NEWS

West Virginia Governor Jim Justice requested and received the resignation of Commerce Secretary Woody Thrasher, a news release confirms. (WCHS/WVAH)

By: Anna Taylor | Posted: June 14, 2018 | Source: WVAH

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS/WVAH) — West Virginia Governor Jim Justice requested and received the resignation of Commerce Secretary Woody Thrasher Thursday, a news release confirms.

“I consider Woody a friend, and he’s done a solid job in the area of economic development,” Justice said in the release. “Thrasher expressed to me that recent media attention had distracted from what he believed was his core mission, economic development and business opportunities for West Virginia.”

Justice added that he hopes the resignation allows the state to turn its attention to the full recovery of all of the 2016 flood victims. The governor had announced earlier in the month that a restructuring of the Commerce Department, including terminations, would happen. He also turned RISE WV flood recovery efforts over to the state’s top military officer, West Virginia National Guard Adjutant General James Hoyer.

Justice called it inexcusable that the people hit by the flood of June 2016 are still waiting for assistance.

Justice said he identified a problem with a change order to Horne LLP, the contractor hired to help with the RISE West Virginia program. Justice said he canceled a $17 million change order which would have benefited Horne. Instead, Justice said the contractor will now be paid between $9 million and $10 million, with $7 million to $8 million funneling back into flood relief.

In the release Thursday, Thrasher released a statement, saying he accepted the appointment of Commerce Secretary “because of my love for the state, and because of Governor Justice’s vision that West Virginia and its citizens should not settle for 50th.”

“I want the governor and this state to be successful, and I welcome the opportunity to help any way I can in the future,” Thrasher said.

By: Alyssa Meisner | Posted: June 13, 2018 at 5:38 p.m. | Source: WOWKTV

CLENDENIN, WV (WOWK) – The Town of Clendenin is having big problems getting projects done to repair damage from the 2016 floods. Mayor Clendenin says she’s been reaching out to the state for months to get help, but her requests have fallen on deaf ears.

Clendenin’s Town Hall and Community Center may look fine, but there is still major work to be done.

“The work has been completed to the point that we can complete it, at this point. But going back to the original disaster and the original state of the buildings, there are some issues that need to be addressed,” Mayor Shana Clendenin told 13 News.

Clendenin was elected in July 2017 and by October she started realizing…

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By: Brad McElhinny | Posted: June 13, 2018 at 5:23 p.m. | Source: WV MetroNews

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — An internal memo from the state Department of Commerce contends this spring’s pause on a long-term flood relief contract had significant effects on the effort.

The pause affected progress for homes where construction had started, delayed ceremonies for applicants who were set to sign on as homeowners and slowed down environmental reviews that were part of the recovery process, Commerce contended.

The pause also threw construction workers into uncertainty and potentially risked sacrificing the millions of dollars administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Commerce concluded.

Brian Abraham, the senior counsel for the Governor’s Office, called after this story first posted to publicly question the intent of the memo. He contended it was…

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