MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — On the last day of December 2025, we took a look back at some of the major stories covered by the Panhandle News Network over the year in a special segment of Panhandle Live.
Among the top stories covered on the Panhandle News Network in 2025:
The efforts of Sidewinder Enterprises, LLC to put a water packaging plant in Middleway drew opposition from residents of the historic town.
In February, a woman in Summit Point was killed while she was on the phone with a dispatcher. The victim was 50 year old Tanya Lyons. The accused John Lyons, her husband has been indicted and that case is continuing in circuit court as there is a competency evaluation ongoing.
In 2024, West Virginia lost 200 farms.
A wreck on I-81 in March killed 27 cows. One of the aspects of the story was how neighbors stepped up and brought in trailers in to help transport the the cows that survived.
Ahead of the legislative session, we talked to the family of Kathy Ruth. She was that the flagger that got run over in Rippon at the Route 340 expansion there. They were lobbying for stricter vehicular homicide legislation. We talked to Delegate Larry Kump who had some insight into that as well. That legislation did pass. It was not in effect in time to to do anything about the Kathy Ruth case. We spoke to a person affiliated with the offender who said while the the fine was only $100, this wreck haunts that woman to this day.
A story that started in December of 2024 was the charges against Joseph deSoto, who had been elected to the 91st delegate district out of South Berkeley.
He was charged after allegedly making threats against lawmakers.
The litigation in that case is ongoing.
In March, we were so thrilled that three eggs had hatched at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown. Unfortunately, a storm later in the season tore their nest apart and the wind knocked it to the ground. The eaglets did not survive.
In April, a motorist was killed, and the interstate was completely shut down after a vehicle traveling north in the southbound lanes of I-81 struck another car head-on. The driver who caused the crash, Kara Michelle Webber of Williamsport, was ejected and pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the second vehicle, Angel Candelario-Jose of Frederick County, Virginia, fled on foot but was later apprehended and faced additional felony charges.
That case is still ongoing.
A late freeze in April. Impacted fruit trees among the area orchards.
In May, Tyler Sigler, 28, of Charles Town died after a tree fell on the golf cart he was in at Locust Hill Golf Course during a storm.
Also in May, a Martinsburg man was accused of killing his brother-in-law while their their wives were out shopping. Steven Tracy Beach is the accused. The victim was Julius Alexander. That case was forwarded to the grand jury.
Mitchell Lamont Fernandors was convicted of attempted first degree murder in the shooting near the police station in Martinsburg that seriously injured another man. Martinsburg Police Chief Erin Gibbons says the police officers who responded after the victim made his way to the MPD building and collapsed likely saved his life. Berkeley County Prosecutor Joe Kinser says the fact that the victim was willing to testify enabled prosecutors to get a conviction and lengthy prison sentence.
May, DoHS Secretary Alex Mayer hosted a child welfare listening tour in Martinsburg. Stakeholders including those who work in social services, kinship fosters, and those who had their children removed gave feedback about a system they called broken and siloed.
In June, former long-time Martinsburg Mayor George Karos died at the age of 93.
A story we began covering more than a year ago had an update as almost all of 82 defendants in a huge Eastern Panhandle drug operation have now been sentenced.
The groundbreaking for the new Inwood Park took place in September.
The Panhandle News Network learned impact fees of up to $5,500 for new homes in Berkeley County would also affect building plans in the city of Martinsburg.
A big investment from WVU Medicine meant groundbreaking on expansion projects on the WVU Medicine East campuses.
Jefferson County residents and county leaders voiced their concerns about the expansion of transmission lines.
In July, David Antonio Calderon entered guilty pleas and received a sentence of life with the possibility of parole after 15 years in the slaying in May of 2024 of 32-year old Samantha Dailey.
Residents of the Charles Towers apartments in Charles Town were evacuated after the roof was ripped off in a storm. The community rallied to shelter them at the Ranson Civic Center and provide them with needs even after they moved back in.
At the end of July, a new Morgan County deputy, Bradley Meacham was injured in a shootout in Spohrs Crossroads. The accused is Melvin Gallion, age 40. That case is still in litigation.
In August, a group of nurses learned they can legally proceed with a lawsuit against the Berkeley County school system.
In October, the big story became the shutdown and how it affected the outsized number of folks who work for the federal government out of the Eastern Panhandle.
In October, 25 years in prison was the sentence for the man who fired shots near Martinsburg High School football game. Scott Browning, Jr., age 21 was allegedly shooting at people who had broken into his home when he shot toward a crowded football stadium where a game between Martinsburg and Huntington High Schools was going on.
In September, three men died when a shootout broke out in a truck in South Berkeley County.
The 50th annual Apple Butter Festival was a bit of good news.
Also, the 20th annual Christmas Cash for Kids, which broke records, well exceeded the the fundraising goal, partly due to the community’s efforts to honor the husband of founder Becky Linton. Mike Linton passed away in early December. Christmas Cash for Kids brought in $89,000.
The biggest story of the year locally was the shooting of two West Virginia National Guard members the day before Thanksgiving. That shooting killed Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and critically injured SSgt Andrew Wolfe of Inwood who has since made a remarkable recovery.
