Tag: Arts & Culture

The Mountain Valley Pipeline, Child Protective Services, Rural Libraries, and Fire Safety, This West Virginia Week

On this West Virginia Week, we’ll look at fire safety in the Summer months. We’ll also hear about the launch of the Mountain Valley Pipeline and we’ll talk to the President of the National Library Association about Rural Libraries.

On this West Virginia Week, we’ll look at fire safety in the summer months. We’ll also hear about the launch of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, and we’ll talk to the President of the National Library Association about Rural Libraries.

We’ll also discuss what it’s like for a child caught up in West Virginia’s Child Protective Services system, a governmental agency facing increasing scrutiny.

Briana Heaney is our host this week. Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert.

West Virginia Week is a web-only podcast that explores the week’s biggest news in the Mountain State. It’s produced with help from Bill Lynch, Briana Heaney, Chris Schulz, Curtis Tate, Emily Rice, Eric Douglas, Jack Walker, Liz McCormick and Maria Young.

Learn more about West Virginia Week.

Appalachian Hip Hop And Our Song Of The Week, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, Folkways reporter Vanessa Peña explores the history of hip hop in West Virginia and beyond. Plus, Mountain Stage provides our the Song of the Week — “So Much Love” by Southern Avenue.

On this West Virginia Morning, Folkways reporter Vanessa Peña explores the history of hip hop in West Virginia and beyond. Plus, Mountain Stage provides our the Song of the Week: “So Much Love” by Southern Avenue.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content. 

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Marshall Health.

West Virginia Morning is produced with help from Bill Lynch, Briana Heaney, Chris Schulz, Curtis Tate, Emily Rice, Eric Douglas, Jack Walker, Liz McCormick and Maria Young.

Eric Douglas is our news director. Teresa Wills is our host. Chris Schulz produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

Marshall Memorial Fountain Nominated For National Registry

The Marshall Memorial Fountain is now being considered for inclusion on the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places.

The Marshall Memorial Fountain is now being considered for inclusion on the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places. It was created in memory of the 75 people who died in the November 1970 Marshall plane crash and officially dedicated in November 1972. 

The West Virginia Archives and History Commission nominated the fountain during a meeting Thursday on Marshall’s Huntington campus. The nomination now goes to the National Park Service for review. It’s anticipated the formal decision will take approximately 45 days.

On Nov. 14, 1970, 75 members of the football team, coaching staff and community died in a plane crash. To remember that day, members of the community lay carnations at the fountain and turn it off for the winter.

Photo Credit: Eric Douglas/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

“The possible inclusion of the Memorial Fountain on the National Register of Historic Places reaffirms its significance as more than just a monument,” Marshall University President Brad Smith said. “Adversity can lead to an excuse, or it can lead to a reason. The Memorial Fountain is a symbol of our reason, a space where we gather to remember, reflect and find strength in our community’s resilience.” 

The fountain, designed by Italian sculptor Henry Bertoia, is more than 13 feet high and weighs 6,500 pounds. The fountain received extensive repairs in 2008 including a new granite surface for the foundation, a copper catch tray and a higher water spray like the original output when it was installed in 1972.  

Being listed on the national register recognizes the historical, architectural or archaeological significance of a site. It helps ensure the preservation of important cultural resources and can provide benefits such as eligibility for preservation grants and tax incentives. 

Randall Reid-Smith, secretary of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, said the nomination was written by Marshall two-time history graduate S. Cody Straley, who serves as the national register and architecture survey coordinator for the state Historic Preservation Office.  

Straley said writing the official nomination was his small way of paying back the institution that gave him so much.

“We know why this fountain is important, but today the national government will provide federal recognition for the fountain’s importance,” Straley said. 

Marshall’s Old Main was placed on the registry in 1973. 

LISTEN: Southern Avenue Has The Mountain Stage Song Of The Week

On this week’s premiere broadcast of Mountain Stage, host Kathy Mattea welcomes Southern Avenue, Driftwood, Elvie Shane, Melissa Ferrick and Jeff Plankenhorn.

