Chris Schulz, Author at West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Morgantown Symposium Takes Aim At Fentanyl

Federal and state stakeholders met in Morgantown Thursday to identify solutions to the state’s substance abuse crisis.

The West Virginia Fentanyl Symposium brought together experts in drug enforcement, prevention and treatment from across the country to present to the state’s prosecutors, sheriffs and police chiefs.

Last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated there were over 100,000 drug overdoses in the United States. Of those, 64 percent involved synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

“Fentanyl is the most concerning drug that we’ve seen in decades, if not ever,” said Vic Brown, the director of the Appalachian High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. The organization sponsored Thursday’s event in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia.

“It takes every aspect of the community to address this problem. It’s not just a law enforcement problem,” he said.

Presenters included the Drug Enforcement Administration and the CDC, as well as treatment specialists and researchers with firsthand experience in the substance abuse crisis.

Monongahela National Forest Burns On Schedule

Residents around parts of the Monongahela National Forest may be smelling smoke this week thanks to the Forest Service’s spring prescribed burns.

National Park Service employees burned more than 1500 acres of park land Tuesday north of White Sulfur Springs to improve forest health and reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfires.

Per a press release from the Monongahela National Forest, the controlled burn will improve wildlife habitat by re-establish fire’s natural role in the forest ecosystem and creating conditions that favor oak reproduction, as well as open fields and brushy habitat.

Traditionally, controlled burns have helped maintain West Virginia ecosystems, but their use declined significantly in the 20th century. According to the National Association of State Foresters and the Coalition of Prescribed Fire Councils, prescribed burns have increased 28 percent from 2011 to 2019.

The Monongahela National Forest plans to conduct prescribed burns on nearly 3000 acres in Greenbrier and Pendleton counties from March through June, weather permitting.

Burn areas will be closed to the public on the day of the burn and may be closed for several days after to ensure public safety.

Residents and forest visitors may see and smell smoke for several days. Park service employees caution drivers, when they encounter smoke on the highway to slow down, turn on your vehicle’s lights and drive appropriately for the conditions.

Clarksburg and Lewisburg airports will continue to offer flights by SkyWest Airlines

SkyWest Airlines has decided to stop operating out of two regional airports in West Virginia. The decision would have stopped all flights from and to Lewisburg, but a federal agency has stepped in to prevent any interruption in service.

The U.S. Department of Transportation blocked SkyWest Airlines from ending service to 29 airports across the country including North Central Regional Airport in Clarksburg and Greenbrier Valley Airport in Lewisburg.

In their filing of intent to terminate essential air service, SkyWest representatives moved to terminate service on or before June 10 and citied “pilot staffing challenges across the airline industry.”

Monday’s ruling from the DOT blocked the termination until a replacement carrier can be found.

SkyWest operates in West Virginia under United Airlines and serves as an Essential Air Service to connect regional airports to the National Air Transportation System via hubs like Chicago O’Hare and Washington Dulles.

In a letter sent to Sec. of Transportation Pete Buttigieg Friday, Sen. Joe Manchin placed the economic impact of Lewisburg’s airport at $91 million, and Clarksburg at $1.1 billion annually. He claimed losing SkyWest’s services would cause irreparable harm to local communities.

Manchin also highlighted local efforts to help ease the national pilot shortage at Marshall University’s newly opened flight school, as well as Fairmont State’s existing school.

West Virginia National Guard Draws Down COVID Support

The West Virginia National Guard completed its hospital support mission on Friday as COVID-19 cases across the state continue to decline.

This is part of a larger draw down of the number of guard members providing support for COVID-19 response in West Virginia. Federal funding is set to run out at the end of the month, although an extension through June is possible.

Sunday marked the two year anniversary of Gov. Jim Justice mobilizing the West Virginia National Guard to assist in COVID-19 preparedness and response.

Since January, more than 300 Guard members provided nonclinical support to dozens of hospitals across the state to alleviate staffing shortages.

Maj. Gen. William Crane took time during Monday’s COVID-19 press briefing to praise the health care workers who worked alongside Guard members.

“It was just real humbling to go through and see what it is that they have been dealing with,” Crane said. “It’s great to see how we can come together, both the hospitals and the guard, because we are so service oriented and do the great work that needed to be done to help support and save lives in West Virginia.”

A job fair will be held this week to help guard members find employment after their service.

“It’s really important as we draw this thing down, as our members are coming off of their COVID orders, to make sure that they have good employment post the pandemic response,” he said. “In some cases, some of them actually say that they may go into the hospitals and want to continue to do some of that work.”

Winter Storm Highlights Housing Issues In Morgantown

Meteorologists are predicting anywhere from one to seven inches of snow and wintry mix across the state tonight and into Saturday. The storm is a stark reminder of the dangers unhoused West Virginians face even as the region inches into Spring.

Community members in Morgantown have been gathering coats, sleeping bags and heaters for those who will be on the streets during the big storm.

Folks can get out of the cold and stay in the city’s warming shelter. But with space for just 28 people, housing advocates like Morgantown city council member Brian Butcher say it’s not enough to meet the community’s needs during this type of weather event.

“It’s heartwarming, and it’s amazing the level of support that people can get throughout our community,” Butcher said. “That level of support should not be required. In my opinion, we should have a structure upon which we could get people in housing during the winter, you know, even just a temporary shelter.”

Butcher spoke as part of a forum on warming shelters and winter resources hosted by the League of Women Voters of Morgantown and Monongalia County Thursday night, during which advocates discussed needed improvements in the city and state’s response to housing issues.

Executive director of Milan Puskar Health Right Laura Jones said that a single shelter is inadequate. Some people may not want to use a particular shelter for a variety of reasons.

“Those folks are always out there, there are always people that have difficulty with the rules or with the structure of the shelter,” Jones said. “It would be even better if we had an alternate space for people who don’t feel comfortable going to the current shelter.”

Temperatures are expected to drop into the 20s Friday night and continue to drop into the low teens Sunday morning.

Lawsuit Filed Against Suddenlink One Month After State Fines

A class-action lawsuit was filed Monday against cable provider Suddenlink for failing to provide reliable cable TV and internet service.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court’s Southern District of West Virginia on behalf of a St. Albans resident, as well as all West Virginia Suddenlink customers from 2016 to the present day.

The suit names Suddenlink’s parent company, Altice, as a plaintiff in the case and argues that Altice’s cost-cutting practices have contributed to a decline in service.

On February 9, the company was fined more than $2 million dollars by the Public Service Commission of West Virginia for failing to provide reliable service. The Commission also ordered Suddenlink to locate a call center in West Virginia, amongst other requirements aimed at improving customer service.

The penalties stemmed from an investigation into what the Commission called, “a staggering number of quality of service complaints.” These included delays in service restoration and billing errors. The investigation found that the company had ignored thousands of customer complaints while intentionally reducing its maintenance work and budget.

The lawsuit makes repeated reference to PSC’s findings. The order specified Suddenlink’s cable services, but the suit argues to extend the order’s provisions for service improvements to Suddenlink’s internet and phone services as well.

The filing further accuses Suddenlink and its parent companies of binding customers by an unsigned agreement that the plaintiff argues is unenforceable in West Virginia.

The plaintiff is seeking an injunction to stop Suddenlink from doing several things, including hiring technicians from parent company Altice, routing customer calls out of the state, and utilizing outdated equipment.