The state will no longer provide education services at a facility for youth in Berkeley County.
The Charleston Gazette reports that West Virginia Board of Education terminated its contract with the Board of Child Care of The United Methodist Church last week.
The move follows investigations by the Department of Health and Human Resources that found safety lapses and frequent runaways.
DHHR spokeswoman Allison Adler says the facility only accepted youth who were in state custody due to juvenile justice or child abuse and neglect cases.
The DHHR moved all 38 residents elsewhere in March. The agency then accepted a corrective plan from the facility that requires an educational program.
The state school board’s attorney, Mary Catherine Funk, says the facility could partner with a county school board.
The secretary of the West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance says the state needs to chip in about $25 million to build a 120-bed veterans nursing home in Raleigh County.
A law passed last legislative session authorized the new facility in Beckley. Secretary Rick Thompson told a state legislative panel this week the law didn’t provide the money to build it.
Thompson said if the state covers 35 percent of construction costs, the federal government will cover the rest. He said he doesn’t think all the money needs to be available upfront in order to get on a federal waiting list.
The law allows the agriculture commissioner to transfer 17 acres next to the Jackie Withrow Hospital to Veterans Assistance for the new facility.
The only existing state-run veterans nursing home is in Clarksburg and its full .
A new law designed to keep West Virginians safe around boating docks and marinas was originally supposed to go into effect August 1, 2014, but has been delayed until January 1, 2015. The Michael Cunningham Act was passed last year, after a Bridgeport teenager was killed as a result of Electric Shock Drowning.
Amy Cunningham’s memory of May 29, 2010 is still a blur.
That morning she and her 15-year-old son Michael enjoyed goofing around while shopping for sunglasses.
Credit Courtesy of Amy Cunningham
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Michael Cunningham
He was planning a trip down to Stonewall Resort with a friend. As he got ready to leave, Cunningham nagged the redhead to be sure and wear his sunscreen. A bad sunburn was the worst thing she feared would happen to him. A couple of hours later she received an urgent call. Michael had been swimming near a houseboat at the resort’s marina and was missing.
She rushed to the marina and waited for hours before Michael was found. Then, there was the trip to the local hospital to see his body.
Four years later, she’s still grieving.
“People say you should remember the good memories. Well I do,” says Cunningham. “But I’m not going to have any new ones and then they all end with the memory of that day and seeing that vision of him. There’s not a day that doesn’t go by that I don’t think about that.”
What is Electric Shock Drowning?
Michael died from a little-known phenomenon called electric shock drowning. It happens when electric current passes through fresh water and strikes a person, either electrocuting him or paralyzing him and causing him to drown. In Michael’s case, current from the dock had leaked into the water around the houseboat where he was swimming — when he grabbed the boat’s ladder to climb up, he was electrocuted. The autopsy showed no water in his lungs, meaning he died instantly.
The events of that day drove Amy Cunningham and her family to push for safety legislation that would eventually bear her son’s name.
“We didn’t want Michael’s death…to be in vain, I guess.”
Credit Courtesy of Amy Cunningham
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Amy and Kevin Cunningham sit on either side of Governor Earl Ray Tomblin as he signs the Michael Cunningham Act. Legislators (including House Speaker Tim Miley, back center with red tie) and supporters look on. Standing directly behind the Governor are Michael’s best friend Hallie Kittle (who was with him at the marina) and his brother Ben.
It’s unclear how many people die each year from electric shock drowning. It’s often not recognized as the cause of a drowning death.
Before it happened to Michael, Cunningham had never heard of the phenomenon.
She says she runs into people all the time who have never heard of it … including West Virginia House Speaker Tim Miley.
Miley says the information the Cunninghams shared with him, along with his own research, convinced him to spearhead the Michael Cunningham Act.
What Does the Law Require?
It applies to boat docks or marinas that are leased out or made available to the public for a fee – and are connected to electricity. Those marinas have to hire properly licensed electricians to install emergency shut-off devices for electric circuits. The legislation also mandates inspections – once before the law takes effect and again every three years after that. In addition marinas have to install signs warning of the electric shock risk and prohibiting swimming within 100 yards of the dock. Miley is proud that West Virginia is in the forefront of states that have adopted laws to address the issue.
