CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) is hosting regional school safety meetings starting this week.
County and school administrators will join the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), West Virginia Department of Homeland Security, the Fusion Center and the WVDE to discuss possible threats to child safety. The WVDE will also share information about new technology used for submitting annual school safety plans.
“The regional safety sessions serve several purposes, and all of them are designed to keep our children safe,” said Director of School Safety Jonah Adkins. “The FBI and Homeland Security understand the importance of public involvement, so this information is shared to increase awareness and prevent incidents that no one should ever experience.”
Jonah Adkins
The FBI will discuss online activity that students could get involved in. FBI special agents say they commonly look into hackers and adults that may be pretending to be juveniles and are engaging with children through social media or other online forms of communication.
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Schools and counties have at their use better technology tools to submit their annual safety plans with WVDE GPS, or Grants and Planning System. The program includes new features that allow educators to include important student information in emergency reunification plans.
When meeting with the state Board of Education recently, Adkins also mentioned the “See Send” App that can be used by students if they have safety concerns.
“Students can submit reports or concerns anonymously and those come to the school safety unit and are investigated,” he said.
Adkins told board members he’s big on getting communities more involved. He said they play just as vital of a role of keeping kids safe at school as anyone.
“Get the community to realize they’re importance in involvement in school safety and prevention,” he said.
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The first meeting is Tuesday, May 7, at the Embassy Suites, located at 300 Court Street in Charleston. The meeting will cover Boone, Cabell, Calhoun, Clay, Jackson, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Mason, Mingo, Putnam, Roane, Wayne, Wirt and Wood counties.
The rest of the series of meetings are as followed:
Friday, May 10 – White Palace at Wheeling Park, Wheeling Barbour, Brooke, Doddridge, Hancock, Harrison, Lewis, Marion, Marshall, Monongalia, Ohio, Pleasants, Preston, Ritchie, Taylor, Tyler, Upshur, Wetzel counties
Monday, May 13 – West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, Lewisburg Braxton, Fayette, Gilmer, Greenbrier, McDowell, Mercer, Monroe, Nicholas, Pocahontas, Raleigh, Summers, Webster, Wyoming counties
Thursday, May 16 – West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (WVSDB) Berkeley, Grant, Hampshire, Hardy, Jefferson, Mineral, Morgan, Pendleton, Randolph, Tucker counties and the WVSDB
The West Virginia Mountaineers (10-3) welcome the Maryland Terrapins (10-5) to Kendrick Family Ballpark Tuesday afternoon the first encounter between the two programs since 2023 and the first meeting in Morgantown since 2018. The first pitch is set for 2:00 p.m. EST and the action will stream on ESPN+.
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The Mountaineers captured their fourth consecutive series of the season after taking two of the three games from Columbia over the weekend. West Virginia sophomore Matt Ineich and senior Brodie Kresser both blasted grand slams during the series. Ineich lifted WVU in game two with a walk-off grand slam in the 10th in game two, and Kresser ignited a 16-1 rout, capping a six-run second inning in the series finale.
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Gavin Kelly leads West Virginia at the plate with a .436 batting average with a Big 12 leading nine doubles. Ineich and senior Paul Schoenfeld has raked in a team-leading 16 RBI apiece, while senior Matthew Graveline has clubbed a team-high three home runs.
On the mound, West Virginia is expected to start sophomore David Hagen. The right-hander has made four appearances on the season, including one start. He last started in the home-opener against Ohio where he pitched two scoreless innings and recorded a strikeout to collect his first win of the season. He holds a 1.00 ERA with five strikeouts on the season.
After starting 3-4, Maryland is 7-1 in its last eight games. The Terrapins won two of three at UNC Wilmington in the season opening series, followed by a midweek win against Georgetown before getting swept at Louisiana. The Terps bounced back with a pair of midweek wins versus Delaware and swept a one-win Wagner team.
Junior Brayden Martin is batting a team-best .443 to go with four doubles and 12 RBI. Redshirt freshman Ryan Costello leads the Terps in home runs (9) and RBI (21) and is third in batting average at .328, while freshman Ty Kaunus has a team-high seven doubles and has .269 batting average.
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Maryland is scheduled to start freshman Nic Morlang. The right-hander has four appearances on the season, including four starts. He allowed five earned runs in his appearances, coinciding with his two starts, in six innings of work. In his last two appearances in relief, He’s allowed one earned run on five hits.
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West Virginia leads the all-time series 8-5, including a five-game winning streak over Maryland.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to a series of parties in Morgantown over the weekend.
Morgantown police officers, West Virginia University Police and state police responded to reports of overcrowded parties, underage drinking, physical altercations and multiple injuries.
Morgantown Communications Director Brad Riffie said several citations were issued for open containers and underage consumption.
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Two large parties were dispersed and six arrests were made without incident.
None of the reported injuries are believed to be serious or life-threatening.
The Morgantown Fire Department assisted in the operations.
Hancock County, WV — A Weir High School senior has been recognized as the 2026 West Virginia Student Journalist of the Year.
Hailey Hans was selected for the statewide honor after building a journalism portfolio since her freshman year. She also serves as the staff manager of Weir Student Media, where she oversees articles and is in charge of deadlines.
“When I was a freshman I was placed in the journalism one class, and I actually tried to get pulled from the class. But, then after I sat in the class and I learned a little bit, that’s where my love grew and then from there I continued to take classes, I helped pass a law, and I got to these national conventions. Where it just lit a fire inside me,” Hans said.
Hans is planning to attend West Liberty University in the fall to study education with a minor in journalism, with the goal of becoming a journalism teacher. She will now submit her portfolio for the national-level contest.
