Posted: May 25, 2018 | Source: The Parkersburg News and Sentinel
CHARLESTON — The leadership in the West Virginia Senate and House of Delegates has asked a joint legislative committee to examine the management of a state-operated flood relief program. (more…)
By: Hoppy Kercheval | Posted: May 25, 2018 at 12:02 a.m. | Source: WV MetroNews
West Virginia was hit by one of the worst floods in the state’s history on June 23, 2016. A series of intense thunderstorms turned normally placid creeks into raging rivers that killed 23 people and destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses in central and southeastern West Virginia.
First responders, the National Guard, volunteers from here and outside the state immediately provided aid and comfort to flood victims, cleaned up mud and debris and contributed money.
Governor Tomblin requested a disaster declaration and President Obama gave his approval within hours. The state’s Congressional delegation pushed for immediate and long-term help for our devastated state.
It was a horrific time but, as usual, West Virginians pulled together. Collectively, the burden of those hit hardest was made bearable by the unconditional help provided by friends and strangers alike. However, nearly two years after the Great Flood, many West Virginians who lost their homes in the muddy waters are still waiting for the promised help to rebuild.
Congress allocated approximately $150 million for West Virginia flood recovery through the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, a sprawling federal agency responsible for a wide range of housing, economic development and infrastructure programs. In this case, the money came via the federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program.
The first grant award came in early 2017 and the second installment just a few months ago, but to date only a few million has been spent.
What happened? That’s what a lot of people have been trying to find out.
One explanation is, well, that’s just how government works. It’s a bureaucracy and allocating that much money through various government agencies can be complicated and slow.
Also, there was an issue with how the state Department of Commerce, which is the state agency charged with managing the CDBG-DR money from HUD, handled the procurement of a contract with Horne LLP, a Mississippi company that specializes in accounting and business advisory services that help states navigate the vast federal bureaucracy in a disaster.
The Justice administration stopped any distribution of HUD money through the WV RISE housing program for nearly four months over the contract bidding concerns. The administration was worried that missteps in handling the HUD money could lead to the state ultimately losing funding. The last thing the Justice administration wanted was a repeat of how the state handled the broadband and router fiasco during the Obama stimulus era.
But now HUD has reportedly placed West Virginia on a “watch list” because of delays in getting the money into the pipeline to help people. HUD spokesman Brian Sullivan told our Brad McElhinny that the agency was taken aback when it learned the program was suspended.
“What I can tell you is we were surprised when we learned–and it was not from the state, but through other parties–that the state had suspended the program, at least temporarily,” Sullivan said. “People in the state of West Virginia are desperate to get their homes back. Suspending a program when so many people need housing recovery is a problem.”
These setbacks and miscues add insult to injury for West Virginians who lost everything in the flood. Reporters who have looked more deeply into the story have turned up a fair amount of the usual finger pointing as well as the search for a scapegoat. West Virginians deserve to know what has gone wrong and why.
In the meantime, however, the delays for the folks hardest hit by the flood must seem interminable, especially when they know that $150 million is stuck in the government pipeline.
The radio “dean” of West Virginia broadcasters, Hoppy Kercheval joined West Virginia Radio Corporation in 1976. Email hoppy@wvradio.com and follow @HoppyKercheval on Twitter.
By: Adrienne Robbins | Posted: May 24, 2018 at 11:31 p.m. | Source: WOWKTV
CLENDENIN, WV – The West Virginia Joint Legislative Committee on Flooding is calling for an investigation of RISE WV after reports that the program was suspended during an audit. (more…)
Members of the Herbert Hoover High School softball team celebrate their second-straight Class AA state championship Thursday in Vienna after knocking off Chapmanville High by an 11-1 score. Still, Hoover has a ways to go to catch Hurricane High School, where the softball team won its fourth-straight Class AAA title by shutting out John Marshall High, 8-0. CRAIG HUDSON | Gazette-Mail | Buy Now
The Herbert Hoover softball team celebrates after winning its second consecutive state championship. (WCHS/WVAH)
By: Sean Delancey | Posted: May 24, 2018 | Source: WCHSTV
ELKVIEW, W.Va. (WCHS/WVAH) — The Herbert Hoover girl’s softball team returned to Elkview victorious after capping off their undefeated season with a state championship.
It was their second one in two years.
Yes, hugs means another state championship
Hoover goes back-to-back in Class AA with a win over Chapmanville #wvprepsb pic.twitter.com/CShDRZyqqO
— CJ Harvey (@CJHarveyWCHS) May 24, 2018
“We worked pretty hard,” senior shortstop Mallori Chapman said. “You know, both years, to be able to make it here and do this again. It’s pretty crazy.”
The team loaded onto trailers on the outskirts of town for a welcome home parade.
