MORGANTOWN -- West Virginia landowners interested in restoring, enhancing or protecting grasslands may receive funding through the Grassland Reserve Program.

Landowners must have their applications submitted to their local Natural Resources Conservation Service or Farm Service Agency at the local U.S. Department of Agriculture Service Center by close of business on March 10 to be considered for rental contract funding this year.

The Grassland Reserve Program has a continuous signup period, but applications accepted after March 10 will not be ranked until the next ranking period is announced. NRCS and FSA have Service Centers throughout the state to help landowners with the application process.

Additional information is available on the Web at www.wv.nrcs.usda.gov. You may also contact Pam Yost, Assistant State Conservationist for Programs, at 304-284-7572 or pamela.yost@wv.usda.gov.

Realtor to host symposium on home-buying process

HURRICANE, W.Va. -- A free real estate symposium aims to provide information to people who need some direction in navigating the sometimes complicated home-buying process.

Michael Maddox, Realtor at Great American Realty, organized the symposium to be a one-stop shop for consumers, homeowners and new home buyers who have questions concerning tax credits, interest rates, insurance needs, home inspections and the advantages of home ownership.

For instance, a licensed representative of Solution One Mortgage will discuss mortgages, interest rates, and the different loan programs available. A licensed home inspector from Mountain River Home Inspection will be on hand to answer questions consumers may have about surveys, title searches, title insurance, and inspecting the structure and quality of a home. A representative from Suttle and Stalnaker (CPAs) will answer questions concerning the tax advantage of owning a home and the tax credit that is available.

The symposium is planned for 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 28, at the Hampton Inn in Hurricane. For more information, call Maddox at 304-542-6532 or e-mail him at MichaelMaddoxRealtor@gmail.com.

Tastefully Simple adds local representatives

BARBOURSVILLE -- Katie Poti of Huntington has become an independent representative for Tastefully Simple, a national direct-sales food company.

She will offer food samples and recipe ideas at home taste-testing parties. For more information, contact Poti at Katie Poti at katiepoti@verizon.net.

OLBH receives five-star rating from HealthGrades

RUSSELL, Ky. -- Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital has received multiple five-star ratings by HealthGrades, which provides ratings and awards that reflect the track record of patient outcomes at hospitals in the form of mortality and complication rates.

HealthGrades rates hospitals independently based on data that hospitals submit to the federal government. No hospital can opt in or out of being rated, and no hospital pays to be rated.

Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital has received five-star ratings in several clinical areas from HealthGrades.

In the 2010 HealthGrades ratings, specific highlights for OLBH include:

Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Heart Failure

Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Pneumonia (earned for the eighth straight year)

Ranked Among the Top 5 in Kentucky for Gastrointestinal Services

Ranked Among the Top 5 in Kentucky for GI Surgery

Five-Star Rated for GI Procedures and Surgeries (earned for the second consecutive year)

Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Sepsis (earned for the fifth straight year)

Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Respiratory Failure (earned for the fifth straight year).

"This is a tremendous honor," said Kevin Halter, OLBH CEO, in a press release. "Quality is of utmost importance and to consistently rank among the best of the best around the nation places OLBH as a quality leader. Our hard working staff provides excellent care deserving of this type of recognition."

The new 2010 HealthGrades hospital ratings are posted at www.healthgrades.com.

Judge issues injunction barring Massey protesters

BECKLEY, W.Va. -- Massey Energy has won a court order barring protesters from a West Virginia mine until a subsidiary's lawsuit against them is resolved.

The order issued Friday by U.S. District Judge Irene Berger covers five individual defendants arrested during a January tree-sitting protest at Massey's Marfork Coal operation in Raleigh County.

Berger extended the preliminary injunction to their officers, attorneys and others working with them. But unlike the temporary order it replaces, the injunction doesn't name Climate Ground Zero and Mountain Justice, environmental groups that have targeted Marfork for more than a year.

Spokesman Jeff Gillenwater says Virginia-based Massey hopes the ruling improves a potentially unsafe situation.

A defense attorney did not immediately return a call Friday.

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