National Guard Story Archives - Page 2 of 5 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Justice Sending 50 W.Va. National Guard Troops To Southern Border

Gov. Jim Justice announced he was committing 50 soldiers and airmen from the West Virginia National Guard to Texas “to help respond to the crisis at the southern border.”

In a hastily called administration media briefing, Gov. Jim Justice announced he was committing 50 soldiers and airmen from the West Virginia National Guard to Texas “to help respond to the crisis at the southern border.”

Justice said he was one of several governors responding to a letter from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott requesting aid at the border.

“I have approved the deployment of members of the West Virginia National Guard (WVNG) to help secure our border, reduce the flood of fentanyl, and combat the human trafficking crisis,” Justice said in a follow up press release.

Justice said training (with weapons) is already underway for the 50 volunteers. He said they are scheduled to go in August for a period of 30 days, but they may be stationed there longer.

The WVNG members will work alongside the Texas National Guard and Texas law enforcement partners to detect, deter, and interdict transnational criminal activity between points of entry. The mission is called Operation Lone Star as a part of an Emergency Management Assistance Compact from Texas.

Justice said the border mission will not interfere with the WVNG members who continue to assist in the state’s corrections personnel crisis.

He said West Virginia has to step up in this case for self-protection.

“If you don’t think there’s a serious problem at the border that affects West Virginia, you’re out of your mind. I mean, the flow of fentanyl for one thing is just absolutely at an epidemic stage,” he said.

Landscape Trade Organization Hopes To Bolster Workforce, Provide Training

The West Virginia Nursery and Landscape Association is training hopeful technicians to bolster the industry’s undermanned workforce as part of an initiative with the state’s national guard.

The program, located in Dunbar, trains students in landscaping basics including insect and disease management, pruning and lawn care. Potential workers can receive course certification through the program.

Michael Biafore, chairman of the agency’s workforce development committee, says it’s the first formal training for the career path to happen within the state.

“In West Virginia, the landscape industry, through 2022, grew six percent. And we expect to grow another four percent in the coming years,” Biafore said. “The problem is, that need keeps growing, but there aren’t any employees coming in to answer the call.”

The program was created under the umbrella of the state’s Jobs and Hope program, which helps those recovering from substance use disorder find their future career. Biafore says he’d like to see the program become a consistent pipeline for workers.

“We have turned to people that were maybe disadvantaged for whatever reason, and need a vehicle to come back into society, and earn a living and be productive,” Biafore said.

The program was created in tandem with similar training the association is implementing for students involved in trade school, with a program at Pierpont Community and Technical College last spring semester.

“We’re hoping to do it again this fall, our ultimate goal is to keep building on that and expanding that program,” Biafore said. “So one day, we will get to the level of some of our surrounding states with this curriculum.”

The program’s next training event is scheduled from May 15 to 19. Another program is also tentatively planned for this summer at Camp Dawson in Preston County. Biafore says they’re hoping to organize these training sessions up to four times a year.

Those interested can sign up at the Nursery and Landscape Association’s website.

Corrections Commissioner Details Job Vacancy Crisis To Lawmakers

There are more than 1,000 job vacancies division wide, with most facilities lacking from 40 to 70 percent of needed staff.

As a declared state of emergency continues, West Virginia’s Corrections Commissioner told lawmakers he would welcome a special legislative session on pay raises.

William Marshall, the Commissioner for the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation presented a report to members of the Legislative Oversight Committee on Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority on Sunday.

Marshall began by noting that there are more than 1,000 job vacancies division wide, with most facilities lacking from 40 to 70 percent of needed staff.

“We have over 300 National Guard members that are assisting in our facilities each and every day,” They’re doing a wonderful job for us. I’m not sure what we would actually do without them right now.”

Gov. Jim Justice called on the National Guard last year to assist corrections in non-front-line duties. Marshall said the guard assistance will cost taxpayers $17 million this fiscal year.

“We welcome the possibility of a special session to hopefully address some of the pay needs for the division,” Marshall told lawmakers.

House Bill 2879 would have given correctional officers a $10,000 pay raise over three years. The bill called for an initial $5,000 raise, followed by $2,500 over the next two years, and a $6,000 one-time bonus. The current starting pay for West Virginia correctional officers is about $33,000 a year, markedly lower than comparable positions in neighboring states and federal holding facilities.

