Tag: Government

DHHR to Launch Syringe Exchange in Cabell County

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources is piloting the state’s first syringe exchange program, aimed at reducing the risk of spreading…

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources is piloting the state’s first syringe exchange program, aimed at reducing the risk of spreading diseases.

State DHHR officials will join will local health workers in Huntington Thursday to announce a program that is the first of its kind for West Virginia. The pilot Syringe Exchange Program will launch in Cabell County later this year.

The pilot is part of a harm reduction program aimed at protecting public health by combating the spread of disease that stems from intravenous drug use. The hope is that by offering a place to exchange used needles for new ones, the state can combat the spread of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV and AIDS.

DHHR Cabinet Secretary Karen L. Bowling will be joined by the state’s chief public health officer with Dr. Rahul Gupta, Huntington Mayor Steve Williams and Dr. Michael Kilkenny of the Cabell-Huntington Health Department for the announcement.

National Youth Science Foundation Purchases Tucker County Facility

The National Youth Science Foundation has acquired a research and education center in Tucker County.

The foundation received federal approval in March to purchase the facility from the Canaan Valley Institute. The Charleston Gazette reports that the foundation announced the $20 million acquisition’s completion on Tuesday.

The foundation plans to house a science, technology, engineering and math education, or STEM, center at the facility near Davis.

U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin said Wednesday that the center has the potential to become a national hub for STEM education.

The Canaan Valley Institute built the center with funding from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Adminstration.

Bankruptcy Judge Looks to Ok Deal in Spill Case

A judge says he’s looking to approve a $2.5 million bankruptcy deal involving the company behind a massive chemical spill last year.

In Charleston federal bankruptcy court Wednesday, Judge Ronald Pearson spoke favorably of the plan pushed by Freedom Industries, the state Department of Environmental Protection and creditors.

The plan says Freedom parent company Chemstream Holdings would add $1.1 million to clean up the Charleston spill site.

Freedom would contribute $1.4 million.

Previously, Freedom proposed only $150,000 for additional cleanup, which Pearson rejected.

The January 2014 spill spurred a tap-water ban for 300,000 people for days.

Pearson said his approval awaits the change of cleanup contractors at the spill site and related deadline extensions in the settlement.

The agreement says DEP can’t sue Chemstream for the spill or cleanup.

W.Va. First Lady Retires as Community College President

West Virginia first lady Joanne Jaeger Tomblin has retired as president of Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College.

Tomblin’s retirement was effective Tuesday. She had served at the college for 33 years, including the past 15 as president.

Tomblin says in a college news release that she believed the time was right for her to step down. She says the college’s board, academic and campus leaders and community supporters know what is required to achieve continued success.

During Tomblin’s tenure, the college began the Vision 2020 Major Gifts campaign, which has raised $17 million through community donations. Other projects included a new Allied Health Facility on the Logan campus and the Applied Technology Facility on the Williamson campus.

Tennessee Governor to Headline GOP Event

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam is slated to headline an event next month for the West Virginia Republican Party.The party announced Tuesday that Haslam would…

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam is slated to headline an event next month for the West Virginia Republican Party.

The party announced Tuesday that Haslam would attend the GOP’s Path to Victory lunch in Charleston on July 24. The event will take place at the Capitol Conference Center.

Haslam was elected governor in 2010 and won re-election last year. He serves as the chairman of the Republican Governors Association, a group poised to spend money in West Virginia’s open race for governor in 2016.

West Virginia Senate President Bill Cole will also attend the event. The Mercer County Republican is running for governor.

Ex-Arch Coal Employee Sentenced for Kickbacks

A former Arch Coal employee will spend six months in prison for lying to investigators about a kickback scheme at a mine.

Gary Griffith had pleaded guilty in July 2014 to making a materially false statement in a federal matter. The 63-year-old Oceana resident was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Charleston.

U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin says Griffith admitted lying about receiving kickbacks when he was maintenance manager at Arch Coal’s Mountain Laurel Mining Complex in Logan County.

Goodwin says in a news release that an unnamed person associated with North American Rebuild Company, Inc. paid kickbacks to Griffith and the mine’s former general manager for each shuttle car ordered from the company.

The company provided shuttle cars to Mountain Laurel and another Arch Coal mine.

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