Hope Scholarship On Pace To Almost Double Enrollment – West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Posted by Funds Digest | Jul 8, 2025 | 0 |

Protect & Sustain WVPB
Early childhood development & learning resources.
Videos, activities & resources for every occasion.
A variety of resources for professional growth.
Request WVPB Education to attend or host an event!
Read the winning stories from the 2025 PBS KIDS Writers Contest at WVPB!
Shannon Silverman guides us through the cosmos above West Virginia.
On Demand
On Demand
Watch locally produced documentaries & more.
On Demand
On Demand
Browse TV Schedule | Find WVPB Television

View Radio Schedule | Find Your Stations
West Virginia Morning
Inside Appalachia
West Virginia Week
Mountain Stage
Us & Them
The Legislature Today

Arts & Culture Economy Education Energy & Environment Government Health & Science WVPB Special Series Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom

Arts & Culture Bill Lynch +, Jul. 04, 2025

Mental Health Crisis Response And Mountain Valley Pipeline, Inside Appalachia

This week, people with mental health challenges or substance use disorder often end up in jail. But crisis response teams offer another way. Also, one year after the Mountain Valley Pipeline went into service, people who live directly in the pipeline’s path have received compensation. But not everyone. And, the Sacred Harp songbook gets an update for the first time since the early 1990s.

Continue Reading Take Me to More News

nnnn

Wyoming is one of at least 9 counties in West Virginia that have used their opioid settlement funds to pay off at least a portion of their regional jail bill, an analysis of FOIA documents by students from West Virginia University's Reed School of Media from 50 of the stateu2019s 55 counties shows. In total, those 9 counties have spent more than $3.5 million on bills to house West Virginians in its 10 regional jails.

nnnn

u201cIn small counties, we unfortunately are limited financially,u201d Grant County Commissioner Kevin Hagerty said in an email. His county spent half of their settlement funds u2014 $115,528 u2014 on their regional jail bill. u201cThe jail bill has been a pretty significant expense for us over several years. We used a portion of the funds to help ease the burden on resources.u201d

nnnn

As part of an investigation into these practices, Reed School of Media journalism students reached out to county commissioners in all 9 counties that reported spending opioid settlement funds on jail bills. Representatives from four counties responded, and all said spending the opioid settlement funds in this way aligns with what is allowed in state rules for spending, written by the West Virginia Attorney Generalu2019s Office.

nnnn

But experts say there is a difference between how the funds can legally be spent and the intent behind the global settlement that was the result of hundreds of thousands of overdose deaths across the country.

nnnn

A Crisis-Fueled Debt

nnnn

Jail fees pose a significant burden on counties in West Virginia, where taxpayers are ultimately on the hook for the bill. Documents from the stateu2019s Department of Homeland Security show several counties owe millions of dollars in jail fees.

nnnn

As of April 4, 2025, the 55 counties in West Virginia owe a total of $15,020,710.48 on their regional jail bills. Clay, McDowell and Webster counties owe the most u2014 and, according to a source familiar with the stateu2019s jail payment processes, have for the past decade.

nnnnnnnn

How state, county and city leaders can spend their opioid settlement funds is guided by an MOU that former Attorney General Patrick Morrisey u2014 now governor u2014 helped to establish in 2022. The MOU outlines that funds can be spent in several areas: prevention, treatment, recovery, and law enforcement and EMS.

nnnn

Under law enforcement, the MOU specifically says funds can be used for evidence-based programs for individuals who are incarcerated or are exiting incarceration, education and training programs for law enforcement personnel, mental health and support resources, equipment, tools, and manpower for first-responder agencies.

nnnn

The MOU acknowledges regional jail fees as an approved use of opioid lawsuit settlement funding, saying it provides u201crestitution for monies that were previously expended on opioid abatement activities.u201d

nnnn

And several counties have decided putting money toward these overdue bills is a priority. In Wyoming County, Commissioner Jason Mullins said many people in the regional jail are incarcerated for opioid-related offenses, so itu2019s a logical use for the funds.

nnnn

Two white men sit behind a wooden wall talking. — *Wyoming County Commissioner Jason Mullins, left, speaks with fellow Commissioner Randall Aliiff at a meeting on April 15, 2025.*

*Photo Credit: Aidan Cornue/West Virginia University*

nnnn

Logan County is spending nearly a million of its $3.9 million fund on its jail bill. In Boone County, officials are putting $452,766 of opioid settlement funds toward that use.

nnnn

u201cIf a Madison police officer makes an arrest inside city limits, Boone County is still responsible for the jail bill,u201d Boone County Commissioner Brett Kuhn said. u201cSo thatu2019s a very difficult thing when youu2019re in the economic condition we find ourselves in today to come up with.u201d

nnnn

Kuhn says Boone County usually owes $60,000-$70,000 per month on their jail bill, and uses the countyu2019s portion of the coal severance tax revenues to pay it off. He says using opioid settlement funds instead of the coal severance tax to pay the jail bill will allow them to redirect severance funds to other economic development opportunities in the county.

nnnn

u201cI think one of the most important ways to combat the situation we find ourselves in now is to create good, high-paying jobs,u201d Kuhn said.

nnnn

Several county officials say the decision to pay off their jail bills first stems from a lack of funding to pay down what they owe. Commissioner Kevin Hagerty said the Grant County Commission also has plans to use its funding to assist in opening a nonprofit sober living house.

nnnn

u201cBefore we commit to funding, there are various things that we must consider, such as liability issues, operational structure, who would oversee different mechanics of the house, etc.,u201d he said. u201cWe are pretty early in the process; however, it is something that we see as very positive if it were to come to fruition.u201d

nnnn

The commission has already approved the building of a Safe Haven Baby Box with the settlement funds.

nnnn

Two women and a man sitting on a stage addressing an audience — *Laura Lander, right, speaks at a Reporting on Addiction event on West Virginia Universityu2019s campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, in 2022.*

*Photo Credit: Jesse Wright/West Virginia University*

nnnn

Laura Lander, addiction therapist and associate professor at West Virginia Universityu2019s School of Medicine, says there are other ways the funds could be spent that would offer long-term support for people affected by substance use.

nnnn

Lander, a past opioid settlement grant review panelist for the West Virginia First Foundation, said that things like child advocacy centers, youth prevention and workforce development would be more effective spending.

nnnn

Lander said that using the money on u201cshort-sightedu201d areas like the jail bill are not going to help people who are struggling.

nnnn

u201cItu2019s not going to address the problem, itu2019s just going to pay a bill,u201d she said. u201cIu2019m sure everybody has regional jail bills, but itu2019s not actually addressing the problem. It sounds like itu2019s addressing a shortfall in the countyu2019s budget or planning.u201d

nnnn

Some county officials agree. In Mercer County, Commissioner Greg Puckett says other countiesu2019 use of their settlement funds on the jail bill is understandable u2014 but that doesnu2019t make it the best use of the money.

nnnn

u201cI think itu2019s kind of a faulty philosophy,u201d Puckett said. u201cThere are identified strategies that are a lot more effective in ways to deal with the opioid problems that weu2019ve seen in the past. Those come from building for future solutions, not looking in reverse.u201d

nnnn

Instead of paying their jail bill u2014 which was $163,000 for the month of May u2014 Puckett said Mercer County wants to use their funds to improve infrastructure, including a new sheriffu2019s department building and parks for u201cengagement in positive activities.u201d

nnnn

u201cWhen you pay the jail bill, thatu2019s essentially a reverse thinking philosophy of just getting out from under it. Youu2019re never going to be able to get out completely from under it because of the way the costs are,u201d he said.

nnnn

Unlike Wyoming or Boone counties, Mercer County also plans to create a task force to help delegate funds that would include mental health experts and people in long-term recovery.

nnnn

Frank Kearl is an attorney with Popular Democracy. He said he has been developing strategies to ensure transparency and accountability in opioid settlement fund spending alongside organizers and community activists in New York, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

nnnn

Kearl said using the settlement funds to pay for regional jail bills is legal in his read of the West Virginia MOU and his understanding of the rules outlined by the global settlement, but said the legality of using the funds in a certain way and whether thatu2019s the best use for them are different questions.

nnnn

u201cSomeone would need to be paying attention to where that money was going to ensure that two years from now, when they want to spend the money on something else thatu2019s not related, thereu2019s someone there to be like, u2018wait a second, you already spent all of this money in this other way, so you donu2019t have that remaining funds,u2019 u201d Kearl said. u201cAnd thatu2019s just not happening.u201d

nnnn

u201cThatu2019s not happening in West Virginia. Thatu2019s not happening anywhere. No one is paying close enough attention to where this money is going.u201d

nnnn

Plus, Kearl said, this is West Virginiau2019s only shot u2014 just like it is for every state. These funds will only come once. If theyu2019re misspent from the start, government leaders cannot go back to the corporations that are part of the global settlement and sue for more.

nnnn

And in the current MOU and settlement structure, there is no federal oversight. State, local and city governments have full control of the processes.

nnnn

u201cThe way that the settlements are set up prevents any subsequent liability for these corporations and individuals for the harm that they caused. So someone living in West Virginia, in one of these counties where this money is being spent on something thatu2019s completely unrelated, they donu2019t have another bite at the apple,u201d Kearl said.

nnnn

u201cThis is their one opportunity to see meaningful justice served resolution,u201d he said. u201cMoney spent in a way that is helping resolve the harms that they have suffered and continue to suffer, and so when that money is wasted, to me, itu2019s less even about the legality or illegality and more about the justice of it.u201d

nnnn

What Experts, Communities Say They Actually Need

nnnn

Despite the MOU allowing the payment of regional jail fees, some activists say theyu2019d like to see the money used in other ways.

nnnn

Brittney Garrett is a representative of Police Assisted Addiction & Recovery Initiative, a national nonprofit organization that encourages people struggling with substance use disorder to go to a local police station to receive drug screenings and other recovery services without being arrested. Garrett helps individuals find pathways to treatment and provides guidance for law enforcement when they interact with people struggling with substance use disorder.

nnnn

Garrett said allocating funding to law enforcement can be an effective measure, as long as the money is spent on programs specifically designed to benefit the community in accessing treatment and recovery services.

nnnn

u201cWe really need to make sure that itu2019s opioid-specific and that we are helping individuals who are struggling with substance use and connecting them to treatment and recovery to not continue this,u201d she said.

nnnn

She encouraged county commissions to use other funding pools for treatment and recovery services.

nnnn

Reporting in West Virginia shows some counties are spending their funds on a shooting range in Jackson County or a UTV for the police department in Ohio County.

nnnn

u201cI think that there is other funding for things like shooting ranges or police vehicles,u201d Garrett said in response to the reporting.

nnnn

Lander also said the counties need to look at long-term treatment solutions. She said purchasing new vehicles or new buildings is not sustainable, and if counties want to support infrastructure, the settlement money should go towards recovery housing.

nnnn

u201cWe have an affordable housing crisis in this state, that is, in my opinion, directly connected to the substance use disorder problem. And one of the reasons why itu2019s so difficult for people to get well is that they donu2019t have stable housing,u201d Lander said. u201cItu2019s very hard to be in recovery and not have a stable place to live.u201d

nnnn

Kearl said county leaders need more guidance to ensure funds are distributed to areas outside of law enforcement or jail bills.

nnnn

u201cDropping $3 million in a county-level account and expecting them to use it in a way to resolve harms from a crisis that they didnu2019t create in the first place and that they were not actively participating in the settlement process at all is irresponsible by the state,u201d he said.

nnnn

One Countyu2019s Lingering Struggle

nnnn

In Wyoming County, Sheriff Bradley Ellison u2014 who social worker Ann Reed works with directly u2014 said there is a lack of resources for residents who have been affected by the opioid crisis and for emergency personnel like him who have responded to opioid-related emergencies for nearly two decades.

