Jack Walker joined West Virginia Public Broadcasting at the Eastern Panhandle Bureau in January 2024. Previously, he worked for the Washington Blade and the Times West Virginian in Fairmont. He has received both a master's and bachelor's degree from Brown University, as well as an associate's degree from Frederick Community College.
Jobs & Hope, a West Virginia program that provides job training to residents with substance use disorders, celebrated its 500th graduates during a ceremony in Charleston Wednesday.
Community members filed into a graduation ceremony unlike any other Wednesday.
It was held in the office of Gov. Jim Justice, celebrating the graduations of Sierra Mullins and Shane McCoy — the 500th graduates of West Virginia’s Jobs & Hope program.
The program provides residents who have substance use disorders access to job training and educational resources, with the goal of helping them secure long-term employment.
Founded in 2019, the program now has 1,619 active participants across the state, and has graduated more than 508 individuals, with even more completing their programs after Mullins and McCoy.
During the ceremony, both graduates had the opportunity to share speeches, expressing gratitude for the program and pride in what they have accomplished.
Originally from Boone County, Mullins said the program provided her much-needed support during a difficult recovery process.
“The road wasn’t always easy. Monthly screenings, basic classes and maintaining sobriety,” she said. “But each hurdle was a small price to pay for the invaluable support and resources provided by the program.”
McCoy said he began his recovery journey in 2019, and soon accessed educational resources through Jobs & Hope that taught him how to operate heavy machinery.
Now, he said he has had steady employment on a construction crew since November.
“The crew that I work with, and the gentlemen that I have met at this place, it has definitely helped my growth in the field,” McCoy said.
After the graduate’s speeches, Justice expressed his gratitude for the program’s success, and his support for participants statewide.
“Lo and behold, we’ve got 508 people, that their lives have changed in every way,” he said. “God bless each and every one of you for the guts that it takes to really get this done.”
For more information on the Jobs & Hope program, visit the program’s website.
A local history preservation group is working to rehabilitate the battered First Zion Baptist Church, a historic Black church in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
For many residents, a first step toward preserving Harpers Ferry’s Black history is rehabilitating and preserving sites of historic significance.
When community members noticed a traditionally Black Baptist church in town fall into disrepair, they rallied behind an effort to restore the building to its former glory.
Now, a local preservation nonprofit called the Harpers Ferry-Bolivar Historic Town Foundation has secured a $100,000 grant to rehabilitate the church.
Reporter Jack Walker spoke with the organization’s incoming chair Lynn Pechuekonis about where the project is today, and the future of First Zion Baptist Church.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
First Zion Baptist Church has been worn down by the elements and pests, according to Lynn Pechuekonis, incoming chair of the Harpers Ferry-Bolivar Historic Town Foundation.
Photo Credit: Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Walker: To begin, could you tell me what First Zion Baptist Church is, and why it’s important to Harpers Ferry history?
Pechuekonis: Harpers Ferry harbored a very vibrant Black community between 1870 and 1970, partially because of Storer College. That brought education to Black families here. It also helped with job training. It also engendered a summer resort industry, which ended up nurturing the Hill Top Hotel, which was a Black-run hotel from 1890 to 1926. It was Black-owned. So there was a large population, comparatively, of Black people in Harpers Ferry — Black families who could own homes. They were encouraged to own homes here. And so they wanted to worship here as well. There were actually altogether four African American churches in Harpers Ferry at one time. Two of those were on West Ridge Street, and First Zion Church was built in 1894 by some of the very early Black families who came to live in our town.
Walker: I know that you and some other local community members have rallied around First Zion Baptist Church and preserving the historic building for future generations. How did that project come to be?
Pechuekonis: So, several years ago, some folks in town, both in Bolivar and Harpers Ferry, were concerned about the fact that we had two former African American churches actually on the same street, just about within three lots of each other, that had been abandoned, and were just really deteriorating quickly. And so it was part of the foundation’s mission to preserve and beautify our communities. So they chose the building that was in better shape between the two, and also one that was on the market to be sold. We were able to buy First Zion Baptist Church, and we’ve been working slowly ever since then, trying to raise money and making improvements and protecting the church where we can ever since.
The Harpers Ferry-Bolivar Historic Town Foundation is currently soliciting community feedback on what type of establishment to convert the battered First Zion Baptist Church into.
Photo Credit: Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Walker: As this project progresses, what vision do you have for the future of the church? What function will it serve for the local community?
