The Robert C. Byrd High School JROTC presents the flags during the Veterans Day ceremony at Jackson Square.
Members of VFW Post 573 march behind a casket to honor fallen service members during the Veterans Day parade in downtown Clarksburg on Friday.
The Bridgeport high marching band paying their respects to all veterans during the parade.
Clarksburg Mayor Jim Malfregeot participates in the city's annual Veterans Day Parade.
A group of military vehicles travels through downtown Clarksburg during the Veterans Day Parade.
The South Harrison High School band marches through downtown Clarksburg during the annual Veterans Day Parade.
Taylor
The Clarksburg Fire Department shows their support for veterans during the parade.
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WV News) — Despite the cold weather, members of the community came out Friday morning to celebrate Veterans Day in Clarksburg.
The city’s downtown hosted a Veterans Day celebration consisting of a ceremony at Jackson Square and a parade.
“There is a large number of veterans in Clarksburg,” said retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Peter Taylor. “I love how the veterans here in Clarksburg are so tightly knit with one another. It warms my heart to see fellow veterans coming out to support one another on Veterans Day. The celebrations that the city does are always popular with veterans. They love coming out and being recognized for serving their country.”
Elijah Helsley, a Clarksburg police officer, said the Veterans Day parade is one of the most important events of the year.
“This parade holds a special place in many people’s hearts,” Helsley said, “especially for those who are veterans and are related to veterans. The overall support that veterans get from the community in Clarksburg is astonishing.”
“Every year the streets are lined with people coming out to support the veterans of our community,” Helsley said.
\With the parade comes the recognition of veterans organizations, Taylor said.
“Clarksburg also has a large number of different veterans organizations,” he said. “The Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion call Clarksburg their home. Those organizations are what keeps the veterans in high spirits after coming home. I was a member of the VFW for years, and it was amazing.
“The amount of camaraderie that comes from those organizations makes Clarksburg a welcome environment for all veterans.”
The Clarksburg Police Department has military veterans within its ranks, Helsley said.
“I personally work with a few veterans,” he said. “I have the utmost respect for my coworkers, and I show it to them every day. Every year in the police department, if we can, we have a luncheon for our veterans that are in the department.”
Taylor said he’s has been coming to Clarksburg’s Veterans Day events for years.
“I have been attending the celebrations here in Clarksburg for nearly three decades,” he said. “I have been coming to the opening ceremony and the parade since 1994.
“Last year, sadly, was my last year in the parade — I decided to call it quits. When I did march in the parade, I was always behind the casket with the rest of the VFW members.
“In the many years of participating in the celebration, I have only missed two parades, once when the weather was bad and during COVID-19.”
Taylor said his retirement from the military did not mean he wanted to stop working. So he served in another way.
“After I retired in 1994, I began working in the school system,” he said. “I founded the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Crops in Washington Irving High School and in Robert C. Byrd High School.
“I also have written three novels about my time in Vietnam, and I have written two novels on Civil War history here in Clarksburg.”
Helsley said the Veterans Day parade gives him a sense of nostalgia.
“I have been coming to the parade since I was young,” he said. “I grew up here in Clarksburg. It became a family tradition to come out and watch the flag ceremony and the parade through downtown.”
The Robert C. Byrd JROTC presents the West Virginia State Flag and the American Flag.
Mark Audia (left), president of the Friends of Clarksburg Parks Foundation, and Larry Cann, a member of the foundation, stand with the newly set Clarksburg Veterans Memorial.
Mark Audia thanks veterans for their service and sacrifice during the veterans memorial dedication at Clarksburg Veterans Park.
Mark Audia
Each stone in the newly set Clarksburg Veterans Memorial honors a different branch of the U.S. military.
The new Clarksburg Veterans Memorial boasts a sand-blasted image of the Stars and Stripes on its reverse side.
From left: Jim Conant, Frances Weaver and Berry Arony from Mountaineer Memorial helped organize, create and install the new memorial Clarksburg's Veterans Memorial Park.
Mark Audia (right) introduces Rhett Dusenbury, senior district representative for Congressmen Alex Mooney, to speak at the dedication ceremony for the new Clarksburg Veterans Memorial
Standing at the new Clarksburg Veterans Memorial are, from left, Mike Wallace, third district commander with Buckhannon American Legion Post 13; Tom Spitler, post sergeant-at-arms with Clarksburg American Legion Post 13; Ryan Kennedy with Clarksburg VFW Post 573 and Legion Post 13; Chad McIntyre, third district sergeant-at-arms with Legion Post 13; and Dale Garrett, service officer with Legion Post 13.
