Tag: McDowell County

State’s Only County-Run Prison Deals With Largest COVID Outbreak Yet

West Virginia’s only county-run prison is experiencing the state’s largest coronavirus outbreak in a correctional facility to date, with more than half of its prisoners and a fifth of its workforce infected on Wednesday.

According to the governor, 260 prisoners and 30 employees at the Stevens Correctional Center in McDowell County have tested positive for the coronavirus within the last two weeks.

By Wednesday afternoon, the state Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation — which contracts with McDowell County — reported that almost 40 of those prisoners had recovered, according to CDC guidelines.

County officials say a couple of prisoners have been hospitalized so far, while the rest who are experiencing symptoms are being treated at the prison.

“It goes through us like a knife through butter,” Gov. Jim Justice said of the outbreak Wednesday, during a virtual press briefing. “It absolutely goes through us at a speed that is very, very difficult to stop.”

Although Stevens is county-run, the facility holds 390 prisoners for the state Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation. County commissioners say the facility has been adhering to the DCR’s policy for handling COVID-19 in correctional facilities.

That includes scanning employee temperatures and asking staff a series of COVID-19 symptom-related questions before allowing them to enter the facility each day.

“We do all of that, everyday, on every employee,” County Commission President Cecil Patterson said. “But, of course, some people are infected when they show up and they don’t have any symptoms.”

According to DCR policy, employees who have COVID-19 are expected to isolate at home.

Patterson said state leaders have provided the county with ample assistance and oversight.

According to public affairs officer Holli Nelson for the West Virginia National Guard, members have already cleaned three pods in the facility, to hold prisoners who have tested negative for the coronavirus.

Maj. Gen. James Hoyer said Wednesday during the governor’s press briefing that the effort “will take multiple days to work through.”

Other Correctional Outbreaks

Beyond the outbreak at Stevens, there were 10 other state prisoners on Wednesday and more than 30 DCR employees who recently tested positive for the coronavirus at other prisons, jails, juvenile centers and work-release programs, according to the DCR.

This isn’t the state’s first outbreak in a correctional facility.

The DCR first tested all of its prisoners and employees in June, while responding to more than 100 cases of the coronavirus at the Huttonsville Correctional Center in Randolph County.

The DCR then conducted facility-wide testing again at Mount Olive in Fayette County and the South Central Regional Jail in Charleston following outbreaks there.

So far, the state has reported three inmate deaths.

Federally, FCI McDowell — which is run by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons — has recorded 15 active inmate cases of the coronavirus and three staff cases.

According to the BOP’s website on Wednesday, there were about 180 federal prisoners with the coronavirus in West Virginia.

Emily Allen is a Report for America corps member.

West Virginia Officials Scramble To Help Town's Water Outage

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice on Tuesday directed the state National Guard and other state emergency officials to help a small town that has been without running water for several days.

The Republican governor said the National Guard and additional emergency officials will provide Gary, West Virginia with resources after a pump in the town’s 563-customer water system broke last week.

Gary Treasurer Tracy Allison has described the situation as a health crisis where residents are having to scramble to get water to wash their hands. The governor said state officials have delivered thousands of gallons of drinking water to the town. City officials have also donated water. 

Among the businesses without water service are the McDowell County Health Department, a nursing home and other health clinics.

Local officials have approved the purchase of a new pump but it’s not clear when the equipment will be available.

July 6, 1950: Starland Theatre Opens Near Welch

On July 6, 1950, the Starland Theatre opened along U.S. Route 52, four miles east of Welch. The drive-in—the first in McDowell County—was the brainchild of Weldon Cook of Man and Robert Livingston Russell Sr. of Bluefield.

When it opened, Starland had speakers for 450 cars and showed six different movies a week. It was right at the beginning of the drive-in craze. By the mid-1950s, West Virginia had 76 drive-ins.

The Starland was geared toward family entertainment, featuring a merry-go-round, children’s train, miniature golf course, playground, and snack bar. In the early years, it was open every day from late March through mid-November. The most popular night of the year was July Fourth, when up to 600 cars would squeeze into the parking area and along U.S. 52 to watch the Starland’s fireworks display.

The drive-in fad began to wane in the 1970s, as televisions and later VCRs took over the entertainment world. Drive-ins began closing in record numbers across the country. McDowell County’s economic troubles—stemming from declining coal employment and falling population—further aggravated the problem. The Starland Theatre closed in 1986.

Free Coronavirus Testing This Week In Harrison, McDowell And Ohio Counties

West Virginia state and county health officials will host free coronavirus testing for residents of Ohio, McDowell and Harrison Counties on Friday and Saturday, June 5-6.

Testing will be available both days from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. No insurance is required, and you don’t have to be symptomatic.

Identification, or proof residency, however, is required.

In Harrison County, testing will be available at the Monticello Playground at 518 Monticello Avenue in Clarksburg.

In Ohio County, free testing will be at the Laughlin Memorial Chapel in Wheeling.

In McDowell County, testing will be held at two locations. On Friday, there will be testing at the Tug River Health Clinic in Gary. On Saturday, testing will be at the city hall building on Coal Heritage Road in Keystone.

This round of free testing is the latest as part of an initiative from the state to test more high-density population areas and West Virginia’s minority communities, which are disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus. According to data from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources Tuesday morning, nearly 7 percent of the state’s positive cases were from black West Virginians, and almost 15 percent were from other minorities and those who don’t identify as white.

Meanwhile, African Americans only accounted for 3.6 percent of the state’s population in 2018 census estimates. 

With guidance from the COVID-19 Advisory Commission on African American Disparities, the West Virginia National Guard, the DHHR and local county health departments have hosted free testing over the last month in communities in the Eastern Panhandle, the Southern Coalfields, in and around Charleston and Morgantown. 

Federal Prison Staffer Tests Positive At McDowell Lockup

A staffer at the federal prison in McDowell County has tested positive for the coronavirus.

Data on the federal Bureau of Prisons website this week said the employee works at FCI McDowell, a medium security facility in southern West Virginia with around 1,100 inmates. The case marks another federal prison in the state with reported coronavirus cases.

At least five inmates have tested positive at FCI Gilmer in Glenville after the Bureau of Prisons transferred 124 inmates to the lockup in a bid to ease overcrowding at the agency’s other prisons.

Federal and state politicians opposed the transfers when they were announced and then renewed their criticism after the first positive case emerged at Gilmer. U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin has said Attorney General William Barr has assured him that no additional inmates will be relocated to Gilmer or the federal prison at Hazelton.

May 15, 1886: West Virginia's First African-American Female Legislator Born in Putnam Co.

On May 15, 1886, Minnie Buckingham was born in Putnam County. She later moved to Keystone in McDowell County and married E. Howard Harper, who was elected to the legislature in 1926. When Harper died in the middle of his term, the county Republican executive committee unanimously recommended Minnie to replace him. In January 1928, Governor Howard Gore appointed Minnie Buckingham Harper to complete her husband’s term, making her the first African-American woman in U.S. history to serve in a state legislature.

Her appointment reflected both the growing importance of women in American politics and the large voting bloc of African Americans in southern West Virginia. During her one session in the legislature, she served on the House committees on Federal Relations, Railroads, and Labor. Later that year, she chose not to run for election. It would take 22 more years before an African-American woman would be elected to the legislature. Elizabeth Drewry, also from McDowell County, was elected to the House in 1950.

Minnie Buckingham Harper eventually moved back to Putnam County. She died in Winfield in 1978 at age 91.

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