“Many other states are resisting it because of what they perceive as the imposition of government on private commercial boat dock marinas,” says Miley. “But our position was, if you’re going to make your boat dock marina available for families and children to boat around and swim around, then you’re going to provide some safety measures to keep them safe.”
Credit Sarah Lowther Hensley
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Boats docked along the shore of Cheat Lake near Morgantown
One Morgantown area marina owner says her husband is meeting with electric contractors to get an idea of cost, which is a concern. She says only one of their docks has electric service and they’ll do a cost-benefit analysis to decide whether to continue offering it. But, she says the marina already prohibits swimming or fishing from the docks, and adding warning signs is no problem.
Originally, those signs would have to have been up by now, but there’s been a delay.
Speaker Miley and the State Fire Marshal’s office say the new law won’t kick in until January first to allow more time to clarify the requirements and train electrical inspectors.
Miley says he conferred with the Cunningham family before agreeing to support the delay.
“Which, you know, you hope nothing happens after August 1st, which could have been avoided had we kept that hard deadline,” says Miley. “But because it was in the middle of a boating season and you didn’t want to unnecessarily curtail boating season for any commercial docks that had not complied because of the lack of clarity from the Fire Marshal’s office, we decided to extend it to January one.”
Amy Cunningham says, beyond the legislation itself, her ongoing mission is to raise awareness about the dangers of Electric Shock Drowning.
“I’ll be yapping about it until I’m old,” laughs Cunningham. “Because it will always be that chance of people getting electrocuted and like I say I got a lot of boaters that boat down here in Fairmont. There’s a lot of those private marinas or those docks right through there they use. And I see they got little lights, fancy lights around them and all it takes is for one of them to get a short in it. And jump off of there. I just want them to be safe.”
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin announced Wednesday that he’s appealing a decision by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to deny West Virginia’s request for emergency protective measures through the emergency declaration issued in response to the Kanawha Valley water crisis.
FEMA Deputy Associate Director Elizabeth Zimmerman told Tomblin in a letter Monday that based on the agency’s review, it was determined that the water crisis did not rise to the severity and magnitude to warrant grant assistance under the emergency declaration.
In a statement the Governor said he was disappointed and shared the anger and frustration of West Virginians who have endured the crisis. He went on to say he was committed to providing the details necessary to demonstrate the assistance needed by the public safety agencies that have provided support to citizens since the chemical spill into the Elk River January 9.
Senators Jay Rockefeller and Joe Manchin and Congressman Nick Rahall are also quoted in the statement, promising they too will work toward a successful appeal.
A legislative audit of the West Virginia Department of Agriculture under Commissioner Gus Douglass has revealed erroneous and fraudulent reimbursements and other practices that may have cost the state hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The audit requested by current Agriculture Commissioner Walt Helmick was released Monday by the Legislative Auditor’s Office.
The audit cited seemingly “unethical” practices surrounding the farm loan program under Douglas between July 1, 2011, and Dec. 31, 2012.
It cited, for instance, lending under the Rural Rehabilitation Loan program to the former commissioner’s son, and loans that were issued for non-agricultural purposes.
The audit also revealed Douglass may have fraudulently submitted travel reimbursements.
Contact Monday, Douglass referred questions to his attorneys. They did not immediately respond to a message left by The Associated Press.
State Senator Mike Green (D., 9th District) has introduced a bill to designate funds for the construction of a veterans skilled nursing facility in Beckley.
Senate Bill 523 proposes using money from the Veterans Facilities Support Fund and bonds provided by the West Virginia Hospital Finance Board.
The 120-bed veterans skilled nursing facility would be located on more than 17 acres adjacent to the Jackie Withrow Hospital, formerly known as Pinecrest Hospital.
In a news release Green said the center is needed because the one located in Clarksburg operates at full capacity and frequently has a waiting list.
The release says the state’s veteran population has now reached over 220,000 and there is overwhelming need for additional nursing home beds to accommodate veterans when they become unable to take care of themselves.
“The bill is a tangible demonstration of our appreciation for their sacrifices,” said Green.
