On Wednesday, Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV) held an administrative update briefing.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hello everyone it's it's Wednesday April the 17th hope everybody's doing good
00:07I've got some good news you know the French Creek Wildlife Center is
00:14officially reopened you know when we ran into a real snag and you know all this
00:21with I think the USDA and a fence and all this kind of stuff and we we've gone
00:28through the different hoops but you know I'm thrilled to announce the West
00:34Virginia State Wildlife Center at French Creek has officially reopened to the
00:39public and that's really good stuff and everything we've been in operation there
00:44a long time a lot of folks do really really good work and and a lot of people
00:49enjoy this incredible place and we want them to continue to do that so come and
00:54visit and enjoy. Okay we've got a young lady that is an absolute United States
01:02hero and she's with us today she's our own from West Virginia and her name is
01:08Jessica Lynch you may remember that in 2003 that you know she was held captive
01:17and and by the Iraqis and and and really and truly it was a display of of true
01:25grit beyond belief and in West Virginia we're so so proud and everything but you
01:32know our Department of Veteran Affairs is launching a women's veterans program
01:38because there's a huge need for women ambassador ambassadors for West
01:43Virginia and she's going to jump in and help head this up and we congratulate
01:49her and we're excited to have her on board and and she's going to tell you
01:53more about this right now and but like I said for crying out loud this this is
01:59this is a lady with grit beyond belief I mean that's just all there is to it it's
02:05it's amazing about her story I would welcome you if you if you're if you're
02:11really young and you you have missed this story you need to look up Jessica
02:16Lynch and you'll see a superstar beyond belief and she's our own from this great
02:21state of West Virginia so Jessica please come on and talk to us. Hi thank you guys
02:26so much it is such a pleasure and an honor yeah so again thank you for having
02:32me governor and this will be very exciting for me because I'm going to
02:39come on I'm going to be able to help women veterans across the state and yeah
02:43my hope is just to be able to really work with them and get them anything
02:48that they are lacking or that they are needing at this moment so it's going to
02:54be a very exciting job that I'm willing to take on and I hope that we are able
02:59to reach yeah more women veterans across the state. Well Jessica I I can never
03:07thank you enough and and you stepped up you stepped up for this nation beyond
03:12belief but now you're stepping up for West Virginia again and you're stepping
03:16up for our women's veterans and everything and that need help need help
03:21need ambassadors and need help and everything so let's try to do any and
03:25everything we can to salute and and help our women's veterans but but don't ever
03:31remember this contribution of this lady Jessica Lynch made for this nation and
03:36for all of us and she she's a hero in every way so Jessica thank you so much
03:42thank you governor. Okay if I could jump to another subject you know I'm thrilled
03:49to announce the approval of 19 million in grants for 56 outdoor projects this
03:54is all about rails and trails and everything and so so with these trail
04:00grants that are going out you know that you know just think about what tourism
04:05has done in West Virginia. I mean it's amazing I was really always a believer
04:12that that really if you just look and step back from our state you can see a
04:18state with four unbelievable seasons in a state that has unmatched beauty in a
04:24state that's a waters of this state are unbelievable and a state that's located
04:30within a rock throw two-thirds of the population of the country. Now put it
04:35all together I mean for crying out loud connect the dots and that's what we've
04:40done that's exactly what we've done in tourism. We are exceeding seven million
04:46seven I'm sorry billion dollars of spend in West Virginia in tourism. We
04:53absolutely have have skyrocketed a 30% increase like right now you know in
05:00addition to that and what that equates to is an additional billion dollars of
05:06spend in West Virginia in a year. It is unbelievable what's going on with
05:13tourism in this state and the sky is so so so there's still so much room that we
05:21can do and so many more things that can happen and absolutely if we don't
05:26believe in West Virginia that the diversification and the real
05:31contribution of putting real dollars into tourism you know I mean it has been
05:37a winner beyond belief. I salute Secretary Ruby and everything but for
05:42the fabulous job job that Chelsea's done but not only that all the people
05:48everybody's pulled the rope with me and everything and move and moving this
05:53state forward from a standpoint of tourism is it's been a real winner and I
05:59thank the legislature I thank everybody because when we decided to really get on
