Legal Advice Blog: Legal Advice, Case Insights, & Local Law Information

I recently had the pleasure of presenting the 2014 Public Servant Award at the annual meeting of the West Virginia Association of Justice. WVAJ is a group of trial lawyers in the state of West Virginia who have chosen to represent the interests of injured victims. I have been privileged to be on the Board of Directors for many years. The recipient of the Public Service Award was Joyce McConnell, who has been the Dean of the West Virginia College of Law since 2008. She is well educated, highly respected in her profession and a real God-send to the law school. In addition to teaching and running the law school on a daily basis, Dean McConnell has undertaken a huge expansion at the law school. New classrooms, practice courtrooms and talented faculty members have been added. More importantly, under her leadership, the number of clinics has grown from one to nine. Clinics give law students hands on experience with real cases under the guidance of experienced lawyers. Just as important is the role the clinics play in helping clients in West Virginia who would otherwise not have access to legal services. Added clinics include those that deal with Children and Families, Domestic Violence, Land Use and Sustainable Development, the Innocence Project (representing those wrongly convicted of crimes who are serving time in prison), Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Immigration, Taxpayer Advocacy, Veterans Assistance and United States Supreme Court cases. Dean McConnell has made the College of Law a place all West Virginians can point to with pride. If you see her, be sure to offer her your congratulations!

By now, I'm sure many of you have been subjected to the ongoing marketing blitz about testosterone therapy for treating "low T". Touted as a way to make men feel more alert, energetic, mentally sharp, and sexually functional, millions of American men are using a prescription testosterone gel, patch, or injection to boost testosterone levels. Although testosterone therapy isn't approved for age-related conditions and the natural, age-related decline in testosterone levels, a FDA loophole permits aggressive direct-to-consumer marketing urging men to talk to their doctors if they have certain "possible signs" of testosterone deficiency, including common things like feeling tired. As a result, testosterone replacement has exploded into a multi-billion dollar industry over the course of the last two decades. In fact, according to researchers at UCLA, testosterone replacement has been marketed so successfully in recent years that sales of Androgel, a testosterone therapy, eclipsed sales of Viagra in 2013. However, a growing body of evidence has raised alarming concerns that testosterone treatment could be deadly. A number of recent studies have found that men taking testosterone have more cardiovascular problems, including heart attacks, strokes, and deaths from heart disease. Testosterone therapy is also suspected to stimulate the growth of prostate cancer cells. Concerns first arose in 2010, when the National Institute on Aging (NIA) halted a testosterone trial after cardiovascular-related problems were reported in the testosterone group. Another study from the Veteran Affairs system soon followed linking testosterone therapy to an increased risk of heart attack, stroke and death. But the largest study to date, a PLOS ONE study of 55,000 men, suggests a doubling of heart attack risk within 90 days after beginning testosterone therapy. This study found an increased risk in men younger than 65 with a history of heart disease, and in older men even if they didn't have a history of the disease. The theory underpinning these alarming cardiovascular findings involves the effect of testosterone in blood. According to the PLOS ONE researchers that conducted the study, testosterone is believed to promote clotting, which can be particularly problematic for older men, who tend to have thinner blood vessels, but is of concern for all men taking testosterone replacements. According to Dr. Carl Pallais, an endocrinologist and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, "here is a bit of a testosterone trap Men get started on testosterone replacement and they feel better, but then it's hard to come off of it. On treatment, the body stops making testosterone. Men can often feel a big difference when they stop therapy because their body's testosterone production has not yet recovered." This effect tends to promote long-term, indefinite testosterone supplementation and concomitant exposure to its side effects. For now, doctors are urging caution in decision-making when it comes to "off-label" testosterone therapy and men are being urged to: consider other reasons why they may be experiencing fatigue, low sex drive, and other symptoms attributable to low testosterone (i.e. not eating a balanced, nutritious diet, exercising regularly or sleeping well) ruling out relationship or psychological issues that could be contributing to a change in sex drive or investigating underlying cardiovascular issues as a source of erectile dysfunction get an accurate assessment of their testosterone levels - testosterone level should be measured at peak time between 7 am and 10 am and any low levels should be confirmed with a second test on a different day follow-up with your physician periodically if you are on testosterone replacement for lab tests to check for any prostate or blood chemistry problems Keep in mind that, despite the marketing hype, testosterone therapy is not a fountain of youth. There is no proof that testosterone replacement restores youthful levels of physical fitness or sexual function, promotes longevity, prevents heart disease or prostate cancer, or improves memory or mental sharpness. If you are considering testosterone therapy, it is best to temper your expectations and approach this therapy with diligence and caution. If you are looking to boost testosterone levels naturally, consider mastering weightlifting movements, like squats, dead lifts, power cleans and other compound movements that promote a natural increase in the body's production of testosterone. This article is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact an attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Use of and access to this website or any of the email links contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship between Bordas & Bordas and the user or browser.

