Local News

INSTITUTE, W.Va. — Several people have been detained after a drive-by shooting in Kanawha County.

Deputies responded to an apartment complex in the 200 block of Smoot Avenue near the Shawnee Sports Complex in Institute after Kanawha County Metro 911 received calls around 3 p.m. Sunday that shots had been fired in the area.

Authorities said the suspects fled in an SUV. Nitro Police detained the suspects on Tyler Ridge Road near Cross Lanes.

No injuries were reported.

The West Virginia Soccer Association Open Cup is currently taking place at the complex. All activities at the complex were suspended Sunday.

West Virginia State University was also placed on lockdown; however, the lockdown has been lifted and deputies reported this was an isolated incident with no ongoing threat to the community, according to a press release from the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office.

Names of the suspects have not been released. An investigation continues.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — United States Postmaster General Louis DeJoy says any major changes that could be made to postal facilities across the country won’t happen now until 2025.

There have been almost 60 processing plants under a mail processing facility review including the Charleston Processing & Distribution Center. According to the United States Postal Service, the reviews are to assess if some operations should be relocated from certain facilities to more regional sites in order to “create consistency, precision and efficiency.”

In April, the USPS decided to downgrade the Charleston facility located in Southridge from a Processing and Distribution Center to a Local Processing Center. A review was conducted of the facility starting in November 2023. The Charleston P&DC was identified as a candidate facility to have operations moved out of state to Pittsburgh, PA.

The decision from DeJoy comes in response to a letter sent to him last week, signed by 26 U.S. Senators including Senators Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin.

Louis DeJoy

The first line in the letter states: “We call on you to pause planned changes to the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) processing and delivery network under the “Delivering for America” plan, until you request and receive a comprehensive Advisory Opinion from the Postal Regulatory Commission to fully study the potential impacts of these changes.”

In his response letter, DeJoy said any movement will be put on hold until at least January 1, 2025. He also mentioned that he is considering a further look at the process of the mail processing facility reviews.

“I am continuing to evaluate any additional changes we have underway,” DeJoy said in the letter which can be read here

The halt also means any investments made into facilities recently will also be on hold as will the annual cost savings associated with the mail moves. DeJoy estimates the annual cost savings to be $133-$177 million and the positive investments to total around $430 million.

The news of a hold is music to the ears of Postal Workers Union Local 133 President Tim Holstein.

“We’re very excited about what Senators Capito and Manchin were able to accomplish along with the other Senators,” he said. “They all came together and requested that the Postmaster General pause some things and maybe regroup to see how to correct some deficiencies.”

What feels like a minor win now for Holstein and some union workers, a majority of them represented at the Charleston facility, there’s still an ongoing battle ahead and plenty of questions from Holstein that need answered.

“I’m optimistic in the fact of the pressure that they’ve placed on the Postmaster, but I’m realistic as well,” said Holstein.

In DeJoy’s letter, he mentioned a “pause in implementation,” which to Holstein means they are not out of the woodwork yet in their efforts of preventing these changes from continuing or happening altogether. Some postal service facilities have already undergone significant changes, including the facility in Charleston.

“Are the ones that are in process now, are they going to be halted?” Holstein asked.

That question has been relayed to representatives of the USPS for some clarity.

Tim Holstein

According to Holstein, at least four temporary employees have been let go and have not been placed back on schedule. He said they’re fighting to get them back and or compensated for missed time because they are in need of workers to sort through the mail that has been massively delayed. It’s the worst Holstein has seen it in quite some time.

“The mail backed up is probably the worst I’ve ever seen it in 27 years of service,” Holstein said.

There are still political mailers sitting in the Charleston facility too. The delay on most mail is multiple days.

Holstein claims the postal service hurried their decision to downgrade the facility in Charleston and with the loss of workers and mail being backed up at the Charleston facility, it’s also possible they’re losing business to competitors and losing the trust of some current customers.

