Tag: Huntington

Jobs First Program Helps Huntington’s Homeless

Officials at the Cabell-Huntington Coalition for the Homeless are taking a new approach to the problem of homelessness and unemployment.

  Jobs First is a new idea developed by coalitions around the country. Instead of working with job candidates by training, developing and molding them before they apply for jobs, Jobs First helps them find jobs right away and continues to train them while they’re employed.

Helping the unemployed and homeless find work first puts them one step closer to a stable living environment where they can provide for themselves.

The Huntington Coalition started the program last July with a goal of helping 10% of Huntington’s homeless gain employment in a year.

The Coalition offers help ranging from:

  • Finding the proper clothing
  • Getting to and from the new job
  • Keeping that job.

So far the program has helped find jobs in:

  • Telemarketing
  • Fast food
  • Office work
  • River barges.

The program has placed 30 people in jobs and as word-of-mouth has grown throughout the homeless community the pace has picked up recently, with nine people finding jobs in January. 

Huntington Mayor Speaks with Students

Huntington Mayor Steve Williams took some time out of his schedule last week to pay a visit to Marshall University students and professors.Since his…

Huntington Mayor Steve Williams took some time out of his schedule last week to pay a visit to Marshall University students and professors.

Since his election in 2012, Huntington Mayor Steve Williams has made a conscious effort to be out in the community. Last week marked the beginning of a second year of “Coffee with the Mayor.”  This is a once a month visit Williams makes to the Marshall University Memorial Student Center – his effort to hear the concerns of students and faculty.  

Monica Winkfield is a Marshall student who stopped in last week. She said she was skeptical at first.

“When I first heard he was coming I was like “yay this is going to be awesome right, what a publicity stunt.” But the fact that he took the time to listen and to share ideas and to say hey let me talk to you a little bit after this, makes me feel like there is some merit and some promise in what he’s saying,” Winkfield said.

Mayor Williams said their questions don’t go unheard, he says he makes an effort to take on-going concerns and do something about them.

“Safety has definitely been a concern by students and faculty and staff. In the evenings it’s awfully dark around campus and so we’ve just entered into an agreement that starts this week where we are upgraded the lightning all around campus down 5th avenue and 3rd avenue,” Williams said.

The agreement between the city, Marshall University and Appalachian Power will improve the visibility around the area, William’s hopes making students and staff feel safer.

He said it’s vitally important to make an effort to be on campus and know what’s going on when Marshall is one of Huntington’s main entities.

The sessions are sponsored by the Student Government Association. Jordan Wooldridge is the SGA Chief of Staff. He said making sure the campus is a safe haven will continue to be a concern for students.

“Some things I would like to see on campus maybe more safety features we can look at, because it’s always increasing in today’s society and unfortunately that’s something we have to deal with,” Wooldridge said.

The next “Coffee with the Mayor” session is scheduled March 6.

Huntington Mayor Enacts Hiring Freeze

Huntington Mayor Steve Williams has enacted a hiring freeze and stopped unnecessary spending for the remaining five months of the fiscal year. Williams…

Huntington Mayor Steve Williams has enacted a hiring freeze and stopped unnecessary spending for the remaining five months of the fiscal year.
 
     Williams said at a City Council work session Thursday that Huntington’s revenues and expenditures are normal, but the state’s second-largest city has less than $100,000 in contingency funds.
 
     The Herald-Dispatch reports the move means vacated positions won’t be filled and Huntington won’t undertake new major projects until July 1.
 
     After Williams was inaugurated in January 2013, he cut each city department’s budget by 2 percent.

Wild Ramp Continues to Succeed in Huntington

Since opening in July 2012 the farmers market in downtown Huntington has injected nearly $350,000 back into the Huntington community.

Charles Barton sells organic lamb meat at the Wild Ramp local foods market in downtown Huntington. The farmer from Bakerton, West Virginia in the Eastern Panhandle is the perfect example of why the small market has succeeded.

“They were looking for people to join in and I was looking for a market I could be comfortable with and besides it gets me home more, Huntington is my home,” Barton said.

From July 2012, when the market opened, to December 2013, the market has paid more than 345 thousand dollars to a total of 121 farmers and producers. Shelly Keeney is the Market Manager.

Keeney said they have been surprised at how a small idea has turned into something that so many in the area depend on for locally grown food. She said they didn’t expect it.

“What surprises me is the amount of customer support, not just customers coming in buying product, but the business support we’ve gotten from businesses that surround us and now we have the attention of the agriculture department as well because it’s gone really well,” Keeney said.

