–A special session in Charleston will stretch into a third day

–Weather causes problems in parts of West Virginia as a storm system passes

–Gordon Gee says his recent contract extension will be his last as president of WVU

–In Sports: pads start popping in spring drills at WVU

Listen to “MetroNews This Morning 8-8-23” on Spreaker.

The post MetroNews This Morning 8-8-23 appeared first on WV MetroNews.

“We had a lot of seniors last year who had played a lot of football who started probably since their freshman and sophomore years,” said Wahama head coach James Toth. “We thought we were going to be good last year. We were very proud of what we accomplished with going undefeated for the sixth time in school history. It was a big deal to us.”

A dozen seniors have graduated and that list includes their top three tacklers.

“I am definitely seeing guys stepping in,” said Wahama senior quarterback Sawyer Vanmatre. “Our think our underclassmen coming up, I think they are willing to put in the work. I think they are willing to listen. As long as they do that, I think we will be just fine.”

Senior quarterback Sawyer Vanmatre returns after a junior season where he accounted for 2,660 yards of total offense and 50 total touchdowns.

“He has grown quite a bit,” Toth said. “He is about 6-3 now. He is about 215 pounds, up from about 190-195 last year. It is good weight, it is muscle. He’s going to have to carry more of the load than last year. He had a lot of seniors he could lean on. This year, this is his ball team.”

Junior running back Connor Lambert was the team’s second leading rusher as a sophomore. He toted the ball for 1,128 yards on just 75 carries and he found the end zone 15 times.

“Connor set the record last year for average per carry at our school at almost 15 yards per carry,” Toth said. “He wasn’t very big so we didn’t give him the ball a lot. He has put on some good weight. He has made tremendous strides, probably the best strides of any offseason guy in the weight room.”

“It is great to have Connor in the backfield. It is great knowing that whenever I get him the ball, I know he can make a move and he can get a few extra yards every play,” Vanmatre said.

In addition to last year’s success on the gridiron, several other teams at Wahama earned regional and state titles over the last twelve months.

“A lot of programs — state champion in softball and baseball — the basketball team made the state tournament for the first time in forever. And our football team is back on track,” Toth said.

“Our team goal is to make at farther in the playoffs than last year,” Lambert said. “If we have that goal every year, we will eventually make it to Wheeling and make it to the state championship.”

The post Wahama welcomes back key contributors after 11-win season appeared first on WV MetroNews.

A resolution was brought forth to council members Monday evening for Mayor Amy Goodwin to seek an investigation to be conducted by an outside independent agency.

The vote was 21-5 to reject the resolution.

Hunt admitted to and apologized for recently an instance last year in March where he invited a woman into his office after-hours. Information regarding the encounter was made public during an episode of the “Scoop Squad” podcast which was released in June 2023.

Mayor Goodwin suspended Hunt for three days without pay in June 2022. Hunt called his decision “a lapse in personal judgement.”

The suspension was handed down following an investigation by the city attorney, Kevin Baker, who was in attendance for the council meeting.

“The investigation was done pursuant to our HR policies,” Baker told council members Monday. “I believe it was handled appropriately by the Human Resources Department.

The Mayor is the only person who can remove or discipline the Chief of Police, according to Baker. When asked if a certain agency should’ve been involved in the investigation, Baker said it’s not ideal for the Professional Standards Division to be involved.

“I don’t believe that it’s ever appropriate for the Professional Standards Division to investigate the Chief of Police.”

The Professional Standards Division operates under the authority of the Office of the Chief of Police.

City council member Shannon Snodgrass was one of the five wanting for another investigation to be had. She said not enough was done in the investigation.

“I hope somebody with another agency will step in and take control of this situation,” Snodgrass said to other council members “This is ridiculous and not right to have separate standards.”

Council member Pam Burka believed a more severe punishment should’ve been handed down because of Hunt’s status.

“People in positions of power are held to a higher standard and if that’s not done, the people that they are leaders over, they are going to fall down into that same category and nobody is going to be held accountable for anything,” Burka said.

Bruce King, another council member who shot down the resolution, called it “ridiculous,” and found no reason for it to be brought forth.

“It’s questioning the integrity of the entire administration and what Kevin Baker did to investigate it,” King said.

“Who’s going to investigate this,” King then asked. “The relationship was consensual and there’s no allegation of a crime or harassment claims.”

The post Charleston council rejects second investigation into incident involving Chief of Police appeared first on WV MetroNews.

A roll call vote was taken with nine for the proposal and 17 against it.

The Women’s Health Center applied for a syringe service program license recently. The program would be a part of their ongoing harm reduction program at their Washington Street building.

The last needle exchange program in the area was in 2018, run by the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department. It was shut down following reports of a mismanaged agency and littered needles not making it to disposal boxes.

To begin the discussion on the resolution, 10 people in total, with five for the proposal and five against, were selected to speak on the matter. A motion was brought forth to allow for more people to speak, but that was rejected by the council.

A public hearing was held at the Goodwill Prosperity Center in Charleston last month with more than 100 people showing up. Dozens of people had spoke at that hearing, and Monday, nearly a dozen more spoke in front of City Council.

Those for the program being added by the Women’s Health Center expressed concerns of the “health emergency” already taking place on the west side. They believe the needle exchange program would save lives.

Those against the proposal had brought back comments made by residents from the July public hearing, many of them either west side residents or business owners. They believe the program would be a magnet for current drug users and hurt the community more than help it.

As for city council members, a more lengthy discussion was had. Around half of the council members had something to say leading up to the vote. Conversations on the floor lasted for nearly an hour and a half.

Council member Frank Annie, who was a yes vote, said harm reduction programs help limit chronic hepatitis C cases.

“It’s very hard for them to get treatment when they’re still using,” Annie said. We have a problem in Charleston with these diseases. Hepatitis C will bankrupt us.”

According to Annie, there was over a 100% increase in Hep-C cases from 2018 to 2019. 230 cases were reported in 2018 with 530 in 2019.

Council members Pat Jones voted against the proposal. He said needle exchange was something he warned the mayor about years prior, claiming the city would try and bring it back and drug users “couldn’t wait.”

Jones then went on to suggest the city look into bringing in an organization within the DEA, Task Force Officers to help dismantle drug use and trafficking in the area.

Council member Larry Moore also voted no on the proposal. He grew up on the West Side and now represents it. He said he got a lot of calls from the people in his ward saying they are for harm reduction, but against the needle exchange.

“I could’ve left, but I came back because I didn’t want the neighborhood to fall off.” Moore said. “People that I’ve talked to are not against it, but there are certain things with how we get treated in the neighborhood, and the repercussions fall back on us.”

Other council members said they quickly heard from people of their wards when news of the proposal from the Women’s Health Center was made.

Mayor Amy Goodwin voted no. She gave her reasoning while speaking on 580-WCHS Monday morning

“I have a real concern about this location,” she said. “Council members from wards one through six, which are all on the west side, tell me to not do this.”

The post Charleston City Council turns down needle exchange program proposal from Women’s Health Center appeared first on WV MetroNews.

The report by the Economic Innovation Group found that, “Over the first six months of 2023, applications to start a business likely to hire employees outpaced last year’s first half-year amount by more than seven percent.” The U.S. is headed for a near-record in annual startups.

Startups dropped off significantly during the pandemic. However, the research reveals a post-pandemic surge in new business applications that has continued into this year, fueling economic growth. “Startups and young companies—particularly those likely to hire employees—play an outsized role in job creation and wage growth.”

Nearly every major industry sector has seen growth in new business ventures in the last year. The biggest increases were in health care and social assistance, followed by accommodation and food services, retail trade and construction.

However, the report does not include closings that occurred during the same period. “It remains to be seen what share of these applications for news businesses have off-setting firm closures elsewhere in the data, as economic activity adapts to different business models or reallocates to new locations,” the report said.

The greatest growth was in southern and western states. Economic Innovation Group explained that one of the reasons is that new business likes to be where business already exists and where there are lots of workers. However, the researchers are also seeing a trend in business formation in some non-traditional areas—rural counties with low populations.

West Virginia’s top growth county for business applications was Berkeley. The eastern panhandle county saw the number of applications rise from 747 in 2019 to 1,322 in 2022. That’s an increase of 77 percent!

Several small West Virginia counties saw an even larger percent increase—Hardy County, for example, at 94 percent over the three year period—but the number of annual business applications rose from only 64 to 124.