On this week’s premiere broadcast of Mountain Stage, host Kathy Mattea welcomes Southern Avenue, Driftwood, Elvie Shane, Melissa Ferrick and Jeff Plankenhorn.

Our Song of the Week comes from the energetic blues and soul band Southern Avenue. Joining us for their second Mountain Stage appearance, the Memphis-based, GRAMMY-nominated group performed “So Much Love.” This song is set to appear on the band’s highly anticipated follow-up to their 2021 release Be the Love You Want.

Tune in to an affiliate station near you starting Friday, June 14 for the entire set from Southern Avenue, plus live performances from New York folk rock group Driftwood, Kentucky country singer Elvie Shane, singer-songwriter Melissa Ferrick and multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Jeff Plankenhorn.

Check out the playlist here, and take a look at our list of affiliates to find out when you can tune in.

Driftwood
Elvie Shane
Southern Avenue
Our guest artists with host
Kathy Mattea
Melissa Ferrick
Jeff Plankenhorn

W.Va. Basketball Great Jerry West Dies

Jerry West – whose struggling childhood in Chelyan, West Virginia earned him the nickname “Zeke from Cabin Creek” shortly after he began a storied career with the Los Angeles Lakers – died Wednesday morning at the age of 86.

This is a developing story and will be updated. 

Updated on Wednesday, June 12, 2024 at 2 p.m.

Jerry West – whose struggling childhood in Chelyan, West Virginia earned him the nickname “Zeke from Cabin Creek” shortly after he began a storied career with the Los Angeles Lakers – died Wednesday morning at the age of 86.

Announcing his passing on X, the Los Angeles Clippers where West worked as a team consultant, said he was “the personification of basketball excellence and a friend to all who knew him.” 

In a press briefing Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Jim Justice remembered good times turkey hunting with West and called him a “superstar” saying, “We celebrate the great life of a gentleman that we lost and a hero in every way in West Virginia, basically in many ways what we stand for, Jerry West.” 

“From his time as a record-breaking basketball player in the WVU Field House to his success in the front offices of some of the most respected sports franchises in America, Jerry brought his unique abilities, innovative spirit and quiet strength — the very best of what it means to be a Mountaineer,” Gee said in a statement.

WVU Athletic Director Wren Baker called it “one of the saddest days ever for West Virginia University and the state of West Virginia,” and said West was “a true gentlemen, one of the greatest players and executives the NBA has ever seen and certainly the most famous West Virginia Mountaineer of all time.” 

After his time at WVU West played for the Lakers for 14 years, was co-captain of the 1960 U.S. Olympic gold medal team and was an All-Star every year of his NBA Career. Later, he became an executive, credited with drafting Magic Johnson and James Worthy, then bringing in Kobe Bryant and eventually Shaquille O’Neal to play alongside Bryant.

Twice enshrined in the basketball Hall of Fame – in 1980 as a player and in 2010 as a member of the 1960 U.S. Olympic Team – he will be enshrined for a third time later this year as a contributor.

He also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2019. 

**Editor’s Note: This story was updated to include statements from Gov. Jim Justice, WVU President Gordon Gee and WVU vice president and director of Athletics Wren Baker. 

Us & Them Encore: SNAP — Do The Hungry Get More Policy Than Nutrition?

Hunger and poverty are universal challenges, but in the U.S. for more than 50 years, support programs like SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, have provided help to those in need. On this Us & Them, host Trey Kay talks with three people — a retiree, a mom and a lawmaker — who all say that nutritional support has made a difference in their lives.

Forty-two million Americans, or about 12 percent of the the population, need help feeding their families. 

That help often comes from a federal program called SNAP — which stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly called food stamps. The Mountain State is one of the top recipients of SNAP benefits. Nearly 45 percent of recipients are older adults or families with someone who’s disabled, while nearly 60 percent are families with children. 

The nation’s food support program began six decades ago, as a pilot program in McDowell County. Since then, it has reduced poverty and hunger across the nation. 

In an award-winning encore episode of Us & Them, host Trey Kay talks with three people — a retiree, a mom and a lawmaker who all say that nutritional support has made a difference in their lives. 

