Radio Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

The Mountain Valley Pipeline, Child Protective Services, Rural Libraries, and Fire Safety, This West Virginia Week

On this West Virginia Week, we’ll look at fire safety in the Summer months. We’ll also hear about the launch of the Mountain Valley Pipeline and we’ll talk to the President of the National Library Association about Rural Libraries.

On this West Virginia Week, we’ll look at fire safety in the summer months. We’ll also hear about the launch of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, and we’ll talk to the President of the National Library Association about Rural Libraries.

We’ll also discuss what it’s like for a child caught up in West Virginia’s Child Protective Services system, a governmental agency facing increasing scrutiny.

Briana Heaney is our host this week. Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert.

West Virginia Week is a web-only podcast that explores the week’s biggest news in the Mountain State. It’s produced with help from Bill Lynch, Briana Heaney, Chris Schulz, Curtis Tate, Emily Rice, Eric Douglas, Jack Walker, Liz McCormick and Maria Young.

Learn more about West Virginia Week.

Be A Guest DJ For Eclectopia In July

Yes, you read that right. The Guest DJ Series on Eclectopia returns starting in July.

Yes, you read that right. The Guest DJ Series on Eclectopia returns in July. If there are more submissions than weekends in July, we may have to extend the series a bit.

However, here are the guidelines:

Pick no more than three songs; the total length of all three should be less than 12 minutes. This is your set.
Then tell me why you chose them. This part doesn’t have to be a deep dive, but consider what appeals to you about your songs.
We will record your comments either by phone or you can record them yourself (with the hope you have decent audio).
Then DropBox (or however you link large files) your comments to me at my email: jlange@wvpublic.org
When edited, I’ll email you when your segment will be on the show.

Very simple, yes? Remember 25 minute pieces are great, but that’s not what Eclectopia does.

April 5, 2010: Explosions Rock the Upper Big Branch Mine

On April 5, 2010, the day after Easter, a series of explosions rocked the Upper Big Branch mine near Montcoal in Raleigh County.

Twenty-nine men died, making it West Virginia’s worst mining disaster since 78 miners were killed at Farmington in 1968.

After the Upper Big Branch explosion, an independent investigation determined that sparks from a longwall miner had ignited a pocket of methane, setting off a chain of explosions that surged more than two miles through the mine.

The panel concluded that the explosions could have been prevented and that systems designed to protect the miners had failed. The report found that the mine’s owner, Massey Energy, had operated its mines in a “profoundly reckless manner.” The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration reached similar conclusions, blaming the deaths on an “intentional and aggressive” effort by Massey to ignore safety rules.

The criticism of Massey eventually led to the resignation of company president, Don Blankenship. In 2016, Blankenship was sentenced to one year in prison for conspiring to willfully violate mine safety standards, largely in connection with the Upper Big Branch Disaster.

March 9, 1965: President Johnson Signs Bill to Create Appalachian Regional Comission

On March 9, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed a bill creating the Appalachian Regional Commission, known as the ARC. The agency’s goal was to bring impoverished areas of Appalachia into the mainstream American economy. While the ARC serves parts of 13 states, West Virginia is the only one that lies entirely within the boundaries of Appalachia.

ARC programs fall into two main categories. An area development program provides funding to generate jobs and economic growth. Most West Virginians, though, are more familiar with the second category. The ARC’s Appalachian Development Highway System has built a network of roads to connect isolated areas that were bypassed by the interstate highway system. It originally featured 23 corridors, identified alphabetically. West Virginia’s road system includes Corridors D, E, G, H, L, and Q. The Corridor L project also produced the spectacular New River Gorge Bridge on U.S. 19 in Fayette County.

In addition, the ARC is linked to West Virginia through two longtime U.S. senators. Jennings Randolph helped created the commission, and Robert C. Byrd repeatedly found money to save the ARC when critics tried to defund it.

March 8, 1963: W.Va. Legislature Adopts Blue and Gold as the Official State Colors

On March 8, 1963, the West Virginia Legislature adopted blue and “old gold” as the official state colors.

Many West Virginians think that blue and “old gold” have always been the state colors, but it didn’t occur officially until West Virginia’s Centennial celebration in 1963.

Prior to that, the state often used blue and gold in ceremonies because those were the official colors of West Virginia University. So, when the legislature adopted blue and “old gold,” it came as a surprise to many West Virginians that we didn’t already have official colors.

The next question then is, “How and when did WVU pick blue and old gold for its colors?” They were chosen by WVU upperclassmen in 1890 because the colors were featured so prominently in West Virginia’s state seal, which was adopted in 1863, just months after our state entered the Union.

And why was WVU and the legislature so adamant about specifying “old gold” as opposed to just regular gold? Well, blue and gold are the official colors of the University of Pittsburgh—which, of course, has traditionally been WVU’s arch football rival.

January 26, 1960: Burnsville Guard Danny Heater Scores 135 Points

Athlete Danny Heater, born in Braxton County, on February 27, 1942, holds the national record for most points scored in a high school basketball game. He was a resident of Burnsville, and attended Burnsville High School. He scored 135 points in a varsity basketball game against Widen on January 26, 1960.

Heater went on to receive an academic scholarship to attend the University of Richmond, where unfortunately he was never a starting player. Nevertheless, his record has stood for decades, and his feat is still a focus of community pride in the town of Burnsville.