West Virginia Legislative Photography
The West Virginia House of Delegates is slated to consider another bill this year to reform child custody laws.
House Bill 2363 creates a “Best Interests of the Child Protection Act,” requiring equal share of a child when parents first separate.
The legislation outlines the process for a hearing, during which a judge would help create an official plan for shared custody. The bill lists a child’s wishes, a parent’s motivation, proximity to school and relationships with siblings as determining factors.
No parent in this bill is allowed to have more than 65% of a child’s time, once a shared custody plan is created. The legislation makes exceptions for instances when a parent might be a danger to a child, with clear evidence of incompetence, abuse or neglect.
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Lizzie Watts, Superintendent of New River Gorge National Park and Preserve stands in front of the new park sign at the park’s administrative headquarters in Glen Jean.
Robert Seay has been hunting in the New River Gorge since he was born, nearly. His family has hunted there for almost a century.
“It’s just a beautiful place, I mean something about watching the fog rise, hearing the roar of the river and watching the sunset,” said Seay, a fishing and hunting guide in Southern West Virginia. “It’s not just about the hunting. The deer or the game is just a bonus. It’s doing what your family’s done where you learned to do it.”