This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the West Virginia Humanities Council and the CRC Foundation.

Subscribe to Us & Them on Apple Podcasts, NPR One, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and beyond.

Reenie Kittle, 75, from Harding, W.Va., is a widow and retired with a physical disability. She does what she can to get by on a meager fixed income.

“How do I live on a fixed income? Very scarcely,” Kittle told Us & Them host Trey Kay as they sat in the living room of her converted double-wide home. “So I have to buy pellets for my wood stoves in the winter months. I have to pay the water bill … all my bills. I don’t go out very much ‘cause I can’t afford the gas. With my income and my bills of $1,300 a month, I am lucky if I have $200, maybe $250 left over to try to find food. My neighbor sometimes will bring me supper, and that’s been a blessing to me. They try to help me food-wise as much as they can. For SNAP, I qualify for $23 a month. It is nothing. They just tell me that they’ve reviewed my case and that’s as much as they can do. They have no extra money to give and that’s it.”

Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Each month, Reenie Kittle heads to the grocery store in Elkins, W.Va. with $23 from the federal government’s SNAP program. SNAP stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — it used to be called “Food Stamps.” 

Reenie beelines past the produce section … beyond the tower of packaged strawberries, the cold case full of carrots and greens. She’s not here to buy what she wants to eat. She’s here to stretch the money she is allotted to the very last penny.

Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Roughly 18 percent of West Virginia residents use SNAP benefits. Nationally, that number is more like 12 percent, which means that 42 million people across America need help getting enough to eat. 

Seth DiStefano, with the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, lobbies to support programs like SNAP — which became a centerpiece of the social reform programs in President Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” initiative. DiStefano says SNAP has its roots in West Virginia. This goes back to when President John F. Kennedy started the original “Food Stamp” program in McDowell County.

“It truly is one of the most effective anti-poverty programs in the history of the United States,” DiStefano says.

Photo Credit: West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy
Mary Kathryn Molitor, 34, lives in St. Albans, W.Va. with her three daughters and an old dog named Brenda. Mary Kathryn works full-time at a local credit union, making about $13 an hour. When the Us & Them team first spoke with her, she wasn’t sure she wanted to talk on the record about her relationship with SNAP saying it was her “dirty little secret.”

“I don’t tell people that I use SNAP benefits because I know what that person looks like and that person doesn’t look like me,” Molitor explains while pulling one of her wriggling twin daughters up onto her hip. “That person doesn’t have a college education. That person doesn’t have a full-time job. That person isn’t who I am. I find it embarrassing. I don’t want to admit that I need help.”

Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
To supplement her family’s food supply, Mary Kathryn Molitor often goes to the Capital Market in Charleston and checks to see if they have wilted vegetable plants that are about to be discarded. She takes them home to plant in her garden.

“Those are pumpkins right there. Volunteers. All those tomatoes? Volunteers. Sunflowers? Volunteers,” Molitor says while showing Us & Them host Trey Kay the plants around her home. “After Halloween — I threw my pumpkins into a couple of different areas and they rotted, seeded and they are giants now!  They grow on their own. They volunteer! If anybody needs a free pumpkin this year, just come to my house!”

Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Del. Jonathan Pinson represents the 17th District of West Virginia’s House of Delegates, on the western border of the state including parts of Mason and Jackson counties. Pinson, a Republican and a Baptist pastor was first elected in 2020. 

“I cannot say that I have issues with [SNAP] in general,” Pinson told Us & Them host Trey Kay when they met in Point Pleasant, W.Va. “One of the reasons that I can’t say that I’m opposed to that is because I think back prior to my adoption … at 15 years old … I go back to Saturday mornings sitting in a line at the armory in Florida, picking up corn flakes and powdered milk and five pound jugs of peanut butter. And I can tell you that there were many, many meals that I wouldn’t have had, had my parents not been on food stamps — and at the time, ‘commodities,’ that’s what it was called. So I can’t say that I’m opposed to the government helping when help is warranted.”

Photo Credit: West Virginia Legislature
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