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On
Wednesday, Gov. Jim Justice announced that the Division of
Natural Resources is beginning a five-year project to restore
northern bobwhite quail to the state. This bird is a native species
and once was found across West Virginia, but several harsh winters
in the late 1970s devastated the population. At the urging of Gov.
Justice, the DNR has been working at the Tomblin
Wildlife Management Area in Logan County to enhance a habitat
that will sustain the quail. Last week, 48 birds were captured in
Texas and released at the Tomblin WMA.
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On
Monday, Gov. Justice hosted a ceremonial event inside the
Governor’s Reception Room in Charleston, signing into law a bill
protecting babies who survive an attempted abortion procedure.
House Bill 4007 – also known as the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors
Protection Act – makes it so that if a physician performs or
attempts to perform an abortion that results in a child being born
that has a beating heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or
definite movement of voluntary muscles, the baby is considered
alive and must receive the same degree of reasonable medical
judgment to preserve the life and health of the child as a
physician would render to any other child born alive at the same
gestational age.
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On
Wednesday, Gov. Justice gathered key members of his
administration and medical experts from across the state to
coordinate precautionary measures and continue preparations and
planning for novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Following the meeting at the State Capitol, Gov. Justice announced
that he had issued a State of Preparedness for West Virginia.
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Additionally,
on Monday, Gov. Justice and Secretary of the West Virginia
Department of Health and Human Resources Bill Crouch participated
in a national briefing call with Vice President Mike Pence and
officials with the Trump Administration regarding the emerging
threat of COVID-19.
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On Monday,
Gov. Justice announced that revenue collections were $1.7
million above estimates in February, the third consecutive month
that total collections exceeded projections. This now reflects that
the year-to-date shortfall has been reduced by 62.4% since late
August. The monthly surplus was due to stronger than expected
collections for the Consumer Sales Tax, Corporation Net Income and
Insurance Premium Tax.
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On
Wednesday, Gov. Justice unveiled the new West Virginia
Vacation Guide, a travel inspiration magazine dedicated solely to
promoting Almost Heaven, West Virginia. The 2020 West Virginia
Vacation Guide is the first ever state travel guide designed in a
flip-book style. The guide includes two unique covers – one for
spring/summer and one for fall/winter. Additionally, for the first
time ever, Tourism officials announced that West Virginia’s
state parks system will have its own unique guide. Both the
vacation guide and new state parks guide feature interactive
content with the use of QR codes located throughout. When scanned,
codes bring the guides to life in a digital format and unlock
exclusive content, promotional codes and more.
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On
Thursday, Gov. Justice announced that the West Virginia Gold
Rush trout program is returning this spring from March 27-April 4
and will be bigger and better than ever including an additional
weekend of stockings and a new contest. This year, the Division of
Natural Resources plans to stock 50,000 golden rainbow trout,
up from about 40,000 last year. Each day, DNR staff will
stock golden rainbow trout in more than 60 lakes and streams
across the state, including 16 West Virginia state parks and
forests.
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The
Division of Natural Resources has been managing the New River
walleye population for nearly 20 years, and the use of
electrofishing is proving to be an effective way to
collect data about this popular sport fish. Electrofishing is
a common method of sampling fish populations to see how they’re
doing in their habitat. Two electrodes are used to
send electric currents through the water, which attracts fish
and makes them easier to catch and study.
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On
Thursday, Gov. Justice presented a $50,000 check to the
Mountaineer Food Bank to assist in their efforts to feed West
Virginia families in need through the Hunters Helping the Hungry
program. The check was courtesy of the “Governor’s One Shot Hunt” –
an antlerless deer hunting event held in the Fall of 2019 that
provides a source of fundraising and provides thousands of pounds
of venison for the Hunters Helping the Hungry (HHH) program that
helps needy families across the state. HHH is sponsored by the
Division of Natural Resources.
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On
Wednesday, Gov. Justice issued a proclamation, officially
designating March 2-6, 2020 as National School Breakfast Week in
West Virginia. The Governor made the proclamation in front of
several education leaders and students from across the
state. The proclamation comes just after The Food Research and
Action Center (FRAC) announced that for the sixth year in a row,
West Virginia is the top performing state in the nation for school
breakfast participation.
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On Monday,
Gov. Justice greeted both the girls and the boys swim teams from
George Washington High School in the Governor's Reception Room at
the State Capitol, congratulating each team for winning their
respective state championships this season.
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On
Wednesday, the Department of Arts, Culture and History sponsored
the Governor’s Art Awards at the Culture Center in Charleston.