Of course, the great unknown is how many of these new businesses will make it and become economically significant in their communities. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, citing statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, reports that 18 percent of small businesses fail within the first year and 50 percent fail after ten years.

But despite those sobering odds, the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well. The numbers from the Economic Innovation Group offer “proof that the startup surge is real.”

The post The Entrepreneurial Spirit is Surging appeared first on WV MetroNews.

“My plans beyond June of 2025 are to return to the WVU College of Law and start teaching again,” Gee said. “So, those are my plans, and I have no plans beyond that.”

Gee’s contract was set to expire on June 30, 2024, but the WVU Board of Governors recently voted to extend the deal one more year.

Gee said he would like to return to the College of Law. That’s where he got is start at WVU. He was named dean of the College of Law 1979 and was named WVU president, the first time, in 1981.

Much of Monday’s meeting was spent discussing the continuing review of WVU academic programs for possible budget cuts. Senate members passed a resolution encouraging faculty to provide feedback when decisions are announced in the coming weeks.

WVU Provost Maryanne Reed said all 25 self-study reports for academic units with programs identified for further review are complete and should have been made available to each unit’s faculty. The preliminary recommendations for program reduction or discontinuation will be finalized in the coming days and sent to unit leaders Thursday afternoon to be shared with their staff within 24 hours. The preliminary recommendations will be shared with the public on Monday, August 14.

Reed also said details about another department restructuring will be released later this week.

“I cannot share the particulars right now since not everyone in those units has been notified yet,” Reed told professors who were part of Monday’s meeting.

Reed said the feedback from staff and faculty through the review has been very helpful and will become more important as the process plays out. Especially as the Aug. 18 deadline to file a Notice of Intent to Appeal approaches.

“Some units overwhelmed us with their own data and information that may or may not have been directly relevant to what we were trying to achieve,” Reed said. “Others made a good-faith effort to show us how they could be efficient and effective.”

Faculty Representative to the Board of Governors, Stan Hileman, reported to members that non-tenured track instructors will get the same 12-week severance package as tenured and tenured-track faculty. Hileman said talks are still underway to include clinical and library faculty members.

“Some language in the amended document that excluded clinical and library faculty was struck from the rule after discussion, and the inclusion of that faulty language will be discussed further,” Hileman said.

President Gee told members that the transformation of the university has been very well received during his statewide tour this summer. Based on that reception, Gee believes they are meeting their goal of being a student-centered institution.

“I have been on this listening tour now for the last 2 1/2 months, and they want a degree that will lead them to a career they love and that will provide for their future, and they want to be able to afford that degree,” Gee said.

The post Gee tells Faculty Senate he’ll leave presidency in June 2025 appeared first on WV MetroNews.

That’s when the baton will be passed, and the Morgan County Homeless Coalition will be placed under the umbrella of the  Martinsburg Union Rescue Mission.

Martinsburg Superintendent Pastor Tim Guerino says the two entities have been meeting for about 9 months to talk about the idea.  “Officially, July 25th, we signed the paperwork that the

Morgan County Homeless Coalition merged into the Martinsburg Union Rescue Mission,” he said.

The Morgan County Homeless Coalition has for years operated cold weather shelters out of various churches from November through April, according to Pastor Tim.

The Morgan County group has undertaken work on a nine-bed women’s shelter called the Hope House. “They’re renting a building from a church and they’re remodeling it.  They’re almost finished,” he said.

Guerino says the merger will allow a comprehensive approach to providing even more services to those in need of emergency housing.  “So now, the Martinsburg Union Rescue Mission is going to have the family transitional shelter, (the 604 Project),  we’re going to have the women’s shelter (in Morgan County), and the men’s shelter (off King Street in Martinsburg.

The Hope House Women’s Shelter and the nearly-complete 604 Project for family housing in Martinsburg could be up and running by November 1st, according to Pastor Tim,
who said the two newer shelters would augment the services already provided by the existing Men’s Shelter along King Street in Martinsburg.

Guerino said the merger will be beneficial to those in Morgan County.  “(It’s) not going to diminish the services.  It’s going to increase the services,”  he said.  “They’re going to have now the full force of the Martinsburg Union Rescue Mission behind them,” adding the Union Rescue Mission operation brings with it a lot of resources.

“Our goal is to eventually open up a thrift store up there to support the ministry of the shelter up there,” he said.

Hope House is located at 47 union street in Berkeley Springs.

Guerino said the 604 Project needs to raise $200,000 more before it can be open, even though most of the renovation work is done.  You can read more about the ongoing efforts to provide a family shelter in Martinsburg here:

For more information about the Martinsburg Union Rescue Mission, click here:

Pastor Tim Guerino was a recent guest on Panhandle Live on WEPM/WCST The Panhandle News Network.

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A six-bill package that would make changes in the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation is on its way to passage. One bill would provide a $25 million pay enhancement for correctional officers.

Delegate David Kelly, R-Tyler, said much of the money goes into the first three years a correctional officer is employed where statistics show the most turnover occurs. The bill also creates a salary schedule that would increase pay through a step process at $225 more each year.

Kelly said the bills are an initial comprehensive approach to dealing with several issues in corrections.

“We’ve been able to put something together that I’m hopeful will move the needle,” Kelly said on MetroNews “Talkline” Monday. “It’s not the end-all. It’s not going to fix everything but we have to do this and I call it foundational.”

There’s also a measure that would give non-uniformed corrections employees a one-time $2,300 retention pay. The House Finance Committee increased the retention bonus to two payments of nearly $2,300. The second payment will come six months after the first. The proposal came from Del. Michael Hite, R-Berkeley. The double retention pay will now cost the state $5.8 million.

Another bill would allow corrections to reject coverage of an inmate’s elective medical procedure. Delegate Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia, argued in Monday’s House Judiciary Committee meeting the measure is unnecessary because there are already reviews of procedures done by the state’s jail system health care contractor.

“I don’t know where this bill is coming from. I don’t know the genesis of this but from talking to experts I understand this is a non-issue, it’s not required,” Hansen said.

State Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation Commissioner William Marshall told members of the Senate Finance Committee the package is just the first of several steps that they hope to take in the coming months.

“Money alone is not going to fix our problem, we have to make the job better,” Marshall said. “The job is tough. It’s one of the toughest in state government. But if we fix things and do things that drive those officers crazy every day and then give them some money we might be on to something and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Gov. Justice took to social media with a 4-minute video Monday afternoon to promote the work of the special session on corrections and other bills.

“Think about the need in our state for correctional officers–we need to do something about it–don’t we,” Justice said.

Rainy Day change rejected

The House Finance Committee took several hours Monday to consider a few dozen bills that allocate money from last fiscal year’s revenue collection surplus to a number of projects. The legislature came into session with about $658 million available. The governor’s bills spends most of it.

The committee rejected the Justice’s bill that would change how much surplus money is required to go into the state’s Rainy Day fund. House Finance Committee Vice Chairman John Hardy said it would be a mistake to reduce the money going into the state’s savings account.

“I think that it’s this committee’s obligation to continue to fund the Rainy Day fund in the order that it should be funded and that we’ve made the guarantee to our taxpayers to keep that fund where we want it,” Hardy said.

The committee’s decision means there’s $144 million less in surplus revenue to allocate in this special session. The Senate has passed the governor’s bill so the original measure remains alive.

VFD funding

Lawmakers are also working on a $12 million funding bill for volunteer fire departments. West Virginia State Fire Chiefs’ Association President Randy James told members of the House Judiciary Committee Monday funding is sorely needed for things like firefighting equipment.

“A basic ladder truck, just basic, we just got a bid for $1.05 million, that’s what the basic ladder truck costs now and an engine is probably in the $600,000 range,” James said.

The governor’s bill is less than what Senate Finance Committee Chairman Eric Tarr and others wanted. Tarr said lawmakers were close to an agreement of bringing back a insurance premium tax that would provide a permanent funding source for VFDs and critical EMS crews. Tarr said during an appearance on MetroNews “Talkline” Monday the money residents save with low insurance rates because of fire protection would more than cover what they would pay in the premium increase.

“If we don’t not get it fixed where our emergencies are covered as fast and as competent as we can possibly get it, what’s going to happen is our insurance rates are going to go up,” Tarr said. “The governor just kicked the can a little further down the road for those rates going up.”

MU Cyber Security/Pierpont Hangar

The House Finance Committee and sent to the floor at $45 million allocation for Marshall University’s new cyber security center. The Senate has already passed the bill. Tarr lauded the project on “Talkline” Monday.