nnnn

Ellison has worked at the countyu2019s sheriffu2019s department for more than 30 years, responding to the opioid crisis on the front lines. His department consists of 18 officers, and Ellison said itu2019s understaffed and underfunded. And while he said he wasnu2019t sure what the Wyoming County Commission should spend its funding on, he said he needs things that will help his department continue to do their jobs, like new cruisers and an increase in personnel.

nnnn

Bald law enforcement officer sitting at a desk chair. — *Wyoming County Sheriff Ellison meets with reporters in his office in Pineville, W.Va., on April 15, 2025.*

*Photo Credit: Aidan Cornue/West Virginia University*

nnnn

Ellison believes the county is unlikely to continue funding recovery, prevention, or treatment services once settlement funding runs out. He also said he was not against the use of opioid settlement funds to pay their jail bill.

nnnn

u201cLike if you wanted a facility and it cost a million dollars, youu2019re blowing through your money. Are you helping anything? Because once this moneyu2019s gone, the county ainu2019t gonna pick it up and take it out of their coffers because it ainu2019t there,u201d Ellison said. u201cYou got to try to hit the best way to make the biggest impact that you can with what you got.u201d

nnnn

Despite current efforts to combat substance use disorders in the county, he said financial support came long after Wyoming County residents were experiencing the worst of the opioid crisis.

nnnn

u201cThey was 10 years too late on the opioid problem. We was crying and screaming in the early 2000s, u2018Help. Gosh, help.u2019 Nobody would listen,u201d Ellison said. "Nobody would listen."

nnnn

Ellison said heu2019s worried that theyu2019re still too late to help the people who need it most.

nnnn

------

nnnn

Lauren Taylor, Aidan Cornue and Spencer Yoke contributed to this reporting.

nnnn

This story was published in partnership with West Virginia Universityu2019s Reed School of Media and Communications, with support from Scott Widmeyer.

n","post_title":"Some W.Va. Counties Pay Jail Debt With Opioid Funds, Citing Budget Strains","post_excerpt":"Wyoming County is one of the stateu2019s most rural. Itu2019s home to about 20,000 residents, but no hospital and zero certified treatment beds, according to the West Virginia Office of Drug Control Policy. As the nationu2019s opioid overdose epidemic raged, Wyoming County had a prescription overdose death rate of 54.6 per 100,000 people from 1999 to 2014 u2014 the highest in the nation.","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"some-w-va-counties-pay-jail-debt-with-opioid-funds-citing-budget-strains","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-07-08 11:12:01","post_modified_gmt":"2025-07-08 15:12:01","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https://wvpublic.org/?p=62324","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw","m":{"_edit_lock":["1751987618:15"],"_oembed_d563b2851cd256024862701f2336d930":["{{unknown}}"],"_oembed_25671b94129f31a89f25a701ebadd792":[""],"_oembed_time_25671b94129f31a89f25a701ebadd792":["1751984525"],"_thumbnail_id":["62326"],"inline_featured_image":[""],"footnotes":[""],"_edit_last":["15"],"hide_title":["0"],"_hide_title":["field_6362790886020"],"mp3":["62327"],"_mp3":["field_63a1b52bcc11c"],"mp3_url":[""],"_mp3_url":["field_63cae2d50401f"],"featured_image_caption":[""],"_featured_image_caption":["field_6566090f2153e"],"additional_authors":[""],"_additional_authors":["field_63cffa54ad502"],"_advads_ad_settings":["a:2:{s:11:"disable_ads";i:0;s:19:"disable_the_content";i:0;}"],"_send_to_nprone":["1"],"_send_to_one":["1"],"_nprone_featured":["1"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["58"],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["30"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["13"],"npr_story_id":["wvpbwp-62324"],"apple_news_api_id":["655c93d1-cf44-4d29-a064-7bf081e4ac16"],"apple_news_api_created_at":["2025-07-08T15:00:03Z"],"apple_news_api_modified_at":["2025-07-08T15:12:00Z"],"apple_news_api_share_url":["https://apple.news/AZVyT0c9ETSmgZHvwgeSsFg"],"apple_news_api_revision":["AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=="],"apple_news_article_checksum":["8b57439a"],"_nprone_expiry_8601":["2025-07-15T10:51:00-04:00"],"apple_news_api_errors":["a:1:{s:16:"component_errors";a:2:{i:0;s:6:"script";i:1;s:6:"script";}}"],"apple_news_api_json":["O:8:"stdClass":11:{s:7:"version";s:4:"1.11";s:10:"identifier";s:10:"post-62324";s:8:"language";s:5:"en-US";s:5:"title";s:74:"Some W.Va. Counties Pay Jail Debt With Opioid Funds, Citing Budget Strains";s:13:"documentStyle";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:15:"backgroundColor";s:7:"#1c1c1c";}s:6:"layout";O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:7:"columns";i:7;s:5:"width";i:1024;s:6:"margin";i:100;s:6:"gutter";i:20;}s:10:"components";a:2:{i:0;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:6:"header";s:6:"layout";s:17:"headerPhotoLayout";s:10:"components";a:2:{i:0;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:5:"photo";s:6:"layout";s:28:"headerPhotoLayoutWithCaption";s:3:"URL";s:71:"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-scaled.jpg";s:7:"caption";O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:4:"text";s:42:"Pineville, Wyoming County, West Virginia. ";s:9:"textStyle";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:8:"fontName";s:15:"Helvetica-Light";}}}i:1;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:7:"caption";s:4:"text";s:42:"Pineville, Wyoming County, West Virginia. ";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:8:"fontName";s:15:"Helvetica-Light";s:8:"fontSize";i:14;s:8:"tracking";d:-0.01;s:10:"lineHeight";i:19;s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#999999";}}}s:8:"behavior";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:4:"type";s:8:"parallax";s:6:"factor";d:0.8;}}i:1;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:9:"container";s:6:"layout";O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:10:"columnSpan";i:7;s:11:"columnStart";i:0;s:20:"ignoreDocumentMargin";b:1;}s:5:"style";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:15:"backgroundColor";s:7:"#1c1c1c";}s:10:"components";a:78:{i:0;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:5:"title";s:4:"text";s:74:"Some W.Va. Counties Pay Jail Debt With Opioid Funds, Citing Budget Strains";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:13:"default-title";s:6:"layout";s:12:"title-layout";}i:1;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:6:"author";s:4:"text";s:18:"By Claudia Di Lima";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:14:"default-author";s:6:"layout";s:13:"author-layout";}i:2;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:6:"byline";s:4:"text";s:17:"July 8 at 6:59 AM";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-date";s:6:"layout";s:11:"date-layout";}i:3;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:329:"

The audio above originally aired in the July 8, 2025 episode of West Virginia Morning. WVPB News Director Eric Douglas spoke with student Claudia Di Lima to discuss this story.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:16:"dropcapBodyStyle";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:4;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:193:"

Read more in this special series from students at West Virginia Universityu2019s Reed School of Media.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:5;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:13:"

u2014u2014

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:6;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:110:"

In rural Wyoming County, West Virginia, Ann Reed is the sheriffu2019s departmentu2019s only social worker.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:7;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:213:"

Funded through a temporary grant from a local mental health center, Reed provides resources and care to individuals who experience substance use disorder on a daily basis.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:8;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:300:"

She assists the Wyoming County Sheriffu2019s Department by monitoring a local mental health agencyu2019s 911 calls and checking if any are drug-related. If they are, Reed then responds to individuals at their homes, taking them to treatment facilities u2014 and sometimes, witnessing their arrests.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:9;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:60:"

u201cWe pick up, we arrest, we send off,u201d Reed said.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:10;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:57:"

Usually, the place they send them off to is jail.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:11;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:4:"role";s:9:"container";s:10:"components";a:2:{i:0;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:5:"photo";s:3:"URL";s:79:"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/jaill-bills-photo-2-700x467.jpg";s:6:"layout";s:29:"full-width-image-with-caption";s:7:"caption";s:180:"Social worker Ann Reed attends a meeting at the Wyoming County Sheriffu2019s Office on April 15, 2025.

Photo Credit: Aidan Cornue/West Virginia University";}i:1;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:7:"caption";s:4:"text";s:180:"Social worker Ann Reed attends a meeting at the Wyoming County Sheriffu2019s Office on April 15, 2025.

Photo Credit: Aidan Cornue/West Virginia University";s:9:"textStyle";O:8:"stdClass":6:{s:13:"textAlignment";s:4:"left";s:8:"fontName";s:15:"Helvetica-Light";s:8:"fontSize";i:14;s:8:"tracking";d:-0.01;s:10:"lineHeight";i:19;s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#999999";}s:6:"layout";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:6:"margin";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:6:"bottom";i:25;}}}}s:6:"layout";a:0:{}}i:12;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:654:"

Wyoming County is one of the stateu2019s most rural. Itu2019s home to about 20,000 residents, but no hospital and zero certified treatment beds, according to the West Virginia Office of Drug Control Policy. As the nationu2019s opioid overdose epidemic raged, Wyoming County had a prescription overdose death rate of 54.6 per 100,000 people from 1999 to 2014 u2014 the highest in the nation.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:13;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:541:"

The county still battles the lasting effects of the opioid crisis. It has 12 certified female beds and one comprehensive behavioral health care provider to help them do it. But like communities across the country, Wyoming County is getting hundreds of thousands of dollars through opioid lawsuit settlements to spend on law enforcement, prevention education, treatment, recovery, and harm reduction services.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:14;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:697:"

West Virginia will receive an estimated $980 billion over the next 17 years from a global settlement, agreed to in federal court, of a class action lawsuit brought by states, counties and cities across the country against opioid distributors, manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies and others, in the wake of the countryu2019s opioid epidemic.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:15;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:4:"role";s:5:"photo";s:3:"URL";s:44:"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/p2C5D/full.png";s:6:"layout";s:16:"full-width-image";}i:16;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:427:"

Wyoming is one of at least 9 counties in West Virginia that have used their opioid settlement funds to pay off at least a portion of their regional jail bill, an analysis of FOIA documents by students from West Virginia Universityu2019s Reed School of Media from 50 of the stateu2019s 55 counties shows. In total, those 9 counties have spent more than $3.5 million on bills to house West Virginians in its 10 regional jails.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:17;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:380:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:18;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:542:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:19;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:216:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:20;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:8:"heading4";s:4:"text";s:20:"A Crisis-Fueled Debt";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:17:"default-heading-4";s:6:"layout";s:16:"heading-layout-4";}i:21;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:251:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:22;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:426:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:23;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:6:"layout";s:20:"embed-generic-layout";s:4:"role";s:9:"container";s:10:"components";a:2:{i:0;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:4:"role";s:8:"heading2";s:4:"text";s:56:"What Counties Owe the West Virginia Regional Jail System";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";}i:1;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:79:"View on the original site.";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:8:"fontSize";i:14;}}}}i:24;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:577:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:25;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:330:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:26;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:213:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:27;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:266:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:28;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:4:"role";s:9:"container";s:10:"components";a:2:{i:0;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:5:"photo";s:3:"URL";s:78:"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/jail-bills-photo-3-700x469.jpg";s:6:"layout";s:29:"full-width-image-with-caption";s:7:"caption";s:207:"Wyoming County Commissioner Jason Mullins, left, speaks with fellow Commissioner Randall Aliiff at a meeting on April 15, 2025.

Photo Credit: Aidan Cornue/West Virginia University";}i:1;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:7:"caption";s:4:"text";s:207:"Wyoming County Commissioner Jason Mullins, left, speaks with fellow Commissioner Randall Aliiff at a meeting on April 15, 2025.