Last evening I sat on my back porch admiring the peaceful skyline that formed above the trees as far as my eyes could see as the sunset on Pinewood Drive. The weather was finally comfortable again as summer began to set in. Everything was so calm. I tuned into the sounds of nature and the beauty of it all was so powerful. I thought about how lucky my family and I were. In that moment, I paused to remember that I must always be grateful for this beauty of nature while it's right before my eyes. This led me to think about how we don't really know where we're headed or when it's all going to end. There are so many subjects that may be uncomfortable to discuss, but, really should be addressed while you are able to now. Have intimate talks with your family so that they understand your wishes and you understand theirs in turn. The day may come when you least expect it that you have to make those decisions for each other. Now, I'm not talking about final arrangements or life support. These are very important talks to have as well, what I am talking about today is organ donation. Are you? Would you? I registered as an organ donor and some of the things I'd like to ask that you take careful consideration is what you could leave behind for someone, for many who need this so very much. I'm not sure how many people realize just what organ and tissue donation and transplantation can provide for so many. About every ten minutes someone is added to the organ donor waiting list and in the meantime about 18 people die every day waiting for an organ transplant. Now this is not just a statistic or a number, this is a human being. This is someone's child, mother, father, co-worker, and friend. It's someone who matters. You may not personally know them and you may say well, someone else will do it, I don't need to worry with that. But, you hold the key to opening up a new life for someone. Your skin could help heal a burn victim. Your liver, lungs, heart, heart valves and so many more body parts can be used to help those who need this to survive. I've read that somewhere around 42% of people in the United States say they'd like to be organ donors, but we need many more than that. You may never be able to donate even if you tried, so we need as many people as possible to be selfless. One organ donor can save up to eight lives! I implore you to give this careful consideration and give it consideration today. You can register online ( http://www.organdonor.gov/index.html) or at your local DMV. Be clear with your family. Let them know your wishes so they can feel assured that they followed what you wanted them to do and not question themselves. Give the gift of life, become an organ donor today.

