HINTON, W.Va. (WVVA) – After several years of preparation, the division of natural resources have launched their dive and rescue team for the state of West Virginia.

“Today we’ve unveiled our dive team. This is a statewide effort that’s been going on for some time. It’s taken an immense amount of training and gathering of equipment and putting together policy and all the departmental stuff,” said JB Smith. “So, we just kind of unveiled it. These guys have been in the works for several months or years now, honestly, and we’re just kind of getting ready to show it off to the state.”

Governor Jim Justice is excited to have this new resource available for the state. The governor says he believes with these safety measures in place more people will flock to the mountain state and continue to drive up tourism, which has played a factor in allowing this launch to happen.

“We didn’t have the money. You know, now we do. We’re flourishing in every category tourism, license sales and fishing and hunting, all the different things that are going on. We’re flourishing in this state and therefore we have the money and that’s why we’re how we’re able to do this,” said Justice.

The environment, as well as what is being recovered, dictates what the diver will be equipped with, and what steps need to be taken. Safety precautions between officers in the water and those who are assuring their safety from above, include things like having radios and hand signals to always guarantee safety.

Training to become a certified diver is not an easy task, including everything from swimming tests to learning how to navigate with your hands in sometimes eight inches of visibility. One diver talks about the eerie feeling of being underwater while barely being able to see.

“When you’re searching for something, sometimes you can’t see it. It’s all about feeling and you’ve got to get on top of it,” said Zachary Mills. “So, once you feel it, then you have to try to put your eyes on it, which is very difficult, but our underwater lights do help a little bit. It’s just very eerie feeling when you have to rely on your sense of feel versus see”

With great honor these divers carry the responsibility of being side by side with individuals in their time of need.

Copyright 2024 WVVA. All rights reserved.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to force West Virginia to spend $330 million to improve prison and jail conditions statewide and fill worker vacancies.

U.S. District Judge Irene Berger ruled Tuesday in Beckley in favor of motions by Gov. Jim Justice and state Homeland Security Secretary Mark Sorsaia to dismiss the suit.

The lawsuit was filed in August 2023 by inmates at the maximum-security Mount Olive Correctional Complex in Fayette County and the Southwestern Regional Jail in Logan County and on behalf of a juvenile at a detention facility in Boone County.

Berger found the plaintiffs had no standing to pursue the lawsuit, ruling there was no direct connection between the conduct of Justice and Sorsaia and the allegations in the lawsuit that overcrowding was ignored and that regular funding wasn’t provided for facility upkeep.

While the plaintiffs sought the spending of state budget surplus funds to address corrections staffing and deferred maintenance of prison and jail facilities, “Secretary Sorsaia’s budget authority extends only so far” because it requires legislative approval, Berger wrote.

Berger also said she could not order the Republican governor to use his discretionary power to commute sentences and pardon inmates to address overcrowding.

In May, Justice ended a nearly two-year state of emergency over staffing in the state Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The state National Guard was used to help stop worker attrition at jails and prisons. Last summer, the vacancy rate was more than 30%. Just over 730 National Guard members worked in 17 correctional facilities while the state of emergency was in place.

Gen. William E. Crane, the state National Guard’s adjutant general, had said nearly 240 people have graduated from the state’s corrections academy since January, while 38 National Guard members assigned to work in the jails and prisons decided to stay on permanently.

Last summer, state lawmakers meeting in a special session approved over $21 million for correctional officer pay increases, along with two one-time bonuses of $2,294 for other jail staff who are not correctional officers, such as kitchen staff.

Last year, the state agreed to pay $4 million to settle a separate class-action lawsuit filed by inmates over conditions at the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver.

Pittsburgh (Pa.) Aliquippa 2026 linebacker Daiveon Taylor has been committed to West Virginia since April but has continued to build strong bonds with the coaching staff.

And the Rivals.com three-star prospect made multiple trips to Morgantown in June to further solidify that.

Taylor, 6-foot-2, 213-pounds, made the trek down for a one-day camp as well as the Mountaineers first 7-on-7 tournament in June and was able to showcase his improvement in front of the coaches.

“They like everything I’m doing. My hips got better, and I move better,” he said. “They were just giving me some pointers on playing linebacker.”

Inside linebackers coach Jeff Koonz, along with area recruiter tight ends coach Blaine Stewart have been the primary points of contact for Taylor but he also had plenty of time to talk with head coach Neal Brown.

“I feel like the relationship has gone great and it’s only getting better,” he said.

The Rivals.com three-star prospect has been no stranger to Morgantown over the course of his recruitment and a big reason for that has been his ties with the West Virginia coaches. That has made him feel welcomed.

“I love it, they make me feel at home,” he said.

Taylor had been the lone member of the 2026 class until Kingston (Ga.) Cass 2026 quarterback Brodie McWhorter jumped into the boat and the two have already built a strong bond. The pair plan to both be active when it comes to recruiting other key targets into the class moving forward.

“Me and Brodie are very close, and we are recruiting others,” he said.

Taylor next plans to return to West Virginia July 25 for the cookout on campus in order to spend even more time with the coaches and put his recruiting cap on to potentially add more to the group.