Since the beginning of 2017, West Virginia has made some important progress on its path to achieving the economic prosperity its citizens hope for. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages report, the state has added approximately 12,000 jobs over this period and has made progress along several other dimensions such as GDP, personal income and tax revenue.
Dr. Sherri Young remembers a lot of things about the night of January 12, 2018. It was unusually warm and raining. She woke up to the smell of propane in her family’s home. There was an eerie pink and white vapor cloud in the driveway. She, her husband and her daughter barely made it to safety before the house exploded.
Corridor H, a highway project that when completed will stretch from Interstate 79 in Weston, WV, to Interstate 81 in Strasburg, VA, has been conceptualized since the late 1960s. To date, approximately 44 miles of the roadway have been completed from Weston to Kerens and approximately 49 miles from Davis to Wardensville.
Even though Jason Campbell, president of JCFilms, ended up in West Virginia by chance, he has made it his mission to change the negative narrative in the Mountain State.
From teachers’ strikes to new legislation, education has been a hot topic in West Virginia for the last few years. With a high school graduation rate of 90.2 percent for 2017-2018, West Virginia currently ranks above the national average, according to the West Virginia Department of Education. However, in rural communities where funding is sparse, the school systems tend to suffer, which trickles down and affects the students’ retention and education experiences.
Education is like a giant jigsaw puzzle. The varying sizes and shapes of the pieces represent the tools and resources available to teachers and students. When those pieces are worked together, the result is a well-rounded education system in which all students are prepared for success by addressing the challenges.