Monongalia County Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Monongalia EMS Joins Life Saving Blood Transfusion Stabilization Program

Starting May 1, Monongalia EMS (Mon EMS) will be able to perform whole blood transfusions. Whole blood transfusions have saved 16 West Virginian’s lives since the launch of the program in Cabell County in November 2023.

Emergency Services in West Virginia’s third most populous county are joining the state’s whole blood transfusion program to help medics better stabilize patients in critical condition during ambulance rides.

Starting May 1, Monongalia EMS (Mon EMS) will be able to perform whole blood transfusions. Last year, West Virginia became the first state in the nation to provide statewide protocols for the administration of whole blood on ambulances.

Whole blood contains red blood cells, plasma, and platelets that rapidly restore blood volume and enhance clotting, helping patients with severe blood loss survive the ride to the hospital.

Robby May, director of Clinical Services for Mon EMS, has more than 20 years of experience. He said he has seen the positive impact of whole blood transfusions firsthand, and access to this treatment could save more lives especially in rural areas.

“A lot of times we think about just trauma, but it’s actually medical patients as well, too,” May said. “People with really bad GI bleeds, things like that. When you’re suffering a hemorrhage that is significant, the peak time of death is 30 minutes, and 30 minutes is even when you’re in an urban setting, (it) is long before most people can ever get into an OR suite.”

According to the Department of Health, whole blood transfusions have saved 16 lives since the launch of the program in Cabell County in November 2023. Harrison County joined the whole blood program in March 2024.

May previously worked in Maryland at the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services, and was instrumental in implementing whole blood protocols in that region.

“We were the first to launch whole blood in the state of Maryland,” May said. “I can tell you, over the three years that I was there, just the significant impact that it (whole blood) had on patients that otherwise, over the last, you know, 22 years I’ve been in EMS, I never would have seen make it out of the hospital, or even necessarily make it alive to the hospital.”

May also said all 60 Mon EMS paramedics will be trained in whole blood administration.

“A lot of places, or EMS agencies, only train their supervisors, or whoever is going to be the one to actually carry the blood,” May said. “We, as an agency, said, ‘No, we want to train all 60 of our paramedics to ensure that there is never a logistical issue like that that prevents a patient who needs blood from getting blood.”

In addition, Monongalia EMS will offer neighboring EMS agencies en route to WVU Ruby Memorial Hospital with a critical patient in need of blood a rendezvous point to administer blood to the patient to stabilize them.

“We have told all of our partnering EMS agencies that are geographically around us, including in Pennsylvania and Western Maryland as well, that if they have an ambulance that’s in route to Ruby Memorial, it doesn’t matter if it’s a paramedic crew or an EMT crew, if they believe that their patient meets the criteria for blood, to call us and we will meet them in route, whether it be on interstate or wherever, to go ahead and board their ambulance and administer that blood and stay with them until we transfer care at the hospital,” May said.

Senate Energy Chair Seeks Recusal On Bill, But Is Directed To Vote

The bill would change how power plants operate in the state, and Mon Power opposes it. The company said it encouraged Rose to keep his legislative role separate from his job.

In a meeting Monday in the Energy, Industry and Mining Committee, Sen. Chris Rose, a Monongalia County Republican, asked to recuse himself from Senate Bill 505.

“I am asking for Senate Rule 43 to be excluded from the vote here today and the discussion,” he said, citing his job with Mon Power.

The bill would change how power plants operate in the state, and Mon Power opposes it. The company said it encouraged Rose to keep his legislative role separate from his job.

Sen. Ben Queen, a Harrison County Republican, delivered the order.

“It is the ruling of the chair that the senator from the second be directed to vote,” Queen said.

Mon Power operates two coal-burning power plants in the state and has said it plans to replace them with natural gas in the coming years.

Sen. Brian Helton, a Fayette County Republican, threw his support behind Rose voting on the bill.

“I think you should vote on it, because I think it’s an important piece of legislation that affects the industry, and I think you’re the in large part of the reason this bill is being run through this committee,” Helton said.