“Marshall is primed to be a premier educational center for cyber security in the country, if not the world,” Tarr said.

The House Finance Committee had a long debate before approving a $25 million allocation to Pierpont Community and Technical College for a new aviation maintenance hangar. Several delegates criticized the project for trying to take quick advantage of revenue surplus funds without letting the legislature know much about the project.

Del. Joe Ellington, R-Mercer, voted with the majority in favor of the bill but said

“I’m going to speak in favor of this but I’m going to tell you that I don’t like what the process has been through this whole special session with a lot of the bills we have. This just needs to stop. We really need to fully vet these things,” Ellington said.

The House and Senate will have floor sessions again on Tuesday.

The post Special session continues as lawmakers advance bills spending millions of dollars of surplus funds appeared first on WV MetroNews.

The storms inched into the area just after 12 p.m. and were unleashing heavy rain, hail in some areas, and high winds. Mon Power Spokesperson Hannah Catlett said they were watching the storm and were able to take quick initial actions to limit the number of outages due to the storm.

“The severe weather that rolled through has affected about 23,000 customers so far,” Catlett said. “Mon Power quickly restored power to 5,000 of those people, and we’re out there working as quickly and safely as possible on those remaining 18,000 people.”

The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning at 1:17 p.m. in the Terra Alta area.

Preston County E-911 Assistant Director Justin Wolfe said they had multiple reports of trees and powerlines down, wind damage, and a structure fire that may have been caused by a lightning strike. Additionally, there were several reports of small fires caused when powerlines fell and were controlled by storm rains.

“It showed some signature rotation on the radar about 5,000 feet up,” Wolfe said. “We have not received any official reports of any funnel cloud sightings or anything like that.”

As of 4 p.m. Monday, Mon Power reported more than 3,000 outages in Marion County, 2,400 in Preston County, 1,400 in Monongalia County, and not quite 1,000 in Harrison County.

“A lot of the damage was done in the Marion County area, it looks like Fairmont had a substantial amount of outages there,” Catlett said.

Wolfe said they had no reports or eyewitness accounts of funnel clouds at press time. The nature and strength of this storm will be determined following an investigation by the National Weather Service and Preston County E-911 officials.

“We’ll take a look at any damage reported to us or to them, and we always consult with them to see if there is any evidence of a tornado or if it is straight-line wind damage,” Wolfe said.

There were no injuries reported. Damage assessments are underway.

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The latest upheaval was driven by television networks who pour millions of dollars each year into conference offices. To their credit, schools are no longer pretending decisions to move from one league to another are fueled by academics.

Football is king.

You either get on the bus or get left behind, like Stanford, Cal, Oregon State and Washington State.

In this episode, the “Guys” explain what the latest realignment means to WVU. They also update the Mountaineer football team after one week of practice.

Listener texts and comments complete the show.

Three Guys Before The Game is sponsored by Burdette Camping Center — Komax Business Systems  —-  GoMart   — and Lou Wendell Marine Sales.

Don’t forget to check out Three Guys merchandise.

Never miss an episode, it’s free, subscribe below.

The post 3 Guys Before The Game – Conference Armageddon (Episode 476) appeared first on WV MetroNews.

Jarred Schultz, 39, of Barboursville, disappeared around 11:40 p.m. Saturday in the area of Coleman Drive in Lewisburg. He was found not far from there Monday.

The Lewisburg Police Department released an updated statement Monday evening.

“At approximately 12:36 p.m. on August 7th, 2023, the deceased body of a male believed to be Mr. Shultz was located in a wooded area near Interstate 64 and Route 219 in Lewisburg. There is no foul play suspected in this incident at this time. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Mr. Shultz family and friends in this very difficult time,” Lewisburg Police Chief Chris Teubert said.

Schultz’s wife confirmed on Facebook he had attended LIV Golf Tournament and that she’s “very worried.”

The post Update: Police say man who went missing after attending LIV Golf Tournament event found dead appeared first on WV MetroNews.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — When Neal Brown stepped up to the microphones at Big 12 Media Days in Arlington, Texas last month, one of the main reasons for optimism he gave about his fifth team at WVU was the amount of starts made by returning offensive linemen.

Fairmont Senior graduate Zach Frazier and Spring Valley graduates Wyatt Milum and Doug Nester have multiple years of starting experience at WVU. Ja’Quay Hubbard made eleven starts in 2022 and Tomas Rimac started the final five games last year as a redshirt freshman. Brandon Yates was an every-game starter in 2021.

With experienced veterans at each position across West Virginia’s offensive front, offensive line coach Matt Moore says his teaching has progressed beyond entry-level material.

“You don’t start at a level 100 class,” Moore said. “When they first come to class, we are now at 300-level classes for a lot of these guys when we are talking about, instead of just — What is the front? Who is the mic? — We are talking about linebacker leverage. We are talking about D-Line stances. We are talking about having a heavy shade, having a light shade. Me and my assistants try to continue to build these guys that are on these 300-level classes and try to continue them to the Masters-level class to help them be as good a player as they can be.”

Hubbard and Yates appear to be locked in a battle for the starting spot at right guard. Both players have seen snaps at other positions throughout the offseason.

Nester is making the move from guard to right tackle. Throughout the spring, Nester received some snaps at center and guard. Moore says he showed professional potential by being able to play multiple spots on the line.

“He played tackle early on at that other school down there [Virginia Tech]. He did a great job. We needed him at guard and he did a great job at guard. That’s what I sell these guys on. He can play center. He can go in and he played a bunch of center in the spring. He is selling himself as a guy that’s a fifth-year senior and is going to be an all-conference player at tackle. He has been an all-conference player at guard. And he’ll be able to play center. He is selling himself at the next level as that.”

Rimac has played in 14 games over two seasons at WVU.

“Being a redshirt sophomore, he is still a pretty young player. But he can move around. He can play tackle also if I need him.”

Along with Nester, Frazier and Milum may have the best immediate potential at the professional level. Moore says both can make improvements in different ways.

“[Frazier] is really good at manipulating people with torquing because he has the wrestler in him. He has survived on that. To be where we want him to be at the end of the season to have a chance to reach the goals that he’s got, he’s got to start knocking people backwards. And he’s got to start getting vertical movement off the ball.”

“Wyatt just has to continue to grow. He is not blessed with Zach’s strength. That’s something in the offseason he has really worked hard at is changing his body and getting stronger. He has lived off athleticism. Now he has to put those together. He has gotten way better at his hands and his striking on his pass pro.”

Along with Morgantown High School graduate Nick Malone, Spring Valley alumnus Bryce Biggs is penciled in as a top backup on the left side of the line. Biggs is in his third season and is the backup to Rimac at left guard.

“He is showing that he can go in and maybe be a guy that can get us out of a game. I am really proud of how hard he is working and how he is developing his body and developing as a player and starting to understand how to play the game.”

Outside of the loss of James Gmiter, who retired from football in the offseason, WVU’s offensive line returns almost completely intact. With the continuity comes increased expectations to be met.

“They are a tight-knit group. They care for each other. They’ve got a brotherhood. You build that and they hold each other accountable. So it is not quite as easy just to jump on the next train or the next offer or whatever that they got. Because I am sure with the world the way it is now, I am sure they all got phone calls in the offseason and offers.

“If we are going to double-team the three-technique, we expect movement. We don’t hope for it like we have done in the past. We expect them to do things the right way and expect them to win one-on-one battles. We expect all five of them to win one-on-one battles. That’s come a long way since my first couple years here.”

The best test for WVU’s offensive line could come in their first game at Penn State, against a Nittany Lion defensive front that boasts veteran players that started in the Rose Bowl eight months ago.

“You’ve got to go up there against a Top 3 defense in the nation in game one. There’s no better way to find out if you are going to be dominant or not.

“We’re going to see if we are what we say we are.”

The post WVU offensive line has progressed to ‘Masters-level’ concepts with veteran group appeared first on WV MetroNews.

“There are a lot of things that are going on there right now and if we get the drop of the flag and we’re able to go, there will be immediate benefits people will be able to run with as soon as we sign the bill,” Justice told MetroNews in a phone interview Monday, a day after he proposed the bill to state lawmakers.

The bill is part of the governor’s special session agenda. The state House of Delegates and Senate each passed their own versions of the bill Sunday. It will be up for final passage Monday.

Justice said it was important to put Summersville Lake on the map as a way to boost tourism to an already heavily traveled area near the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.

