West Virginia

West Virginia Children's Home to permanently close its doors – WV MetroNews

Published

3 days ago

December 30, 2024

West Virginia Children's Home to permanently close its doors – WV MetroNews

ELKINS, W.Va. — The West Virginia Department of Human Services say consistent absenteeism in schools will be dealt with in another way after making the announcement that a historic children’s home will permanently be closing its doors.

The DoHS said the West Virginia Children’s Home in Elkins is scheduled to officially close down tomorrow, Tuesday, December 31.

Cynthia Persily

DoHS Cabinet Secretary Cynthia Persily said a decision was made to close the facility as the state is working to reduce reliance on residential care for children. She said this facility and its use for housing children who have been adjudicated by the court, primarily for truancy, is not consistent with those goals.

Persily said all of the adolescents who were currently living in the Children’s Home have now been removed from the facility and have been transferred to more appropriate placements elsewhere.

“We made arrangements to close the facility in November and worked diligently in transferring the very few children who were housed there into more appropriate housing for them,” said Persily.

She said there were just two remaining children in the facility at the time the decision was made to close it, and the average daily census of children there has been about four since it reopened after the Covid-19 Pandemic. The facility was only licensed to house a total of seven children at a time.

Persily said they have been working with the Department of Education who has been working diligently on truancy prevention programs for children instead of housing them for truancy purposes, as they believe there are more appropriate solutions that can be put in place to address this issue.

“The children who were housed there were not receiving treatment, it was purely housing, and the county school district was providing schooling for them,” she said.

Persily said it was also costing them $1.7 million annually to keep the facility operational due to it needing to be staffed 24/7. She said it just wasn’t feasible.

“If any of us do the math, $1.7 million dollars a year to care for an average of four children, it doesn’t seem to be financially-sound either,” she said.

She said they had about 21 full-time employees working at the facility at the time of closure as well as a few more temporary staff. Persily said they are being transferred to work at other state-run facilities.

Additionally, Persily said a recent study by ZMM Architects also highlighted the need for $7.8 million in deferred maintenance to be put into the building, which was completed in 1909. She said the architect company said there would need to be a lot of new safety measures put in place to keep the building up to code.

Persily said, given that it is a historic building, they weren’t sure if more maintenance needs would be tacked on.

“So, consequently, those costs could have gone up significantly, and given the fact that it’s just not consistent with our goals to house children in a residential facility who could be housed elsewhere, we opted to close the facility.

While she said WVCH had received additions and upgrades in 1916 and again in 1935, and has been well-maintained over the years, the over 25,000 square foot facility now faces challenges due to age and structural requirements.

Once home to the West Virginia Orphanage beginning in 1909 when it opened, Persily said interestingly enough, there are a number of historic artifacts there that they are currently working with the Department of Culture and History to archive some of those artifacts, including historic pictures and documents.

She said the facility has definitely made an impact on the children it has served over its 115 year tenure, but it can no longer serve such a purpose.

“I certainly think that it has kept children safe, and in many instances, caused those children to be able to graduate, to go to school and graduate, but again, we think there are better ways to do that for children today than by housing them in a residential facility,” Persily said.

However, the state is currently evaluating any future potential use for the historic building to preserve its legacy. Those plans will be developed in coordination with the West Virginia Real Estate Division.

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West Virginia

QB Marchiol gives West Virginia a good starting point

Published

6 hours ago

January 2, 2025

Press Room

QB Marchiol gives West Virginia a good starting point

The transfer portal certainly hit West Virginia after the departure of former head coach Neal Brown.

The Mountaineers had a total of 20 players enter their names into the database during the open window with some key names among that list such as linebacker Josiah Trotter, offensive lineman Tomas Rimac, running back CJ Donaldson, wide receiver Hudson Clement, linebacker Trey Lathan, wide receiver Traylon Ray, offensive lineman Johnny Williams and wide receiver Ric’Darious Farmer are just a few of the names that elected to exit the program with the coaching change.

But the Mountaineers did receive some good news for the first season under new head coach Rich Rodriguez with redshirt junior quarterback Nicco Marchiol announcing his decision to return. While it could be assumed with the transfer portal deadline set to pass, it’s significant announcement.

Marchiol has spent three years with the program which has been spent mostly as a backup to Garrett Greene but has fared well when given the opportunity. Marchiol has spent three years in the program and to date has completed 71-122 passes with 8 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.

