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CHARLESTON -- Gov. Jim Justice touched on a host of topics during his online briefing Wednesday, including a report of West Virginia Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston being pulled over on suspicion of DUI.
Asked about the Tuesday night incident while fielding questions from the media during the live briefing streamed on YouTube, Justice said he had only recently learned of the situation. He said he understood that Wriston was pulled over in Charleston but allowed to drive from the scene.
"I'm sure the police did their job properly," Justice said.
"At the end of the day, there is no excuse ... that we should have an employee of the state of West Virginia driving a state vehicle under the influence of alcohol," he said. "From what I know right now, that's not the case."
A release from the Charleston Police Department said Wriston's vehicle was stopped after 11 p.m. Tuesday after a report of it driving erratically. He was not charged or cited for any traffic offense, the release said.
However, "due to circumstances surrounding the traffic stop, an internal investigation has been opened to determine if the Charleston Police Department policies were followed appropriately," it said.
Answering another question, Justice said he did not understand a decision this week by the House of Delegates to amend a bill eliminating the remaining state income tax on Social Security benefits for single filers earning more than $50,000 and joint filers earning more than $100,000.
The amended version would instead phase the tax out over three years.
"I think that's a step in the right direction," he said before adding that the state has enough money to eliminate the tax now. "I don't know why in the world we're waiting."
Earlier in the briefing, Justice announced that Pleasants and Nicholas counties have joined the Communities in Schools program, meaning it is now active in all 55 of the state's counties. The program, spearheaded by first lady Cathy Justice, aims to form partnerships in communities and bring resources into schools to help remove barriers to student learning.
The governor praised the work of his wife and state employees in building the program, saying it not only benefits troubled students but all students by allowing teachers to focus on education while site coordinators help address other issues that might cause children to struggle.
"Never have I seen a program work like this," Justice said. "They're doing God's work. They're absolutely knocking it out of the park for all of us."
The program is intended to be tailored to the specific needs of the schools and their students.
Examples of services include tutoring, career preparation, behavioral intervention or modification and assistance with basic needs and resources.
Justice also announced that Kawasaki was partnering with the Hatfield-McCoy Trails in the southern part of the state. A press release issued after the briefing said the company will debut its new Ridge side-by-side on the trails this week, with journalists from multiple publications testing them out.
"It is a powerhouse of a partner," the governor said of Kawasaki.
Justice also said action should be taken to address relaxed rules on high school athletes transferring, warning the current circumstances could lead to a few powerhouse schools winning games by lopsided scores that would discourage athletes at other schools from participating.
"If we don't watch out, we're going to absolutely destroy high school sports in West Virginia," he said.
The governor started and ended the briefing by discussing the death of Liberty High School teacher and assistant football coach Ryan Lantz, who was struck and killed by a vehicle in the Clarksburg school's parking lot on Tuesday, according to media reports.
"We lost a great young man," Justice said. "It is a heartbreaking, heartbreaking accident that happened."