The bill passed the House Jails and Prisons Committee unanimously but died in the House Finance Committee.

Marshall said the department’s mission now highlights increased and revamped recruiting efforts. He said they have improved the website, working to better connect with younger prospective employees through social media. Corrections now offers pre-counseling for applicants who would go through the process but become intimidated by the civil service test. They have also eliminated what Marshall called the strain of a six-week academy training stay.

“That was a strain on a lot of individuals to be away for six weeks from their families,” he said. “We’ve changed that process and we’ve got them working at the facility for two weeks shadowing an individual getting the basic training there, then taking some online courses. Then they would go to the academy for four days here and there maybe even a week,”

Sen. Charles Clements, R-Wetzel, asked Marshall about a sign he sees near his home.

“I drive by the St. Mary’s correctional facilities two or three times a week,” Clements said. “A big sign out there says ‘careers start here.’ If I decide I want to become a correctional officer, I go inside – and what happens from that point on?”

Marshall responded that throughout the corrections system, there’s a new emphasis on congeniality and helpfulness.

“We’ve instructed all of our facilities to be extremely proactive,” Marshall said. “We will sit down with you right there and get on the website and get you an application filled out right then. We’ll make it as easy as we can to get on the register and try to get them hired.”

Marshall said there needs to be some sort of compromise in getting pay raises to boost not just recruitment, but retention.

“We need to land on something to show the existing officers that we’re going to reward them with a higher salary,” Marshall said. “Our retention right now is just as big as our recruiting. We’ve hired roughly 150 since the first year, but we’ve probably lost that many.”

Several committee members said they were hopeful there would be a special session to consider pay raises for all 3,800 corrections positions, not just guards. Committee Chair Del. David Kelly, R-Tyler, told Marshall the effort to get pay raises to corrections officers will continue.

“I want your people to know that we hear them,” Kelly said. “We’re trying to do what we can to get something to happen for them.”

In a statement last week, Justice says he still agrees on needed corrections pay raises and that the problem must be solved. So far though, there is no word on a special session.

House Lifts Certificate Of Need, Extends Corrections Staffing Emergency

The House passed House Concurrent Resolution 78, indefinitely extending Gov. Jim Justice’s state of emergency over correction facilities staffing levels. The concerns continue to focus on safety, security and maintaining National Guard support.

On Thursday, the House of Delegates lifted the requirement that medical facilities must show a service is needed and extended a State of Emergency for the state’s corrections system.

House Bill 613 passed with a 75-20 vote. The bill lifts certificate of need requirements for birthing centers and medical facilities on a hospital campus and allows facilities other than hospitals to perform MRI’s. Previously, medical facilities had to get state approval before offering new services.

Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, opposed the bill, concerned the measure would hurt more people than it helped.

“When you allow these private practices to offer these types of procedures that are really what they can bill a whole lot more with, the hospitals also will bill a whole lot more,” Pushkin said. “When they can cherry pick, and they can say, well, we’re not going to take PEIA, we’re not going to take Medicaid, we’re not going to take Medicare, we’re only gonna take private payers. The hospitals, they have to take everybody and rightfully so. Then you can run into a dangerous situation, and who will it hurt? The people who need the services because they can’t afford it.”

Del. Heather Tully, R-Nicholas, supported the bill. She said it would help her constituents with enhanced medical options.

“I live in Summersville. As you all well know, it’s about an hour commute either to Beckley, an hour and a half to Charleston, an hour and a half to Clarksburg or some of our patients even go to Elkins to get obstetrical care,” Tully said. “My hospital in my community also is interested in expanding some cancer treatment services and so that would also eliminate the travel times for patients in my area that may need cancer treatment services if those are to be implemented.

HB 613 is effective from passage and now goes to the governor for his signature.

Del. David Kelly, R-Tyler, chair of the House Jails and Prisons Committee, spoke of the continued dangerously low corrections employment rate.

“We expect to spend anywhere from $17 to $20 million this year, just to cover the cost of our National Guard. Additionally, we’re looking at $22-plus million dollars last year in overtime. And we can only expect that that number will increase this year, because we’re losing our officers almost on a daily basis,” Kelly said. “Our officers are saying I can’t do this anymore. And so I just want to share just a few things with you, if I may. As of March 2, we have 1,042 overall vacancies in DCR, that’s 27 percent. Now when we narrow that down, what we’ve got are 751 officer vacancies. That’s unconscionable. That’s 33 percent vacancies in our jails and prisons.”