“With people coming from all over the world, now they’ll have access to this incredible new state park right off the highway, right off Route 19. This is going to be good,” Justice said.

The Summersville Lake State Park will become the 36th state park.

WV will soon be opening its 36th @WVStateParks, Summersville Lake State Park. The northern shore of our state’s largest lake in Nicholas County will be transformed into a premiere outdoor adventure park in one of West Virginia’s most iconic spots.https://t.co/NEfw7bRR1z pic.twitter.com/fHo3Pr27bG

— Governor Jim Justice (@WVGovernor) August 6, 2023

It’s the first time in more than 30 years a state park has been designated in West Virginia.

The last state park designations were announced at Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park near Wood County and Moncove State Park in Monroe County, according to the governor.

“This adds another wonderful state park to our already existing incredible parks,” he said.

The 177-acre park is located on the northern shore of the state’s largest and most picturesque lakes.

The governor’s office said more than 1 million visitors enjoy watersports at Summersville Lake each year. Visitors can also enjoy hiking, biking, camping and picnicking and other outdoor activities.

More than $150 million in improvements are currently taking place at state parks across West Virginia. According to the governor’s office, state park revenue hit another record-breaking year, for four years in a grow, showing growth for both in-state visitation and out-of-state visitation.

State Commerce Secretary James Bailey, who oversees the state Division of Natural Resources, wrote in a statement, “With Governor Justice’s vision, we’re going to develop this site to make it the nation’s premier outdoor adventure park.”

Once the bill is approved, the DNR will host a public meeting in the near future to receive input from the public.

The post Justice eager to sign bill to designate Summersville Lake as new state park appeared first on WV MetroNews.

There have been no charges filed in connection with the shooting. The investigation is continuing.

Deputies said the shooting happened in at Carleton Court Apartments in Cross Lanes shortly after Billie Joe Parker, 52, of Spencer, arrived there. Deputies said he drove to Cross Lanes to see about his daughter who had been a domestic dispute Sunday with her live-in boyfriend, Alexander James Hall, 23, of Cross Lanes.

Parker’s daughter was not at the residence but Hall was when Parker arrived. Deputies said the two men got into a fight that escalated and Hall pulled out a gun and shot Parker twice. He later died.

Deputies were on their way to Carleton Court Apartments at the time of the shooting to serve a warrant on Hall for the domestic dispute earlier in the day with Parker’s daughter. The deputies had advised the woman earlier in the night to file for a protection order and leave the residence which she did.

Deputies said they found Parker severely wounded on the ground when they arrived on the scene.

Hall has been questioned and is currently being held on a domestic battery charge. Deputies are conferring with Kanawha County prosecutors about whether there will be additional charges.

The post Man fatally shoots girlfriend’s father during Monday morning disturbance appeared first on WV MetroNews.

Forty-one of the state’s 55 counties are under the watch.

There’s a moderate risk threat for most areas.

MetroNews Accu-Weather Meteorologist Heather Zehr said that’s type of risk doesn’t happen often.

“That is their 4th highest tier of severe weather and this is the first one issued since 2015 in our area,” Zehr said.

The system is fueled by a great deal of humidity and another low-pressure system that has been associated with severe weather across Indiana and Ohio overnight. This, combined with a cool front and an unseasonably strong upper low pressure system, will create volatile weather conditions through the afternoon.

“That’s likely to pass just north of us, and I think that will probably fuel some of the stronger storms across southwestern Pennsylvania, but I think we could get in on some of that activity as well,” Zehr said.

From @NWSCharlestonWV:
Severe storms this afternoon and evening may produce damaging winds, large hail, and a few tornadoes.
Heavy rain within these storms could cause flash flooding.
See the latest weather briefings: https://t.co/4RnSQBaYQR #WVwx pic.twitter.com/cUAutsetVM

— West Virginia Emergency Management Division (@WVEMD) August 7, 2023

Zehr said the severe risks through the day today include wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour, the possibility of hail, isolated tornadoes, and heavy downpours.

But it’s not out of the question that we might see some places getting as high as 80 miles per hour,” Zehr said. “I think that is most likely along the spine of the Appalachians from the panhandle down into far eastern West Virginia.

Zehr said residents should watch for severe conditions throughout the day.

“Use a weather radio and try to stay close to the weather radar or app to provide timely notifications. Never drive into standing water on roadways. Turn around, don’t drown,” Zehr said.

Some of the storms could produce rain of 1 to 2 inches an hour.

“That could lead to the usual ponding of water on roadways, as well as the possibility that in some of the steeper terrain you could end up with some flash flooding,” Zehr said.

The counties under the tornado watch include:

BARBOUR, BOONE, BRAXTON,
CABELL, CALHOUN, CLAY,
DODDRIDGE, FAYETTE, GILMER,
HARRISON, JACKSON, KANAWHA,
LEWIS, LINCOLN, LOGAN,
MARION, MARSHALL, MASON,
MCDOWELL, MINGO, MONONGALIA,
NICHOLAS, OHIO, PLEASANTS,
POCAHONTAS, PRESTON, PUTNAM,
RALEIGH, RANDOLPH, RITCHIE,
ROANE TAYLOR TUCKER
TYLER, UPSHUR, WAYNE,
WEBSTER, WETZEL, WIRT,
WOOD, WYOMING

The post Most of state under a tornado watch until Monday evening appeared first on WV MetroNews.

A deadline has now been extended by the PSC to August 25 for municipalities and water districts to file reports on the maintenance and testing of their fire hydrants. The original deadline was July 28.

The PSC warned that the consequences could be serious if municipalities respond in time.

“We take this matter extremely seriously and must see these final and complete reports,” PSC Chairman Charlotte Lane said.

“We are in the process of trying to develop an inventory of what is out there in the state now and what is being done as far as inspections and making sure that fire hydrants are working,” Lane said during a meeting of the Joint Standing Committee on Technology and Infrastructure.

Lane said the PSC has received responses from about half of the utilities so far.

“To date, we have received about 120 some responses and we’re going to be continuing to encourage the rest of the utilities that have not responded to respond and give us that information,” she said. That number was later determined to be around 150.

The PSC’s order was issued after faulty fire hydrants in Charleston prevented firefighters from putting out a blaze at the home of Kanawha County Board of Education member Ric Cavender back in May. West Virginia American Water Company (WVAWC) said three fire hydrants along Edgewood Drive, Beech Avenue and Chester Road in the Edgewood section of the city did not have enough water pressure to fight the fire. It took fire crews four hours to put out the blaze.

Cavender filed a lawsuit against WVAWC a few weeks later claiming that his house burned down, his belongings were destroyed, and his dog died because of the faulty fire hydrants. The company declined to comment on the litigation.

At least three fire hydrants in the area of Cavender’s home had to be replaced. Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin at the time called the situation “unacceptable.”

Jonathan Fowler with the PSC’s Engineering Division said there are tens of thousands of fire hydrants across state, but water utilities have never been asked until now to report anything other than the number of hydrants in their districts.

“What we’re trying to do now is to develop a more comprehensive data base to reflect the industry standard on maintenance and testing of these hydrants,” Fowler told lawmakers Monday.

Del. Kayla Young (D-Kanawha) asked Fowler more about the PSC’s order which expired July 28.

“That’s already passed, so half of these water utilities are not in compliance?” she asked.

“Half of them have not responded. That is accurate,” Fowler said.

Young then asked what the PSC can do to make sure the utilities respond to the order.

“What do you do if they don’t respond? I mean these people’s home are potentially in danger. How do we best protect our constituents?” Young asked.

Fowler said there will be further order issued by the PSC to urge the utilities to respond and that there may be additional action by the commission if necessary.

The PSC has been reviewing the responses they have received so far and will deliver a report in the future. Fowler said there is some progress.

“I was pleasantly surprised with how many smaller utilities actually have a written fire hydrant maintenance procedure and how many small utilities and municipalities were able to provide documentation of that,” he said.

Lane said she hopes their order to utility companies provides residents with more clarity in their own neighborhoods.

“Our goal is to make sure that the people of West Virginia are safe when they have fires and that the fire hydrants work,” she said.

A hearing was scheduled for Monday afternoon in front of Kanawha County Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey regarding the Cavender-WVAWC case.

The post PSC urges utilities to submit fire hydrant information to address water pressure issues appeared first on WV MetroNews.

