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Rabies oral vaccine bait drop dates set for August

Community

Five years ago, Monongalia County Health Department hosted a group of wildlife staffers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Elkins to discuss rabies.  Cases had been creeping up and, at the same time, the area treated by the USDA’s oral rabies vaccine (ORV) distribution program had mostly been moved away from Monongalia County.  MCHD officials asked the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to move the program, in which the ORV baits are dropped from aircraft over specific areas, back to Monongalia County.  The USDA agreed and ...

Griefshare has been helping people cope for over 25 years

Community

KINGWOOD — For 25 years, GriefShare has been helping people find comfort after the loss of a loved one.   Dr. Fred Conley, Pastor Jonathan Nettles and counselor Maureen Durst have been offering the 13-week program to county residents for a year.   “I was a doctor for 42 years and didn’t know this program existed. The local funeral home was excited to find out the program existed. They didn’t know about it either. I found out after my wife passed away and someone gave me a pamphlet,” Conley said. “Maureen and I attended GriefShare, and I felt called by ...

‘Daughters’ doc delves into family, prison and love

Entertainment

Talking about the carceral state in America can take a lot of work. So many aspects of the justice and prison system are in play that it is hard to find a way to talk about them all with compassion and understanding. But all too often, the discussion about the logistics of criminality loses any sense of the people involved. In the documentary “Daughters,” premiering this week on Netflix, filmmakers Angela Patton and Natalie Rae explore the humanity of those behind bars and those still on the outside.  The film follows four Black girls whose fathers are imprisoned: 5-year-old ...

Former city woman pens CDC report attracting national attention

Community

Bear meat infecting people with a rare parasite was the subject of a recent article in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.   The case was a headline grabber, but for former Morgantown resident Dr. Shama Cash-Goldwasser,  the article on which she served as lead author was the final chapter in two years of work in the CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS).   EIS officers are often called the disease detectives.  “I was new to public health at the state level, and the first ...

Suncrest United Methodist Church opens new, inclusive group room

Community

Suncrest United Methodist Church opened Faith Without Limits, a new Sunday School/Youth Group room for children with disabilities.  The room was started by SUMC’s Children’s and Youth Ministries Director Christina Thomas, who was inspired by her grandson. The youngster is autistic ...