Now in its fifty-first year, the Charleston Distance Run brings estimates of more than 750 racers from across the country to Kanawha County for a route alongside the state capitol and downtown Charleston along with a diversion across the river on what is commonly known as Capital Punishment Hill.
An annual sporting tradition returns to Kanawha County this Saturday.
Now in its fifty-first year, the Charleston Distance Run brings estimates of more than 750 racers from across the country to Kanawha County for a route alongside the state capitol and downtown Charleston along with a diversion across the river on what is commonly known as Capital Punishment Hill.
The event will feature three separate races: a 15-mile run, a 15-mile relay split between three runners and a 5-kilometer run or walk. The races end with a finish line in the University of Charleston Stadium at Laidley Field.
Registration for this year’s events remains open until Friday at 8 p.m. For more information on this year’s race, visit the event website.
Late Friday afternoon, Appalachian Power announced it would seek a 17 percent rate increase, or more than $28 a month for the average residential customer.
The Kanawha County Commission has said it opposes Appalachian Power’s latest proposal for a rate increase.
On Monday, Kanawha County’s commissioners called that “staggering” and “unacceptable.”
In its filing, the company said it has invested $1 billion to improve generation, transmission and distribution in the past five years. It also cited $118 million in storm repair costs.
The Kanawha County Commission has opposed other Appalachian Power rate increases and urged the West Virginia Public Service Commission to reject the latest request.
Appalachian Power’s president proposed to mitigate the impact of the increase on ratepayers, but did not provide further details of what that might mean.
As of June 1, the average monthly bill for a customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours was about $170.
Tyler Mountain Fire Chief Louie Robinson and all but one of the department’s Board of Directors resigned Thursday evening.
The latest resignation at a Kanawha County volunteer fire department comes from the very top.
Tyler Mountain Fire Chief Louie Robinson and all but one of the department’s Board of Directors resigned Thursday evening. Their resignations come after several members of the Tyler Mountain Volunteer Fire Department (TMVFD) that serves Cross Lanes stepped down during a departmental training session in June.
In an open letter posted to the fire department’s Facebook page last month, the departed firefighters alleged leadership had filled vacant board positions without public discussion, mishandled equipment and funds and ignored safety concerns.
But a post on the department’s Facebook page Thursday night said the firefighters who had left in June had returned following the chief’s resignation.
The Kanawha County Commission released a statement Thursday evening acknowledging the changes and spelling out plans to provide continuing service to the community.
“We are aware of the resignation of the Tyler Mountain Volunteer Fire Department Chief and Board of Directors,” the statement read. “We are offering our assistance to the fire department through our Director of Emergency Management and our Department of Emergency Management. Emergency Management has spoken with mutual aid partners to ensure there is continued coverage in the area. Additionally, the State Fire Marshal’s Office has been contacted for guidance. We are committed to doing everything we can to support the citizens of the community during this time.”
In response to comments about the future of the Board of Directors, the Tyler Mountain Volunteer Fire Department Facebook page stated that board members will be temporarily appointed until elections are held in September. On Friday morning, the remaining board member Barry Holstein created a new Facebook page for the Tyler Mountain Volunteer Fire Department Board of Directors.
Vickie Hensley, a U.S. History teacher at George Washington High School in Kanawha County, earned West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Above and Beyond Award for April, which recognizes excellence and creativity of Mountain State teachers.
Vickie Hensley, a U.S. History teacher at George Washington High School in Kanawha County, earned West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Above and Beyond Award for April 2024, which recognizes excellence and creativity of Mountain State teachers.
Hensley was presented the award by WVPB’s Education team with a surprise visit to her classroom. She received a monetary award and a signature Blenko Glass blue apple paperweight. The West Virginia State Treasurers’ Office sponsors the award, presenter of the SMART529 college savings program in the Mountain State.
Hensley was nominated by several of her students who expressed their gratitude for her teaching strategies, passion for the subject and inclusive and stimulating classroom atmosphere.
One student nominee, Ameera Mustafa, said, “Another amazing aspect of Mrs. Hensley’s teaching is her use of creativity is assignments. It’s especially easy for History to become a boring subject, but I remember multiple times where I had fun doing classwork or homework. Most of all, knowing it was Mrs. Hensley who was grading it pushed me to try my best. Knowing how much passion she has for teaching encouraged me to improve as a student. She is one of the kindest and genuine individuals I, and many of my peers, have ever met.”
Pictured are several of Vickie Hensley’s students. Hensley (center) is WVPB’s April 2024 Above and Beyond winner. Next to her (left) is George Washington High School Principal Jim Crawford. On the far right of the photo (front) is Ameera Mustafa, who was one of the student’s who nominated Hensley for the award. Mustafa was also one of WVPB’s student journalists during the 2024 season of The Legislature Today.
Photo Credit: Autumn Meadows/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Hensley has been teaching for 23 years, and she loves engaging the students. She said she creates an environment where the students know they are important. She said, “They are 100% the reason why I am there, and while they are in my classroom, the world really does revolve around them.” She also enjoys when students ask the hard questions and she has to tell them she’ll have to get back to them and model that learning is a lifelong process.
