2 More Held
In Attempted
Murder of 2

By JOHN G. WOLFE

Two more Lewis County residents have been arrested for attempted murder and other felony charges in Gilmer County.
Michael Matthew Pumphrey, 34, and Tiffany Danielle Mayo, 24, both of Pumphrey Farm Lane, Camden, were arrested on Sunday by Lewis County Deputy D.S. Parks and Tpr. Z.T. Cooper at the home of a relative. Police have sought the pair since bringing charges against two other Lewis Countians for the same crimes in late April.
Pumphrey and Mayo were each charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of first degree robbery, and two counts of assault during the commission of a felony. They were charged in warrants secured by Gilmer County Deputy M.J. Wheeler in April.
They were arraigned by Gilmer County Magistrate Alton Skinner on Monday, with bond set at $250,000 each.
Derrick Lee Stalnaker, 19, of Jane Lew and Dustin T. Moore, 23, of Lewis County, were arrested in April on the same charges.
Wheeler's complaint states that Stalnaker, along with Moore, Pumphrey and Mayo entered the residence of Ricky L. Townsend and Lindsey R. Ables in the Troy area of Gilmer County on Dec. 5 of 2012. There, the complaint states, they took a metal pipe and did "attempt to murder Ricky L. Townsend and Lindsey R. Ables, by striking them in the head with the blunt trauma weapon at least twice causing severe lacerations to the head of both victims, and did then and there commit the act of armed robbery on Ricky L. Townsend by taking from his pockets $325." The complaint continues by stating that, "after the four had beaten them unconscious the four all left."
Both Stalnaker and Moore have faced recent criminal charges for offenses committed in Lewis County.
In October of last year, Weston officer T. Cox charged Stalnaker with battery. On Jan. 30, he pled guilty in Lewis County Magistrate Court. He was fined $100, assessed court costs of $160.80 and was given eight days in jail.
Stalnaker was charged with felony breaking and entering in Weston by Ptlmn. M.S. Posey of the Weston Police Department on Jan. 20. This case was sent to Circuit Court on Jan. 30, the same date he pled to the battery charge.
The felony breaking and entering charge was later dropped by the state under a plea agreement where Stalnaker agreed to plead guilty to the lesser misdemeanor offense of destruction of property in Lewis County Magistrate Court.
On March 5, he was fined $50, assessed court costs of $160.80 and was given a one year suspended jail sentence replaced with one year of probation and participation in the Community Corrections Program.
Moore also faces a charge in Lewis County. Cpl. M.S. Clark charged him with a burglary in the Jane Lew area in November of last year. His case was sent to Circuit Court on Nov. 15, where it is still pending.

