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During a
Grand Opening ceremony Wednesday for Hino Motors’ new manufacturing
plant in Mineral Wells, Gov. Jim Justice celebrated an announcement
– made by company leaders – that they plan to invest $40 million
and create 250 new jobs at the new facility. These new jobs
come in conjunction with Hino Motors completing its move into their
new 962,000-square-foot plant. The new facility is approximately
four times the size of the company’s old one. [Watch
Video]
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On
Tuesday, Gov. Justice announced that he has requested more than
$1.1 million needed to jump-start a major project to make proactive
improvements to the Runway Safety Area at Huntington Tri-State
Airport. The funding would be the state match required to utilize
another $10 million in federal funding in order to get the first
phases of the project underway. The project consists of
improving 1,400 feet of Runway Safety Area along the south edge of
the airfield, which requires 1.2 million cubic yards of soil to be
moved. [Watch
Video]
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Last
Friday, Gov. Justice addressed a room full of hundreds of West
Virginia National Guard members and their loved ones, during a
ceremony to commemorate the upcoming deployment of more than 500
WVNG soldiers to the Middle East. These deploying soldiers
will join forces with additional troops from Ohio, North
Carolina, and South Carolina, making a team of 4,200 soldiers that
will travel overseas as part of a mission to support partner
nations in making the region safer. [Watch
Video]
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On
Wednesday, Gov. Justice took part in a ceremony at the
Beckley VA Medical Center to unveil and hand over the keys to 13 new
vans that will be used by a group of volunteers to transport
disabled or injured West Virginia veterans to their appointments
at VA medical facilities across the state. The program will be
operated through the Volunteer Transportation Network within the
national organization, Disabled American Veterans – or DAV. [Watch
Video]
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This week,
Gov. Justice released a statement in the wake of the passing
of Pearl Harbor survivor and West Virginia native, Wetzel
"Sundown" Sanders. Sanders was a Lincoln County
native who served in the Navy in World War II. He received a Purple
Heart for his service in 2017. Sanders passed away over the
weekend, he was 96 years old. [Read More]
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On
Thursday, leaders with the West Virginia Department of
Transportation unveiled an all-new, interactive, web-based map that
shows every road project going on across the entire state. The
map also provides real-time statistics on how much road work has
been completed across a variety of categories, including Gov. Jim
Justice’s Secondary Roads Maintenance initiative and Roads to
Prosperity program. The map currently displays all road projects
for the year 2019; including projects that are currently underway,
ones that are about to be started, and ones that have already been
completed. The map’s data, including the status of each project,
will be updated approximately every two weeks as roadwork
continues. [View Map]
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Steady
improvements to West Virginia’s road system under Gov. Jim
Justice’s leadership have caught the attention of the authors of an
annual study evaluating roads in every state across the country.
West Virginia’s highway system now ranks 16th in the nation in
overall cost-effectiveness and condition, according to the Annual
Highway Report published Thursday by Reason Foundation. This is a
20-spot improvement from the previous report, where West Virginia
ranked 36th overall. [Read More]
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On
Saturday, the Department of Transportation re-opened all lanes of
interstate traffic near the I-77/I-79 split in Charleston, marking
the conclusion of a major project to repair and replace a series of
four bridge decks near the Westmoreland Road area. The project,
which was originally scheduled to take 100 days, ended up being
completed in just 91 days – more than a full week ahead of
schedule. [Read More]
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During a
groundbreaking event at Bluefield State College on Saturday,
celebrating the start of construction on the school's first
on-campus student housing facility in 50 years, Gov. Justice
announced that he has secured $1 million that will be used to help
fund work building the new housing complex – called Heritage
Village – along with a new-and-improved student union
facility. Heritage Village will become Bluefield State
College's first on-campus student housing facility since 1968. That
year, a bombing at the school resulted in the closure of BSC’s
dorms. [Watch
Video]
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On Monday,
Gov. Justice announced that he has recommended 13 projects,
totaling over $9.4 million in grants from the Appalachian Regional
Commission (ARC) Investment Program. The West Virginia
Development Office administers the state’s ARC program, which is a
partnership of federal, state, and local participants providing
financial and technical assistance for economic development and
infrastructure projects. [Read More]
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Last
Friday, First Lady Cathy Justice made history by presenting the
first-ever First Lady Cathy Justice Rhododendron Award to Dr. Laura
Suppa of South Charleston. The Rhododendron Award aims to
recognize individuals in West Virginia who have demonstrated goodness
and worked for the betterment of their communities. In particular,
the award seeks to recognize the “unsung heroes” throughout West
Virginia, whose work has made a significant difference in the lives
of others. Dr. Suppa, an optometrist with Charleston Vision Source,
works with the local nonprofits to provide free eye exams and
glasses for young children in need; one of many community service
initiatives she has spearheaded in recent years. [Watch
Video]
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The day
before many West Virginia students went back to school, Gov. Jim
Justice and First Lady Cathy Justice issued a video message to
children across the state, wishing them a wonderful first day and a
successful school year ahead. [Watch
Video]
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On
Wednesday, Gov. Justice made an address at the annual Spirit of the
Valley award ceremony and luncheon, congratulating 2019 award
recipient, Marty Becker. The event, which was hosted by the YMCA of
Kanawha Valley, was held at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention
Center. Through fundraising efforts known as their “Spirit of
the Valley Campaign”, the YMCA of Kanawha Valley is able to offer
free health and wellness programs to hundreds of children,
families, and people in need. The Spirit of the Valley award
recognizes a community member who exemplifies community services. [Watch
Video]
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On
Thursday, Gov. Justice stopped by the annual "Paint the
Capital City Green" event in Charleston – an indoor
tailgate event for the Marshall University Thundering Herd football
program and its biggest fans ahead of the first game of the season
next week. [More
Photos]
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On
Tuesday, First Lady Cathy Justice hosted a group of visitors from
Toyota Motor Manufacturing at the Governor’s Mansion in Charleston.
