West Virginia is preparing to celebrate its first “Dolly Day” on Aug. 9 after Gov. Jim Justice declared the holiday last year.
Last year, Dolly Parton visited Charleston to celebrate the statewide expansion of her Imagination Library Program. During the event, Gov. Jim Justice declared Aug. 9 as “Dolly Day.”
The Imagination Library program offers free books to children in the state from birth to age five, regardless of family income.
This year, Marshall University’s June Harless Center, which is a partner with the Imagination Library program, will host a read aloud event with popular books from the program.
The event will be on Wednesday, Aug. 9 at 9:30 a.m. on the Memorial Student Center Plaza on Marshall’s campus.
Partners in various locations across the state have invited families to join them for read-aloud events to celebrate the program and help spread a love of reading.
For a complete list of read-aloud events occurring across the state, please visit the program website. Please note that some events may require pre-registration or are reserved for specific age groups. You may reach out to the contact listed for each event for more information.
Table tennis consists of a two-person-team, much like doubles in tennis. Each team stands on opposite sides of the net to score. Scoring in table tennis is the same as tennis as well, each team receives a point when they serve the ball across the net and their opponents fail to return the serve.
What makes table tennis strikingly different from tennis is that the game is played over a 9-foot-table with small paddles covered in sponge or rubber instead of a wire strung tennis racket. These changes speed up the game substantially.
Marc Hazinski is a former table tennis Olympian who now coaches the USA under 19 boys team. He says that playing table tennis helps kids with other things in life that require quick decision making, patience, or performing well under pressure.
Table Tennis Youth Individual Championships at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center. Credit: Emily Rice/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
“It’s really like high-speed chess — athletic chess. Because it really requires so much focus,” Hazinski said. “So, for the mental side, I think it’s good for anything you do in life because you have to make very quick decisions. You have to read your opponent, the spin, all that. So, I think it really benefits them overall in school, and just in life in general.”
Part of Hazinski’s love of this sport is due to its revolving challenges.
“The better you get, it just becomes more and more mental,” Hazinski said.
Hazinski said that he still learns new strategies and tactics from watching other players.
“There’s always things to learn. You know, I’ve been playing for 30 years, and I feel like there’s so much for me to learn,” Hazinski said.
Some doctors are recommending that aging communities pick up table tennis. A Japanese clinical study showed that table tennis activates at least five separate portions of the brain and is among top ranking brain games that individuals can play to slow cognitive decline.
For younger players, like the ones competing in this week’s individual competition, table tennis helps them learn to focus and manage their emotions.
Like for 16-year-old Rachel Wang who is competing in the Under19 mixed doubles competition. She said table tennis helps her in everyday situations.
“If you’re frustrated after one match, then it’s better to think about the next match instead of dwelling on your emotions are like the past match,” Wang said. “That’s helpful. And I guess, in everyday life, you kind of just have to learn to move on from the past.”
Rachel Wang (left, back to camera) faces off against Puerto Rico in the Individual Championship final round. Credit: Emily Rice/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Staying present, and not ruminating on what you can’t change is an important mental aspect of the sport, said Wang.
“When your opponent is winning, and you’re down a couple of points, then like you can never give up,” Wang said. “Always try your best and keep fighting every point, you know.”
The event features players competing in the 15 and under league, and the 19 and under league.
The players will be competing for their own titles and points to qualify for other competitions — like world championships or the Olympics.
Multifest is back in Charleston for its 33rd celebration. The event will take place Aug. 3-6, with music and dance from local and out of town artists across four nights of free concerts at Haddad Riverfront Park.
Multifest is back in Charleston for its 33rd celebration. The event will take place Aug. 3-6, with music and dance from local and out of town artists across four nights of free concerts at Haddad Riverfront Park.
Food vendors and merchants will be lined up on Kanawha Boulevard. There will be a “Kidz Zone” and an information booth as well.
Tamara Eubanks, executive director of Multifest, said this is more than just a weekend celebration.
“We have people who plan their family reunions around here, we have people who plan their high school reunions, people who plan just some friendship gatherings,” Eubanks said. “So it’s all about bringing the community together and making awareness of the diversity and just remembering our heritage.”
This is the first year Multifest has expanded to four days instead of the usual three day celebration.
Multifest began 33 years ago with the goal of diversifying the Charleston Sternwheel Regatta, and Eubanks has high hopes for its future.
“We want to include not only African Americans but also Latinos, we’re looking at Hispanics, we’re looking at Native Americans, Indians,” Eubanks said. “We want to make sure that as we grow and move forward, we are inclusive of more ethnic backgrounds.”
Summer is coming to an end and officials at the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) are reminding parents to keep their children up-to-date on vaccinations before going back to school.
Summer is coming to an end and officials at the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) are reminding parents to keep their children up-to-date on vaccinations before going back to school.
“As families, students, educators and county school systems prepare for the upcoming school year, it’s important for students to receive vaccinations before school starts to prevent potentially fatal or severe illnesses,” said Dr. Matthew Christiansen, commissioner for DHHR’s Bureau for Public Health and the State Health Officer.
Students entering school in West Virginia for the first time in K-12 must show proof of immunization against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella and hepatitis B.
All children in grades 7 through 12 must show proof against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus and meningococcal disease unless properly medically exempted.
Dr. Lisa Costello, hospitalist at West Virginia University (WVU) Medicine Children’s Hospital and a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said childhood immunizations are one of the most effective public health measures.
“When [students] are going into school, they’re going to be around other children, and so being vaccinated and making sure you’re up-to-date on your vaccines are important so that children have the protections they need,” Costello said.
Parents are encouraged to discuss their child’s vaccination status with their primary care provider or local health department. Children who are current with their vaccinations will automatically meet school immunization requirements.
The virtual meetings will solicit feedback from members of the public on the development of the West Virginia Substance Abuse Plan. It will also highlight progress on the 2023 plan.
The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) Office of Drug Control Policy and the Governor’s Council on Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment will host four virtual town hall meetings beginning in August.
The virtual meetings will solicit feedback from members of the public on the development of the West Virginia Substance Abuse Plan. It will also highlight progress on the 2023 plan.
The meetings will be held from 10 a.m. to noon on the following dates:
Tuesday, Aug. 15
Wednesday, Aug. 16
Wednesday, Aug. 23
Thursday, Aug. 31
Each meeting will offer breakout sessions for all eight sections of the plan. Residents can select which section they wish to partake in when they pre-register.
The Scouts are having their national jamboree this year in the Summit Bechtel Reserve near Glen Jean, West Virginia
The Scouts are having their national jamboree this year in the Summit Bechtel Reserve near Glen Jean, West Virginia, and participants are helping residents in flood-hit states.
During the jamboree, 15,000 scouts will be partaking in the “Flood Bucket” project. For this project, scouts are assembling at least 5,000 cleaning kits that will help flood victims to reconstruct their lives.
Tom Kraeutler says the scouts pledge is to help other people at all times and this is a great way to put their pledge into action.
“These buckets contain essential cleaning supplies, about 15 different items. There’s soaps, there’s gloves, there’s masks, there’s mildewcide to take care of mold,” Kraeutler said.
There are some flood victims partaking in this project who have had flood happen in their hometowns across the nations.
The Disaster Response Ministries of the West Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church are providing assistance.
Watch the scouts assemble the kits. Any additional information is available here.
