Ashton Marra, Author at West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Huntington Preparing to Protect Supporters, Protestors Alike at Trump Rally

Pres. Donald Trump's Thursday campaign rally in Huntington is expected to draw thousands of not just Trump supporters from the tri-state area, but also…

Pres. Donald Trump’s Thursday campaign rally in Huntington is expected to draw thousands of not just Trump supporters from the tri-state area, but also protestors.

While the city doesn’t have any say in what goes on inside the event, they are responsible for what happens outside, where tensions could run high.

“West Virginians have been conned.”

Forty-two-year-old Amie Maynard is a Huntington native who says while she’s not a registered Democrat, she also didn’t vote for Donald Trump in the previous election.

Now that the president is coming to her hometown, campaigning for a re-election that’s still three years away, Maynard wants to send a message to her fellow West Virginians and the rest of the country.

“We want to let others know that though Trump did have a lot of support in West Virginia, at least around the time of the election, that not all of West Virginia supports him,” she said.

Maynard volunteers with West Virginia Women’s March and Tri-state Indivisible, two groups who have protested the Trump administration in the past and plan to do so again Thursday in Huntington.

City officials have spent just about a week preparing for the campaign rally at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena.

The venue that holds 9,000 people will handle what happens inside and on its front plaza, in coordination with the Secret Service, but what happens on the city streets surrounding the arena, that is up to the Huntington Police Department.

Huntington Communications Director Brian Chambers, right, talks with a citizen about the upcoming Trump rally.

“Our police department has been working with the Secret Service, with various law enforcement agencies in this county and the surrounding region as well to make sure that the president’s visit goes very smoothly, that it goes efficiently, and that everyone from the rally attendees to the protestors are kept safe,” Brian Chambers, communications director for Huntington, said Wednesday.

Maynard said her groups expect anywhere from 20 to 300 protestors to join them at the 4 o’clock rally outside the arena.

They will gather in an area designated for them by the city police—on 3^rd Avenue between 9^th and 10^th Streets—but Chambers said protestors will not be restricted to that area.

Posts on social media since the official announcement of the visit last week have called on Trump supporters to arm themselves against the protesters, with one post saying armed conservatives should “clear them once and for all, by any means necessary.”

Chambers said Huntington Police do not believe anyone will follow through with threats of violence, but officers have been participating in specialized training over the past several days to prepare for the event.

“We feel confident that there will be no incidences, but you always have to be prepared so that is the approach that we have taken,” Chambers said.

Pres. Donald Trump spoke with Boy Scouts at the National Jamboree on July 24, 2017.

Maynard also said she and her fellow protestors aren’t worried about the threats and are focused on promoting their stances that differ from the Trump administration.

The president’s campaign stop comes 10 days after Trump’s last visit to the state.

Trump gave a controversial speech at the Boy Scouts of America’s National Jamboree in Fayette County last week, a speech after which he was criticized for being highly political.

According to a recent Gallup poll, though, Trump’s approval rating is at 60 percent in West Virginia, the highest in the country. Nationally, his approval rating sits at 40 percent.

W.Va. Officials Begin Tallying Flood Damage

State officials and emergency responders are beginning to tally up the damage from flooding that hit northern and north central communities late last week and over the weekend.

The Division of Highways said Tuesday its assessing road damage in 11 counties in the region. The agency estimates 200 roads suffered some kind of damage in the July 28 and 29 storms, totaling nearly $7 million.

The hardest hit counties in terms of road damage include Wetzel, Ohio and Marshall Counties respectively, which each experienced more than $1 million in damage. They’re followed closely by Tucker and Harrison counties that each received more than $500,000 worth of damage.

Major General James Hoyer of the West Virginia National Guard said five schools were impacted and so far, between 600 and 700 homes have been damaged, but that number could increase.

Eight counties are under a state of emergency, but Hoyer said Tuesday he’d like to see that number expanded to 11.

WEBHoyer.mp3

Listen to an extended interview with Major Gen. Jame Hoyer.

The latest high water comes just over a year after devastating floods in southern and central West Virginia that killed 23 people. Hoyer said the state is still recovering from that event in the midst of new damage.

