City of Huntington Story Archives - Page 2 of 7 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Huntington Mayor Reacts To Opioid Verdict

A federal judge ruled in favor of three drug distributors that were accused of fueling the opioid epidemic in Huntington and Cabell County. Local leaders are considering their next step.

Judge David Faber ruled that opioid distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson did not create a public nuisance by distributing 81 million pills over the span of eight years in Huntington and Cabell County.

“The distribution of medicine to support the legitimate medical needs of patients as determined by doctors exercising their medical judgment in good faith cannot be deemed an unreasonable interference with a right common to the general public,” Faber wrote.

The judge stated that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate that the wave of addictive painkillers were because of unreasonable conduct, and that the defendants were acting in a legitimate response to keep up with the demand set by doctor prescriptions.

“I don’t know what more that we needed to prove,” Huntington Mayor Steve Williams said. “It was a collaborative effort of the manufacturers, the distributors, and the pharmaceutical companies.“

Huntington and Cabell County asked for more than $2.5 billion in order to fund opioid response programs as part of a 15-year abatement plan.

According to Williams, the defendants denied responsibility to assist in the community’s recovery.

“One thing that frankly aggravated me in the trial is when the defendants were indicating that the City of Huntington should be paying for all these recovery programs,” he said.

Williams indicated that the plaintiffs plan on meeting with legal counsel to discuss their next steps.

FEMA Denies Federal Help To W.VA. Flood Victims

In his Tuesday coronavirus briefing, Gov. Jim Justice announced that FEMA has ruled that the damage from the May 6, 2022 flooding in Cabell, Putnam and Roane Counties was not enough to qualify for federal assistance.

Justice said the state would appeal the ruling.

“We have 30 days to appeal, ” Justice said. “We’re going to do so and we’re going to push as hard as we possibly can. But it’s a disappointment to tell you the truth.”

In Huntington, more than 200 households were damaged or affected by the floods.

Huntington Mayor Steve Williams said he was disappointed with the FEMA decision.

“I am disappointed that FEMA has denied assistance to our residents who suffered significant damage from the May 6th flood,” Williams said. However, I am appreciative of all of the local, county and state agencies that worked tirelessly in this effort. These strong partnerships are what will be required as we explore long-term mitigation projects to reduce the risk of flooding in our neighborhoods.”

City of Huntington Receives Donation Of Life-Saving Naloxone

The West Virginia Drug Intervention Institute donated 1,000 units of 8mg naloxone to the Huntington Police Department and to the Cabell-Huntington Coalition for the Homeless, otherwise known as the Harmony House.

The City of Huntington is getting some help in stopping opioid overdose deaths.

The West Virginia Drug Intervention Institute donated 1,000 units of 8mg naloxone from Hikma Pharmaceuticals to the Huntington Police Department and to the Cabell-Huntington Coalition for the Homeless, otherwise known as the Harmony House.

The donated overdose reversal medication, naloxone, comes in the form of nasal spray kits.

“We know in particular, Cabell County and Kanawha County are hit the hardest at the moment, and so this is where we’re focusing a lot of our energy and outreach,” President of the The West Virginia Drug Intervention Institute Susan Bissett said.

President of the West Virginia Drug Intervention Institute Susan Bissett, Huntington Police Chief Karl Colder, Doctor Sydnee McElroy, Harmony House Executive Director Amanda Coleman, and Director of the Mayor’s Office of Drug Control Policy and Public Health Jan Rader

Huntington Police Chief Karl Colder said that the large amounts of fentanyl police see and the harm the drug represents is a stark reminder of the many lives potentially lost without naloxone.

“Recently we had about 300 grams of fentanyl seized, which was equivalent to 155,000 people that could have been harmed,” Colder said. You look at the numbers, you look at the risk, not only for our officers who respond, but they can also save lives as well.”

Among the boxes delivered are emergency kits developed by ONEbox. These kits are designed with a 1 minute video tutorial by Jan Rader in both English and Spanish. Along with a video player inside the kit, the tutorial will also be made available online.

ONEbox CEO Joe Murphy giving a demonstration of naloxone emergency kit, with President of the The West Virginia Drug Intervention Institute Susan Bissett on the right.

“Anybody who comes in, they’re offered naloxone, all the staff here are trained and carry naloxone,” executive director of Harmony House, Amanda Coleman said. “This is huge for us to have something that isn’t injectable naloxone. This is much easier to use, people are less nervous about it.”

Joe Murphy, CEO of ONEbox, said that he hopes naloxone can become a standard part of workplace first-aid kits.

“Think about how many first aid kits we have out there. This is an opportunity for us to make this just available in our workplaces and to take that stigma away,” Murphy said.