Photo Credit: Aidan Cornue/West Virginia University";s:9:"textStyle";O:8:"stdClass":6:{s:13:"textAlignment";s:4:"left";s:8:"fontName";s:15:"Helvetica-Light";s:8:"fontSize";i:14;s:8:"tracking";d:-0.01;s:10:"lineHeight";i:19;s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#999999";}s:6:"layout";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:6:"margin";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:6:"bottom";i:25;}}}}s:6:"layout";a:0:{}}i:29;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:184:"

Logan County is spending nearly a million of its $3.9 million fund on its jail bill. In Boone County, officials are putting $452,766 of opioid settlement funds toward that use.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:30;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:298:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:31;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:457:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:32;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:149:"

u201cI think one of the most important ways to combat the situation we find ourselves in now is to create good, high-paying jobs,u201d Kuhn said.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:33;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:285:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:34;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:334:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:35;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:108:"

The commission has already approved the building of a Safe Haven Baby Box with the settlement funds.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:36;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:4:"role";s:9:"container";s:10:"components";a:2:{i:0;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:5:"photo";s:3:"URL";s:78:"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/jail-bills-Photo-4-700x393.jpg";s:6:"layout";s:29:"full-width-image-with-caption";s:7:"caption";s:219:"Laura Lander, right, speaks at a Reporting on Addiction event on West Virginia Universityu2019s campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, in 2022.

Photo Credit: Jesse Wright/West Virginia University";}i:1;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:7:"caption";s:4:"text";s:219:"Laura Lander, right, speaks at a Reporting on Addiction event on West Virginia Universityu2019s campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, in 2022.

Photo Credit: Jesse Wright/West Virginia University";s:9:"textStyle";O:8:"stdClass":6:{s:13:"textAlignment";s:4:"left";s:8:"fontName";s:15:"Helvetica-Light";s:8:"fontSize";i:14;s:8:"tracking";d:-0.01;s:10:"lineHeight";i:19;s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#999999";}s:6:"layout";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:6:"margin";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:6:"bottom";i:25;}}}}s:6:"layout";a:0:{}}i:37;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:300:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:38;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:413:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:39;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:136:"

Lander said that using the money on u201cshort-sightedu201d areas like the jail bill are not going to help people who are struggling.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:40;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:280:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:41;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:226:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:42;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:282:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:43;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:271:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:44;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:238:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:45;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:187:"

Unlike Wyoming or Boone counties, Mercer County also plans to create a task force to help delegate funds that would include mental health experts and people in long-term recovery.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:46;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:261:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:47;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:318:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:48;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:400:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:49;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:157:"

u201cThatu2019s not happening in West Virginia. Thatu2019s not happening anywhere. No one is paying close enough attention to where this money is going.u201d

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:50;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:279:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:51;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:282:"

And in the current MOU and settlement structure, there is no federal oversight. State, local and city governments have full control of the processes.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:52;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:351:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:53;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:331:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:54;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:8:"heading4";s:4:"text";s:48:"What Experts, Communities Say They Actually Need";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:17:"default-heading-4";s:6:"layout";s:16:"heading-layout-4";}i:55;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:136:"

Despite the MOU allowing the payment of regional jail fees, some activists say theyu2019d like to see the money used in other ways.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:56;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:473:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:57;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:221:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:58;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:221:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:59;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:105:"

She encouraged county commissions to use other funding pools for treatment and recovery services.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:60;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:380:"

Reporting in West Virginia shows some counties are spending their funds on a shooting range in Jackson County or a UTV for the police department in Ohio County.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:61;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:144:"

u201cI think that there is other funding for things like shooting ranges or police vehicles,u201d Garrett said in response to the reporting.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:62;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:259:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:63;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:349:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:64;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:135:"

Kearl said county leaders need more guidance to ensure funds are distributed to areas outside of law enforcement or jail bills.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:65;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:291:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:66;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:8:"heading4";s:4:"text";s:33:"One Countyu2019s Lingering Struggle";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:17:"default-heading-4";s:6:"layout";s:16:"heading-layout-4";}i:67;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:308:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:68;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:465:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:69;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:4:"role";s:9:"container";s:10:"components";a:2:{i:0;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:5:"photo";s:3:"URL";s:78:"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/jail-bills-Photo-5-700x467.jpg";s:6:"layout";s:29:"full-width-image-with-caption";s:7:"caption";s:185:"Wyoming County Sheriff Ellison meets with reporters in his office in Pineville, W.Va., on April 15, 2025.

Photo Credit: Aidan Cornue/West Virginia University";}i:1;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:7:"caption";s:4:"text";s:185:"Wyoming County Sheriff Ellison meets with reporters in his office in Pineville, W.Va., on April 15, 2025.

Photo Credit: Aidan Cornue/West Virginia University";s:9:"textStyle";O:8:"stdClass":6:{s:13:"textAlignment";s:4:"left";s:8:"fontName";s:15:"Helvetica-Light";s:8:"fontSize";i:14;s:8:"tracking";d:-0.01;s:10:"lineHeight";i:19;s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#999999";}s:6:"layout";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:6:"margin";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:6:"bottom";i:25;}}}}s:6:"layout";a:0:{}}i:70;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:236:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:71;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:380:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:72;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:197:"

Despite current efforts to combat substance use disorders in the county, he said financial support came long after Wyoming County residents were experiencing the worst of the opioid crisis.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:73;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:196:"

u201cThey was 10 years too late on the opioid problem. We was crying and screaming in the early 2000s, u2018Help. Gosh, help.u2019 Nobody would listen,u201d Ellison said. u201cNobody would listen.u201d

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:74;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:102:"

Ellison said heu2019s worried that theyu2019re still too late to help the people who need it most.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:75;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:13:"

u2014u2014

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:76;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:91:"

Lauren Taylor, Aidan Cornue and Spencer Yoke contributed to this reporting.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:77;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:164:"

This story was published in partnership with West Virginia Universityu2019s Reed School of Media and Communications, with support from Scott Widmeyer.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:16:"body-layout-last";}}}}s:19:"componentTextStyles";O:8:"stdClass":6:{s:16:"dropcapBodyStyle";O:8:"stdClass":10:{s:13:"textAlignment";s:4:"left";s:8:"fontName";s:7:"Georgia";s:8:"fontSize";i:17;s:8:"tracking";i:0;s:10:"lineHeight";i:23;s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#e2e2e2";s:9:"linkStyle";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#ffe890";}s:22:"paragraphSpacingBefore";i:18;s:21:"paragraphSpacingAfter";i:18;s:12:"dropCapStyle";O:8:"stdClass":6:{s:13:"numberOfLines";i:5;s:18:"numberOfCharacters";i:1;s:7:"padding";i:5;s:8:"fontName";s:27:"HelveticaNeue-CondensedBold";s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#e2e2e2";s:19:"numberOfRaisedLines";i:0;}}s:12:"default-body";O:8:"stdClass":9:{s:13:"textAlignment";s:4:"left";s:8:"fontName";s:7:"Georgia";s:8:"fontSize";i:17;s:8:"tracking";i:0;s:10:"lineHeight";i:23;s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#e2e2e2";s:9:"linkStyle";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#ffe890";}s:22:"paragraphSpacingBefore";i:18;s:21:"paragraphSpacingAfter";i:18;}s:17:"default-heading-4";O:8:"stdClass":6:{s:8:"fontName";s:18:"HelveticaNeue-Thin";s:8:"fontSize";i:25;s:10:"lineHeight";i:28;s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#ffffff";s:13:"textAlignment";s:4:"left";s:8:"tracking";i:0;}s:13:"default-title";O:8:"stdClass":6:{s:8:"fontName";s:27:"HelveticaNeue-CondensedBold";s:8:"fontSize";i:58;s:10:"lineHeight";i:58;s:8:"tracking";d:-0.01;s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#ffffff";s:13:"textAlignment";s:6:"center";}s:14:"default-author";O:8:"stdClass":6:{s:13:"textAlignment";s:6:"center";s:8:"fontName";s:14:"Helvetica-Bold";s:8:"fontSize";i:14;s:10:"lineHeight";i:19;s:8:"tracking";d:-0.01;s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#e2e2e2";}s:12:"default-date";O:8:"stdClass":6:{s:13:"textAlignment";s:4:"left";s:8:"fontName";s:14:"Helvetica-Bold";s:8:"fontSize";i:14;s:10:"lineHeight";i:19;s:8:"tracking";d:-0.01;s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#e2e2e2";}}s:10:"textStyles";O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:16:"default-tag-cite";O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:8:"fontName";s:15:"Helvetica-Light";s:8:"fontSize";i:14;s:8:"tracking";i:-1;s:10:"lineHeight";i:19;s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#999999";}s:16:"default-tag-code";O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:8:"fontName";s:13:"Menlo-Regular";s:8:"fontSize";i:16;s:8:"tracking";i:0;s:10:"lineHeight";i:20;s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#4f4f4f";}s:15:"default-tag-pre";O:8:"stdClass":8:{s:13:"textAlignment";s:4:"left";s:8:"fontName";s:13:"Menlo-Regular";s:8:"fontSize";i:16;s:8:"tracking";i:0;s:10:"lineHeight";i:20;s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#4f4f4f";s:22:"paragraphSpacingBefore";i:18;s:21:"paragraphSpacingAfter";i:18;}s:16:"default-tag-samp";O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:8:"fontName";s:13:"Menlo-Regular";s:8:"fontSize";i:16;s:8:"tracking";i:0;s:10:"lineHeight";i:20;s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#4f4f4f";}}s:16:"componentLayouts";O:8:"stdClass":12:{s:11:"body-layout";O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:11:"columnStart";i:0;s:10:"columnSpan";i:6;s:6:"margin";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:3:"top";i:12;s:6:"bottom";i:12;}}s:16:"body-layout-last";O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:11:"columnStart";i:0;s:10:"columnSpan";i:6;s:6:"margin";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:3:"top";i:12;s:6:"bottom";i:30;}}s:29:"full-width-image-with-caption";O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:6:"margin";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:6:"bottom";i:10;s:3:"top";i:25;}s:10:"columnSpan";i:7;s:11:"columnStart";i:0;}s:16:"full-width-image";O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:6:"margin";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:6:"bottom";i:25;s:3:"top";i:25;}s:10:"columnSpan";i:7;s:11:"columnStart";i:0;}s:16:"heading-layout-4";O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:11:"columnStart";i:0;s:10:"columnSpan";i:6;s:6:"margin";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:6:"bottom";i:15;s:3:"top";i:15;}}s:20:"embed-generic-layout";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:6:"margin";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:3:"top";i:15;s:6:"bottom";i:15;}}s:17:"headerPhotoLayout";O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:20:"ignoreDocumentMargin";b:1;s:11:"columnStart";i:0;s:10:"columnSpan";i:7;}s:28:"headerPhotoLayoutWithCaption";O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:20:"ignoreDocumentMargin";b:1;s:11:"columnStart";i:0;s:10:"columnSpan";i:7;s:6:"margin";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:6:"bottom";i:19;}}s:26:"headerBelowTextPhotoLayout";O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:20:"ignoreDocumentMargin";b:1;s:11:"columnStart";i:0;s:10:"columnSpan";i:7;s:6:"margin";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:3:"top";i:30;s:6:"bottom";i:0;}}s:12:"title-layout";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:6:"margin";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:3:"top";i:30;s:6:"bottom";i:30;}}s:13:"author-layout";O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:6:"margin";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:3:"top";i:10;}s:11:"columnStart";i:0;s:10:"columnSpan";i:7;}s:11:"date-layout";O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:6:"margin";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:6:"bottom";i:10;}s:11:"columnStart";i:0;s:10:"columnSpan";i:7;}}s:8:"metadata";O:8:"stdClass":9:{s:12:"thumbnailURL";s:71:"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-scaled.jpg";s:7:"authors";a:1:{i:0;s:15:"Claudia Di Lima";}s:11:"dateCreated";s:25:"2025-07-08T14:59:39+00:00";s:12:"dateModified";s:25:"2025-07-08T15:12:01+00:00";s:13:"datePublished";s:25:"2025-07-08T14:59:39+00:00";s:12:"canonicalURL";s:94:"https://wvpublic.org/some-w-va-counties-pay-jail-debt-with-opioid-funds-citing-budget-strains/";s:19:"generatorIdentifier";s:21:"publish-to-apple-news";s:13:"generatorName";s:21:"Publish To Apple News";s:16:"generatorVersion";s:5:"2.7.1";}}"]},"link":"https://wvpublic.org/some-w-va-counties-pay-jail-debt-with-opioid-funds-citing-budget-strains/","sticky":false,"relative_time":"About 2 hours ago","cats":[{"term_id":58,"name":"Economy","slug":"economy","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":58,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Economy stories","parent":0,"count":400,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":58,"category_count":400,"category_description":"Economy stories","cat_name":"Economy","category_nicename":"economy","category_parent":0}],"tags":[{"term_id":69,"name":"Economy","slug":"economy","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":69,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1080,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":74,"name":"Government","slug":"government","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":74,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":7652,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":149,"name":"Health & Science","slug":"health-science","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":149,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2084,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":2243,"name":"Jail","slug":"jail","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2243,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":25,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":19142,"name":"Jail Bills","slug":"jail-bills","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":19142,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":1416,"name":"Opioid Addiction","slug":"opioid-addiction","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1416,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":53,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":317,"name":"Opioid Epidemic","slug":"opioid-epidemic","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":317,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":117,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":1620,"name":"Opioid Settlement","slug":"opioid-settlement","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1620,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":48,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":19123,"name":"Opioid Settlement - WVU Student Series","slug":"opioid-settlement-wvu-student-series","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":19123,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":4390,"name":"Regional Jails","slug":"regional-jails","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":4390,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":5,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":10081,"name":"West Virginia Regional Jail Authority","slug":"west-virginia-regional-jail-authority","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10081,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":5,"filter":"raw"}],"author":{"data":{"ID":"637","user_login":"cdilima","user_pass":"$P$Bce0PeQCTdewjPYsVglwDN2yQy1Zis/","user_nicename":"cdilima","user_email":"cdilima@wvpublicfake.org","user_url":"","user_registered":"2025-07-08 14:31:18","user_activation_key":"","user_status":"0","display_name":"Claudia Di Lima"},"ID":637,"caps":{"contributor":true},"cap_key":"wp_capabilities","roles":["contributor"],"allcaps":{"edit_posts":true,"read":true,"level_1":true,"level_0":true,"delete_posts":true,"contributor":true},"filter":null},"author_link":"https://wvpublic.org/author/cdilima/","thumbs":{"thumbnail":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-150x150.jpg","medium":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-250x167.jpg","medium_large":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-768x512.jpg","large":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-700x467.jpg","1536x1536":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-1536x1024.jpg","2048x2048":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-2048x1365.jpg","small":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-120x80.jpg","195p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-195x186.jpg","250p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-250x238.jpg","201p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-201x185.jpg","sqr":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-300x300.jpg","300p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-300x200.jpg","339p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-339x208.jpg","339p@2x":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-678x416.jpg","320p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-320x213.jpg","468p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-468x200.jpg","480p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-480x320.jpg","612p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-612x407.jpg","640p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-640x427.jpg","768p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-768x512.jpg","1000p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-1000x1000.jpg","1024p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-1024x683.jpg","1150p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-1150x600.jpg","1200p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-1200x800.jpg","hero":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-1500x300.jpg","1500p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-1500x500.jpg","800p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-800x450.jpg","1600p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-1600x900.jpg","700sq":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-700x700.jpg","500sq":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-500x500.jpg","200p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-200x200.jpg","100sm":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-100x100.jpg","1080p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-1920x1080.jpg","1080p/1.5":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-1280x720.jpg","1080p/2":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-960x540.jpg","1080p/3":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-640x360.jpg","1080p/4":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-480x270.jpg","1920p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-1920x1280.jpg","gb-block-post-grid-landscape":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-600x400.jpg","gb-block-post-grid-square":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jail-Bills-1-600x600.jpg"},"old_thumb":false,"cat_label":"Economy","cat_link":"/category/economy"},{"ID":62349,"post_author":"32","post_date":"2025-07-08 13:28:14","post_date_gmt":"2025-07-08 17:28:14","post_content":"n