“We’ve still got people focused on that devastating, epic event we had last June, but it doesn’t matter to someone whose home was damaged over the last couple of days. That’s the primary focus,” he said. “So, we from a state perspective have to be able to manage all those things together.”

Hoyer said Tuesday, National Guard members are focused on clean-up efforts and helping communities restore their infrastructure, like water and sewer lines.

Justice: Trump's Scout Speech was 'Unbelievable'

As the 2017 National Boy Scout Jamboree continued in West Virginia Tuesday, members of the organization were joined by Gov. Jim Justice to dedicate their welcome center.

Justice used the ribbon cutting ceremony Tuesday afternoon to share a story about his interaction with President Donald Trump who made his first visit in office to West Virginia Monday.

Justice and representatives of the Boy Scouts of America cut the ribbon and officially dedicated the J.W. and Hazel Ruby West Virginia Welcome Center in Mt. Hope Tuesday afternoon.

The event was just one of many during the Boy Scout Jamboree’s West Virginia Day celebration.

Justice told the crowd gathered at the ceremony said he met Trump at the Raleigh County airport Monday and rode with him to the Summit Bechtel Reserve before his speech in front of more than 40,000 boy scouts and volunteers.

Justice said he enjoyed Trump’s speech and called it “unbelievable,” but the president has received pushback on social media from the scouting community for politicizing it.

Trump used it as an opportunity to push his energy and health care agendas and criticize members of the Democratic party, including former President Barrack Obama and former Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Trump Pushes Energy, Health Care Agenda During Speech at Boy Scout Camp in W.Va.

President Donald Trump brought Washington politics to West Virginia Monday, speaking to a crowd of about 40,000 boy scouts and volunteers at the Summit Bechtel Reserve in Glen Jean for the 2017 Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree.

Trump is the eigth president to attend a jamboree, which occurs every four years, and the first to attend the event since it found a permanent home in West Virginia, in 2013.

Trump began his speech by telling the crowd that what he wanted to talk about was success and how to achieve it.

“Who the hell wants to talk about politics when I’m talking to the Boy Scouts?” he said to loud applause from the scouts. But then Trump turned to politics.

“You know, I go to Washington and I see all these politicians and I see the swamp and its not a good place,” he told the crowd minutes into his speech.

Monday, July 24, 2017, President Donald Trump arrives to speak at the 2017 National Scout Jamboree in Glen Jean, W.Va.

“In fact, today I said we ought to change it from the word swamp to the word cesspool or perhaps the word sewer.”

The president was joined on his trip to West Virginia by three members of his cabinet, who also happen to be three former Boy Scouts: Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, and Health and Human Service Secretary Tom Price.

When it comes to energy policy, Trump says his administration is on track to make the U.S. an energy exporter, an issue that helped him win West Virginia in 2016.

“We will be energy dominant and I tell you what, the folks from West Virginia who were so nice to me, boy have we kept our promise,” he said.

Trump won the state by the largest majority over a Democratic candidate in West Virginia history, promising to put coal miners back to work, a promise that has come true to some extent.

A report from West Virginia University says the rebound in the industry, though, is largely due to global demand for the commodity.

Trump didn’t stop with energy, though. He also took the opportunity to push his health care agenda.

After the U.S. Senate failed last week to get enough votes for a Republican repeal and replace plan for the Affordable Care Act, the president began pushing for a straight repeal. That plan is set to go to a vote in the Senate Tuesday, a fact that he reminded HHS Sec. Price of Monday evening.

“By the way, are you going to get the votes? He better get ‘em. Otherwise, I’m going to say Tom you’re fired!” he said.

President Donald Trump joined by Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price, Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke as he speaks at the 2017 National Scout Jamboree in Glen Jean, W.Va., Monday, July 24, 2017.

Trump also called out Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, saying Price “better get Sen. Capito to vote for it.”

Capito opposed the first Senate plan to repeal and replace the nation’s health care law and has said she will not vote for a repeal. With only a two-vote majority in the chamber, Capito’s position could have national implications.

Trump did speak some of success, as he initially planned, encouraging the scouts to wear the organization’s values as a badge of honor throughout their lives. He pushed the young men and woman to continue to give back to their communities, creating a country that they can all be proud of.

Boy Scout Jamboree Begins after Years of Preparation

Tens of thousands of boy scouts are making their way to southern West Virginia Wednesday for the start of their national jamboree, but preparations began long before a single scout sets foot on site.

