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The West Virginia Department of Health is pleased to announce the successful conclusion of the West Virginia EMS for Children Pediatric Symposium, which took place from September 30 to October 2, 2024, at the Boy Scouts of America’s Summit Bechtel Reserve in Mount Hope. This event aimed to enhance emergency medical care for West Virginia’s youngest residents, ensuring that pediatric patients receive the highest standard of care in critical situations.

The symposium gathered emergency medical services (EMS) professionals from across the state for an extensive program that included workshops, keynote presentations, and interactive sessions. Participants engaged in hands-on exercises designed to improve their skills and knowledge in pediatric emergency care, reinforcing the importance of readiness and responsiveness in high-pressure scenarios.

A critical focus of this year’s symposium was the mental health support for EMS professionals. Recognizing the emotional toll of their work, the event included discussions on mental health resilience, highlighting West Virginia’s recent initiatives to secure additional resources for first responders. These discussions were crucial in acknowledging that the well-being of those who care for children is essential to delivering quality care.

“Our commitment to West Virginia’s youngest residents is at the heart of this symposium,” said Secretary Sherri Young, DO, MBA, FAAFP. “By equipping our EMS professionals with advanced training and mental health support, we are ensuring that our children receive the exceptional care they deserve during emergencies.”

OEMS Director Joseph Ratliff emphasized the significance of addressing both pediatric care and the mental health of first responders. “This event is a vital step in enhancing our capability to care for pediatric patients while also supporting the mental health of our first responders. It’s essential that we provide our EMS teams with the tools they need to perform their duties effectively and compassionately.”

The symposium featured specialized sessions focusing on both pediatric emergency care and mental health resilience for EMS personnel, fostering a collaborative environment for learning and growth.

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The Oklahoma State Cowboys host a Big 12 battle versus the West Virginia Mountaineers on Saturday, October 5, 2024 at Boone Pickens Stadium.

If you are searching for Cowboys vs. Mountaineers tickets, information is available below.

Oklahoma State vs. West Virginia game info

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How to buy Oklahoma State vs. West Virginia tickets for college football Week 6

You can buy tickets to see the Cowboys square off against the Mountaineers from multiple providers.

Oklahoma State vs. West Virginia betting odds, lines, spreads

• Spread favorite: Cowboys (-3.5)
• Moneyline favorite: Cowboys (-183)
• Total: 65.5 (O: -110, U: -110)

Odds courtesy of BetMGM

Oklahoma State Cowboys schedule

• Week 1: Aug. 31 at 2:00 p.m. ET vs. South Dakota State Jackrabbits, 44-20 win
• Week 2: Sept. 7 at 12:00 p.m. ET vs. Arkansas Razorbacks, 39-31 win
• Week 3: Sept. 14 at 12:00 p.m. ET at Tulsa Golden Hurricane, 45-10 win
• Week 4: Sept. 21 at 4:00 p.m. ET vs. Utah Utes, 22-19 loss
• Week 5: Sept. 28 at 12:00 p.m. ET at Kansas State Wildcats, 42-20 loss
• Week 6: Oct. 5 at 4:00 p.m. ET vs. West Virginia Mountaineers
• Week 8: Oct. 18 at 10:15 p.m. ET at BYU Cougars
• Week 9: Oct. 26 at Baylor Bears
• Week 10: Nov. 2 vs. Arizona State Sun Devils
• Week 11: Nov. 9 at TCU Horned Frogs
• Week 13: Nov. 23 vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders
• Week 14: Nov. 29 at 12:00 p.m. ET at Colorado Buffaloes

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Oklahoma State Cowboys stats

• With 480.6 yards allowed per game on defense, which ranks fifth-worst in the FBS, Oklahoma State has had to rely on its 52nd-ranked offense (422.8 yards per contest) to keep them in games.
• The Cowboys rank 42nd in scoring offense (33.4 points per game) and 79th in scoring defense (25.0 points allowed per game) this year.
• While Oklahoma State ranks 14th-worst in the FBS in passing defense with 276.4 passing yards allowed per game, it’s been a different situation on offense, as the offensive unit ranks 10th-best in the FBS (325.0 passing yards per game).
• The Cowboys rank 16th-worst in rushing offense (97.8 rushing yards per game) and 17th-worst in rushing defense (204.2 rushing yards per game allowed) this year.

