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Each
week, Gov. Jim Justice's Communications Office will release a recap
of the prior week's events and press releases from across all
state agencies within the executive branch.
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Gov. Justice, WVDOT officials celebrate
groundbreaking of Coalfields Expressway extension from Mullens to
Slab Fork
Gov. Jim Justice held a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday, with
leaders from the West Virginia Department of Transportation, to
commemorate the start of new paving work on the Coalfields
Expressway (WV-121) in Raleigh and Wyoming counties. This
construction is the latest project to get underway as part of Gov.
Justice’s Roads to Prosperity program. [View Press
Release]
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This next
phase of roadwork will extend the four-lane section of the
expressway beyond its current endpoint at Slab Fork in Raleigh
County to the city of Mullens in Wyoming County. This portion of
work will span 8.9 miles and will mark the first time ever that a
four-lane highway has been built anywhere in Wyoming County.
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The
project also includes construction of more than one mile of
two-lane highway from the Mullens exit of the expressway, into the
city. In total, this $33 million project will add 10 miles to the
existing network of the Coalfields Expressway, extending its total
length to 18 miles.
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Gov. Justice announces additional $2.5
million in federal grant funding for various community improvement
projects
On Wednesday, Gov. Justice stopped in three communities across
central West Virginia, announcing another $2.5 million in federal
grant funding has been awarded to go toward broadband and
wastewater improvement projects.
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Gov.
Justice made stops to announce the following grant awardees:
Town of Burnsville: $1.5 million for
wastewater system improvements in the Town of Burnsville (Above) [View Press
Release]
Lewis County Commission:
$500,000 for broadband development in southern Lewis
County (Below Left) [View Press
Release]
Nicholas County Commission: $500,000
for broadband development in the communities of Hinkle
Mountain and Little Laurel (Below Right) [View Press
Release]
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Gov. Justice updates progress of secondary
roads initiative
Gov. Justice issued an update Tuesday on the amount of secondary
road maintenance work that has been completed across West Virginia
since he directed the Department of Transportation to make road
maintenance its top priority last month. [View Press
Release]
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Gov.
Justice was joined by Transportation Secretary Byrd White and
acting Commissioner of Highways Jimmy Wriston to make the
announcement. Wriston said it's been one of the DOH's busiest
months in memory, as crews have completed more than 2,000 road
miles of ditching and blading, poured over 16,000 tons of
asphalt for patching and related maintenance work, and more than
150,000 employee-hours have been spent on other types of
maintenance. [View
Additional Maintenance Statistics]
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Gov. Justice announces that improved trout
stocking method is in place
Gov. Justice announced this week that the West Virginia Division of
Natural Resources has implemented an improved trout stocking
method. DNR will be stocking the same number of trout in the same
number of locations. But, rather than dumping the fish in at one
point, DNR staff and contractors are now spreading them out over
longer sections of stream. [View Press
Release]
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First Lady Cathy Justice announces $35,000
grant for musical instruments at school in Greenbrier County
On Wednesday, First Lady Cathy Justice visited Western
Greenbrier Middle School to announce that their music programs have
been awarded a grant of $35,000-worth of free instruments from
VH1's Save the Music Foundation, a program dedicated to keeping
music education alive in schools. [View Social
Post]
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First Lady honors Poetry Out Loud state
champion, runner-up
Also on Wednesday, First Lady Justice visited a pair of high
schools in Greenbrier County to present the champion and runner-up
trophies to the first and second-place finishers of the state
Poetry Out Loud competition. [View Social
Post]
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Governor and First Lady host annual Easter
Carnival at State Capitol
On Saturday, Gov. Justice and First Lady Cathy Justice hosted West
Virginia's annual Easter Carnival event at the State Capitol.
Children were allowed to explore the Capitol grounds, take pictures
with the Easter Bunny and West Virginia's First Family.
Facepainting, snacks and other prizes were also available. [View Social
Post]
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West Virginia’s early learning programs rank
among top in the nation
On Wednesday, the Department of Education announced that West
Virginia’s Universal Pre-K Program was, once again, ranked among
the top in the nation, according to the 2018 Yearbook released
today by the National Institute for Early Education Research
(NIEER). NIEER recognizes West Virginia as a leader in pre-K access
for 4-year-olds and quality standards. [View Press
Release]
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The State
of Preschool Yearbook is the only national report on state-funded
preschool programs with detailed information on enrollment,
funding, teacher qualifications and other policies related to
quality. West Virginia continues to rank among the top in the
nation, ranking sixth in the nation for 4-year-old access and meets
nine of ten benchmarks.
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Arts Alive event showcases West Virginia
students' artistic talents
Last Friday, the Department of Education held its 11th annual Arts
Alive event at the Municipal Auditorium in Charleston. The event
showcased outstanding arts education programs and student
achievements in public schools. The work included in Arts Alive is
selected from state arts conferences, festivals and exhibits
throughout West Virginia; a competitive submission process; and/or
by invitation. [View Video
& Photos]
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DEPARTMENT
OF TRANSPORTATION
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DOT releases list of high-priority
maintenance projects as work fixing secondary roads continues
statewide
On Tuesday, the Department of Transportation released a
list of secondary road maintenance needs that WVDOT
officials have identified as high priority projects and intend to
complete as soon as possible. [View
Project List]
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Meanwhile,
Division of Highways crews continued their work fixing secondary
roads across the state. DOH teams have ditched over 2,000
miles of road shoulders over the past month alone, since Gov.