Davis
Studio
Closing

At the end of June 2013, a Weston landmark will shut their business doors after 65 years in Weston. The late Bob Davis opened his family's photography business on February 2, 1948 in the Koblegard Building on Bank Alley in Weston. His daughter, Kathy, and son-in-law, Jerry, have handled the business since buying it from Mr. Davis in 1987, but they are ready to retire.
Kathy has many wonderful memories of growing up in the photography business. As she noted, "As soon as we could work here, we did."
She recalled that during the summer she and her sister, Jan Davis, of Pittsburgh, made postcards of different local landmarks.
Kathy said that she and Jan really grew up in the studio. Her sister was the artist and would letter school composites. She also said that many years ago, when senior pictures were done in black and white, her mother would paint them in oil to give them color.
"My mother would have the pictures lined up along the wall and go through them like an assembly line. She would be painting eyes during one pass, lips during another. It worked very well," she noted.
In the fall of 1949 her father moved his business to East Second Street over the old G.C. Murphy Company. Then in 1970 he relocated his studio to its present location at 234 East Second Street.
The studio's main business has been taking school pictures. In 1951 Davis Studio secured the franchise for Alston Studio of East Weymouth, Mass, that specialized in school pictures. Coincidentally, the Alston in the name was Bob's cousin. His territory included all of West Virginia and part of western Maryland.
Throughout West Virginia and even into eastern Maryland, Davis Studio has been responsible for hundreds of thousands of school pictures since the early 1950s. As well as the pictures which every student received, there were the many other team pictures, teacher photos, and club pics the studio was responsible for.
Jerry Cobb grew up with Kathy as a family friend in Weston. Their families would boat together at Sutton Lake when they were young. His father moved around the country as an employee of Dowell and Jerry spent his high school years in Pa. He moved back to Weston in 1969 and began filming Lewis County High School football for Mr. Davis at the Studio. Then in 1971 he married Kathy and really became part of the family business.
"I think it takes a special person to work with a family and not kill each other," Kathy laughed. "But Jerry has had many experiences taking pictures from being hit, kicked, cussed, and vomited on…but best of all he can make people smile."
Kathy said that Jerry had a great gift to capture the best in people while photographing a variety of subjects. Over the years Jerry has photographed hundreds of weddings and after scheduling thirty in one summer, he felt that he wanted a little time off on a weekend so the decision was made to stop wedding photography.
Even after stopping wedding pictures, the couple said that they still had very busy weekends with reunions, proms, graduations, sports and more.
"I can't even guess how many proms we photographed over the years," said Kathy, "and homecomings…the biggest problem was having several on the same night….that could turn into a nightmare."
Jerry noted that Jackson's Mill was very cooperative with the Studio. From the time she was a child, Kathy said that Davis Studio would take pictures of camps at the Mill. The business was very appreciative of the support the Mill gave them.
One question for the couple was why the Cobbs planned to retire now and their answer was very sweet.
"We have had great employees over the years – Steve Bumgardner, Vicki Skinner, and Donna Rice. They have been with us for many years and it was wonderful to have people you can count on and trust," she explained. "In fact, when one of our employees said they were going to retire we started thinking about our own retirement. If one of them was going to retire, did we really want to train someone new? The answer was for us to retire too."
After more then forty years of constant work, the couple is ready for retirement.
"I plan on visiting my brothers and sisters now. They are in Louisiana, California and Kentucky. We will also being spending lots of time with our daughter, Tess and her husband, in Ohio. We have two grandchildren – Keira, 9, and Josh, 6 and I will be taking lots of pictures of them," said Jerry.
For Kathy, retirement means taking a much needed vacation in September. They also love to spend time with each other and so biking and hiking are high on their list of opportunities for relaxation. Boating will be another activity that the couple loves.
Kathy and Jerry supported the Pirates Pee Wee Baseball team for years. They were the photographers for chamber brochures, city police and county sheriff police portraits for the annual calendars. At one time, Davis Studio took pictures of the once-thriving Lewis County glass industry for their catalogs and brochures. In other words, if a picture was needed everyone went to David Studio.
"Even growing up, we brought our daughter in to help with the business and I feel sorry for all of our relatives who we used in advertising material and brochures…but this had been a family business," said Kathy.
To thank the couple for their service to the community, the Lewis County Chamber of Commerce is having a reception for the couple on Wed., June 26, at the local office at noon. The community is invited to stop in.
When the couple close their doors at the end of June, they will leave 65 years of wonderful memories. Kathy said, "We are going to miss all of our great friends and customers we have made over the years. Thank you for your many years of patronage. We could not have done without you."

Win 2nd Place
In Governor's
Film Contest

VIn honor of West Virginia's 150th birthday, students across the state submitted artwork and videos for a contest sponsored by WV Commerce. Students in grades 9-12 could create videos by themselves or in teams of two. Videos were limited to less than two minutes and themes for the videos were "Happy 150th Birthday West Virginia - What Makes West Virginia Unique" and "What makes West Virginia special?"
Students were required to wish West Virginia a happy 150th birthday in the videos.
Three Lewis County High School broadcast students spent three-days traveling all over the state, taking photographs of what makes West Virginia wonderful. From Marshall University to WVU, they drove over 1,500 miles to capture the essence of our great state. In addition to the stunning photographs, a compilation of "Country Roads," "My Home Among the Hills," and "Amazing Grace," sang by seniors Georgia Warder and Morgan Weaver and played by junior Braunson Rogers, brings the Mountaineer pride out in every viewer.
On Monday, June 17, these students were invited to the Governor's Mansion in Charleston for a reception. Senior Morgan Jackson, junior Lauren Hough and freshman Hannah Breen earned 2nd place in the statewide contest.
"This was a fantastic way to end the school year," broadcast teacher Jena Pettit said. "These girls have done amazing things all year, from winning the "Call Me Maybe" contest to earning Best of Show at the Ohio U EMPixx competition. I am very blessed to have them in our program and I'm so proud of them."
Prizes include Kindles and gift cards. Winning work will be showcased in the rotunda during the West Virginia 150th birthday celebration at the State Capitol. Watch the video on YouTube or Facebook on the LCN Channel 3.