Lincoln County Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

State Board Of Education Approves Closure Of Four Elementary Schools

The West Virginia Board of Education approved the closure of four elementary schools in three counties, raising concerns among community members.

The West Virginia Board of Education approved the closure of four elementary schools in three counties during their meeting Dec. 13, 2023.

H.E. White Elementary School and Lizemore Elementary School in Clay County, as well as Ranger Pre-K through 5 in Lincoln County will close at the end of the 2023-2024 academic year. Norwood Elementary in Harrison County was already closed under emergency procedures in July after structural engineers identified issues that made the building unsafe for students.

In their impact statements, both Clay and Lincoln counties cited declining population and enrollment for the closures. Senate Bill 51, which went into effect on June 5, requires impact statements including transportation time of the affected students be written in certain instances of school closing or consolidation.

Clay County said their overall student enrollment has decreased by 19.2 percent, representing a loss of 385 students from 2015-2016 to 2022-2023. Lincoln County stated an enrollment decrease of 7.8 percent, representing a loss of 794 students over the last 10 years.

Several parents and community members spoke in opposition of the closures in Clay and Lincoln.

Christina Mounts said she did not understand why Ranger Elementary was being singled out for facilities issues that are also present in other county school buildings.

“The comprehensive educational facilities plan identified most of these same deficiencies as present in at least five of the other schools in Lincoln County,” she said. “Why are the other five schools not being held to the same standard?”

Mounts called Ranger Elementary the heart of the community, and its closure would not be in the best interest of students’ educational needs.

Mike Nichols said due to its rural setting, the closure of Lizemore Elementary will have a greater impact on the local community than a closure in an urban area.

“Often in urban areas, there are community centers, other schools, other facilities close by where kids can still meet and play and practice,” Nichols said. “No such luxury exists for our community. Our area, the school and the gymnasium are the community center. The ball field and the playground is the park. They go away, we have nothing. Nothing.”

Longer bus routes resulting from the school consolidations was a particular concern amongst the speakers. All three counties applied for waivers to create bus routes longer than 45 minutes for the new consolidated schools. Under WVBE Policy 4336, county boards of education cannot create a bus route longer than 15 minutes over the 30 minute maximum recommended duration for elementary school students without state board approval.

Lynn Taylor spoke against the closures of H.E. White Elementary School and Lizemore Elementary School in Clay County. She and others said they had been told new bus routes could be as long as 70 minutes. Taylor, who has a child with autism, also raised concern of sending her children so far away from their parents.

“What’s gonna happen when he goes to Clay and we’re an hour and a half away from him?” she said. “That’s the things that we see that’s gonna happen with these closures of the schools. The parents aren’t going to be close enough to make kids feel secure. The parent involvement is going to drop in the schools.”

Phil Dobbins, superintendent of Clay County Schools, said the closure of Lizemore Elementary would shorten existing bus routes, most of which run close to or over an hour in length from first pick up to drop off at the elementary school.

“These routes will be shortened by about 10 minutes because buses will not have to make the loop at Lizemore Elementary to safely drop off, get back out on the highway and head to Clay (Elementary),” he said. “So that 10 minute decrease would reduce those times to 50 minutes, 57 (minutes), 43 (minutes) and 50 minutes respectively and again, we’re not creating any new route.”

Board member Debra Sullivan questioned the broader trend of closures and consolidations in the state, with particular focus on the role of state policy in the issue.

“Is it our counties’ fault that the state population has fallen over the past two plus decades?” she said. “Is the school aid formula addressing the realities facing our schools today? Is the formula taking into account poverty rates and percentages of children needing special ed services?”

Sullivan noted that many of the schools being closed in recent years are older, and built to accommodate former, larger populations.

“Only a fraction as many students are now enrolled,” she said. “Applying building utilization percentages based on 20 or 25 students, it’s an old metric. It doesn’t support today’s reality.”

Board President Paul Hardesty reminded Sullivan and the rest of the board that they were not considering an issue of policy, and were required to vote in accordance with the existing regulations.

All four closures and bus route waivers were approved.

Organization Seeks Volunteers To Help Foster Care Children Navigate Court

An organization that helps foster children navigate the legal system in 10 West Virginia counties needs volunteers.

Western Regional Court Appointed Special Advocates or, CASA helps children in Boone, Cabell, Calhoun, Jackson, Kanawha, Lincoln, Mason, Putnam, Roane and Wayne counties find someone to serve as the child’s voice throughout court proceedings.

Program Director, Kim Runyon Wilds said no that special experience is required and the organization provides training.

“We do not have enough advocates for every child, unfortunately,” Wilds said. “That’s why we are trying to get the word out about this program. We have almost 900 children that are waiting for one of our volunteers to be assigned to them just in our 10 county service area.”

Volunteers must be at least 21 years old and be able to pass a background check, including a child protective services check.

