Assisting Veterans
Justice cuts ribbon on Benefits Office
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Gov. Jim Justice spoke during the event alongside his canine companion Babydog, who proved popular with the crowd assembled.
ELKINS -- Gov. Jim Justice cut the ribbon on a new West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance Benefits Office off the Beverly Five-lane Friday afternoon.
During the event, Justice said of military veterans that "we owe everything we have to them. Everything we have in this world we owe to those people who stepped up to give us the freedoms and the abilities and the rights and the chance to do everything that we do every day.
"Our active military, our veterans have stepped up. We owe 'em."
Justice also referenced the fatal shooting of Sgt. Cory Maynard in southern West Virginia last week.
"Just a couple days ago, I was at the funeral of a great state trooper who somebody just ambushed and murdered," Justice said.
"He was 37 years old. There was his son and daughter, a beautiful young wife, a mom and dad who were just grieving so much it was unbelievable. And it was exactly the same thing. We owe 'em. That's all there is to it."
He praised law enforcement officers and firefighters as well.
"They run to the fire, they provide us with our freedoms, they give us everything," the governor said.
Justice said he was thrilled to cut the ribbon on the new Veterans Benefits Office.
"We have had the great success of relocating or opening or whatever nine different facilities since I rolled in as your governor. See, we hadn't really done much, really and truly, since 1945," he said.
"This office, with the other offices around the state, they're going to facilitate and dispense $2.7 billion to go throughout our veteran community every year.
"If we're not willing to help them, to facilitate and make life better for them, then my dad would say we're not much," Justice said.
The governor also described the difficulties he had getting to the ceremony and a Corridor H project groundbreaking in Tucker County Friday. He arrived at each of the events more than an hour late.
"Just a little while ago, we were getting on a plane in Lewisburg to fly to Petersburg, and then go to the Corridor H announcement, and then come here," Justice said. "And it seemed so simple.
"All of the sudden, the pilots looked at me and said, 'Governor, we're leaking fuel out of one of the wings, and we can't fly.' And it would have been the sensible thing to say, 'We can't make it. There's just no way' ...
"I said, 'OK, let's go.' And so we drove."
Justice drove himself from Lewisburg to Tucker County, and then to the ribbon cutting in Elkins, with his canine companion Babydog and the head of his security detail in the car with him.
"Now I passed by here, probably going well in excess of the speed limit, going that way (to Tucker County). But I had in front of me a trooper who had his lights on," the governor said.
"We made it. And it's a glorious day in West Virginia. And it's an incredible, beautiful town and great people we have here."
After making his comments, Justice brought out Babydog to meet the crowd, and then he cut the ribbon on the new facility.
Among those in attendance at the ceremony were Delegate Ty Nestor, R-Randolph; State Senator Bill Hamilton, R-Upshur; Elkins Mayor Jerry Marco; Randolph County Commissioners Dave Kesling and Cris Siler; Elkins City Council member Judy Guye; and Randolph County Sheriff Rob Elbon.
Department Veteran Service officers at the new Benefits Office will serve veterans in Barbour, Randolph, Tucker and Upshur counties.
The new office is located at 2777 Beverly Pike, near the Fisher Auto Parts store.