Planning for the 2017 Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree began almost four years ago, immediately following the first jamboree held at the Summit Bechtel National Reserve.

The reserve is situated on 14,000 acres in Fayette County between Oak Hill and Mt. Hope, next to the New River Gorge National River.

Tuesday, hundreds of volunteers were already in place, constructing the main stage at the amphitheater, setting up supply tents and learning their roles for the 10-day event. Those volunteers include military men and women from almost every branch, and members of the West Virginia National Guard.

Sgt. Zoe Morris said 600 guard members are using the event as a replacement for their annual training days, working with the Department of Defense and state and local officials on the National Jamboree Joint Task Force.

“It builds our experience so that if anything happened like the flood or the water crisis, we already have experience working with those other agencies,” Morris said.

While on site, the estimated 30,000 boy scouts will participate in a variety of activities, including hiking, ziplining and whitewater rafting. They’ll set up their own tents, cook their own meals, and learn some valuable lessons.

A base camp at the 2017 National Boy Scout Jamboree.

“I come from Los Angeles, but for even some kids that are going to come out of south L.A. that have never been to a camp before or never really spent 10 days in a tent, I mean they are life changing experiences,” Glenn Ault, who leads the national administrative group as a volunteer, said.

Jamboree Director Mike Myers says scouts will spend their time doing more than just mountain biking and fishing. They will volunteer some 100,000 hours of community service in 9 West Virginia counties during their time in the state.

“This is part of who we are and in our DNA, so to speak, is to do a good turn daily and help other people,” Myers said.

The Governor’s Office estimates those volunteer projects will generate some $7 million of economic impact for the state.

The Summit Bechtel Reserve itself hasn’t been without controversy, though. Reuters reported that the initially budgeted $176 million project quickly blossomed to $439 million in 2015, causing some financial strain on the national nonprofit.

The year before, West Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing the scouts to maintain their nonprofit, tax exempt status while renting out the facility. A representative of the site says so far, the Girl Scouts have also used the reserve for their own camps.

Editor’s Note: This story originally placed the Summit Bechtel Reserve between Oak Hill and Fayetteville, but has been updated to reflect that it is in the Mt. Hope area.

Justice Uses State Funds to Cover Boy Scouts Service Project

Gov. Jim Justice said Monday he’ll use a portion of his own contingency fund to pay for a service program conducted by the Boy Scouts of America during their upcoming Jamboree, but is blaming lawmakers for not including the money in the 2018 budget.

Justice’s office said in a press release that the governor will use $400,000 from his civil contingency fund to help pay for the community service projects thousands of Scouts will participate in during their time in West Virginia.

The Summit Bechtel Reserve, in Fayette County, will host the Scouts National Jamboree starting Wednesday, July 19.

The community service projects are administered by the Civil Conservation Corps and according to the Governor’s Office, will have a $7 million economic impact in the state.

Justice said Monday the money for the projects would have come from his Save Our State Fund, a proposed funding source overseen by the Dept. of Commerce that did not survive budget negotiations this year.

That detail, however, was not included in discussion about the fund during legislative meetings.

In a news release Monday, Justice said the money was “promised” to the Boy Scouts.

Years before taking office, Justice himself promised a $25 million personal donation to the Scouts, in 2011.

A 2016 NPR investigation found that Justice had only followed through with $5 million of that donation and additionally given the group land in Fayette County to create the James C. Justice National Scout Camp, named for is father. That camp is part of the national reserve.

Justice’s office immediately return a request for comment about the donation Monday.

The Boy Scouts of America issued the following emailed statement in response to inquiries about Justice’s donation:

“We would like to express our gratitude to West Virginia Governor Jim Justice for his leadership and contributions to the Boy Scouts of America and the 2017 National Jamboree. We are also appreciative of the Scouts and volunteers who are willing to spend their time at the Jamboree to help the surrounding communities.
“The Boy Scouts of America is proud to give back to the state of West Virginia, and we hope these service projects make a lasting impact in the community. We chose the New River Gorge area as the home of the summit for its stellar beauty and natural resources, so we want to contribute to the region and do what we can to keep it a beautiful place to live and visit.”