Maybe I'll see you at the (Whizzbanger's) ball? But, I'm also here to deliver some news.
The West Virginia Weakly Reader for Saturday, June 15, 2024
Chances are, at the very moment this newsletter hits your inbox, I am lying in a tent somewhere on southern West Virginia’s Summit Bechtel Reserve. That’s the 14,000-acre outdoor adventure park owned and operated by the Boy Scouts of America.
Trust me, I am no Boy Scout. I might own a pocket knife and enjoy a good campfire, but I’m terrible with knots — and well, a bunch of other things scouts earn badges for mastering.
No, I’m here to cover the Whizzbanger’s Ball,1 a two-day music festival featuring acts represented by Whizzbang Booking and Management.
That organization, led by super mensch Ian Thornton, grew out of the rich music scene around Huntington about 10-15 years back — when everyone knew some of the acts that frequented the town we’re on the road to “making it.” You might have heard some of the artists on Whizzbang’s and the festival’s roster: Tyler Childers, William Matheny, and John R. Miller.
A couple of lifetimes ago, I got my start in journalism writing about music — mostly focusing on the wide range of talent in the local scene. It was perfect timing, as I was kicking around Huntington when many of these up-and-coming acts — including Childers, Matheny and Miller — were cutting their teeth. I got to know all of those guys because I wrote about them and others making waves.
And thanks to people like Thornton, that local scene isn’t just local anymore — it’s international. For example, you can’t wind up in a bar seemingly anywhere without Childers hitting the jukebox a time or two. And if you need further proof, Childers has pulled seven Grammy nominations over the past three years.
Anyway, my former West Virginia Public Broadcasting colleague Ashton Marra reached out to me to see if I’d be interested in covering this shindig for the publication she runs, 100 Days in Appalachia.
Believe it or not, 100 Days is the very reason I moved to Morgantown in late 2016. I helped get that digital rag off the ground — and, at some point today, I’ll be gathering interviews with musicians I’ve known for years for a story for that publication.
To put it simply: journalism has its perks and life has a way of being good to a person from time to time. It also comes full-circle sometimes, too.
The West Virginia Weakly will republish whatever 100 Days puts out — so if the piece doesn’t come your way via social media or you just don’t feel motivated to look it up otherwise, you’ll get it in your inbox soon enough.
Before we get into the news of the week, a quick reminder that — after YEARS of trying to convince Giles that we should do a podcast, it’s happening (er, happened).
Giles recently sat down with Senate Judiciary Chair and soon-to-be West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Charles Trump. It’s a great conversation that addresses Trump’s philosophy as a lawmaker and highlights his respect of the judiciary, which he’s stepping into come next year.
I’d like to think we’re settling in nicely with the Saturday Weakly Reader (the free newsletter content — the thing you’re reading right now) and the occasional random musings in our Wednesday Extra (the content for paid subscribers only). The podcast is merely another avenue for the Wednesday Extra.
All of which is to say: Thanks to our beefed up efforts as of late, we’ve been racking up subscribers and are inching our way to 1,000 — a milestone we’ll obsess over until another arbitrary marker comes within reach. So, do us a favor and help us reach that mark so we can move on.
⁉️ The West Virginia Department of Human Services continues to be scrutinized following the death of 13-year-old Kyneddi Miller of Boone County in April. And Bureau for Social Services commissioner Jeff Pack has announced he’s resigning from his post.2 Pack is the second commissioner of the bureau to resign in as many weeks, after former commissioner Pamela Woodman-Kaehler submitted a letter of resignation May 29. Once a replacement is found, Pack — a former delegate from Raleigh County who had been with the Bureau for Social Services for three years — will transition to another role in state government, becoming the next commissioner of the West Virginia Bureau of Senior Services.
📺 Speaking of the state’s child welfare system, NBC News put a spotlight on the state’s troubled foster care program this week, featuring a story online and Thursday evening on the air.3 The online version of the broadcast network’s story offers some staggering statistics: “West Virginia has the country’s highest rate of children in foster care—a figure that’s four times higher than that of the U.S. as a whole. Ravaged by the opioid epidemic, the state has seen its foster care population balloon by 57% over the past decade, overwhelming an already strapped child welfare system,” NBC reported. A class action lawsuit filed in 2019, alleges a shortage of case workers, a lack of mental health support and other conditions have failed to meet the needs of foster children in the state’s care.4
🏨 West Virginia lawmakers have been getting a first-hand look at state-run hospitals after the death of an elderly, non-verbal man at Hopemont Hospital in Terra Alta earlier this year. The man was left unattended in a whirlpool of scalding hot water — with reports of his death stating his skin was “melted off.” Delegates and senators toured Hopemont Hospital this week as well as the John Manchin Sr. Health Care Center in Fairmont.5 The tours mark the fourth and fifth visits to state-run health facilities in recent months, with lawmakers also getting a look at the Jackie Withrow Hospital in Beckley, Mildred-Mitchell Bateman Hospital in Huntington and William R. Sharpe, Jr. Hospital in Weston.
