp, 48, Leon – 11 counts first degree sexual assault, 8 counts second degree sexual assault, 8 counts third degree sexual assault, 13 counts sexual abuse by a parent, 13 counts incest, 6 counts sexual abuse by a custodian and 6 counts child abuse resulting in bodily injury; Rebecca D. Leon, 19, Point Pleasant – first degree robbery and conspiracy; Andrew Jesse Lewis, 22, Gallipolis Ferry – 4 counts of forgery and 4 counts uttering; Melissa Mae Lynn McCarty, 25, Point Pleasant – 38 counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver; Harry Donald Norris, 19, Pliny – burglary, grand larceny and conspiracy; David A. Nott, 45, Point Pleasant – 3 counts delivery of a controlled substance; Michael Shawn Ohlinger, 43, Point Pleasant – malicious assault and domestic battery; Larry Sheridon Riffle II, 28, Hartford – first degree robbery and conspiracy; Brian Christopher Roush, 25, New Haven – grand larceny, conspiracy and aid in concealing stolen goods; Michael Allen Russell, 21, Mason – first degree robbery and conspiracy; Lewis Matthew Sayre, 35, Henderson – second offense domestic battery, first degree sexual abuse, burglary, 2 counts second offense domestic battery, battery, destruction of property and 2 counts second offense battery on an officer; Rex Allen Sayre, 50, Point Pleasant – 4 counts possession of a controlled substance and conspiracy; Sandra Yvonne Sayre, 45, Point Pleasant – grand larceny, fraudulent scheme and conspiracy; William Anthony Sherman, 53, Gallipolis, Ohio – 2 counts possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and conspiracy; Mary Clydie Sigman, 35, Buffalo – 4 counts possession of a controlled substance and conspiracy; Debra Elaine Smith, 53, Bidwell, Ohio – possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver; Brandon Edward Spencer, 26, Point Pleasant – grand larceny, conspiracy and destruction of property; Robert Lewis Stewart, 45, Southside – delivery of a controlled substance; Kurtis Swisher, 19, Gallipolis Ferry – burglary, grand larceny and conspiracy; Anthony Edward Tomblin, 24, Huntington – grand larceny, fraudulent scheme and conspiracy; Staci Renee Vance, 36, Point Pleasant – 3 counts vehicle breaking and entering, 3 counts second offense petit larceny; Justin Lee Wamsley, 21, Mason – breaking and entering, petit larceny and battery on an officer; Curtis Leroy Ward, 36, New Haven – grand larceny, conspiracy and aid in concealing stolen goods; Tonie Marie Ward, 33, Mason – 2 counts burglary, 3 counts vehicle breaking and entering and 3 counts petit larceny; David Lee White, 49, Point Pleasant – 4 counts possession of a controlled substance and conspiracy; James Frank Will a/k/a Johnny Will, 26, Point Pleasant – Possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and conspiracy; Carry I. Wills, 23, Point Pleasant – first degree robbery and conspiracy; Cassandra Dawn Windsor, 21, Pomeroy, Ohio – first degree robbery and conspiracy; Rufus Anthony Wright Jr., 35, Point Pleasant – 2 counts possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and conspiracy.

Photo: The state Fire Marshal's Office alleges this abandoned trailer on Front Street in Mason was deliberately torched by volunteer firefighters Brent Kapp and Kim Blake in October 2007. The Fire Marshal's investigation also implicated Jamer Cuthbertson, and Kapp in setting fire to another structure two weeks prior. Though both Kapp and Cuthbertson were indicted Wednesday by the Mason grand jury for arson, Blake, daughter of Mason County 911 director, Chuck Blake, was not.

Musgrave's behavior cited in two other Bar complaints

CHARLESTON - Along with disciplining him in Eshenaur case, the state Bar Association ordered Raymond G. Musgrave to pay one client $5, and warned him about his lack of communication with another.