In what was the ninth time the PGA TOUR held a tournament at the Old White Course, DeChambeau opened with a 68 and followed with a 70 to finish 2-under par through two rounds. Though respectable, it left DeChambeau two shots off the cut line and brought an end to his week early in what marked the final PGA Tour event at the venue for the foreseeable future. 

That was DeChambeau’s second time competing at Old White. He finished tied for 14th at 8-under par during his 2017 debut, highlighted by a second-round 66 and a final round 65.

“There’s been a lot of great history around this golf course,” DeChambeau said. “I always felt, coming out here in 2017 and 2019, this golf course always fit my eye really, really well. After 2019 I was like, ‘I want another chance at this, I want another go at it.’”

Forty-seven months later, that opportunity came about for DeChambeau, who left the PGA Tour in June 2022 and joined LIV golf.

In the first of three rounds Friday at Old White, DeChambeau carded a 2-under par 68, a rather pedestrian score that left him behind half of the 48-player field.

On Saturday, DeChambeau responded with the best second round, carding a 61 that allowed him to tie the low LIV round in the league’s history. It featured nine birdies, including six on the back nine, which DeChambeau played in 30 shots. He closed with consecutive birdies to pull to within one shot of co-leaders Matthew Wolff and David Puig.

“Drove it really well, actually didn’t drive it as well as I did yesterday, but I scored so much better,” DeChambeau said after the second round. “Made a lot of putts. Had a couple 30-footers in there that you’ve got to have in order to shoot 8-, 9-under, and hit some good iron shots in there. The greens are super soft, and I spun a lot of wedges off the flag. Work on that a little bit, try and dial that in. Otherwise it was a fantastic round and excited for tomorrow.”

Somehow, that 61 paled in comparison for what was to come Sunday.

Playing with Wolff and Puig in the final group, the trio started on No. 1 and DeChambeau became the outright leader early by making birdie on the first two holes. A par on the challenging, 220-yard par-3 third was followed by a stretch of four straight birdies, including holing out a bunker shot on No. 5 and blasting a drive on the 390-yard par 4 seventh that finished within 10 yards of the green and left DeChambeau in an ideal spot for a pitch-and-putt.

“It was insane,” Puig said. “I think he was beating me by eight strokes after seven holes. I’m like, there’s two things here — one, I suck probably, and two, he’s insane.”

DeChambeau’s lone bogey of the round came on the 238-yard par 3 eighth, though he immediately bounced back with a birdie on No. 9 to make the turn in 28. No. 8 was the only hole on the front nine DeChambeau did not make a 3 on.

DeChambeau made birdies on the 10th and 12th holes with a par in between. Pars at the 13th and 14th holes followed, and though eventual runner-up Mito Pereira remained within striking distance, DeChambeau was in complete control.

As he stepped to the tee box at the 216-yard par 3 15th hole, steady rain began to fall. It had been forecasted and forced Sunday tee times to be moved up 4 hours.

Still, DeChambeau had to navigate the challenging conditions down the stretch to win for the first time on LIV. The tee shot on No. 15 showed he would have no trouble doing just that as DeChambeau blasted a 9-iron that came to rest 7 feet from the hole. He capitalized by converting the birdie putt. At that point, DeChambeau was 9-under par and the course record of 59 was well within reach. 

He took advantage of the par-4 16th playing much shorter than what it had the first two rounds and got to 10-under par for the day with his 11th birdie.

Then came the par 5 17th — the course’s longest hole at 615 yards. DeChambeau made his 12th birdie of the day and it left him needing a par or better on the 18th hole for a round in the 50s.

One of the more unique closing holes in major professional golf, the par-3 18th measured 188 yards Sunday. Regardless of distance, the best chance for a birdie is to have the tee shot land and stay on the proper level, avoiding the large horseshoe ridge that makes it difficult to identify proper speed and read on the putt.

DeChambeau hit a solid tee shot, though it didn’t remain on the proper level, and instead left him a putt of just inside 40 feet. He had not made a putt outside 20 feet through his first 17 holes, and now needed to hole one from double that distance inside the horseshoe for the first round of 58 at Old White.

The putt was read and struck perfectly and rolled directly into the hole, causing DeChambeau to leap into the air as he put the finishing touches on a 58 and a six-shot victory at 23-under par for the tournament.

“As I approached the putt, I’m thinking, don’t give myself a three-footer. It was just get it as close as possible,” DeChambeau said. “Once we did a bit of the calculations, it was like, all right, it’s a 40-footer, and I hit a 40-footer to start off every single day in practice. I know exactly what a 40-footer feels like. So I just made that feeling, I stroked it, and it was perfectly on line. Three-fourths of the way there I’m like, ‘oh, my gosh, this isn’t going to go in, is it?’ And I’m like, ‘this is for 58, this is for 58, this is for 58,’ and then I explode. That was fun.”

5⃣8⃣ FOR THE TITLE!

A FIRST WIN FOR BRYSON, AND A FIRST ROUND UNDER 60 IN #LIVGOLF HISTORY!

A final round for the history books @b_dechambeau! pic.twitter.com/dxAvkGNXFv

— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) August 6, 2023

DeChambeau was appreciative of the large turnout that that stuck around and witnessed the ending to the historic round.

“The passion that these fans have out here, they’re looking for something, and I think that’s why this is such a great venue,” he said. “You’ve got 12 teams out there to root for. You pick whoever you want. Then you’ve obviously got the individual side, so it gives people numerous opportunities to enjoy and have a unique experience, and the fans were awesome on that last hole. Making that putt and seeing everybody just go nuts in that stadium sort of atmosphere was pretty electric.”

On Sunday, DeChambeau had 23 putts to go with an average driving distance of 345.3 yards. He hit 10 of a possible 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens in regulation.

In the process, Old White became the first course to yield three sub-60 rounds in major professional golf. Stuart Appleby did so in 2010 with a closing 59 to win the PGA Tour’s first event at the course, and Kevin Chappell did it during the second round in 2019.

“Luckily, LIV was able to secure this and I was able to come back here and play the best golf I’ve played in a long time with a lot of the greats,” DeChambeau said. “Just having my place in history here is something I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.”

The post DeChambeau grateful to get back to The Greenbrier, become major piece of venue’s storied history appeared first on WV MetroNews.

Carrie Hodousek is at the MetroNews Anchor Desk, Kyle Wiggs has sports and Hoppy Kercheval delivers his morning commentary.

MetroNews This Morning for Monday, Aug. 7, 2023, is here. 

The post MetroNews This Morning 8-7-23 appeared first on WV MetroNews.

“Being on the road, the experience and everything of going up to Wheeling, the Frankfort trip was probably my favorite going up there,” said Herbert Hoover senior lineman Kole Johnson. “We were underdogs going into that one. Winfield, that was an underdog one too, beating them by one point.”

“Since I have been here, those past three teams we have gotten better as the season went on,” said Herbert Hoover head coach Joey Fields. “That’s a credit to our coaching staff and how our players approached every day.”

Despite unprecedented success, Fields and the veterans on the Herbert Hoover team are making sure that the great memories from 2022 are just that, memories.

“That’s last year. This is our year,” Johnson said. “It is a different team. We are going to set our own story. It gives us a little bit of a boost but that was also last year and we want to set our own story this year.”

“We’re very proud of what we accomplished but it can do no more for us,” Fields said. “It is about approaching each day and getting better. I know that sounds cliche but that’s what we try to do.”

As Fields enters his fourth season guiding the Huskies, he welcomes back perhaps the most experienced offensive and defensive lines during his tenure. That unit will plow the road for a group of running backs led by junior Rocco Frye. He rushed for 1,008 yards and a dozen touchdowns last fall. Two-year starting quarterback Dane Hatfield returns to engineer the Husky offense. The junior accounted for 46 total touchdowns and just over three-thousand yards of total offense in 2022.

“Dane’s a great player,” Fields said. “He’s had a good offseason. I like his approach thus far.”

Seven years after flood waters tore through their community, the Huskies will play their first games at the brand new Herbert Hoover High School next month.

“I haven’t been to a high school my entire life. I don’t think any of us have,” said Herbert Hoover senior lineman Zac Greer. “That’s just something I don’t think any of us can wait for. It is going to be awesome.”

“The pictures do no justice, is what I tell them,” Johnson said. “Going up and seeing it, the logo and everything, it is going to be pretty nice.”

“It think that we are even a little more antsier now than we have been because we know what’s coming,” Fields said. “A lot of the guys have still not been up there or saw any of it. We’re excited. This community is excited. The school is excited and our staff and students. We are looking forward to getting home.”