Pechuekonis: We’re actually holding a community charrette on May 15 to get some ideas from the community about what they feel they need, because we want this to truly be a Harpers Ferry and Bolivar community center. We have some ideas, but we want to hear what the community has to say. We would like to have some kind of display honoring the Black community that lived here, and especially the history of that church. We also see it as a community or cultural center, to provide programming, to provide community space for events that the community wants to have. We are limited by the town of Harpers Ferry because it’s in a residential neighborhood to having it as a community center or religious institution. So we don’t have a lot of freedom to do other things with it. So that’s kind of why we’re going down that avenue, but we want to shape it in a way that the community most feels the need.
Walker: Obviously this is a long-term project, but do you have a sense of how long it will take to complete the church’s rehabilitation?
Pechuekonis: I think it’s a few years out, just because it’s going to involve so much — so many resources financially. The $100,000 that’s going to help us work on the exterior is just a drop in the bucket compared to what will need to be done to the interior to make it safe and also fit modern standards for a facility that the community can best use. So I think it’s maybe at least three to five years out. That’s just a wild guess.
First Zion Baptist Church, a historic Black church in Harpers Ferry, has become run down over the years. Community members hope to change that.
Photo Credit: Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Walker: And now that the project is underway, what are your hopes for what it can bring to the local community?
Pechuekonis: One of the things that we’re hoping is that, as a secular community center, the foundation can bring together residents from both the towns of Harpers Ferry and Bolivar to help build a more cohesive community from the fellowship and shared experiences people have in this space.
On May 15, the Harpers Ferry-Bolivar Historic Town Foundation will host a community charette to receive public input on the First Zion Baptist Church rehabilitation project. For more information on the event, visit the foundation’s website.
Residents interested in providing feedback on the project can do so through an online survey operated by the Harpers Ferry-Bolivar Historic Town Foundation.
West Virginia nonprofit Advantage Valley received more than $4 million in federal and local funds to redevelop a manufacturing plant near the town of Poca in Putnam County.
Newly granted federal and local funds will allow an economic development nonprofit to redevelop a manufacturing plant in the Kanawha Valley.
Advantage Valley purchased the Putnam County building — previously known as the Vossloh Track Building and the Union Boiler Plant — in 2023. The nonprofit works with local governments to develop jobs and economic growth in nine southwestern counties.
The project moved one step forward Tuesday when Advantage Valley was awarded a $3.4 million grant from the United States Economic Development Administration (EDA). These funds were also matched by $857,750 in local funds.
With the funds, Advantage Valley will renovate and repurpose the building, located near the town of Poca. The project is funded through disaster relief funds administered by the EDA to areas affected by natural disasters like flooding or wildfires in 2021 and 2022.
The project as a whole aims to create new jobs and investment opportunities in the region, according to a Tuesday EDA press release.
Federal officials also expressed their hopes for the renovation project in the press release.
“This EDA investment will support infrastructure improvements at the former Vossloh Track Building that will grow economic opportunity, support job growth and spur private investment in Charleston,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., echoed Raimondo’s support for the project.
Capito said that she would “look forward to the positive impact it will have on the Charleston area for years to come.”
“The EDA continues to be a strong partner for bolstering West Virginia’s economy and this announcement is proof of that,” Manchin said. “Renovating the former Vossloh Track Building will create good-paying jobs and spur economic opportunity throughout the entire Metro Valley.”
Days before a West Virginia circuit court removed her from office, former Jefferson County Commissioner Jennifer Krouse unexpectedly left the Republican Party behind.
Elected as a “staunch, God-fearing conservative” in 2022, Krouse swapped political affiliations in late April and registered with the Mountain Party — West Virginia’s progressive, environmentalist affiliate of the Green Party.
Now, county officials and party representatives alike are scratching their heads over how to fill Krouse’s vacancy, and what party her replacement must come from.
A last-minute switch
Two members of the Jefferson County Commission — Krouse and state auditor candidate Tricia Jackson — were removed from office by order of a West Virginia circuit court Wednesday.
The commissioners skipped seven consecutive meetings from September to November 2023, protesting efforts to fill a vacant commission seat with candidates Krouse previously said were not “actual conservatives.”
A panel of judges ruled that this weeks-long protest amounted to “official misconduct” or a “neglect of duty,” as their absence prevented the commission from meeting quorum and conducting business.
But about one week before the court’s decision, Krouse switched political affiliations.
Under current West Virginia law, county commissioners have 30 days to fill vacant seats by a simple commission vote. Their appointee must be “a person of the same political party” as the individual who held office “immediately preceding the vacancy.”
