This week, a new report finds the number of black lung cases is at its highest since the 1970s. The human cost is high. Also, the author of a new book says reintroducing nearly extinct animals back into the wild can boost damaged ecosystems, but they can't repair them. And, roadside attractions pay tribute to our enduring fascination with weird.
17 Therapy Dogs Now In W.Va. Schools Through ‘Friends With Paws’
Skye is Berkeley Springs High School's new therapy dog.Courtesy of the Office of West Virginia First Lady Cathy Justice
Listen
Share this Article
A school in the Eastern Panhandle is the latest recipient of a therapy dog through the Communities In Schools: Friends With Paws program.
Berkeley Springs High School in Morgan County received its very own therapy dog this week named Skye. First Lady Cathy Justice made the announcement in a press release Wednesday.
“I am very happy that we were able to place Skye in beautiful Berkeley Springs,” she said in the release. “I think this will be a great home for her, and I can’t wait to hear about all the ways that Skye’s presence will make a positive impact on students’ lives. This is a day of celebration!”
Skye is the seventeenth therapy dog to be placed in West Virginia’s public schools through Friends With Paws. The program began in April 2022 with the first placement at Welch Elementary.
The therapy dog program, according to the governor’s office, was launched as a way to alleviate some of the social-emotional effects of poverty, addiction and other at-risk situations in the state’s Communities In Schools (CIS) counties.
Gov. Jim Justice also noted at the time of launch that the program would help to combat the emotional effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
West Virginia Public Broadcasting (WVPB) last year produced a documentary on the Friends With Paws therapy dog project under the same name. It can be viewed for free on WVPB’s YouTube channel or through PBS Passport.
“Berkeley Springs High School is very thankful for this opportunity through the Friends With Paws program. We are extremely excited to have Skye with us to support and comfort our students,” Principal Mitch Nida said.
Friends With Paws is a partnership between the governor’s office, West Virginia Communities In Schools, and the West Virginia Department of Education.
The ACLU-WV said students in Lincoln County receive a worse education than their parents and grandparents did — and that by some measures the schools are worse off than the system a court already found unconstitutional.
It’s thunderstorm season, but not all of them are the same. For the Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom, Bill Burton and meteorologist Tawana Andrew break down what we know – and what we don't – about the climate and weather in the region. This week, they examine different types of thunderstorms.
West Virginia has been at the center of America's opioid epidemic and overdose death toll. While recent reports show the state’s overdose deaths have fallen by nearly 38%, addiction remains the most common reason for West Virginia children to be taken from their families. In the next episode of Us & Them, host Trey Kay attends a WVU training symposium, including a screening of the recent film "What We Hide," and hears from professionals who work with people affected by addiction.