CLARKSBURG W.Va. (WV News) — Veterans and community members gathered at Veterans Memorial Park on Friday as the Friends of Clarksburg Parks Foundation, with the help of Mountaineer Memorial, unveiled the new Clarksburg Veterans Memorial.
The solemn ceremony was marked by tears and calls to always remember those who have served their nation in the military.
Mark Audia, president of the foundation, explained the origins of the memorial.
“Years ago, we were approached by a committee when I was still on the park board about doing a veterans memorial at the park. I said, ‘Absolutely.’ Unfortunately, that foundation went defunct. But we kept that mindset, and three years ago our foundation decided we wanted to make this our number one priority project.”
Audia said he’s always had a deep respect for veterans. His father served in the Korean War, and his best friend’s father was a POW in World War II, Audia said.
“It’s important to remember [our veterans], and it’s also important to educate our youth, because it’s up to them to carry on the legacy moving forward,” he said. “This is about keeping their memories and the appreciation alive.”
The memorial has a dual purpose: Remembering those who have perished and honoring the service of those who are still with us, according to Audia.
During the unveiling ceremony, Rhett Dusenbury, senior district representative for U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., delivered a speech on behalf of the congressman.
In the speech, Mooney apologized for not being able to attend the ceremony, but said he was thankful to all the veterans who served their country.
“For the veterans in attendance, each of you have my heartfelt gratitude for your sacrifice to your country and the preservation of freedom around the world,” Dusenbury read.
Audia then spoke, thanking veterans for their service and thanking all the people involved in the process of erecting the new memorial.
The crowd of veterans and community members on hand gasped, applauded and shed tears as the memorial was revealed. It is a 5-foot by 12-foot burgundy red granite monument consisting of five rectangular blocks, each representing one of the five branches of the U.S. military.
Frances Weaver of Mountaineer Memorial helped source the granite and construct the monument. Weaver said the granite came from India, while the bronze inlays were fabricated by Phoenix Bronze Resources in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania.
The design of a waving flag on one side of the granite was sandblasted on, while the monument’s reflective shine comes from a zinc oxide coating, Weaver said.
A flag flies on a pole that rises above the monument.
“I heard a quote the other day,” Dusenbury said while looking at the flag above. “‘They say it’s not the wind that keeps the flag waving, but the last breath of a soldier who died for America.’”
People attending the event encircled the monument, taking photos and observing moments of silence as they remembered those who have been lost and those who have served.
Chad McIntyre, third district sergeant at arms with Clarksburg American Legion Post 13, said he was more than proud of his community.
“I have been a resident of Harrison County my entire life, except for the time I was stationed” he said.” It’s nice to have a place to point at and know it’s for remembering the veterans. Just having something to memorialize those who served, it’s wonderful. I don’t think you often see collaboration between government bodies working together on that level. It wouldn’t happen in another place.”
Ryan Kennedy, former mayor of Clarksburg, was also present at the ceremony.
“It’s incredibly important and encouraging,” he said.
For West Virginians, military service is held in high regard: The state has one of the highest per capita service rates in the country.
People from West Virginia have always answered the call to service, Kennedy said. “You can’t overemphasize how great [the monument] is here.”
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., chairs a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on the health of the electrical power grid, at the Capitol in Washington, June 1, 2023. Manchin announced he won't seek reelection in 2024, giving Republicans a prime opportunity to pick up a seat in the heavily GOP state.
FILE - Sen. Joe Manchin, d-W.Va., speaks outside the chamber, at the Capitol in Washington, June 13, 2023. Manchin announced he won't seek reelection in 2024, giving Republicans a prime opportunity to pick up a seat in the heavily GOP state.
NEW YORK — Joe Manchin’s decision not to seek reelection virtually ensures that the Democratic Party will lose his Senate seat next year in deep-red West Virginia, making the party’s steep path to retaining its razor-thin Senate majority even more difficult.
Some Democratic officials are also concerned that Manchin’s announcement frees him to pursue a third-party presidential bid that could undermine President Joe Biden’s re-election.
The 76-year-old Manchin has raised the possibility of a presidential bid in the past, and he made direct reference to national ambitions in the retirement video he posted on social media Thursday.
“What I will be doing is traveling the country and speaking out to see if there is an interest in creating a movement to mobilize the middle and bring Americans together,” Manchin said.