Herbert Hoover will host a scrimmage game against John Marshall High School on August 19. JMHS alumnus Brad Paisley will attend the scrimmage. Hoover’s first regular season home game will be against Cardinal Conference rival Nitro on September 8.

The post New school, elevated expectations for Class AA runner-up Herbert Hoover appeared first on WV MetroNews.

When they ran out of food, they resorted to cannibalism to survive. The extent of the cannibalism is often disputed, but the story lives on as an example of what lengths humans will go to when faced with desperate circumstances.

Consider now what is happening in college sports.

Two years ago, the Big 12 Conference was figuratively snowbound when Texas and Oklahoma announced they were headed to the SEC.  The Big 12 responded by poaching Cincinnati, Houston and UCF from the American Athletic Conference and adding independent BYU.

What followed were conference additions and subtractions down the line, falling like dominos.

Now the PAC 12 is dissolving. Its grant-of-rights deal—streaming on Apple TV—was viewed as a form of financial starvation and schools rushed to the exit… Oregon and Washington to the Big 10; Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado to the Big 12.

On one hand, the Big 12 and Commissioner Brett Yormark deserve credit for not only surviving, but coming out of the chaos in a position of strength. Two years ago, the conference was in danger of collapsing. The will to survive is strong because the only other option is, figuratively speaking, death, or in this case the ruination of the athletic programs of WVU and other Big 12 schools.

WVU President Gordon Gee deserves credit as well for the survival of the league. Gee was on the search committee that hired Yormark, and Gee has myriad contacts at universities across the country that help ensure that WVU always has a seat at the table.

The Donner Party made several key mistakes. They were not fully prepared for the rigors of the long trip from Illinois to California, they set out too late and they opted for what they believed was a shorter route. These were fateful choices that bent the arc of their journey toward tragedy.

And so, it is also reasonable to reflect on the mistakes college football has made with conference re-alignment. How did this multi-billion dollar industry that impacts so many higher education institutions, and millions of alumni and fans, arrive at this point?

I suspect that is what happens when there is no true central leadership in college athletics; there is only a hierarchy—the powerful, the less powerful, and the powerless. Any greater good is supplanted by a genetic desire to survive, even at the cost of others.

As an alum and fan, I’m relieved that WVU appears to be emerging from chaos in a position of strength. It’s better to be among the haves than the have nots. But I also have regrets, as I suspect do fans of most of the schools impacted. Other schools are suffering from our gain.

Of the 87 members of the Donner Party, 48 survived, thanks to the iron will of those individuals who went in search of rescuers. Historian and author Ethan Rarick wrote, “More than the gleaming heroism of the Donner Party is a story of hard decisions that were neither heroic nor villainous.”

The story of conference realignment is similar; there are no heroes or villains, just those trying to survive when faced with life or death decisions.

The post Conference Realignment and Cannibalism appeared first on WV MetroNews.

Gov. Jim Justice rolled out a 44-item call at 4 p.m. and by 8 p.m. the Senate and House had at least introduced each bill on the floor. The Senate gave final approval to all but 17 bills, choosing to pass nearly all of the budget supplemental appropriations bills during the evening floor session. The House chose to send those appropriation bills to the House Finance Committee for consideration. The committee will meet at 8 a.m. Monday.

One of the appropriation bills would allocate $45 million to Marshall University for a new cyber security program. Another appropriation, this one for $25 million will go toward the construction of a new aviation maintenance facility at Pierpont Community and Technical College.

There’s a bill calling for a $1 million allocation to the state police for a new security system at the State Police Academy.

State Police Superintendent Col. Jack Chambers recently said the agency was installing new security cameras at the academy after a recent controversy in connection with recordings of the women’s locker room.

The House and Senate set up bills for final passage Monday that would provide a fix for the new car tax credit, giving taxpayers the ability to get the 2024 income tax return credit who pay their car tax this fall.

There are eight separate bills that focus on the state Division of Corrections. Those include trying to boost the recruitment and retention of correctional officers. The bill leading the way is $25 million in pay enhancements.

1st Extraordinary Session Info-Graphic pic.twitter.com/oupv3sJ0VR

— WV Legislature (@wvlegislature) August 7, 2023

“The Special Session I’m calling today has some really important items for our Legislature to consider, like increasing the salaries of our Correctional Officers, and a clarification to our personal property tax cut,” Justice said in a news release. “It also includes an opportunity to officially designate the first new West Virginia State Park in over 30 years at Summersville Lake, and several supplemental appropriations that capitalize on our state’s spectacularly strong revenues including investing another $150 million in our highway maintenance and equipment, bringing our total state investment in our roads since I took office to over $2 billion.”

Justice’s call did not include a bill to increase the insurance premium tax to provide additional funding for EMS and VFDs. Justice instead will propose $12 million in one-time funding and then he says he’ll call all sides to the table in the coming months to agree on a permanent fix.

“This is in addition to $10 million which has already been appropriated for EMS providers. This is one-time money we’re able to provide for our counties, so I will bring all parties to the table very soon, including the counties and the Legislature, so that we can all work together to find a responsible funding stream for our First Responders without raising taxes. We all know that our First Responders are our heroes, so I’m very proud to propose this funding,” Justice said.

The West Virginia EMS Coalition was not pleased with the move.

”The EMS community is dismayed that Governor Justice has refused to answer our call for help during the ongoing special session,” the EMS Coalition said in a Sunday evening statement.

“While we recognize the Governor and certain members of the legislature may prefer to support fire and EMS through a source other than the insurance surcharge, we are disappointed the Governor would aid fire departments with surplus funds pending a permanent solution while ignoring the equally significant needs of EMS.”

Fifteen EMS organizations have ceased operations since 2022.

I have issued a proclamation calling for a Special Session of the @wvlegislature today at 4pm.

The Special Session has some really important items for our Legislature to consider, click below to read more.https://t.co/8UWOeKNtWc

— Governor Jim Justice (@WVGovernor) August 6, 2023

The bill making Summersville Lake a state park concerns 177 acres on the lake’s north shore. It will be up for final passage Monday.

“I couldn’t be more proud to announce our newest State Park,” Justice said. “Summersville Lake is an iconic place in our beautiful state filled with a lot of special memories that span generations of families. Now, all those who travel to Summersville Lake will be treated to the greatest outdoor adventure park in the country on the shores of our state’s largest lake.”

Floor sessions in the House and Senate are set to begin at noon Monday.

The post Legislature gets started on special session agenda appeared first on WV MetroNews.

Interim committee meetings at the state capitol building began Sunday afternoon and are scheduled through Tuesday, August 8.

The financially-troubled institution is set to close due to mounting debt and a non-existent cash flow.

“They have significant long term debt of more than $30 million, they have lines of credit at or near $5 million which is there maximum, and they owe the city of Philippi $835,000,” Tucker told state lawmakers.

The state’s Higher Education Policy Commission met last week and voted unanimously to revoke the authorization to confer degrees in the state from the school effective at the end of the year. The Higher Learning Commission, a national accrediting body, announced last week that the university voluntarily resigned its accreditation effective December 31.

“At the end of the day, we came to the conclusion that this institution was not going to be able to stay open for the semester,” Tucker said following the interactions and meetings with AB officials and after learning of their financial situation.

The fall semester at AB begins August 21, with some students coming to campus even earlier than that. Some students are already on campus for certain activities.

Seniors scheduled to graduate at the end of the fall semester may return to complete their degrees. About 15 students fit that description according to Tucker.

Of the 750 students that are enrolled at the private institution, Tucker said around 80% of AB students are athletes, who have their tuition reduced by around 50%.

“Isn’t that pretty high,” Delegate Joe Statler (R-Monongalia) asked, to which Chancellor Tucker replied, “yes.”

With the authorization pulled, the institution is also not permitted to enroll new students beginning this fall semester. Delegate Statler said it’s not a good look for AB if they were indeed recruiting students during the spring semester of 2022, before the authorization was pulled, and considering their financial troubles.

“I don’t want to say it’s criminal, but it’s bad,” he said. “We already know we’re in trouble and we’re still recruiting students?”

Chancellor Tucker suggested it’d be a good idea for state officials and the HEPC to take a closer look at other universities across the state from a financial standpoint.

“I do think it is probably incumbent upon us in this next year to take a really hard look at the finances of all of our institutions. Institutions across the country are closing,” said Tucker.

