Justice praises fall foliage, appoints delegate
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CHARLESTON -- The leaves may have fallen in the higher elevations of West Virginia, but it's beautiful elsewhere around the state, the governor said Thursday.
"Well, I'd probably go to the lower elevations," said Gov. Jim Justice, an avid outdoorsman who promotes the beauty of West Virginia year round.
"I'm all across this state every day," he said during his weekly press briefing.
"Today we were down in Boone County. To be perfectly honest there's a little creek there, I don't know exactly what the name of the creek was ... the reflection off the water is just spectacular," Justice said. "All you have got to do to see miracles all around you is just look, just watch and look."
Much of the leaves in the higher elevations are gone by now, Justice said.
"But at the lower elevations across our state ..." he said.
The Division of Tourism has information about fall foliage at its website, https://wvtourism.com. The Northern Panhandle including Oglebay Park in Wheeling and North Bend State Park in Cairo are among the destinations this week to see fall colors in their peak.
"I'm sure the colors are still unbelievable," Justice said.
The governor said he was running a combine for a national corn growers yield test when he saw a sugar maple reflected in the water of a pond.
"The reflection in the water was spectacular," Justice said. "I took a picture of it,"
Justice also announced he appointed Jeffrey Stephens to the House of Delegates District 6 in Marshall County. Stephens succeeds Charlie Reynolds, who resigned this month to become a Division of Highways district superintendent.
Stephens is a teacher in the Marshall County Schools system and is the athletic director at Sherrard Middle School.
Justice said $3.8 million in grant funding has been allocated for West Virginia senior centers through the Bureau of Senior Services. The money was made available because federal COVID-19 funds ceased in May for feeding programs, he said.
"There is no way we are going to let people go hungry," Justice said.
"The Bureau of Senior Services is very excited about this grant funding opportunity being provided by Gov. Justice," Denise Worley, commissioner of the bureau, said in a release later in the afternoon.
Justice encouraged students in grades K-12 to participate in the 2024 Almost Heaven Governor's Art Exhibition presented by the governor and the Department of Tourism and Arts, Culture and History.
Students are asked to submit a one-of-a-kind postcard design to illustrate star gazing at a state park or other public lands. Deadline is Dec. 13 for entries that are hand delivered. For mailed entries, postmarked by Dec. 6. One entry per student.
West Virginia artists also are encouraged to submit a Christmas ornament for the 2023 Artistree. The theme is celebrating Christmas in West Virginia, the governor said.
Deadline for submissions is Nov. 17. Additional information and submission forms are available at the website for the Department of Culture and History.