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West
Virginia economy reaches new heights under Gov. Justice
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Under the
leadership of Gov. Jim Justice and his administration, 2019 proved
to be a historic year for jobs, income, and revenue growth in West
Virginia.
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Highways
crews complete busiest year of secondary road maintenance on record
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2019 was
also a landmark year for the West Virginia Division of Highways, as
crews worked at a never-before-seen pace, paving the way for safer
and smoother secondary roads all across the state. Following Gov.
Justice's directive in March for the DOH to get back to
its roots as a maintenance-first organization, teams
completed more than 27,100 miles-worth of work on secondary roads
alone, including paving, patching, ditching, road stabilization,
and more.
In the fall, Gov. Justice debuted a massive addition to the State's
road maintenance equipment fleet, with nearly 280
machines and vehicles being distributed to all 10 DOH Districts and
in all 55 counties across West Virginia, including 10 new Gradall
hydraulic excavators.
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To track
the progress, leaders with the DOT unveiled an all-new, interactive, web-based
map in August, which 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. Justice’s Secondary Roads
Maintenance initiative and Roads to Prosperity program.
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Gov.
Justice unveils historic Jobs & Hope WV program to
combat opioid epidemic
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In
October, Gov. Justice and several State leaders announced the start of an all-new,
comprehensive program aimed at combating the state’s drug crisis – Jobs
& Hope West Virginia – the
result of the concept brought forth by Gov. Justice during his 2019
State of the State address, to remove barriers to job opportunities
for those recovering from addiction. Jobs & Hope West
Virginia is a beginning-to-end program that allows an individual to
receive free addiction treatment while, at the same time, receiving
free career technical education. Assistance is not only for those
battling addiction. Any person seeking a pathway to more meaningful
employment through job training, obtaining certifications, or other
types of education may be eligible.
Since the program's debut, a grand total of 12 men and women have already graduated from a pair of heavy machinery courses
held by the West Virginia National Guard at Camp Dawson. The
program staff has also already received more than 500 referrals.
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Gov.
Justice honors veterans and the fallen with new military memorials
in West Virginia
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Major
business growth continues across all corners of West Virginia
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Many
ribbon-cutting and groundbreaking ceremonies were held all across
West Virginia in 2019, as major businesses across a variety of
industries either flocked to or expanded operations in the state:
In March, 123 new jobs were announced as Toyota Motor Manufacturing expanded its plant
in Buffalo.
In April, an expansion of the Northrop Grumman plant
in Rocket Center was announced, retaining more than 1,100 jobs and
creating up to 500 more jobs at the Mineral County location over a
five year period.
Later that same month, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held
celebrating an expansion of the MPLX Sherwood Gas Processing
Complex in Doddridge County, which – even before
expanding – was already the largest gas-processing facility in all
of North America.
In July, the Italian natural gas company Pietro Fiorentini celebrated the
completion of its first ever American manufacturing plant
in Weirton
In August, a new manufacturing plant for Hino Motors
in Mineral Wells brought 250 new jobs and $40 million in new
investment to West Virginia.
In October, technology company Infor, a global leader in business
cloud software, officially opened its new offices in
Charleston, providing a pathway to approximately 100 new,
high-paying jobs for West Virginians.
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Communities
In Schools program expands to new students and new places
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After the
success of pilots for the Communities In Schools program
in Berkeley, McDowell, and Wyoming counties last year, Governor and First Lady Justice expanded CIS
to Cabell, Calhoun, Clay, Fayette, Hardy, Lincoln, Pendleton,
and Raleigh counties. More than 26,000 students will be served
through this expansion.
Communities In Schools, which is now in 59 schools across the
state, aims to forge community partnerships and bring resources
into schools to help remove barriers to student learning with a
goal of keeping all students in school and ultimately graduating.
In September, Governor and First Lady Justice were
recognized with a national award during a ceremony at
the Communities In Schools Leadership Town Hall Conference in Chicago,
in honor of their efforts to empower at-risk students to stay in
school and on a path to a brighter future.
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Major
Roads To Prosperity improvement projects continue as program hits
two-year anniversary
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October 7
marked the two-year anniversary of the voters
going to the polls and overwhelmingly deciding to support the
launch of the Governor’s RTP program. In the two years since,
more than 500 of these major projects have been completed, spanning
more than 1,100 miles of roadways.
