September 21, 2025 • 34 mins
Director at the WVU Purpose Center Cate Schlobohm joins the program to talk about the 4th Annual Week of Purpose.
President of Turning Point USA at WVU Will Kozma discusses the current state of the student organization a week after Charlie Kirk's assassination.
President of Turning Point USA at WVU Will Kozma discusses the current state of the student organization a week after Charlie Kirk's assassination.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is the Talk of the Town from Morgantown to Klucksburg.
If it's happening, we're talking about it. Call the show
toll free at one eight hundred seven sixty five eight
two five five. Now Here is your host for the
Talk of the Town, Mike notlting Well.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Good Friday morning, and we'll welcome to the program. Fair
skies fifty nine degrees in the University City. This is
Talk of the Town where we focus on things important
to you and your family. Producing the program today, we
have Sophia Wassick. You'll be able to get Sophia at
eight hundred seven six five eight two five five, and
(00:40):
of course, as always your conduit into the program today.
That would be the text line that number three oh
four Talk three oh four A traffic update easton Hill
the mile ground. Well, they remain closed at this hour.
First Energy is currently reporting about four hundred forty five
folks in Montaguelia County without power unless that has just changed,
(01:06):
and I believe that it has just within the last
just within the last several minutes, that number has gone
from four hundred and forty five down to fourteen. So
First Energy certainly getting their work done up on the
mile ground, and we would expect that stretch of road
to reopen very soon. Their estimated restoration time was nine am,
(01:30):
so they certainly hit that very close to right on
the money. But once again easton Hill the Bile ground,
they do remain closed at this hour. However, very soon
that situation should be rectified. Just as we came on
the air, saw a tweet from WVU President Michael T.
(01:52):
Benson of WVU, along with Carnegie Mellon University and Pitt
they're now finalists for a hunt were sixty million dollars
in grants to supercharge regional energy, technology and infrastructure that
was just announced as we came to air.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
We'll be sure and we'll get more.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Details and pass those along to you as we have them.
A great program today, we're going to spend some time
to learn about the Week of Purpose that is next
week on the campus of West Virginia University. At nine
point thirty, we're going to spend a few minutes with
the president of the Turning Point USA chapter on the
Morgantown campus, William Cosma.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
Before we do.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
That, let's take a look at a couple of headlines
that crash this morning. It caused the power outage and
the road closure that was reported at just about three
seventeen a. M Mont County Sheriff's Department is the investigating agency.
There is no word at this hour on the extent
of energy injuries if any WVU student and a student
(03:00):
from Washington and Jefferson College across the border in Washington
BA been charged with malicious burning after setting a couch
on fire after WVU beat Pitt in overtime last Saturday
in Morgantown. Investigators say that students used a flamethrower to
set that fire. In they face a fine of a
(03:21):
couple thousand dollars. Well, yesterday we had the opportunity to
learn about a new tickborn illness from Bond County Health
Officer doctor Brian Huggins. Now, this new one is called
the alpha gal syndrome, and it will make you allergic
to red meat, he says, in some cases for the
rest of your life. Now you can get more information
(03:42):
about that tickborn illness at WAJR dot com. Fairmont man
accused of killing a woman on Wheeling Island has been arraigned.
Dennis Evans scheduled to go on trial in September for
the death of Christine King Evans, currently incarcerated on unrelated charges,
and has pled guilty not guilty in that particular case.
(04:06):
The chairman of the West Virginia First Foundation, Matt Harvey.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Stepped down.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Harvey was nominated by President Trump to serve as the
US Attorney for the Northern District of the state. That
occurred in their regular meeting on Thursday and Mylon Pushcar
Stadium will be busy this weekend despite the Jayhawks being
out of town. They'll be hosting the fifty ninth Morgantown
(04:32):
High School Band Spectacular this weekend. Fourteen schools from across
the state will be represented at that event, and of
course Morgantown will be there as well. When we come back,
we're going to spend a few minutes and learn about
the Week of Purpose coming up next week on the
campus of West Virginia University, Fair fifty nine and Morgantown.
(04:54):
We'll be back after this on AM fourteen forty FM
one four point five w are.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
Join the conversation at one eight hundred and seven sixty
five eight two five five. This is the talk of
the town.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Well good Friday morning and welcome back to talk to town.
I'm Mike Knowlton, and in studio I've got the director
of the Purpose Center at West Virginia University, Kate Slowpom.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
Hey, good morning, Kate, how are you.
Speaker 4 (05:26):
Good morning, Mike.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
Thanks for having me here. It's a pleasure to have
you here. Kate.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Now, let's see next week is a week of Purpose
at West Virginia University. And now help us understand the
purpose of the week of Purpose. Are we are really
maybe getting kids a little bit bit more oriented to
their purpose here on campus or maybe their purpose in
their chosen career.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
Great question. So at the Purpose Center, we're helping students
figure out what just a what impact they want to make,
and we help them figure out how they're going to
make that impact, if they're on the right path where
they want to be, and how they're going to navigate
that and what opportunities exist for them. So we want
to make sure students are excited about the work they're
going to get to do while they're here as students
on campus and then beyond when they are out.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
In the workforce. You know, I tell you the way
WVU does it with the you have people out there
that have the job to measure the student experience and
really keep them on that career track path throughout the process.
It's really completely different than the way it was done
(06:31):
years ago. So next week lay out the program.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
How are you going to do this?
Speaker 4 (06:36):
Yes, So next week we're going to really focus on
what the Purpose Center does and it's about exposure and
making sure people know that that resource exists for them.
So we'll have programming. We have forty six programs throughout
the week for students, faculty, staff, so pretty wide reaching.
We have events that prompt them to think about what
they want to be doing in the future, what impact
(06:58):
they want to make right now. And then we also
use a tool called Clifton Strengths to help them think
about where their natural talents fall. So we really we
cause them to reflect throughout the week, and we have
some very targeted events to help guide that reflection.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
So it sounds like there's also maybe an opportunity for
someone to decide that, you know, maybe maybe I wanted
to be a lawyer, but you know, maybe in reality
I want to be a school teacher or something. Can
how does that work?
Speaker 4 (07:27):
Absolutely, So one of the things we try to make
sure people understand is that experiences can change your overall
purpose and that impact that you do want to make.
And so we help students understand that if their path
changes over time, that's okay, and it's happened to lots
of people. They're not the first to experience it. And
we work with all of the partners and we collaborate
across the university to make sure students can navigate that
(07:49):
path without losing time. We still want to help them
graduate in a timely manner, but we want to get
them to a path they're excited about so that they
have great outcomes.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
You know, I incorrectly assumed that this was maybe for
members of the underclass, the freshman's sophomore type class. But
the more I hear you talk, this is also maybe
an opportunity for the juniors and seniors to get motivated
again or to get reoriented. Talk about that a little.