Remember when we learned the VA was doing a horrible job taking care of our wounded veterans? People were angry, even on normally sedate media channels like NPR. For a few days, it was on the news all the time. But then the media suddenly forgot about it and decided that what we really needed to be angry about was the way Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was recovered from Afghanistan. What happened to the VA? Is it fixed? Or is this just another example of how the media seeks to keep Americans perpetually angry and afraid, without ever actually proposing any real solution? Well, I haven't completely forgotten last week even if cable news has, so here's a couple of ideas on the VA. 1.  Link Veterans' Care to Politicians' Care. This would work perfectly if we could get it done. Make sure that no Congressman, no President and no federal judge can get medical care anywhere but in a VA hospital and you will see those places cleaned out and fixed up before the sun comes up tomorrow. Since the 1992 Presidential election, health care has been one of the main issues in this country - Congress debates year after year about how to deliver high-quality health care to Americans. But there's no debating the lavish care Congress hands out to itself. Every one of our elected officials makes 5-6 times what a front-line soldier makes and gets about ten times the health benefits. Reversing that would be a good goal, but just equalizing Congress' care with that of our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines would be a great start. 2.  Fund the VA the Way We Fund the War The medical care our veterans receive is a national scandal. While the press attention has heated up just in the last few weeks, the fact is that we have seen decades and decades of sub-standard, indifferent, and inadequate treatment for America's armed servicemen and women. Eric Shinseki, the current Secretary of Veterans Affairs, a war-wounded veteran himself, has resigned in the wake of revelations that our men and women in uniform are dying while waiting for the care they need, deserve and are legally entitled to, as veterans. Though few Congressmen these days have ever served in uniform, let alone been wounded as Shinseki was, they did not hesitate to lambaste his leadership of the chronically underfunded Department of Veterans Affairs. VA funding in the past several years has averaged at something less than $100,000,000,000.00. A hundred billion dollars sounds like a lot of money, until you realize we have 22,000,000 veterans, meaning they are getting less than $5,000 worth of care each. For the tens of thousands of wounded the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have produced and an aging population of veterans from other wars, that isn't even coming close. It's hard to believe, but the Congress has engaged in repeated efforts to cut the VA budget, sometimes for purely political reasons. Meanwhile, Congress easily found, (okay borrowed), somewhere between two and three trillion dollars ($2-3,000,000,000,000.00) to fund the war. So we apparently can come up with the money when we need it. The veterans need it and they should get it before we spend any more money on new wars. 3.  Get a Real Leader at the VA President Obama finds himself once again in a difficult position and in need of a bold and bipartisan move. Can he finally make one? General Shinseki has lost the confidence of the congress and has to be replaced. While it may seem that there are many choices, in fact, there is in fact only one man for this job and that is former Vice President Richard Cheney. Unlike former President George Bush, Mr. Cheney continues to show great interest in the day-to-day running of the country, commenting frequently on what needs to be done next. His vigorous and active position on the sidelines should be converted to a position of authority immediately and in the most appropriate place, the Department of Veteran's Affairs, overseeing medical care for America's wounded warriors. Few political leaders have done more to swell the ranks of our veterans than Mr. Cheney. Moreover, he enjoys a powerful reputation as a man who is a " realist," who " understands the military," and who can " get things done." No mission could possibly be more important for him than one, final, mission: to clean up our nation's system of providing quality medical care to the hundreds of thousands of Veterans who need it, as a result of their service to our country. Mr. Cheney remains close to our servicemen and women. One veteran wrote him a powerful letter, before he died, making a lot of strong points about just how closely connected Mr. Cheney is to America's veterans and their situation. In any case, there's no question that Cheney knows how to work successfully with the "other side " when he is motivated to get a job done. Mr. Cheney has repeatedly claimed that " weakness " in the White House has endangered Americans and their interests in the world for the past six years. While he may not be a 2016 candidate for the White House himself, owing to his age, he can certainly serve, as he has before, in the cabinet, bringing his lifetime of service, experience, and most of all, toughness, to the problems faced by the VA. Politics cannot possibly enter into the moral debt we owe our veterans. But putting Dick Cheney, himself, at the head of the agency tasked with caring for our war wounded veterans would be the ultimate bi-partisan choice -- one person we can all agree on who deserves the opportunity to use his talent to do one final service for his country. A man of his ability should not criticizing from the peanut gallery. Get him in the fight.