West Virginia Mountaineers schedule

• Week 1: Aug. 31 at 12:00 p.m. ET vs. Penn State Nittany Lions, 34-12 loss
• Week 2: Sept. 7 at 6:00 p.m. ET vs. Albany Great Danes, 49-14 win
• Week 3: Sept. 14 at 3:30 p.m. ET at Pittsburgh Panthers, 38-34 loss
• Week 4: Sept. 21 at 12:00 p.m. ET vs. Kansas Jayhawks, 32-28 win
• Week 6: Oct. 5 at 4:00 p.m. ET at Oklahoma State Cowboys
• Week 7: Oct. 12 at 8:00 p.m. ET vs. Iowa State Cyclones
• Week 8: Oct. 19 vs. Kansas State Wildcats
• Week 9: Oct. 26 at Arizona Wildcats
• Week 11: Nov. 9 at Cincinnati Bearcats
• Week 12: Nov. 16 vs. Baylor Bears
• Week 13: Nov. 23 vs. UCF Knights
• Week 14: Nov. 30 at Texas Tech Red Raiders

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West Virginia Mountaineers stats

• With 410.0 total yards per game on offense, West Virginia ranks 59th in the FBS in 2024. On defense, it ranks 107th, surrendering 410.3 total yards per game.
• The Mountaineers rank 55th in the FBS with 31.8 points per contest on offense, and they rank 98th with 28.5 points allowed per game on defense.
• West Virginia’s defense has been a bottom-25 unit in pass defense this season, surrendering 256.5 passing yards per game, which ranks 24th-worst in the FBS. On the offensive side of the ball, it ranks 70th with 228.5 passing yards per contest.
• In terms of rushing, the Mountaineers rank 50th in the FBS on offense (181.5 rushing yards per game) and 83rd on the other side of the ball (153.8 rushing yards allowed per game).

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This content was created for Gannett using technology provided by Data Skrive.

This is one in a series of States Newsroom reports on the major policy issues in the presidential race.

WASHINGTON — As the cost and supply of housing remain top issues for voters, both presidential candidates have put forth plans to tackle the crisis, in hopes of courting voters ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

The coronavirus pandemic that began in 2020 exacerbated problems in the housing market, with supply chain disruptions, record-low interest rates and  increased demand contributing to a rise in housing prices, according to a study by the Journal of Housing Economics. 

While housing is typically handled on the local level, the housing supply is tight and rents continue to skyrocket, putting increased pressure on the federal government to help. Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump agree that it’s an issue that needs to be solved, but their solutions diverge.

The Harris and Trump campaigns did not respond to States Newsroom’s requests for details on the general housing proposals the nominees have discussed.

Promise: millions of new homes

Harris’ plan calls for the construction of 3 million homes in four years.

The United States has a shortage of about 3.8 million homes for sale and rent, according to 2021 estimates from Freddie Mac that are still relied upon.

Additionally, homelessness has hit a record-high of 653,100 people since January of last year, and a “record-high 22.4 million renter households spent more than 30 percent of their income on rent and utilities,” up from 2 million households since 2019, according to a study by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.

“This is obviously a multi-prong approach, because the factors contributing to high rents and housing affordability are many, and my plan is to attempt to address many of them at once, so we can actually have the net effect of bringing down the cost and making homeownership, renting more affordable,” Harris said during a September interview with Wisconsin Public Radio. 

Promise: single-family zoning

Trump has long opposed building multi-family housing and has instead thrown his support behind single-family zoning, which would exclude other types of housing. Such land-use regulation is conducted by local government bodies, not the federal government, though the federal government could influence it.

“There will be no low-income housing developments built in areas that are right next to your house,” Trump said during an August rally in Montana. “I’m gonna keep criminals out of your neighborhood.”

Promise: getting Congress to agree

Election forecasters have predicted that Democrats will regain control of the U.S. House, but Republicans are poised to win the Senate, meaning any housing proposals will have to be overwhelmingly bipartisan.

“How much money is going to really be available without substantial increases in revenue to be able to do all these things that both Trump and Harris are proposing?” Ted Tozer, a non-resident fellow at the Urban Institute’s Housing Finance Policy Center, said in an interview with States Newsroom. “All the money comes from Congress.”

Many of Harris’ policies rely on cooperation from Congress, as historically the federal government has limited tools to address housing shortages.