“You’re talking about years and years of planning that takes place just to shut down one facility, transfer that mail to another facility and then ensure that those employees are contractually right in the movements of their job and they’re trying to do hundreds of facilities across the United States,” Holstein said.

“How much revenue are we losing because of this half-hazard decision that was made quickly in my opinion?” he asked.

The facility has around 800 employees and 500 of them are represented by the union.

U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito said she and several other Senators collaborated on the letter because of what they believe could be the wrong steps taken for dozens of postal service sites in the country.

Senator Capito

“I’ve been very active with Postmaster DeJoy to make sure that he realizes not only the employment implications but also the delivery of the mail,” she said last week in a media briefing.

Sen. Capito says the jobs in Charleston are too important to lose.

“We’ve had them for a long time and I want to keep them right there at that distribution center,” said Capito. “I’ve been there and they do great work.”

U.S. Senator Joe Manchin also released a statement following the news of the pause.

Joe Manchin

“I’m glad Postmaster DeJoy has heeded our repeated, bipartisan calls to pause these changes to the USPS’s mail delivery network, which would jeopardize timely mail delivery in communities across West Virginia and our entire country,” said Manchin last week. “It is essential we understand the full impact of these proposed changes, especially on our hardworking postal employees, before moving forward on their implementation.”

Senators Capito and Manchin have already sent letters to Postmaster DeJoy before. A public hearing with union postal workers was also held back in February in Charleston.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — It’s once again time to embrace the culture in the Capital City as it becomes a work of art for ten days.

FestivALL Charleston makes its return for the 20th year starting Friday, June 14. It will showcase over 90 events across the city featuring music, art, theater, dance, literature, and culinary arts.

FestivALL Executive Director Mackenzie Spencer said after two decades of holding the event in the city, it’s truly a milestone they are excited to celebrate.

Mackenzie Spencer

“We’re so excited to see everybody come out, support artists, support entertainers, support local businesses, and really just be able to create those memories and have a great time in our city,” Spencer said.

FestivALL favorites will make their return again this year, including the Sunrise Carriage Trail Walk, Mountain Stage performances, the Shakepearoke with the Rustic Mechanicals at Short Story Brewing, the two-day Capitol Street Art Fair and the Children’s Art Fair, as well as the Youth ArtBus. This year, the Art Fair will showcase over 80 artists.

Some new and old programming this year includes a FestivALL Princess Art Exhibit showcasing costumes and props at the Kanawha County Public Library, Dance FestivALL that will feature famed-Broadway choreographer and performer James Kinney, and Recycle the Runway with Dress for Success.

In addition, the Community Keys artist-piano project will also make its return this year after not being held since 2015. Spencer explained a little bit about what the project entails and where festival-attendees will be able to find it.

“We’re going to bring in artists and actually commission them to make pianos into works of art and have them throughout our city, so we’re going to have one at the Capitol Market, we’re going to have one at GoMart Ballpark,” she said.

She said they are also excited for the Clay Center to be hosting a longtime Charleston artist in an exhibit this year, the Charly Jupiter Hamilton Retrospective exhibit, because he was a prominent contributor of FestivALL and they wanted to make sure the exhibit took place during the event.

Spencer said last year was FestivALLs’ first year fully returning to normal after the Covid-19 Pandemic forced them to take the event virtual and then hybrid for a couple of years.

She said it has felt good to be able to make the transition back into normalcy for the event.

“We are excited to be fully back in person, fully back to all of the programming that we know and that we love but also adding some new favorites in and also bringing back some old favorites that may have fallen by the wayside in years past in honor of the 20th,” she said.

A host of sponsors help put on FestivALL every year. Some of them this year include The City of Charleston, the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation, West Virginia Humanities Council, the State of West Virginia, Maier Foundation, Ford, Encova, Annie & Gaines Wehrle Charitable Fund, among many others.

