Oak Hill, WV (WOAY) Bluefield State University has confirmed the death of a BSU student following an incident at Brush Creek Falls on Saturday, September 5th.

The press release states that local and state authorities responded to the scene and led search-and-recovery efforts. University faculty, staff, and students have been notified.

The university says that their thoughts are with the student’s family, friends, classmates, and all those affected during this extraordinarily difficult time.

Out of respect for the family’s privacy, the university is not releasing the student’s name or additional details at this time.

The university also says it is providing support and resources to students, faculty, and staff affected by this loss.

BSU officials continue to work with authorities and will share additional information as appropriate, and with the family’s wishes in mind.

Newswatch will continue to follow this story as it develops.

FAYETTEVILLE, WV (WOAY) – Former Delegate Elliott Pritt has withdrawn his candidacy for the West Virginia House of Delegates District 50. Under state law, the Fayette County Republican Party will not be permitted to replace him on the ballot.

The Republican supermajority in the legislature passed a law in 2024, prohibiting parties from replacing candidates who withdraw on the ballot.

“The Office of the Secretary of State serves a ministerial role for candidate filing, and has very little authority to exercise discretion in candidacy matters,” Secretary of State Kris Warner said. “The law in this instance is clear. Because the Legislature removed the opportunity for political parties to select replacement candidates on the ballot when a vacancy is created by withdrawal, there is no alternative option to replace the candidate on the ballot.” 

Despite the absence of a Republican candidate, the ballot will be crowded. According to the West Virginia Secretary of State’s website, Stacey Hensley is running as a Constitution Party candidate, and Jeannie Carpenter is running as an independent.

They will join Democrat Mat Anderson and former county commissioner Tom Louisos on an increasingly crowded ballot. To qualify for the ballot, independent candidates need to get sixty signatures, which is roughly one percent of the vote in the last general election.

Pritt was arrested last month on a federal charge of enticement of a minor.

According to a federal criminal complaint, the family of a fifteen year old girl told police that she had been sexually abused by Pritt. The complaint alleges that Pritt began communicating with her on the online video game Roblox during her eighth grade year, which was approximately 2024-2025. The conversation moved to the social media messaging platform Snapchat.

Pritt eventually told the alleged victim that he loved her, and the criminal complaint alleges that Pritt was sending inappropriate messages to her by the summer of 2025. He asked her to send pictures back, and the complaint alleges “While the pictures [the alleged victim] initially sent via Snapchat were innocuous, at PRITT’s request and direction they became increasingly more explicit.”

According to the complaint, the victim told police that Pritt initiated a physical relationship with her during late 2025. Pritt allegedly would ask her to meet him in his class room at Oak Hill High School, where they allegedly engaged in sexual activity including oral sex.

The victim told investigators that it happened five to ten times. The last sexual encounter allegedly happened between December 2025 or January 2026, but Pritt allegedly continued to request explicit pictures up to July 2026.

On June 20, 2026, Pritt allegedly told the victim not to tell anyone. If she told anyone, the complaint alleges, Pritt told her “the state police show up and take your phone and mine and open up hell in our lives. And because of me it would very much not be low key. It would be in the news. It would be awful. For both of us. And I would lose my entire life.”

Pritt resigned from the House of Delegates the same day

CHARLESTON, WV (WOAY) – The Fayette County Republican Executive Committee is asking the West Virginia State Election Commission to disqualify now-former Delegate Elliott Pritt from the ballot in November’s election.

Greg Ingram, Fayette County Republican chair, sent a letter to the commission this afternoon requesting that the commission disqualify Pritt from the ballot.

“He has not withdrawn from the October ballot for election to another term in the House of delegates. Delegate Pritt, being incarcerated at this time, is unavailable for discussion on the fall ballot issue, and unavailable to serve the people of West Virginia,” Ingram said in his letter.

Pritt is in federal custody, facing a charge of enticement of a minor. He is accused of sending and requesting sexually explicit images to a 15-year-old girl and engaging in sexual activity with her in a Fayette County classroom.

Pritt resigned from the House yesterday but has not withdrawn from the ballot. Under a state law passed by the Republican supermajority in 2024, the party would not be permitted to replace him if he withdrew.

Since he hasn’t withdrawn from the ballot as of the time of this broadcast, the State Election Commission can review Ingram’s letter and decide whether to rule him ineligible.

