Tag: school consolidation

How Two Rival Football Teams Came Together In A School Consolidation

There’s nothing hotter than a high school sports rivalry. For Mason Adams, that meant the Alleghany Mountaineers versus the Covington Cougars. Adams was a Mountaineer, and beating the Cougars was a top priority in every sport — but especially in football. 

This story originally aired in the Jan. 28, 2024 episode of Inside Appalachia.

There’s nothing hotter than a high school sports rivalry. 

For me, that meant the Alleghany Mountaineers versus the Covington Cougars. I was a Mountaineer, and beating the Cougars was a top priority in every sport — but especially in football. 

So, returning for Alleghany’s 2023 homecoming game feels weird. The fight song is different, the team is going by a different name, and the game is at Covington’s home field.

That’s because this game is part of the Alleghany Cougars’ inaugural season. Previously separate, the Alleghany and Covington school systems consolidated in the ‘23-‘24 academic year. Which meant this was the first homecoming game of the newly merged Alleghany Cougars. 

A view from the home stands during Alleghany High School’s 2023 homecoming game.

Credit: Mason Adams/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

In truth, the merger has been a long time coming. Alleghany County sits on the Virginia/West Virginia border along Interstate 64. Its economy was built largely around a paper mill and the railroad. However, neither are the dominant employers they once were, and the county’s population has declined from its height in the mid-20th century. 

School enrollment dropped, too. Covington High School mostly remained small but stable, while Alleghany High School lost about 1,000 students over the last 20 years. After decades of debate and years of planning, Alleghany and Covington agreed to merge.

But it was a tricky process. The schools are still making tweaks and adjustments, and probably will be for years to come. And a lot of people still have mixed feelings. 

In fact, many people at the game are still wary about talking on the record about the consolidation. They seem nervous about saying the wrong thing, and getting people all fired up again. 

The Alleghany High School band plays during the homecoming game.

Credit: Mason Adams/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

But there are also signs that people are coming together around the merger. Take the fight song, for instance. Writing the new song involved a lot of negotiation and compromise.

“We had to bring together all of the old fight songs and make something new for this group to hold on to,” says Alleghany Band Director Adam Eggleston. “We hired some composers we’d worked with before, some arrangers that we trusted, and so we let them piece it together very carefully.”

The same goes for choreography. 

“The first count that we do in the fight song is from Alleghany, the first eight counts,” says Laura DeSilvey, Alleghany’s color guard instructor. “Then the next eight counts is actually the kick line from Covington. Then we made a whole new section for the last half. The kids actually got to come up with that.”

The color guard cheers during Alleghany High School’s homecoming game.

Credit: Mason Adams/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

The cheerleading team also developed chants and cheers that blended what the two high schools used previously. 

But the main thing for a lot of students is that the consolidated football team is really good. They roll over Carroll County High School, who, like a lot of Alleghany’s opponents now, traveled from more than two hours away.

“Covington had a lot of athleticism, and Alleghany had a lot of strength and size,” says Nick Frye, a junior in the Cougar Maniacs student section. “So the merger is the two things you need in football put together: athleticism and size. It’s amazing.”

Olivia Bell and Nicole Frye show off their Alleghany Cougars face paint.

Credit: Mason Adams/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

There are plenty of other signs of how students are weathering the merger. Juniors Olivia Bell and Nicole Frye wear face paint featuring the team’s new color scheme. The transition is “not the best, but we’re getting through it,” Fry says. “We gotta have that Cougar spirit!” 

They both appreciate that the newly combined school has retained elements from the separate schools. “It’s good not having a full change,” Bell says.

Other traditions continue unabated — like a group of students wearing “senior jeans.” Senior Kaidence Nicely says they picked up the tradition from seniors the previous year.

Alleghany students show off their “senior jeans” at Homecoming.

Credit: Mason Adams/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

“The way I would describe senior jeans, you put your grade on ’em, your school, what sports you play, your name, your initials, mascot — whatever you want to put on you can,” Nicely says. “I put pom-poms on mine, and I love them.”

Talking to students makes it easy to catch school spirit. There’s the band, the cheers, the game on the field, and especially, the student cheering section, led by the self-identified Cougar Maniacs. 

“We’ve got the most spirit out of everyone,” says Ayden Roman, a senior. “We’re always chanting.”