Spencer said Charleston has such a vibrant art, music, and theatrical scene already, and to be able to condense it into one huge community event is something truly remarkable.

“To be able to showcase that local talent and to be able to bring all of our friends and neighbors together and bring that sense of community to Charleston is just so important,” said Spencer. “And to be able to bring in acts that are nationally and internationally recognized also brings the perspective of things that you may not see in Charleston otherwise.”

You can find out more about FestivALL, see the full programming and event schedule, and sign up to be a volunteer here.

Print schedules will also be available throughout the city at FestivALL event locations, restaurants and hotels.

FestivALL will take place June 14-23.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Six elementary schools and three middle schools around the state are facing off to see who’s the fittest.

The West Virginia Department of Education held its Fit + Active Schools Face-off Friday at the State Culture Center for its third year.

WVDE Physical Education Coordinator Josh Grant said the groups of elementary and middle schools compete in an eight exercise and four round workout routine for the event.

“It puts them against other schools to see what schools are the fittest and they’re judged on their form, their rhythm, their intensity, their stamina and their transitions,” Grant said.

Trinity Hill and Kendall Long were two students competing with their team from Peterstown Middle School in Monroe County.

“It’s a pretty cool experience to be here,” said Hill.

“Yeah, we worked hard to get here,” Long added.

They explained what all they were doing as part of the face-off.

“We do pushups, butt kicks, planks, jumping jacks, plank rolls, butterfly crunches,” they said.

Grant said the competing schools were selected to participate in the event by submitting a virtual entry of them doing the exercises and they trained throughout the semester to get there.

Along with Peterstown Middle, the other schools taking part in the face-off included: Frametown Elementary School in Braxton County, Overbrook Elementary and Richmond Elementary in Kanawha County, Roosevelt Elementary in Mason, Teays Valley and West Teays elementary schools in Putnam, Roosevelt Middle School in Mason County, and Teays Valley Christian Middle School in Putnam County.

In addition, students got to watch a performance by the Village of Barboursville Magic Jump Rope Team.

Grant said the focus of the event is on promoting children’s wellness, health, and team-building initiatives.

“A neat thing about this event is that it shows students that once they compete here they can be active for life,” Grant said. “I think we need to showcase wellness in our state and just encourage students to be healthy and active, and this is just a great way to show what it takes to work as a team, and they have what it takes inside of them to be fit and healthy for life.”

Judges from SHAPEWV, CrossFit Coal, the West Virginia Grind Basketball Team and West Virginia University were scoring the team’s on their performances during the face-off.

Grant said both groups of elementary and middle schools would be receiving first, second, and third places within their categories.

He explained what was in it for the winning schools.

“It’s going to come with monetary prizes, all of the students get a t-shirt, gold, silver, bronze medals, a banner to hold in their gym and a trophy,” said Grant.

First place winners Friday were Frametown Elementary from Braxton County and Teays Valley Christian Middle School from Putnam County.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A sustainable way to fill up your water bottle has come to the busiest and largest airport in the state.

As a commitment to sustainability and passenger convenience, West Virginia International Yeager Airport partnered with West Virginia American Water to install a number of water bottle filling

Dominique Ranieri

stations at all passenger gates throughout the terminal.

Officials from both services came together at the airport Friday morning for an unveiling ceremony of the new filling stations.

Yeager Airport President and CEO Dominque Ranieri said when it comes to helping reduce plastic waste and support the planet’s health and well-being through the placement of these stations, CRW is happy to take the lead.

“Here at CRW we know how important it is to concentrate on the environment and sustainability, and all airports really need to focus on that moving forward to be good stewards of our planet,” Ranieri said.

West Virginia American Water President Robert Burton said the initiative to bring water bottle filling stations to organizations, schools, parks and other public places has been their focus for a few years now throughout American Water’s service areas across the state.

He said they felt they would be a significant benefit at the airport as well, as they continue to expand their sustainability efforts.