Tucker gave credit specifically to West Virginia Wesleyan College in Upshur County and Davis & Elkins College in Randolph County for stepping up in trying to transfer eligible students. West Virginia State University has also reached out to transferring students of Alderson Broaddus, among a handful of other institutions.

Chancellor Tucker also gave a brief update on deferred maintenance for higher education institutions.

“I once again want to thank you all for allocating money in the surplus section for deferred maintenance for higher education,” she said.

According to Tucker, it’s the first time that has happened since 2009.

$272 million is being allocated for four-year institutions, while Tucker said that two-year institutions have around $20 million for deferred maintenance.

The post State lawmakers receive update on Alderson Broaddus in first interim committee meetings appeared first on WV MetroNews.

The new vehicle will replace the 2005 retrofitted Winnebago used as Smile Express I since 2018.

Over the years, the program has been supported by area Rotary chapters, the West Virginia Oral Health Program and the Monongalia County Commission. Commissioner Sean Sikora said this program is, in his opinion, one of the most impactful initiatives for the community.

“It really is a big deal, and I’ve said it before,” Sikora said. “That particular program is one that I’m most proud of for this commission to be a part of.”

MCHD Dental Hygienist Tiffany Summerlin has been the top supporter of the Smile Express program and the leading reason the grant was secured. The grant from Aetna will fund the new, custom-built Smile Express II.

During the regular meeting of the Monongalia County Commission, Tiffany’s husband and President of the Rotary Club of Cheat Lake, Jamie Summerlin, explained that this new version of the Smile Express is truly a purpose-built vehicle.

“For a new Smile Express R.V. to be custom built from the ground up,” Summerlin said. “This is actually the way they are supposed to be done, as opposed to retrofitting an RV.”

The Smile Express has operated over a six-county area and started with a 2005 Winnebago funded by a $175,000 grant from the Delta Dental Foundation. The program has been vital to promoting dental health in rural areas of the state.

“I think it’s going to be something that could be a banner opportunity for the county and Monongalia County Health Department to showcase around the country what’s being done, and she’s a tremendous advocate for dental health,” Summerlin said.

During Sikora’s public comment, he continued about how important good dental health or the possibility of a dental intervention for someone in a rural area can be for the rest of their life.

“At ages 7, 8, 9, or 10, you can change the trajectory of an entire life just by helping their appearance; kids are so focused on appearance,” Sikora said.

The post Commissioners in Monongalia County praise upgrade of the Smile Express appeared first on WV MetroNews.

The current contract was originally scheduled to expire on August 5 at 11:59 p.m. Bargaining committee members and Frontier met late Saturday night and came to the agreement right around 11:15 p.m., according to Local 2001 Executive Vice President J.D. Thompson.

The Communications Workers of America on Sunday issued the following statement:

“Our members want to be on the job, delivering quality service for their customers and providing for their families. This contract extension will give Frontier executives the opportunity to do the right thing and move towards a fair contract so that we can all stay focused on providing quality service to our customers and building fiber connections to as many homes and businesses across West Virginia as possible.”

Thompson said some slight progress was made between the union and Frontier Communications in a meeting over the weekend, leading to the additional time added on for more contract talks.

“During that two week extension, the plan is for the company and the bargaining committee to continue to meet to try and resolve the issues that they’re still at odds over,” said Thompson.

The main issues are still job security and benefits for the CWA-represented workers. The current contract covers around 1,400 employees of Communications Workers of America.

“If you don’t have a job none of this stuff really matters,” Thompson said. “The big sticking points are benefits reducing contractors and the work that they’re getting, which we think our members should get.”

Thompson said union members are still prepared to go on strike with the company if they believe a fair settlement isn’t reached.

“They’re ready to do what is necessary to secure a fair contract,” said Thompson. “If that means going on strike, we’re ready.”

The post Two weeks added for more contract talks between Frontier and CWA employees appeared first on WV MetroNews.

By the time DeChambeau walked off the green of the seventh hole during Sunday’s final round, he had a firm grip on the first major professional golf event at Old White Course in four years.

Less than three hours later, DeChambeau was celebrating not only his first victory on LIV, but having a piece of history at a venue that hardly lacks it. DeChambeau rolled in a putt from about 40 feet on the 18th hole to finish with a 58 — the first sub-60 round in LIV history, a new course record and only the second 58 ever between the PGA Tour and LIV.

DeChambeau finished the tournament with a three-round total of 187 to shoot 23-under par, allowing him to win the individual title by six shots over Mito Pereira.

“Going 61-58, it’s a possibility I never thought I would do at The Greenbrier, never thought I’d do it over the course of my career even,” DeChambeau said. “To even back up a 61 is really difficult. I had something special going today, and I just felt super comfortable over tee shots and was able to play the course the way it was designed, and [caddie Greg Bodine] was able to keep my head calm, and when I started to get a little nervous he kept it fun and light and we had a great time out there.”

DeChambeau’s historic round began with two birdies, and after a par on the third hole, he made four straight birdies on holes 4-7, including holing a bunker shot on No. 5.

“There was a point in time where I did think about the 54, but I kind of threw that to the wayside, like OK, just get under 60 first,” DeChambeau said.

The lone bogey of the round came on the challenging par-3 8th, but DeChambeau immediately bounced back with two consecutive birdies to move to 18-under par.

Following a par on No. 11, DeChambeau converted a short birdie effort on No. 12 — the first of two par 5s. DeChambeau recorded pars on the 13th and 14th holes, and as he came to the tee box on the par-3 15th, a steady rain began to fall. Tee times had been moved up 4 hours in an effort to play most of the round without the impact of inclement weather.

That rain, however, did little to slow down DeChambeau. Instead, he continued his masterful round with a tee to shot to 7 feet on No. 15. He converted that birdie putt and followed it with another on the par-4 16th following an ideal drive.

DeChambeau made his 12th birdie of the round on the par-5 17th, meaning he birdied all six par 5s for the tournament.

On the final hole, DeChambeau hit a quality tee shot into the par-3 18th, though it spun back into a bowl on the green, leaving him a lengthy birdie effort for the outright course record.

Fittingly, DeChambeau stroked a confident putt and that worked its way up and into the hole, setting off a frenzied celebration from DeChambeau and Bodine.

“I made the putt on 18, and he goes, what did you shoot? I’m like, 58. He’s like, 58, what? He didn’t really even know,” DeChambeau said. “It was quite a funny exchange afterwards. Probably the greatest moment in my golf career.”

Bryson DeChambeau rolls in his final putt from distance on 18 for a birdie and a final round 58 — a new LIV record and a new record at Old White. DeChambeau finishes at 23-under par for a 6-shot victory.

Mito Pereira finished solo second. pic.twitter.com/kj4rYYZFpB

— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) August 6, 2023

Pereira was DeChambeau’s closest challenger for most of the round, which he began with an eagle hole out from about 160 yards on the par-4 second hole. A member of Torque in LIV’s team format, Pereira made six other birdies, though his chances of winning took a big hit with a bogey on No. 12.

“I absolutely knew the whole day, and I saw him not letting off the pedal, and I’m like, OK, I’ve got to answer,” DeChambeau said. “When I get in that mentality, it can get pretty scary for others.”

Richard Bland, David Puig and Matthew Wolff finished in a three-way tie for third at 16-under par. Bland carded a bogey-free 65 Sunday.

Puig and Wolff, the co-leaders at 12-under par ahead of Sunday’s round, played with DeChambeau, but couldn’t quite keep up. Puig was 2-over par through his first seven holes, but played his last 11 holes in 6-under par, including an eagle on No. 17.

“It was a good experience for sure,” Puig said. “I wouldn’t say I was nervous, but for sure it cost me a little bit to start the day. I didn’t hit it very good for the first eight holes.”

Wolff was even on the par-34 front nine, before making three straight birdies to start the back. He played his last six holes in 1-under par.

Harold Varner III took solo sixth at 14-under par, while Carlos Ortiz, Dean Burmester, Branden Grace, Brendan Steele and Taylor Gooch each finished at 13 under.

Torque, comprised of Pereira, Puig, Joaquin Niemann and Sebastian Munoz, won the team championship at 49-under par. Its closest challenger was the Crushers, a team that includes DeChambeau and finished second at 46-under.

“We had the team lead all day and obviously at some point Bryson just stepped it up in the individual” Pereira said. “He was 10-under through, I don’t know, like 15 holes.

Really nice week. Happy for all four of us.” 