The committee approved the bill again and sent it to the full chamber.

A Mon Power spokesman referred to an earlier statement in which he said the company advised Rose to recuse himself on matters and legislation affecting the company.

Senate Energy Chair Seeks Recusal On Bill Mon Power Opposes

Sen. Chris Rose, a Monongalia County Republican, will ask Senate President Randy Smith to recuse himself from Senate Bill 505. The Energy committee approved this bill last week, and Rose is one of its co-sponsors.

The chairman of the Senate Energy, Industry and Mining Committee says he’ll seek to recuse himself from a bill opposed by his employer, Mon Power.

Sen. Chris Rose, a Monongalia County Republican, will ask Senate President Randy Smith to recuse himself from Senate Bill 505.

The Energy committee approved this bill last week, and Rose is one of its co-sponsors.

Rose is an engineer for Mon Power, which operates a coal-burning power plant in Monongalia County and another one in Harrison County.

At the Capitol Wednesday, Rose said he’d seek a Rule 43 ruling from Smith.

The West Virginia Government Ethics Act requires lawmakers to avoid conflicts of interest and seek recusal when appropriate, though they may not be excused from voting in every instance.

Depending on how Smith rules, Rose could still be required to vote on the bill.

“So, yeah, I’m going to ask for Senate Rule 43, but ultimately, it will be up to the Senate president to make that determination,” he said. “If he grants it to me, I’ll be recused. If not, I will be required to vote.”

Will Boye, a Mon Power spokesman, said in a statement that the company opposes SB 505, which would affect how power plants operate.

Boye said Rose does not represent the company in his legislative role and has been provided guidance to keep that role separate from his job.

Boye said Rose was responsible for recusing himself from legislation and matters involving the company. Mon Power will not lobby Rose, Boye added.

Brian Tierney, the CEO of Mon Power parent First Energy, told investors last month that the company plans to replace its two coal-burning power plants in West Virginia with gas plants.

Appalachian Power’s president and operating chief, Aaron Walker, has said SB 505 could raise electricity costs in the state.

Charlotte Lane, the chair of the West Virginia Public Service Commission said the bill was redundant. She told the Energy Committee before it voted that the PSC already has the authority to do what the bill says, but it adds to the commission’s administrative burdens.

The committee approved it anyway.

First Energy CEO Says Gas Will Replace Mon Power Coal Plants

First Energy President and CEO Brian Tierney said in the company’s fourth quarter earnings presentation Thursday that the new plants would cost $4 billion to $6 billion.

The CEO of Mon Power parent First Energy said the company plans to replace its West Virginia coal plants with natural gas.

Mon Power’s Harrison and Fort Martin plants are scheduled to shut down between 2035 and 2040. To replace them, the company will construct 3 to 4 gigawatts of combined cycle natural gas plants, beginning in the next five years.

First Energy President and CEO Brian Tierney said in the company’s fourth quarter earnings presentation Thursday that the new plants would cost $4 billion to $6 billion.

“If we were to start building for that eventuality, I could see the spend for that coming in in years four and five of our plan today and continuing beyond the 2029 period,” he said.

Tierney said First Energy would submit the plan to the West Virginia Public Service Commission later this year.

The PSC would need to approve First Energy’s Integrated Resource Plan, its blueprint for the next several years.

West Virginia depends on coal for nearly 90% of its electricity, and state and local leaders have resisted moving away from it.

Surrounding states, especially Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia, have sharply pivoted to natural gas in the past 10 to 15 years.

American Electric Power, which provides electricity in southern West Virginia through its Appalachian Power subsidiary, has told state regulators it’s considering a full or partial conversion of its Amos and Mountaineer coal plants to gas.

In 2021, the PSC approved $448 million in environmental compliance upgrades to the Amos, Mountaineer and Mitchell plants to keep them in operation past 2028. No coal plant retirements are on the immediate horizon in West Virginia.

Harrison, which is in Harrison County, began operating in 1971. Fort Martin, which is in Monongalia County, began operating in 1967.

