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Gov. Justice announces best job rate in West
Virginia in 11 years
Gov. Jim Justice announced Wednesday that job numbers for April
2019 show the state's unemployment rate has dropped to 4.2 percent
– the best rate seen in West Virginia since 2008. The numbers,
compiled by WorkForce WV, show that job rates improved in 54 of the
state’s 55 counties in the month of April. [Read More]
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Gov. Justice attends unclaimed veteran
interment ceremony
On Memorial Day, Gov. Justice joined leaders from the Department of
Veterans Assistance at the Donel C. Kinnard Memorial
State Veterans Cemetery in Dunbar to help provide a proper sendoff
to three unclaimed veterans from the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force and
U.S. Navy. The governor provided remarks for the ceremony, honoring
these West Virginians for their service and sacrifice, while also
reminding those in attendance that these veterans are no longer
unclaimed, but are forever claimed by those of us in West Virginia. [Watch
Video]
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Members of
the West Virginia National Guard Honor Guard also participated in
honoring these veterans. Members of the Honor Guard performed a
21-gun salute, played Taps, and performed a ceremonial folding of
American flags for each of the veterans in reverence of their
sacrifices. [More
Photos]
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Gov. Justice honors West Virginians who have
made the ultimate sacrifice on Memorial Day
Also on Monday, Gov. Justice directed all US and state flags at the
Capitol and at all state-owned facilities be displayed at
half-staff. Additionally, the governor honored those who have paid
the ultimate price for our freedom in a video message. [Watch
Video]
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Gov. Justice signs series of bills from 2019
Special Session
On Wednesday, Gov. Justice signed a series of 17 bills passed
by the West Virginia Legislature last week as part of the 2019
Special Session. These bills were among a group of bills
originally introduced during the regular legislative session this
spring but were vetoed by Gov. Justice for purely technical
reasons. After working with lawmakers, the technical errors were
corrected and the bills were submitted for reconsideration. [Read More]
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Storage tank fire in Tyler County
extinguished after Gov. Justice orders state resources to
fight blaze
This weekend, emergency crews from Tyler County spent several hours
fighting a fire at a 1 million gallon natural gas condensate
storage tank owned by Dominion Resources near Friendly, WV. On
Saturday afternoon, lightning struck the tank and, in
response, Gov. Justice ordered that all state resources
necessary to fight the fire be made available, including personnel
with the Department of Environmental Protection, the Division of
Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and the West Virginia
National Guard. [Read More]
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The fire
was eventually extinguished in the early-morning hours
Sunday. No product was reported to have been released due to
the fire. [Read More]
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Gov. Justice appoints Kornish as judge for
8th Judicial Circuit serving McDowell County
On Thursday, Gov. Justice announced the appointment of Edward
J. Kornish of Welch, WV to the 8th Judicial Circuit Court, which
serves McDowell County. Kornish is set to fill the seat that will
be vacated by Judge Booker T. Stephens upon his retirement from the
bench today. [Read More]
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Kor nish
has practiced law in McDowell County for 29 years and also has
30 years of honorable service in the United States Army and the
Army National Guard, including several deployments overseas, under
his belt.
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Gov. Justice appoints Jean Kranz as director
of CHIP
On Wednesday, Gov. Justice announced the appointment of Jean Kranz
as director of the West Virginia Children’s Health Insurance
Program (CHIP). West Virginia CHIP is a partnership between the
federal government and West Virginia to provide low-cost health
care coverage to children in families that earn too much money to
qualify for Medicaid and have no other source for health care
coverage. The program serves 32,000 children annually. [Read More]
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Kranz has
been in the health care industry for more than 25 years, most
recently as the West Virginia Family Health Plan's director of
Medicaid operations.
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DEPARTMENT
OF ARTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY
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West Virginia artists showcase talents at annual
Vandalia Gathering
Last weekend, hundreds of artists and spectators from across West
Virginia came together in Charleston for the 43rd annual Vandalia
Gathering, an exhibition and competition including traditional
Appalachian music, dancing, pieces of artwork and more. [Watch
Video]
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Awards
were handed out to recognize the top finishers in several
competitions throughout the weekend. West Virginia’s champion
competed for top honors on Saturday, May 25, during the West
Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History’s 43rd annual
Vandalia Gathering. Throughout Saturday and Sunday old-time fiddle,
bluegrass banjo, mandolin players, classic cookie bakers, old-time
banjo, lap dulcimer, flatpick guitar musicians and liars vied for
awards. [Read More]
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The West
Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History also unveiled the
annual exhibition, Quilts and Wall Hangings 2019,
in the Great Hall of the Culture Center, State Capitol Complex, and
announced the winners of the juried exhibition. [Watch
Video]
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WEST
VIRGINIA NATIONAL GUARD
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Patriot Guardens uses agriculture training
to expand opportunities for recovering West Virginians
The West Virginia Military Authority’s Patriot Guardens program, a
component of the National Guard, is helping to assist West
Virginians with substance abuse disorders on their path to recovery
and new lives. The integrated agriculture and economic
diversification program is piloting a partnership with Recovery
Point WV, a non-profit organization that offers recovery services
at no cost to citizens across the state. Each week, Patriot
Guardens staff visit the 92-bed residential facility for women
located in Charleston to teach Recovery Point clients about
agriculture and gardening. [Read More]
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Patriot
Guardens personnel have assisted residents in planting tomatoes,
strawberries, different varieties of lettuce, radishes, eggplant,
and a host of other vegetables, with a goal of helping those in the
program learn new skills and get them excited about positive
opportunities and growth.
