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NEWS BRIEFS
Deputy in fatal shootout among guests at speech
CHARLESTON -- Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's special State of the State address guests included a deputy wounded by a suspect who killed two West Virginia state troopers.
Roane County Sheriff's Deputy John Westfall was among several VIPs singled out for applause by Tomblin during Wednesday's speech.
Westfall is recovering after he and a tow truck driver were injured after a suspect gunned down Corporal Marshall Bailey & Trooper Eric Workman in August. The suspect was killed in a shootout with law enforcement officers. Westfall was accompanied by his wife, Emily.
Other State of the State guests included:
Sgt. Sara Yoke of the West Virginia National Guard, who received a Bronze Star and a Combat Action Badge for her actions after her unit came under enemy fire while on a humanitarian mission to a village in Afghanistan.
Andrew Blatt, a West Virginia University Institute of Technology graduate who's now overseeing Gestamp's new $22 million dollar laser cutting project in the state, and company colleague David Underwood.
West Virginia Teacher of the Year Michael Funkhouser, who teaches English in Hardy County.
President Yogi Suzuki and Millie Marshall from West Virginia Toyota Motor Manufacturing, and Fred Earley and Cathy McAlister from Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, lauded for their support of public education.