Justice issued a directive to emphasize secondary road maintenance
work.
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WVDOT leaders meet with Highways district
offices across the state
Over the past two weeks, leaders with the Department of
Transportation have stopped by each of the 10 district offices for
the Division of Highways to meet and discuss the long-term plan to
keep up with maintenance projects across West Virginia. [View Social
Post]
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Additional
district meetings will be held through the end of next week.
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Work underway on I-77 at multiple locations
including Mercer County, Charleston
On Thursday, the WVDOT announced that work is set to get underway
on a project to reconstruct I-77 from Bluefield to Princeton in
Mercer County. Beginning April 19, crews will begin milling out the
existing asphalt on the southbound on and off ramps at Exit 1 on
I-77 in Bluefield. [View Press
Release]
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Meanwhile,
last Friday, the WVDOT announced that work would also be getting
started on the I-77/I-79 split, replacing decks on three overpass
bridges in Charleston. [View Press
Release]
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WEST
VIRGINIA NATIONAL GUARD
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West Virginia National Guard identifies,
honors soldier who died during training accident
On Thursday, West Virginia National Guard Adjutant General, Maj.
Gen. James Hoyer, addressed members of the media to identify an
Army Guard solider who suffered fatal injuries while involved in an
airborne operations training exercise on Wednesday. Maj. Gen.
Hoyer identified that solider as Sgt. 1st Class Nicholas
Sheperty. The 36-year-old was fatally injured while training in
Suffolk, Virginia. The cause of the incident remains under
investigation. [View Press Release]
During his remarks, Maj. Gen. Hoyer honored Sheperty by noting his
extensive military background. [Watch Full Video]
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Prior to
his service with the West Virginia National Guard, Sheperty served
with the Marine Corps Special Operations Command. He enlisted into
the United States military in 2002 and served multiple tours in
both Iraq and Afghanistan. He is the recipient of the Bronze Star
Medal, Purple Heart, Navy/Marine Corps Combat Action Ribbon, and
NATO medal among numerous other awards and decorations. He was a
resident of Baltimore City, Maryland, and native Virginian.
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Bright Futures Learning Services recognized
as U.S. SBA Woman-Owned Small Business of the year
Bright Futures Learning Services hosted several executives from the
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) in Winfield on Monday. SBA
Regional Administrator, Michelle Christian, visited the Bright
Futures facility to raise awareness of Autism Awareness Month and
recognize local business owner, Jill Scarbro-McLaury. [View Press
Release]
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Scarbro -McLaury
founded Bright Futures in 2007. She recently expanded the practice
and improved the facility with resource made possible by an SBA 504
loan. Bright Futures Learning Services provides behavioral
treatment services to help improve the lives of children with
autism.
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DEPARTMENT
OF HEALTH AND HUMAN RESOURCES
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DHHR hosts peer recovery support services
conference
The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources' Bureau
for Behavioral Health hosted the West Virginia Peer Recovery
Support Services Conference on Tuesday and Wednesday this week in
Flatwoods. The event is designed for peer workers who have been
successful in the substance use disorder recovery process, and who
help others experiencing similar situations. [View Press
Release]
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DEPARTMENT
OF ADMINISTRATION
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Repairs and restoration work continue on
Capitol dome as scaffolding goes up
This week, additional scaffolding has gone up around the dome at
the Capitol building, as a project to repair and restore the dome
ramps up. As part of the $13.52 million project, drain pipes
will be replaced, a secondary lining system installed, and the
gutter system updated. This work, which will provide new
weatherproofing for the Capitol building, is needed to ensure the
strength of the building and its structure, as well as its future. [View Press
Release]
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By the
project’s completion date, which is currently projected as early
2021, employees and visitors to the campus alike will notice new
interior finishes, new five karat gold-leaf gilding to repair
damaged areas of the exterior of the dome, reconfigured portal
windows, and clean limestone cornice stones below the dome.
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DEPARTMENT
OF ARTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY
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Department of Arts, Culture and History
Seeking Entries for the 2019 West Virginia Juried Exhibition
The West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History is
announcing a call for entries for its 21st biennial West Virginia
Juried Exhibition. The show will be on display at the Culture
Center in Charleston. Since 1979, the exhibition has celebrated the
exceptional talents and creativity of Mountain State artists.
Submissions for the exhibit in the form of digital images on CD or
USB flash drive will be accepted from Monday, June 3 through
Friday, Aug. 2. [View Press
Release]
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DEPARTMENT
OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
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WVDEP holds Water Festival in Nicholas
County
On Wednesday, more than 200 grade schoolers from Nicholas County
participated in a WVDEP Project WET Water Festival at Carnifex
Ferry State Park in Summersville. [View More
Photos]
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The WVDEP
partnered with Concord University, the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park
Service to provide a day of hands-on water education.
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