West Virginia
Student winners announced in 2024 West Virginia Bridge Design contest
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WVVA) – The West Virginia Department of Transportation has announced the winners of the West Virginia Bridge Design & Build Contest that was held on April 6, at WVU Tech in Beckley.
Eastern Greenbrier Middle School and PikeView High School took home the most honors with several first-place wins.
WVDOT said that 38 teams form 21 counties competed. Middle and high schoolers competed in both computer software and balsa wood model contests to see who can come up with the most cost-effective and sturdiest bridge designs.
Eastern Greenbrier Middle School took home first place middle in the software design and balsa wood bridge competitions for the middle school division while PikeView High School took home first place in the same categories for the high school division.
Winners included:
Software – middle school:
- First place, Emma Vincent and Ellie Burns, team DumbleDores Army, Eastern Greenbrier Middle School.
- Second place, Laura Du and Riya Zenn, team In it for the money, Suncrest Middle School.
- Third place, Ben Kelso and Saja Huggi, team Scheming, Eastern Greenbrier Middle School.
Software – high school:
- First place, Ben Williams and Jacob Lafferty, team Infinity+2, PikeView High School.
- Second place, Landon Palmer and Landon Lester, team Landon_Squared, PikeView High School
- Third place, Larry Du and Max Chen, team LarryMax, Morgantown High School
Balsa wood bridge competition – middle school:
- Third place, Carley Coleman, team Tinker Belles, Andrew Jackson Middle School.
- Second place, Laura Du and Riya Zenn, team Initforthemoney, Suncrest Middle School.
- First place, Arabella Webb, team The Strawberries, Eastern Greenbrier Middle School.
- Most creative, John Williams, team Johniscool1000000000, PikeView Middle School
Balsa wood bridge competition – high school:
- Third place, Janie Gilchrist and Alex Gilchrist, team AsianInvasion, Morgantown High School.
- Second place, Parker Worline and Ethan Coleman, team PandE, Winfield High School.
- First place, Johnathon Scott Meadows, team UNcivil engineering, PikeView High School.
- Most creative, Madelyn Cole and Parker Shrewsbury, team Ihavethehighground, PikeView High School.
- Most creative, Connor Atkins and Lucas Messenger, team Negative Zero, East Fairmont High School.
To register for next year’s contest, download bridge design software, or find out more about the contest, visit https://wvbridgedesignandbuildcontest.com.
Copyright 2024 WVVA. All rights reserved.
BOONE COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) – We have a traffic alert for drivers in the Danville area of Boone County.
Starting on Friday, they should expect delays as crew perform work on the Jill Micah Hess Bridge along U.S. 119.
According to the West Virginia Department of Transportation, northbound traffic will be shifted from the slow lane to the fast lane.
This will take place from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and drivers are asked to expect delays.
Copyright 2026 WSAZ. All rights reserved.
West Virginia
Community Catalyst Grant applications are open through West Virginia First Foundation through June 30 – WV MetroNews
The West Virginia First Foundation, which was established to use drug lawsuit settlement money to try to alleviate problems related to addiction, reported having access to $378.5 million in financial resources and noted that more than $34 million in grants have been awarded since the organization’s start.
The West Virginia First Foundation met for a few minutes Thursday at Ascend West Virginia in Charleston. The meeting was also available for view through streaming.
Executive Director Jonathan Board highlighted the launch of the Community Catalyst Grant application and a statewide needs assessment intended to identify service gaps.
Designed as a three-year, outcomes-driven investment, the program will support projects focused on public safety response, day report centers and generational prevention efforts. The program opened for applications on June 1 and remains open through June 30.
“We’re very encouraged by the interest and engagement so far,” Board said.
The board also approved a $4 million funding request for the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute. The project is focused on expanding access to innovative addiction treatment and recovery support tools while building the technology and infrastructure needed to support implementation across West Virginia.
Additional details about the project and funding agreement are to be released in the coming weeks following the completion of final documentation. West Virginia First Foundation and Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute plan to issue a joint announcement once the agreement process is complete.
“They’ve gone through a very rigorous process for the correct funding,” Board said. “Their team has presented an opportunity to fund a project that will build technology, training and support systems of care needed to expand access to an innovative addiction treatment approach throughout the state of West Virginia, and really beyond.”
The West Virginia First Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 2023 to manage and distribute 72.5% of the state’s opioid settlement funds, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. The organization is aimed at combatting the addiction crisis through grants and regional projects.
The next regular meeting of the Foundation’s Board of Directors is scheduled for Sept. 17 although it’s subject to change.
West Virginia may have come up empty-handed in two tries against North Carolina in the College World Series, but they earned the respect of their head coach, Scott Forbes, who was incredibly complimentary of the Mountaineers following Wednesday’s game.
“I want to congratulate West Virginia. A heck of a team, a heck of a run,” he opened his postgame press conference with. “They are very well coached. They just play the game the right way. It’s a credit to their coaching staff. They come at you a lot of ways. A lot of speed, deep pitching staff, so we really had to work in those two games to beat them. I’ve been in their shoes, and I know what that feels like, and it’s a stinker. But man, they got a lot to be proud of, and they should be extremely proud of how they represented their university.”
The culture at WVU is as strong as it gets
Multiple times this season, West Virginia looked like they were well on their way to a loss and were rewarded with a win because they never stopped playing hard. Everyone thinks of the two games against Kentucky in the Morgantown Regional, and rightfully so, but they also came back to win after trailing by eight against UCF and after trailing by five to BYU.
For a moment, there was a belief that the magical moment was going to come again during Wednesday’s game against Forbes’ Tar Heels. With two outs in the 7th and trailing 12-1, Armani Guzman busted his tail down the first base line to beat out a grounder to short. It ultimately led to a five-run inning for the Mountaineers, all of a sudden turning a laugher into a semi-interesting game. Gavin Kelly hit a solo home run in the 8th to make it a five-run deficit, and in the ninth, Ben Lumsden just missed a three-run shot that would have really put pressure on North Carolina, even with two outs.
To have your team still playing hard when trailing by 11 with their season likely about to come to an end, it says a lot about the character of this group, but also how deeply ingrained the culture is at WVU. There’s a reason this program has turned the corner over the last 14 or so years and is continuing to trend up. They’ve had the right people in place leading it.
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