The community rallied around their team because of the adversity they’ve overcome.
Two years ago, they lost everything to the 1,000 year flood that ravaged portions of West Virginia killing 23 people.
“We lost everything we had,” Chapman said. “To be able to do this for our community, show them we’re still here, was pretty great.”
Huskies Head Coach Missy Smith said the girls earned this victory and their welcome home because they never gave up.
“I’m blessed to be a part of them,” Smith said.
Like a professional sports team, police and fire crews led the team into Elkview for a victory lap around town because there, they’re heroes too.
Even though they endured a dark past, Smith said they’re headed for a bright future.
“I expect them to come in day one in 2019 ready to go,” she said.
With a multi-million dollar state run program under heavy scrutiny, one local group has been stepping up since day one, helping families affected by the 2016 flood rebuild. (WCHS/WVAH)
By: Jessi Starkey | Posted: May 24, 2018 | Source: WCHSTV
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS/WVAH) — As the two-year anniversary of the deadly West Virginia flood approaches, many flood victims are still in need of assistance, and fingers are being pointed at the state capitol over who is responsible. (more…)
A disabled man in Fayette County said he has received no help from a multi-million dollar state run program that’s left him living in his storm damaged, flooded out mobile home nearly two years after deadly floods devastated West Virginia. (WCHS/WVAH)
By: Bob Aaron | Posted: May 24, 2018 | Source: WCHSTV
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS/WVAH) — A disabled man in Fayette County said he has received no help from a multi-million dollar state run program that’s left him living in his storm damaged, flooded out mobile home nearly two years after deadly floods devastated West Virginia.
“There ain’t a thing we can do. When you’re waiting on the government, it’s hurry up and wait,” disabled Meadow Bridge resident Randy Ayers said.
Ayers said he’s still waiting for help from the RISE West Virginia program after storms and flooding left his trailer with black mold issues, a floor that’s falling apart, a damaged roof, and electrical system.
He said RISE has told him they’re waiting to do an environmental inspection to determine if he should fix or replace the 55-year-old mobile home.
After an Eyewitness News report on the frustrations of 2016 flood victims, leaders of the West Virginia House and Senate are asking a legislative committee to review RISE, a program created to help flood victims obtain housing assistance.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia) agrees there should be an investigation into the program.
“You know when you have money sitting there to the tune of 100s of millions of dollars, why is that money not getting to those folks. That is very frustrating,” Capito said.
Ayers said he asked for help after the June 2016 floods and again after another flood in June 2017. He’s still waiting for that help.
“They got control of the money but it ain’t going to the people that needs it,” Ayers said.
The program is administered by the West Virginia Development Office within the West Virginia Department of Commerce. RISE and related state officials have not responded to requests for an interview.
West Virginia State Police said Joshua E. Robertson has been taken into custody in Birmingham, Ala. (West Virginia State Police)
By: Jarrod Clay | Posted: May 24, 2018 | Source: WCHSTV
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS/WVAH) — A man who was wanted as a person of interest in a Clay County death investigation has been taken into police custody in Alabama.
Troopers say he was taken into custody in Birmingham, Alabama. More coming up in just a few minutes on @wchs8fox11.
— Jessi Starkey (@JessiWCHS) May 25, 2018
West Virginia State Police said Joshua E. Robertson was taken into custody in Birmingham, Ala Thursday night.
Robertson is considered a person of interest in the death of his father, Milton Robertson III, 67, who was discovered in his home in Wallback on May 9.
State Police believe the body had been at the residence for some time and had been shot and stabbed multiple times.
The flood mud could be measured in feet in parts of Clendenin. Shauna Johnson/WVMetroNews.com
By: Brad McElhinny | Posted: May 24, 2018 at 5:07 p.m. | Source: WV MetroNews
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development was caught by surprise when the Justice administration halted a contract with a company meant to manage federal flood relief dollars.
“What I can tell you is we were a bit surprised when we learned – and not from the state but through other parties – that the state had suspended the program at least temporarily,” HUD spokesman Brian Sullivan said Thursday afternoon.
HUD is also concerned about the slow pace at which West Virginia is spending the money meant to promote long-term recovery after the devastating floods of June 2016.
The federal agency, which has allocated almost $150 million to help West Virginia with long-term flood recovery, sent a letter expressing concern March 28 to state Commerce Secretary Woody Thrasher.
The Commerce Department did not immediately respond to an invitation to comment on this story. The Justice administration also did not elaborate further on the situation today.
MORE: Read the letter from Housing and Urban Development.
State officials suspended a contract with Horne LLP this past winter because of apparent concerns over whether purchasing procedures were violated.
The contract’s suspension became public just this week. The Justice administration has discussed its decision with WSAZ, The Charleston Gazette-Mail and the West Virginia Press Association but has not provided a public explanation beyond a statement from Gov. Jim Justice.