Robert Burton

“One, it’s important to get out the message of safe, reliable drinking water at your tap, but also it’s important to protect our environment, remove plastics as much as possible by the way stream,

and this is a great partnership here at the airport in this regard,” said Burton.

Ranieri said passengers now have access to three water bottle filling stations post-security as well as one in the ticket lobby and throughout the gate areas of the airport.

She explained what to expect when coming through the terminal with the empty bottles.

“You can come to the TSA checkpoint with an empty water bottle and once you pass through security you can fill your water bottle at any of the West Virginia American Water refill stations, also at each station is some beautiful artwork by a renowned photographer here in West Virginia,” she said.

Ranieri said at each filling station there is a counter which keeps track of exactly how many plastic water bottles they are avoiding by having passengers utilize the stations.

Burton said ecotourism was a driving factor that also led them to bring the filling stations to the airport as people seek out ways for a more sustainable life and eco-friendlier travel options.

He said the ultimate goal– decrease the usage of plastic water bottles that potentially leave long-term, damaging affects on the environment.

“The majority of plastics take many years, decades, sometimes centuries to bio-degrade, there’s a major issue of plastic in our water streams, within our rivers, within our lakes and within our oceans, so anything we can do collectively together to remove plastics out of our way stream is really important and this is a very sustainable way to do that,” Burton said.

Ranieri said as American Water aims to expand its sustainability efforts by providing the filling stations to its partners around the state, it only made sense for them to come to CRW as the initiative will reach a lot of people there.

Yeager Airport’s Wildlife Life Canine Hercules, American Water’s Puddles the Duck

“We know that we have half a million people passing through our airport each year, and it’s a great opportunity to share their initiatives and help people have drinking water wherever they are,” Ranieri said.

Yeager Airport’s Wildlife Patrol Dog, Hercules and American Water’s mascot Puddles the Duck were both on hand for Friday’s ceremony as well. They helped greet passengers and distribute reusable water bottles and pilot-themed rubber ducks as people were leaving or coming in.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Kanawha County Commission will meet Monday to discuss next steps on filling a vacant seat created by the departure of former longtime Commissioner Kent Carper.

Ben Salango

Carper, a Democrat, resigned last week after a series of medical issues and an investigation that involved allegations of lewd behavior at Daniel Boone Park in Charleston.

The commission will begin canvassing votes from Tuesday’s election at the Voter’s Registration Office. It will be followed by a special meeting of the commission beginning at 12 p.m.

Commission President Lance Wheeler and Commissioner Ben Salango will discuss the application process.

“We’re going to announce the deadline to submit application and resumes to fill the spot,” Salango said on Friday’s “580 Live” with Dave Allen heard on 580-WCHS.

Salango said candidates must meet certain qualifications to apply. The applicant must be a registered Democrat and must live in District 1 or 4. Salango represents District 2 and Wheeler represents District 3.

If Salango, a Democrat, and Wheeler, a Republican, cannot reach a decision, the Kanawha County Democratic Executive Committee will step in and submit names.

“The Democratic Executive Committee, since that is the party where the vacancy is, they submit three names. Now, since I’m the senior commissioner, I would strike out a name and then Lance would strike out a name and whoever is left is the commissioner,” Salango explained.

Salango said he would like it to be a closed interview process. He said filling Carper’s position won’t be an easy task and that he’s looking for stability on the commission more than anything.

“I want someone with a level head. I don’t want it to be political,” he said. “We’ve been through a lot, and I want things to be calm for a while.”

Carper underwent quadruple bypass surgery in May 2023. The allegation that Carper exposed himself to a woman at the park came the same week as his strokes and heart attack.

Carper’s name still appeared on Tuesday’s Primary Election ballot even though he dropped out of the race against former Secretary of State Natalie Tennant days before that. Tennant won the Democratic nomination for county commissioner and will face Republican nominee Chris Walters in November.

