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On
Wednesday, Gov. Jim Justice signed an executive order, establishing
a new task force – called the Governor’s Downstream Jobs Task Force
– which will work to bring downstream manufacturing opportunities
to West Virginia ahead of an anticipated expansion of the
petrochemical industry, that would bring billions of dollars in
investments and more than 100,000 new jobs to the region. The
Governor announced the task force during his annual address to
hundreds of the state’s top business, industry, financial, and
political leaders at the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce Business
Summit. [Watch Video] [More Photos]
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Following
the Governor's announcement Wednesday, members of the newly-formed
task force – including chairman and Department of
Environmental Protection Secretary Austin Caperton along with
Department of Revenue Secretary Dave Hardy – debuted their
plan to build infrastructure for manufacturing operations in West
Virginia to support a petrochemical expansion. [Watch Video] [More Photos]
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Beginning
Sunday and through Monday, more than 500 deploying soldiers from
the West Virginia National Guard said their goodbyes to family and
friends and departed for pre-deployment training in Texas. In
the coming months, these men and women will join forces with
soldiers from Ohio, North Carolina, and South Carolina to make a
team of 4,200 that will travel to the Middle East in support of
Operation Spartan Shield.
[More Photos Day 1 - Top]
[More Photos Day 2 - Bottom]
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On
Tuesday, the West Virginia Tourism Office announced that their new
television commercials took the industry’s top honor at the U.S.
Travel Association’s recent Mercury Awards. The Tourism Office and
its renowned “Almost Heaven, West Virginia” campaign was recognized
by the National Council of State Tourism Directors in the category
Broadcast Advertising: Television. The TV commercials aired in
2018 and were viewed more 40 million times. The spots beat out
Visit California’s “Kidifornia” campaign and Travel Michigan’s
popular “Pure Michigan” spots. [Read More]
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On
Wednesday, the West Virginia Human Rights Commission held the
Governor's 16th Annual Civil Rights Day Ceremony at the State
Capitol in Charleston to celebrate and honor several individuals.
Gov. Justice also signed a proclamation, officially declaring the
day as "Civil Rights Day" across all of West Virginia. [Watch Video] [More Photos]
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On Monday,
Gov. Justice – along with Herbert Henderson Office of Minority
Affairs Executive Director Jill Upson and others – sent happy
101st birthday wishes to trailblazing NASA mathematician and West
Virginia native Katherine Johnson. [Social
Post]
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On
Tuesday, Gov. Justice announced that he has awarded $2,149,670
in Child Advocacy Center Grant Program Funds to 22 projects. These
funds are awarded to local non-profit Child Advocacy Centers
throughout the state to address the growing problem of child abuse
and neglect. The recent awards are focused on a multi-disciplinary
response to investigation, treatment, and prosecution of child
abuse cases by providing services such as advocacy, education,
forensic interviews, evaluations, and referrals. [Read More]
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Last
Friday marked the final day of Chemical Biological Operational
Analysis – or CBOA – at Camp Dawson in Kingwood, where a
variety of companies presented new technology created for chemical
warfare environments. Volkstone training center proved an
ideal location for the products to be assessed by war-fighters in
realistic combat scenarios, including room clearings,
decontamination, and chemical attacks under fire. [Watch
Video]
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Camp
Dawson was also busy, this week, hosting training for soldiers
to learn the requirements of the new Army Combat Fitness
Test. The current Army Physical Fitness Test will be phased
out, beginning in October. Soldiers from all over the West Virginia
Army National Guard participated in this week's training, which is
designed to teach soldiers the details of each event, from proper
postures to how to grade the actual event. [Watch
Video]
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In the
five months since Gov. Justice announced his Secondary Road
Maintenance Initiative, progress fixing West Virginia's road system
has ramped up in all 55 counties. This week, the Department of
Transportation highlighted the work accomplished so far and
discussed what still lies ahead. [Watch
Video]
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Last
Friday, Department of Commerce Secretary Ed Gaunch wrapped up the
latest leg of his business listening tour in the northern
panhandle, with trips to Touchstone Research Laboratory in
Ohio County and Sledd Co. in Wheeling. This latest section of
the tour included meetings with the Business Corporation of the
Northern Panhandle and the Regional Economic Development
Partnership. Next week, the Secretary's tour will continue into
Kanawha County, with scheduled stops at construction and
automotive businesses in Clendenin, St. Albans, and Sissonville
scheduled to take place on Tuesday. [Read More]
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Recently,
West Virginia business owner, Marlene Hackett, spotlighted the West
Virginia Minority Business Expo that will be coming to the
Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center in October. The annual
event, now in its sixth year, is hosted by the Herbert Henderson
Office of Minority Affairs and encourages business development in
West Virginia and the inclusion of historically under-represented
communities like women, veterans, minorities, and more. [Watch
Video]
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On
Tuesday, leaders with the Office of Energy, under the Department of
Commerce, highlighted the upcoming Governor's Energy Summit.
Set in October, the Summit will bring hundreds of individuals
from the Mountain State and region together to discuss West
Virginia's expanding energy industry, including discussions on both
fossil fuels and renewables. [Watch
Video]
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On
Wednesday, beekeepers with the Patriot Guardens Honeybee program
performed basic hive maintenance on hives at the Apple Project site
in Muddelty. Currently, the Honeybee program has around 800 hives
across eight locations in the state, including the West Virginia
National Guard's Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy and the program
continues to grow. [More
photos]
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On
Tuesday, Gov. Justice reminded West Virginians in the southern part
of the state that bear firearms season opened this week in
Logan, McDowell, Mingo, and Wyoming counties. The season runs
through Sept. 15 and hunters are still able to apply to receive a
license. [Social Post]
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On Monday, the West Virginia Division of
Forestry offered a reminder that this coming Saturday, Sept. 1, marks the
beginning of legal ginseng pulling season. A law introduced in 2018
requires all diggers to provide a government-issued photo identification
to sell their ginseng to a registered dealer. Fines for violating the law
can range from $500 to $2,000 depending on the nature of the offense. [Read More]
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Last
Friday, officials with the Department of Environmental
Protection's Youth Environmental Program created and organized
an Outdoor Learning Experience for Fayette County Girl Scout Troop
#1895. This program was designed to help the troop earn badges
about environmental topics and ways to participate in environmental
projects in their communities. In addition to creating the program,
the WVDEP officials taught about the Leave No Trace initiative and
guided the scouts on a nature hike. [More
Photos]
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