He also has rushed for 285 yards and 3 scores.

“I’m honored to be back for 2025. Ready to finish what I came here to do – win games and help restore the pride and glory that this incredible community deserves,” Marchiol wrote.

Getting Marchiol back is a key start to the off-season as Rodriguez looks to build his roster heading into the 2025 campaign. The signal caller is a former four-star prospect that has waited his turn and developed tremendously during his time on campus.

The progression was obvious in his play on the field from when he was first thrust into the starting role in winning games against Pittsburgh and Texas Tech in 2023 to what unfolded in 2024. Again, injury to Greene forced Marchiol to step up as the starter and he led the Mountaineers to a 2-0 record with wins over Arizona and Cincinnati. He also played well on the road at Oklahoma State.

In the two starts, Marchiol completed 27-37 passes for 354 yards with 3 touchdowns and one interception. And even that pick was one that wasn’t necessarily on him.

This season, West Virginia was able to call the entire offense with Marchiol in the game as opposed to a condensed version when he was still growing as a player the year prior. It was clear he had shown progression in his understanding and execution of the offense.

“Not trying to play outside myself, play within myself. Being accurate with the football and getting the ball to the play makers and letting them be special,” Marchiol said.

Having Marchiol in place is important for the build of the roster as now it’s clear that the redshirt junior will be back and has the possibility to spend his final two years as the starter. That will have to be earned, when it comes to experience he clearly is at the top of the list with the current options.

That will continue to play out in the coming weeks and months, but the Mountaineers are bringing back a talented quarterback that has already shown the ability to win games when given the chance.

And those chances are likely to be a lot more available in 2025.

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West Virginia

West Virginia is full of wintertime fun!

Published

14 hours ago

January 1, 2025

Press Room

West Virginia is full of wintertime fun!

FAYETTEVILLE, WV (WVNS) — Wintertime usually means staying inside, cuddling by a warm fire, and enjoying a mug of hot cocoa.

Live music series to be held at Winterplace Ski Resort

But West Virginia is still packed with adventure even when the temperatures drop!

From miles and miles of gorgeous hiking trails to several ski resorts covered in fresh powder, the wintertime activities in West Virginia are plentiful.

Kenny Parker, buyer for WaterStone Outdoors, said he has his go-to favorites.

“I’m geared up for all of it so I would say it would depend on conditions, right? If it’s a cold, sunny day, rock-climbing would be the thing to do, you know, for me. If it’s been dry, you know, relatively but it’s cold, mountain biking is excellent around here, so,” said Parker.

Parker said for the daring and dedicated there’s always kayaking one of southern West Virginia’s rivers as well.

He said no matter what the season or the weather, there’s always a stellar activity ready for you in West Virginia.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WVNS.

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West Virginia

Where West Virginia Sits in NET Rankings Following Win Over No. 7 Kansas

Published

22 hours ago

January 1, 2025

Press Room

Where West Virginia Sits in NET Rankings Following Win Over No. 7 Kansas

Darian DeVries has won over a lot of West Virginia fans since he took the job last March but after Tuesday afternoon’s win over No. 7 Kansas, I’m pretty sure 100% of Mountaineer Nation is on board with the hire.

The Mountaineers were 0-11 all-time at Kansas before yesterday, and that was with a Hall of Fame coach in Bob Huggins, who had top-10 and top-25 teams that were much deeper than this year’s group. What’s more impressive about the win is how WVU had to endure travel issues and were down two of their best three players, Tucker DeVries and Amani Hansberry.

With the win, West Virginia moved up six spots in the NCAA’s NET rankings, going from No. 35 to No. 29. They are also 3-1 in Quad 1 games, which positions them nicely to make the NCAA Tournament, barring some sort of epic collapse in Big 12 Conference play.

“What is happening with this team is they’re starting to grow in confidence, and confidence is a very dangerous thing for people,” DeVries said in his postgame radio interview with Tony Caridi. “All of a sudden, now you can start to achieve some things that nobody else thought possible. Like I told them in the locker room, ‘There was anybody, very few at least, outside of this locker room, considering the injuries and things that probably thought we were coming in here and winning today.’ But that group in that locker room did, and they believed in it. And that’s what I think I love about this group.”

West Virginia will return home Saturday to face Oklahoma State at noon EST.