West Virginia
Fairmont State University prepares for Welcome Week – WV MetroNews
FAIRMONT, W.Va. — New student move-in and Welcome Week activities get underway at Fairmont State University on Thursday.
Associate Director of Student Engagement Justin Rader said the Welcome Week activities help students feel at home, make friends and get excited about fall classes.
“Building those peer-to-peer relationships that are a crucial part of their success,” Rader said. “So, that’s what we encourage for the weekend: that students get out of their rooms, get out of their housing assignments and go interact with their peers.”
Welcome Week officially gets underway at 6:30 p.m. Thursday with the Back to School Bash at the Falcon Center Quad. Rader said there are a variety of activities planned with food and treats.
“After that, they will attend several activities starting that evening,” Rader said. “We have a back-to-school bash hosted by one of our student organizations on campus and a game night with a soda float bar station.”
The estimate is that 40 percent of the Falcon student body is made up of first-generation students. Rader said the school was awarded a $5,000 grant through the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (WVHEPC) to hold a week of recognition from Nov. 4-8.
“We want to highlight their resilience and the tenacity of the first-generation college student who steps out of the traditions of their family and says, ‘I’m going to be the first to come to college, and I’m going to be the first to get this type of degree,’” Rader said.
Live music will also return this year, according to Rader. At 8 p.m. Saturday, “The Walk of Shame” will take the stage in the Falcon Center Quad for a live show.
“They’re a cover band out of Pittsburgh called The Walk of Shame,” Rader said. “They do 90’s, 2000’s, Indie, and country, and they have over 500 songs in their portfolio.”
On Sunday, Aug. 25, students will participate in the Day of Action with the Tygart Valley United Way. Students will meet the leaders of local non-profits and understand the challenges facing the community while pitching in and helping out.
“Some of our spots are the community garden, Palatine Park, the Center of Hope, and the Marion County Humane Society,” Rader said. “So, get out there helping and giving back to the community.”
Baseball and the 4th of July. It goes together so well, and perhaps one day, we will see a pair of West Virginia Mountaineers sporting the red, white, and blue for Team USA in the Olympics (set to return in 2028) or the World Baseball Classic.
I know most everyone’s attention in West Virginia over the last two or so months has been consumed by the Mountaineers’ magical run to the College World Series, so you may not realize how much of a tear former Mountaineer star JJ Wetherholt has been on in the big leagues.
We’ll catch you up to speed.
In the first 81 games of his career, Wetherholt has hit 12 home runs, recorded 35 RBI, and has slashed .260/.357/.398. On top of being one of the best-hitting second basemen in the entire game, he is a perfect 9/9 on stolen base attempts and has been elite with the glove, committing just two errors on the season, giving him a fielding percentage of .994.
One of the best moments of Wetherholt’s red-hot start was this leadoff home run against Paul Skenes, last year’s Cy Young award winner.
JJ Wetherholt hits a leadoff shot off Paul Skenes! pic.twitter.com/7KzVkutArL
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 30, 2026
Hitting a bomb off one of the most talented pitchers in the game certainly raised some eyebrows, but I’m not sure even that tops what he did in just his second game, shooting a ball through the right side of the infield, collecting his first-ever walk-off hit in the majors.
JJ WETHERHOLT WALKS IT OFF! pic.twitter.com/5Adski5dMn
— MLB (@MLB) March 28, 2026
For you baseball junkies out there, Wetherholt currently has a WAR (wins above replacement) of 3.8. Only nine others in the entire MLB — pitcher or position player — have a higher rating. Those players are P Christopher Sanchez (PHI), P/DH Shohei Ohtani (LAD), OF Pete Crow-Armstrong (CHC), SS Bobby Witt Jr. (KC), IF Kevin McGonigle (DET), P Chase Burns (CIN), P Jacob Misirowski (MIL), OF Andy Pages (LAD), and SS Otto Lopez (MIA).
The next big league star
I think if you polled 100 scouts at the next level, you would get pretty close to a consensus that West Virginia catcher/second baseman is going to be a really good player in the big leagues for a really long time. The hit tool is off the charts, as we all know, but the glove is just as impressive. He finished the season with an overall fielding percentage of .987, helping him earn All-American honors at two different positions, which is incredibly rare. I won’t go as far as saying it’s the baseball version of what Travis Hunter did at Colorado playing wide receiver and corner, but it’s pretty darn close.
As a sophomore, Kelly flirted with a .400 batting average for much of the season before ending the year with a .382 mark. He belted 19 home runs and drove in 63 runs. The scary thing for opposing pitchers is that he still has a ton of room to get bigger and stronger, which will only improve his power numbers and slugging percentage.
With another strong year in 2027, Kelly could be one of the handful of names considered to be the No. 1 overall pick in next summer’s draft.
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West Virginia
Iconic country music band Alabama takes stage for West Virginia’s America 250 celebration
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — Thousands descended upon the West Virginia Capitol on Friday night to hear one of the most iconic country music bands of all time.
Alabama took to the Boulevard Stage shortly before 8 p.m. and gave fans a show lasting approximately 90 minutes, despite the grueling heat that has been factor throughout America250 celebrations and the Charleston Sternwheel Regatta.
Performing songs such as “Song of the South,” “Can’t Keep a Good Man Down” and the classic “Dixieland Delight,” the two-time Grammy Award-winning band even gave West Virginians a treat by playing John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” which the band said was at the request of Gov. Patrick Morrisey.
The band opened up a weekend full of performances at the Capitol. The West Virginia Symphony Orchestra will take the stage on Saturday, while the Marshall Tucker Band will perform on Sunday.
The performances are just a piece of what is going on at the Capitol, as vendors and family-friendly activities are offered all weekend. In the evenings, fireworks, light shows and drone shows will light up the night in celebration of America’s 250th.
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Additionally, a 230-foot Ferris wheel is free for visitors to ride throughout the weekend.
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