“On the Democratic side, there’s a hunger for more action, for more direct government intervention in the housing market than we’ve seen in a long time,” said Francis Torres, the associate director of housing and infrastructure at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

Nearly all proposals that Harris has put forth would require Congress to pass legislation and appropriate funds. The first is S.2224, introduced by Sen. Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio, which would amend U.S. tax code to bar private equity firms from buying homes in bulk by denying “interest and depreciation deductions for taxpayers owning 50 or more single family properties,” according to the bill.

The second bill, S. 3692, introduced by Sen. Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon and chair of the Senate Finance Committee, would bar using algorithms to artificially inflate the cost of rents.

Both bills would need to reach the 60-vote threshold in order to advance in the Senate, whichever party is in control.

Promise: $25,000 down payment assistance

Harris has pledged to support first-time homebuyers, but Congress would need to appropriate funds for the $25,000 down payment assistance program she has proposed that would benefit an estimated 4 million first-time homebuyers over four years.

It’s a proposal that’s been met with skepticism.

“I’m really concerned that down payment assistance will actually put more pressure on home prices, because basically, you’re giving people additional cash to pay more for the house that they’re going to bid on,” Tozer said. “So by definition, they get in a bidding war, they’re going to spend more.”

Harris has also proposed a $40 billion innovation fund for local governments to build and create solutions for housing, which would also need congressional approval.

Promise: opening up federal lands

Both candidates support opening some federal lands for housing, which would mean selling the land for construction purposes with the commitment for a certain percentage of the units to be kept for affordable housing.

The federal government owns about 650 million acres of land, or roughly 30% of all land.

Neither candidate has gone into detail on this proposal.

“I think it’s a sign that at least the Harris campaign and the people in her orbit are thinking about addressing this housing affordability problem really through stronger government action than has happened in several decades,” Torres said.

Promise: expand tax credits

The biggest tool the federal government has used to address housing is through the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, known as LIHTC. Harris has promised to expand this tax credit, but has not gone into detail about how much she wants it expanded.

This program awards tax credits to offset construction costs in exchange for a certain number of rent-restricted units for low-income households. But the restriction is temporary, lasting about 30 years. 

There is no similar program for housing meant to be owned.

“It’s an interesting moment, because then on the other side, on the Trump side, even though they diagnosed a lot of the similar problems, there’s not as much of a desire to leverage the strength of the federal government to ensure affordability,” Torres said.

Trump’s record on housing

The Trump campaign does not have a housing proposal, but various interviews, rallies and a review of Trump’s first four years in office provide a roadmap.

During Trump’s first administration, many of his HUD budget proposals were not approved by Congress.

In all four of his presidential budget requests, he laid out proposals that would increase rent by 40% for about 4 million low-income households using rental vouchers or for those who lived in public housing, according to an analysis by the left-leaning think tank the Brookings Institution. 

All four of Trump’s budgets also called for the elimination of housing programs such as the Community Development Block Grant, which directs funding to local and state governments to rehabilitate and build affordable housing. Trump’s budgets also would have slashed the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, known as LIHEAP, which is a home energy assistance program for low-income families.

Additionally, Trump’s Opportunity Zones authorized through the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which are tax incentives to businesses and real estate to invest in low-income communities, have had mixed results.

Promise: cut regulations and add tariffs

In an interview with Bloomberg, Trump said he wanted to focus on reducing regulations in the permitting process.

“Your permits, your permitting process. Your zoning, if — and I went through years of zoning. Zoning is like… it’s a killer,” he said. “But we’ll be doing that, and we’ll be bringing the price of housing down.”

During campaign rallies, Trump has often said he would impose a 10% tariff across the board on all goods entering the U.S. He’s also proposed 60% tariffs on China.

Trump said at a rally in Georgia that tariff is “one of the most beautiful words I’ve ever heard.”

Tozer said adding trade policies, such as tariffs on construction materials like lumber, would drive up the cost of homes.

Promise: deport immigrants

Trump has argued that his plan for mass deportations will help free up the supply of housing. Karoline Leavitt, the Trump national press secretary, told the New York Times that deporting immigrants would lower the cost of housing because migration “is driving up housing costs.”

The former president has made a core campaign promise to deport millions of immigrants.

Tozer said housing and immigration are tied, because the ability to build houses comes down to workers, and roughly 30% of construction workers are immigrants. 

“By shutting down the border, you’re possibly shutting down your capacity to build these houses,” he said, adding that all those policies are intertwined.