🛢️After years of starts and stops on the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has green-lighted the 300-mile plus natural gas pipeline.6 The line, which runs through West Virginia and into Virginia and through a 3-mile stretch of a national forest, has been flagged as the source of environmental concerns and violations since it was first proposed in 2015 and construction began in 2018. As a result of efforts by U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV) to push the MVP forward (tucked into legislation to lift the debt ceiling last year) Congress fast-tracked the permitting of the pipeline. The project was stalled yet again following a court challenge, but ultimately moved forward to completion. The pipeline reportedly ruptured at the beginning of May, leading locals and environmental groups to call for further review of the project.7
🔌 Energy-related policy made other headlines in the state this week, with the West Virginia Public Service Commission asking federal regulators to reconsider a new rule focused on the nation’s electricity grid. In May, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued Order 1920, calling on power grid operators to identify the needs of the system over the next couple of decades, including how to implement more renewable energy sources. “The agency’s action substantially undermines states’ role in transmission planning, and will not result in just or reasonable rates,” PSC Chairman Charlotte Lane said in a Thursday news release.8 Speaking of FERC, the U.S. Senate confirmed West Virginia Solicitor General Lindsey See to a four-year term on the commission.9
🏫 “Any county that gives somebody a one-year contract, you’ve set that person up for complete failure,” said West Virginia Board of Education President Paul Hardesty at a board meeting this week. Hardesty was referring to short term contracts for school superintendents as the board received an update on the problems at Berkeley County’s North Middle School.10 After the state board declared an emergency at North Middle last month, the Berkeley County School Board did not renew superintendent Ronald Stephens’ one-year contract.11 An assessment of the school uncovered problems, including 160 reported fights and students feeling unsafe.
🏫 Better safe than sorry — Parents of public schools students in Paden City are not happy with Wetzel County Schools Superintendent Cassandra Porter. Several dozen people turned out for a protest in front of the board of education office on Wednesday after Porter announced that students at Paden City High School would be split up and sent to two different schools for the upcoming school year because of health concerns.12 PCHS sits on top of a Superfund site. There are concerns about vapors from chemical waste seeping into the school. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said this week that vapor intrusion data its collected does not show an unacceptable risk and that it did not recommend the school be shutdown. Superintendent Porter, however, told West Virginia Watch in an email that, “We do not wish to have any students in a ‘probably’ situation.”13
🚒 There’s been a bit of an upheaval surrounding the Tyler Mountain Volunteer Fire Department in Kanawha County. Ten of 25 volunteer firefighters walked out Monday and signed a statement blasting the department’s board of directors with accusations of “nepotism, dishonesty, and ultimately, decisions being made that are not in the best interest of the community.”14 More than 100 members of the Cross Lanes-area community turned out for a meeting Wednesday demanding answers and sought a no confidence vote on the board.
🏳️🌈 After LGBTQ+ advocates painted an elaborate rainbow design on an intersection in Huntington’s downtown, local police say they are aware of video showing a truck doing a burnout and vandalizing the artwork on the crosswalk.15 Huntington City Officials say Huntington Pride raised money for a permit and the artist involved in the elaborate crosswalk and will work with the LGBTQ+ rights organization to touch up the art installation at the corner of 10th Street and 4th Avenue.
👨🍳 If your social media feeds looked anything like mine this week, you’re probably well aware that Charleston chef Paul Smith was named “Best Chef of the Southeast” by the James Beard Foundation. But, in case you didn’t see this news, Smith is the, well, chef at the restaurant 1010 Bridge in the South Hills neighborhood of Charleston. I’ve never met Smith or tasted food he’s cooked, but seemingly everyone I know is excited for the guy — so I guess I should get down there sometime. In this interview with Atlanta Magazine,16 Smith offers a stroll through downtown Charleston, which is a fun read if you’ve spent any time in our Capitol City.