Manchin’s sudden announcement injects a new layer of uncertainty for Democratic leaders already anxious about the party’s prospects in 2024.
Biden is seeking a second term despite persistent concerns about his age and economic leadership from voters in both major parties. At the same time, Democrats are clinging to a 51-49 Senate majority, having narrowly lost their House majority last fall.
Just an hour after Manchin’s announcement, a Boston-based group filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to form a draft committee designed to encourage Manchin and Utah Sen. Mitt Romney to launch a third-party presidential bid.
A person with direct knowledge of the group’s activities said the committee, which is calling itself “America Back on Track,” would launch publicly next week with an initial budget of $1 million. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning.
The new draft effort was specifically created, the person said, to enable Manchin and Romney to seek the presidential nomination at No Labels’ national convention next March in Texas. Romney also declined to run for reelection to the Senate next year.
A Manchin spokesperson declined to comment on the group, while Romney distanced himself from it, despite the involvement of Massachusetts-based attorney Dan Winslow, who served as chief legal counsel to Romney when he served as the state’s governor.
“Sen. Romney was not aware of this effort and he is not considering running for president on any ticket,” Romney chief of staff Liz Johnson said.
Still, the fact that Manchin is actively being encouraged to seek a presidential run sparked new anxiety among Democratic operatives who were already concerned about the impact of third parties in 2024. Progressive activist Cornel West and Robert Kennedy Jr., an environmental lawyer and leading vaccine skeptic, have already launched independent White House runs.
Yet many Democratic leaders are taking No Labels more seriously. Backed by anonymous donations of tens of millions of dollars, the centrist group has already secured presidential ballot access in a dozen states with many more expected over the coming months. Its officials say it will decide early next year whether to launch a presidential ticket.
“If Joe Manchin runs on the No Labels ticket, he would be responsible for sending Donald Trump back to the White House,” MoveOn Political Action executive director Rahna Epting said shortly after Manchin’s announcement. “Joe Manchin should set the record straight on whose side he is on and reject any overtures from No Labels’ dangerous ploy.”
Over the summer, two major Democratic-allied groups, MoveOn and centrist Third Way, hosted Capitol Hill briefings with senior congressional staffers warning of No Labels’ presidential ambitions.
“I am sad that he’s not running for the Senate, because we’re going to lose that seat, obviously,” said Matt Bennett, co-founder of Third Way, on Thursday. But Bennett said he was less worried about Manchin running for president on the No Labels banner.
“He wants to be part of the conversation so he’s not going to close the door on this (presidential run),” Bennett said. “But I really don’t see him doing this.”
Manchin has long been friendly with No Labels, which has already begun holding private conversations with potential presidential nominees, Manchin among them. Over the summer, the West Virginia senator spoke at a No Labels event in New Hampshire, which traditionally hosts the nation’s opening presidential primary.
No Labels released a statement describing Manchin as “a tireless voice for America’s commonsense majority and a longtime ally of the No Labels movement.”
“The Senate will lose a great leader when he leaves, but we commend Senator Manchin for stepping up to lead a long overdue national conversation about solving America’s biggest challenges, including inflation, an insecure border, out-of-control debt and growing threats from abroad,” No Labels said.
Officials with the group insist it would put forward a candidate only as an insurance policy should Biden and Trump secure their party’s presidential nominations — and if it is clear that the No Labels’ candidates would not unintentionally tip the election in Trump’s favor.
Meanwhile, Democrats acknowledge that their path to retaining the Senate majority will now be much more difficult.
The party in 2024 is defending Democratic-held seats in West Virginia, Montana and Ohio — all states that Trump carried handily in 2020. Democratic incumbents are also on the ballot in swing states Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. And in another swing state, Arizona, Democrats are waiting to see if independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who receives her committee assignments from Democrats, will launch a third-party reelection bid.
With Democrats fearing that West Virginia is all but lost, they must now win every other Democratic-held seat in the nation to have a chance at holding the Senate majority in 2024. They have very few pickup opportunities — their best being Republican-held seats in Texas and Florida, both states Trump won twice.
David Bergstein, a spokesman for the Senate Democrats campaign arm, insisted that his party still has “multiple pathways to protect and strengthen our Senate majority.”
“In addition to defending our battle-tested incumbents, we’ve already expanded the battleground map to Texas and Florida, where formidable Democratic candidates are out-raising unpopular Republican incumbents and the DSCC is making investments to lay the groundwork for our campaigns’ victories,” he said.