On Wednesday, May 28 th, I like many others, I was disheartened to hear of the death of Doctor Maya Angelou. I majored in English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill-just a hop, skip, and a jump away from Wake Forest University where Angelou taught. I cannot speak for the English Departments at Duke, NC State, or any of the other fine schools in North Carolina, but at UNC we rallied around our local writers and boasted of their achievements as if their works were written by our own pen at hand! When I was in college, it was not unusual to see Doctor Angelou's name listed on the syllabus of every modern-day English class offered. As a matter of fact, it was pretty much a given. Her works such as A Song Flung Up to Heaven and, of course, the famous I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings are phenomenal-her poetry beyond brilliant. To me, learning about her life and the obstacles that she overcame makes her works even more exceptional. She had endured rape as a young child and became a mother in her teen years. She lacked a college education yet was inundated in honorary degrees. She not only overcame her trials and tribulations, but she embraced them and put them into words to share with the rest of the world. Doctor Angelou once said, "You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them." These are words we should all try to live by.

With another Memorial Day weekend in the books, it is safe to say that the summer has officially begun! Summertime in the Ohio Valley is always jam-packed with so many events that there isn't any time to complain of boredom. As a native of the Ohio valley, I see all of these events as a tradition, as well as long-lost friends who always finds their way back to you. I am currently in college locally, and whenever I meet fellow classmates who are not from the valley, I find myself explaining my excitement for these events and oftentimes received puzzled looks in response. It is also important to remember that there are families that have moved here because of the oil and gas industry who may not know about these events. I think it is important to welcome the outsiders to our friendly valley and introduce them into these special events that occur each and every summer. My top three favorite events that I would like to introduce to the newcomers of the valley are Jamboree in the Hills, The Upper Ohio Valley Italian Heritage Festival, and the OVAC Rudy Mumley All-Star Charity Football Classic. All three of these events take place throughout the month of July and are very important to the citizens of the Ohio Valley. Jamboree in the Hills, also known as the ultimate country music experience, is a 4-day country music festival that takes place in Belmont, Ohio and features some of the hottest artists in country music. I myself have only attended four Jamborees and have to say that it is an experience that I will never forget. I have always been amazed that our little Ohio Valley could throw a party so big that people from all over the country and even Canada look forward to attending every year. It is also a huge time for businesses in the area, which also helps our valley succeed. If Jamboree is not your thing, my second favorite summertime tradition is going to the Upper Ohio Valley Italian Heritage Festival. The festival is located in downtown Wheeling, WV and kicks off the weekend of July 25 th. Along with every Italian cuisine one could imagine, there are also other festival events including live music, a firework show, and a wine and sauce competition. My most memorable event from this weekend is the OVAC Queen or Queens Pageant, which takes place on Friday the 25 th at 7:00 p.m. The pageant, held at Wesbanco Arena right in the heart of the Italian festival, features a variety of different talents from each Queen who is representing her high school. I have gone every year and the turnout has been great. Even if it isn't your thing it's a great way to cool off from the heat and the contestants love the support. The 69 th annual Rudy Mumley Ohio Valley tradition is the OVAC All-Star Charity Football Classic is my third and final favorite Ohio Valley tradition. Growing up in the Ohio Valley anybody and everybody knows how big football is, but adding the word OVAC in front of it gives it a whole new meaning. The football classic features the area schools top football players, cheerleaders, and band members. I was lucky enough to be able to take part in the 2011 OVAC All-Starr game and I have to say that the support from the valley is overwhelming, whether you are on the Ohio side or West Virginia side, everyone is cheering you on. This year's kick off is on July 27 th at 7:15 p.m. at the Wheeling Island Stadium. Although the winters here in the valley are brutal and tempt me to move south after graduating college, reflecting on the Ohio Valley's biggest events and how many memories I have made by attending them is what will more than likely make me continue to reside here. Attending these events not only allows for memories to be made, but it also helps our valley grow and puts us on the map. So get ready, because July is right around the corner.

This week's packed episode of the Bordas & Bordas Legal Review hits a number of topics, including the unfolding Donald Sterling situation, the scandalous treatment of our veterans at VA hospitals and Edward Snowden's explosive NBC interview. The scope and depth of treatment the issues receive on the Bordas & Bordas Legal Review is comprehensive and a cure for the sound-bite focused drive-by media. Check it out today! You can view the Bordas & Bordas Legal Review locally on Comcast Channel 14 or also online, both streaming and in the archive. The current episode is embedded within this post. Click here to view the program on vimeo, or watch the embedded version if your browser supports it. Click this link to see the WLUTV schedule so you can view a live-stream of WLUTV and check this page for a schedule of when the program airs.