A month after its application deadline, State Treasurer Larry Pack reports close to 15,000 students will receive full educational fundingu00a0for the 2025-2026 academic year through the Hope Scholarship program.u00a0

nnnn

With a full scholarship amount expected to be more than $5,200 for the upcoming year, the current enrollment numbers represent close to $80 million in state spending on school choice. For the previous year, 10,750 students received some level of funding. The Hope Scholarship board reported that as of Feb. 26, the Hope Scholarship has distributed close to $34 million for the current academic year.

nnnn

Applications are still being accepted for prorated scholarships, and it is anticipated that approximately 19,000 West Virginia students will participate in the 2025-2026 Hope Scholarship program. Applications accepted by Sept. 15 will receive 75% of the annual award amount, dropping to as low as 25% of the annual award amount for applications accepted by Feb. 28.

nnnn

Currently students must be enrolled and attending a public elementary or secondary school to qualify for the Hope Scholarship, but the program will go fully universal and open to all students in the 2026-2027 school year.

nnnn

The Hope Scholarship program received a total of $120 million in appropriations from the state legislature this year. $96,013,384 came from two supplementals, HB 3356 and HB 3357, as well as $24,610,523 within the budget bill.

n","post_title":"Hope Scholarship On Pace To Almost Double Enrollment","post_excerpt":"Applications are still being accepted for prorated scholarships, and it is anticipated that around 19,000 students will participate in the 2025-2026 Hope Scholarship program.","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"hope-scholarship-on-pace-to-almost-double-enrollment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-07-08 13:28:19","post_modified_gmt":"2025-07-08 17:28:19","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https://wvpublic.org/?p=62349","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw","m":{"_edit_lock":["1751995700:20"],"_thumbnail_id":["28819"],"inline_featured_image":[""],"footnotes":[""],"_edit_last":["20"],"hide_title":["0"],"_hide_title":["field_6362790886020"],"mp3":["62348"],"_mp3":["field_63a1b52bcc11c"],"mp3_url":[""],"_mp3_url":["field_63cae2d50401f"],"featured_image_caption":["Authorized by the West Virginia Legislature in 2021, the Hope Scholarship subsidizes certain educational and extracurricular expenses for youth outside the stateu2019s public school system."],"_featured_image_caption":["field_6566090f2153e"],"additional_authors":[""],"_additional_authors":["field_63cffa54ad502"],"_send_to_nprone":["1"],"_send_to_one":["1"],"_nprone_featured":["1"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["63"],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["60"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["2"],"_encloseme":["1"],"npr_story_id":["wvpbwp-62349"],"apple_news_api_id":["a6fef3af-b584-4b29-b997-a9473258700b"],"apple_news_api_created_at":["2025-07-08T17:28:17Z"],"apple_news_api_modified_at":["2025-07-08T17:28:17Z"],"apple_news_api_share_url":["https://apple.news/Apv7zr7WESym5l6lHMlhwCw"],"apple_news_api_revision":["AAAAAAAAAAD//////////w=="],"apple_news_article_checksum":["7eba85e3"],"_advads_ad_settings":["a:2:{s:11:"disable_ads";i:0;s:19:"disable_the_content";i:0;}"],"_nprone_expiry_8601":["2025-07-15T13:21:00-04:00"],"apple_news_api_json":["O:8:"stdClass":11:{s:7:"version";s:4:"1.11";s:10:"identifier";s:10:"post-62349";s:8:"language";s:5:"en-US";s:5:"title";s:52:"Hope Scholarship On Pace To Almost Double Enrollment";s:13:"documentStyle";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:15:"backgroundColor";s:7:"#1c1c1c";}s:6:"layout";O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:7:"columns";i:7;s:5:"width";i:1024;s:6:"margin";i:100;s:6:"gutter";i:20;}s:10:"components";a:2:{i:0;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:6:"header";s:6:"layout";s:17:"headerPhotoLayout";s:10:"components";a:2:{i:0;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:5:"photo";s:6:"layout";s:28:"headerPhotoLayoutWithCaption";s:3:"URL";s:59:"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Books-1.jpg";s:7:"caption";O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:4:"text";s:47:"Banned Book Week 2024 runs from Sept. 22 to 28.";s:9:"textStyle";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:8:"fontName";s:15:"Helvetica-Light";}}}i:1;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:7:"caption";s:4:"text";s:47:"Banned Book Week 2024 runs from Sept. 22 to 28.";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:8:"fontName";s:15:"Helvetica-Light";s:8:"fontSize";i:14;s:8:"tracking";d:-0.01;s:10:"lineHeight";i:19;s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#999999";}}}s:8:"behavior";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:4:"type";s:8:"parallax";s:6:"factor";d:0.8;}}i:1;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:9:"container";s:6:"layout";O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:10:"columnSpan";i:7;s:11:"columnStart";i:0;s:20:"ignoreDocumentMargin";b:1;}s:5:"style";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:15:"backgroundColor";s:7:"#1c1c1c";}s:10:"components";a:8:{i:0;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:5:"title";s:4:"text";s:52:"Hope Scholarship On Pace To Almost Double Enrollment";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:13:"default-title";s:6:"layout";s:12:"title-layout";}i:1;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:6:"author";s:4:"text";s:15:"By Chris Schulz";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:14:"default-author";s:6:"layout";s:13:"author-layout";}i:2;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:6:"byline";s:4:"text";s:17:"July 8 at 9:28 AM";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-date";s:6:"layout";s:11:"date-layout";}i:3;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:215:"

A month after its application deadline, State Treasurer Larry Pack reports close to 15,000 students will receive full educational funding for the 2025-2026 academic year through the Hope Scholarship program.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:16:"dropcapBodyStyle";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:4;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:477:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:5;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:373:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:6;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:228:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:7;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:679:"

When the floods hit southern West Virginia, Roberto Diaz, his wife Sara, and their four children waited from the safety of their hilltop home to see if their restaurant would survive.

nnnn

Better known locally as u201cChef Taco Man,u201d Diaz is the chef and owner of Latin Appalachian in downtown Welch. The floods devastated the town.

nnnn

By the time Diaz and his family arrived Sunday, February 16, eleven feet and nine inches of water had poured into the restaurantu2019s 12-foot basement. But two tires had wedged outside the front door, blocking several feet of water cascading down the street outside. Local pastor Brad Davis, a friend of the Diaz family, called this divine intervention.

nnnn

When they saw the restaurant was operational, the entire Diaz family went into overdrive. Diaz, his wife, and their 16-year-old daughter grabbed spatulas.

nnnn

Diaz described it as u201cjust instinctu2026 if youu2019re cold, youu2019re wet, morale is down, youu2019re defeated, then a good hot meal, itu2019s just like an escape.u201d

nnnn

The family turned everything in the freezer into about 300 bowls of hot soup. Word went out on social media that Chef Taco was giving away meals. A counselor from his daughteru2019s school came to offer help.

nnnn

Diaz knew what to ask her for. u201cWe had no hot water, no water.u201d Her family and his younger children began hauling hot water from the food bank across the street. When the food bank staff saw what Diaz was doing, they sent over their inventory. Soon Latin Appalachian was providing individual meals for walk-ins and five-gallon containers for shelters in surrounding towns.

nnnn

u201cPeople would come in and say, u2018Hey, can I have 60 meals because Iu2019m at a shelter in such-and-such.u2019 We didnu2019t ask questions; we gave them what they asked for. The longest one was Berwin, and we did them for about 250 people a day, every day for the entire time.u201d

nnnn

The entire time was about six weeks, totaling some 50,400 meals. Diaz live-streamed twice a day for the duration of his pop-up soup kitchen, and people started bringing donations.

nnnn

u201cThey would just drop off things. u2018Hey, can you use some beef?u2019 Sure. And we cooked beef, chicken, steak, turkeys, deer, venison, elk. I cooked black bear. Trout. Lots of fishermen came. Anything anybody hunted or brought, we cooked it, and we turned it into a meal,u201d Diaz said.

nnnn

Days turned to weeks. The Diaz family continued surviving on a few hours of sleep. Volunteers came and went. People ate, talked, cried, and prayed together. Latin Appalachian in those days was, Pastor Brad Davis thought, a metaphor for the kingdom of God.

nnnn

Davis is pastor of whatu2019s known as the Welch Charge, a group of five United Methodist churches. His parsonage in Welch flooded; he escaped with his two cats and was taken in by a parishioner after spending the first night of flooding in his Welch church.

nnnn

Two men sit across a table — Pastor Brad Davis, left, and Latin Appalachian restaurant owner Roberto Diaz sit in Diazu2019s closed restaurant discussing the pop-up soup kitchen the restaurant became after the floods hit Welch, West Virginia.

