Ohio County Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

History In The Making: Anne Farrow Wins WVPB’s Above And Beyond Award

Anne Farrow, a social studies teacher at Wheeling Park High School in Ohio County, earned West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Above and Beyond Award for January, which recognizes excellence and creativity of Mountain State teachers.

Farrow was presented the award by WVPB’s Director of Education Maggie Holley during a surprise visit to her classroom. Farrow 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.

Farrow was nominated by fellow colleague Sarah Smith, whose classroom is a couple doors down from Farrow’s and sees first-hand how she goes above and beyond. Smith describes Farrow’s leadership, creativity in the classroom and community impact.

Farrow has shown leadership both inside and outside of the classroom by mentoring students through hardships, leading a professional community learning group at the school and providing valuable resources to other teachers. She also coaches the middle school girls’ basketball team and serves as an advisor to student council.

When asked about serving as an advisor to student council, Farrow stressed the importance of allowing every student to be heard and wanting to change any negative feelings they may have about school. She said that over the years, she’s realized the importance of creating a positive environment for the students who think they are overlooked or incapable when they just haven’t figured out what talents or skills they possess yet.

She said, “One of my goals as a teacher is to create that positive environment and safe space that is welcoming to each and every student that walks through my door.” Farrow goes on to say she participates in these different rolls in the school to make connections with different students with a variety of interests and backgrounds. “Those connections formed enable our students to understand we are rooting for them in academics and life!”

Farrow is glad to be involved in the community as a parent, teacher and girls’ basketball coach. She loves giving the girls’ goals and seeing growth in character in addition to being an athlete.

In the classroom, Farrow loves teaching about the Civil Rights Movement because of the courage, determination and perseverance it shows. “While they had many factors stacked against them, civil rights activists were able to keep so composed while using peaceful protests to make an impact on society and the laws within it. Historical figures can be great role models. I believe we all can learn a lot from those people who pushed for equality for all in America.”

Smith says that Farrow makes lessons engaging by having students design their own posters, showing them historical documentaries that include local heroes, and assigning a diary project that students must connect to historical events by telling the story through the perspective of someone living in that time.

Farrow has been teaching for about a decade. When asked what she loves most about teaching, she says there are plenty of perks that come with being a teacher. “I’d say what truly makes it worth it are the laughs that I share with my students each day. It’s the moments that they are having fun while learning that brings me the most joy.”

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.

W.Va. 911 Centers File Complaint Against Frontier Communications

The agency tasked with operating West Virginia’s 911 centers has filed a complaint against Frontier West Virginia Inc.

The West Virginia Public Service Commission was asked Wednesday to investigate a complaint against Frontier Communications that 10 emergency call centers were unable to field 911 calls for up to 10 hours during a three day period last month.

According to the complaint the WVE911 Council, the umbrella agency that operates 911 centers in the state, alleges that within the past 24 months, several Public-Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) within the state have experienced lengthy outages of 911 service.

The most recent outage was from Nov. 28 through Nov. 30 where Brooke, Ohio, Marshall, Wetzel, Tyler, Doddridge, Ritchie, Harrison, Taylor and Mingo County residents were unable to call 911 for up to 10 hours.

Dean Meadows, executive director for the council, filed the complaint and said the telephone provider has inadequate backup to ensure telephone service to many centers when telephone lines are subject to vandalism or bad weather.

Meadows’ complaint asked the Commission to ensure that Frontier provides proper backup services so “no resident will ever lose the ability to call 911 for emergency assistance.”

“We’re really at our wit’s end about what ought to be done,” Meadows said in a press release.

Industrial Electricity Users Say Rising Rates Threaten Competitiveness

Should the PSC approve Appalachian Power’s current request to recover nearly $642 million, those same customers would pay more than 11 cents per kilowatt hour, nearly double 2019 rates.

The state’s largest industrial users of electricity say a series of Appalachian Power rate increases have undermined their competitiveness.

In testimony to the West Virginia Public Service Commission, the West Virginia Energy Users Group says that four years ago, industrial customers were paying 6 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity.

Should the PSC approve Appalachian Power’s current request to recover nearly $642 million, those same customers would pay more than 11 cents per kilowatt hour, nearly double 2019 rates.

Such rates would rank West Virginia at 43rd among states in terms of electricity affordability. That would put the state’s industries at a competitive disadvantage, the group says.

Appalachian Power is considering other options to spread out the cost over time to ease the burden on electricity users, both commercial and residential.