Speaker 4 (08:18):
Bit, absolutely, and I would even say it goes beyond
that to faculty, staff, everybody who has a role in
the university. So we want to make sure people are
working towards something that they're excited about. So if you
look at any of the research about the state of
the workplace, or you're looking at building cultures in workplaces.
Everything comes down to purpose. If people are excited about
the reason they're there, they're going to have better well being,
(08:39):
they're going to have more productivity, they're going to be
more engaged, and they're not going to want to leave
the organization. So we know that if we can keep people,
that's a lot better outcome, and we want to make
sure when they're they're happy and they're productive. So that's
what we really focus on for all levels, whether it
be students, faculty, or staff.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
You know, I'm not trying to oversimplify this, but one
word comes to mind. That word is conscientious.
Speaker 4 (09:03):
Yes, it's very intentional. We try to be very intentional
with everything we do. And I think the magic of
it is we don't have the answers, We just ask
the questions.
Speaker 5 (09:12):
Interesting.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
It's actually pretty deep too. Now I'd like for you
to explain to the audience. I've just glanced over it
here a couple of weeks ago. But you have employees
at the university that monitor what's called the student experience.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Can you tell us about those people?
Speaker 4 (09:32):
So those we have people all across the university. Student
experience is a really wide reaching part of the university.
So there's everything that happens outside of the classroom, and
so with the Purpose Center, we try to think about
what are those different experiences that students could be having.
Are they joining clubs and organizations, are they going to
tutoring if they needed, are they getting involved in study abroad.
So there's lots of people across the university who are
(09:55):
really helping to make that robust student experience. And so
I think one of the things that's great about being
a student there is you have all of those opportunities
at your fingertips and you get to just explore and
figure it out. So it's just another layer of support
for students at the university.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Now, I asked that on purpose and didn't mean to
get off track because the reason I asked it is
because I would assume that input from those student experience
folks would make the Week of Purpose maybe a little
bit different every year, because I think, you know, you
would be in danger of maybe just having a binder
(10:32):
that says Week of Purpose. Oh, okay, get the binder out,
We're going to do this again.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
Is that how it works?
Speaker 4 (10:37):
So no, everything we do is very responsive to what
students are asking for. We don't try to prescribe what
we think students need. I was a student a long
time ago, and the needs have changed, and so we
ask students. Sometimes it's just as simple as saying, what
do you need? And then we look for content or
we create content to fit that. One specific example, we
(10:58):
had some graduate students who are really nervous about presenting
at a conference and they didn't feel like the experts
and they were having major imposter syndrome. So we talked
about purpose and kind of owning that confidence and what
imposter syndrome looked like and how they could use their
experiences as a college student as a researcher to fight
back against that imposter syndrome. And we created content based
(11:19):
on what students asked for. And that's what we always
try to do. We don't try to assume we know
what the students need.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Give us an idea of some of the programs that
are going to be putting on fighting off the urge
to ask about the impostors syndrome.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
So we have all kinds of different programming next week.
Like I said, a lot of it is just trying
to help students remember that the resource exists, so we
will be we have prompts where if you walk by
us in the Mountain layer, you can respond to a
purpose focused prompt. We also will be doing some faculty
sessions where we're going to talk about knowing the strengths
of your students. So we gathered some data at New
Student Orientation around purpose and Clifton strengths for students, So
(11:55):
we're going to share that data so that people can
understand kind of what that student profile looks like. We'll
also have some programming across campus talking about purpose at
the Health Sciences Center and at the Engineering College. So
we try to make sure we hit all the different
areas of campus, make sure all of the students are
exposed to the ideas and that all of them get
the experience.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
How many students along the way do you pluck out
to maybe recycle back to interact with their own and
be a part of the purpose Week of Purpose, So.
Speaker 4 (12:25):
Next week we'll work with literally hundreds of students because
we'll be in the classrooms. We see students multiple times
throughout their undergraduate and then graduate experience, so we work
with them at different levels, and so we'll work in
we are in twenty four classrooms next week, so we'll
all of those students, plus we'll have students through our
(12:46):
walk in and pop up events. Overall, since the Purpose
Center launched, this will be our fourth week of Purpose
and we are right at eighty thousand impressions over the
past four years.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
So any talk of I guess like they to call
it a placement office that went away with the dinosaurs,
is that true?
Speaker 4 (13:06):
So there's still career services and we work really closely
with them. We kind of see this as the before
you're ready for your career, So we start asking those
questions about what do you want to do and how
are you going to get there? And then we have
a really great collaboration with the WU Career Services Center
and all of the embedded career development specialist within the
colleges to help students say, Okay, this is what you
want to do. Now here's this professional staff that can
(13:28):
help you actually get to that goal.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
I think it's really amazing the way that you're able
to lay this out for young people and really kind
of kickstart their efforts or jump start their efforts, because
I guess what I'm talking about is is like, well,
if you wanted to get into public service, then it
would be important to maybe start volunteering, or you know,
(13:52):
if you wanted to go to one of the military academies,
maybe it's a good time to start doing X or Y.
Is that is that maybe some of the foundation that
will be late.
Speaker 4 (14:03):
Absolutely, so we help students once they think about what
a path looks like for them, we start showing them
the opportunities. And I think my favorite part is when
they realize that there's a lot of different paths to
get to the opportunity. There's not just one right way
to do it, and everybody's path is going to look
a little bit different. And even if they change their
mind along the way, that just adds to their experience
(14:24):
and makes their path a little richer.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
How does it make you feel to be able to
provide things for students that maybe you didn't have, maybe
wasn't even thought of at that time.
Speaker 4 (14:36):
Honestly, every day when I get to do this work
and I talk with students and I help them discover
what they're excited about, I almost have to pinch myself
and think, is this really a job someone's paying me
to get to do this amazing work? But it feels
incredible to be a piece of student success at the
university and to be able to have an impact on
the students. That's me living out my own purpose.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
You know, And I guess i'd like to add that,
you know, from my perspective, school was always folders, syllabuses
and a list of requirements and credit hours that you
have to get to graduate. And it really wasn't. It
wasn't identified as a journey. It was identified as a
(15:18):
series of obstacles that you must conquer.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
In order to get that degree.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
And to see the way that it's changed, and you know,
you've really kind of turned it into I guess maybe
changed it from being a monster that we have to
wrestle to being a challenge that we can all embrace.
Speaker 4 (15:37):
Absolutely, there's a lot of exploration, and I think that's
exciting for students.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Okay, now, when do they get started?