🏀 Literal NBA icon and Cabin Creek, West Virginia native Jerry West died Wednesday at the age of 86. Politicians, sports fans and seemingly everyone had words of adoration for West’s life and legacy as a player and team executive, with many calling him a “hero.” West apparently claimed he did not want to presume the NBA’s logo was made in his likeness, according to a New York Times report. But the designer behind that iconic logo says it was indeed West.17 Beyond that tidbit, of all the stories published about West, The Associated Press’ story on the basketball star’s impact on his home state sticks out as one we should probably share.18
🫡 The city of Elkins is celebrating the life of former mayor and state lawmaker Joe Martin today.19 A new flagpole at city hall is to be dedicated this afternoon and Martin’s family will be on hand for a reception on what would have been his 76th birthday. Martin died at his Charleston home in February. He served as Elkins’ mayor from 1977 to 1989 and represented Randolph and Pocahontas counties in the West Virginia House of Delegates for some 20 years, beginning in 1978. Gov. Justice has ordered flags flown at half-staff today at the Capitol Complex in Charleston and at state facilities in Randolph and Pocahontas counties.20
⛲ And it would be bad form if two Marshall University grads failed to mention that the school’s Memorial Fountain was nominated this week to be included in the National Register of Historic Places. The state Archives and History Commission approved the nomination during a visit to the Huntington campus, moving the decision to a federal review.21 The fountain is dedicated to the 75 people who were killed in the November 14, 1970 plane crash in Wayne County. The dead included most of the Marshall University football team. The crash remains the worst single air tragedy in NCAA sports history.
Everyone’s Got One — A look at op-ed pieces that resonated with The Weakly ‘s editorial board this week:
W.Va. House democratic legislators urge governor to act to protect children ~ House Minority Office, published in the Times West Virginian
Homeschooling not to blame for WV Teen’s Death ~ Sen. Patricia Rucker (R-Jefferson), published in The Charleston Gazette-Mail
Kyneddi Miller presser was long on words, short on accountability ~ Andrew Donaldson, West Virginia Watch
Mourning the loss of the logo ~ The Charleston Gazette-Mail
Whizzbanger’s Ball ~ Whizzbang Booking and Management
Second foster care leader to exit Department of Human Services in last two weeks ~ Amelia Ferrell Knisley, West Virginia Watch
A foster care system in crisis: West Virginia faces a legal reckoning ~ Maite Amorebieta, NBC News
West Virginia’s foster care system is losing another top official with commissioner’s exit ~ John Raby, The Associated Press
West Virginia Department of Health Facilities ~ News Release, June 12, 2024
Operations of the hotly contested East Coast natural gas pipeline can begin, regulators say ~ John Raby, The Associated Press
FERC gives green light to start up Mountain Valley Pipeline ~ Catherine Morehouse, Politico
PSC denounces FERC proposal; seeks rehearing ~ West Virginia Public Service Commission news release, June 13, 2024
West Virginia officials praise state’s FERC nominee ~ Steven Allen Adams, The Parkersburg News and Sentinel
WVBOE hears update on troubled Berkeley County School ~ Roger Adkins, Charleston Gazette-Mail
Berkeley County BOE chooses not to renew Superintendent Ronald Stephens’ contract ~ Ainsley Hall, The (Martinsburg) Journal
Paden City High School closure draws community protests ~ The Intelligencer/Wheeling News Register
EPA says ‘no imminent health risks’ for Paden City High School ~ Lori Kersey, West Virginia Watch
Crowd of 100+ seeks answers from, no confidence vote for Tyler Mountain VFD board ~ Rick Steelhammer, The Charleston Gazette-Mail
Video shows pick-up truck driver doing burnout on Pride crosswalk in Huntington ~ Isaac Taylor, WOWK-TV
Chef Paul Smith’s perfect day in Charleston, West Virginia ~ Jane Wooldridge, Atlanta Magazine
Did Jerry West Inspire the N.B.A.’s logo? ‘There Was Never Any Doubt’ ~ Benjamin Hoffman, The New York Times
Jerry West’s impact on his home state of West Virginia runs deep ~ Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
Celebration of Joe Martin’s life planned ~ Linda Howell Skidmore, The Intermountain
Gov. Justice orders flags to be flown at half-staff on Saturday, June 15, in honor of former Delegate Joe Martin ~ Justice administration press release
Marshall University Memorial Fountain nominated to National Register of Historic Places ~ Marlee Pinchok, WSAZ-TV