This year, the West Virginia Legislature passed a bill amending this law so that appointees must be members of the vacating officer’s party upon election. Lawmakers repeatedly cited contentions over vacancy proceedings in the Jefferson County Commission while updating the policy.
But the new law does not take effect until January 2025, and the earlier policy still remains in place. That means Krouse’s successor must be a member of her party upon removal from office — the Mountain Party.
The Jefferson County Commission holds its public meeting May 2, the first meeting following the removal of former Commissioners Tricia Jackson and Jennifer Krouse from office.
Photo Credit: Jefferson County Commission
Filling vacancies (again)
Stephen Stolipher, sitting president of the Jefferson County Commission and chair of the Jefferson County Republican Executive Committee, said he is unsure why Krouse switched parties.
“She certainly has never really acted like a Republican, [but] the Mountain Party is far, far left,” he said.
Mountain Party Chair Denise Binion is not sure either. She said the ousted commissioner’s “politics don’t match the party at all.”
Krouse did not respond to written requests for comment on this story. But her decision follows months of disputes with the local Republican party, and has implications for the selection of her successor.
As it currently stands, the three remaining members of the Jefferson County Commission have until May 31 to fill the vacancies through a majority vote.
Krouse’s vacancy must be filled by a member of the Mountain Party, and Jackson’s vacancy must be filled by a member of the Republican Party, per state law.
With a general election slated for this fall, these appointees would only hold office for a few months, according to Deak Kersey, chief of staff and former legal counsel for the West Virginia Secretary of State.
To keep their positions, appointed commissioners must be voted into office in the general election immediately following their appointment. Otherwise, Kersey said they only remain in office until the county certifies the results of its November general election, when new commissioners are elected.
But the future of the Jefferson County Commission is muddied by the possibility of a judge siding with Krouse or Jackson on appeal.
The Jefferson County Commission meets in the basement of the Charles Town Library.
Photo Credit: Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
A potential appeal
Jackson has already publicly stated that her attorney will appeal the circuit court’s decision to remove her from office.
If the appeal is rejected, vacancy proceedings will continue as usual, Kersey said. However, things are more complicated if a judge decides differently.
While awaiting a result on the appeal, a circuit court judge could suspend Krouse and Jackson’s removal from office, allowing them to return to work until the decision is finalized, Kersey said.
Alternatively, Kersey said that a judge siding with the commissioners after their vacancies have been filled would likely nullify any appointments, restoring Krouse and Jackson’s positions.
If such a decision came after the general election, things would become even more complex, and Kersey said it would likely require clarification from the state’s Supreme Court.
“The court would have to give some guidance to that effect, because it would have a lot of downstream impacts,” he said.
In this case, Kersey said the election results would most likely be nullified, allowing Krouse and Jackson to serve their original, full terms — until 2029 and 2026, respectively.
Kersey said that he is unsure how long the appeal process would take, as decisions vary on a case-by-case basis. But he said courts would likely reach a decision on a quickened timeline.
Courts “treat election issues expeditiously because of the fact that we have elections every two years,” he said. “You don’t want the government putting people in places for too long that weren’t elected by the people.”
In the coming weeks, Kersey said representatives from Secretary of State Mac Warner’s office will meet with members of the commission to offer guidance on filling the current vacancies.
In the meantime, Stolipher said the commission will continue to meet on its regular, biweekly basis.
“We currently have a quorum of three members,” he said. “We’re still meeting and conducting business.”
Researchers at Shepherd University are using light therapy to treat symptoms of substance use disorder and depression, and say they have found early signs of success.
Scientists have long recognized the impact of sunlight on vitamin intake, sleep patterns and mood.
But researchers at Shepherd University are taking things a step further with a form of light therapy known as photobiomodulation (PBM). Their goal is to use light to address symptoms of substance use disorder and depression.
The study involves placing a non-invasive helmet over a participant’s head and transmitting near-infrared light for three minutes. Participants regularly attended these sessions, receiving the treatment twice a week for eight consecutive weeks.
This helps stimulate energy production in cells, reduce inflammation and aid the healing of nerves, according to Jennifer Flora, director of the Shepherd University Wellness Center and a co-author on the study.
So far, Flora said the results have been promising. “I was like, ‘You need to run these numbers again,’ because it was so shocking,” she said.
“After eight weeks, those in the PBM treatment group reported significantly fewer cravings and less severe symptoms of depression compared to the control group,” Flora said. “The results were so compelling.”
Flora is working on the project alongside Kelly Watson Huffer, co-author and coordinator for Shepherd’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program.
