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West Virginia

Private School, Religious Vaccine Exemptions Pass House – West Virginia Public Broadcasting

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2 years ago

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Private School, Religious Vaccine Exemptions Pass House – West Virginia Public Broadcasting


Some West Virginia schools could soon have more leniency over vaccine requirements.

House Bill 5105 would remove vaccine requirements for enrolling in private, parochial or virtual public schools in West Virginia.

It would also allow parents or guardians to exempt their child from vaccination because of their religious beliefs.

The bill narrowly passed the West Virginia House of Delegates on Monday, following a vote of 57 to 41. Two lawmakers did not vote.

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The bill’s initial draft only applied to students enrolled in virtual public schools, but was amended to also include students in private or parochial schools earlier this month.

Currently, students must receive vaccines for several infectious diseases — like polio, measles and hepatitis B — regardless of the type of school they attend, unless they are homeschooled or medically exempt.

Under the bill, private, parochial and virtual schools would still have the authority to impose their own vaccine requirements. But these schools would have discretion over what vaccine requirements they have in place.

Proponents of the bill described it as a matter of personal choice and religious freedom.

Del. Laura Kimble, R-Harrison, serves as lead sponsor on the bill. Kimble said she drafted the bill after learning that students must be vaccinated to enroll in virtual public school programs, which she called “absurd.”

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“We live in West Virginia. We live in the United States of America. We have rights. We have the constitution,” she said. “We acknowledge that we’re guaranteed the right to religious liberty, yet our West Virginia government has attempted to infringe on this right.”

Del. Larry Kump, R-Berkeley, said he does not consider himself anti-vaccine, but that he supports the bill as a matter of personal choice.

“Why should government mandates do this?” he asked fellow lawmakers on the House floor. “This is a personal property or personal liberty and accountability bill.”

But opponents on both sides of the aisle expressed concerns that increasing leniency over vaccines would hurt public health.

Some lawmakers said the success of decades-long vaccine campaigns has removed a sense of urgency in present-day thinking around public health.

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“Vaccines have erased these diseases from our memory,” said Del. Ric Griffith, D-Wayne. “We don’t see them, so they don’t happen.”

Del. Anitra Hamilton, D-Monongalia, said vaccines are an important way to curb public health emergencies.

“At the end of the day, this is about protecting not only our children, because if your children catch something, they’re going to take it home to the family,” she said. “This will allow the vaccine to spread to local communities and businesses, and we don’t have enough childcare to support the illnesses that will come,” Hamilton said.

Del. James Akers, R-Kanawha, said he saw value in the state’s current vaccine mandate, and that the bill might also be unfair to families that cannot afford public education.

“I think that we are potentially creating an equal protection problem among schools, because we’ll have a situation where if a parent can afford to send their child to a private or parochial school, then they will not have to be immunized,” he said.

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Akers also said he found the bill to be “too far-reaching.”

“I wish this bill was just about religious exemptions. I would press green every day,” Akers said. “But this bill goes beyond that, and I believe it does pose a risk to public health I simply can’t support.”

After more than two hours of intense debate, lawmakers narrowly approved the bill just days before the deadline for a bill to pass its initial chamber. The bill will now undergo further deliberation in the West Virginia Senate.



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West Virginia

Food Guy: WV Coffee Festival; In search of Humphrey's Pine Room, Ray's Deli recipes

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March 25, 2026

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Food Guy: WV Coffee Festival; In search of Humphrey's Pine Room, Ray's Deli recipes


Charleston, West Virginia’s Food Guy restaurant reviewer Steven Keith shares some details about the upcoming 2026 West Virginia Coffee Festival to be held at the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center in April. Also, column readers have made requests for recipes from the now-closed Humphrey’s Pine Room and Ray’s Deli.



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West Virginia

Four Wheeling residents sentenced for selling fentanyl, heroin and meth in West Virginia

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16 hours ago

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March 24, 2026

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Four Wheeling residents sentenced for selling fentanyl, heroin and meth in West Virginia


WHEELING, W.Va. — Four Wheeling residents were sentenced in federal court today for selling fentanyl and other drugs in West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle.

Tyshaun Johnson, 30, was sentenced to 115 months in prison. Johnson sold fentanyl near Jensen Playground in Wheeling, and investigators also determined he was selling cocaine base in the area. Johnson has prior convictions for fraud, assault, domestic battery, malicious assault and theft.

Harold Wayne Nice, 42, was sentenced to 60 months in prison today. Nice was responsible for selling more than 30 grams of methamphetamine, along with nearly 2 grams of fentanyl and one gram of cocaine base. Nice has previously been convicted for domestic battery, destruction of property, assault, breaking and entering and drug crimes.