Manchin was able to hold a Senate seat since 2012 thanks to a political brand decades in the making that helped him overcome West Virginia’s strong anti-Democratic bias. But in a state Trump carried by nearly 40 points in 2020, Manchin was quietly considered a significant underdog in a prospective reelection matchup against hugely popular Republican Gov. Jim Justice.
Meanwhile, the White House issued a statement praising Manchin’s dedication to the people of West Virginia and his accomplishments in Washington. Biden said the Manchin family “should feel proud of the Senator’s service to West Virginia and to our country.
“I look forward to continuing our work together to get things done for the American people,” Biden said.
When asked about a prospective Manchin presidential run, Biden’s campaign declined to comment.
Associated Press writer Will Weissert in Washington contributed to this report.
The WVU Innovation Corporation currently has four full -time tenants and 12 signed leases at the former Mylan-Viatris plant. However, the building is only at 15% capacity, says corporation President Stacey Armstrong.
Wright Jr.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WV News) — The West Virginia University Innovation Corporation is “in it for the long haul,” President Stacey Armstrong says.
Armstrong
Eighteen months after the Mylan-Viatris plant in Morgantown was closed, the WVU Innovation Corporation provides 200 jobs and offers space for burgeoning businesses to expand their operations in the once-shuttered facility.
“Mylan was such a core economic engine, job provider and point of pride in the community that we thought, ‘How do we take this asset and not let it become an empty, abandoned building?’” Armstrong said. “So we figured out how to utilize this asset to further leverage the university and health care systems.”
The former plant was taken over by West Virginia University and WVU Medicine on April 1 after Mylan-Viatris merged with Pfizer’s Upjohn and the plant’s production line was moved to India.
The two entities worked together with a group of local organizations and government officials, including U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., to ensure the facility remained operational and did not fall to the wayside as so many other former pharmaceutical buildings have, Armstrong said.
Through their efforts, it was agreed the building would be sold for $1, Armstrong said. That was due in part to the significant operating costs the two entities would have to sustain until they found tenants to fill the nearly 1.2-million-square-foot property.
The WVU Innovation Corporation now serves as another facet in Morgantown’s ever-growing biomedical, life sciences and energy hub.
The formation of the WVU Innovation Corporation was a unique situation, as Mylan-Viatris had been a major employer in the region and everyone wanted its facility to prosper.
However, “that’s not how the story turned out,” said Albert Wright Jr., CEO of WVU Medicine.
In the 18 months since the two entities have taken ownership of the facility, they have found four full-time tenants and have 12 signed leases whose operations take up approximately 15% of the facility, Armstrong said.
The Innovation Corporation’s first tenant, Hope Gas, has over 100 employees. The Innovation Corporation has another 30 individuals on staff, and each current lessee has five to 20 employees. That makes a total of around 200 jobs currently at the facility, Armstrong said.
There are also health science programs that will be transferred to the facility from WVU Medicine J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital, as well as an additional 10 potential lessees who have submitted letters of intent.
If all the letters of intent are executed, the facility will still only be up to approximately 30% capacity, Armstrong said.
The Innovation Corporation has plans to open a new diploma-based nursing program that would provide students with classes needed to become board-certified registered nurses.
The corporation is also working to centralize health care laboratories around the state into larger labs at the facility, but that plan is still in the design phase, Wright said.
The labs being considered for centralization now are histology, cytology, microbiology and anatomic pathology, he said.
Another facility tenant, GTAC Health Corp., is an artificial intelligence company working to create algorithms to help medical staff treat patients, Armstrong said.
Yunigen LLC, another facility tenant, is a biomedical research company whose staff is working to create a drug to treat sickle cell disease, an inherited blood disorder.
The facility also houses a pharmaceutical goods repackaging and storage facility that cuts significant costs and long wait times when products need to be sent back or are on backorder. WVU Medicine uses the facility to store medical supplies purchased in economies of scale to generate savings for the hospital system, Armstrong said.
Facility tenant Exesa Libero Pharma is a transitioning, university-level research organization that found itself in need of a larger lab than WVU could offer.
Mountaintop Beverage, on the other side of Morgantown, processes products faster than its warehouse can store them, so the company has leased a temporary space in the facility while building a larger warehouse, Armstrong said.
“Its nice,” she said, “to help someone in the community be successful.”
There is also interest from Pittsburgh-based innovation companies that want to make use of the facility establish operations in Morgantown, Wright said.