“After they get all of the background check stuff done, they’ve completed every chapter of training, then we swear them in with an oath of confidentiality with a circuit court judge,” Wilds said. “So once all of that is done, they’re ready to actually be an advocate for children who have experienced trauma.”

Wilds said each case is different. Some children who are involved in court because of abuse and neglect are assigned a Child Protective Service (CPS) social worker, and a guardian ad litem who is the attorney for the child.

Wilds said while CPS workers and guardians ad litem have large caseloads, CASA volunteers have one or two cases on average. The organization serves about 450 children each year.

“They have the ability, and frankly, the time to be able to do regular home visits, check in with the family and review records,” Wilds said. “Get a complete story of the family’s history, what’s going on, why is the family in court, and then they can then develop a relationship with the child. See what the child wants to happen in the case and see what the child’s best interests are, which will be the opinion of the advocate.”

According to Wilds, children with CASA volunteers spend less time in foster care on average and they’re half as likely to re-enter the foster care system.

“Long term outcomes for children who have been appointed a CASA volunteer are good, (they are) less likely to enter right back into foster care, less likely to drop out of school,” Wilds said. “Having the CASA volunteer, or even a consistent, caring and protective adult in a child’s life is enough to change their story. They’re changing a child’s story by helping a child advocating for a child just being a protective adult in a child’s life.”

Wilds said CASA’s ultimate goal is the reunification of the family, if at all possible.

“We want to get to know them and the environment they’re currently in along with where they came from, but our primary goal is reunification,” Wilds said. “If it can be safely achieved, we want the kids back with their parents, if that can happen.”

Interested individuals can contact CASA via their Facebook page, by calling 304-523-9587, ext. 307, or by emailing Wilds directly at kwilds@TEAMWV.org.

Four Counties To Receive $12 Million To Improve Water, Wastewater

Recent federal legislation has brought billions of dollars to communities nationwide to address their water and wastewater needs.

Four West Virginia communities are getting nearly $12 million from the Appalachian Regional Commission for water and wastewater projects.

The city of Williamson in Mingo County is the biggest recipient, with $4.2 million for water system improvements for 222 commercial and 1,520 residential customers.

In Lincoln County, $3.3 million will go to the Hamlin Public Service District to upgrade sewers for 101 businesses and 586 households.

In Webster County, the Cowen Public Service District will get $3 million to extend nearly 11 miles of water line to 58 homes and two businesses.

In Barbour County, the town of Junior will receive about $1.5 million to replace water infrastructure serving 395 households and bringing the water system back into compliance with state regulations.

Recent federal legislation has brought billions of dollars to communities nationwide to address their water and wastewater needs.

Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito are members of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Manchin’s wife, Gayle, is federal co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission.

W.Va. First Foundation Elects Board Members

The foundation will handle 72.5 percent of the state’s settlement funds, while 24.5 percent will go to local governments. The remaining three percent will be held by the state in escrow to cover any outstanding attorney’s fees.

Through settlements from various lawsuits with opioid manufacturers and distributors, West Virginia stands to gain about $1 billion over the next 10 to 15 years.

The money should be used for recovery and prevention programs. To make sure it is spent correctly, the West Virginia Legislature created the West Virginia First Foundation to distribute those settlement funds in the 2023 regular session. Senate Bill 674 legally recognizes the creation of the foundation. It was signed into law on March 11.

The board includes 11 members, six selected by the counties and five appointed by the governor. All six regions elected their representatives this week via a quorum of elected officials from the towns, cities and counties of each region.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey addressed the vital need for fiscal responsibility in distributing these funds, noting the time it could take to receive all abatement funding.

“Some of our settlements, we negotiated upfront one-year flat fee, but many others were two years, five years, 10, 15 years, and it goes out over a period of time,” Morrisey said. “That’s why it’s really important that financial management is part of this process as well, so that the money doesn’t get squandered, and that there’s a lot of planning for the future.”

The board members will make decisions about how the funds will be distributed. An “expert panel” will be formed after the board is seated to advise in these funding decisions.

Dr. Michael “Tony” Kelly of Raleigh County was the first board member selected on July 5 to represent Region 6. Kelly was joined July 12 by Berkeley County Community Corrections Director Timothy Czaja and Parkersburg Mayor Tom Joyce, selected to represent Region 2 and Region 3 respectively.

Per the memorandum of understanding that frames the settlement distribution, board members will serve staggered terms of three years. An Executive Director will be appointed by the Attorney General and approved by the board.

At the Region 5 West Virginia First Foundation Regional Selection Meeting, Dr. Matthew Christiansen was elected to represent Cabell, Clay, Boone, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Putnam, Mason, Mingo and Wayne Counties.