“Just trying to make everybody have a good time, enjoy the game,” says Tanner Hoke, a junior.

The new merger, Hoke says, “was awkward at first. But as you can see, we’re all … all…” 

“We’re all Cougars now,” says Roman, finishing the thought. 

“It seems this merger just brought the whole community together instead of against each other,” Hoke says.

Players watch from the sidelines during Alleghany’s homecoming game.

Credit: Mason Adams/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Alleghany defeated Carroll County, 47-0.

The Cougars’ season eventually concluded with a loss in the playoffs. The team finished with a record of 9 wins and 2 losses.

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This story is part of the Inside Appalachia Folkways Reporting Project, a partnership with West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Inside Appalachia and the Folklife Program of the West Virginia Humanities Council.

The Folkways Reporting Project is made possible in part with support from Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies to the West Virginia Public Broadcasting Foundation. Subscribe to the podcast to hear more stories of Appalachian folklife, arts and culture.

Cougars Football And EJ Henderson Guitars, Inside Appalachia

This week on Inside Appalachia, Alleghany and Covington high schools were rivals for decades. But now, they’ve merged. This week, we head to a home football game and learn how it’s going. Also, the daughter of a legendary guitar maker didn’t set out to take up her father’s craft — but she’s found it irresistible. And, we take a trip to the mushroom capital of the U.S.

Alleghany and Covington high schools were rivals for decades. But now, they’ve merged. This week, we head to a home football game and learn how it’s going. 

Also, the daughter of a legendary guitar maker didn’t set out to take up her father’s craft — but she’s found it irresistible.

And, we take a trip to the mushroom capital of the U.S.

You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.

In This Episode:

Cougar Football

A consolidated school might be different, but student spirit remains the same.

Credit: Mason Adams/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

There’s nothing hotter than a high school sports rivalry. Host Mason Adams grew up in Alleghany County, Virginia and went to Alleghany High School. His school’s biggest football rival was the Covington Cougars, on the other side of the county.

The two schools consolidated this past year. Adams made a trip home to visit the new school during its very first homecoming to see what has changed and what hasn’t. 

A New Generation Of Henderson Guitars

Jayne Henderson builds her own future as a guitar and ukulele maker.

Credit: Janie Witte

Wayne Henderson has been making guitars since he was a teenager. The guitars he makes are prized by players who are willing to wait up to a decade to get their hands on one. 

His daughter, Elizabeth Jayne Henderson, never intended to follow in her father’s footsteps. She went to law school, but now Jayne is carrying on the family tradition in her own way.

Folkways Reporter Margaret McLeod Leef had this story.

Pennsylvania’s Mushroom Empire

Shiitake mushroom.

Credit: Keith Weller/United States Department of Agriculture

People have hunted wild mushrooms for generations — but did you know that Pennsylvania is the biggest producer of mushrooms in the U.S.?

WVIA’s Kat Bolus brought us this story about Pennsylvania’s mushroom farms and foraging clubs.

The Migration Of Frijoles Charros

A bowl of frijoles charros sits to the right of a bowl of refried beans. While refried beans are a standard side dish in most Mexican restaurants in Southern Ohio, frijoles charros often accompany the main meal at restaurants in northern Mexico and along the US-Mexico border.

Credit: Nicole Musgrave/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

A bowl of brothy pinto beans is comfort food for lots of folks here in Appalachia. There’s a similar tradition in rural Mexico — frijoles charros — or charro beans. Now, the dish has made its way north to the former coal town of Wellston, in southeast Ohio.

Folkways Reporter Nicole Musgrave has the story.  

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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Joe Dobbs and the 1937 Flood, Mary Hott, The Sycomores, Anna and Elizabeth, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, John Blissard, and the Alleghany High School marching band.

Bill Lynch is our producer. Zander Aloi is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens.

You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.

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Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Football Rivals Come Together In School Consolidation On This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, school consolidation is always a hot topic in small communities. Giving up longstanding hometown football teams is hard. This week, Inside Appalachia looks at how two old county football rivals came together for something new. Mason Adams has more.

On this West Virginia Morning, school consolidation is always a hot topic in small communities. Giving up longstanding hometown football teams is hard. This week, Inside Appalachia looks at how two old county football rivals came together for something new. Mason Adams has more.