06:06board and we decided to promote ourselves a lot of people the naysayers
06:12said oh gosh we don't have the money to do all that and everything and all of a
06:17sudden instantaneously that quick we started bringing in for every dollar
06:22spent it was either 10 more dollars would come in or 14 more dollars would
06:27come in instantaneously. I mean it is absolutely a winner beyond belief and so
06:34with this right here what we're going to do with these trail grants is this we're
06:38going to be we're going to be tacking on another 700 miles of brand-new or
06:45improved trails all throughout West Virginia more and more and more visitors
06:50more and more money spent in this great state and a lot of these folks that are
06:55not only coming to visit then all of a sudden they're seeing this incredible
07:00peoples in this incredible state these unbelievable seasons and lo and behold
07:05they're moving here you know so a lot of good stuff happening and everything
07:10let's just keep it going on that. Now here's something I want you to pay
07:14really close attention especially if you're a freshman or a sophomore in high
07:18school you know and this all all goes back to the first ever governor's school
07:24for tourism is starting this summer now if you're interested in doing some
07:30really neat stuff where you could end up with an education and some someday may
07:35you may very well end up in the tourism business and everything and absolutely
07:40enjoying all the great great great opportunities as far as jobs within
07:44tourism across this state you need to think really hard about because there's
07:49a deadline coming up on Friday April the 26th and everything as far as enrollment
07:55in this program for the summer and everything or for a piece of the summer
07:59so with all that just go online and look just go on and online and just see if
08:05really and truly this is something you'd be interested in because for crying out
08:10loud it gives you unforgettable unforgettable hands-on experience and
08:14learning you know on on these tours that we'll be doing across West Virginia
08:19it it's a real opportunity it's a real real opportunity especially if you're a
08:24freshman or sophomore in high school so go online and look you know and you can
08:29go right under tourism and everything Department of Tourism and you can find
08:32it find it easy and everything and with all that being said the deadlines Friday
08:37the April the 26th so you got to move okay this is more about you know
08:45matching funds and this is the IJA projects announcements today I'm
08:50announcing the commitment of 1.1 million in non-federal match funds to enhance
08:57water and wastewater infrastructure in five counties in West Virginia these are
09:02Glenn Morgan waste treatment plan is going to get 500,000 to help increase
09:08the capacity their capacity to 1.6 million gallons per day the town of
09:13Alderson will receive 93,000 for their water system rehabilitation and
09:19expansion project the Bunker Hill water mainline upgrades project will be
09:26supported by 500,000 to match you know in a match to increase water
09:31treatment and distribution capacity and then and I'm not gonna read them all but
09:36that the nevertheless you know more and more and more projects across West
09:40Virginia to get better water and you know and I'm not talking about our sewer
09:45projects and everything but really and truly we've done lots and lots of stuff
09:49you know Anne Erling has been a superstar beyond belief and and you know
09:54we're just gonna keep doing it but nevertheless I want to tell you about
09:58Kathy Kathy is doing well recovering from hip replacement surgery dr. Dietz at
10:05WVU and the whole WVU team what a job they did and everything Kathy's doing
10:10great that's all there is to it but I want to talk to you just a second about
10:14these therapy dogs you know Kathy's team through the friends with Paul's
10:20initiative is not is now placing another two dogs in our local schools there's a
10:27dog Eli is the 24th therapy dog it's been places and it's going to Nutter
10:33Fork Primary School and Oprah is is the 25th therapy dog and and and it's going
10:42to the Fairmont Middle School so we're continuing to do that these dogs are
10:48unbelievable now they are just flat unbelievable and what they're doing to
10:53help our kids is the real deal you know you just need to get involved and see it
10:59you just you just can't imagine it it's it's a it really would touch your heart
11:05it I go back to a kid that you know severely handicapped kid didn't really
11:13want to come to school didn't like it everything else on the Sun you know you
11:20know there he was right there in Pineville and and and you know they he
11:26was reading to the therapy dog and you know just a young kid and and he said
11:33they said somebody said something to him and you know about you know is this a
11:38good day and he looked up and said who I'm gonna have a hard time with this
11:44always am but he said best day ever you know listen these dogs are amazing
11:54they're totally amazing and and and so the more we can get out the better you
12:01know I'm gonna talk to you just a second about the electronic bank bank transfer
