The West Virginia State Capitol is recognizing the occasion by shining blue lights on the building from 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday night. The governor’s office has also proclaimed Oct. 20 as Lights on Afterschool Day.
Thursday, Oct. 20 marks the annual nationwide National Lights On Afterschool campaign.
The West Virginia State Capitol is recognizing the occasion by shining blue lights on the building from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday night. The governor’s office has also proclaimed Oct. 20 as Lights on Afterschool Day.
The event is organized by Afterschool Alliance, a group that advocates for more access to after school programs for students across the country. More than 8,000 organizations have been involved since its creation in 2000.
Loren Farmer of the West Virginia Statewide Afterschool Network said these types of programs are important because they help keep kids safe and give them more opportunities to learn and build social skills.
“Afterschool plays a huge role in making sure we keep our kids safe in hours when they’re out of school. The peak for juvenile crime is typically between 2 and 6 p.m.,” Farmer said.
The network is housed within WVU Extension, which has helped organize the campaign in West Virginia alongside the Salvation Army’s Boys and Girls Club of Charleston.
Research from the Afterschool Alliance shows that 86 percent of parents in West Virginia support public funding for after school programs. Farmer says with more funding, they could accommodate some of the demand for after school programs, particularly in rural communities.
“In West Virginia, we don’t have any dedicated state funding for after school,” Farmer said. “We do have the federal 21st Century Community Learning Center’s grant, which is administered through the Department of Education. But we do not currently have any state level funding specifically for after school.”
The same study says 12 percent of West Virginia students were involved in after school programs in 2020.
That’s a seven percent decrease since the group’s previous study in 2014, though 46 percent of children also say they would participate in such programs if they were more readily available.
Since 2007, West Virginia law has said state sanctioned casinos cannot operate without having horse or dog racing. A 2017 bill to eliminate the state’s role in greyhound racing was passed by the West Virginia Legislature but vetoed by Gov. Jim Justice.
Since 2007, West Virginia law has said state sanctioned casinos cannot operate without having horse or dog racing. A 2017 bill to eliminate the state’s role in greyhound racing was passed by the West Virginia Legislature but vetoed by Gov. Jim Justice.
Today, many legislators, like Del. Matt Rohrbach, R-Cabell, believes greyhound racing in West Virginia is on a quick path to extinction.
“The only thing that’s really keeping it going in the two tracks in West Virginia is the requirement that they have racing in order to have the casinos and the entertainment venues that they have,” Rohrbach said. “Given their druthers, I suspect that they would get rid of those.”
Randy Yohe
/
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
State law says West Virginia casinos cannot operate table games like roulette without horse or dog racing at the venue.
A company called Delaware North owns both Wheeling Island in Ohio County and Mardi Gras Casino and Resort in Kanawha County, the two West Virginia venues with greyhound racing. In a statement, spokesperson Glen White cited declining revenues and patrons, and he said the corporation favors decoupling state government and dog racing, including West Virginia.
“We would support it if legislation passed that would allow us to operate the casinos without operating racing,” White said.
Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, has fought to retain greyhound racing. He said it’s a humane sport with economic benefits.
“The city of wheeling benefits directly from revenue generated here at the casino,” Weld said. “I represent the track, I represent the casino. I represent a lot of people who work at the track who work in the greyhound industry.”
Del. Dianna Graves, R-Kanawha, said even though the Mardi Gras Casino is in her backyard, West Virginia, like the rest of the states, does not belong in the dog racing business.
“What upsets me is that the government continues to get in between a business and how it runs itself. I don’t like that,” Graves said. “I think the state should be willing to turn loose of that and let casinos and the people who go there decide what the fate of casinos is going to be.”
Delaware North said it makes very little profit on live greyhound racing.
Randy Yohe
/
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Casino owners say the high cost of operation means very little profit for live greyhound racing.
In a statement, the corporation said, “Delaware North employs and pays about 70 employees who operate greyhound racing at the two casinos. Delaware North makes very little profit on live greyhound racing due to the high costs of its operation and limited wagering. With simulcasting, the company does make a moderate profit.”
The statewide greyhound racing and breeding industry, employing more than 1,500 people directly and indirectly, is sustained by state government intervention. A legally mandated greyhound development breeding fund pulls about $15 million a year from casino gaming profits to subsidize kennel and breeding operations.
Greyhound breeder Steve Sarras is president of the West Virginia Kennel Owners Association. He said if his dogs don’t win at the track, he doesn’t get paid, so the subsidy insures survival.
“Even though you had to feed the dogs, pay for your staff, pay for the heat, the electric, the veterinary care, all of that stuff, you just would not get any income,” Sarras said. “So the way it’s set up, there are built in safeguards to ensure that the dogs get the highest level of care.”
Randy Yohe
/
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Casino owners say the high cost of operation means very little profit for live greyhound racing.
The racing grandstands at Mardi Gras are nearly empty on a Wednesday evening with 30 bettors at most. Delaware North said in its statement that while losing money at the track, it does make a moderate profit from the international simulcasting of West Virginia races.
Weld said that’s where the money is.
“I think that the over the wire play is the larger part of that growth. It’s very significant growth,” he said.
Carey Theil is the Executive Director of Grey2KUSA, a national nonprofit greyhound protection organization. Theil said the corporate profit percentage from simulcasting is only 3 percent and greyhound breeders get nothing from simulcasting.
Randy Yohe
/
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Most of the profits from simulcast greyhound racing go to out-of-state interests, according to greyhound protection organization GREY2KUSA.
“All of those revenues stay with out-of-state gambling companies,” Theil said. “Ironically, the state subsidy program for greyhound racing in the final death throes of the industry has really become a state subsidy program that benefits these out of state enter gambling companies.”