Also, in this show, our Mountain Stage Song of the Week comes from Grammy Award winner Catherine Russell, who made her sixth Mountain Stage appearance. We listen to her performance of “Sticks and Stones,” which comes from her album Send for Me, released in 2022.

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 Shepherd University.

Our Appalachia Health News project is made possible with support from CAMC and Marshall Health.

West Virginia Morning is produced with help from Bill Lynch, Briana Heaney, Chris Schulz, Curtis Tate, Emily Rice, Eric Douglas, Jack Walker, Liz McCormick, and Randy Yohe.

Eric Douglas is our news director and our producer.

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

State Board Of Education Approves Closure Of Four Elementary Schools

The West Virginia Board of Education approved the closure of four elementary schools in three counties, raising concerns among community members.

The West Virginia Board of Education approved the closure of four elementary schools in three counties during their meeting Dec. 13, 2023. 

H.E. White Elementary School and Lizemore Elementary School in Clay County, as well as Ranger Pre-K through 5 in Lincoln County will close at the end of the 2023-2024 academic year. Norwood Elementary in Harrison County was already closed under emergency procedures in July after structural engineers identified issues that made the building unsafe for students.

In their impact statements, both Clay and Lincoln counties cited declining population and enrollment for the closures. Senate Bill 51, which went into effect on June 5, requires impact statements including transportation time of the affected students be written in certain instances of school closing or consolidation.

Clay County said their overall student enrollment has decreased by 19.2 percent, representing a loss of 385 students from 2015-2016 to 2022-2023. Lincoln County stated an enrollment decrease of 7.8 percent, representing a loss of 794 students over the last 10 years.

Several parents and community members spoke in opposition of the closures in Clay and Lincoln. 

Christina Mounts said she did not understand why Ranger Elementary was being singled out for facilities issues that are also present in other county school buildings.

“The comprehensive educational facilities plan identified most of these same deficiencies as present in at least five of the other schools in Lincoln County,” she said. “Why are the other five schools not being held to the same standard?”

Mounts called Ranger Elementary the heart of the community, and its closure would not be in the best interest of students’ educational needs.

Mike Nichols said due to its rural setting, the closure of Lizemore Elementary will have a greater impact on the local community than a closure in an urban area.

“Often in urban areas, there are community centers, other schools, other facilities close by where kids can still meet and play and practice,” Nichols said. “No such luxury exists for our community. Our area, the school and the gymnasium are the community center. The ball field and the playground is the park. They go away, we have nothing. Nothing.” 

Longer bus routes resulting from the school consolidations was a particular concern amongst the speakers. All three counties applied for waivers to create bus routes longer than 45 minutes for the new consolidated schools. Under WVBE Policy 4336, county boards of education cannot create a bus route longer than 15 minutes over the 30 minute maximum recommended duration for elementary school students without state board approval.

Lynn Taylor spoke against the closures of H.E. White Elementary School and Lizemore Elementary School in Clay County. She and others said they had been told new bus routes could be as long as 70 minutes. Taylor, who has a child with autism, also raised concern of sending her children so far away from their parents.

“What’s gonna happen when he goes to Clay and we’re an hour and a half away from him?” she said. “That’s the things that we see that’s gonna happen with these closures of the schools. The parents aren’t going to be close enough to make kids feel secure. The parent involvement is going to drop in the schools.”

Phil Dobbins, superintendent of Clay County Schools, said the closure of Lizemore Elementary would shorten existing bus routes, most of which run close to or over an hour in length from first pick up to drop off at the elementary school.

“These routes will be shortened by about 10 minutes because buses will not have to make the loop at Lizemore Elementary to safely drop off, get back out on the highway and head to Clay (Elementary),” he said. “So that 10 minute decrease would reduce those times to 50 minutes, 57 (minutes), 43 (minutes) and 50 minutes respectively and again, we’re not creating any new route.”

Board member Debra Sullivan questioned the broader trend of closures and consolidations in the state, with particular focus on the role of state policy in the issue.

“Is it our counties’ fault that the state population has fallen over the past two plus decades?” she said. “Is the school aid formula addressing the realities facing our schools today? Is the formula taking into account poverty rates and percentages of children needing special ed services?”

Sullivan noted that many of the schools being closed in recent years are older, and built to accommodate former, larger populations. 

