Arts & Culture

A new statewide, online publication went live today - Vandaleer.com. It pulls content from affiliated, localized online storytelling publications based around the state - the collective mission: share a new, positive narrative about and by West Virginians who want to celebrate what’s interesting and unique about the state.

Dog lovers can get a guide of pet-friendly attractions in West Virginia.

The free, 20-page booklet lists places to go and things to do while accompanied by pets on leashes.

Signs and posters are being placed around the campus of West Virginia Wesleyan College notifying students arriving for the fall term that tobacco products are now allowed only in designated areas.

The change is a move toward the Buckhannon campus becoming tobacco-free in January.

A West Virginia group dedicated to honoring the working women of World War II is sponsoring bell ringings on Labor Day in at least seven communities in the state.

"Thanks! Plain and Simple" says in a news release that bell ringings are planned for 1 p.m. EDT on Sept. 5 in Beckley, Buckhannon, Cross Lanes, Glenville, Grafton, Huntington, Morgantown and Nitro.

West Virginia University’s gold medal winner Ginny Thrasher will be at the State Fair on Saturday.  

Thrasher will be in the WVU Building from noon to 2:30 for autographs and photos with the gold medal she won as a member of the Olympic rifle team in Rio.

The agency that administers the AmeriCorps program says West Virginia residents rank third among states in enrolling volunteers in the program.

The Corporation for National and Community Service says West Virginia has produced 12,000 AmeriCorps members since the organization was formed more than 20 years ago. The organization said in a news release that the members have given more than 18 million hours of service and received more than $28 million in scholarships.

Brad Paisley will perform a free concert at West Virginia University next month.

WVU says in a news release that the country music star will perform Sept. 9 in a parking lot outside the WVU Law School. West Virginia's football team plays Youngstown State on Sept. 10 in Morgantown.

A new statue of an American bison is being installed on the campus of Marshall University in Huntington, home of the Thundering Herd.

The statue of one of the university's symbols will greet students when they return for the fall semester.

B.E. Taylor, a musician whose annual Christmas concerts and recordings made him well known in western Pennsylvania and West Virginia, is dead of complications from brain cancer at age 65.

The general manager of a funeral home where Taylor lived in Wheeling, West Virginia, confirmed that he died Sunday. Funeral arrangements will be private.

A group dedicated to rebuilding communities plans to kick off a home construction project in White Sulphur Springs following devastating floods.

A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled Saturday on the site of Hope Village.

A West Virginia University professor has been researching which types of exercise are effective in improving academic performance.

The university said in a news release that Assistant Dean James C. Hannon of the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences says resistance exercise such as weight lifting and using resistance bands seems to help improve work in the classroom.

A Pennsylvania school district has donated more than 3,200 pieces of old furniture to flood-affected schools in Kanawha County, along with school supplies.

Furniture donated by the North Allegheny, Pennsylvania school district arrived in Charleston on Thursday. Kanawha County School District spokeswoman Terry Hollandsworth says the donated furniture will be placed in Bridge Elementary and Elkview Middle.

West Virginia University says net proceeds from a women's basketball game against Concord University this fall will benefit families affected by flooding in southern West Virginia.

The school said the Mountaineers recently visited Rainelle to help with flood recovery efforts, removing personal items, debris and water-logged walls and flooring from a couple of homes.

Charleston resident Madison McGhee's first full-length film premieres this weekend in her hometown.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that in the documentary, McGhee documents her travels, exploring places like Dublin, Paris and Lisbon, Portugal. She interviews young people living in Europe and explores what it means to find happiness and success.

Funeral arrangements have been made for a 14-year-old West Virginia girl missing and presumed dead in last month's devastating floods.  

The obituary for Mykala Cheyanne Phillips says the service will take place Sunday afternoon at Bethesda Church in White Sulphur Springs.

Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex in Moundsville is presenting several programs next month, all free and open to the public.

Grave Creek also has two new permanent exhibits. Prehistoric West Virginia features casts of some large Ice Age animals that were once in West Virginia, including skulls of the saber-tooth cat and dire wolf. The dire wolf serves as a pet and protector to many of the characters on the television series "Game of Thrones."

A Yeager Airport committee is meeting to discuss a contract with the ride-hailing service Uber.

The Central West Virginia Regional Airport Authority's financial committee will meet Wednesday to discuss the contract.

22-year-old Takeiya Smith is a student at West Virginia State University, a historically black institution of higher education. Takeiya says over the past few years, as racial tensions have become more visible across the country, she’s become more vocal about the importance of racial justice, but she didn’t always like to speak up.  

While she was in middle and high school in Putnam county, Takeiya says she did experience racism, but she mostly kept quiet because she didn’t want to cause any trouble. In this interview, she talks about some of her experiences.

The Department of the Interior is dropping its appeal of a ruling that said the agency shouldn't have removed the site of the Blair Mountain labor battle from a list of historic places.

In the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Tuesday, the department and Secretary Sally Jewell filed a motion to drop the appeal.

The city of Morgantown is planning a two-day celebration of the late actor Don Knotts.

A statue of Knotts is set for unveiling Saturday in front of the Metropolitan Theatre in Morgantown. Knotts already has a star of fame outside the theater.