MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Saturday is the 250th birthday of the United States Army and commemoration of the the 25-day, 600-mile march to Massachusetts to battle the siege of Boston in Shepherdstown.

U.S. Army Secretary Frank Vitale said that a militia of 98 riflemen was the start of what is now a world-class fighting force. A big leap from one of their first missions of mapping the United States during the Lewis & Clark expedition.

“Now, 450,000 soldiers are on active duty, making it the largest force, and with the reserves, we have over one million wearing the U.S. Army uniform,” Vitale said.

The Mountain State has a long history of service in the military, in fact one of the highest participation rates in the country. Additionally, soldiers in the West Virginia National Guard are deployed for floods and disasters at a higher rate than most states in the country.

“West Virginia has a legacy, a true history of military service,” Vitale said. “In fact, per capita, we’ve had more people serve this nation than any other state.”

Major General (Ret.) James Hoyer grew up in a family with a deep history of military service and even civilian employees in support roles of the military. His interest in the military was sparked by a story from his grandmother about the sacrifices made back home to support the troops during World War II. WVNG soldiers and Vietnam veterans Major Doug Richmond and LTC Charles Ledbetter got him interested in special operations, and a family friend told him how to make it happen.

“A gentleman by the name of Jack Yeager, who served in the West Virginia National Guard and was a family friend, told me I could serve in those roles in the National Guard, and that’s how I ended up where I am,” Hoyer said.

The 250th birthday of the U.S. Army should really be a celebration of the individual soldier. Hoyer pointed to the 81st anniversary of the D-Day invasion and the critical decisions that were made that set the chain of events in motion for the liberation of Europe.

“Individuals had to make decisions down at the soldier level that impacted our success as a nation, and being able to be a part of that is what being a part of the U.S. Army is all about,” Hoyer said. “What we ought to be commemorating and remembering on the U.S. Army’s birthday is the individual soldier and all of the families behind them.”

The freedoms we enjoy are only possible because of the blood and sacrifices of generations of soldiers and their families. The start of that long tradition will be remembered Saturday in Shepherdstown at Morgan’s Run Park with a commemoration of the Bee Line March from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“It goes back to the formation of the Continental Army, where those 98 militiamen left what is now Shepherdstown and marched 600 miles in 24 days to become part of the original formation of the Continental Army,” Hoyer said.

CABELL COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) – West Virginia State Police responded to the Ohio River off Route 2 on Thursday after a caller reported finding a body.

The tip was reported around noon from a person on a boat, officials said.

West Virginia State Police, Cabell County EMS, and Ohio River Road Fire Department responded to the scene.

Keep checking the WSAZ app for the latest information.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. –The West Virginia Board of Education will seize full control over Boone County Schools and place Randolph County Schools under a state of emergency.

Board members voted Wednesday during their regular monthly meeting after the Office of Accountability director Alexandra Criner gave review reports regarding the situation at both schools.

During the recommended motion for Boone, State Superintendent Michelle Blatt told superintendent Matt Riggs and assistant Superintendent Tony Alienate to vacate their positions at the end of business on Wednesday. Blatt has appointed former Wyoming County Schools Superintendent Deirdre Cline as Boone County interim superintendent.

Blatt said that the board will be limited in what they can do regarding students’ education and that they must come up with a plan.

“A set of standards and or strategic plan that must be implemented in order for the Boone County board of education to regain control of the school system and that the WVBE directs the current and future Boone County superintendents to provide progress reports to the WVBE as requested,” Blatt said during her motion.

Before the motion was approved, Criner told the board that they conducted a special circumstance review from May 19 to May 21 after the recent federal case against Michael Barker, the former maintenance director who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud for running a scheme that ultimately took $3.4 million dollars from the school system between November 2019 and December 2023.

She said they found a multitude of issues within the system.

“Including potential conflict of interest, outdated policies, potentially using board of education resources to maintain property, and interference with the day-to-day operation of the school system,” Criner said.

She said during their review they also found a laundry list of issues pertaining to the noncompliance of West Virginia Department of Education policies 8200 and 8100.

These issues include the board not being able to provide invoices for purchases, could not provide state board of education approval for purchases over $100,000, where they had invoices dated before the purchase order, had multiple examples of improper coding of supplemental and stipend pay and had documentation that did not receive proper advisor approval and incomplete contract documentation.

She also said that they also lacked some essential polices including a teacher traveling policy and a non-adequate policy for purchasing and procurement.

However, Criner said they are currently working on getting these policies.

“Boone county schools is working with an outside vendor to update their policies and so there’s sort of a transition period there in which those newer policies have not been board approved and there still operating under the older policies,” she said.

She said they also found issues regarding nepotism and lack of communication.

On the other hand, Randolph County Schools was put under a state of emergency Wednesday during the boards meeting.

“During this time Randolph County board of education members and the superintendent with targeted assistance from the WVDE will create a comprehensive plan to correct identified deficiencies including a viable proposal for a balanced budget,” Blatt said during her motion.

Criner and her office performed a general review at the request of the superintendent Shawn Dilly.

She said that the review was mainly to interview county board members in order to find out about recent decisions they made. Some of their most recent decision was voting down Dilly’s plan to consolidate Harmon School, a K-12 school with 103 students enrolled, in January 2025. Which promoted Dilly to rescind his plan to consolidate Picken School, also a K-12 school with 29 students enrolled.

Criner also said they found issues regarding their plan to deal with declining enrollment, failure to approve of a consolidation plan, they are staffed beyond the school aid formula for professional, support and service personnel, and the Chief School Business Officer said that the board has a projected budget shortage of $2.8 million dollars for FY 25.

During the interviews of the school board members, they recounted that the reason they voted no to consolidate the school was because of the issue of transportation for those students.

She also said that while the board members didn’t express a plan in order to tackle their operational challenges.

“And although members expressed concern of the future of Randolph County Schools, no member of the local board articulated a clear path forward in the wake of the current challenges,” Criner said.

Criner said that members also expressed the lack of communication between them and superintendent Dilly did not help with all of the issues they are currently facing.

The board will hear an update on Randolph County Schools at their meeting in December 2025.

In recent months, the state board has also seized control over Mingo, Logan, Nicholas and Tyler.