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National Guard

For many Mountain State residents, their knowledge of the work of the West Virginia National Guard begins and ends at disaster response and recovery. Maybe we know a little about the work that was done during the COVID-19 pandemic, or when other states ask for our help. Far less familiar are the international relationships the West Virginia National Guard builds through the State Partnership Program. Last month, Maj. Gen. William Crane, adjutant general of the West Virginia National Guard, joined a delegation that met in Peru. Officials discussed everything from upcoming humanitarian ...

Boos & Applause

Applause to the organizers of the 2024 Earth Day Celebration in Elkins City Park today from noon to 2 p.m., rain or shine. Participating groups include Elkins Tree Board, Tygart Valley Master Naturalists, Master Gardener Volunteers, Interact Children’s Museum, Project Learning Tree, Friends of Trees, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Forestry Service, Our Town, Centers Against Violence, Mountain Heart & Birth to Three, Appalachian National Forest Heritage Area, Plant the Seed, Elkins Area Shared Trails (EAST), Emma Scott Garden Club, and GREENWORKS of Davis & Elkins College. Woodsy ...

Photographs Wanted

Are you a devoted shutterbug? Do you enjoy taking photos of nature? Do you love documenting historic sites with photographs? Do you have photos showing our local area as it looked years ago? Have you held onto pictures of local leaders and dignitaries from yesteryear? If your answer to any of those questions is yes, then we have a terrific opportunity for you. The Inter-Mountain is accepting submitted photographs to be considered for inclusion in an upcoming Randolph County photo book. The book will be hardbound, and devoted to the natural beauty, and history, of Randolph County. ...

Education

Fewer than 48% of 2023 public high school graduates in the Mountain State went on to attend college this year, according to a report by the state Higher Education Policy Commission. Believe it or not, that’s an improvement, albeit a slight one. According to a report by WV MetroNews, HEPC Director of Research and Analysis Zornista Georgieva said this year’s 47.4% is almost 1 percentage point higher compared to the 2022 graduating class. In fact, she said the data shows 36 of our state’s 55 counties showed increases in their college-going rates in 2023. Meanwhile, despite their ...

In Compliance

Smaller, rural communities across West Virginia rely on volunteer fire departments to respond to a wide variety of emergencies, ranging from fender benders to fully involved structure fires. The men and women who give their time to those departments have their hands full — and that’s before they have to turn their attention to paperwork and red tape while they try to manage the money they receive through state funding and other sources. According to Mike Jones, audit manager in the state’s post audit division, they are doing an admirable job of it. In fact, Jones told a ...

Endorsements

Governmental leaders at all levels must do everything in their power to ensure their entities stay out of the political process. Endorsement of candidates — either intentionally or unintentionally — by governments or their employees in their official roles leads to an erosion of public trust. Yet for the third time in the past six years, Ohio County Schools finds itself having to explain what amounts to the system itself endorsing particular candidates. During that span, the district has allowed its buildings to be used in campaign materials and some of its sports teams, in ...