The West Virginia Drug Intervention Institute plans on distributing more emergency kits with tutorials when manufacturing is complete in August.

Fairfield District Mural Honors Huntington Community’s Black Heritage

A large crowd gathered at the Unlimited Future Incubator in the Fairfield district of Huntington for the unveiling of the second mural in the Past to Our Future: 3 Building Mural Project.

The incubator regularly engages in community revitalization projects in Fairfield, such as the mural project. It aims to paint murals on prominent buildings in the Fairfield community that reflect the community’s Black American heritage.

“The beauty of this is to recognize those who have done so much within our community,” Huntington Mayor Steve Williams said. “We’re able to walk and drive by here and be able to see the history of Fairfield, the history of Huntington, the history of the Ohio River Valley, and indeed, and let’s make sure that everybody knows it, the history of West Virginia is celebrated in each of these individuals.”

Mitzi Sinnott, organizer of the mural project, introducing Huntington Mayor Steve Williams

Betsy Casañas is the mural artist of the mural. She is from Philadelphia and is the director of a Seed on Diamond Gallery and founder of Semilla Arts Initiative.

Mitzi Sinnott, organizer of the mural project, said that Casañas was chosen because of her specific ability to paint on non-flat surfaces, and for her ability to reflect the community she’s painting for.

“She chose the river birch tree, which is indigenous to the Ohio River Valley. She was talking about putting the people we choose to honor inside of birch leaves,” Sinnott said. “If you look at the mural, the woman, she is the divine feminine, who is the bridge between the heavens and earth, and we are rooted by her on Earth. So her roots are there and she actually is becoming a tree.”

Woman in the center of Betsy Casañas’ mural

Bishop Samuel Moore is one of the people included in the mural.

“To have your picture on this, I mean, it’s just overwhelming,” Moore said. “It’s very humbling to me, because it will be here for a long time. I came here from Huntington for Bluefield in 1985, and so this community, we’ve embraced it, and it’s embraced us.”.

Founders of The Unlimited Future Incubator and Mitzi Sinnott

The mural project began with Ernel Martinez’s mural on the side of Ebenezer Daycare and will continue with the J.W. Scott Center. For more information, you can visit the project’s website at www.unlimitedfuture.org/3buildingmural/.

Huntington Residents Affected By Floods Will Soon Benefit From Marshall University Thrift Store

Huntington residents affected by the recent floods will soon benefit from a thrift store run by Marshall University for students.

Under normal circumstances, the Marshall University Thrift Store takes items donated from dormitory housing to be resold to students at a reduced rate. Items at the thrift store include clothing, furniture, sheets, pillows, and home appliances.

Next week, the thrift store is giving away 60 bins of donated items to members of the Huntington community affected by the May 6th flood.

With student volunteers living off campus during the summer, the Marshall University Sustainability Department is looking for community volunteers to help sort through items from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and operate the store during the give-away. The Marshall University Sustainability Department will supply lunch to volunteers.

You can volunteer for the flood relief event here.

The thrift store is located at 331 Hal Greer Boulevard in Huntington. The Marshall University Thrift store will be giving out store items to residents Monday, May 23rd, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Gov. Jim Justice And Huntington Mayor Discuss Steps For Flood Prevention

Gov. Jim Justice joins Huntington Mayor Steve Williams at Four-Pole Creek to discuss flooding.

Gov. Jim Justice and Huntington Mayor Steve Williams met alongside Four-Pole Creek Monday morning to discuss flood prevention and response.

Justice said that once the damage is assessed, the State needs to work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to lessen pressure from flood bottlenecks. “Get these people qualified for FEMA,” he said. “If that’s possible.”

Gov. Jim Justice and Huntington Mayor Steve Williams Outlining The Four-Pole Creek Watershed

Justice and Williams both emphasized that flooding needs to be addressed on the local, county, and state level due to the wide geographical reach of the problem and the high cost of engineering solutions.

“All of us, the mayor, the governor, the house, the Senate, try to do anything and everything we can with dollars that we have available to try to help these folks,” Justice said.

Gov. Jim Justice and Huntington First Responders

The Four-Pole Creek watershed covers the majority of Huntington and its surrounding areas. A series of county waterways converge into Four-Pole Creek, and bottlenecks starting at the Enslow community, often the site of the city’s worst flooding.

Concrete changes the shape of a watershed, reducing absorption and increasing runoff. Justice and Williams noted that infrastructure must be built in a way that promotes development and prevents overflows.

“We want development all over the state of West Virginia,” Williams said. “In order for us to have the development that we know that we want, that we deserve, we also have to make sure that we have the capacity in place to be able to prepare.”

Justice encouraged West Virginia citizens affected by the flood to document the damage and contact the West Virginia Emergency Management Division at emd.wv.gov.