Speaker 4 (15:44):
So the Week of Purpose will start on Monday, but
students start with strengths and purpose work before they even
step on campus as part of their new student orientation modules.
So we start talking about it immediately when they come
on campus.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Okay, good deal.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
And then those events they'll be let's see, they'll get
start on Monday and run all the way through the week.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
Is that right correct?
Speaker 4 (16:03):
We have those forty six events running Monday through Friday,
and a lot of things that we hope to see
people engaging with us and learning about purpose.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
And then the last thing, will you be involved in
any specific events or will you just be kind of
orchestrating the orchestra.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
I'll be at almost all of those events, so we
do have a lot of really wonderful partners across the
university that will help support it. But our team is
pretty much at all of the events, so we are
there to help in any way.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
Kate Schlowbaum is the director of the WVU Purpose Center.
Thank you very much for your time today, Man, really
do appreciate it. Thank you, Mike absolutely. The Week of
Purpose begins next week, and I believe that we're going
to check in with the folks at WVU coming up
on Wednesday and get a mid week update from the
(16:51):
Week of Purpose. Coming up next, we're going to speak
with the president the Turning Point USA chapter on the
campus of West Virginia University, William Cosma. It's coming up
next on Talk of the Town AM fourteen forty FM.
Oneh four point five w aj R.
Speaker 5 (17:18):
Now back to the talk of the town.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Good Friday morning. It is nine thirty four in the
University City. Thursday evening at the state Capitol, several thousand
people gathered to remember the life of conservative activist and
commentator Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated in Utah last week. Kirk,
(17:45):
of course, the founder of Turning Point USA. Now president
of the chapter here in Morgantown at West Virginia University
is William Cosmo. William Good morning, sir, and how are
you hey.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
I'm doing fine, Thank you very much, William.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
I guess we'd like to get a feel for the
pulse of the Morgantown chapter a week following the assassination.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
Of Charlie Kirk.
Speaker 6 (18:13):
Well, i'd have to say, we're alive, and wow, I've
never seen this much participation in time I've been in
the chapter. Membership is just exploding, and the enthusiasm is.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
Through the roof, you know. William.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
On that note, I know that we've had some talks
here in the newsroom and I wouldn't call it skepticism,
but maybe just questioning the I guess the strength of
this response to the assassination. But the more that I
get into it, and the more that I talk to
young people like you, I do find that, you know,
(18:48):
this is not just a flash and a pan, This
is now a wave that is building.
Speaker 6 (18:58):
Oh yeah, I think that's perfect way to characterize it,
you know. I mean, it's something that's not going to
go away. It's going to be, you know, something that's
going to last for a long time now.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
William William Cosmos was a president of the Turning Point
USA chapter on the West Virginia University campus, explained to
us your political journey that led you to Turning Point USA.
Speaker 6 (19:22):
Please, Well, it would have started back in twenty fifteen,
right around when val Trump was getting elected. But if
I can't, I just happened to begin into politics. Then.
My mother and father were both really into politics, so
a very you know, in June, with the happenings of
(19:42):
the country, so to speak. So it kind of passed
on to me. They're small business owners and we're in
kind of a rural part of the state of Maryland,
so we kind of naturally were conservative. And then I
just grew up kind of watching thoughts news and then
eventually found Tarlie Kirk and throughout all of middle school,
(20:03):
high school was very conservative, and then once I got
into college, carried over found Turning Point and I've been
with them ever since.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Now, William, there was an organizer of that chapter back
in the day, gentleman by the name of Gino Shiarelli.
Don't know if you know him or not, but he's
a delegate here in the state of West Virginia. Do
you have political ideas in your future?
Speaker 6 (20:28):
Yeah, I want to be prosecutor specifically a district attorney.
I'm working on getting my law degree. I'm still undergrad
but I'm working into law schools at the moment. I
actually hate the l sat in October of the seventh
of October.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
William cosmos with us. He is the president of the
Turning Point USA Chapter. William, when you see some of
the some of the negative output, some of the people
sell lebrating the death of Charlie Kirk on social media,
maybe even celebrating the death of Charlie Kirk in public,
(21:09):
what do you say to those people and how does
your chapter react to those expressions?
Speaker 6 (21:16):
Personally? I think it's completely disgusting. It's just a reminder
this country needs unity. But we can only have unity
with the people who want unity, and I think with
our chapter, we just have to respond and be civil,
you know, we can't stoop to their level, and I
think so far we've done a very good job of that.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
Now, how many people are in your chapter?
Speaker 6 (21:41):
If you look for both community members and students, it's
three hundred and twenty seven, specifically students at it's at
least two hundred.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
Now when you say members and students, now, so you're
telling me that this is not strictly just a student group.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
No.
Speaker 6 (22:02):
We whenever we have like speaking events when we invite
conservative commentators to come on. Specifically, those events are open
to the public. You know, we love to have members
of the community come those events. The social events are
a little more student centered, but the speaking events are
open to the public.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Okay, tell us what is your meeting schedule? When do
you meet and when do you have public meetings or
meetings that are maybe a little bit more opened up
to the general public.
Speaker 6 (22:33):
So typically we meet Mondays on seven fifteen bi monthly.
This next meeting's going to be more student focused, just
so that they can get to know each other a
little bit. It's gonna be the second meeting of the semester.
The next meeting is going to be that one's gonna
(22:53):
be a little more open to the public. We're still
working on the details of that, but we think we've
got a date nailed down, probably going to be it's
tubby the middle of October. Was still working on that,
making sure that that's making sure that's going to be.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
Okay, yep, no, no, you know, William.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
One of the things that I'm curious about is that, Well, first,
how long have you been president of this chapter?
Speaker 6 (23:24):
So I've been president since January of twenty twenty five.
I was assumed the role when the previous president she'd
stepped down because she was focusing on her school work.
Very admirable, So I had been I started being president
spring semester last year. Then I got elected again and
(23:46):
I'm still president for the fall semester.
Speaker 3 (23:48):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
And then do you have a board of directors or
maybe just a vice president secretary of that kind of
a setup.
Speaker 6 (23:56):
We have an executive board where we have a vice president, scretary, treasurer,
and my social media manager.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Okay, So when you get together with your executive board
and the leadership team and you look at this new
found surge of interest that you have. Are there any
ideas how you can capitalize on that and what you'll
do with it?
Speaker 6 (24:21):
Looking into doing more activism than before. This purguse of
our chapter has really been more social. But given the
surge of people, we want to start doing more activism events.
I've been thinking about looking into doing vote registration drive
at some point in the semester. I think we could definitely,
(24:43):
you know, do more in that regard.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
What about maybe future events to recognize the life of
Charlie Kirk, anything on that front.
