Wilkesville man reported missing

Virgil Cottrill

MACARTHUR – The Vinton County Sheriff’s Office has issued a missing person advisory for Virgil Cottrill, 83, of Wilkesville who reportedly left his home at 4 a.m. on Saturday to see a relative but didn’t arrive.

Cottrill has gray hair, blue eyes and is 6 feet 2 inches tall and was last seen driving a maroon Ford F150 pickup truck with a cap on the bed.

Anyone with information regarding Cottrill’s whereabouts is asked to contact the sheriff’s office, 740-596-524 or dial 911.

Fracking Wastewater Pits Draw Fine for Toxic Releases

Facility in Utah doubles in size without a proper permit for emissions of volatile organic compounds, including benzene, toluene and xylene.

By David Hasemyer, InsideClimate News Sep 3, 2014

Oil and gas wastewater facility run by Danish Flats Environmental

A commercial facility that disposes of oil and gas waste in Eastern Utah has been fined $50,000 for releasing excessive amounts of benzene and other volatile organic compounds without a state air emissions permit.

Read more at InsideClimate News:

Oil and Gas Wastewater Pits Draw Fine for Toxic Releases | InsideClimate News

Gun-toting militia confronts bat researchers

Nogales International | Posted 1 week ago

By Jonathan Clark

SONOITA, AZ - A group of heavily armed militiamen confronted a team of scientists who had been studying bats in a cave near Sonoita last week, apparently mistaking them for illegal border-crossers or drug-smugglers.

Read more from Nogales International

Various so-called militia groups have congregated in Arizona and Texas in what the groups leaders claim is a response to a flood of immigrants.

One such group was led by former Gilberton, Pa. Police Chief Mark Kessler. Kessler was fired by the city council after posting a profanity-filled video in which he fired automatic and threatened Secretary of State John Kerry.

In a June 28 posting on Facebook, Kessler urged his followers to join him in Arizona saying “Bring your gear, armor, helmets, first aid kits, MRE’s or canned food along with a lot of bottled water, but most important your ‘rifle, side arm’s and ammo!” 

WATCH - 

Ferguson protests continue 3 weeks after Michael Brown's killing

FERGUSON, MO. - According to Democracy Now, protesters marched in Saturday, three weeks after the police killing of unarmed African-American teenager Michael Brown. The officer who killed Brown, Darren Wilson, remains on paid leave as he faces a grand jury investigation.

Read more:
Ferguson Protests Continue 3 Weeks After Michael Brown's Killing

Stopping a massive mountaintop removal coal mine

PHOTO COURTESY OF VIVIAN STOCKMAN
OHIO VALLEY ENVIRONMENTAL COALITION

The environmental advocacy group EarthJustice is in court defending the EPA’s veto of a permit for one of the largest proposed mountaintop removal sites in history, the Spruce No. 1 mine in West Virginia.






Read more about the lawsuit:

Stopping A Massive Mountaintop Removal Coal Mine | Earthjustice