During the dinner, the group from Toyota presented the First Lady
with a $5,000 donation for the Communities In Schools program. [More
Photos]
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Then, on
Thursday, the First Lady hosted another dinner event, welcoming the
Girl Scouts of the Black Diamond to the Governor's Mansion for
another special meal. [More
Photos]
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This week,
the WVDEP highlighted the efforts of an experimental program to
preserve certain historic sites in West Virginia. The National Park
Service is using goats to remove invasive plant species like kudzu
and knotweed from steep West Virginia hillsides in certain areas
that would be difficult or dangerous to be removed by humans due to
the terrain. [Watch
Video]
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Commerce
Secretary Gaunch business listening tour continues with visits to
northern panhandle
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On
Thursday, Commerce Secretary Ed Gaunch visited businesses in
the northern panhandle as part of an ongoing series of statewide
business listening tours. The recent visits included stops to
Jupiter Aluminum and Eagle Manufacturing in Brooke County, as well
as Bidell Gas Compression in Hancock County. The tour continues in
the region through the end of this week.
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This week,
leaders with the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency
Management hosted the 2019 State Emergency Response Commission
(SERC) Conference at Canaan Valley. First responders and officials
from around the state attended the three-day conference,
getting a chance to interact with an array of response assets
available for deployment and use throughout West Virginia. From
mobile communications platforms, to HAZMAT response vehicles, to
animal rescue equipment, to portable inflatable shelter and
operations center tent units and more. [More
Photos]
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The
Department of Environmental Protection's Rehabilitation Environmental
Action Plan (REAP) is now accepting nominations for the 2019
Make-It-Shine Environmental Teacher of the Year Award. Award
recipients will be honored at the West Virginia Solid Waste
Authority’s/REAP’s Annual Awards Banquet on Oct. 21 at Canaan
Valley Resort in Tucker County. Winners will be chosen in the
elementary, middle, and high school levels, with each winner
receiving a $500 personal award, a $1,000 award to be used in
promoting STEM programs and a one-night stay at Canaan Valley Resort
to receive their award. [Read More]
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This
week, the Department of Transportation spotlighted the ongoing
work on secondary road maintenance that has been completed in
District 7, which consists of Braxton, Gilmer, Lewis, Barbour,
Upshur, and Webster counties in central West Virginia. [Watch
Video]
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On
Monday, West Virginia Army National Guard State Command Chief,
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Daniel Hutchins was promoted to Warrant
Officer 5 during a ceremony at the Joint Force Headquarters in
Charleston. Hutchins assumed responsibilities as the state’s
warrant officer corps leader in February of 2019, after 19 years in
the WVARNG and 28 years in the military. [More
Photos]
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On
Monday, North Bend State Park leaders announced the annual
Nature Wonder Weekend – North America’s premier and longest-running
wild foods event – will celebrate its 52nd year beginning
Sept. 20 and running through Sept. 22. This year’s theme is “In My
Backyard.” Participants this year will learn how to bring
their favorite wild edibles into their own backyards. [Read More]
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On
Saturday, the Department of Environmental Protection's Watershed
Improvement Branch and Office of Emergency Response participated in
the 65th Anniversary of Camp Virgil Tate event. Camp Virgil
Tate is the 4-H camp in Kanawha County and is also utilized by many
local schools for outdoor learning events, band camp, and more. [More
Photos]
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