CHARLESTON — The West Virginia Department of Commerce announced two events celebrating National Apprenticeship Week from April 26 to May 2.

The week features two opportunities for employers, job seekers and students to explore the value of apprenticeships for workforce and career development through the WV Apprenticeship Showcase and the West Virginia Apprenticeship Summit.

“West Virginia is committed to providing our employers and citizens with the workforce tools and networking opportunities they need to stay competitive,” said Deputy Secretary for Economic Development and Workforce Participation Christine Davies. “By hosting these events, we are bridging the gap between talent and opportunity, ensuring the Mountain State can be competitive in modern workforce development.”

The events begin with the WV Apprenticeship Showcase on Wednesday, April 29. Hosted by WorkForce West Virginia in partnership with the West Virginia Department of Education Career Technical Education, the public event will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the West Virginia State Capitol in the Upper Rotunda.

The showcase is designed for job seekers and students to learn about apprenticeship pathways in fields such as construction, manufacturing, culinary arts and technology. No registration is required for the showcase.

The following day, Thursday, April 30, the West Virginia Division of Economic Development will host the West Virginia Apprenticeship Summit. The forum is for industry leaders and workforce partners seeking to enhance their workforce readiness and will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Capitol Campus, Building 3, in the first-floor conference room.

The summit will deliver updates and insights on workforce development topics, including fundamentals of registered apprenticeships and how they differ from other workforce development models, funding opportunities to cover training costs and industry apprenticeship program spotlights, including energy, technology and nontraditional pathways.

Registration is required for the Apprenticeship Summit. Interested participants can register online.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Morgantown community members are invited to participate in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on April 25th, an initiative to reduce access to unused, unneeded, and expired prescription medications.

Chief Operating Officer at West Virginia Sober Living, Jon Dower, also in long-term recovery, urges residents to participate.

“We had a surgery and got some medication and didn’t take it,” Dower said. “Drug Take Back Day is an excellent way to dispose of those medications properly.”

Individuals can bring any unwanted medications to six different Morgantown locations from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. These include the Pierpont Landing Pharmacy, the Kroger Pharmacy at Suncrest Town Center, the Villages at Heritage Point, the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department, the Morgantown Police Department, and the University Police Department on WVU’s campus. Also, a disposal kiosk is available 24 hours a day, year-round, at the WVU Police Department Health Sciences Center satellite office located near the Pylons.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to remove unwanted drugs will also prevent the possibility of the drugs falling into the wrong hands.

“Helps to avoid diversion; it prevents the drugs from getting into our water supply—it can truly be a very imp[CLIP]actful process for those who participate,” Dower said.

Last year across the nation, 286 tons of unwanted drugs were turned in at more than 4,000 sites. Since 2010, the program has collected more than 20 tons of medication.

“Unfortunately when narcotics are left around, people with substance abuse disorder may try to obtain those,” Dower said.

Drug Take Back Day provides an easy way to prevent pollution and the possibility of the drugs changing the course of a life for the worse.

“They’re often just left in medicine cabinets, so the more we can reduce the available supply, the more we can potentially save lives,” Dower said.

BUFFALO, W.Va. –The Buffalo community and surrounding areas will have the opportunity to discuss next steps in opposing a proposed data center Friday evening.

It was announced in late March by Governor Patrick Morrisey that Google had purchased 1,700 acres of land on both sides of Route 62 in Buffalo to construct a new data center. The site—on the opposite end from the Toyota Motor Manufacturing West Virginia plant—was considered attractive due to Appalachian Power’s existing 765-kV transmission line that runs through the property.

Individuals will meet at Buffalo Town Hall at 6:30 p.m. to discuss community concerns and determine next steps.

“At the moment, it just feels like everyone is upset, but we don’t have a clear plan of action, we don’t know where to direct our concerns, so hopefully we can come together to just ensure that we’re raising a unified voice, with clear goals and a consistent message,” Heather Ransom, meeting organizer and Pliny resident, said on MetroNews Midday Thursday.

Ahead of the meeting, Ransom discussed some of the questions surrounding the proposed data center.

“If I had to kind of sum them up, the lack of transparency, the potential financial burden, and then of course the health and environmental impact from various types of pollution,” she said.

Google said it is committed to covering the cost of any infrastructure needed to operate the center, including water, sewer, and electrical transmission.

The data centers coming to West Virginia are the result of House Bill 2014, which created the Power Generation and Consumption Act. The law established the certified microgrid program to promote economic development and attract high-impact data centers.

Ransom said there are questions surrounding this particular data center, as well as data centers in general, due to a lack of regulation.

“There’s lots of questions about this facility in particular, but there are plenty of questions around AI data center’s more generally, and there aren’t adequate studies, there’s no clear regulation, there’s this rush to get them built and it seems irresponsible at best,” she said.

The community had the opportunity to voice its opinions to the Putnam County Commission during its April 14 meeting.

Ransom said a range of individuals with diverse backgrounds spoke.

“There were a lot of different concerns, so I certainly can’t represent all of them,” she said. “I know there was one gentleman who spoke who was very well versed in the actual technology around the data center and the implications kind of at a larger scale at what AI can actually result in.”

During that meeting, Commission President Andy Skidmore stated that the available acreage could accommodate up to four data centers.