Cephus Andrews, 33, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for conspiring with others to sell fentanyl, heroin and cocaine in Ohio County. Andrews, one of nine defendants in a drug conspiracy, allowed his residence to serve as a stash house for the drugs. Investigators seized 7.5 grams of a fentanyl/heroin mixture and 3.35 grams of cocaine, along with drug paraphernalia and $1,095. The other eight defendants are awaiting trial currently scheduled to occur in April 2026.

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Alyssa Marie Abrigg, 34, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison. Abrigg sold nearly a gram of fentanyl and half a gram of methamphetamine in the Warwood section of Wheeling. She has prior drug convictions.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Clayton Reid is prosecuting the cases on behalf of the government. Investigative agencies include the Ohio Valley Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the Drug Enforcement Administration; and the Wheeling Police Department.



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West Virginia

Kentucky takes down West Virginia, will face Texas in Sweet 16

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1 day ago

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March 24, 2026

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Kentucky takes down West Virginia, will face Texas in Sweet 16


West Virginia is a team that Kentucky was designed to beat, but that doesn’t always happen.

The Mountaineers are small, ferocious, and force turnovers at an elite rate. Kentucky needed to counter that with the size West Virginia just doesn’t have.

Early on, they did just that.

1st half showcases the size difference

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West Virginia’s average height is 5’9, and they love to press. Kentucky should be able to just find Strack or Key and allow runners to come off them. The Cats opened up handling the pressure pretty well. Amelia Hassett hit two first-quarter 3’s, and Clara Strack had 4 and 4. But West Virginia was also handling the Cats’ size pretty well.

6’1 Kierra Wheeler had 4 points and 4 rebounds herself as she battled down low in the opening frame. Teonni Key was a monster in the opening half. The senior had 11 points and 5 rebounds, but as the half wore on, the pressure started to get to Kentucky.

After the Cats stretched the lead to double figures, West Virginia would force a 10-second violation as Kentucky struggled to find Clara Strack in the middle of the press. When they did a couple of possessions later, it was a double dribble, and those are the simple kind of unforced turnovers that Kentucky can not have in a game like this.

A 13-2 run from West Virginia sent the two teams to halftime tied at 36. Kentucky shot 48% percent from the floor but had 7 turnovers, 3 from Key and 1 from Strack. West Virginia was led by 13 from Gia Cooke and 10 from Wheeler.

If Kentucky was going to get to its first Sweet 16 in a decade, it would come from Strack and Key.

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2nd half started with a Kentucky streak

The Cats started the 3rd with a big flurry, a 13-2 run saw Kentucky extend back to an 11-point lead. It was kind of identical to how the 2nd quarter played out, with Kentucky handling the pressure and using its height to convert easy baskets.

West Virginia really struggled down low against Kentucky’s size. They converted just 13-of-32 from 2-point range.

Kentucky would have a 12-point lead heading to the 4th, just 10 minutes away from a first Sweet 16 appearance since 2015-16.

It started with a bang as West Virginia would throw a haymaker. The Mountaineers would go on a 12-2 run to start the 4th, and Kentucky did look rattled. But to their credit, they slowed it back down and went down low to Key and Strack. The two stars on the day for Kentucky would answer and get back up 8 behind a beautiful post move from Strack.

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Gia Cooke, as she did all day, answered. She hit a huge 3 to stem the Cats’ momentum and bring West Virginia back to within 5. The guard would finish with 23.

Tonie Morgan would rise up with 2 minutes to go; she missed the jumper, but a huge hustle play from Clara Strack would give Kentucky another chance to build on its 4-point lead.

Strack would then convert, but like she did all afternoon, Sydney Shaw hit a clutch 3 from the corner, her 6th, to bring West Virginia to within 3 with just 90 seconds to play.

Clara Strack’s turnover issues would play big as she tried to back down, and Jordan Harrison would swipe her 4th steal of the night. Two free throws later, and it was just a 1-point game.

Tonie Morgan hadn’t hit a lot of shots, just 2-for-8. But the point guard hit a massive free-throw line jumper to get Kentucky back up 3 with 55 seconds to go.

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West Virginia would hit 2 more clutch free throws, and with 8 seconds to go, Hassett had a wide-open 3. It clanged off the rim, and the Mountaineers would have the last shot.

The Mountaineers had not led since early in the 4th quarter. Gia Cooke shook Teonni Key and had an open jumper that rimmed out. Key would secure the rebound, and Kentucky called a timeout.

On the inbound play, the ball would be hit off Morgan’s shoe. West Virginia would get a chance for a tip-in with .2 left.

West Virginia couldn’t get a shot off, and the Cats will be heading to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2016. And they did it on the road.

Up next is (1) Texas, which the Cats lost to by 11 earlier this year. That game was a lot closer than the final score, as the Cats were actually within 1 with just over 5 to go.

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The game will be in Fort Worth, so it will be another road game. But we should all enjoy this Sweet victory.



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