Bordas & Bordas has launched a new blog, this one covering the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, at www.WVSCBlog.com. This new site - the only one of its kind in West Virginia, covers the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals from a professional perspective, but in a way that strives to be useful to the layperson as well. It is already chock-full of interesting articles about the cases decided so far this year. Chief Editor Jay Stoneking had this to say about the new site: Every year the West Virginia Supreme Court decides hundreds of cases that are as varied as our own life experiences-cases covering contracts, torts, criminal law, family law, abuse and neglect, civil rights and constitutional law, just to name a few. These cases can have a profound impact. Federal courts tend to grab the headlines, but the reality is that the decisions of state courts probably have the most direct, day-to-day impact on the lives of ordinary Americans. All of this begs the question: who is covering our Supreme Court? Certainly, there are news outlets that cover general legal stories. But is there anyone tracking cases as they make their way through the briefing and oral argument stages? Is there anyone previewing cases and identifying the ones that should be watched most carefully? Is there anyone systematically analyzing and providing commentary on the latest Supreme Court opinions? Unfortunately, the answer to each of these questions is no. The purpose of our website is to help fill that void. We will not give full coverage to every case on the Supreme Court's docket. That would be a daunting task. Instead, we will review the docket in advance and select those cases that are likely to be significant to those interested in general civil litigation. This has a broader sweep than you might think. It goes far beyond tort law. Cases dealing with jury selection, discovery, and motion practice are also vitally important. Insurance cases will be covered too, along with related topics such as subrogation, liens, etc. We will also cover jurisdictional cases and any cases addressing important aspects of the rules of procedure or evidence. In short, we hope to publish blogs covering any cases bearing on the practice of a general civil litigator. So who should follow our website? Good question. We are not writing exclusively for lawyers. Far from it. Our website is meant to serve as a source of timely and relevant information for anyone with a serious interest in the Supreme Court. If you have a desire to follow the Supreme Court and its cases, then we invite you to avail yourself of the resources we offer. To provide you with the best possible coverage of the Supreme Court's caseload, we will be using three kinds of blogs. First, we will provide argument previews. These are overviews of cases scheduled for oral argument, providing the reader with the factual background, the legal issue presented, the positions advanced by the parties in their briefs, and a discussion of the case's probable impact. Second, once a case has been decided we will provide an opinion analysis. This includes a thorough review of the Supreme Court's reasoning and a commentary on the case's overall importance and impact. Third, we will provide general blogs from time to time exploring broader legal topics-e.g., legal trends and a look at the Supreme Court itself, including its history, its inner workings and its involvement with the public. We hope these blogs will help to "demystify" the Supreme Court and make it more familiar to lawyers and others who are interested in its work. WWW.WVSCBlog.com should become a go-to resource for attorneys, litigants, interested citizens and even the judiciary as the Court hands down new decisions to analyze and explain each term. Check it out today!