Marion, Monongalia County Survivors Of Violence Can Now Seek Justice Remotely

For many survivors, testifying publicly about experiences of violence can be intimidating and overwhelming. A program expansion in West Virginia aims to address that.

For many survivors, testifying publicly about experiences of violence can be intimidating and overwhelming, according to the national nonprofit Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.

A program that aims to remove barriers to reporting sexual or domestic violence and seeking justice has expanded to two new counties in West Virginia.

Residents of Marion and Monongalia counties are now eligible to participate in the state’s Remote Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Program, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals announced in a press release Monday.

The program allows survivors to file petitions and participate in hearings remotely from local violence prevention nonprofits.

Monongalia County residents will be able to participate in trial proceedings remotely from the Rape and Domestic Violence Information Center in Morgantown, and Marion County residents can participate from Fairmont’s HOPE, Inc.

“This program allows us to make our court system more accessible by allowing West Virginians to seek the protection of the courts in a safe and less intimidating setting,” Chief Justice Tim Armstead said in Monday’s press release. “At the same time, those accused of domestic violence, stalking, rape or dating violence still have the right to face their accusers through remote technology.”

The program is funded by the West Virginia Division of Justice and Community Services, as well as the West Virginia Foundation for Rape Information and Services.

The admission of two new counties to the program brings the total number of participating counties to 11. Most recently, Harrison County joined the program in August.

Armstead said the state’s supreme court aims to expand the program further.

Morgantown Voters Look To National Races

State and county races like House Delegates and county commissioner outnumber federal races four to one on most Monongalia County ballots this year, but some voters feel out of the loop on local issues.

Ahead of Election Day Tuesday, many voters in Morgantown have already cast their ballots. According to the Secretary of State’s office, more than 15,000 voters in Monongalia County have cast their ballots in early voting as of Tuesday.

Brittany Tichnell said she voted on Monday but wasn’t thrilled about her options in the presidential election.

“I don’t want a fascist dictator. I don’t think either options are really that great,” she said. “The two party system is not what our founding forefathers of this country wanted. But lesser of two evils.”

Tichnell said down ballot races are hardly on her radar.

“It’s not getting out there, at least to our generation, who’s running in the local (elections),” she said. “We also don’t have kids, so maybe that’s it. There’s a lot of school ballots and all that, but most of it, we just don’t see it. We only see the Presidential one.”

The issue cuts across generations. Ruth Stone says she’s only following one local sheriff’s election.

“I’m not as involved as I have been in the past, because I don’t get the newspaper anymore, but at least I can hear things on television and get an idea of what’s going on,” she said.

Cheat Lake resident Michele Herring also said her primary motivation to vote is the presidential election. She admitted to being unaware of who was running for West Virginia House of Delegates in her district, but said she does pay attention to other local races for county commission and board of education.

“I guess because I see the local impact of what they do and what they can do,” Herring said. “I always watched it for my children and now my grandchildren.”

Conor McCallister, who recently moved to Morgantown from California, said he tends to vote Republican down the ballot.

“But before I go to the voting polls, I’m gonna just look at what the ticket is this weekend and just kind of figure out if that’s something I want to do,” he said. “While I tend to vote Republican, I’m not married to that. If they got issues that I don’t agree with, they got stances like, ‘No thanks,’ I’m not gonna vote for them.”

Ted Dobish was on his way to vote when WVPB caught up with him. He said all candidates running for office should focus more on issues and the action they will take if elected.

“They spend more time complaining about what the other’s not going to do, or all their bad things,” Dobish said. “I typically go on to USA Today, they do a whole A to Z of what each candidate they believe is really going to happen, and that’s where I base it on. I don’t listen to all of the crazy commercials.”

For Stone and her friend Fay Cortopassi, abortion is the defining issue of the election.

“A man does not have the right to tell me what to do with my body, considering you guys – men – came out of a woman,” Cortopassi said. “We created you without you, without us, you guys don’t exist. And in this country, honestly, I think women are considered second class citizens.”