Region-5-West-Virginia-Foundation-Regional-Selection-Meeting Download

Christiansen is also West Virginia’s State Medical Director and the Commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Resources Bureau of Public Health.

“These dollars in the foundation are state dollars, but my appointment on this board is through Region Five. If there is a potential conflict of interest there, I could recuse myself from those votes,” Christiansen said. “But I think the importance here is transparency and accountability around where the money is going so that everyone can see that that there are no nefarious issues that are happening that that would account for that. But as it currently stands, I don’t see any necessary areas of overlap where that might be an issue.”

At the meeting members of the Kanawha County Commission also voted to require board meetings of the foundation be conducted in compliance with the West Virginia Open Meetings Act.

While Morrisey highlighted the need for transparency, he also said many questions won’t be answered until the board is seated.

“I think that as time goes forward, once that board gets constituted, I think they will be setting up a lot of the rules of the road in terms of how there’ll be interactions and I encourage, strongly encourage public processes where people get to participate,” Morrisey said. “So, I think that’s important. I think the goal of this was to have an open, transparent process, but also be able to bring experts together and to allow for some expertise and deliberation as well.”

Region 4 elected Marion County businessman Jonathan Board to represent them on the board Thursday. The region covers 13 counties including Monongalia, Marion, Preston, Taylor, Doddridge, Harrison, Barbour, Tucker, Gilmer, Lewis, Braxton, Upshur and Randolph.

Board says West Virginia has a unique opportunity to address the issues opioids have caused and stop the destruction.

“The question is what happens to the next generation, we are teetering on complete catastrophe,” Board said. “That’s why this is a beautiful thing where we can step in and say, we’re going to stem the tide. We’re going to fill the gap. And we’re going to find solutions. But we have to do it now.”

He acknowledged that although every community represented by the board is facing the same issue, each community will require a different approach to a solution.

“I think that’s what’s so special about this opportunity,” Board said. “Our needs in Elkins and in Fairmont, and in Morgantown and in Harrison County, they’re all different. We’re dealing with the same challenge. But it needs different solutions. And that’s why this is really valuable.”

Board also said there will need to be a robust vetting process to ensure the money is spent correctly and with communities’ best interests in mind.

This is not the first time the state has received a large amount of money to address chronic issues. At Thursday’s meeting David Street, a member of the Barbour County Commission and director of an hospital emergency department, brought up the issue of trying to administer federal broadband money appropriately.

“I live in this world every day, and every night at the commission meetings,” Street said. “My observation is this: in both worlds, I’m seeing 501(C)3s and groups pop up like a plague. It disgusts me.”

Monongalia County Commissioner Tom Bloom, who led the Region 4 meeting, thanked Street for his comment.

“First it was broadband, now its opioid funding,” Bloom said. “All county commissions are dealing with that. I think that’s a concern that you brought up and I’m sure, you can look at several of the other commissioners shaking their heads. ”

After the meeting, Bloom echoed Morrisey and said electing the board is only the first step.

“There’s an expertise committee, and another regional committee, which we have no idea how to set that up yet or what we’re doing,” Bloom said. “I am just glad that this is over.”

On the agenda for Thursday’s meeting was also a discussion regarding best practices for the board. As in Region Five the previous day, the elected officials voted unanimously to require that the by-laws of the West Virginia First Foundation require all board meetings be conducted in compliance with the Open Meetings Act.

“We made it very clear that Region Five, Region Four are adamant, unanimously that these meetings need to be open, so everyone understands how the process is, where the money’s going, and how it’s going to be spent,” Bloom said. “We’re very worried. We don’t want to see a continuance of what happened with the tobacco, we don’t want to continue to what’s going on with broadband.”

Bloom says the region will submit the names of the other candidates to Gov. Jim Justice to be considered for his five appointments to the board.

No selections have been made by the executive office, according to the latest report from Justice’s office. It is not clear what will happen if Justice’s selections are not made clear by the Monday, July 17 deadline. The governor’s selections are subject to confirmation by the Senate.

According to Morrisey’s Press Secretary, John Mangalonzo, the regional selections still have to be certified.

“Keep in mind that an accounting firm has seven days from the date of the election to certify the votes and submit the certified results to the AG’s and governor’s offices,” Mangalonzo said in an email.

Region 1: Steven Corder
Region 2: Tim Czaja
Region 3: Parkersburg Mayor Tom Joyce
Region 4: Jonathan Board
Region 5: Dr. Matthew Christiansen
Region 6: Dr. Tony Kelly

Justice’s office did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publishing.

Clogging in Lincoln County: Meeting Tosha

Tosha Smith met me in the parking lot of the McDonalds in Hamlin, which was, as far as I was able to determine, the only McDonalds in Lincoln County.I was glad it was the only one.

Tosha Smith met me in the parking lot of the McDonalds in Hamlin, which was, as far as I was able to determine, the only McDonalds in Lincoln County.

