This week's broadcast of Mountain Stage is a special episode featuring songs that represent the four seasons of the year. You'll hear live performances by Doc Watson, Bruce Hornsby, Susan Werner, Molly Tuttle, Taj Mahal, Norah Jones and many more.
Two weeks after historic flooding in the Kanawha County town of Clendenin destroyed or damaged homes, churches, and even town hall, the people who live there are still working to clear mud and debris from the homes and city streets.
There are two donation collection locations set up for the town of about 1,200, one across the street from the damaged post office that’s now closed. Workers are handing out mail from a temporary trailer parked next to a tent full of food and cleaning supplies.
“The day after it happened, it looked worse than a war zone,” Clendenin Mayor Gary Bledsoe said Wednesday. “The streets were almost impassible, but now we’ve got the streets all open. They’re still a little dirty, but other than that, we’re getting the infrastructure put back together.”
Floodwater in Clendenin reached historic levels after the Elk River topped out at 33 feet, breaking a record set in 1888.
Bledsoe said his office in town hall took on 3 and a half feet of water and destroyed some city records.
Total damage estimates have yet to come in, but Bledsoe expects them to be more than the town can handle on its own. He’ll rely on state and federal aid to rebuild his community.
“This was a catastrophe, not just a devastation. It’s a catastrophe. I hope we never see anything like this again,” he said. “They say it’s a thousand year flood, let’s hope it is.”
Almost every business in town– 99 percent in Bledsoe’s words– was destroyed in the flooding. The mayor doesn’t expect to see any income from business and occupation taxes for at least another 12 months- that’s 40 percent of the city budget gone.
The U.S. Department of Commerce has granted West Virginia $1.2 billion for affordable broadband services. More than 300,000 West Virginia households were underserved by broadband in 2023.
Early, in-person voting for West Virginia's 2024 Primary Election begins May 1. According to West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner, early voting will be conducted in all 55 counties through Saturday, May 11.
On this West Virginia Morning, health care services for nearly 30 percent of West Virginia’s population may be difficult to access if lawmakers don’t fully fund the Medicaid program in an expected special session. Emily Rice has more.