“Only a fraction as many students are now enrolled,” she said. “Applying building utilization percentages based on 20 or 25 students, it’s an old metric. It doesn’t support today’s reality.” 

Board President Paul Hardesty reminded Sullivan and the rest of the board that they were not considering an issue of policy, and were required to vote in accordance with the existing regulations.

All four closures and bus route waivers were approved.

State Board Of Education Hears Hope Scholarship Concerns, Approves School Closures

Dale Lee, president of the West Virginia Education Association, has raised concerns that Hope Scholarship funds are being spent in public schools in other states.

Dale Lee, president of the West Virginia Education Association, raised concerns at the May meeting of the West Virginia Board of Education that Hope Scholarship funds were being spent in public schools in other states.

The Hope Scholarship allows K-12 students to receive state funds that can be used for tuition at private schools, homeschool curriculum, and other qualifying expenses. 

On Wednesday, Lee again raised the issue, claiming 29 out-of-state schools are receiving West Virginia taxpayer dollars including a public school in Steubenville, Ohio.

“At the end of the fiscal year I’ll have more information about where everything goes, but this is alarming to me,” Lee said. “Hopefully we can keep taxpayer dollars in West Virginia for our kids.” 

Lee said he received the information from the Hope Scholarship Division of the state Treasurer’s office.

In an email to WVPB, the state Treasurer’s office said spending Hope Scholarship funds in out-of-state school systems is permissible and consistent with the “money follows the student” intent behind the Hope Scholarship.

“It should also be noted that West Virginia public schools charge tuition to Hope Scholarship students attending classes or participating in extracurricular activities,” the email said. “Like West Virginia, most other states require public schools to charge tuition to any out-of-state students wishing to access their curriculum or other services.”

On Thursday, Lee told WVPB he understands that the out of state spending is permissible, “but I still question why West Virginia taxpayer dollars are going to fund schools out of state of West Virginia.”

“We believe that parents have the right to homeschool or private school their children,” he said. “But our constitution provides for a thorough and free public education and they choose not to accept that, and I don’t think taxpayer dollars should be used to fund that.”

School Closures

The West Virginia Board of Education also approved the closure of three elementary schools in Kanawha County during its Wednesday meeting. 

Marmet Elementary School, Grandview Elementary School and George C. Weimer Elementary School were all approved for closure at the end of the 2023-2024 school year and will be consolidated with existing local elementary schools.

These are the first school closures to be approved by the state board since Senate Bill 51 went into effect on June 5. The new law requires impact statements including transportation time of the affected students be written in certain instances of school closing or consolidation.

The application for the closure of all three schools carried the following impact statement:

The consolidation of these schools will enable Kanawha County Schools to operate their schools more efficiently. 

The Kanawha County Board of Education voted to approve the closures in May, before the law went into effect.

Senate Starts Week By Passing A Dozen Bills

It was a busy day for the Senate as they passed a dozen bills, ranging from issues of schools to healthcare and substance use.

It was a busy day for the Senate as they passed a dozen bills, ranging from issues of schools to health care and substance use.

First up was Senate Bill 51, which would require an impact statement in certain instances of a school closing or consolidation. School closure and consolidation have been pervasive in the state as the population continues to decline. According to the 2020 Census, West Virginia lost 3.2 percent of its population since 2010. 

Senate Bill 258, which would eliminate a $10,000 cap on rent-to-own agreements in the state, was the only bill that did not pass unanimously.

“Currently in the law, it says that there cannot be a rent-to-own contract related to consumer goods which has a cash value, fair market value of more than $10,000. This bill, if it passes, will remove that cap completely,” said Sen. Charles Trump, R-Morgan. “Consumers and rent to own businesses will be free to enter into whatever contract they like regardless of the amount of value consumer goods which is the subject of the contract.” 

Sen. Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, and Sen. Mike Caputo, D-Marion, both voted against the bill but did not provide comment on the floor.

Senate Bill 282 creates the West Virginia Guardian Program. The program would allow county boards of education to contract with honorably discharged law enforcement officers to provide public safety and/or security on public school grounds and buildings.

With all the federal money coming into the state, Senate Bill 439 aims to help one state department complete its projects more easily.

“This is a pretty uncomplicated, easy bill. All it does is streamline the process for the DEP to bid and award contracts.” said Sen. Randy Smith, R-Tucker. “With all the federal money coming in, they’re afraid they’re not gonna get all the bids out for mine reclamation and some other projects. The Department of Highways is already doing this and it’s working well for them.”