Those costs relate to the higher price of coal and natural gas in 2021 and last year.

Under two other options Appalachian Power has proposed, industrial users would pay slightly more than 8 cents per kilowatt hour, or more than 9 cents per kilowatt hour.

According to the Energy Users Group, West Virginia would rank 32nd or 40th among states in power costs, respectively, under those options.

The PSC will hold a public comment hearing on Monday in Wheeling, at the Ohio County Courthouse at 5:30 p.m. The PSC will hold an evidentiary hearing in Charleston on Sept. 5.

Appalachian Power is an underwriter of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

State’s Newest Delegate Discusses Appointment, Plans

Diana Winzenreid was selected to serve out the remainder of Del. Erikka Storch’s term, and reporter Chris Schulz sat down with the state’s newest delegate to discuss her new position and plans.

Last month, Del. Erikka Storch stepped down as representative for the 4th House District to become external affairs manager at Appalachian Electric Power.

Diana Winzenreid was selected to serve out the remainder of Storch’s term, and reporter Chris Schulz sat down with the state’s newest delegate to discuss her new position and plans.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Schulz: How are you feeling about your appointment?

Winzenreid: I am very excited about the appointment and incredibly honored to have been chosen and very appreciative of all the people who helped to put me in this position.

Schulz: I know that the process is more or less the same for most appointed candidates. But could you briefly walk me through what that process was like for you?

Winzenreid: There was a public posting for anybody that was interested in applying. And we were asked to submit our letters of interest and a bio, which I did. The committee invited us all in for a meet and greet kind of question and answer session. We were all asked the same questions. And the committee then voted and sent three names down to the governor’s office. And then he selected from the three. From there, I was notified and went down and met with the Speaker of the House and was sworn in.

Schulz: Is this your first foray into public office, or is this something that you’ve pursued before?

Winzenreid: This is my first foray, I have never pursued public office before.

Schulz: So what made the difference this time around and made you say, “You know what, I’m gonna go for it.”

Winzenreid: I moved back to Wheeling, I’ve lived out of the area for a lot of my adult life. I was born in Wheeling, and it’s always been home base for me, and I moved back in 2016. And I became more and more active in the local community and wanted to find a way that I could be of service and be as actively involved as possible and provide a positive impact. And I thought I had a unique perspective, after having lived in so many different areas, and really having sort of a different take on the significance of states rights and state law.

Schulz: What are some of the objectives that you have for the remainder of the term that you’ve been appointed to serve?

Winzenreid: So to me, it’s really important to meet with the local employers, nonprofits, and get a feel for what they want to see, to make sure that I’m actively representing the constituents. I was appointed, not elected, so that I feel like there’s an additional responsibility. Most of my experience, my passion, lies in economic development, as well as family services.

Schulz: Do you have your committee appointments already?

Winzenreid: I don’t have my committee assignments yet. I expect to in the next two weeks, but both the speaker and the deputy speaker have been very kind with their time, everybody has been very kind to me during this transition, and definitely asked for my input where I thought I would be well suited. I am in a unique position because Del. Storch was such a tenured delegate, that coming in as a freshman would not necessarily fill her roles based on her years of experience. So there is a little bit of movement that needs to happen.

Schulz: Could you tell me a little bit more about the reception that you’ve received?

Winzenreid: Everybody has been absolutely wonderful. I have heard from delegates all across the state. They’ve all been very kind offering their help, offering some words of wisdom through the transition. They all told me that I could reach out at any time. I’ve received a similar reception from the local business community. And Del. Storch has been very, very kind with her time. She clearly leaves some big shoes to fill. She is amazing and has done a great service to District 4. She’s been very, very helpful.

Schulz: To that point, is there anything about Del. Storch’s position, her platform, the legacy that she leaves behind, that you’re hoping to continue, or are you focused on forging your own path?

Winzenreid: In the West Virginia Legislature, Del. Storch and I both have unique takes and are different people with different experiences. So, I definitely hope to represent our area well and make her feel comfortable with my appointment so that she feels that we’re being represented correctly. I think that anything I can do to live up to Erikka’s standards would make me pleased.

Schulz: Yeah, that makes perfect sense. I know that we’ve jumped through quite a few different subjects in the short amount of time that we’ve been speaking. So I have no doubt that I’ve missed out on something. But if there’s anything that you’d like to tell me or you’d like to speak on, that I haven’t given you an opportunity to discuss just yet, please do so now.