The results of Flora and Watson Huffer’s study were discussed on Shepherd’s campus Monday, with a presentation on the second phase of the study.
West Virginia officials and Shepherd University staff gathered for a Monday morning presentation on photobiomodulation therapy and substance use disorder.
Photo Credit: Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
This will be conducted at the Berkeley Day Report Center in Martinsburg, which serves as an alternative to incarceration for individuals who have gone through legal troubles tied to substance use disorder.
The second phase of the program will continue its phase-one light therapy interventions and compare their results for a second group of participants.
Several state officials attended Monday’s event and expressed their hopes that the study could soon benefit West Virginians.
“The work that’s going on in Shepherd is a critical part of the future of how we tackle the drug epidemic,” said Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. “There [is] a need for additional approaches, creative approaches, to help really make a big difference at some of these cravings, [to] go after the science of addiction.”
“West Virginia has been sort of the most hard-hit place in the country with the opioid epidemic,” said West Virginia State Auditor J.B. McCuskey. “The work that our universities are doing locally to find non-pharmacological solutions to this [is] incredible.”
Flora said her team is currently developing a more portable version of the helmet, which could help people access PBM from the comfort of their homes.
In the meantime, she encouraged state and local officials to consider expanding access to PBM and emerging therapeutic treatments.
“As we continue our research we invite the community — health care professionals and policymakers — to consider the potential of innovative therapies like photobiomodulation to make a real difference,” Flora said.
Jefferson County Commissioners Tricia Jackson and Jennifer Krouse were removed from office by a West Virginia circuit court Wednesday for skipping weeks of meetings last fall.
A West Virginia circuit court removed two members of the Jefferson County Commission from office Wednesday.
From September to November 2023, Commissioners Tricia Jackson and Jennifer Krouse refused to attend meetings to protest vacancy proceedings, while still collecting their paychecks. This left the commission regularly unable to meet quorum and conduct business.
The controversy began when a sitting commissioner stepped down last June. Per vacancy protocols, the Jefferson County Republican Executive Committee put forth three candidates to fill the seat, but Krouse expressed criticism on Facebook over their selections.
“Too many of the elected ‘Republicans’ in West Virginia seem to be either incompetent, self-interested, closeted liberals, or some combination thereof,” she wrote.
Jackson and Krouse, then both Republicans, refused to attend meetings until vacancy discussions ceased. They ended their protest last November, after a judge ordered them to resume attending meetings.
Still, Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Matt Harvey, also a Republican, filed a petition in the Jefferson County Circuit Court to remove the commissioners from office last November.
In the petition, Harvey wrote that Jackson and Krouse “willfully blocked the commission from performing its mandatory statutory duty,” because they could not meet quorum to host meetings.
During their absence, the commission was unable to hire new 911 dispatchers, provide grant funding to victim advocates or apply for funds to improve the county courthouse, the Associated Press previously reported.
A decision reached by the circuit court Wednesday agreed with Harvey’s claims, stating that the commissioners’ willful absence marked either “official misconduct” or a “neglect of duty.”
The court order immediately removed Jackson and Krouse from office, and required that they forfeit “records, papers and property of their office,” including the login information for email accounts used to conduct commission business.
Jackson, Krouse, Harvey and sitting Commission President Stephen Stolipher did not respond to requests for comment on this story.
But Jackson — a current candidate for state auditor — expressed vehement disapproval over the decision on Facebook, likening her removal from office to the current legal upheaval facing former President Donald Trump.
“The people of Jefferson County are witnessing an injustice. The entire system is being exposed,” she wrote. “The lawfare (sic) attacks on President Trump that we are witnessing on the national level are now happening in West Virginia. Just like with President Trump, my opponents have weaponized the legal system.”
Jackson said her attorney would file an immediate appeal over the decision.
Meanwhile, Krouse has not shared public comments to social media regarding her removal. On April 22, she cut ties with the Republican Party, changing her affiliation to the progressive West Virginia Mountain Party.
With two of its seats now vacant, the commission will soon undergo vacancy protocols like those that began in June. The commissioners’ parties will have the opportunity to nominate candidates to fill their seats, and members of the commission will vote for a candidate to assume the roles.
At this time, party officials say it is unclear whether candidates to fill Krouse’s former seat will be selected by the Republican Party or the Mountain Party.
Representatives from the Mountain Party said they are awaiting a clarification from the Secretary of State’s office, and representatives from the Jefferson County Republican Executive Committee did not immediately respond to request for comment.
