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Stories of West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle

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Latest Stories

Shepherdstown Farmers Market Open for the Winter

January 16, 2021

CATF Shares Highlights of New Theater Online

January 16, 2021

Seeing & Hearing The Signs of New Beginnings

January 12, 2021

Coming Together to Talk Politics

January 4, 2021

Civics and Civility for Students

January 4, 2021

The Eastern Panhandle Transit Authority Rides Out The Pandemic

January 4, 2021

Talking Across Time & Space

January 4, 2021

Pancake Revisited

January 4, 2021

Reading Programs for All Ages at the Shepherdstown Library

January 4, 2021

Shade’s Farm Offers Local Honey Products & More

January 4, 2021

Bushel & Peck Receives Grant to Expand Operations

January 4, 2021

The Pandemic is Here & Now

December 22, 2020

In Print

Public Health

The Pandemic is Here & Now

December 22, 2020 Tagged With: COVID-19, COVID-19 vaccine, Dr. Terrence Reidy, Jefferson County Health Department

Dr. Terrence Reidy shares thoughts and observations about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as well as his advice for reducing risk while the vaccine rollout begins. Read the Full Story >>

Organizing Allies in WV

December 1, 2020 Tagged With: healthcare, HIV, opioid epidemic, Shepherdstown Community Education Group

With the COVID-19 pandemic dominating the news, it’s easy for other public health issues to drop out of sight. Shepherdstown-based Community Education Group (CEG) is pointedly focused on West Virginia’s ongoing substance-use disorder epidemic. Read the Full Story >>

Running the COVID Marathon

December 1, 2020 Tagged With: active adults, COVID-19, diabetes, healthcare, heart disease, immune system, obesity

Dr. Mark Cucuzzella and James Munnis stand atop a rocky outcrop during a hike.

Health experts around the globe have been warning of the risk of a pandemic like COVID-19 for years — and they tell us that we can expect similar viruses to break out in the future. Dr. Mark Cucuzzella suggests that our current approach has focused on hiding from this virus and he makes the case that it’s just as important to strengthen our resistance to COVID-19 and future viruses — in other words, healthier lifestyles for healthier immune systems. Read the Full Story >>

WVU Medicine Opens in Shepherdstown

October 29, 2020 Tagged With: healthcare, tele-medicine, WVU Medicine

Even before COVID-19, WVU Medicine in the Eastern Panhandle was making big changes. At the start of 2020 the region’s largest healthcare system was adding robotic surgery capability to its Berkeley Medical Center in Martinsburg and starting construction of a new medical office building on newly-acquired land in Shepherdstown... Read the Full Story >>

Outdoor Fun Around the Eastern Panhandle

October 1, 2020 Tagged With: biking, climbing, Climbing New Heights, fitness, hiking, mountain biking, Potomac Valley Audubon Society

A mowed path winds through a meadow of waist-high grass and yellow flowers.

Here in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle, we are blessed with an abundance of outdoor recreation opportunities. When The Observer asked, we jumped at the chance to spotlight a few of our favorite activities for the fall.  Read the Full Story >>

It’s OK to Ask for Help

August 1, 2020 Tagged With: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Brian O’Neill Jr Foundation, run for a cause, suicide prevention

promotional flyer for ONeill Foundation 5K run to support suicide prevention programs.

The Brian O’Neill Jr Foundation has a simple mission: to empower individuals and their families to help prevent suicide in youth and young adults. For Lee O’Neill, the president of the foundation, this mission is personal. Read the Full Story >>

Pandemic in the Panhandle

August 1, 2020 Tagged With: Berkeley County Health Department, COVID-19, Dr. Terrence Reidy, Jefferson County Health Department, Morgan County Health Department

two people standing 6 feet apart maintaining social distance. illustration.

Reidy observes that there is sometimes almost too much news coverage. “Every little new suggestion gets equal weight because it’s new — every drug that might work or something that might work. With new treatments, it takes time to find out what really does work — things like antibody testing and how long people are immune. It’s hard because we want answers now.  Read the Full Story >>

CEG Receives $500K Grant to Bolster HIV Fight in West Virginia

April 4, 2020 Tagged With: Gilead Sciences, HIV, opioid epidemic, Shepherdstown Community Education Group

Community Education Group.

A new $500,000 grant will support CEG’s efforts to improve HIV prevention, testing, screening, and treatment in the state. Read the Full Story >>

WVU Medicine Lands Facility in Shepherdstown

February 5, 2020 Tagged With: healthcare, primary care, Shepherdstown, WVU Medicine

WVU Medicine building.

WVU Medicine plans to build a 10,700-square-foot medical office building (MOB) located on Route 45 west of downtown Shepherdstown near Sheetz, which will house two physician’s office suites—one for primary care and one for specialists.  Read the Full Story >>

Observer Contributor Co-Develops Memorial Site for Opioid Victims

December 7, 2019 Tagged With: All Our Hearts, opioid epidemic

All Our Hearts

If you or someone you love has lost someone to the opioid crisis, then it’s worth your while to check out "All Our Hearts"—an online memorial project developed in part by Observer contributor and Jefferson County native Lena Camilletti. Read the Full Story >>

Wellness Center at WVU Medicine Celebrates 20 Years

November 18, 2019 Tagged With: active adults, Berkeley Medical Center, fitness, WVU Medicine

WVU Medicine Wellness Center

The Wellness Center at WVU Medicine Berkeley Medical Center (2000 Foundation Way, Martinsburg) is celebrating its 20-year anniversary. Since opening its doors in the fall of 1999, it has doubled in size and expanded services to meet the needs of the community. The Center, located in the Dorothy A. McCormack Center on the Berkeley Medical Read the Full Story >>

Substance-Use Disorder & Person-First Language: Why It Matters

October 21, 2019 Tagged With: National Treatment Quality Initiatives, opioid epidemic, Sam Arsenault, Shatterproof, substance use disorder

substance abuse

How we perceive and treat people with substance-use disorder has a direct impact on access to treatment and long-term recovery for this community. The language we use to identify this disease is crucial in addressing solutions for people experiencing it. Read the Full Story >>

A Deep-Dive Into Anger, Abuse, and Resurrection with Debut Author Timothy J. Hillegonds

October 5, 2019 Tagged With: opioid epidemic, substance use disorder, Tim Hillegonds

Tim Hillegonds

A Chicago native, author Timothy J. Hillegonds stepped foot in Shepherdstown for the first time in 2012, and found himself smitten from the start. Seven years later, he readily calls Shepherdstown his second home, and by getting to know West Virginia’s oldest town as intimately as he has, he’s also become familiar with the Mountain State’s unfortunate connection to the nationwide opioid epidemic. Read the Full Story >>

Shepherdstown Farmers Market Benefits Entire Community with SNAP Program

October 1, 2019 Tagged With: food insecurity, nutrition, Shepherdstown Farmers Market, SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

Shepherdstown Farmers Market

According to the Farmers Market Coalition (FMC), the USDA partnered with them to provide eligible farmers markets and direct marketing farmers with the equipment necessary to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits—formerly known as the Food Stamps Program. Read the Full Story >>

Finally: A Comprehensive Program for Substance Abuse in the Panhandle

August 3, 2019 Tagged With: Mountaineer Recovery Center, opioid epidemic, substance use disorder

Mountaineer Recovery Center

Mountaineer Recovery Center, targeted to open in September 2019, will be the first in the state of West Virginia to provide this level of treatment, according to someone’s needs all in one place. Read the Full Story >>

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