Winzenreid: I think the biggest priority is meeting with the employers and the nonprofits locally in advance of interims. I think for me, the biggest thing is my goal to be as visible and available as possible to make sure that I’m hearing everybody’s voices. I am open to communication and really want to be as involved a representative as theoretically possible. And I look forward to having a positive impact and working with the community.

New Ohio County Delegate Talks Goals On This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, Diana Winzenreid from Ohio County was selected to serve out the remainder of Del. Erikka Storch’s term. Reporter Chris Schulz sat down with the state’s newest delegate to discuss her new position and plans.

On this West Virginia Morning, Del. Erikka Storch last month stepped down as representative for the 4th House District to become external affairs manager at Appalachian Electric Power. Diana Winzenreid was selected to serve out the remainder of Storch’s term, and reporter Chris Schulz sat down with the state’s newest delegate to discuss her new position and plans.

Also, in this show, the Allegheny Front, based in Pittsburgh, is a public radio program that reports on environmental issues in the region. We listen to their latest story about soil testing and farm safety after the East Palestine train derailment.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Concord University and Shepherd University.

Eric Douglas is our news director and produced this episode.

Teresa Wills is our host.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

Ohio County Public Library Unveils Project Highlighting Black History, Civic Empathy

The Ohio County Public Library is modernizing a historic speech from one of Wheeling’s most notable African American leaders as part of a larger project to boost civic empathy in the region. It’s an updated version of a speech heard on Wheeling airwaves in 1936, advocating for the town’s “Twentieth Man.”

Listen to the full "20th Man Speech" for 2022 by Ron Scott

“In February of 1936, about one in every twenty persons living in Wheeling was of African descent,” Wheeling YWCA Cultural Diversity and Community Outreach Director Ron Scott, Jr. recited at the beginning of the speech. “Today, in 2022, the population of Wheeling is 27,052. Of that number, 1,435 are Black or of African descent. Which is 5.3 percent — or one in 20.”

The library is using the speech to teach patrons about the meaning of being a good citizen, and why looking back at local history matters in the present day.

The project began as part of a larger undertaking based out of the John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, which has 150 affiliates across Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. Program manager Robert Stakely said it’s a way to teach students across the tri-state area about their local history.

“We engage them in such a way that it’s educational, and in this case, making them better citizens, making them better stewards of their community,” Stakely said. “And we do that through history.”

The original speech, broadcast on WWVA in Wheeling 86 years ago, was made by Harry Jones, Wheeling’s only African American attorney at the time. Library Director of Programming and Local History Sean Duffy said it discussed how the local Black community had been affected by Jim Crow segregation to a mostly white audience.

A digitized copy of the first page of the transcript of Harry Jones’ original 1936 speech.

“He spoke very plainly about the fact that there were no jobs for Black people through white owned businesses, there were no opportunities,” Duffy said.

He reasoned that showing off the speech could help people empathize with the African American experience during the 1930s by providing it through the exact words of someone living through that period.

“I thought immediately this would fit the paradigm so that when kids today look at what happened in 1936, and then reflect on how things are now, what’s gotten better? What things are still the same?”

Today, the percentage of African Americans living in Wheeling is roughly the same: one in 20. The rewritten speech by Ron Scott, Jr. calls for local support of Black businesses and the uplifting of Black professionals, the amount of which have both declined in the area since 1936. Scott said he was expecting this version of the speech to just be a look back at the past, but that wasn’t quite the case.

“We found out by doing the speech that a lot of things are just viewed differently, or dressed in different clothing so that it looks like it’s different,” Scott said. He noted how the framing of these issues in a modern light could help people who take interest in the project to make a shift in viewpoint from sympathy to empathy.

“What we’re used to are folks saying, ‘Well, that was a shame that, that happened,’” Scott said. “And now we’re getting folks into saying, ‘Well, how is that still affecting things?’ Or, ‘How can I do something to lessen the blow?’”

The original speech has been lost to history — local engineers theorize it was recorded to an acetate disk, which could have been destroyed in one of the radio station moves over the years, or just wasn’t saved. But Scott said the meaning of the speech lives on, even a century later.

“He’s making sure that he gets this message out, but in a way that is kind of welcoming at the same time, telling you, ‘This is what it’s like for us. Don’t you want to know?’” Scott said.

The full recording of Scott’s speech is available through the WALS Foundation on SoundCloud. A transcript of the original 1936 speech is available to read on the Ohio County Public Library’s website, as well as more information about the Civic Empathy Through History Project.