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Plea agreement calls for life imprisonment with mercy in the 2023 Sugar Grove death

Zachary Edward Mongold, a previous Grant County resident, confessed to first-degree murder for the 2023 death of Raymond Auville and a fire at a Grey Goose Lane property in Sugar Grove.

After much debate and multiple farmers sharing their opinion on the subject, the Grant County Commission voted last week to extend farmer contracts on the land at the Grant County Airport and Grant County Dog Pound from one year to two years. The two pieces of land in question are owned by the county but contracted out to local farmers through a bidding process each year. These farmers then harvest the hay from the land for their own usage. The conversation came from a request surrounded the soil quality of the land, with a farmer saying it would be more productive and healthful for the land if it was fertilized.

After years of delays, Lawrence “Grasshopper” Puffenbarger’s trial started in Hampshire County Circuit Court on Monday, February 23.

The delays resulted mainly from scheduling confl icts, pretrial legal motions and personnel changes, including the appointment of a new prosecutor.

The trial was moved from Pendleton County to Hampshire County to ensure fairness, given local publicity and concerns about impartial jurors.

Day One of Trial

Puffenbarger was being charged with three counts of First Degree Sexual Abuse. West Virginia State Code §61- 8B-7 defi first-degree sexual abuse as subjecting another person to sexual contact without their consent, when the victim is younger than twelve years old, or when the defendant is in a position of trust, authority, or supervision over a child. This charge refl ects the seriousness of the alleged offenses and the legal standards involved.

In the middle of a postseason run with bigger goals in mind, Petersburg senior Caden Ours reached one of high school basketball’s most notable milestones Friday night. Ours surpassed 1,000 career points as the Vikings defeated Philip Barbour in regional play on their home floor.

Despite the personal accomplishment, Ours kept the focus squarely on the team’s mission.

“Obviously it’s a big milestone for me and it’s something important to me personally,” Ours told the Grant County Press. “However, the main goal for me, my teammates, and my coaches is for us to win regionals and to get the boys basketball program back to Charleston for the first time in 19 years. If we can accomplish that, us seniors will end our high school careers the way we always wanted.”

While the 1,000-point milestone secures Ours a place in Petersburg basketball history, the senior guard and his teammates remain focused on a larger goal — returning the Vikings to the state tournament in Charleston for the first time in 19 years.

When postseason basketball arrives, teams lean on their leaders. Thursday night, Union did exactly that.

Behind a dominant scoring performance from junior Braylon Ward and a strong supporting effort from Corbin Streets, the Union Tigers opened regional tournament play with a 52–42 victory over Tygarts Valley.

Ward led all scorers with 29 points, while Streets added 18 as the Tigers relied heavily on the duo to control the game from start to finish. Eric Linkswiler contributed five points to round out the Union scoring.

Every now and then, a night in high school basketball becomes something more than just a win or a loss. Sometimes it becomes a piece of history.