Along with the one filed in 1988 by the Eshenaur family, Musgrave has 10 other complaints in his disciplinary file. Though the Eshenaur complaint is the only one where a formal statement of charges was brought, the Office of Disciplinary Counsel felt Musgrave's actions in Dana Jones' and Vickie Smith's cases were enough to issue a mild rebuke.

For more on this article, go to The West Virginia Record.

Musgrave previously sanctioned over '79 plane crash settlement

CHARLESTON - Failing to return a settlement check is not the only time a Point Pleasant attorney has mishandled legal matters involving a physician. Nearly 20 years ago, Raymond G. Musgrave had to answer for "gross incompetency" in settling the estate of a doctor and his wife who died in the worst single-airplane crash in American history.

On April 4, the Lawyer Disciplinary Board, the prosecutorial arm of the state Bar Association, filed a formal state of charges against Musgrave with the state Supreme Court. In its statement, the Board found probable cause that Musgrave violated at least two Rules of Professional Conduct in not turning over $15,000 awarded to Dr. Danny R. Westmoreland in 2004. The statement of charges, records show, came almost three years to the day Westmoreland filed his complaint with Musgrave with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, the Bar's investigative arm.

The Bar took three years to investigate a complaint filed against Musgrave in 1988 by the family members of Dr. Roy and Marian E. Eshenaur. The family accused Musgrave of "gross incompetency" in not properly settling the Eshenaur's estates nine years after they died in a 1979 plane crash in Chicago. In 1991, the Bar closed its investigation into the Eshenaur family's complaint finding merit to their allegations.

Alcohol played an apparent role in Musgrave's conduct as the Bar ordered Musgrave to abstain from consuming it, and into recovery treatment.

For more on this story, go to The West Virginia Record.

Photo: An amateur picture of American Airlines Flight 191 taken moments before it crashed at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on May 25, 1979 killing all 271 passengers and crew members aboard, includingMason County residents Dr. Roy and Marian E. Eshenaur

How not to prevent a recession

by William L. Anderson

I recently heard a radio interview with a prominent economist who was defending Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's moves to shore up the markets on Wall Street. Bernanke, the economist said with emphasis, had spent years studying the "mistakes" of the Fed during the Great Depression and was not going to repeat the "errors" that the Fed directors committed from 1930 to 1933.

The "errors" of which the economist spoke were outlined by the late Milton Friedman both in his 1963 A Monetary History of the United States (written with Anna Schwartz) and his popular Free to Choose (with Rose Friedman), published in 1979. According to Friedman and his coauthors, the economic collapse that occurred in the United States from 1930 to 1933 came about because the Federal Reserve System failed to act in the face of bank failures and banking panics, leading to a massive contraction in the amount of money in circulation, which ultimately led to the calamity.

Friedman made his arguments as a means to counteract the common explanation of the Great Depression — that it was the result of the "internal contradictions" of capitalism. The typical explanation, popularized by John Kenneth Galbraith as well as the gaggle of Keynesians that proliferated in US universities, was that the capitalist system tends toward "underconsumption" or its evil twin, "overproduction."

(Galbraith held that underconsumption occurred because the income "gap" between the wealthy and poor grew during the 1920s — another "natural" outcome of capitalism — while John Maynard Keynes and his followers held that private investment spending was volatile because of the "animal spirits" of investors. The system had a built-in, self-multiplying, downward spiral whenever private investors were unwilling to throw more money into the economy.)

Those who blamed the Great Depression on the "failures" of the free market were all too happy to come up with their own "solutions," including attempts to cartelize the entire US economy or to force up wages via increased minimum-wage legislation or through the endorsement of expanding labor unions. Some, like Galbraith, went further and advocated out-and-out socialism and central economic planning. The free-market system, they have argued, is too inherently unstable to be left to its own devices. (This is the same argument that Paul Krugman makes twice a week from his perch on the New York Times op-ed page)

Thus, Friedman was seeking not only to explain why he believed the Great Depression occurred, but he also was trying to defend the free-market system, or at least was trying to defend most of the free market system. There was one portion of the system that was prone to failure, he argued, and that was the monetary system.