Speaker 6 (24:59):
I mean, I just in all our meetings, we're going
to keep Charlie in our hearts, you know. I think
we're just going to be reminded of what happened, you know.
I don't think it's ever going to go away.
Speaker 3 (25:09):
Okay, all right, William Cosma.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
He is the president of the Turning Point USA chapter
on the campus of West Virginia University. William, keep up
the good work. Now what your school are you in, sir.
Speaker 6 (25:23):
I'm a junior at West Virginia.
Speaker 3 (25:25):
Okay, good deal.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
Well, William, thank you very much for your time today.
I'm sure that you've got a lot of important school
work to get to Yes, I do okay, all right, William,
It's been a pleasure and do appreciate your time.
Speaker 3 (25:40):
Thank you you welcome.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Absolutely William Cosma, the president of the Turning Point USA
chapter on the campus of West Virginia University. A Fair
sixty in Morgantown. We'll be back right after this on
AM fourteen forty FM one oh four point five WAJR.
Speaker 5 (26:16):
We are talking about your town. Now back to the
talk of the town.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
Well, good Friday morning, welcome back to the program, fair
skies and fifty nine degrees and breaking.
Speaker 3 (26:29):
Just before we went.
Speaker 2 (26:30):
On the air was the WVU, a partnership between WVU,
Carnegie Mellon University, and PITT have been named finalists for
a one hundred and sixty million dollar grant designed to
supercharge regional energy technology. Now, the Resilient Energy Technology and
(26:52):
Infrastructure Consortium is led by a team at WVU. They're
headquartered at the WVU Innovation Corporation right there on Chestnut
Ridge Road. Now, if this particular group of organizations is
chosen to conduct this research, it's projected to generate twenty
(27:14):
one thousand jobs, one hundred and fifty startups, and more
than a billion dollars in economic growth.
Speaker 3 (27:21):
For the region.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
Now on talk Line on the Thursday edition of talk Line,
heard from Nick Preservati with the state Department of Energy Development,
and he characterized the Governor's new energy Comprehensive plan as
maybe a once in a lifetime chance for the state
(27:44):
of West Virginia to truly be able to realize the
value that they have in coal that's in the ground
and the natural resources that we're all sitting on top of.
And as a matter of fact, the Governor, as a
part of this particular as a part of this particular effort,
(28:06):
said that they've got every opportunity to supercharge America's next
energy renaissance and serve as the backbone for energy security
with this funding opportunity. We appreciate the NSF. We appreciate
that the NSF recognizes the region's potential and they look
(28:27):
forward to continue powering the nation like we've done for
the past one hundred years. Now, those are comments from
Governor Morrissey. And now this sounds maybe a little bit
like the reiteration of the arch to Energy Hub that
was announced maybe about eighteen months ago. And then of
(28:51):
course we assume has fallen victim to some of that
grant clawback that was done as soon as the Trump
had been stration that took office just about ten months ago.
Once again, West Virginia University, the Carnegie Mellon University, and
Pitt they're now finalists for the National Science Foundation one
(29:15):
hundred and sixty million dollar grant. And now that group
is led by the Resilient Energy, Technology and Infrastructure Consortium
that is headquartered at the WVU Research Corporation. Good news
on the roads here in the city of Morgantown. It
(29:35):
looks like portions of the Mile Ground are beginning to
open up. And we do have word from First Energy
that that power outage number is now dropped. I'm going
to check get a double check on that. It was
at about four hundred and forty some when we went
(29:55):
on the air. Then by just about nine oh four
that number had dropped a four and yes, so it
looks like now First Energy has just about got things
wrapped up there and some of the cleanup is still
happening on the road. It looks like Easton Hill still
shut down on the way up.
Speaker 3 (30:14):
To the Mile Ground.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
Keep that in your travel plans for the remainder of
today as I understand that the dh is on the
scene along with First Energy. The Mond County Sheriff's Department
is investigating that crash, a single vehicle crash into a
poll that was reported at three seventeen this morning. No
(30:38):
word on the extent of injuries, if any. We'll be
back to preview some high school football coming up later tonight.
That's next on one four point five FM AM fourteen
forty WAJR.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
Join the conversation at one eight hundred and seven sixty
five eight two fivey five.
Speaker 5 (31:11):
This is the talk of the town.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
Good Friday morning, Farris Skies and sixty in the University
City of Metro Newsaki Weather says tonight mostly clear and
a low of sixty degrees. A perfect night for some
high school football, that's for sure. Now let's see University.
They're on the road at Wheeling Park tonight. That play
(31:35):
by play that will be live right here on WAJR
out Morgantown. They'll make the trip to Connellsville, Pennsylvania. That
will stream live over at WAJR dot com. On the
stream now, Clay Battel, the CBS are off this weekend.
They're coming off of a no nonsense defensive win for
(32:00):
Valley forty eight to six, and certainly the CBS are
enjoying a great season, certainly an influx, maybe some new
talent and so forth. But once again University that will
be the featured game on WAJR tonight. That'll be live
following the city net statewide sports line. And then don't
(32:23):
forget that, Metro News Game Night will pick up after
the final kick, after the final play has been called,
and they'll have all the scores in a recap of
all the action leading all the way up to midnight. Now,
the DOH and local agencies continue their work over on
(32:43):
Easton Hill and portions of the mile ground. It looks
like the mile ground clear from Hartman Run Road back
toward the roundabout. However, Hartman Road then back toward the airport,
or I guess more accurately back toward Easton Hill. That
(33:03):
does remain closed at this hour, but the electricity is
back on and that is certainly a good thing. Real quick,
coming up on Monday, we're going to welcome the mon
Health President and the executive vice president of Vandelia Health,
David Goldberg, to the program. We talked to David earlier
(33:26):
this week about the Supreme Court case involving the Stonewall
Jackson Memorial Hospital, and David mentioned a series of other
updates here around the region and associated with Vandalia Health,
primarily facilities and personnel. Those range all the way from
(33:48):
let's see mon County, Marion County over to Preston County.
And in that conversation, we're beginning to learn that I
guess three four years into the mon Marion Neighborhood Hospital,
you know, the small format hospital.
Speaker 3 (34:05):
It was the.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
First in a series of small format hospitals that was
opened in the Whitehall area. I believe that now that
facility has one of the busiest emergency rooms in the
state of West Virginia. So we'll talk with David Goldberg
coming up on Monday, that'll be at nine to fifteen.