Whoever is elected in the General Election will assume office in Jan. 2025. Salango said they need someone to fill Carper’s seat until then. He said it won’t be an easy task given Carper’s legacy in Kanawha County.

“It’s some big shoes to fill,” Salango said. “He was an advocate for law enforcement, for public safety, many of the things that we now see in routine Kent had worked on for years and decades. He had really done a wonderful job.”

Carper served on the commission since 1996, many of those years as president. Earlier this year, he stepped aside from the president’s role.

The commission will hold a special meeting on May 30 to fill the vacancy.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — USA Cycling’s criterium racing on Thursday on the streets of Downtown Charleston was a huge hit and is returning Friday.

Competitors from both Men’s and Women’s Junior and the U-23 Men competed in Thursday’s “crit racing” as part of this week’s schedule of events with the USA Cycling Pro Road National Championships. Women U-23, Elite and Men Elite will hit the roads Friday afternoon for crit racing.

Junior Women kicked things off with a 45 minute looped race that included passes on Court Street, Summers Street and to the start-finish line on Kanawha Boulevard. Landrie McLain was the first to the line in that race against 25 other competitors.

Junior Men followed with a 60 minute run of the downtown course. Alejandro Che came out victorious in a race with over 70 cyclists.

In the nightcap, Men U-23 ran an hour and 15 minutes under the lights with Gavin Hlady finishing ahead of everyone which was also about 70 athletes.

President of the Charleston Convention & Visitor’s Bureau Tim Brady said the atmosphere downtown with the hundreds of fans in attendance to watch the cycling was something special.

“It’s just fun to see the city of Charleston embrace something like this that’s new,” he said.

This is just year one with USA Cycling. The city will have this week of events for the next four years too. Brady said they’re loving what they’re seeing this year so far.

“That’s our goal, to make this bigger and better every year,” said Brady. “You figure out where the kinks are in year one and then make it better for year two and so on.”

Every closed-off street was packed with fans Thursday. Some were there to support certain racers. Others were just Charleston residents excited to be downtown to witness a unique event to the city. Charleston resident Tom Gibbs was one of those.

“I am so happy this is here,” he said while watching from Summers Street.

Tom, a casual biker himself, said he usually watches any and all types of bike races on TV, so to see bike racing in action in his hometown was a joy to him.

Another Charleston local, Rick Hardesin, said he’s no stranger to watching criterium races in person.

“I had seen a criterium years ago and so when I saw that this was coming I thought I better come out,” he said.

Hardesin said he was proud of the city for bringing an event like this to Charleston.

Saturday and Sunday will feature all groups participating in the road race. Men U-23 will be the first to compete on the 148 km course at 7 a.m. Saturday.

The rest of the schedule for the USA Cycling Pro Road Nationals can be found here.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Kanawha County Board of Education has agreed to enter into a contract with a construction company to begin making upgrades to Laidley Field in Charleston in preparation for the state football championship games next Fall.

Renovations will be made to the University of Charleston Stadium press box and concession areas starting in mid-June. The lowest responsible bidder, Swope Construction, will conduct the work for a total of $2.875 million.

Andrew Crawford, Facilities Planning Executive Director for Kanawha County, said there’s already been progress made on the locker rooms.

“The north side is getting very close to complete,” he said. “We’ve been epoxying floors, repairing roofs and hanging new doors and frames.”

Old lockers have been thrown out. Crawford said the new lockers should be arriving sometime in July. The south side will get attention after work on the north side section is complete.

The WVSSAC Football Championships will return to Charleston and be there for at least the next three years. The City of Wheeling had hosted the state championship games since 1994.

The WVSSAC Board of Directors granted final approval to the City of Charleston back in February. The city had the winning bid among other proposals that included Wheeling Island Stadium, Bluefield’s Mitchell Stadium, and a combined bid from Huntington’s Joan C. Edwards Stadium and Morgantown’s Milan Puskar Stadium.