In addition to Pereira and Puig’s top 5 finishes, Munoz was tied for 12th place at 12 under, while Niemann came in 23rd among 48 golfers at 9 under.

Torque has now won four team championships among LIV’s 10 events this season, including three of the last four. For the season, which has four events remaining, the 4 Aces lead the team standings with 168 points, followed by Torque with 161.

“It’s a running joke on this team how the Aces keep going in front even though we keep winning,” Munoz said. “Mito says the score is biased, something, there. But really it just shows how good they are, how consistent they are, how solid they are, and we are attempting to beat them. Here we are, and we’re on that quest.”

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The body of Kaden Barker, 21, of Orgas, was located near Woodrow Hendricks Drive in the Orgas area, according to Boone County Sheriff Chad Barker.

Kaden Barker was reported missing earlier in the week after family members said they were unable to locate him. A search party was formed and deputies assisted in the search.

Deputies said a local property owner discovered the body, which will now be sent to a medical examiner.

The situation is under investigation. Sheriff Barker said it’s too early to tell if any foul play was involved.

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After Governor Jim Justice signed Senate Bill 570 into law last March, the association has been training law enforcement officers in a specially-designed course which teaches them how to identify people with neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s Disease and address matters like elder abuse.

Association Program Director Teresa Morris said while police officers are often in situations where people are under the influence of drugs or alcohol and are showing erratic behavior, the signs of those dealing with dementia are sometimes not far off from that.

“Some of the behaviors with someone like that and a person with dementia can display are the same,” Morris said.

The training, which is conducted at the West Virginia State Police Academy, starts with a general lesson behind what dementia is, the various symptoms and characteristics and the different types and stages.

Morris said the program instructors then teach the officers about effective communication strategies to use with those with dementia and how to properly manage their behaviors.

She said the goal is bringing the officers to the point of understanding how to recognize the signs of dementia and how to differentiate it between someone who may be under the influence of a substance or dealing with some other type of condition, as it comes with its own set of unique characteristics.

“Sometimes these folks wonder, about 60% of people with dementia wonder at some point, meaning they can get out of their home, they can get out on the street, they might catch a cab, they may get on public transportation,” she said.

Morris said she conducts around four of these types of courses at the police academy and she said so far they seem to be fairly effective.

The courses are mandated for new officers coming into the academy but they are also offered to seasoned police officers, as well, with the addition of giving them the required credits needed to maintain their license.

“I think it’s going well, I think we’ve had good questions, we’ve had good talks about different situations, we try to talk through a couple of scenarios to where if something were to happen this is how you could maybe manage it,” Morris said.

Morris said the training has been important in giving officers the tools and knowledge needed to de-escalate a particular situation involving someone with dementia.

“These guys who are on the frontline can just be able to think, you know, maybe this elderly gentleman who is not responding and not following directions, maybe he has dementia,” said Morris.

She added that this training will also hopefully help to decrease the amount of force officers may sometimes use in such a scenario where the person is being uncooperative if it is a person with dementia.

Morris said it’s a free training course for the officers the Alzheimer’s Association uses which involves evidence-based, effective research from the National Health Institute.

According to the association, more than 6 million people are affected by Alzheimer’s. If anyone needs assistance with living with a loved one who may have the disease, you can call the 24/7 helpline at 1-800-272-3900.

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FAIRMONT, W.Va. — The West Virginia Department of Education has announced Marion County Schools are one of six organizations in the state to receive a 2024 Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) grant.

Superintendent Donna Heston said this was a renewal year for the grant that funds staff and activities for after-school programming.

The programs will be offered at Watson Elementary School, East Park Elementary School, and Blackshere Elementary School.

“We added to it based upon our students needs and what we’re seeing to help support them,” Heston said. “Not just academically with tutoring services, but also mentally with family engagement opportunities.”

After careful consideration, karate instruction has been added to afterschool learning opportunities.

“After school tutoring as well as this year we’re adding recreational opportunities with karate,” Heston said.

Karate offers many benefits, including a full-body workout, but can be priced out of reach for most families. Karate is a martial art, and most people at the instructor level are very experienced, with advanced belts and many years of experience.

“Anybody who has sought karate lessons for their child knows that it can be expensive, and now we have that opportunity in our backyard here in Marion County,” Heston said.

While teaching the principles of self-defense, karate develops confidence, self-discipline, character, good health habits, diet, and focus. Heston said they conducted a full review before adding the program.

“We carefully vetted that, reviewed it, and looked at some of the research associated with the methods of karate, and we’re excited to be able to offer it through the after-school programming,” Heston said.

Another grant through the Tygary Valley United will also extend after-school programs for students at East Fairmont Middle School, West Fairmont Middle School, and Mannington Middle School.

“That services students in after-school programs as well,” Heston said. “It is a collaboration with AmeriCorps, Fairmont State University, and those students that are pursuing education degrees.”

Other 2024 Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) grants were awarded to World Vision, Inc., in Barbour County; Boys and Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle, Berkeley County; Southern Educational Services Cooperative, Fayette, Summers, and Webster Counties; Step By Step, Inc., Kanawha County; and Playmates Preschool and Childcare Centers, Inc., Wayne County.

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“A big help is being able to be on the same page with the feeder programs running the offensive and defensive schemes that we run,” said Nichols. “It is a smooth transition there. We are obviously blessed right now with some talent.”

The Panthers went 8-1 in the regular season last fall, earning a home playoff game for the first time in school history. Clay averaged 32 points per game utilizing a spread offense and returning starters can be found on the line and at all skill positions.

“We’ve got some new wrinkles and some new things with some guys that are a little more experienced and have a little more knowledge finding grass. There’s a lot of guys that just know how to search out the open holes and search out the little tendencies that we need to look for. We’ve got a lot of depth this year.”

Garrett Taylor, Braden Black and Landon Williams are senior starters on the offensive line. They will go to work in protection of junior quarterback Noah Collins. He averaged 248 passing yards per game and tossed 14 touchdowns in 8 games.

“Noah has been all over the state and all over the country really doing camps. He has gotten a lot better, a lot faster and a lot stronger. We are looking for big things out of Noah this year.”

Senior Zane Minger accounted for 683 yards and 7 touchdowns. First team All-State selection BJ Williams led the Panthers with 938 receiving yards. He scored 19 total touchdowns.

“BJ will be all over the place. We’ll scheme BJ for different plays. A lot of people will be keying on BJ and Zane and some of the other guys. But BJ is a heck of a ball player.”

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An announcement from the 167th says “Our Airmen will engage in a variety of simulations and scenarios as an essential part of our preparedness training.”

167th Airlift Wing Lt. Col. Jonathan McCullough said there will be an increase in personnel at the base south of Martinsburg, an “increase in Ops tempo,” and, “some possible booms and bangs and sirens.  You’ll see different aircraft in the air.”

The press release from the 167th Airlift wing said those near Shepherd Field may notice “increased activity on and around the installation to include increased air traffic, pyrotechnics, and alarms and notifications on the loudspeaker system.”

Lt. Col. McCullough was asked if the training is tailored to a potential conflict.  “Most of that is done through simulations.”  He said a working group uses directives from their superiors as well as intelligence reports and analysis.

“We simulate those threats or challenges that our enemy or adversaries may present or have capabilities, whether that be a country, a group of people or individuals that have intentions to disrupt or harm,” he said.

“We simply create that scenario so that our force can learn and gain experience and be more comfortable in those situations,” Lt. Col. McCullough said.

“Now, no one is ever comfortable in a war or crisis,” he said, “but the more experience you can gain, the better off you’re going to be.”

As for next week’s training in Martinsburg, “The exercise is for training purposes and will be conducted in a manner that ensures the safety and security of everyone involved,” according to the announcement.

Lt. Col. McCullough says the base is trying to be a good neighbor and to that end, most operations will be suspended around 5:00 or 6:00 each evening.

During the exercise, on-base services will be modified as follows:

-Medical Appointments will be offered on Thursday, August 9 only.

-Force Support Squadron Customer Support Services (including ID card services) will be offered to current unit members only.

-The Base Gym will be open for current unit members only.

-The Base Shoppette will be open for current unit members only with the following modified hours of operation.

•Wednesday and Thursday:  9:00 a.m.  – 3:00 p.m.

•Friday and Saturday: 8:00 a.m – 4:00 p.m.

•Sunday: 9:00 a.m.  – 3:00 p.m.

Lt. Col. McCullough made his remarks on Panhandle Live, broadcast weekday mornings on MetroNews affiliate The Panhandle News Network.

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