I was glad it was the only one.

Meeting at the hamburger restaurant had been Tosha’s idea. Lincoln County has spotty cell phone service, which might make it hard for a stranger to navigate and we both wanted me to get to my first clogging lesson on time.

I was relieved she wanted to meet at an easily recognizable business along a relatively uncomplicated route. I wouldn’t even need to use my phone to find my way.

Without GPS, I can get lost in a gas station parking lot. With GPS, the chances of me finding my way improved slightly.

The last time I went to Lincoln County was more than a year ago. I’d gone, mostly, just to say I’d been. At the time, I was trying to visit all 55 of West Virginia’s counties.

The point of the whole trip was to explore a little, find something to do and maybe have lunch.

Exploration led me to the Big Ugly Wildlife Management Area, as remote a place as I thought I’d ever been. I’d wandered around for a couple of hours just after a hard rain. I’d tried to jump over, but then waded through mud puddles a foot deep, fearing for leeches.

I’d been a snack for black flies, mosquitoes and my own overactive imagination.

The Big Ugly Wildlife Management Area is full of terrifying creatures, like this one.

Any second, I was pretty sure, a cloud of ticks would envelope me or I’d kick over a nest of snakes.

There are days when enjoying the great outdoors is a struggle for me.

Leaving Big Ugly had been an odyssey.

Cell service, which took me to the wildlife management area, was gone and the satellite GPS I kept in my car hadn’t been updated in years. It tried to get me back to the highway by taking a dried creek bed through a farmer’s yard.

But I found my way back to the highway and then to Hamlin, where I ate like a savage at Carnivore BBQ.

Bill doesn’t know much about clogging, but he knows a lot about nachos. Carnivore BBQ in Hamlin has good nachos.

I hadn’t been back since, though – even though I’ve talked about going back to the barbecue place routinely since I left.

I’d stumbled across the Lincoln County Cloggers randomly.

When I’d begun putting together my list of Appalachian topics for “Lore,” clogging had come up late, while I was thinking about Appalachian performing arts I could maybe learn. I didn’t think I could get very far trying to play a fiddle, but I could maybe pick up some dance steps.

I searched online and found the Lincoln County Cloggers, who at the start of 2023, were offering a class for would-be cloggers.

A class sounded perfect. I could maybe even hide a little bit in the crowd, if things didn’t go very well.

So, I reached out to the group and Tosha said they’d love to have me along. The only problem was they’d just postponed the classes, while the Lincoln County Cloggers prepared to go to the National Cherry Blossom Parade in Washington, DC.

(Continued Friday)

State BOE Adjusts Teacher Licensing Requirements, Lifts Lincoln State Of Emergency

The West Virginia Board of Education (BOE) waived some of the minimum professional licensing requirements for prospective teachers Wednesday to help them eventually become fully licensed and enter the workforce.

The waivers adjust some of the minimum requirements in current BOE policy – specifically with regards to Policy 5202, which outlines said requirements for licensure, and Policy 5100, which outlines the process for educator preparation program approval.

It allows student and resident teachers who haven’t scored high enough on their content praxis exams to work in a supervised placement. The teachers must still maintain a minimum grade point average and attempt the exam at least twice.

Office of Certification director Robert Hagerman says the idea is to allow those who might be struggling with the exams more time.

“We’re giving these individuals the ability to be in the classroom while they’re honing their skills, to be able to acquire additional skills to be successful in completing those requirements, or demonstrate those requirements in a different way with those multiple measures,” Hagerman said.

If they’re unable to pass the content exam during the placement, teachers can still work under a temporary license. They would have to pass either the exam or their teacher performance assessment by the end of the year to make it permanent.

Also addressed during the meeting was the state of Lincoln County Schools, with the BOE moving to remove the state of emergency in the county.

The board initially issued a state of emergency in November 2020, and has extended it three times, most recently in July of 2022. An initial review found students were below average in math and reading.

The state of emergency was lifted after a progress report and recommendation from Matt Hicks, the West Virginia Department of Education’s Director of Accountability.

“It’s not time to get complacent for Lincoln County,” Hicks said. “The focus on academic achievement still needs to be at the forefront of all decision making in Lincoln County Schools. They’ve been doing a nice job addressing academic achievement but they still have a very long way to go. I don’t want this presentation to state that they are exactly where they need to be.”

He cited the creation of a curriculum team and instructional coach positions, protocols for new Individualized Education Programs, addressing short-term facilities needs like the replacement of HVAC systems, and long-term projects like the construction of a new school in the Duval area as reasons for the status to be lifted.

Alongside the Lincoln County update, the BOE also heard a report on the Clay County Board of Education. This followed a special circumstance review of the agency after the contract with the county’s former superintendent was terminated. Nine findings and three noncompliances were discovered, according to the report.