12:05cards the federal government's given us a an opportunity through the USDA to to
12:11give you know a card to our kids you know they're really in need it's it's
12:16not it's not near enough but it's it's it's something you know for $120 and you
12:23know that they can buy us you know food and they can have that card through the
12:27summer it'll help some you know it it's going to be operational on June the
12:331st through August the 20th and like I said it'll help some we we've got to
12:39continue to do more and more and more gosh almighty I don't know how in the
12:43world that it seems anywhere close to okay you know for our kids to be hungry
12:49I mean it's just it's not okay we're thankful for this but we we need to do
12:55more and I've got an announcement here that is really good we got some real
13:00winners you know but a few weeks ago I continued to ask you to vote for the USA
13:06today 10 best and I'm thrilled to announce that Berkeley Springs Fairmont
13:13and Louisburg have all secured impressive spots in the three distinct
13:18categories Louisburg ranked number one number one in the nation with the best
13:26small-town food service or food scene and that's really not too good for me
13:33maybe but but really and truly Louisburg number one in the entire
13:38nation Berkeley Springs ranked number seven for best historic small town and
13:45Fairmont ranked number 10 for best small town in the south so congratulations to
13:52Fairmont Berkeley Springs and Louisburg awful awful awful good stuff so great
13:58great great job okay that's all I've got for right now I'm good I'm good we'll
14:05take your questions and move on thank you now Jessica thank you so much all
14:13right now we'll go to questions from members of the media first up today is
14:16Charles Young with WV News hi this is Charles Young with WV News I'm governor
14:21I wanted to see if you have given any more thought to the possibility of
14:25endorsing a gubernatorial candidate we're less than a month away until the
14:30primary and I know you know we'd I'd asked you that previously and you said
14:33it was a possibility as we got closer so I want to know if you've given any more
14:36thought thank you sir Charles I've given a lot of thought and and you know it you
14:44know I just say that that you know there's there's a avalanche of folks
14:50that bombard me all the time with with you know governor we're you know and
14:56you've got a lot of happy people in West Virginia today we all know that and and
15:01you know from the standpoint of you know my approval stuff and everything you
15:06know as far as ratings and everything's pretty damn good and I don't mean that
15:11egotistically it just is what it is you know I think the people of West
15:15Virginia know they know hands-down that I I've got their back I love them with
15:21all my soul I don't want anything for me you know and I think absolutely what we
15:27need to do is we need to keep that going in West Virginia and so I thought a lot
15:33about it you know we'll we'll see you know we still got some time and and
15:38we'll see but you know I congratulate all the candidates and everything and
15:44you know wish them all the very very best but a lot a lot a lot of people
15:49asking me saying to me saying governor we want this thing to keep on going who
15:55do you think is the best who would you pick and and so you know I just haven't
16:00done that but we'll we'll see going forward okay Thank You Charles next we
16:08go to Brett Dunlap from Parkersburg News and Sentinel I honestly don't have
16:15anything I was having trouble getting signed in and I but thank you anyway if
16:24I think of anything I'll send an email but thank you
16:30thanks Brett next we'll go to Curtis Johnson with WSAZ good morning governor
16:42I guess good morning late morning we'll back up here sorry I'm too close to the
16:47camera hey I just want to know in recognition that even with a budget cut
16:51your agency says IDD money will be left over I was wondering to make sure
16:56families don't get stuck in the middle without a provider will you direct the
17:00Department of Human Services to increase reimbursement rates now and how does
17:05your answer on that impact timing for a special session to address IDD funding
17:13you know I'm I'm having I think I've got the question but let me let me make a
17:18stab at it you know you know we're working with the legislature every day I
17:23mean you know we're doing that and to get the money back you know and take you
17:30know into the budget or into into the level of what should have been done in
17:37the first place so we can take care of our people I mean for crying out loud we
17:42got it just stripped out didn't we and and you know it to be perfectly honest
17:47you know we we we we can't do what we're doing without the cooperation of
17:59the house and the Senate and what we did at the 11th hour we stripped real live
18:05money out of it and we told you we told you people are going to really get hurt
18:09by this and we had the money in it we didn't have to do it I mean there was no
18:14need to do it I mean that's the thing it just drives me crazy is why in the