*Photo by Wendy Welch*

nnnn

Davis went to Latin Appalachian the Tuesday after the floods, both to get a hot meal and to check on his friend Diaz.

nnnn

Davis said people had sometimes spoken with him about a negative connotation of the flood as God sending a wake-up call. u201cWell, I came in here u2013 there were Red Cross volunteers in here, a Red Cross chaplain was in here, several folks sitting around eating and talking. This whole thing that transpired in this space was sacred and it was a divine act. This is the way that community, that society is supposed to be always, not just in a disaster.u201d

nnnn

Davis said that is the way he sees the flood; if it had to happen, it was an opportunity to show Godu2019s love to each other, as had been happening at Latin Appalachian.

nnnn

That was the first week. It was week four or so when the soup pots at Latin Appalachian gave up and blew out.

nnnn

Diaz described the moment. u201cThey literally warped up, blew out, and soup went flying everywhere.u201d

nnnn

Diaz may or may not have cried when the pots buckled from constant use. It felt shattering in a personal way. His family had worked hard not to go into debt opening their dream restaurant.

nnnn

u201cLike if it was one spoon, we saved enough to buy a spoon. If it was a fridge, we saved to buy a fridge. When they blew out, it was just an emotional thing, like it was something we worked hard for that was another thing we were bearing,u201d Diaz said.

nnnn

Samu2019s Club walked in with new pots the day after Diaz live-streamed the loss. They also brought a check to pay the electric bill. Latin Appalachian had been running full tilt for weeks without taking in cash. For the restaurant. Diaz had received plenty of monetary donations, but these had all gone to help churches and community groups pay for essentials.

nnnn

Meanwhile, Latin Appalachian still had a basement full of mud.

nnnn

Man in shorts stands by a hole in the floor caused by flooding. — Roberto Diaz shows the damage to his restaurantu2019s basement, which remains five months after the flood and has prevented Latin Appalachian from reopening in bricks-and-mortar form. The Diaz family bought a food truck and will cook meals inside the damaged building and sell from the truck at various locations. The goal is to earn enough money to repair and reopen the restaurant.

*Photo by Wendy Welch*

nnnn

u201cI went to the back on week four, and I was down there myself, and I stand in the mud looking at it, and I was like, this was the realization of this may have been the very last hurrah or push of what this business was used for, for relief,u201d Diaz said. u201cThereu2019s no FEMA relief for businesses, the only relief there is, is they do a FEMA SBA loan for us. So we have to go into debt.u201d

nnnn

The loan was approved, but Latin Appalachian had grandfathered-in equipment that would require upgrading.

nnnn

Diaz said, u201cIn order to reopen we have to do a whole new suppression system, a hood system. And thatu2019s about $20,000. Almost our entire half of our loan is taken up by just that one unit.u201d

nnnn

Ironically, the community that wanted to help as they had been helped, couldnu2019t. GoFundMe campaigns can disqualify FEMA loans. So the family bought a food truck. They intend to earn revenue to reopen the bricks and mortar restaurant.

nnnn

Diaz is optimisticu2013and determined. u201cWhether itu2019s six months a year, Iu2019ll reopen; itu2019ll get there. One board, one nail at a time, Iu2019ll do it, Iu2019ll get there.u201d

nnnn

*Diaz received this sign for his birthday not long after the flood. He intends to hang it when his bricks-and-mortar restaurant reopens.*

*Photo by Wendy Welch*

nnnn

For his birthday not long after the flood, Diaz received a new shop sign with Latin Appalachianu2019s name and logo. He keeps it propped up in the closed restaurant, u201ca literal sign that we will reopen.u201d

n","post_title":"Restaurant Feeds Flood Victims But Sustains Damage Of Its Own","post_excerpt":"When his Welch, W. Va. restaurant was functional following massive February flooding across the southern part of the state, Roberto Diaz went to work feeding anyone in need -- but now his business needs help with its own recovery. ","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"restaurant-feeds-flood-victims-but-sustains-damage-of-its-own","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-07-08 11:14:29","post_modified_gmt":"2025-07-08 15:14:29","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https://wvpublic.org/?p=62335","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw","m":{"_edit_lock":["1751987673:624"],"_thumbnail_id":["62337"],"inline_featured_image":[""],"footnotes":[""],"_edit_last":["624"],"hide_title":["0"],"_hide_title":["field_6362790886020"],"mp3":["62338"],"_mp3":["field_63a1b52bcc11c"],"mp3_url":[""],"_mp3_url":["field_63cae2d50401f"],"featured_image_caption":[""],"_featured_image_caption":["field_6566090f2153e"],"additional_authors":[""],"_additional_authors":["field_63cffa54ad502"],"_advads_ad_settings":["a:2:{s:11:"disable_ads";i:0;s:19:"disable_the_content";i:0;}"],"_send_to_nprone":["1"],"_send_to_one":["1"],"_nprone_featured":["1"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["57"],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["30"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["6"],"npr_story_id":["wvpbwp-62335"],"apple_news_api_id":["62c89b00-136f-4ce3-a784-9bc468e1dd3d"],"apple_news_api_created_at":["2025-07-08T15:14:25Z"],"apple_news_api_modified_at":["2025-07-08T15:14:26Z"],"apple_news_api_share_url":["https://apple.news/AYsibABNvTOOnhJvEaOHdPQ"],"apple_news_api_revision":["AAAAAAAAAAD//////////w=="],"apple_news_article_checksum":["cda0870d"],"_nprone_expiry_8601":["2025-07-15T10:48:00-04:00"],"apple_news_api_json":["O:8:"stdClass":11:{s:7:"version";s:4:"1.11";s:10:"identifier";s:10:"post-62335";s:8:"language";s:5:"en-US";s:5:"title";s:61:"Restaurant Feeds Flood Victims But Sustains Damage Of Its Own";s:13:"documentStyle";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:15:"backgroundColor";s:7:"#1c1c1c";}s:6:"layout";O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:7:"columns";i:7;s:5:"width";i:1024;s:6:"margin";i:100;s:6:"gutter";i:20;}s:10:"components";a:2:{i:0;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:6:"header";s:6:"layout";s:17:"headerPhotoLayout";s:10:"components";a:2:{i:0;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:5:"photo";s:6:"layout";s:28:"headerPhotoLayoutWithCaption";s:3:"URL";s:69:"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Welch-Food-Pantry.jpg";s:7:"caption";O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:4:"text";s:116:"The Welch, WV Food Bank is back in operation. During the floods, they donated their inventory to Latin Appalachian. ";s:9:"textStyle";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:8:"fontName";s:15:"Helvetica-Light";}}}i:1;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:7:"caption";s:4:"text";s:116:"The Welch, WV Food Bank is back in operation. During the floods, they donated their inventory to Latin Appalachian. ";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:8:"fontName";s:15:"Helvetica-Light";s:8:"fontSize";i:14;s:8:"tracking";d:-0.01;s:10:"lineHeight";i:19;s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#999999";}}}s:8:"behavior";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:4:"type";s:8:"parallax";s:6:"factor";d:0.8;}}i:1;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:9:"container";s:6:"layout";O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:10:"columnSpan";i:7;s:11:"columnStart";i:0;s:20:"ignoreDocumentMargin";b:1;}s:5:"style";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:15:"backgroundColor";s:7:"#1c1c1c";}s:10:"components";a:33:{i:0;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:5:"title";s:4:"text";s:61:"Restaurant Feeds Flood Victims But Sustains Damage Of Its Own";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:13:"default-title";s:6:"layout";s:12:"title-layout";}i:1;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:6:"author";s:4:"text";s:14:"By Wendy Welch";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:14:"default-author";s:6:"layout";s:13:"author-layout";}i:2;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:6:"byline";s:4:"text";s:17:"July 8 at 7:14 AM";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-date";s:6:"layout";s:11:"date-layout";}i:3;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:191:"

When the floods hit southern West Virginia, Roberto Diaz, his wife Sara, and their four children waited from the safety of their hilltop home to see if their restaurant would survive.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:16:"dropcapBodyStyle";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:4;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:151:"

Better known locally as u201cChef Taco Man,u201d Diaz is the chef and owner of Latin Appalachian in downtown Welch. The floods devastated the town.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:5;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:359:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:6;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:161:"

When they saw the restaurant was operational, the entire Diaz family went into overdrive. Diaz, his wife, and their 16-year-old daughter grabbed spatulas.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:7;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:168:"

Diaz described it as u201cjust instinctu2026 if youu2019re cold, youu2019re wet, morale is down, youu2019re defeated, then a good hot meal, itu2019s just like an escape.u201d

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:8;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:214:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:9;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:383:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:10;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:282:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:11;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:187:"

The entire time was about six weeks, totaling some 50,400 meals. Diaz live-streamed twice a day for the duration of his pop-up soup kitchen, and people started bringing donations.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:12;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:293:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:13;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:263:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:14;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:264:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:15;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:4:"role";s:9:"container";s:10:"components";a:2:{i:0;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:5:"photo";s:3:"URL";s:66:"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Davis-and-Diaz.jpg";s:6:"layout";s:29:"full-width-image-with-caption";s:7:"caption";s:258:"Pastor Brad Davis, left, and Latin Appalachian restaurant owner Roberto Diaz sit in Diazu2019s closed restaurant discussing the pop-up soup kitchen the restaurant became after the floods hit Welch, West Virginia.

Photo by Wendy Welch";}i:1;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:7:"caption";s:4:"text";s:258:"Pastor Brad Davis, left, and Latin Appalachian restaurant owner Roberto Diaz sit in Diazu2019s closed restaurant discussing the pop-up soup kitchen the restaurant became after the floods hit Welch, West Virginia.