Governor Jim Justice
“There’s a new sheriff in town and people need to realize that Jim Justice will see to it that West Virginia is not going to be on the short end of the stick,” Justice stated.
“We found things that could save West Virginia millions in federal funding. Our flood victims are going to continue to be served. Those people that weren’t doing their jobs have been held accountable.”
The administration, earlier this week in the press association article, alluded to the possibility of reinstituting the contract with Horne.
A variety of state lawmakers have said they feel left in the dark.
HOPPY KERCHEVAL: Millions in flood relief money stuck in the government pipeline
The contract was worth up to $17 million over its course, although Horne had been paid only about $700,000 over the past two fiscal years.
The Department of Commerce manages the RISE West Virginia disaster recovery program through the West Virginia Development Office and West Virginia Community Advancement and Development Office.
The federal money has been allocated through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant disaster recovery program.
In the letter signed by Stanley Gimont, deputy assistant director for grants programs, HUD wants assurances West Virginia intends to move ahead with long-term recovery and housing restoration.
HUD describes potential uncertainty surrounding the state agency, questions regarding HUD’s prior certification of state capacity and whether West Virginia will implement the grant in a manner consistent with the requirements spelled out in federal register notices.
“To address these concerns, the state must provide HUD with an update on the overall recovery of the State and outline any potential changes that will impact the overall management of the state’s $149.8 million CDBG-DR program,” Gimont wrote.
Horne was to help West Virginia with an action plan to handle the money. A later contract for Horne was to help the state with an implementation phase.
Early this year, the Justice administration started looking at whether that second contract was in line with state purchasing laws.
The administration says it halted work related to the contract during its examination.
Suspending the contract is not the way to make progress, said Sullivan, the spokesman for HUD, said in a telephone interview with MetroNews.
“People in the state of West Virginia are desperate to get their homes back,” he said. “Suspending a program when so many people need housing recovery is a problem.”
And even if the contract deserved scrutiny, HUD needed to be looped in, Sullivan said.
“I get it; you want to do things properly. But if you want to suspend the program you’ve got to tell us,” he said. “The people in West Virginia need to know this.”
Brian Abraham
Justice administration chief counsel Brian Abraham, speaking in the press association story, described an April trip to Washington that included himself, senior adviser Bray Cary and Gen. James Hoyer of the West Virginia National Guard. That would have been after HUD sent its letter.
The group met with the assistant secretary and staff members of HUD, Abraham told the press association.
“We explained to them what our investigation had revealed and discussed the remedies we see as a way forward, to get West Virginia back on track,” Abraham said.
“I think they were shocked that we came in to report ourselves, because I don’t think that happens often. But that’s the Governor’s position. We don’t hide things and hope they go away. That’s not how we do business.”
West Virginia was already in HUD’s spotlight for the pace at which it was processing the federal money.
The Mountain State is listed as a “slow spender” in the most recent grant financial report by the federal agency.
That designation means spending less than 10 percent of monthly pace required to fully use the grant by target closeout date.
Of the $149,875,000 West Virginia has available, the state still has $148,736,333 left on hand.
The average of the last three months of spending is $129,961.
“It is not uncommon for large-scale disaster relief efforts to get off to a slow start. However, if it strikes us as being slow we’ll say so. And in this case we have,” Sullivan said. “You don’t pick up the pace of expenditures by suspending the program either.”
Sullivan suggested West Virginia’s state government keep its focus on the continued needs of flood-struck citizens.
“Nobody is not aware of this. But that’s where our head is – is the tremendous unmet housing needs that continue to persist in West Virginia.
“There’s always going to be a tension between doing things quickly and doing things properly. All of this comes in the backdrop of so many people in West Virginia still needing help.”
Tim Armstead
House Speaker Tim Armstead and Senate President Mitch Carmichael formally requested and authorized the Joint Legislative Committee on Flooding to begin examining the RISE West Virginia program.
Armstead, speaking on MetroNews’ “Talkline” said his concern is with the overall sluggish pace of recovery.
“Any time there was a delay in getting this money out, that was a problem,” Armstead said on Thursday. “But if there were questions about the legality of these contracts that might have placed us in a situation where the state was going to have to pay this money back, I don’t fault someone for taking a look at that.”
“I think we’re at the point now where we feel confident that if this money is distributed now and used to get people back in their homes that will be done properly.”
Armstead said the examination of the contract seems to be only one part of the overall holdup.
“I don’t think the freeze, so to speak, took place until early this year. There were already issues with the money getting out to where it needed to be before then,” Armstead said.
“I don’t know that (halting the contract) was the reason the money wasn’t getting out there, because it wasn’t getting out there even before then.”