One of her favorite concepts to teach in the classroom is the Constitution Era. Hensley said she loves to see students connect this living document to their every day lives. “That’s why students always get their own copy of their ‘handy-dandy pocket constitution’ to use in class.”
Hensley also uses a civics program called Project Citizen in the classroom. The program is designed to help students learn about issues within their community and then create a potential policy and plan to implement the policy. “We have looked at everything from expanding school curriculum, therapy dogs in high schools to community drug intervention teams.”
In addition to the classroom, Hensley is also a co-advisor for the George Washington National Honor Society and a teacher with WV Learns, the online platform for students in West Virginia. The National Honor Society students focus on leadership and focus. “I am very proud of how active our students are in our school chapter.”
Mustafa finished the nomination with, “Mrs. Hensley’s approach to education and community involvement truly makes a positive impact on both students and the community at large.”
Each month, WVPB has an esteemed panel of judges that select one deserving teacher who goes above and beyond for the students in West Virginia. If you know of a deserving teacher who goes “Above and Beyond,” please click here to nominate them.
The West Virginia National Guard is opening a new entrepreneurial center in Charleston with a nearly $600,000 grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
A business center slated for Charleston aims to provide new resources to entrepreneurs in the culinary sector, including office areas, recipe design spaces and a test kitchen.
The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) announced Thursday it will grant the West Virginia National Guard $595,000 to establish a small business hub in the state capital “with a specific emphasis on food production and innovation.”
Adjutant General for the State of West Virginia William Crane said in a press release that the new funding will allow the National Guard to expand current entrepreneurial resources within the state’s veteran community and beyond.
The West Virginia Military Authority currently operates a program called Patriot Guardens, which provides “agricultural education and hands-on learning opportunities to veterans, active duty members of the military and their families,” according to the program’s website.
Crane said Thursday that the Patriot Guardens program serves as a stepping stone for veteran and military-affiliated West Virginians looking to enter agricultural entrepreneurship. He expects the new small business hub to expand upon those resources.
The small business center will offer “greater educational, financial and business opportunities,” and will support the Patriot Guardens program “as it continues to mature,” he said.
Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., said in the press release that he is eager to see the entrepreneurial work that can be accomplished through the new Kanawha County facility.
“I’m pleased the SBA is investing… [in] the West Virginia National Guard’s creation of an innovative small business center in Charleston,” he said. “This funding will support our veterans’ entrepreneurial endeavors, especially in food production.”
Several volunteer firefighters with the Tyler Mountain Volunteer Fire Department staged a walkout Monday. Other county agencies are now working to pick up the slack.
Several members of the Tyler Mountain Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) resigned during a departmental training session Monday.
The fire department said Monday that seven of its 25 volunteer firefighters left their positions. But other mediaoutlets have since reported that 10 or more firefighters staged a joint walkout, allegedly due to concerns with the fire department’s leadership.
The sudden departure has left the community of Cross Lanes, which is serviced by the Tyler Mountain VFD, with fewer first responders on standby. The fire department is now reviewing applications for new recruits.
Meanwhile, officials within the fire department and Kanawha County at large are working to ensure that Tyler Mountain VFD’s coverage areas remain protected.
Preexisting mutual aid agreements allow neighboring fire departments to contribute to emergency response efforts in Cross Lanes, the Kanawha County Commission said in a Monday statement.
Kanawha County officials and 911 dispatchers will help coordinate response efforts in the Tyler Mountain VFD’s coverage area, the statement said. This could include contacting fire departments based in the communities of Dunbar, Institute, Nitro, Sissonville and St. Albans to respond to some emergencies in Cross Lanes.
Dunbar Fire Chief Jason Burger said mutual aid agreements between the Tyler Mountain VFD and surrounding fire departments are long standing, and have helped first responders access additional support as needed during emergency response efforts.
“We have had a mutual aid agreement with the Tyler Mountain Fire Department for quite a while,” he said. “If they need help on a call, they ask for us and we respond.”
The Tyler Mountain Volunteer Fire Department has helmed emergency response efforts for the Kanawha County community of Cross Lanes since 1951.
Photo Credit: Tyler Mountain Volunteer Fire Department
Joe Stevens, public information officer for the Nitro Fire Department, said that the agreements make responding to emergencies in Cross Lanes familiar territory, and that the resignations do not pose an added burden to first responders in Nitro.
“This is nothing new,” he said.
Still, Burger said his department has minimal information on the nature of the walkout in Cross Lanes. He received word of the walkout Monday afternoon, but was not informed of the motivations behind it.
“I don’t have any insider information about what’s going on out there,” he said. “Hopefully whatever’s going on, cooler heads can prevail … because ultimately it’s the citizens that will suffer.”
The Tyler Mountain VFD did not respond directly to a request for an interview, but referred West Virginia Public Broadcasting to a departmental statement written Monday.
In that statement, James McDougle, president of the Tyler Mountain VFD board of directors, said that the fire department remains prepared to respond to local emergencies.
Likewise, Tyler Mountain Fire Chief Louie Robinson said his department is committed to continuing to serve the Cross Lanes community. He also thanked neighboring fire departments for their support.
The Tyler Mountain VFD will discuss the walkout during its regularly scheduled public meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, held at 5380 Big Tyler Road in Cross Lanes.
For more information, visit the Tyler Mountain VFD’s Facebook page.