During the awards ceremony, nine Governor’s Art Awards and 10
Legislative Leadership Awards in the Arts were presented. The program
also included performances by Barbara Nissman, The Mountain Stage
Band, Kari Stafford Blankenship, Caden Glover, Liam Farley, and the
Capital High School VIP Show Choir. Categories of the awards
presented included Lifetime Achievement, Artist of the Year, Arts
Organization of the Year, Arts in Education, and Leadership in the
Arts.
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A pin oak
tree that formerly stood outside the West Wing of the West Virginia
State Capitol will now serve the state in a new way, as a more than
800-pound conference table housed within the General Services
Division. Denton McDerment, an engineer with the Department of
Environmental Protection’s Air Quality Division, designed and built
the table to extend the life of the nearly 100-year-old tree, which
had to be removed from the Capitol Complex for safety
purposes. The new table, which was unveiled on Tuesday, stands
at four feet wide, 12 feet long, and 2 ¼ inches thick. The tabletop
alone weighs approximately 520 pounds.
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On
Thursday, Gov. Justice signed Senate Bill 46, which makes it so
that pepper spray is removed from the state's list of "deadly
weapons" and will also allow people over the age of 16 to
carry pepper spray on the grounds of the State Capitol for the
purpose of self-defense.
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On Monday,
Gov. Justice released a statement saying President Donald J. Trump
deserves praise after his administration put together a long-term
peace plan between Afghanistan and the Taliban, and in the process
clearing the way to bring U.S. troops back home.
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On
Thursday, Gov. Justice held a ceremony where he proclaimed March
2020 as Red Cross Month in West Virginia, in honor of the
organization's commitment to serving those who need help getting
back on their feet in the wake of major disaster events.
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The
Women’s Commission and the Herbert Henderson Office of Minority
Affairs hosted a kickoff event Monday for Women’s History Month.
The event included an address from First Lady Cathy Justice and
musical performances by the Martin Luther King, Jr. Male Chorus. A
proclamation declaring March as Women’s History Month, signed by
Gov. Justice, was also read during the event. Plus, those in
attendance honored the life of Katherine Coleman Johnson, a West
Virginia native who was an influential mathematician for NASA.
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On Monday,
Chief of Staff Mike Hall presented a proclamation, signed by Gov.
Justice, declaring March 2, 2020, as Concord University Day in West
Virginia. Students, faculty, and staff members attended the
proclamation reading in the Governor’s Reception Room at the State
Capitol. The proclamation notes that Concord University is a
regional, public-supported institution of higher learning best
known for its pre-professional education, business, social work,
and science programs.
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On
Tuesday, Chief of Staff Mike Hall read a proclamation, signed
by Gov. Justice, declaring March 3, 2020, as West Virginia School
of Osteopathic Medicine Day. The mission of the WVSOM is to
education students from diverse backgrounds as lifelong learners in
osteopathic medicine and complementary health related programs; to
support and develop graduate medical education training; to advance
scientific knowledge through academic, clinical and basic science
research; and to promote patient-centered, evidence based medicine.
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On
Thursday, Deputy Chief of Staff Ann Urling read a
proclamation, signed by Gov. Justice, declaring March 2020 as
Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month. This designation formalizes and
expands upon the designation 30 years ago in March 1986 as
“Hemophilia Awareness Month” by President Ronald Reagan.
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Last
Friday, on the latest episode of WVDOT
in Motion, the Department of Transportation spotlighted
work being done to construct a roundabout in Williamstown. Division
of Highways engineers say the new roundabout will greatly reduce
the risk of crashes and traffic backup. The work kicked off back in
November when Gov. Justice announced the Roads to Prosperity
project for Wood County. The $4.3 million roundabout is at the
intersections of State Routes 14 and 31. It is expected to be
completed at the end of October.
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On Monday
and Tuesday this week, the Department of Education hosted almost
600 school counselors and education professionals during the School
Counselor Conference at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention
Center. The two-day event was titled “2020 Vision: Supporting the
Whole Child.” The conference offered school counselors a diverse
array of professional learning sessions with a goal of supporting
the social-emotional wellness, mental health, academic success and
career readiness of students.
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This week,
the Department of Environmental Protection’s Environment Matters
show highlighted the agency’s Watershed Improvement Branch and
Project WET. This group provides rain barrels to several West
Virginia schools. Weberwood Elementary School in South Charleston
received their rain barrels this week and the students were excited
to see it installed.
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