Rohrbach said if and when the state cuts ties with the sport, it needs to be sensitive to the dogs left behind – and the jobs lost.
“I also hope that we’ll just look at a fair mechanism to decouple,” Rohrbach said. “It would probably have a timeline and some phase out. And I believe that’s exactly what happened in the other states.”
In December, the West Memphis, Arkansas greyhound racing track, also owned by Delaware North, will be the last track in America to close, other than the two in West Virginia.
The corporation worked with Arkansas kennel owners for a three-year phaseout of racing after shutting down its Florida dog tracks.
“In recent years, racing ended at Delaware North’s Daytona Beach Racing & Card Club after Florida voters approved an amendment to prohibit racing at the 11 remaining greyhound racetracks across the state,” Delaware North said in a statement. In Arkansas, we worked with kennel owners at our Southland Casino Hotel for a three-year phaseout of racing that will be completed this December. Both Delaware North and the kennel association in Arkansas wanted certainty and clarity for the future by ending live racing via an orderly process and on our own terms.”
Many live patrons at Wheeling Island and Mardi Gras, like Joe Jackfert, see the writing on the wall. Jackfert has been playing the dogs in Wheeling since the 1970’s and said he hopes to keep playing in the future.
Randy Yohe
/
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Some live racing patrons hope West Virginia keeps the only two greyhound racing tracks left in America, come 2023.
“If you look up greyhound in a dictionary, it says racing,” Jackfert said. That’s what these dogs are made for is racing. This is one of the finest attractions around. I can’t believe that we’re gonna be the only state to have the only two tracks left.”
Many state legislators in West Virginia believe another decoupling bill will be presented in the 2023 regular legislative session.
The state is now seeing an incredible influx of greyhounds. In the fourth and final part of our radio series, Chris Schulz goes inside the national greyhound adoption industry, with West Virginia at the epicenter of it all.
Melissa Decker said her title is D.C. Director for Gov. Jim Justice. She will identify areas where the state can compete for more federal grant funding, serve as liaison with the West Virginia congressional delegation and be the primary point of contact between federal officials and the state of West Virginia.
A member of Gov. Jim Justice’s staff is now working in Washington, D.C. to bring home federal grant money.
Melissa Decker said her title is D.C. Director for Gov. Justice. She will identify areas where the state can compete for more federal grant funding, serve as liaison with the West Virginia congressional delegation and be the primary point of contact between federal officials and the state of West Virginia.
“I’ve met our folks in Charleston just to get to know them and establish relationships,” Decker said. “So I can pick their brains on what grants they have looked at. I’m working so we can identify if we haven’t competed for a grant, and how we can change that legislatively.”
Decker said her decades of experience in working with federal legislators and agencies has honed her communication skills.
She brings more than 30 years of public service experience to the position having worked in various roles with state governments and the federal government.
Most recently, she served as Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary of Memorial Affairs within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Decker previously worked in former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s administration as Deputy Director of California’s D.C. Office and as a Deputy Cabinet Secretary. She also served as a legislative analyst for the U.S. House Republican Conference under U.S. Rep. John Boehner.
Decker has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, an Executive Master’s Degree in International Relations, and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Security Studies from Syracuse University.
Originally from Ashland, Ohio, Decker earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Politics and Public Policy from Bethany College in Bethany, West Virginia She says she went to college as a math major, but the curriculum at this small liberal arts school swayed her interests.
“I took an amazing class from a Reagan Democrat appointee for American government studies,” Decker said. “And all of a sudden I realized that public policy was really cool because there’s no one answer. It’s all about building the coalition and finding ways to get everyone on board and moving something forward.”
Decker says she’s a grant researching nerd who knows how to compete for the money.
“And I think it just allows West Virginia to be more competitive,” Decker said. “Just being able to walk across the street and up to Capitol Hill and talk with our delegation anytime it’s needed.”
Justice recently said there were 381 possible grants that West Virginians could tag on to. Decker said she looks forward to seeking that number, or more.
With his inauguration Monday, Gov.-elect Jim Justice is announcing more staff appointments in his new administration.
Justice announced Friday former state Senator and long-time House of Delegates member Bob Ashely will take over as his legislative director, working directly with lawmakers to push the governor’s bill through the legislative process.
Ashley is a Republican joining the Democratic administration. He was appointed to the state Senate in 2015, but lost his election for the seat in November.
Justice also announced the naming of two other key positions in his office.
Jason Pizatella will return to Charleston to serve as deputy chief of staff under Nick Casey. Pizatella previously held the post in Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s administration then went on to serve as Secretary of Administration before leaving the Capitol to become president of the Morgantown Area Chamber of Commerce last year.
Derek Scarbro will serve as Justice’s director of intergovernmental affairs. Scarbro was Justice’s campaign manager.
As a major snowstorm bears down on West Virginia, the governor’s office is preparing the state for the storm.
Governor Tomblin issued a state of preparedness for the state Wednesday. It allows him to activate the National Guard if necessary and make sure the department of transportation and division of highways have all the support and resources they need. Chris Stadelman is the Communications Director for the Governor’s office and said they want people to be ready for the 36-hour event that is approaching.
“We’re already encouraging people to pay attention to the conditions, avoid travel if you can and then absolutely be responsible, if we have people that are in accidents they tie up traffic and then our snow plows get stuck in the traffic and it keeps us from getting the state assets out to be able to do what they need to do,” Stadelman said.
Stadelman said that as of Thursday afternoon, the forecast is showing that storms will likely move in from the southern coalfields into the Huntington – Charleston area around 10 to 11 a.m. The Kanawha Valley is predicted to get between 12 and 18 inches of snow. Worst case that could elevate to two feet. He says the Eastern Panhandle could get anywhere from two to three feet. The rest of the state could also see significant snowfall as well.
