By Steven Allen Adams, The Weirton Daily Times
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Standing on the front steps of the Capitol Sunday, Gov. Jim Justice, state officials and lawmakers joined the public in celebrating West Virginia’s founding while also celebrating success at controlling the COVID-19 spread.
“The sun is shining beyond belief,” Justice said to the gathered crowd, some sitting in seats under the hot sun in Lincoln Plaza on steps overlooking the Kanawha River, and many others sitting under the shaded trees flanking the plaza. “The sun is shining in West Virginia because of you.”
Justice praised state residents on West Virginia’s 158th birthday for staying strong during the COVID-19 pandemic, paid tribute to the more than 2,863 coronavirus deaths, and rewarded several West Virginians for getting their COVID-19 vaccines in the first week of the state’s vaccine incentive lottery.
“You had to show your mettle in every way,” Justice said. “You had to step up and you brought us through this. West Virginians from far and near, I congratulate you with all my soul. We’ve still got a ways to go…we don’t want to drop our guard and we sure don’t want to have one of these variants that’s been around hit us in a really bad way.” …