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Consequences

It was not only state officials who noticed a difference in the way the Federal Emergency Management Agency treated West Virginia in June, as opposed to previous interactions. Mountain State residents didn’t just notice it, they felt the consequences. Doug Buffington, acting secretary of the state Department of Homeland Security and a senior advisor to Gov. Patrick Morrisey, covered his bases when he declared “I have nothing bad to say about FEMA,” while he spoke to lawmakers earlier this week. But with that out of the way, he talked to them about his interaction with the FEMA ...

Sad Process

Today marks the beginning of a sad process for the Randolph County Schools system, as the county Board of Education will vote this month on whether to close two K-12 schools and three elementary schools. A public hearing on the closing of Harman K-12 School and North Elementary School is scheduled for today at the Elkins High School theatre, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Those wishing to speak during the hearing must sign in between 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. The Randolph County Board of Education will cast a final vote on closing the two schools at 8:30 p.m. tonight. If the proposal is ...

Festival Weather

They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, and you certainly couldn’t judge the 87th Mountain State Forest Festival by the weather of its opening weekend. The small army of volunteers it took to bring us this year’s Forest Festival, under the supervision of Director General Lisa A. Shaffer, are to be commended for all the hard work they put in last week, especially in light of the rapidly changing weather conditions. The 87th MSFF got off to a rainy start during the official opening ceremony at the Jennings Randolph Federal Center in Elkins on Saturday, Oct. 27. A number ...

Get Outside

Though the weather is still warm enough to make us forget, cooler temperatures are on their way. As the cold gray of winter appears on the horizon, it’s a good time for those who love the outdoors to remember: There’s no such thing as bad weather, only poor clothing choices. The Mountaineer Mile has been a tool to help West Virginians stay healthier for months now. But representatives of Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s office took the chance last week to visit a couple of parks in Pleasants and Wetzel counties to remind us there are walkable opportunities outdoors in the Mountain State ...

Stop the Flow

State and regional law enforcement agencies continue to fight diligently against one of West Virginia’s most dangerous foes: the flow of fentanyl and other drugs that continues to endanger and kill Mountain States residents still falling victim to the substance abuse epidemic. On Sept. 10, the West Virginia State Police, the Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force and the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area worked together on what has been billed as one of the largest fentanyl busts in state history, in Mercer County. It yielded 54 pounds of suspected ...

Fire Season

Fall fire season has arrived across our region. Don’t let a little rainy weather in September fool you, things are still dry enough to elevate the risk of wildfires. That risk is already higher now that leaves are hitting the ground, and other vegetation is either going dormant and drying out or dying altogether at this time of year. Lower humidity and fall breezes may be pleasant for us, but they, too, add to the risk. All those factors create “a situation where we have an elevated risk of wildfires here in Ohio,” according to the state Division of Forestry’s Aaron ...