18:19world did we have to get on a soapbox and I keep I keep making reference to
18:23just this too many people listen to a finance chair that thinks he's got all
18:29the answers in the whole wide world you know when it really boils right down to
18:33it you know Curtis we've managed the store for seven and a half years now and
18:39and it's hard to argue that we've not managed to store properly we know what
18:44we've got money to do and we've not we don't have money to do but just you know
18:49just taking the money out and everything that would that really our most needy
18:55folks need was it's awful it's plain awful and so I think we'll get it all
19:03taken care of in the special session and we'll all work together to get that
19:08taken care of but but we've got to get at we got to get this election behind us
19:14and get out having a special session and and and putting the money back in
19:18to where the you know the folks are not worried and everything else it's it's
19:22it's it's not good it's just I don't like it it's pitiful to tell you truth
19:28you know our most our most needy that are sitting around worrying about this
19:32that's not any good
19:35you
19:39thanks Curtis next we'll go to Randy Yowie with West Virginia public
19:43broadcasting hey good morning um governor in the interim meetings over
19:50this past week and the technology infrastructure meeting delegate Jim
19:53Butler out of Mason and Putnam counties said that he suggested appointing it
20:00something akin to a blue ribbon Commission to study the status of the
20:04state's secondary roads he said the roads to prosperity bonding was not
20:08enough obviously for secondary roads and his county and other counties so your
20:13thoughts on that and I have a second question from my one of my colleagues
20:23Randy all I would say is you know we can always take more I mean there's there's
20:33no question you know if we want to if we want to come up with more and more
20:39and more money you know we can always take more you know but my staff met
20:47yesterday with with people in Mason County you know under on the condition
20:52of roads there you know but you know what we're trying to do and what we have
20:58done is I don't know how you argue the achievements of Jimmy Wriston you know
21:04the Department of Transportation the Department of Highways just look at it
21:08look at what's been done I mean yeah I hate to say it but when I walked in the
21:14door what we've done in the past is we needed money so badly that we sold the
21:19equipment we sold our own equipment in order to generate some dollars just to
21:26maybe get by for the day maintenance equipment we sold it today we have an
21:32abundance of you know top-level brand-new maintenance equipment and
21:37we're doing stuff all over the place you saw I think where we had fixed you know
21:4250,000 plus potholes you know you can't do it all on day one when we have
21:48absolutely shipwrecked the entire state before I walked in the door we did I
21:54mean like it or not like it we did the Roads to Prosperity program is so
21:59absolutely successful it's off the chart so with all that being said we're going
22:05to keep on doing everything we can and we're going to keep on making every
22:09improvement that we can make but we're not going to do that by just creating a
22:13situation where we create a tax burden on our people to just to just do more
22:20and more and more and more instantaneously and everything you know
22:24I haven't seen all the details but but I think you know you know the last thing
22:31in the world I'm gonna get into is somebody somebody everybody wants to get
22:35on a soapbox don't they everybody wants to get on a soapbox and start saying
22:40bye dog let's do this let's do this let's do this and everything sounds
22:45great doesn't it but we've done it we've done it we've done it correctly and
22:50we've done it properly and everything I don't know how you can argue that I've
22:55got my second question many people along Indian Creek in Wyoming County are
23:00sounding the alarms about water contamination possibly coming from a
23:04mine that your company purchased and now owns as the governor and the owner have
23:08said company is there anything you do or planning on doing for these folks so
23:12they can have clean drinking water I'm all for them having good clean drinking
23:17water but you can't you can't blame me on this one the companies that we have
23:21and everything are so distantly involved in this it's unbelievable you know and
23:26and and so you know the DEP is working on the issue and everything but this is
23:31somebody else's problem you know this is not this is not created by something
23:35we've done thank you Randy we'll now go to a million I see from the West Amelia
23:42nicely from the West Virginia watch everyone and yesterday state lawmakers
23:48told me that your administration was involved in canceling a legislative
23:54interim meeting where they were supposed to hear from Secretary Michael Caruso
23:58and an executive from Hopemont Hospital which is where an elderly man died after
24:04being left in scalding water so I have two questions I'm wondering if you can
