Tag: June 2016 Flood

West Virginia Contractors Chosen for Post-Flood Construction

The West Virginia Development Office says four contractors have been chosen for housing-related construction under the RISE WV Housing Program designed to help residents affected by the June 2016 floods.

The state is providing two housing programs for eligible applicants funded by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The contractors Appalachia Service Project in Brenton, River Valley Remodeling LLC in Charleston, Thompson Construction in Lavalette and Dan Hill Construction Co. in Gauley Bridge.

In June, the state requested proposals for structural renovations, turnkey residential property reconstruction and manufactured housing unit replacement.

National Guardsman Honored for Saving 14 People in Floods

A member of the West Virginia National Guard has been recognized for saving the lives of more than 14 people during one night of the state’s historic flooding last year.

WOAY-TV reports that Sgt. Zachary Mills received the Division of Natural Resources Meritorious Service Medal on Sept. 22. Natural Resources Lt. Dennis K. Feazell said Mills and his partner, Natural Resources Sgt. Chris Lester, were called out on June 23, 2016 to White Sulphur Springs as hundreds of people were stranded at their homes in one of the most heavily impacted areas in West Virginia.

Mills said he was just doing his job as part of the swift water rescue team. He has been with the West Virginia National Guard for 12 years, including deployments to Iraq and Kuwait.

West Virginia Court Upholds School Consolidation Rejection

The West Virginia Supreme Court has upheld the state education board’s authority to reject Nicholas County’s plan to consolidate multiple schools into a single campus following flood damage.

In a ruling Tuesday, the court says the state board “is vested with the constitutional, statutory, and regulatory authority to exercise its discretion” in accepting or rejecting the county plan.

The Nicholas County school board proposed consolidating Summersville, Richwood and Craigsville schools into a single campus near Summersville using Federal Emergency Management Agency money from deadly 2016 floods.

It would put middle and high schools on one campus with the county’s vocational education center.

State board members said the county needed to get more community input and consider alternatives.

A Kanawha County judge reversed the state. The top court reversed the judge.

West Virginia School Board Conditionally OKs Consolidation

The West Virginia Board of Education has conditionally approved a school consolidation plan in Nicholas County.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports the plan by Nicholas County’s school board would consolidate schools in Richwood, Summersville and Craigsville into a campus near Summersville.

The Nicholas board plans to use FEMA recovery money from the 2016 flood, which damaged Richwood Middle, Richwood High and Summersville Middle, to build the consolidated campus.

The proposed consolidated campus would combine those schools with Nicholas County High and the county’s vocational education center.

State Department of Education general counsel Heather Hutchens said Friday the conditional approval will be withdrawn if the state Supreme Court grants the state school board’s requested stay of a judge’s order for it to give the conditional approval or post a $130 million bond.

Nicholas County School Consolidation Case Continues

The fight over school consolidation in Nicholas County continues. The West Virginia Board of Education, which is against consolidation, released a statement Thursday saying they’ll appeal their case to the West Virginia Supreme Court. 

After the devastation caused by the June 2016 flood, there’s been an ongoing and contentious debate over school consolidation in Nicholas County. The Nicholas County School Board is seeking to merge two middle schools, two high schools, and a vocational school all into one campus near Summersville. Damage from last year’s flood closed Richwood Middle, Richwood High and Summersville Middle schools. 

Several students, teachers, and residents in Richwood have fought against the county board’s plan to consolidate. 

Last month, the West Virginia Board of Education voted against consolidation in Nicholas County for the second time.

Recently, the case went before Kanawha County circuit judge Duke Bloom, who sided with the Nicholas County School Board, and said the state board acted “arbitrarily.”

Now, the West Virginia Board of Education has released a statement saying they are appealing the circuit court’s ruling. According to Kristin Anderson, communications director for the State Board of Education, an attorney with the WV Attorney General’s Office will appeal the case with the West Virginia Supreme Court Friday morning.

Store Reopening at West Virginia Center Marooned After Flood

A department store is reopening next month at a West Virginia shopping center that was marooned and shuttered after flooding last summer washed away an access bridge.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that spokesman Chris Brathwaite said the Kmart store at Crossings Mall in Elkview plans to reopen the first weekend in September with a grand reopening the following weekend.

The store and other businesses at the shopping center closed after the culvert bridge that was its only public access point washed out during the June 2016 flood. A new bridge was completed late last month.

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