For more on this article, go to the Ludwig von Mises Institute's Website

Musgrave facing Bar disciplinary action

CHARLESTON - A Point Pleasant attorney faces possible disciplinary action for his mishandling of a settlement awarded to a Mason County physician in a 2001 civil case.

On March 11, the Lawyer Disciplinary Board, the prosecutorial arm of the state Bar Association, notified Raymond G. Musgrave of its intention to file a formal statement of charges against him with the state Supreme Court. Three days earlier the Board's investigative panel found probable cause that Musgrave violated at least two Rules of Professional Conduct in his handling of a settlement awarded to Mason physician Dr. Danny R. Westmoreland.

For more on this article, go to The West Virginia Record.

As nation observes Sunshine Week, open government adovcates report a mixed bag

By A. Matthew Deal and Emilie Yam, SPLC staff writers

Washington, D.C. - In a new, $450 million, state-of-the-art museum of news in Washington, D.C., media professionals, government officials and open-government advocates gathered on March 14 at the 10th annual National Freedom of Information Day Conference to discuss recent changes to the Freedom of Information Act and the importance of sunshine laws to journalists.

The conference was an early kick-off for Sunshine Week, an event that educates the public about open government, which began March 17 and runs through March 21. The week-long observance is sponsored by the American Society of Newspaper Editors.

Sunshine Week often features events like the Newseum's FOI Day to promote awareness among journalists and policymakers on issues concerning public access to information. These events serve as a way to educate journalists on recent changes and trends that affect their ability to get records from public institutions.

Sunshine Week focuses not only on the federal Freedom of Information Act but also on other topics surrounding open government, such as state open-records laws. These laws are the functional equivalents of the federal Freedom of Information Act for state public institutions, and they are usually more relevant for student journalists reporting on issues involving their high schools or universities.

Recent examples of both progress and setbacks to open government are prevalent.

In Connecticut, a commission decided Feb. 13 that the Yale University Police Department was performing a public function under state law, and that the public should have access to its records. In Virginia, the General Assembly on Feb. 26 passed a bill restricting the disclosure of information about donors to three public universities, much to the chagrin of open-government advocates. In Pennsylvania, a new law was signed Feb. 14 that updated the state's open records laws, informally regarded as one of the worst in the nation.

For better or worse, sunshine and access to information are news these days.

In December, Congress passed and President Bush signed a bill updating the federal FOI law for the first time in more than a decade. Corinna Zarek, FOI Service Center director for the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press, said two of the biggest changes are the addition of penalties for agencies that take too long to respond to requests and the creation of an agency to mediate disputes when FOIA requests are denied. At FOI Day, however, some open-government advocates voiced concern over how well the law will be implemented.

In the spirit of Sunshine Week, the Student Press Law Center each day will feature stories devoted to open-government issues. We have conducted several open-records tests to see how easily we could access information such as police incident reports at public and private universities, reimbursement records for high school superintendents, and student government association minutes and annual budgets.

We hope student journalists can take this collection of information and use it to enhance the quality of reporting at their institutions, learning from our experiences and drawing from the most effective strategies that we have learned through this process.

To learn more on open-government initiatives, go to SPLC's Website, or Sunshineweek.org.

Eliot Spitzer's glass jaw...and house

by William Anderson

Once in a while, an event occurs that even people who avoid the news cannot avoid, and it seems that New York’s still-governor (at this writing on Wednesday) Eliot Spitzer has become the center of the world. Perhaps that is fitting, given that Spitzer is someone who seems to believe that the world revolves around him, and while that is not true, nonetheless he has managed to put himself in a position where the news about him is at the center of the news cycle.

A few years ago, a book publisher approached me to see if I was interested in writing a book about Spitzer, who at the time was preparing to launch a bid for the New York governorship from his post as New York’s attorney general. The publisher knew that I despised Spitzer, knowing that I referred to him as "Mr. Evil," a moniker that he and I both thought to be fitting.

However, while I would have loved to have had an opportunity to go after Spitzer, I also knew I did not have the time and resources to devote to writing something credible. There also was another factor; fear for my own safety.