24:08discuss why this meeting was canceled and was it in any effort to hide these
24:12details from the public and what do you think needs to be done to prevent future
24:16incidents like this in our state-run hospitals well and this was Amelia
24:23well Amelia first of all you know I want you to know that I could take big-time
24:31offense about your question because I'm not going to cover anything up there's
24:37no possible way no way the other thing is I don't control and cancel
24:43legislative meetings the other thing is just this from the standpoint of what's
24:50gone on and we lost a life and everything it's it's surely under
24:54investigation from the standpoint of you know the legalities I can't talk about
25:00that and everything you know but no one no one on the planet is going to take
25:05things like this more seriously to me and there is no chance on the planet
25:10that we're ever ever under any circumstance going to cancel something
25:15cover something up whatever it may be ridiculous totally ridiculous your
25:20question is just unfounded and it's wrong that's all there is to it
25:26thanks Amelia next we'll go to Brad Michael Henney from West Virginia matching
25:32the Metro news hi governor Curtis earlier asked you if
25:39reimbursement rates for human services providers the organizations that carry
25:44out the functions for IDD waivers can be raised immediately and I'm not sure if
25:49you heard that part of his question I bet Curtis would like a response I've
25:54got a question with some overlap my question relates there was legislative
25:59testimony earlier this week that some money that had been allocated in the
26:04past the waivers for intellectual and developmental disabilities wound up
26:09being diverted to pay for other expenses like COVID relief supplies is it still
26:15your opinion that the budget for the coming fiscal year under funds human
26:20services thank you Brad I I really don't know how to answer this you know
26:28it let me just say just this we took and I don't know the exact amount but a
26:38hundred million dollars we cut the budget the legislature cut the budget a
26:44hundred my budget a hundred million dollars in regard and and and with all
26:49that we got six hundred thousand folks in West Virginia that are on you know
26:54that that are most needy now whether it be you know our ID is it ID I want to
27:05make sure I get this right IDD waivers you know you know or it be Medicaid or
27:13whatever it may be you know we got folks in all in all types of areas we
27:19work so hard to clear that wait list on the IDD waivers and everything we work
27:25so hard to get that done and we got it done you know and now you know now
27:31we've got a lot of those folks in limbo you know I don't know if there's a way
27:36to fund it today you know I don't know that you know how we can do that but I
27:43can tell you that you know I'm tickled to death to to talk to our secretaries
27:48and see if there's if there is a way but with all that being said we're already
27:53talking to why did we do this why in the world did we do this why did we strip a
28:00hundred million dollars out of something that we didn't have to do and absolutely
28:05we knew it was going to really hurt people but I'm telling you right now you
28:10know you're blaming the wrong guy here you know really if anybody is suggesting
28:16in any way that Jim justice did something you're blaming the wrong guy
28:20we need Brad to step up and try to help our folks in West Virginia in every way
28:28we possibly can without bloating our budget and doing things like that but
28:33when we have the magnitude of the dollars that we have today and we've got
28:39people out there that are really really hurting from the standpoint of a lot of
28:43different things even to the shamefulness of being hungry you know why
28:49in the world how can you possibly turn your back on that and that's what's
28:55happened here that's exactly what's happened and then we've got this
29:00election and everybody running around trying to do their thing in regard to
29:05an election and then lo and behold we'll we have to put it off until after the
29:11election and then come back you know sure I can surely understand the IDD
29:18folks or I can surely understand you know the concern of many you know all
29:23across this state but boy I'll tell you this is this one we should have never we
29:30should never be having this conversation I'll check I'll check Brad and see if
29:35there's any way they can be funded you know but we've got a lot of different
29:39areas that need funded and everything that's the other problem you know you
29:43can you can find one thing you know but you've got you got 14 other things that
29:49you can't fund until we come back into a special session and then get off the
29:53bubble but we've got it we got to get this back done that's everyone governor
29:59I'll turn it back to you no I guess the most significant thing is don't anybody
30:05forget Jessica Lynch I mean my gosh you know an American hero beyond book beyond
30:11belief and she's stepping up again doing great work for us and and you know happy
30:17day at French Creek so so we'll move on from there thank y'all