Photo by Wendy Welch";s:9:"textStyle";O:8:"stdClass":6:{s:13:"textAlignment";s:4:"left";s:8:"fontName";s:15:"Helvetica-Light";s:8:"fontSize";i:14;s:8:"tracking";d:-0.01;s:10:"lineHeight";i:19;s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#999999";}s:6:"layout";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:6:"margin";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:6:"bottom";i:25;}}}}s:6:"layout";a:0:{}}i:16;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:124:"

Davis went to Latin Appalachian the Tuesday after the floods, both to get a hot meal and to check on his friend Diaz.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:17;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:460:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:18;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:175:"

Davis said that is the way he sees the flood; if it had to happen, it was an opportunity to show Godu2019s love to each other, as had been happening at Latin Appalachian.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:19;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:117:"

That was the first week. It was week four or so when the soup pots at Latin Appalachian gave up and blew out.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:20;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:109:"

Diaz described the moment. u201cThey literally warped up, blew out, and soup went flying everywhere.u201d

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:21;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:195:"

Diaz may or may not have cried when the pots buckled from constant use. It felt shattering in a personal way. His family had worked hard not to go into debt opening their dream restaurant.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:22;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:259:"

u201cLikeif it was one spoon, we saved enough to buy a spoon. If it was a fridge, we saved to buy a fridge. When they blew out, it was just an emotional thing, like it was something we worked hard for that was another thing we were bearing,u201d Diaz said.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:23;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:376:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:24;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:69:"

Meanwhile, Latin Appalachian still had a basement full of mud.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:25;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:4:"role";s:9:"container";s:10:"components";a:2:{i:0;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:5:"photo";s:3:"URL";s:63:"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Diaz-damage.jpg";s:6:"layout";s:29:"full-width-image-with-caption";s:7:"caption";s:430:"Roberto Diaz shows the damage to his restaurantu2019s basement, which remains five months after the flood and has prevented Latin Appalachian from reopening in bricks-and-mortar form. The Diaz family bought a food truck and will cook meals inside the damaged building and sell from the truck at various locations. The goal is to earn enough money to repair and reopen the restaurant.

Photo by Wendy Welch";}i:1;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:7:"caption";s:4:"text";s:430:"Roberto Diaz shows the damage to his restaurantu2019s basement, which remains five months after the flood and has prevented Latin Appalachian from reopening in bricks-and-mortar form. The Diaz family bought a food truck and will cook meals inside the damaged building and sell from the truck at various locations. The goal is to earn enough money to repair and reopen the restaurant.

Photo by Wendy Welch";s:9:"textStyle";O:8:"stdClass":6:{s:13:"textAlignment";s:4:"left";s:8:"fontName";s:15:"Helvetica-Light";s:8:"fontSize";i:14;s:8:"tracking";d:-0.01;s:10:"lineHeight";i:19;s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#999999";}s:6:"layout";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:6:"margin";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:6:"bottom";i:25;}}}}s:6:"layout";a:0:{}}i:26;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:416:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:27;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:112:"

The loan was approved, but Latin Appalachian had grandfathered-in equipment that would require upgrading.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:28;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:200:"

Diaz said, u201cIn order to reopenwe have to do a whole new suppression system, a hood system. And thatu2019s about $20,000. Almost our entire half of our loan is taken up by just that one unit.u201d

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:29;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:243:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:30;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:180:"

Diaz is optimisticu2013and determined. u201cWhether itu2019s six months a year, Iu2019ll reopen; itu2019ll get there. One board, one nail at a time, Iu2019ll do it, Iu2019ll get there.u201d

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:31;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:4:"role";s:9:"container";s:10:"components";a:2:{i:0;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:5:"photo";s:3:"URL";s:71:"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/LA-new-sign-rotated.jpg";s:6:"layout";s:29:"full-width-image-with-caption";s:7:"caption";s:184:"Diaz received this sign for his birthday not long after the flood. He intends to hang it when his bricks-and-mortar restaurant reopens.

Photo by Wendy Welch";}i:1;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:7:"caption";s:4:"text";s:184:"Diaz received this sign for his birthday not long after the flood. He intends to hang it when his bricks-and-mortar restaurant reopens.

Photo by Wendy Welch";s:9:"textStyle";O:8:"stdClass":6:{s:13:"textAlignment";s:4:"left";s:8:"fontName";s:15:"Helvetica-Light";s:8:"fontSize";i:14;s:8:"tracking";d:-0.01;s:10:"lineHeight";i:19;s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#999999";}s:6:"layout";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:6:"margin";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:6:"bottom";i:25;}}}}s:6:"layout";a:0:{}}i:32;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:212:"

A social studies teacher at Wetzel County Schools has been appointed to fill a vacancy in the West Virginia House of Delegates.

nnnn

William u201cBillu201d Bell will fill a seat in the 8th District which covers parts of Kanawha, Putnam, Doddridge, Tyler and Wetzel counties. The seat was previously filled by David Kelly, who was appointed to become the Commissioner of the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation last month.

nnnn

Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced Bellu2019s appointment in a press release Monday evening.

nnnn

u201cBill Bell has shown himself to be a leader in his community, serving on the Paden City Common Council,u201d Morrisey said in the statement. u201cI am confident he will be a dedicated public servant.u201d

nnnn

In addition to teaching social studies at Wetzel County Schools, Bell is also an adjunct faculty member at West Virginia University at Parkersburg, serves on the Paden City Common Council and is the Council Representative to the Paden City Development Authority.

nnnn

n","post_title":"Wetzel County Teacher Appointed To House Of Delegates","post_excerpt":"William "Bill" Bell has been appointed to the 8th District seat in the West Virginia House of Delegates. ","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"wetzel-county-teacher-appointed-to-house-of-delegates","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-07-08 09:13:57","post_modified_gmt":"2025-07-08 13:13:57","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https://wvpublic.org/?p=62316","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw","m":{"_edit_lock":["1751987675:624"],"_thumbnail_id":["37512"],"_edit_last":["20"],"hide_title":["0"],"_hide_title":["field_6362790886020"],"mp3":[""],"_mp3":["field_63a1b52bcc11c"],"mp3_url":[""],"_mp3_url":["field_63cae2d50401f"],"featured_image_caption":[""],"_featured_image_caption":["field_6566090f2153e"],"additional_authors":[""],"_additional_authors":["field_63cffa54ad502"],"_advads_ad_settings":["a:2:{s:11:"disable_ads";i:0;s:19:"disable_the_content";i:0;}"],"_send_to_nprone":["1"],"_send_to_one":["1"],"_nprone_featured":["1"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["61"],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["60"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["1"],"npr_story_id":["wvpbwp-62316"],"apple_news_api_id":["9fc14fe8-db32-40c1-a536-6fcfbe641a7b"],"apple_news_api_created_at":["2025-07-08T13:13:53Z"],"apple_news_api_modified_at":["2025-07-08T13:13:53Z"],"apple_news_api_share_url":["https://apple.news/An8FP6NsyQMGlNm_PvmQaew"],"apple_news_api_revision":["AAAAAAAAAAD//////////w=="],"apple_news_article_checksum":["ec45204b"],"_nprone_expiry_8601":["2025-07-15T08:33:00-04:00"],"apple_news_api_json":["O:8:"stdClass":11:{s:7:"version";s:4:"1.11";s:10:"identifier";s:10:"post-62316";s:8:"language";s:5:"en-US";s:5:"title";s:53:"Wetzel County Teacher Appointed To House Of Delegates";s:13:"documentStyle";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:15:"backgroundColor";s:7:"#1c1c1c";}s:6:"layout";O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:7:"columns";i:7;s:5:"width";i:1024;s:6:"margin";i:100;s:6:"gutter";i:20;}s:10:"components";a:2:{i:0;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:6:"header";s:6:"layout";s:17:"headerPhotoLayout";s:10:"components";a:2:{i:0;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:5:"photo";s:6:"layout";s:28:"headerPhotoLayoutWithCaption";s:3:"URL";s:85:"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/1023-House-Chamber-WV-Legislature.jpg";s:7:"caption";O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:4:"text";s:45:"The West Virginia House of Delegates chamber.";s:9:"textStyle";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:8:"fontName";s:15:"Helvetica-Light";}}}i:1;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:7:"caption";s:4:"text";s:45:"The West Virginia House of Delegates chamber.";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:8:"fontName";s:15:"Helvetica-Light";s:8:"fontSize";i:14;s:8:"tracking";d:-0.01;s:10:"lineHeight";i:19;s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#999999";}}}s:8:"behavior";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:4:"type";s:8:"parallax";s:6:"factor";d:0.8;}}i:1;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:9:"container";s:6:"layout";O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:10:"columnSpan";i:7;s:11:"columnStart";i:0;s:20:"ignoreDocumentMargin";b:1;}s:5:"style";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:15:"backgroundColor";s:7:"#1c1c1c";}s:10:"components";a:8:{i:0;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:5:"title";s:4:"text";s:53:"Wetzel County Teacher Appointed To House Of Delegates";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:13:"default-title";s:6:"layout";s:12:"title-layout";}i:1;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:6:"author";s:4:"text";s:14:"By Maria Young";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:14:"default-author";s:6:"layout";s:13:"author-layout";}i:2;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:6:"byline";s:4:"text";s:17:"July 8 at 5:13 AM";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-date";s:6:"layout";s:11:"date-layout";}i:3;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:135:"

A social studies teacher at Wetzel County Schools has been appointed to fill a vacancy in the West Virginia House of Delegates.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:16:"dropcapBodyStyle";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:4;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:298:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:5;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:94:"

Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced Bellu2019s appointment in a press release Monday evening.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:6;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:207:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:7;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:269:"

The American Red Cross of Central & Southern West Virginia is calling on all blood donors to give blood now. All blood types are needed, and donors who donu2019t know their blood type can learn it after donation.

nnnn

Book a time to give blood by visiting RedCrossBlood.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS (733-2767) or by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App.

nnnn

Central Appalachia Region CEO Erica Mani said Type O blood products are most needed on hospital shelves.

nnnn

u201cWhen there is no time to assess what someone's blood type is, you can reach for that O blood. O negative is that universal donor, and O positive is the most common blood type,u201c she said. u201cO is the most utilized type of blood that the hospitals need. That said, there are multiple blood types, and everybody's type is very helpful.u201d

nnnn

The summer school break limits where blood drives can be held and how many people can attend. Mani said the rate of high impact incidents that can quickly deplete local reserves, like car accidents, also rises in the summer.

nnnn

u201cThere are so many people in the summer who are traveling,u201d she said. u201cThere are more accidents as a result, and one car accidents can actually require up to 100 units of blood for an individual that has been impacted. With one accident taking 100 units of blood, your blood supply can quickly become diminished, particularly in a time where there's increased travel.u201d

nnnn

Donors are being incentivized with a sunglasses giveaway through July 14, as well as Fandango movie rewards. Mani said the request is important because of bloodu2019s unique role in the medical system.