Just after celebrating the anniversary, the State completed its second historic road bond sale, generating
more than $700 million for additional RTP program projects in the
years to come.
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Gov.
Justice announces Governor’s Downstream Jobs Task Force to
capitalize on West Virginia’s future in the petrochemical industry
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In August,
Gov. 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 in Appalachia that would
bring billions of dollars in investments and more than 100,000 new
jobs to the region.
Through his friendship with President Donald J. Trump, Gov. Justice
encouraged top-ranking officials with the United States Department
of Energy to visit West Virginia several times in 2019. Over the
course of repeated visits, these DOE leaders and President Trump have
identified West Virginia, with its abundant natural
resources, as a prime location to host a major expansion of the
petrochemical industry – with President Trump issuing his own
executive order, instructing the DOE to formally look at the
Appalachian region for potential locations to build petrochemical
plants or other infrastructure.
According to the DOE, this so-called Appalachian Petrochemical
Renaissance could lead to significant growth in the region;
including $36 billion in capital investment, more than 100,000
steady jobs, $28 billion in economic expansion, and $2.9 billion in
annual tax revenues.
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West
Virginia State Police celebrate 100th anniversary; graduates new
cadet class
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March
marked the 100th anniversary of the creation of the West Virginia
State Police. The milestone was celebrated with a ceremony at the State
Culture Center, which included tributes to the families
of the 41 state troopers who lost their lives in the line of duty
over the past century. The event also included the unveiling
of a new exhibit located in the State Theater gallery, which
features 100 years of WVSP history and remained on display until
October.
June was also a special month for the WVSP, with 28 new cadets graduating from the West
Virginia State Police's 67th Cadet Class. The event
marked the second State Police cadet class graduation since
November 2018. Before that, the WVSP had not graduated any new
cadet classes for nearly four full years.
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West
Virginia tourism industry outpaces national growth by 58 percent
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In
October, Gov. Justice announced that West Virginia’s tourism industry grew for the
second consecutive year in 2018. This two-year growth
trend reverses years of decline and outpaces national growth by 58
percent. The finding comes from yearly economic impact research
and shows traveler spending in West Virginia grew at a rate of
6.5 percent, totaling $4.55 billion.
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The growth
was stimulated by creative tourism initiatives like "Destination
Unknown" – where 33 adventurous travelers
boarded a bus in Washington, D.C. for a weekend trip to a mystery
location. A little more than three hours after departing, the bus
came to a stop and the travelers stepped off to realize they had
been transported to West Virginia's Canaan Valley – and were
treated to a vacation that was truly Almost Heaven.
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Gov.
Justice working to help save Minor League Baseball in West Virginia
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Gov.
Justice recognizes the accomplishments of young students all across
West Virginia
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This year,
Gov. Justice visited numerous elementary, middle, and high schools
across the entire state to celebrate the achievements of countless
students, educators, and administrators. In October, the
Governor held an all-student assembly at Hollywood Elementary
School in Beckley to honor the school for being selected as a 2019 National Blue Ribbon
School of Excellence by the United States Department of
Education.
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Gov.
Justice expands computer science education at West Virginia schools
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Hundreds
of West Virginia National Guard soldiers and their families honored
at deployment ceremonies
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In August,
the Governor attended a deployment ceremony in Charleston
for 500 members of the West Virginia National Guard traveling
overseas to serve in the Middle East. Speaking to the soldiers and
their families Gov. Justice praised the soldiers for the
bravery they have already displayed in recent years, responding to
people in need in West Virginia. Then, in December, Chief of Staff
Mike Hall was on hand for another deployment ceremony in Martinsburg,
with 160 more soldiers headed to Cuba for the next year.
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24th World
Scout Jamboree held at West Virginia's Summit Bechtel Reserve
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In July,
more than 40,000 scouts from across the world were welcomed to the
Summit Bechtel Reserve in Fayette and Raleigh counties for the
24th ever World Scout Jamboree. This year's event marked the
first time in more than 50 years that the World Scout Jamboree was
held in the United States. With the massive influx of
scouts, the Summit Bechtel Reserve temporarily had a
population larger than all but two West Virginia cities and larger
than 42 of the state’s 55 counties. As such, several State agencies were on-hand to assist
in the operation of the two-week-long event.
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Gov.