It’s that support from city of Huntington officials and the West Virginia Department of Agriculture— and the need for more space– that made the Wild Ramps want to expand. After having their bid selected by the city to take over the Central City Market in Huntington’s west end, the market is preparing for a spring move that will provide much more space than they are  used to. Gail Patton is the President of the Board of Directors for the Market.

“We have outgrown this space very quickly, we actually outgrew it a year ago and have been thinking about moving for a while now and we decided to go for it and see if we could get a bigger building with better access,” Patton said.

The larger space in the Central City market will allow them to work with farmers on techniques for season extension so they can produce more into the cold months and will allow for others things such as classes.

“One of the big ones is we’ll be able to have classes right in the store, we’ll be able to have cooking demonstrations and cooking classes, we’ll be able to have gardening classes out behind the building and we’ll be able to expand what we can do onsite, now we’re having those classes, but always having to find somewhere to have them,” Patton said.

Patton says with the support they have from the community the move will work.

Homeless Coalition Welcomes Donation of Heating-Air Units

Some residents in apartments at the Cabell-Huntington Coalition for the Homeless got an early Christmas present this week.

Nine of the 54 efficiency style apartments at the Vanity Fair space at the Coalition received heating and air units this week. The units that were picked were ones with heating and air units that currently have to be held together with a mix of different parts.

The units came from Honeywell, a corporation specializing in technologies that include heating and air conditioning units. Bob Hansen is Executive Director of the homeless coalition.

“This complex was built and renovated in 1992 and just maintaining it through the years has been difficult,” Hansen said.

“We’re a small non-profit so we’re living day-to-day so this is just a big boost for us because the people that live here deserve the best living conditions and that’s what we’re striving for.”

Volunteers from Honeywell from all over the region came together to put in the 9 units. They installed the new single heating and air units in each of the 9 residents that were deemed to be the worst at the facility.

Alexis Jewell is a resident at the facility.

“My air conditioner and heater has not been working, so I have had cold air in the winter and hot air in the summer, so it’s greatly appreciate,” Jewell said.

“It is very nice because I’m from South Mississippi so it’s always colder than what I’m use to.”

Hansen said the nine apartments were in desperate need of new units.

“What we’ve been doing is just maintaining our old units, really they’re very inefficient, what we’ve been doing is kind of taking units apart and moving parts and trying to keep things going, kind of like using band aids to keep everything functional,” Hansen said.

Hansen said it’s important to provide a caring atmosphere year-round, not just around the holidays. 

Cabell Board Members Tour Multi-Million Dollar Facility

Cabell County Board of Education Members gathered yesterday morning at the site of the brand new Huntington East Middle School for a tour.Huntington East…

Cabell County Board of Education Members gathered yesterday morning at the site of the brand new Huntington East Middle School for a tour.

Huntington East Middle will house students from the current Beverly Hills and Enslow Middle Schools. The $24 million facility sits on top of a hill just off route 60 outside of Huntington. As time nears for students to enter the facility in January, board members gathered to get their first look.

Mike O’Dell was the tour guide yesterday, he’s the Assistant Superintendent of Operations in Cabell County. He led the group on a tour that took nearly an hour and a half. Winding his way around a facility that will house nearly 800 students as the two middle schools combine, O’Dell said the construction has been exciting.

“This one has been fun, it’s probably been one of the smoothest projects I’ve been involved with, but it’s been exciting because it’s different from any other project, this building is literally going to be a teaching tool being a LEED silver green school,” O’Dell said.

LEED silver is one of the many rating systems given by the United States Green Building Council. It means many of the programs involved in the school from tracking power usage and the amount of water runoff from the property, along with using only recycled materials in the cafeteria and creating a compost system, qualify the school for the ranking. William Smith is Superintendent of Cabell County Schools, he said the certification is one of the things that makes this school special.

“One of the things I think is special is it of course is a green school and we’ve incorporated that technique into the curriculum, so the students are looking at green technology and conservation and things that relate to them in the real world and that’s going to be a major teaching tool,” Smith said.

O’Dell said it’s been special to be a part of the construction of a facility that can take education in Cabell County to the next level. The school will include green learning into the curriculum and all the different types of technology will be available to the students.

Huntington East Middle will welcome students for the first time on January 8th. The three grades will have staggered arrivals so each grade can become acclimated to their new surroundings. But that doesn’t mean everything is ready for students to walk through the door, at least not yet.

O’Dell said he’s looking forward to seeing the faces of the 6th, 7th and 8th graders on their first day in the building.

“Because I think they’re going to love it, this is one of the finest facilities that we have in the county and much nicer than the facilities they’re coming from, but there is nothing like the reality of coming into a brand new building,” O’Dell said.

The school was constructed through a combination of funding awarded by the state School Building Authority and county money.

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