(34:26):
We'll get some updates on their development, and certainly the
court case ruling will be very important to them regarding
the possibility of a new Stonewell Jackson Memorial Hospital, and
that decision is expected coming up in the fall. Everybody
make it a great Friday. Metro News talk line coming
(34:49):
up next on the Voice of Morgantown one four point
five FM and a M fourteen forty WAJR
This is the Talk of the Town from Morgantown to Klucksburg.
If it's happening, we're talking about it. Call the show
toll free at one eight hundred seven sixty five eight
two five five. Now Here is your host for the
Talk of the Town, Mike notlting Well.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Good Friday morning, and we'll welcome to the program. Fair
skies fifty nine degrees in the University City. This is
Talk of the Town where we focus on things important
to you and your family. Producing the program today, we
have Sophia Wassick. You'll be able to get Sophia at
eight hundred seven six five eight two five five, and
(00:40):
of course, as always your conduit into the program today.
That would be the text line that number three oh
four Talk three oh four A traffic update easton Hill
the mile ground. Well, they remain closed at this hour.
First Energy is currently reporting about four hundred forty five
folks in Montaguelia County without power unless that has just changed,
(01:06):
and I believe that it has just within the last
just within the last several minutes, that number has gone
from four hundred and forty five down to fourteen. So
First Energy certainly getting their work done up on the
mile ground, and we would expect that stretch of road
to reopen very soon. Their estimated restoration time was nine am,
(01:30):
so they certainly hit that very close to right on
the money. But once again easton Hill the Bile ground,
they do remain closed at this hour. However, very soon
that situation should be rectified. Just as we came on
the air, saw a tweet from WVU President Michael T.
(01:52):
Benson of WVU, along with Carnegie Mellon University and Pitt
they're now finalists for a hunt were sixty million dollars
in grants to supercharge regional energy, technology and infrastructure that
was just announced as we came to air.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
We'll be sure and we'll get more.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Details and pass those along to you as we have them.
A great program today, we're going to spend some time
to learn about the Week of Purpose that is next
week on the campus of West Virginia University. At nine
point thirty, we're going to spend a few minutes with
the president of the Turning Point USA chapter on the
Morgantown campus, William Cosma.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
Before we do.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
That, let's take a look at a couple of headlines
that crash this morning. It caused the power outage and
the road closure that was reported at just about three
seventeen a. M Mont County Sheriff's Department is the investigating agency.
There is no word at this hour on the extent
of energy injuries if any WVU student and a student
(03:00):
from Washington and Jefferson College across the border in Washington
BA been charged with malicious burning after setting a couch
on fire after WVU beat Pitt in overtime last Saturday
in Morgantown. Investigators say that students used a flamethrower to
set that fire. In they face a fine of a
(03:21):
couple thousand dollars. Well, yesterday we had the opportunity to
learn about a new tickborn illness from Bond County Health
Officer doctor Brian Huggins. Now, this new one is called
the alpha gal syndrome, and it will make you allergic
to red meat, he says, in some cases for the
rest of your life. Now you can get more information
(03:42):
about that tickborn illness at WAJR dot com. Fairmont man
accused of killing a woman on Wheeling Island has been arraigned.
Dennis Evans scheduled to go on trial in September for
the death of Christine King Evans, currently incarcerated on unrelated charges,
and has pled guilty not guilty in that particular case.
(04:06):
The chairman of the West Virginia First Foundation, Matt Harvey.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Stepped down.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Harvey was nominated by President Trump to serve as the
US Attorney for the Northern District of the state. That
occurred in their regular meeting on Thursday and Mylon Pushcar
Stadium will be busy this weekend despite the Jayhawks being
out of town. They'll be hosting the fifty ninth Morgantown
(04:32):
High School Band Spectacular this weekend. Fourteen schools from across
the state will be represented at that event, and of
course Morgantown will be there as well. When we come back,
we're going to spend a few minutes and learn about
the Week of Purpose coming up next week on the
campus of West Virginia University, Fair fifty nine and Morgantown.
(04:54):
We'll be back after this on AM fourteen forty FM
one four point five w are.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
Join the conversation at one eight hundred and seven sixty
five eight two five five. This is the talk of
the town.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Well good Friday morning and welcome back to talk to town.
I'm Mike Knowlton, and in studio I've got the director
of the Purpose Center at West Virginia University, Kate Slowpom.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
Hey, good morning, Kate, how are you.
Speaker 4 (05:26):
Good morning, Mike.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
Thanks for having me here. It's a pleasure to have
you here. Kate.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Now, let's see next week is a week of Purpose
at West Virginia University. And now help us understand the
purpose of the week of Purpose. Are we are really
maybe getting kids a little bit bit more oriented to
their purpose here on campus or maybe their purpose in
their chosen career.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
Great question. So at the Purpose Center, we're helping students
figure out what just a what impact they want to make,
and we help them figure out how they're going to
make that impact, if they're on the right path where
they want to be, and how they're going to navigate
that and what opportunities exist for them. So we want
to make sure students are excited about the work they're
going to get to do while they're here as students
on campus and then beyond when they are out.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
In the workforce. You know, I tell you the way
WVU does it with the you have people out there
that have the job to measure the student experience and
really keep them on that career track path throughout the process.
It's really completely different than the way it was done
(06:31):
years ago. So next week lay out the program.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
How are you going to do this?
Speaker 4 (06:36):
Yes, So next week we're going to really focus on
what the Purpose Center does and it's about exposure and
making sure people know that that resource exists for them.
So we'll have programming. We have forty six programs throughout
the week for students, faculty, staff, so pretty wide reaching.
We have events that prompt them to think about what
they want to be doing in the future, what impact
(06:58):
they want to make right now. And then we also
use a tool called Clifton Strengths to help them think
about where their natural talents fall. So we really we
cause them to reflect throughout the week, and we have
some very targeted events to help guide that reflection.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
So it sounds like there's also maybe an opportunity for
someone to decide that, you know, maybe maybe I wanted
to be a lawyer, but you know, maybe in reality
I want to be a school teacher or something. Can
how does that work?
Speaker 4 (07:27):
Absolutely, So one of the things we try to make
sure people understand is that experiences can change your overall
purpose and that impact that you do want to make.
And so we help students understand that if their path
changes over time, that's okay, and it's happened to lots
of people. They're not the first to experience it. And
we work with all of the partners and we collaborate
across the university to make sure students can navigate that
(07:49):
path without losing time. We still want to help them
graduate in a timely manner, but we want to get
them to a path they're excited about so that they
have great outcomes.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
You know, I incorrectly assumed that this was maybe for
members of the underclass, the freshman's sophomore type class. But
the more I hear you talk, this is also maybe
an opportunity for the juniors and seniors to get motivated
again or to get reoriented. Talk about that a little.