“(3) If a vacancy in nomination will be caused by the failure of a candidate to file for an office or by withdrawal of a candidate, the vacancy may not be filled.

(4) If a vacancy in nomination is caused by the disqualification of a candidate and the vacancy occurs not later than 84 days before the general election, a nominee may be appointed by the executive committee and certified to the proper filing officer not later than 78 days before the general election. A candidate may be determined disqualified if a written request is made by an individual with information to show a candidate’s ineligibility to the State Election Commission no later than 84 days before the general election explaining grounds why a candidate is not eligible to be placed on the general election ballot or not eligible to hold the office, if elected. The State Election Commission shall review the reasons for the request. If the commission finds the circumstances warrant the disqualification of the candidate, the commission shall authorize appointment by the executive committee to fill the vacancy. ” -West Virginia Code §3-5-19

The Fayette County Republican Executive Committee argues that Pritt would not be able to serve in any capacity since he is still behind bars. The committee wants a chance to provide an alternative candidate on the ballot.

This will enable the Fayette County Republican Party to replace David Elliott Pritt on the fall ballot with another well qualified candidate. The residents of Fayette County and the great state of West Virginia deserve to have a choice who will serve them for the next two years,” Ingram wrote.

The only other candidate currently on the ballot is Democrat Mathew Anderson.

Interested Fayette County Republicans living in District 50 will be able to apply to replace him, pending approval from the state election commission, until Aug. 2. The party says the application link will be made available soon.

You can read the full letter here:

KANAWHA FALLS, WV (WOAY) – Staff at the Public Service Commission have filed a petition asking the commission to open an investigation into both the water and sewer side of Kanawha Falls Public Service District.

The petition alleges that Kanawha Falls’s water and sewer services are “inadequate, inefficient, and unreasonable,” saying the district has been unresponsive to the needs of its customers and has not complied with commission orders.

“[Staff requests] the Commission find the District is unwilling or unable to adequately service its customers, that the District’s management is grossly and willfully inefficient, irresponsible, and unresponsive to the needs to its customers, and that it is in the best interests of the District’s customers that WVAWC be appointed as a receiver to operate the District’s system and assets in the best interests of the District’s customers,” the petition reads.

Specifically, the petition alleges that Kanawha Falls has not complied with the Public Service Commission’s rules for the government of sewer utilities, has not maintained a working capital cash reserve, and refused to comply with an order that it enter into an operations and maintenance agreement with West Virginia American Water.

“The Kanawha Falls Public Service District was determined to be a distressed water utility in Commission Case No. 22-0631-PWD-DU,” the petition states. “As a result of water outages, the Commission entered an Order dated June 2, 2025, requiring the District to enter in an Operations & Maintenance Agreement with West Virginia-American Water Company (WVAWC), which has not transpired.”

The petition alleges that Kanawha Falls board president Jonathan Grose no longer lives in the district’s service area and asks that he be removed from the board.

Staff are asking the Public Service Commission to petition a circuit court judge to appoint West Virginia American Water as a receiver of the district.

This petition comes amid the potential sale of Kanawha Falls and two other Fayette County public service districts to West Virginia American Water. Kanawha Falls has been routinely opposed to the sale.

West Virginia American Water and the Fayette County Commission filed a report with the Public Service Commission today, asking the Public Service Commission to proceed in an effort to find the fastest resolution to the sale.

“The Company and the County Commission are not opposed to a receivership and the efforts to remove the board member and they agree to participate in and support these efforts should the Commission respond favorably to Staff’s petition. This process is likely to be lengthy, and in that time sewage will still be running down Cannelton Hollow and Mount Olive Prison will remain at risk of losing water service. Therefore, the Company and the County Commission believe that the Commission should also proceed in an effort to find the fastest way to resolve these important service issues — whether it be by a receivership, a change in the Kanawha Falls PSD board that allows an agreement that includes all three
districts, or by the acquisition as initially filed in Case No. 25-0927-W-S-PC,” it reads. “The Company and the County Commission diligently prepared a revised asset purchase agreement and provided it for review, revision and ultimately agreement to all three public service districts. While Armstrong PSD and Page Kincaid PSD positively engaged with the Company and the County Commission, Kanawha Falls PSD did not. Without meaningful and productive engagement from all of the districts, regrettably the Company and the County Commission must recommend that the Commission proceed with the case as originally filed.”

Mike Teaney contributed to reporting in this story.