Paving is expected to begin sometime between June 16 and August 1 at Laidley Field. Crawford said June 16 is also the earliest start date for crews. Minor work may still be done by crews on site into August, but an estimated date for when the facility will be made functional is for around August 9.

The main parking lot will also be repaired. Areas underneath the bleachers will be resealed according to Crawford.

UC Stadium is the home to the Capital High School football teams. Crawford said work at Laidley shouldn’t affect Capital football practices and the facility should be ready for sure by the first game in August.

Laidley Field also hosts the WVSSAC Track and Field Championships.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — This year’s Educator of the Year for Kanawha County Schools is Mark Davis.

Davis is the Fine Arts Curriculum Specialist for Kanawha County Schools. He was recognized for the award this week by the Kanawha County Board of Education.

“He wears many hats in that role as well as many hats in his personal and professional lives,” said Superintendent of Kanawha County Schools Dr. Tom Williams.

Davis does bear many responsibilities. He supervises both Art and Music positions in Kanawha County while being an adjunct instructor at the University of Charleston. He’s also responsible for the annual majorette festival, art show, all-county chorus and all-county band just to name a few.

Art means a lot to Davis and the impact is there on the state of West Virginia.

“I have a stat in my office that says art contributed $1.3 billion to West Virginia’s economy last year,” he said. “That’s college and career ready.”

Davis was actually a former student for board member Jim Crawford at St. Albans High School. Dr. Williams was also a former teacher there.

“We have some of the best in the business in Kanawha County Schools,” said Davis.

Davis possesses a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from WVU as well as a Master’s Degree in Communication Studies.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A newly-dedicated art piece is commemorating a longtime community staple in the Capital City.

Charleston’s Office of Public Art came together with Bill McKee, husband of the late Martha B. McKee who served as the first full-time Executive Director of the Charleston Sternwheel Regatta as they dedicated the piece entitled “JOY•STX•4•U•2•N•JOY” in her memory on Thursday afternoon.

Bill McKee said his wife, who died three years ago, was very involved in the arts and the community. While he now lives in Florida, he still has a strong connection with Charleston and he said he wanted to do something special not only for her, but for everyone who lives here.

“I wanted to do something to honor her and I wanted to give something back to the city, too, Charleston has been very good to me, I miss it a lot, I know a lot of people here,” he said.

Many of his friends and fellow-community members joined him and the city representatives, including Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin in dedicating the piece Thursday.

The local artists involved in the project also came out to take part in the dedication. While the piece was created by artist George Snyder, the base of it was fabricated by Jeff Fetty and Craig Hinchman.

It’s a colorful art piece that lights up at night and it’s now located on the corner of Court Street and the Kanawha Boulevard. McKee said he was astounded by the piece upon first seeing it.

“It is unbelievable, people had sent us a couple of pictures, we flew in and got here Monday evening, we’re staying at the Marriot and we walked up here and gosh, we stayed here a while, took all kinds of pictures, walked around, it’s just amazing.

Mayor Goodwin said they were happy to dedicate the piece in memory of such an amazing woman and they wanted the over 8,000 cars that travel the Kanawha Boulevard on a daily basis get to see a reflection of the vibrancy that Martha gave to the city.

“Martha McKee was one of the most vibrant and dynamic people this city has ever experienced, this art piece totally reflects that about her personality and that’s why her husband Bill wanted to put it here, why we wanted to put it in this particular place is so everybody could see it,” Goodwin said.

McKee said George Snyder designed the piece using elongated colorful tubes.

He said his wife would have been very proud of the piece.

“She loved George Snyder’s work, and she actually bought the one that I have at my house, so we have one of his tubes that he did and people are always amazed, we just have one, it’s beautiful,” McKee said.

Along with serving on the Regatta Commission and various city boards over the years, Martha McKee also served as Deputy Secretary of Arts and Education for the State of West Virginia.