The Associated Press
— Mountaineer Casino lays off 47
CHESTER (AP) — Forty-seven people are out of work at Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort in Chester.
General Manager Jack Sours sent a letter to employees Friday, telling them that’s how many people were laid off last week.
The Weirton Daily Times says the letter blamed the layoffs on competition and falling revenues.
Track publicists did not return multiple phone calls from The Associated Press this week.
In August 2009, Mountaineer laid off 35 people. Most were administrative employees. That followed the layoffs of 175 workers in January 2009.
The casino-racetrack has long been one of the Northern Panhandle’s largest employers.
Mountaineer is owned by MTR Gaming Group Inc., which recently posted a second-quarter loss of $517,000.
Settlements reached with debt collectors
CHARLESTON (AP) — Attorney General Darrel McGraw says two debt collection companies have agreed to pay penalties and stop operating in West Virginia until they register with the state and post bonds.
McGraw said Friday that Carpenter Capital Investments, and National Recovery Services will each pay a $1,000 penalty. Carpenter also agreed to cancel debts previously assigned for collection.
McGraw says neither company is registered as a debt collector in West Virginia.
State law requires debt collectors to obtain a business registration certificate from the West Virginia Tax Department. A $5,000 bond must be posted for each office location.
Inmate guilty of assaulting federal prison guard
CLARKSBURG (AP) —A inmate at the U.S. Penitentiary at Hazelton has been convicted of assaulting and threatening to kill a corrections officer.
Thirty-six-year-old Aaron Thomas was found guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court in Clarksburg. Prosecutors say he assulted a guard in January.
U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld says Thomas faces up to eight years for the threat and up to 20 years for the assault when he is sentenced later by Judge Irene Keeley.