Justice providing better access to medical care for disabled
veterans, unveils new vans for DAV volunteer transportation program
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In
August, 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 is being operated through the
Volunteer Transportation Network within the national organization,
Disabled American Veterans – or DAV.
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Gov.
Justice, state leaders join Virgin Hyperloop One officials at WVU
to discuss West Virginia's role in the future of transportation
technology
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In
November, Gov. Justice and several members of his
administration joined leaders with West Virginia University on
campus in Morgantown for an event – welcoming officials with high-tech
transportation company Virgin Hyperloop One to the state
and discussing the possibility of bringing a Hyperloop testing
center to West Virginia. Hyperloop is an all-new, high-speed mode
of transportation that involves moving people and goods in pods
through a vacuum tube, using magnetic and electronic propulsion
technology to reach travel speeds in excess of 600 miles per hour.
The concept and technologies involved are still currently in early
development and testing phases. The State is proposing that Virgin
Hyperloop One build their planned Hyperloop Certification Center
(HCC) in West Virginia. This testing center would aim to establish
regulatory standards and to allow the company to continue its work
perfecting this cutting-edge technology.
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Gov.
Justice announces millions of dollars for critical airport
improvement projects
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Gov.
Justice stocks Babcock State Park with golden rainbow trout in
celebration of WV Gold Rush; updates trout stocking method
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Online
camping reservations made available for all West Virginia State
Parks
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Gov.
Justice presents memorial bell at Bluefield High School honoring
"Lil" Tony Webster
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At the
beginning of high school football season this August, Gov. Justice took the field at Bluefield High School to
present a new memorial bell honoring the memory of
"Lil" Tony Webster – a member of the Bluefield Beavers
football team who passed away earlier this year. Players on the
team rang the bell every time they scored as a tribute to their
teammate.
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Ceremonial
groundbreaking held for Facebook's major fiber network project in
West Virginia
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DHHR data
suggests West Virginia overdose deaths appear to be declining
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Gov.
Justice presents West Virginia Purple Heart to heroes with State
Police
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Gov.
Justice pledges $1 million to Bluefield State College facilities
including first on-campus housing complex in 50 years
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In August,
Gov. Justice announced that he had secured $1 million in
funding that will be used to make substantial improvements
to campus life for students at Bluefield State College. Of that
total amount, $500,000 is being put toward assisting the college in
building a historic, all-new student housing complex, which is
already in the works. The Governor made the surprise announcement
during a groundbreaking ceremony, celebrating the start of
construction for the housing facility, which will be called
Heritage Village. The other $500,000 is being devoted to BSC for
work on the college’s student union.
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Gov. Justice
announces plans to build major rail trail along Elk River and
Buffalo Creek
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In
May, Gov. Justice announced that the state plans to build a major rail trail along the
Elk River and Buffalo Creek, giving adventure seekers
from across the country a new opportunity to enjoy West Virginia’s
natural beauty. The State signed a letter of intent to
purchase the land needed to complete the project, which plans to
utilize 72 miles of existing rail lines in Clay and Kanawha
counties and either repurpose the tracks for recreational purposes
or convert them into trails for walking, hiking, biking and more.
The planned trail network has the potential to become the
second-longest rail trail east of the Mississippi.
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Governor
and First Lady Justice present $21,000 check to jumpstart Future
Leaders Program at Clay County High School
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In
October, Governor and First Lady Justice joined leaders with
the West Virginia National Guard and West Virginia Department of
Education at Clay County High School to present a check in the amount of $21,175 to
help the school implement its new Future Leaders Program.
The Future Leaders Program is designed to assist high schools in
providing military and leadership-based curriculum, mentorship, and
guidance to high school students that aid in character and
leadership development. The program is similar to the Junior
Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) programs throughout the
nation, but is run locally by the West Virginia National Guard and
is tailored to the needs and requests of the schools in West
Virginia.
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Gov.
Justice delivers hundreds of Christmas presents to West Virginia
children
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To
celebrate the Christmas season, Gov. Justice put on his most
festive Santa suit and visited Chamberlain Elementary School in the
Kanawha City area of Charleston, delivering more than 700 presents to children
in need of a little extra cheer for the holiday season. The
gifts were purchased by the Governor and First Lady Cathy Justice
themselves and were given out to children ranging in age from
toddlers to preteens.
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