The Innovation Corporation hosted this year’s annual West Virginia Bioscience Summit, which was an opportunity for industry leaders from around the state to talk about advancements and network with one another, Armstrong said.
Over Mylan’s 55-plus year presence in the region, the facility underwent 10 expansions, each with separate electrical setups, HVAC and other systems that facilitate partitioning the facility for multiple tenants, she said.
Armstrong said, however, that it becomes a “fun little challenge” to pair companies up with locations in the facility, as each company has its own electrical and emissions outputs, which can cause issues for the other tenants.
Considerations also must be made for companies to share loading docks and electrical feeds — “like a puzzle,” she said.
The WVU Innovation Corporation strives to be a catalyst for university-level research and development startups not ready to build their own facility, Armstrong said, by helping commercialize business ideas and grow small companies.
The WVU Innovation Corporation is so invested in helping small businesses that when its facility was found to be incompatible with a company’s needs, the corporation connected the company with other potential sites around the state, Armstrong said.
“Start with us. If it’s not right, we’ll get you into a better space,” she said.
West Virginia teachers and state employees could see insurance costs jump nearly 70% over the next five years if a change to PEIA currently under consideration is approved.
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WV News) — The West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency Finance Board is expected to vote next month on a plan that could see insurance costs for teachers and state employees increase by nearly 70% over the next five years.
Gov. Jim Justice recently said he planned to offset the increases to PEIA premiums by backing a 5% state employee pay raise during the 2024 regular session of the West Virginia Legislature.
Harrison County lawmakers, who will be headed to Wheeling this weekend for the start of the Legislature’s November interim meetings, said they are considering the governor’s proposal as the agenda and priorities of the upcoming 60-day session are finalized.
Del. Clay Riley, R-Harrison, said he views West Virginia’s rising insurance costs as part of a “national issue.”
“It’s not just a PEIA issue. Health care across the board, whether it’s public or private — a lot of employers and employees are really struggling with the cost of insurance,” he said. “When you layer that on top of the inflationary pressures that are in the economy today, it doesn’t matter whether you’re in a private company or whether you’re a public company.”
Del. Clay Riley
Riley
Lawmakers and state officials have to look at “all things” in an attempt to alleviate the financial pressures, Riley said.
“How do you adjust compensation to minimize impact? How do you structure benefits? Allocations?” he asked.
“I think you can see, across the board, every employer, agency and public entity in every state is dealing with it.”
Last Monday, PEIA hosted the first in a series of public meetings scheduled throughout the month to solicit public input on changes under consideration for Fiscal Year 2025.
The proposed changes include a 10.5% premium increase for state fund employees; a 13% premium increase for local government employees, plus an eligible spouse surcharge of approximately $147; and a 10% increase for non-Medicare retirees.
These increases, which would go into effect in July, would be on top of the 24% premium increases implemented this year following legislation passed during the 2023 regular session.
PEIA’s five-year plan shows additional premium increases each year through 2028. Employee premiums would increase by an additional 10.2% in 2026, by an additional 12.4% in 2027 and by an additional 11.5% in 2028.
Justice, during a press briefing Wednesday, suggested a plan to back a 5% pay increase, which he said would offset the proposed increases.
“At the end of the day, we want people to not be hurt by these increases,” Justice said. “The increases are really and truly difficult to avoid, but we can offset with pay raises to where we will be putting at least as much money in somebody’s pocket that the increase is going to cost.”
Gov. Jim Justice
He is “very supportive” of pay raises “if we have the money,” said Sen. Ben Queen, R-Harrison.
“We learned this over this last five, six, seven years as we’ve continued to give 5% increases, that they are $170 or $180 million a pop per 5%,” he said. “Obviously, health care is expensive. Our PEIA rates continue to go up. I think everybody faces that, not just our plan. So how do we make that right for all involved?”
Queen
According to recent media reports, Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, has said lawmakers would need to make deep cuts to next year’s budget to make Justice’s pay raise proposal work.
This doesn’t mean the idea is dead on arrival, Queen said.
“I have good relationship with our Finance chairman, but I believe we’re not quite there yet, to shelve a pay raise,” he said. “I do not believe we can afford over a 5% pay raise, but I do think a 5% pay raise, if that $170 million is available, which I do believe it will be, should be a priority.”
The next public hearing on PIEA’s proposed plan changes is scheduled for Monday in Charleston, at the Culture Center. The meeting will start at 5 p.m., ahead of a 6 p.m. public hearing.
A virtual public hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
For more information, visit peia.wv.gov.
Johansen