nnnn

u201cIt is so unusual in this world to have a product that's needed that cannot be manufactured,u201d she said. u201cBlood is the one product that I can think of that we can't manufacture, but we have to rely upon others to come out, roll up their sleeves and provide this product that is lifesaving. We hope that this message will inspire people to come out, our regular donors and new ones too.u201d

n","post_title":"Community Urged To Donate Blood This Summer","post_excerpt":"All blood types are needed, and donors who donu2019t know their blood type can learn it after donation.u00a0","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"community-urged-to-donate-blood-this-summer","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-07-07 16:18:19","post_modified_gmt":"2025-07-07 20:18:19","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https://wvpublic.org/?p=62295","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw","m":{"_edit_lock":["1751920771:624"],"_thumbnail_id":["29078"],"inline_featured_image":[""],"footnotes":[""],"_edit_last":["624"],"hide_title":["0"],"_hide_title":["field_6362790886020"],"mp3":["62294"],"_mp3":["field_63a1b52bcc11c"],"mp3_url":[""],"_mp3_url":["field_63cae2d50401f"],"featured_image_caption":["A combination of the summer school break and increased demand from high impact incidents is creating a critical need for blood donations this summer."],"_featured_image_caption":["field_6566090f2153e"],"additional_authors":[""],"_additional_authors":["field_63cffa54ad502"],"_send_to_nprone":["1"],"_send_to_one":["1"],"_nprone_featured":["1"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["62"],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["30"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["2"],"npr_story_id":["wvpbwp-62295"],"apple_news_api_id":["5cb6d788-eec4-4761-9cf6-f8fef15d7216"],"apple_news_api_created_at":["2025-07-07T20:18:16Z"],"apple_news_api_modified_at":["2025-07-07T20:18:16Z"],"apple_news_api_share_url":["https://apple.news/AXLbXiO7ER2Gc9vj-8V1yFg"],"apple_news_api_revision":["AAAAAAAAAAD//////////w=="],"apple_news_article_checksum":["87d8112d"],"_advads_ad_settings":["a:2:{s:11:"disable_ads";i:0;s:19:"disable_the_content";i:0;}"],"_nprone_expiry_8601":["2025-07-14T16:14:00-04:00"],"apple_news_api_json":["O:8:"stdClass":11:{s:7:"version";s:4:"1.11";s:10:"identifier";s:10:"post-62295";s:8:"language";s:5:"en-US";s:5:"title";s:43:"Community Urged To Donate Blood This Summer";s:13:"documentStyle";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:15:"backgroundColor";s:7:"#1c1c1c";}s:6:"layout";O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:7:"columns";i:7;s:5:"width";i:1024;s:6:"margin";i:100;s:6:"gutter";i:20;}s:10:"components";a:2:{i:0;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:6:"header";s:6:"layout";s:17:"headerPhotoLayout";s:10:"components";a:1:{i:0;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:4:"role";s:5:"photo";s:6:"layout";s:17:"headerPhotoLayout";s:3:"URL";s:78:"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope.png";}}s:8:"behavior";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:4:"type";s:8:"parallax";s:6:"factor";d:0.8;}}i:1;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:9:"container";s:6:"layout";O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:10:"columnSpan";i:7;s:11:"columnStart";i:0;s:20:"ignoreDocumentMargin";b:1;}s:5:"style";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:15:"backgroundColor";s:7:"#1c1c1c";}s:10:"components";a:11:{i:0;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:5:"title";s:4:"text";s:43:"Community Urged To Donate Blood This Summer";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:13:"default-title";s:6:"layout";s:12:"title-layout";}i:1;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:6:"author";s:4:"text";s:15:"By Chris Schulz";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:14:"default-author";s:6:"layout";s:13:"author-layout";}i:2;O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:4:"role";s:6:"byline";s:4:"text";s:18:"July 7 at 12:18 PM";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-date";s:6:"layout";s:11:"date-layout";}i:3;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:222:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:16:"dropcapBodyStyle";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:4;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:180:"

Book a time to give blood by visiting RedCrossBlood.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS (733-2767) or by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:5;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:111:"

Central Appalachia Region CEO Erica Mani said Type O blood products are most needed on hospital shelves.

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:6;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:351:"

u201cWhen there is no time to assess what someoneu2019s blood type is, you can reach for that O blood. O negative is that universal donor, and O positive is the most common blood type,u201c she said. u201cO is the most utilized type of blood that the hospitals need. That said, there are multiple blood types, and everybodyu2019s type is very helpful.u201d

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:7;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:231:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:8;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:385:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:9;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:206:"

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:11:"body-layout";}i:10;O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:4:"role";s:4:"body";s:4:"text";s:404:"

u201cIt is so unusual in this world to have a product thatu2019s needed that cannot be manufactured,u201d she said. u201cBlood is the one product that I can think of that we canu2019t manufacture, but we have to rely upon others to come out, roll up their sleeves and provide this product that is lifesaving. We hope that this message will inspire people to come out, our regular donors and new ones too.u201d

";s:6:"format";s:4:"html";s:9:"textStyle";s:12:"default-body";s:6:"layout";s:16:"body-layout-last";}}}}s:19:"componentTextStyles";O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:16:"dropcapBodyStyle";O:8:"stdClass":10:{s:13:"textAlignment";s:4:"left";s:8:"fontName";s:7:"Georgia";s:8:"fontSize";i:17;s:8:"tracking";i:0;s:10:"lineHeight";i:23;s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#e2e2e2";s:9:"linkStyle";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#ffe890";}s:22:"paragraphSpacingBefore";i:18;s:21:"paragraphSpacingAfter";i:18;s:12:"dropCapStyle";O:8:"stdClass":6:{s:13:"numberOfLines";i:5;s:18:"numberOfCharacters";i:1;s:7:"padding";i:5;s:8:"fontName";s:27:"HelveticaNeue-CondensedBold";s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#e2e2e2";s:19:"numberOfRaisedLines";i:0;}}s:12:"default-body";O:8:"stdClass":9:{s:13:"textAlignment";s:4:"left";s:8:"fontName";s:7:"Georgia";s:8:"fontSize";i:17;s:8:"tracking";i:0;s:10:"lineHeight";i:23;s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#e2e2e2";s:9:"linkStyle";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#ffe890";}s:22:"paragraphSpacingBefore";i:18;s:21:"paragraphSpacingAfter";i:18;}s:13:"default-title";O:8:"stdClass":6:{s:8:"fontName";s:27:"HelveticaNeue-CondensedBold";s:8:"fontSize";i:58;s:10:"lineHeight";i:58;s:8:"tracking";d:-0.01;s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#ffffff";s:13:"textAlignment";s:6:"center";}s:14:"default-author";O:8:"stdClass":6:{s:13:"textAlignment";s:6:"center";s:8:"fontName";s:14:"Helvetica-Bold";s:8:"fontSize";i:14;s:10:"lineHeight";i:19;s:8:"tracking";d:-0.01;s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#e2e2e2";}s:12:"default-date";O:8:"stdClass":6:{s:13:"textAlignment";s:4:"left";s:8:"fontName";s:14:"Helvetica-Bold";s:8:"fontSize";i:14;s:10:"lineHeight";i:19;s:8:"tracking";d:-0.01;s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#e2e2e2";}}s:10:"textStyles";O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:16:"default-tag-cite";O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:8:"fontName";s:15:"Helvetica-Light";s:8:"fontSize";i:14;s:8:"tracking";i:-1;s:10:"lineHeight";i:19;s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#999999";}s:16:"default-tag-code";O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:8:"fontName";s:13:"Menlo-Regular";s:8:"fontSize";i:16;s:8:"tracking";i:0;s:10:"lineHeight";i:20;s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#4f4f4f";}s:15:"default-tag-pre";O:8:"stdClass":8:{s:13:"textAlignment";s:4:"left";s:8:"fontName";s:13:"Menlo-Regular";s:8:"fontSize";i:16;s:8:"tracking";i:0;s:10:"lineHeight";i:20;s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#4f4f4f";s:22:"paragraphSpacingBefore";i:18;s:21:"paragraphSpacingAfter";i:18;}s:16:"default-tag-samp";O:8:"stdClass":5:{s:8:"fontName";s:13:"Menlo-Regular";s:8:"fontSize";i:16;s:8:"tracking";i:0;s:10:"lineHeight";i:20;s:9:"textColor";s:7:"#4f4f4f";}}s:16:"componentLayouts";O:8:"stdClass":8:{s:11:"body-layout";O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:11:"columnStart";i:0;s:10:"columnSpan";i:6;s:6:"margin";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:3:"top";i:12;s:6:"bottom";i:12;}}s:16:"body-layout-last";O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:11:"columnStart";i:0;s:10:"columnSpan";i:6;s:6:"margin";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:3:"top";i:12;s:6:"bottom";i:30;}}s:17:"headerPhotoLayout";O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:20:"ignoreDocumentMargin";b:1;s:11:"columnStart";i:0;s:10:"columnSpan";i:7;}s:28:"headerPhotoLayoutWithCaption";O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:20:"ignoreDocumentMargin";b:1;s:11:"columnStart";i:0;s:10:"columnSpan";i:7;s:6:"margin";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:6:"bottom";i:19;}}s:26:"headerBelowTextPhotoLayout";O:8:"stdClass":4:{s:20:"ignoreDocumentMargin";b:1;s:11:"columnStart";i:0;s:10:"columnSpan";i:7;s:6:"margin";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:3:"top";i:30;s:6:"bottom";i:0;}}s:12:"title-layout";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:6:"margin";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:3:"top";i:30;s:6:"bottom";i:30;}}s:13:"author-layout";O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:6:"margin";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:3:"top";i:10;}s:11:"columnStart";i:0;s:10:"columnSpan";i:7;}s:11:"date-layout";O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:6:"margin";O:8:"stdClass":1:{s:6:"bottom";i:10;}s:11:"columnStart";i:0;s:10:"columnSpan";i:7;}}s:8:"metadata";O:8:"stdClass":10:{s:7:"excerpt";s:102:"All blood types are needed, and donors who donu2019t know their blood type can learn it after donation. ";s:12:"thumbnailURL";s:78:"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope.png";s:7:"authors";a:1:{i:0;s:12:"Chris Schulz";}s:11:"dateCreated";s:25:"2025-07-07T20:18:12+00:00";s:12:"dateModified";s:25:"2025-07-07T20:18:19+00:00";s:13:"datePublished";s:25:"2025-07-07T20:18:12+00:00";s:12:"canonicalURL";s:65:"https://wvpublic.org/community-urged-to-donate-blood-this-summer/";s:19:"generatorIdentifier";s:21:"publish-to-apple-news";s:13:"generatorName";s:21:"Publish To Apple News";s:16:"generatorVersion";s:5:"2.7.1";}}"]},"link":"https://wvpublic.org/community-urged-to-donate-blood-this-summer/","sticky":false,"relative_time":"About 21 hours ago","cats":[{"term_id":62,"name":"Health & Science","slug":"health-science","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":62,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Health & Science stories and home of Appalachia Health News.","parent":0,"count":1271,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":62,"category_count":1271,"category_description":"Health & Science stories and home of Appalachia Health News.","cat_name":"Health & Science","category_nicename":"health-science","category_parent":0}],"tags":[{"term_id":15527,"name":"American Red Cross","slug":"american-red-cross","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":15527,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":6,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":10655,"name":"Blood Donations","slug":"blood-donations","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10655,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":6,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":15530,"name":"Blood donors","slug":"blood-donors","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":15530,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":15528,"name":"Central Appalachia Region of the American Red Cross","slug":"central-appalachia-region-of-the-american-red-cross","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":15528,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":5939,"name":"Medical","slug":"medical","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5939,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":5,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":10654,"name":"Red Cross","slug":"red-cross","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10654,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":10,"filter":"raw"}],"author":{"data":{"ID":"32","user_login":"chris-schulz","user_pass":"$P$BusuEk/bs0ft8pwrih08QNJ6/rofH0.","user_nicename":"chris-schulz","user_email":"cschulz@wvpublic.org","user_url":"https://wvpublic.org/chris-schulz","user_registered":"2022-11-18 00:00:33","user_activation_key":"","user_status":"0","display_name":"Chris Schulz"},"ID":32,"caps":{"editor":true},"cap_key":"wp_capabilities","roles":["editor"],"allcaps":{"moderate_comments":true,"manage_categories":true,"manage_links":true,"upload_files":true,"unfiltered_html":true,"edit_posts":true,"edit_others_posts":true,"edit_published_posts":true,"publish_posts":true,"edit_pages":true,"read":true,"level_7":true,"level_6":true,"level_5":true,"level_4":true,"level_3":true,"level_2":true,"level_1":true,"level_0":true,"edit_others_pages":true,"edit_published_pages":true,"publish_pages":true,"delete_pages":true,"delete_others_pages":true,"delete_published_pages":true,"delete_posts":true,"delete_others_posts":true,"delete_published_posts":true,"delete_private_posts":true,"edit_private_posts":true,"read_private_posts":true,"delete_private_pages":true,"edit_private_pages":true,"read_private_pages":true,"wpseo_bulk_edit":true,"wpseo_edit_advanced_metadata":true,"copy_posts":true,"editor":true},"filter":null},"author_link":"https://wvpublic.org/author/chris-schulz/","thumbs":{"thumbnail":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-150x150.png","medium":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-250x141.png","medium_large":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-768x432.png","large":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-700x394.png","1536x1536":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope.png","2048x2048":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope.png","small":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-120x68.png","195p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-195x186.png","250p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-250x238.png","201p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-201x185.png","sqr":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-300x300.png","300p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-300x200.png","339p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-339x208.png","339p@2x":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-678x416.png","320p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-320x180.png","468p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-468x200.png","480p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-480x270.png","612p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-612x407.png","640p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-640x360.png","768p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-768x432.png","1000p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-1000x675.png","1024p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-1024x576.png","1150p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-1150x600.png","1200p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope.png","hero":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-1200x300.png","1500p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-1200x500.png","800p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-800x450.png","1600p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope.png","700sq":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-700x675.png","500sq":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-500x500.png","200p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-200x200.png","100sm":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-100x100.png","1080p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope.png","1080p/1.5":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope.png","1080p/2":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-960x540.png","1080p/3":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-640x360.png","1080p/4":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-480x270.png","1920p":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope.png","gb-block-post-grid-landscape":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-600x400.png","gb-block-post-grid-square":"https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Nurses-cap-and-stethoscope-600x600.png"},"old_thumb":false,"cat_label":"Health & Science","cat_link":"/category/health-science"}]; var mega_news_items = document.querySelectorAll("#id_54dd9a2da78ba8f202de8ba96ebbb058 #mega_news_list > a"); function id_54dd9a2da78ba8f202de8ba96ebbb058_change_visible_post(pst){ // console.log("#id_54dd9a2da78ba8f202de8ba96ebbb058"); var thumb = document.querySelectorAll("#id_54dd9a2da78ba8f202de8ba96ebbb058 .header__news__post a.thumb"); // console.log(thumb); thumb[0].setAttribute("data-bg",""); thumb[0].setAttribute("href",""); thumb[0].classList.remove("lazyloaded"); if(pst.thumbs.large){ thumb[0].style="background-image:url("+pst.thumbs.large+");"; } else{ thumb[0].style="background-image:url("+pst.old_thumb.src+");"; } // console.log(pst); var categoryLabel = document.querySelectorAll("#id_54dd9a2da78ba8f202de8ba96ebbb058 .header__news__post a.card__post__meta__links__cat"); // console.log(categoryLabel); categoryLabel[0].setAttribute("href",pst.cat_link); categoryLabel[0].innerText = pst.cat_label; var postDate = document.querySelectorAll("#id_54dd9a2da78ba8f202de8ba96ebbb058 .header__news__post time"); postDate[0].innerText = pst.relative_time; var postTitle = document.querySelectorAll("#id_54dd9a2da78ba8f202de8ba96ebbb058 .header__news__post h2 a"); postTitle[0].innerHTML = pst.post_title; postTitle[0].setAttribute("href",pst.link); var postExc = document.querySelectorAll("#id_54dd9a2da78ba8f202de8ba96ebbb058 .header__news__post p.exc"); postExc[0].innerHTML = pst.post_excerpt; var postButtonLink = document.querySelectorAll("#id_54dd9a2da78ba8f202de8ba96ebbb058 .header__news__post a.button"); postButtonLink[0].setAttribute("href",pst.link); var postImageLink = document.querySelectorAll("#id_54dd9a2da78ba8f202de8ba96ebbb058 .header__news__post a.thumb"); postImageLink[0].setAttribute("href",pst.link); var authorLink = document.querySelectorAll("#id_54dd9a2da78ba8f202de8ba96ebbb058 .header__news__post .card__post__meta__links em a"); authorLink[0].setAttribute("href",pst.author_link); authorLink[0].innerHTML = pst.author.data.display_name; window.selected = pst; } for (let i = 0; i < mega_news_items.length; i++) { mega_news_items[i].addEventListener("mouseover",function(e){ var postID = e.target.getAttribute("data-id"); console.log(postID); if(postID!=0){ var categoryName = e.target.innerText; for (let i = 0; i < window.mega_news.length; i++) { if(window.mega_news[i].ID == postID){ id_54dd9a2da78ba8f202de8ba96ebbb058_change_visible_post(window.mega_news[i]); } } } if(postID==0){ var categoryLabel = document.querySelectorAll("#id_54dd9a2da78ba8f202de8ba96ebbb058 .header__news__post a.card__post__meta__links__cat"); // console.log(categoryLabel); categoryLabel[0].setAttribute("href","/series"); categoryLabel[0].innerText = ""; var postDate = document.querySelectorAll("#id_54dd9a2da78ba8f202de8ba96ebbb058 .header__news__post time"); postDate[0].innerText = ""; var postTitle = document.querySelectorAll("#id_54dd9a2da78ba8f202de8ba96ebbb058 .header__news__post h2 a"); postTitle[0].innerHTML = "WVPB Special Series"; postTitle[0].setAttribute("href","/series"); var postExc = document.querySelectorAll("#id_54dd9a2da78ba8f202de8ba96ebbb058 .header__news__post p.exc"); postExc[0].innerHTML = "From time to time, the West Virginia Public Broadcasting news team works collectively to produce a special series highlighting certain topics of interest to the people of the Mountain State.