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Patrio t Guardens also providing agriculture
lessons to school students
Officials with the Patriot Guardens program also recently visited a
group of students at Franklin Elementary School in Parkersburg for
an annual event, teaching students about the fundamentals of
planting vegetables, in efforts to help foster healthy
lifestyles by providing students hands-on lessons about nutrition
and gardening. [Read More]
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National Guard team trains in preparation
for WVU football season
On Wednesday, the West Virginia National Guard’s 35th Civil Support
Team took part in Operation Rough Ride, a full-scale exercise with
West Virginia University training various emergency response
agencies in preparation for the upcoming WVU Mountaineers football
season. New technologies were tested during the exercise, including
the use of drones by civilian responders for safely viewing
potentially congested or blocked areas, and incident management
software. [Read More]
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Adjutant General pays tribute to fallen
military members and their families for Memorial Day
On the Memorial Day holiday on Monday, West Virginia National Guard
Adjutant General, Major General James Hoyer, released a video
message in honor of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice
defending the state of West Virginia and the country, all members
of the armed forces, and their families. [Watch
Video]
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Contractors Association of West Virginia
visits National Guard training to provide advice, opportunities
Last Friday, members of the Contractors Association of West
Virginia visited West Virginia National Guard Soldiers going
through a heavy equipment operator job training course at Camp
Dawson, West Virginia. The WVCA was able to see the Soldiers in
action and discuss potential career opportunities in the industry
throughout the state. [Read More]
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Dunbar Intermediate School holds Expo Day to
teach students value of project-based learning
Dunbar Intermediate recently hosted an Expo Day, bringing families
and the community to the school. Expo Day is part of the school’s
innovation program that focuses on project-based learning. Groups
of students chose an issue which they researched and provided a
workable solution. [Watch
Video]
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This
year’s Expo Day projects included building sun shades for students
waiting on the bus to prevent damage to the skin; providing fun
activities at field day that students with varying levels of
ability may enjoy; water conservation; robotics and others.
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DEPARTMENT
OF ADMINISTRATION
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Sixteen West Virginia college students
moving on as quarterfinalists in the SANS Institute's Cyber
FastTrack program
The SANS Institute announced recently that 16 West Virginia college
students are one step closer to national recognition and a share of
$2.5 million in scholarship money. Earlier this spring, the
SANS Institute kicked off Cyber FastTrack, a new program for
college students, which identifies individuals who excel in
cybersecurity and inspires them to consider a future in the field. [Read More]
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Of 94
participants, 16 moved on to become quarterfinalists for the second
stage of the program. In other words, more than 5% of West
Virginia’s participating students solved the most difficult
challenges, putting them in the “Highly Adept” category of participants.
One student achieved a perfect score in the Assess Stage.
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DEPARTMENT
OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
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WVDEP's Shaffer named United Way Campaign
Coordinator of the Year
Department of Environmental Protection staffer Leigh Ann Shaffer
was presented with the inaugural United Way Campaign Coordinator of
the Year Award by the United Way of Central West Virginia at a
luncheon at its headquarters Thursday. Shaffer, who took over as
the WVDEP United Way Coordinator in 2018, helped the WVDEP raise
just over $20,000 this year alone – almost half of the $50,271
raised by all state agencies, and up $7,300 from last year. [Read More]
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The
newly-established award recognizes a specific campaign organizer
for their outstanding efforts over the campaign year and their
willingness to go above and beyond in raising funds for the United
Way.
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REAP program announces tire collections for
June
The Department of Environmental Protection’s Rehabilitation
Environmental Action Plan (REAP) is hosting several tire collection
events around the state in the month of June and has several
additional tire collection initiatives ongoing across the state. The
full schedule of events is posted online. [Read More]
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Residents
may dispose of up to 10 tires per person with a valid West Virginia
ID for the county in which the tire collection event is being held.
The tires must be off the rims, and only car and light truck tires
will be accepted.
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Elementary students awarded for recycling
efforts in Charleston
This week, DEP officials presented Charleston Montessori’s upper
elementary students with the DuPont Plastic Recycling Award for
their work this past year in leading the school’s TerraCycle program
and participating in clean up efforts through WV Make It Shine and
the City of Charleston’s Team Up to Clean Up. The students have
helped divert more than 3,000 pounds of materials from landfills
and collected over 100 pounds of materials from landfills and
collected over 100 pounds of trash from Charleston parks, Magic
Island, and the North Charleston Rec Center. [More Photos]
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