Speaker 4 (08:18):
Bit, absolutely, and I would even say it goes beyond
that to faculty, staff, everybody who has a role in
the university. So we want to make sure people are
working towards something that they're excited about. So if you
look at any of the research about the state of
the workplace, or you're looking at building cultures in workplaces.
Everything comes down to purpose. If people are excited about
the reason they're there, they're going to have better well being,
(08:39):
they're going to have more productivity, they're going to be
more engaged, and they're not going to want to leave
the organization. So we know that if we can keep people,
that's a lot better outcome, and we want to make
sure when they're they're happy and they're productive. So that's
what we really focus on for all levels, whether it
be students, faculty, or staff.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
You know, I'm not trying to oversimplify this, but one
word comes to mind. That word is conscientious.
Speaker 4 (09:03):
Yes, it's very intentional. We try to be very intentional
with everything we do. And I think the magic of
it is we don't have the answers, We just ask
the questions.
Speaker 5 (09:12):
Interesting.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
It's actually pretty deep too. Now I'd like for you
to explain to the audience. I've just glanced over it
here a couple of weeks ago. But you have employees
at the university that monitor what's called the student experience.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Can you tell us about those people?
Speaker 4 (09:32):
So those we have people all across the university. Student
experience is a really wide reaching part of the university.
So there's everything that happens outside of the classroom, and
so with the Purpose Center, we try to think about
what are those different experiences that students could be having.
Are they joining clubs and organizations, are they going to
tutoring if they needed, are they getting involved in study abroad.
So there's lots of people across the university who are
(09:55):
really helping to make that robust student experience. And so
I think one of the things that's great about being
a student there is you have all of those opportunities
at your fingertips and you get to just explore and
figure it out. So it's just another layer of support
for students at the university.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Now, I asked that on purpose and didn't mean to
get off track because the reason I asked it is
because I would assume that input from those student experience
folks would make the Week of Purpose maybe a little
bit different every year, because I think, you know, you
would be in danger of maybe just having a binder
(10:32):
that says Week of Purpose. Oh, okay, get the binder out,
We're going to do this again.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
Is that how it works?
Speaker 4 (10:37):
So no, everything we do is very responsive to what
students are asking for. We don't try to prescribe what
we think students need. I was a student a long
time ago, and the needs have changed, and so we
ask students. Sometimes it's just as simple as saying, what
do you need? And then we look for content or
we create content to fit that. One specific example, we
(10:58):
had some graduate students who are really nervous about presenting
at a conference and they didn't feel like the experts
and they were having major imposter syndrome. So we talked
about purpose and kind of owning that confidence and what
imposter syndrome looked like and how they could use their
experiences as a college student as a researcher to fight
back against that imposter syndrome. And we created content based
(11:19):
on what students asked for. And that's what we always
try to do. We don't try to assume we know
what the students need.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Give us an idea of some of the programs that
are going to be putting on fighting off the urge
to ask about the impostors syndrome.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
So we have all kinds of different programming next week.
Like I said, a lot of it is just trying
to help students remember that the resource exists, so we
will be we have prompts where if you walk by
us in the Mountain layer, you can respond to a
purpose focused prompt. We also will be doing some faculty
sessions where we're going to talk about knowing the strengths
of your students. So we gathered some data at New
Student Orientation around purpose and Clifton strengths for students, So
(11:55):
we're going to share that data so that people can
understand kind of what that student profile looks like. We'll
also have some programming across campus talking about purpose at
the Health Sciences Center and at the Engineering College. So
we try to make sure we hit all the different
areas of campus, make sure all of the students are
exposed to the ideas and that all of them get
the experience.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
How many students along the way do you pluck out
to maybe recycle back to interact with their own and
be a part of the purpose Week of Purpose, So.
Speaker 4 (12:25):
Next week we'll work with literally hundreds of students because
we'll be in the classrooms. We see students multiple times
throughout their undergraduate and then graduate experience, so we work
with them at different levels, and so we'll work in
we are in twenty four classrooms next week, so we'll
all of those students, plus we'll have students through our
(12:46):
walk in and pop up events. Overall, since the Purpose
Center launched, this will be our fourth week of Purpose
and we are right at eighty thousand impressions over the
past four years.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
So any talk of I guess like they to call
it a placement office that went away with the dinosaurs,
is that true?
Speaker 4 (13:06):
So there's still career services and we work really closely
with them. We kind of see this as the before
you're ready for your career, So we start asking those
questions about what do you want to do and how
are you going to get there? And then we have
a really great collaboration with the WU Career Services Center
and all of the embedded career development specialist within the
colleges to help students say, Okay, this is what you
want to do. Now here's this professional staff that can
(13:28):
help you actually get to that goal.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
I think it's really amazing the way that you're able
to lay this out for young people and really kind
of kickstart their efforts or jump start their efforts, because
I guess what I'm talking about is is like, well,
if you wanted to get into public service, then it
would be important to maybe start volunteering, or you know,
(13:52):
if you wanted to go to one of the military academies,
maybe it's a good time to start doing X or Y.
Is that is that maybe some of the foundation that
will be late.
Speaker 4 (14:03):
Absolutely, so we help students once they think about what
a path looks like for them, we start showing them
the opportunities. And I think my favorite part is when
they realize that there's a lot of different paths to
get to the opportunity. There's not just one right way
to do it, and everybody's path is going to look
a little bit different. And even if they change their
mind along the way, that just adds to their experience
(14:24):
and makes their path a little richer.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
How does it make you feel to be able to
provide things for students that maybe you didn't have, maybe
wasn't even thought of at that time.
Speaker 4 (14:36):
Honestly, every day when I get to do this work
and I talk with students and I help them discover
what they're excited about, I almost have to pinch myself
and think, is this really a job someone's paying me
to get to do this amazing work? But it feels
incredible to be a piece of student success at the
university and to be able to have an impact on
the students. That's me living out my own purpose.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
You know, And I guess i'd like to add that,
you know, from my perspective, school was always folders, syllabuses
and a list of requirements and credit hours that you
have to get to graduate. And it really wasn't. It
wasn't identified as a journey. It was identified as a
(15:18):
series of obstacles that you must conquer.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
In order to get that degree.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
And to see the way that it's changed, and you know,
you've really kind of turned it into I guess maybe
changed it from being a monster that we have to
wrestle to being a challenge that we can all embrace.
Speaker 4 (15:37):
Absolutely, there's a lot of exploration, and I think that's
exciting for students.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Okay, now, when do they get started?
Speaker 4 (15:44):
So the Week of Purpose will start on Monday, but
students start with strengths and purpose work before they even
step on campus as part of their new student orientation modules.