The House also completed legislation on House Bill 2002, providing support for families by increasing an adoption tax credit, establishing the eligibility of adopted children of West Virginia residents for early intervention services and creating the West Virginia Mothers and Babies Pregnancy Support Program.

And they passed Senate Bill 273, which allocates child protective service workers in counties according to a county’s average caseload and population based on the 2020 Census.

The bill requires the Department of Human Services to report those changes to the legislature and have a backup system in the event of a centralized intake outage. The bill also orders the development of a merit-based system for specified employees.

Both HB 2002 and SB 273 now go to the governor for his signature.

National Guard Deploys Helicopter To Help Fight Brush Fire

The National Guard has deployed to help fight a 200 acre brush fire in Fayette County.

Five National Guard members departed from Wheeling Thursday morning in a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter with hoist capability to help fight a brushfire near the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.

“They haul what’s called a Bambi bucket,” said Commanding General of the West Virginia National Guard Bill Crane. “That Bambi bucket can hold about 550 gallons of water.”

Crane said the helicopter allows for a quick response to a fire threatening homes and lives in rough terrain, not easily accessed by ground crews.

“Part of it is you have the proximity to residents, so being that close to Fayetteville, certainly we want to make sure that we get in there to protect the lives and homes,” he said.

This is the first time the National Guard has been requested to provide aerial support for a wildland fire in the state, but the guard members have undergone extensive training in Bambi bucket operations over the past few years and completed refresher training this past summer.

“We always try to help our sister states as much as possible, and so we wanted to train and make sure we were prepared to do that,” Crane said.

A brush fire last December burned under 150 acres in the New River Gorge National Park, but did not require National Guard intervention.

W.Va. National Guard Assistance For Corrections Vacancies Fall Short Of Need

In declaring an emergency over low staffing levels at West Virginia’s corrections facilities, Gov. Jim Justice called on the National Guard to fill the gap. However, the number of vacancies and the number of soldiers and airmen involved in the mission are quite far apart.

In declaring an emergency over low staffing levels at West Virginia’s corrections facilities, Gov. Jim Justice called on the National Guard to fill the gap.

However, the number of vacancies and the number of soldiers and airmen involved in the mission are quite far apart.

After signing an executive order sending guard members to work in state prisons and jails, Justice said in a coronavirus briefing this week that the problem would be handled.

“The National Guard will absolutely handle this situation, until the regular session, if we want to wait that long,” Justice said.

In published reports, Homeland Security Secretary Jeff Sandy said state correctional facilities currently have more than 1,000 job vacancies, most in the correctional officer entry level position.

West Virginia Adj. Gen., Maj. Gen. Bill Crane said 93 guard volunteers are now being trained to assist jail and prison staff. He said they will work in administrative roles like control center management and camera operations, having no direct contact with inmates

“That was one of the stipulations that I put in,” Crane said. “I just don’t want to put any of our folks at that high of a risk when you have fully trained corrections officers that are able to do that mission.”

Crane admitted most guard members don’t figure on prison work as part of their mission statement, but said some do.

“With our military police, we have a mission set that actually is detainee operations,” Crane said. “We have folks that are trained to do this anyway, on the Army side.”

Justice said with every neighboring state paying more to its corrections workers, West Virginia must significantly change its wage structure to solve the problem.

He said with a 60 percent vacancy rate in the Eastern Panhandle, raising pay regionally is something to consider, but said the downside is that the rest of the state corrections workers making markedly less, might feel slighted.

“Then, you got a food fight going on,” Justice said. “Then the next thing that happens is, you may be in a situation where you bump everybody up significantly.”

In 2018, the National Guard provided corrections department assistance for six months. Crane said these missions cannot go more than one year without financial consequences.

“So we’re going to do it for 364 (days),” Crane said. “Our hope is at that point, there will be enough new corrections officers that we’ll be able to back out of that mission set.”

West Virginia Public Broadcasting contacted the West Virginia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Homeland Security for information on efforts to fill the vacancies but received no response from repeated requests for interviews.