CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WTAP)—The West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation (WV DCR) announced an increase in special hiring rates that will take effect on July 1.

According to the release, the State Personnel Board (SPB) approved implementing a special hiring rate for Correctional Officer 1 through Correctional Officer 7 positions at the WV DCR facilities across the state. In addition, Correctional Officer 1 and Correctional Officer 2 positions will receive an increase after the first six months.

The starting salary for a correctional officer will now range from $40,000 to $42,900. By their second year of service, the salary will be $49,400.

“The West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation is dedicated to fostering a resilient and skilled workforce,” said WV DCR Commissioner William Marshall. “These pay raises are a testament to our commitment to attracting and retaining qualified professionals who are passionate about ensuring public safety and upholding the standards of our correctional facilities. These enhancements recognize the hard work of our current employees and position us to draw in top talent, further fortifying our mission to protect and serve the Mountain State with integrity and excellence.”

The WV DCR oversees West Virginia’s 11 prisons, 10 regional jails, 10 juvenile centers, 13 Parole Services Offices, 22 Youth Reporting Centers and three work-release sites. For more information about employment opportunities with the WV DCR, go to //dcr.wv.gov/careers.

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The English bulldog had never featured prominently in West Virginia history. It has now. Gov. Jim Justice’s 4-year-old pure breed Babydog joined the ranks of Abraham Lincoln, Civil War soldiers, and odes to Appalachian folk music in new murals under the golden dome of the state Capitol last week, alongside other state cultural symbols. Tucked into a mural about artistic traditions, the AP reports the dog sits placidly between a banjo player and an artist painting the Seneca Rocks, one of the state’s best-known natural landmarks, in West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest.

Babydog made another memorable appearance at the Capitol in 2022, when the governor hoisted her up during his State of the State address and pointed her rear end at the camera. Days earlier, singer and actress Bette Midler, on what was then Twitter, had called West Virginians “poor, illiterate and strung out” after West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin refused to support a bill promoted by President Biden and Democrats in Congress. “Babydog tells Bette Midler and all those out there: Kiss her heinie,” Justice said to a standing ovation.

Justice, a Republican now running to succeed Manchin, has made Babydog a minor celebrity in West Virginia during his two terms as governor. The star of the governor’s “Do it for Babydog” COVID-19 vaccination campaign, the dog was a gift from Justice’s children in 2019. Referring to her lovingly as a “60-pound brown watermelon,” Justice has taken the dog on gubernatorial trips across the state ever since. So far, Justice has been playing innocent about Babydog’s appearance in the murals, which were commissioned as part of an effort to finish work inside the Capitol that stopped during the Great Depression. “I was just as surprised, in my ways, as anyone,” he said Wednesday.

Justice said a committee led by Randall Reid-Smith, secretary of the Department of Arts, Culture and History, made the call. The tiny image of the dog was not included in initial designs shared with the public, nor was it mentioned at the dedication, which Babydog did attend. It was not until afterward that people started noticing the bulldog in shots of the murals shared on social media. And there was not much debate about whose dog it was. Reid-Smith said at a news briefing this past week that he had been working for years to get a governor to invest in completing the nearly 100-year-old vision and that Justice was the one who finally made it happen. So far almost $350,000 in state money has been paid to Connecticut-based installers John Canning & Co. for the first four murals, with four more scheduled to be installed this fall. (Read more on the dog here.)

LEWISBURG, WV (WVNS)– This weekend was the last chance to check out the West Virginia Renaissance Festival for some fun adventure.

The festival began in early June, but the last chance to experience it was this weekend on Saturday, June 29, 2024, and Sunday, June 30, 2024.  The theme for this weekend in particular was Time Travelers. 

From costume contests, live music, delicious food and drinks; all the way to sword fighting, comedy shows, and jousting- the festival had it all. 

One thing you may have had the chance to see while there was the comedy act from the Sisterhood of the Wailing Soul with Reverend Mother Redempta and Sister Philomena Claire.

“You won’t believe how wonderful it is,” said Reverend Mother Redempta. “You have to come and spend a whole day there is everything, there is so much to see and do.”

The festival began at 11 a.m. and ran until 8 p.m. and was located in Lewisburg. Tickets for adults were $18, eight dollars for children six through twelve, and kids under six were free.

For more information on the festival, click here.