This week, people with mental health challenges or substance use disorder often end up in jail. But crisis response teams offer another way. Also, one year after the Mountain Valley Pipeline went into service, people who live directly in the pipeline’s path have received compensation. But not everyone. And, the Sacred Harp songbook gets an update for the first time since the early 1990s.
High waters are creating dangerous conditions in southern West Virginia. Dispatchers say some residents are being evacuated.
Emergency dispatchers in Wyoming County say that the rainfall Wednesday morning caused a mudslide. One resident in Jesse told dispatchers that part of the mountain slid into their residence. Deputies are on scene evaluating the situation.
Several roads in Wyoming County including route 971 in front of Westside High School are closed. Students were not in class because board members made the proactive decision to cancel school Wednesday, anticipating high waters in the region.
Some roads are also closed in Raleigh County due to high waters including parts of Airport Road between the Mining Academy and the Raleigh County Airport. Traffic is being rerouting because dispatchers say parts of the road have caved in.
Dispatchers also say about 10 homes were evacuated from Violet Lane in Beaver because of rising waters.
Video by Mel Petrey, standing on the bridge by Beaver hardware in Raleigh County.
Some roads in Mercer County are also closed. McDowell County officials are currently out in the region to assess the damage while Summers County is reporting no issues at this time.
Dispatchers throughout the region are bracing for more flood conditions.
On this West Virginia Morning, we learn how opioid settlement funds are getting distributed, plus discuss new ways communities are responding to mental health crises.
On this West Virginia Morning, we learn about efforts to clean up an important waterway, and examine the impact of prospective food benefit cuts on Appalachians in need.
More than 500,000 West Virginians were enrolled in Medicaid in 2024. Several of them traveled to Washington, D.C. on June 18 to meet with aides for the state’s U.S. senators.