Eliot Spitzer is a bully, but more important, a bully with a badge, a man who has no scruples, no conscience, and not a shred of human decency.

Here is a man who openly threatened journalists, used his position as a prosecutor to destroy other people, and had the press covering his backside. He would not have hesitated to go after me or members of my family, and a ruthless man like him who at that time did not have to stay within the bounds of the law would have done whatever it took, but he would have done it, had he perceived even the slightest threat to his own political ambitions.

For more on this op/ed piece, go to LewRockwell.com.

Nothing is sacred on the campaign trial anymore

The YouTube Election
by Steve Greenhut

After speaking to a group of veterans in South Carolina last April as part of his "Straight Talk Express," Sen. John McCain was asked by an audience member when the United States would send an "airmail message to Tehran." The senator stopped for a moment, then reminded the audience of "an old Beach Boys song, 'Bomb Iran.'" Bomb, bomb, bomb … bomb, bomb Iran. He sang those words to the tune of "Barbara Ann."

No doubt, McCain, the eventual 2008 Republican presidential nominee, was just trying to be funny (albeit in a stupid way for a man who hopes to one day have his finger on the nuclear trigger) after being asked a provocative question, but long gone are the days when a misstatement or joke will fade into oblivion. The video cameras were rolling, the liberal group MoveOn.org began running ads using the clip, and anyone with a computer can still watch the senator sing that silly song by going to YouTube.com and typing in "McCain" and "Bomb Iran."

This is, indeed, the first YouTube election, in which the voting public need not wait for the newspaper, TV news shows or even the traditional Web sites for information about the candidates. There's no need to read what a politician said during a campaign stop. There's no need to rush home from work to watch the network news coverage, or to catch the latest debate or sit through those annoying talking-head cable shows, where guests hector each other.

One need only go to YouTube to watch the highlights or even replay entire broadcasts. The whole campaign is at your fingertips, and the implications are astounding.

For more on this op/ed piece, go to LewRockwell.com.

Hooray for Falling Housing Prices

This article originally appeared on the March 6 LewRockwell.com blog.

by Lew Rockwell

Robert Samuelson is correct about this: housing prices will have to fall dramatically to clear the market, and that is good news for buyers. But here is what he does not take into account: there are far too many homeowners because the federal government has subsidized homeownership since the New Deal. In a market economy, there would be more scope for the landlord, and more people would rent.

NB: being able to keep some of your own money--the mortgage tax deduction--is not a subsidy. But the Federal Reserve's lowering of interest rates, and the actions of such fascist agencies as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and such socialist agencies as the FHA and VA, have wasted huge amounts of wealth by directing it into a consumption good masquerading as an investment.

A recession or depression always brings clarity; the malinvestments of the boom are revealed for the busts they are. That includes a huge number of now-overpriced houses and condos. Once prices fall enough, we have a chance for more rationality in housing. But in true FDR, Depression-lengthening, style, the feds and the Fed are trying to prevent price declines. (Thanks to Joe Schembrie.)

Personal injury suit against Mason school board settled

Despite being named in two abuse and neglect lawsuits, the Mason County Board of Education recently settled a two-year old personal injury suit which allegedly occurred at the Board's central office.

On March 4, the Board agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by Charles and Mitzi Spangler of Ashton. In their suit, the Spanglers allege that Mitzi sustained injuries on Dec. 14, 2004, when waiting to see Larry A. Parsons, superintendent of Mason County Schools, she was led into a darkened room by a Board employee, and fell as a result of an uneven floor.

The suit named Parsons and Board President Michael "Micky" Cottrill as co-defendants. According to court records, the suit was filed on July 24, 2006, and slated for trial next month.

The Spangler's attorney, Matthew C. Clark, with the Point Pleasant law firm of Kayser, Lane and Clark, confirmed that the parties agreed to reach an out-of-court settlement. Though the final order was still awaiting Mason Circuit Judge David W. Nibert's signature, the case is officially over, Clark said.