So we start talking about it immediately when they come
on campus.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Okay, good deal.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
And then those events they'll be let's see, they'll get
start on Monday and run all the way through the week.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
Is that right correct?
Speaker 4 (16:03):
We have those forty six events running Monday through Friday,
and a lot of things that we hope to see
people engaging with us and learning about purpose.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
And then the last thing, will you be involved in
any specific events or will you just be kind of
orchestrating the orchestra.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
I'll be at almost all of those events, so we
do have a lot of really wonderful partners across the
university that will help support it. But our team is
pretty much at all of the events, so we are
there to help in any way.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
Kate Schlowbaum is the director of the WVU Purpose Center.
Thank you very much for your time today, Man, really
do appreciate it. Thank you, Mike absolutely. The Week of
Purpose begins next week, and I believe that we're going
to check in with the folks at WVU coming up
on Wednesday and get a mid week update from the
(16:51):
Week of Purpose. Coming up next, we're going to speak
with the president the Turning Point USA chapter on the
campus of West Virginia University, William Cosma. It's coming up
next on Talk of the Town AM fourteen forty FM.
Oneh four point five w aj R.
Speaker 5 (17:18):
Now back to the talk of the town.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Good Friday morning. It is nine thirty four in the
University City. Thursday evening at the state Capitol, several thousand
people gathered to remember the life of conservative activist and
commentator Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated in Utah last week. Kirk,
(17:45):
of course, the founder of Turning Point USA. Now president
of the chapter here in Morgantown at West Virginia University
is William Cosmo. William Good morning, sir, and how are
you hey.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
I'm doing fine, Thank you very much, William.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
I guess we'd like to get a feel for the
pulse of the Morgantown chapter a week following the assassination.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
Of Charlie Kirk.
Speaker 6 (18:13):
Well, i'd have to say, we're alive, and wow, I've
never seen this much participation in time I've been in
the chapter. Membership is just exploding, and the enthusiasm is.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
Through the roof, you know. William.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
On that note, I know that we've had some talks
here in the newsroom and I wouldn't call it skepticism,
but maybe just questioning the I guess the strength of
this response to the assassination. But the more that I
get into it, and the more that I talk to
young people like you, I do find that, you know,
(18:48):
this is not just a flash and a pan, This
is now a wave that is building.
Speaker 6 (18:58):
Oh yeah, I think that's perfect way to characterize it,
you know. I mean, it's something that's not going to
go away. It's going to be, you know, something that's
going to last for a long time now.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
William William Cosmos was a president of the Turning Point
USA chapter on the West Virginia University campus, explained to
us your political journey that led you to Turning Point USA.
Speaker 6 (19:22):
Please, Well, it would have started back in twenty fifteen,
right around when val Trump was getting elected. But if
I can't, I just happened to begin into politics. Then.
My mother and father were both really into politics, so
a very you know, in June, with the happenings of
(19:42):
the country, so to speak. So it kind of passed
on to me. They're small business owners and we're in
kind of a rural part of the state of Maryland,
so we kind of naturally were conservative. And then I
just grew up kind of watching thoughts news and then
eventually found Tarlie Kirk and throughout all of middle school,
(20:03):
high school was very conservative, and then once I got
into college, carried over found Turning Point and I've been
with them ever since.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Now, William, there was an organizer of that chapter back
in the day, gentleman by the name of Gino Shiarelli.
Don't know if you know him or not, but he's
a delegate here in the state of West Virginia. Do
you have political ideas in your future?
Speaker 6 (20:28):
Yeah, I want to be prosecutor specifically a district attorney.
I'm working on getting my law degree. I'm still undergrad
but I'm working into law schools at the moment. I
actually hate the l sat in October of the seventh
of October.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
William cosmos with us. He is the president of the
Turning Point USA Chapter. William, when you see some of
the some of the negative output, some of the people
sell lebrating the death of Charlie Kirk on social media,
maybe even celebrating the death of Charlie Kirk in public,
(21:09):
what do you say to those people and how does
your chapter react to those expressions?
Speaker 6 (21:16):
Personally? I think it's completely disgusting. It's just a reminder
this country needs unity. But we can only have unity
with the people who want unity, and I think with
our chapter, we just have to respond and be civil,
you know, we can't stoop to their level, and I
think so far we've done a very good job of that.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
Now, how many people are in your chapter?
Speaker 6 (21:41):
If you look for both community members and students, it's
three hundred and twenty seven, specifically students at it's at
least two hundred.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
Now when you say members and students, now, so you're
telling me that this is not strictly just a student group.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
No.
Speaker 6 (22:02):
We whenever we have like speaking events when we invite
conservative commentators to come on. Specifically, those events are open
to the public. You know, we love to have members
of the community come those events. The social events are
a little more student centered, but the speaking events are
open to the public.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Okay, tell us what is your meeting schedule? When do
you meet and when do you have public meetings or
meetings that are maybe a little bit more opened up
to the general public.
Speaker 6 (22:33):
So typically we meet Mondays on seven fifteen bi monthly.
This next meeting's going to be more student focused, just
so that they can get to know each other a
little bit. It's gonna be the second meeting of the semester.
The next meeting is going to be that one's gonna
(22:53):
be a little more open to the public. We're still
working on the details of that, but we think we've
got a date nailed down, probably going to be it's
tubby the middle of October. Was still working on that,
making sure that that's making sure that's going to be.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
Okay, yep, no, no, you know, William.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
One of the things that I'm curious about is that, Well, first,
how long have you been president of this chapter?
Speaker 6 (23:24):
So I've been president since January of twenty twenty five.
I was assumed the role when the previous president she'd
stepped down because she was focusing on her school work.
Very admirable, So I had been I started being president
spring semester last year. Then I got elected again and
(23:46):
I'm still president for the fall semester.
Speaker 3 (23:48):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
And then do you have a board of directors or
maybe just a vice president secretary of that kind of
a setup.
Speaker 6 (23:56):
We have an executive board where we have a vice president, scretary, treasurer,
and my social media manager.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Okay, So when you get together with your executive board
and the leadership team and you look at this new
found surge of interest that you have. Are there any
ideas how you can capitalize on that and what you'll
do with it?
Speaker 6 (24:21):
Looking into doing more activism than before. This purguse of
our chapter has really been more social. But given the
surge of people, we want to start doing more activism events.
I've been thinking about looking into doing vote registration drive
at some point in the semester. I think we could definitely,
(24:43):
you know, do more in that regard.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
What about maybe future events to recognize the life of
Charlie Kirk, anything on that front.
Speaker 6 (24:59):
I mean, I just in all our meetings, we're going
to keep Charlie in our hearts, you know. I think
we're just going to be reminded of what happened, you know.
