Teaching Girl Scouts about Appalachia’s female heroes. It’s always been part of the Girl Scout Law to be “honest and fair, friendly and helpful, considerate and caring, and courageous and strong.” But the Girl Scouts of Black Diamond Council—which covers 61 counties throughout Maryland, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia—hopes to teach those traits by example through its “Mountain Mommas of…
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This Huntington gun range also serves up high-caliber diner food. When Billy Bare decided to pull the trigger and open his second indoor gun range in Huntington, he noticed something about his customers. His clientele—mostly local military personnel and police officers—were bringing takeout with them to practice. Sighting an opportunity, Bare and his wife, Christy, opened Bombshells Burgers and BBQ,…
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A new tradition asks: Do you favor fire, or think ice will suffice? Each year, the New River Gorge marks the end of Gauley Season with Bridge Day, the world-famous October BASE-jumping festival. But until recently, there was no hallmark event to mark the beginning of the spring rafting season, when the rain and snowmelt turn the New River into…
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Welcome to our first edition of WV Living Healthy. In this publication, we look at three major health-related issues facing our state—obesity and diabetes, the opioid epidemic, and access to healthcare—and showcase who is stepping up to solve the problem with innovative solutions. While working on this issue, one thing struck me. We can’t address any of these issues without…
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A strong community hospital, like Mon Health Medical Center, protects choice and access to care. Community hospitals—institutions vital to providing care to patients, close to home—are losing their independence at an alarming rate. Declining cost-of-care reimbursements, unfavorable regulatory policies, and sometimes predatory practices by larger health care systems are creating new kinds of pressures on community hospitals. In one study,…
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