From workforce challenges to the opioid epidemic or the economy and education, browse below to listen to our special projects from over the years."; var postButtonLink = document.querySelectorAll("#id_54dd9a2da78ba8f202de8ba96ebbb058 .header__news__post a.button"); postButtonLink[0].setAttribute("href","/series"); var postImageLink = document.querySelectorAll("#id_54dd9a2da78ba8f202de8ba96ebbb058 .header__news__post a.thumb"); postImageLink[0].setAttribute("href","/series"); var authorLink = document.querySelectorAll("#id_54dd9a2da78ba8f202de8ba96ebbb058 .header__news__post .card__post__meta__links em a"); authorLink[0].setAttribute("href","/series"); authorLink[0].innerHTML = ""; var thumb = document.querySelectorAll("#id_54dd9a2da78ba8f202de8ba96ebbb058 .header__news__post a.thumb"); // console.log(thumb); thumb[0].setAttribute("data-bg",""); thumb[0].setAttribute("href","/series"); thumb[0].classList.remove("lazyloaded"); thumb[0].style="background-image:url(/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Special_Series_mega_menu.png);"; } if(postID=="X"){ var categoryLabel = document.querySelectorAll("#id_54dd9a2da78ba8f202de8ba96ebbb058 .header__news__post a.card__post__meta__links__cat"); // console.log(categoryLabel); categoryLabel[0].setAttribute("href","/newsroom/series/appalachia-mid-south-newsroom/"); categoryLabel[0].innerText = ""; var postDate = document.querySelectorAll("#id_54dd9a2da78ba8f202de8ba96ebbb058 .header__news__post time"); postDate[0].innerText = ""; var postTitle = document.querySelectorAll("#id_54dd9a2da78ba8f202de8ba96ebbb058 .header__news__post h2 a"); postTitle[0].innerHTML = "Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom"; postTitle[0].setAttribute("href","/newsroom/series/appalachia-mid-south-newsroom/"); var postExc = document.querySelectorAll("#id_54dd9a2da78ba8f202de8ba96ebbb058 .header__news__post p.exc"); postExc[0].innerHTML = 'The Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom is a collaboration between West Virginia Public Broadcasting, WPLN and WUOT in Tennessee, LPM, WEKU-Lexington/Richmond, WKMS-Murray and WKU Public Radio in Kentucky.'; var postButtonLink = document.querySelectorAll("#id_54dd9a2da78ba8f202de8ba96ebbb058 .header__news__post a.button"); postButtonLink[0].setAttribute("href","/newsroom/series/appalachia-mid-south-newsroom/"); var postImageLink = document.querySelectorAll("#id_54dd9a2da78ba8f202de8ba96ebbb058 .header__news__post a.thumb"); postImageLink[0].setAttribute("href","/newsroom/series/appalachia-mid-south-newsroom/"); var authorLink = document.querySelectorAll("#id_54dd9a2da78ba8f202de8ba96ebbb058 .header__news__post .card__post__meta__links em a"); authorLink[0].setAttribute("href","/newsroom/series/appalachia-mid-south-newsroom/"); authorLink[0].innerHTML = ""; var thumb = document.querySelectorAll("#id_54dd9a2da78ba8f202de8ba96ebbb058 .header__news__post a.thumb"); // console.log(thumb); thumb[0].setAttribute("data-bg",""); thumb[0].setAttribute("href","/newsroom/series/appalachia-mid-south-newsroom/"); thumb[0].classList.remove("lazyloaded"); thumb[0].style="background-image:url(https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Appalachia___Mid-South_Newsroom_1200x675.avif);"; } }); }
This week, people with mental health challenges or substance use disorder often end up in jail. But crisis response teams offer another way. Also, one year after the Mountain Valley Pipeline went into service, people who live directly in the pipeline’s path have received compensation. But not everyone. And, the Sacred Harp songbook gets an update for the first time since the early 1990s.
Send us your comments and questions.

Stream our board meetings.

Check out the latest WVPB news.
Sign up for our newsletter and get weekly updates.
Meet the WVPB staff.

WV Educational Broadcasting Authority, the WVPB Foundation, and the Friends of WVPB.

Come work with us!

Sponsor impactful and engaging media and entertainment.
Use your IRA to make a gift to WVPB.
Become a member with your gift of $1,000 or more.
Make WVPB part of your legacy.
Manage your membership account.
Learn how you can Protect and Sustain West Virginia Public Broadcasting.
Home » Hope Scholarship On Pace To Almost Double Enrollment
A month after its application deadline, State Treasurer Larry Pack reports close to 15,000 students will receive full educational funding for the 2025-2026 academic year through the Hope Scholarship program.
With a full scholarship amount expected to be more than $5,200 for the upcoming year, the current enrollment numbers represent close to $80 million in state spending on school choice. For the previous year, 10,750 students received some level of funding. The Hope Scholarship board reported that as of Feb. 26, the Hope Scholarship has distributed close to $34 million for the current academic year.
Applications are still being accepted for prorated scholarships, and it is anticipated that approximately 19,000 West Virginia students will participate in the 2025-2026 Hope Scholarship program. Applications accepted by Sept. 15 will receive 75% of the annual award amount, dropping to as low as 25% of the annual award amount for applications accepted by Feb. 28.
Currently students must be enrolled and attending a public elementary or secondary school to qualify for the Hope Scholarship, but the program will go fully universal and open to all students in the 2026-2027 school year.
The Hope Scholarship program received a total of $120 million in appropriations from the state legislature this year. $96,013,384 came from two supplementals, HB 3356 and HB 3357, as well as $24,610,523 within the budget bill.
When his Welch, W. Va. restaurant was functional following massive February flooding across the southern part of the state, Roberto Diaz went to work feeding anyone in need — but now his business needs help with its own recovery.
Wyoming County is one of the state’s most rural. It’s home to about 20,000 residents, but no hospital and zero certified treatment beds, according to the West Virginia Office of Drug Control Policy. As the nation’s opioid overdose epidemic raged, Wyoming County had a prescription overdose death rate of 54.6 per 100,000 people from 1999 to 2014 — the highest in the nation.
William “Bill” Bell has been appointed to the 8th District seat in the West Virginia House of Delegates.
An investigation conducted by journalism students at West Virginia University’s Reed School of Media shows the oversight and accountability built into local spending of opioid settlement funds can be markedly inconsistent from county to county.
PreK-12 and Higher Education stories

Hope Scholarship On Pace To Almost Double Enrollment – West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Mental Health Crisis Response And Mountain Valley Pipeline, Inside Appalachia

A Crisis-Fueled Debt

What Experts, Communities Say They Actually Need

One Countyu2019s Lingering Struggle

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories

Recent Posts

Meta

Search Funds

Recent Posts