I don't think it's ever going to go away.
Speaker 3 (25:09):
Okay, all right, William Cosma.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
He is the president of the Turning Point USA chapter
on the campus of West Virginia University. William, keep up
the good work. Now what your school are you in, sir.
Speaker 6 (25:23):
I'm a junior at West Virginia.
Speaker 3 (25:25):
Okay, good deal.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
Well, William, thank you very much for your time today.
I'm sure that you've got a lot of important school
work to get to Yes, I do okay, all right, William,
It's been a pleasure and do appreciate your time.
Speaker 3 (25:40):
Thank you you welcome.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Absolutely William Cosma, the president of the Turning Point USA
chapter on the campus of West Virginia University. A Fair
sixty in Morgantown. We'll be back right after this on
AM fourteen forty FM one oh four point five WAJR.
Speaker 5 (26:16):
We are talking about your town. Now back to the
talk of the town.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
Well, good Friday morning, welcome back to the program, fair
skies and fifty nine degrees and breaking.
Speaker 3 (26:29):
Just before we went.
Speaker 2 (26:30):
On the air was the WVU, a partnership between WVU,
Carnegie Mellon University, and PITT have been named finalists for
a one hundred and sixty million dollar grant designed to
supercharge regional energy technology. Now, the Resilient Energy Technology and
(26:52):
Infrastructure Consortium is led by a team at WVU. They're
headquartered at the WVU Innovation Corporation right there on Chestnut
Ridge Road. Now, if this particular group of organizations is
chosen to conduct this research, it's projected to generate twenty
(27:14):
one thousand jobs, one hundred and fifty startups, and more
than a billion dollars in economic growth.
Speaker 3 (27:21):
For the region.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
Now on talk Line on the Thursday edition of talk Line,
heard from Nick Preservati with the state Department of Energy Development,
and he characterized the Governor's new energy Comprehensive plan as
maybe a once in a lifetime chance for the state
(27:44):
of West Virginia to truly be able to realize the
value that they have in coal that's in the ground
and the natural resources that we're all sitting on top of.
And as a matter of fact, the Governor, as a
part of this particular as a part of this particular effort,
(28:06):
said that they've got every opportunity to supercharge America's next
energy renaissance and serve as the backbone for energy security
with this funding opportunity. We appreciate the NSF. We appreciate
that the NSF recognizes the region's potential and they look
(28:27):
forward to continue powering the nation like we've done for
the past one hundred years. Now, those are comments from
Governor Morrissey. And now this sounds maybe a little bit
like the reiteration of the arch to Energy Hub that
was announced maybe about eighteen months ago. And then of
(28:51):
course we assume has fallen victim to some of that
grant clawback that was done as soon as the Trump
had been stration that took office just about ten months ago.
Once again, West Virginia University, the Carnegie Mellon University, and
Pitt they're now finalists for the National Science Foundation one
(29:15):
hundred and sixty million dollar grant. And now that group
is led by the Resilient Energy, Technology and Infrastructure Consortium
that is headquartered at the WVU Research Corporation. Good news
on the roads here in the city of Morgantown. It
(29:35):
looks like portions of the Mile Ground are beginning to
open up. And we do have word from First Energy
that that power outage number is now dropped. I'm going
to check get a double check on that. It was
at about four hundred and forty some when we went
(29:55):
on the air. Then by just about nine oh four
that number had dropped a four and yes, so it
looks like now First Energy has just about got things
wrapped up there and some of the cleanup is still
happening on the road. It looks like Easton Hill still
shut down on the way up.
Speaker 3 (30:14):
To the Mile Ground.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
Keep that in your travel plans for the remainder of
today as I understand that the dh is on the
scene along with First Energy. The Mond County Sheriff's Department
is investigating that crash, a single vehicle crash into a
poll that was reported at three seventeen this morning. No
(30:38):
word on the extent of injuries, if any. We'll be
back to preview some high school football coming up later tonight.
That's next on one four point five FM AM fourteen
forty WAJR.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
Join the conversation at one eight hundred and seven sixty
five eight two fivey five.
Speaker 5 (31:11):
This is the talk of the town.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
Good Friday morning, Farris Skies and sixty in the University
City of Metro Newsaki Weather says tonight mostly clear and
a low of sixty degrees. A perfect night for some
high school football, that's for sure. Now let's see University.
They're on the road at Wheeling Park tonight. That play
(31:35):
by play that will be live right here on WAJR
out Morgantown. They'll make the trip to Connellsville, Pennsylvania. That
will stream live over at WAJR dot com. On the
stream now, Clay Battel, the CBS are off this weekend.
They're coming off of a no nonsense defensive win for
(32:00):
Valley forty eight to six, and certainly the CBS are
enjoying a great season, certainly an influx, maybe some new
talent and so forth. But once again University that will
be the featured game on WAJR tonight. That'll be live
following the city net statewide sports line. And then don't
(32:23):
forget that, Metro News Game Night will pick up after
the final kick, after the final play has been called,
and they'll have all the scores in a recap of
all the action leading all the way up to midnight. Now,
the DOH and local agencies continue their work over on
(32:43):
Easton Hill and portions of the mile ground. It looks
like the mile ground clear from Hartman Run Road back
toward the roundabout. However, Hartman Road then back toward the airport,
or I guess more accurately back toward Easton Hill. That
(33:03):
does remain closed at this hour, but the electricity is
back on and that is certainly a good thing. Real quick,
coming up on Monday, we're going to welcome the mon
Health President and the executive vice president of Vandelia Health,
David Goldberg, to the program. We talked to David earlier
(33:26):
this week about the Supreme Court case involving the Stonewall
Jackson Memorial Hospital, and David mentioned a series of other
updates here around the region and associated with Vandalia Health,
primarily facilities and personnel. Those range all the way from
(33:48):
let's see mon County, Marion County over to Preston County.
And in that conversation, we're beginning to learn that I
guess three four years into the mon Marion Neighborhood Hospital,
you know, the small format hospital.
Speaker 3 (34:05):
It was the.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
First in a series of small format hospitals that was
opened in the Whitehall area. I believe that now that
facility has one of the busiest emergency rooms in the
state of West Virginia. So we'll talk with David Goldberg
coming up on Monday, that'll be at nine to fifteen.
(34:26):
We'll get some updates on their development, and certainly the
court case ruling will be very important to them regarding
the possibility of a new Stonewell Jackson Memorial Hospital, and
that decision is expected coming up in the fall. Everybody
make it a great Friday. Metro News talk line coming
(34:49):
up next on the Voice of Morgantown one four point
five FM and a M fourteen forty WAJR
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com