The Senate also passed: 

  • Senate Bill 248, clarifying when excess funds accumulated by boards are to be transferred to General Revenue Fund
  • Senate Bill 270, adding exemption to permit requirement for cremation for research for institution arranging the final disposition of a decedent who donated his or her body to science
  • Senate Bill 271, modifying approval process requirements for First Responders Honor Board 
  • Senate Bill 283, updating the language of the Military Incentive Program, which provides a tax credit to employers in the state for hiring certain members of a class of veterans, to include all veterans
Sen. Mike Azinger, R-Wood, addresses the Senate on Monday Jan. 30, 2023. Credit Will Price/WV Legislative Photography

One Senator, Four Bills

One-third of the bills in front of the Senate on third reading Monday were sponsored by Sen. Mike Azinger, R-Wood. He said the bill’s aim was to address a chronic issue in the state.

“Three of the four bills that were on third reading today, deal with the homeless/drug crisis that is especially affecting two or three counties, that being Wood County, Cabell County, maybe you can say Kanawha County, maybe one or two others,” Azinger said. 

“In Wood County we have four percent of the population and 25 percent of the beds, and we could potentially have double that if Ohio Valley College is purchased by these folks that have these drug rehab places. These bills are trying to constrict. The issues that we have in Wood County with homeless camps, with crime, as you can imagine, break ins and burglary, it’s just off the charts.”

Senate Bill 239 would require the Commissioner of the Bureau for Behavioral Health to engage community stakeholders in a study of homeless demographic information throughout West Virginia, due by July 1, 2024. Azinger said better understanding the state’s unhoused population is important to ensure the best use of the state’s resources.

“The study is basically just to know where the homeless folks are in West Virginia, why they are migrating from one part of the state to the other and how many of these homeless people are from out of state,” he said. 

“We’re getting tons of out-of-state people that come to West Virginia, to the drug rehab places, because we have a lot of beds in one county, Cabell, but also, because we have benefits. We give away, you know, all kinds of freebies, and the word gets out on the street, cross-country, ‘Hey go to West Virginia.’ And that’s what’s happening. We want to truncate that, staunch the bleeding, put a stop to it, and make it reasonable. We’re not kicking anybody out of beds, we don’t want to do that, we want people that want help to get help.”

Senate Bill 243 would require the institutions giving people that help with substance use issues to also provide transportation after treatment has ended. The mandate for transportation is broad-reaching, as the bill requires, “a means of transportation back to the individual’s state of birth, a state in which they have previously lived, or a state where they have a family support structure” be provided. Azinger said there is no funding for the requirement by design.

“Just send these folks back to where they have family, to a state that they’re from, or someplace where they have connections and relationships and a history there,” he said. “We’re just making the drug rehab places have some skin in the game. Let them pay the price back for the bus ticket. Parkersburg paid $24,000 in bus tickets last year. So that’s $24,000 that, in my opinion, the City of Parkersburg shouldn’t have to pay.”

He also stated that the requirement serves two purposes: getting those individuals fresh out of substance use treatment back to their support system, and out of West Virginia.

Azinger also sponsored Senate Bill 241, which shifts the responsibility of investigating and enforcing of, the Patient Brokering Act, as well as Senate Bill 251, which requires the display of the official U.S. motto, “In God We Trust” in all state schools.

“Our country was built on God,” Azinger said. “Our America was birthed by the Great Awakening, religious revivals in the early 1700s was the impetus, was a birthright of the American Revolution. That’s always how we have operated. So why did we take it out? What’s happened since we’ve taken it out? Well, a lot of bad things have happened since we’ve taken it out, so let’s start bringing God back into the schools.”

Completed Legislative Action

Two more bills passed through the legislative process and are now on their way to Gov. Jim Justice for his signature.  

Senate Bill 143 is titled Relating to Adopt-A-Stream Program. The bill would establish an Adopt-a-Stream program to promote the cleaning of the state’s waterways, similar to the Adopt-a-Highway program. 

Senate Bill 231 transfers administration of West Virginia Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Matching Funds Program to Department of Economic Development.

Both bills originated in the Senate but were amended by the House and returned to the Senate for final approval.

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