Math says state would struggle with outbreak

The numbers are in: The Monongalia County Health Department, responding to a single case of measles in April, the first such case in the Mountain State since 2009, spent more than $15,000 on the effort, the head of the agency said.

While it does not come as a surprise, the news was certainly distressing – and worrisome about what else could befall a state already strapped to a world of hurt on a long list of health care outcomes.

No, there was no outbreak. Just a single case.Still, with the GOP-controlled state Legislature expanding exemptions to West Virginia’s vaccination requirements this past session, the odds have grown that there will be such an event sometime in the future. And given its resources, or lack thereof, just how effectively will the state be able to keep the public safe? Or will the state once again be looking to the federal government to bail it out?

Consider this: According to reporting by West Virginia Watch, 15 staff members of the Monongalia County Health Department spent a collective 250 hours to coordinate the contact tracing for the case because approximately 160 people were potentially exposed to the virus after a case was confirmed on April 22. In a state of 1.78 million people, what if there were, say, a mere 10 cases? Do the math.

The GOP’s new vaccine law allows virtual public school students to be exempt and for private and parochial schools to institute their own policies either exempting students or not.

We implore the GOP-controlled state Legislature and especially those lawmakers from southern West Virginia where kids face a mountain of challenges to get their heads above water, to reverse its action from this past session and tighten those exemptions where, once again, the state can be a national leader in protecting the public against a virus that can cause severe disease, complications and even death. Its primary target? Children.

If we cannot persuade our lawmakers, we would encourage them to listen once again to an expert, one of their own, a doctor, Mike Maroney, who called the bill “an embarrassment” and said he believed lawmakers were harming the state. That and, we would add, putting children at risk – which, considering the sorry state of affairs at Child Protective Services, seems to be a running theme.

With some of the lowest life expectancy rates in the U.S. and a quarter of all children living in poverty, West Virginia needs all of the protections it can find. This was one remedy that had been working – until legislators intervened and made matters worse.

First, do no harm.

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In a state notorious for clandestine, political dealmaking, thumbs up to the state Board of Education for approving a policy relating to the live streaming of school board meetings across the state.

The policy would require board meetings at the county level to be live streamed and recorded via audio and video then posted online within five business days after the meeting.

It would also allow people to participate in board meetings, by telephone or other electronic means, by requesting to make presentations in advance.

While this does not guarantee that school board members will be transparent and forthcoming at all times, it certainly gives the public more opportunities to participate – and an assurance that the state board is acting in its best interest.

By J. Damon Cain, editor of The Register-Herald

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Thumbs up to each of the 227 eighth-graders from across West Virginia who were recognized during three separate Golden Horseshoe ceremonies June 11 at the Culture Center in Charleston.

The eighth-graders became Knights and Ladies of the Golden Horseshoe for excelling in their study of West Virginia history and for earning a high score on the annual program exam.

This year marks the 308th anniversary of the Golden Horseshoe legacy.

In 1716, Alexander Spotswood, lieutenant governor of the Virginia Colony, organized and recognized a delegation of men who explored the land west of the Allegheny Mountains – most of which is now West Virginia. Spotswood presented each of the men with a small golden horseshoe to commemorate their bravery in crossing the mountains, according to historians.

The Golden Horseshoe program began in 1929, when noted historian Phil Conley, president of the West Virginia Education Foundation, proposed the creation of West Virginia Clubs, designed to promote appreciation of the Mountain State. State Schools Superintendent William C. Cook at the time believed that students “should learn more about the state, since they are our future citizens and should be fully prepared for citizenship. They should have a knowledge of the past and present status of the state in order to estimate its future possibilities,” according to information from the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History.

Two years later, the first Golden Horseshoe test was given and 87 pins were awarded to students from 46 counties.

By Mary Catherine Brooks

of The Wyoming County Report

for The Register-Herald