I attended my niece, Maria Murphy's, graduation from 8 th grade at St. Michael's Parish School on Wednesday, May 28th. There were 33 graduates. When St. Michael's graduates receive their diploma, they choose an alumni of St. Michael's, usually a family member or friend, pin them with an Alumni pin. Since her brother, Vincent Murphy, graduated last year from St. Michael's, he was the alumni performing the pinning for Maria. Seeing Vincent put the Alumni pin on his little sister was pretty special. As anyone who has the pleasure of having a brother or a sister or brothers and sisters knows, there are always the occasional arguments between siblings. Seeing them in this situation was quite unique and brought a tear to my eye. They both are growing up so fast and it seems like yesterday when they transferred to St. Michael's in first and second grade. Graduations are bittersweet, as you want the graduates to grow up and be wonderful, loving, caring adults who provide for their families and others, but you also want them to stay sweet and innocent. Maria was a born prematurely, weighing only 3 lbs, 4 ounces at birth, so to see her graduate is quite awesome. She will be 14 years old on June 2. Maria has grown into a wonderful, loving and caring young lady. I know she really cares for everyone around her. For example, she composed a beautiful prayer for an assignment at St. Michael's in 2011. In that prayer, she reminds herself to pray, serve and help those around her. This prayer will give you an idea how caring Maria was in the 5 th Grade at just 11 years old! I am confident that her future is very bright. Maria's cousin and my great niece, Karli Yocum, who is 6, also graduated this year on May 23 rd from St. Michael's Kindergarten class. So, on to First Grade Karli will venture and, in another 8 years, there will be another 8th Grade Graduation. New beginnings make the world go round. As I stated last year after Vincent's graduation, I will also pray that Maria makes the right choices and develops into the best person she can in whatever she chooses. Good luck Maria! I know that you will make us all proud. Congratulations to all of the 2014 St. Michael's Parish School graduates and Good Luck Maria Murphy on the next chapter in your life at Wheeling Central Catholic High School. I will be there if you need anything.

Jamie Bordas and Chris Regan return after a brief hiatus with a brand-new episode of the Bordas & Bordas Legal Review. This week's edition covers the legal aspects of the NBA's promise to force Donald Sterling to sell the LA Clippers as well as another lawsuit filed against the NFL by its players. This latest suit involves the irresponsible and illegal providing of painkillers to players, as well as misrepresentation of side-effects, long-term effects and player injuries by "team doctors." You can view the Bordas & Bordas Legal Review locally on Comcast Channel 14 or also online, both streaming and in the archive. The current episode is embedded within this post. Click here to view the program on vimeo, or watch the embedded version if your browser supports it. Click this link to see the WLUTV schedule so you can view a live-stream of WLUTV and check this page for a schedule of when the program airs.

Last month, thanks to the courageous leadership of several state legislators, the West Virginia legislature passed a budget that included $200,000.00 in additional funding for the creation/operation of child advocacy centers (CACs) throughout West Virginia. For those who are unfamiliar, CACs provide support, therapy and protection for victims of child abuse in our state. Here in the Wheeling/Moundsville area, we are fortunate to have our own CAC, Harmony House, which serves children in various surrounding counties as well. The purpose of the proposed funding increase was, among other things, to provide for the creation of CACs in counties in which such centers do not currently exist, thus frequently leaving abused children with no source of assistance and treatment. When the budget proposal reached his desk, Gov. Tomblin was confronted with what was as close to an impossible decision as I can imagine. The proposed budget, including the CAC funding increase, required a dip into the WV "Rainy Day Fund" in order to achieve the constitutionally-mandated balance. Gov. Tomblin was concerned - and rightly so - that the amount to be taken from the Rainy Day Fund was too great. His only option to reduce the amount taken from the Fund was to make the difficult decision to veto some of the proposed budget allocations. Thus, several agencies suffered significant cuts to their projected budgets. Sadly, the $200,000.00 earmarked for CACs was cut. As is always the case when budgets are cut, lots of folks were unhappy. Some argued that women's and children's causes were disproportionately victimized by the cuts, and leaders/supporters of those causes wanted to know why. Jim Justice, the billionaire whose Greenbrier resort is the beneficiary of a multi-million dollar tax credit to aid tourism, was quoted as saying there is "nothing negative" about the investment, citing the multiplier effect of tourism dollars. While I too believe that tourism investment is positive for our state, I would argue that there's also "nothing negative" about preventing child abuse. There's certainly "nothing negative" about providing a 6-year-old boy a shelter where he won't be beaten every night. And there's "nothing negative" about making a grade-school girl feel safe enough to tell that she has been molested for the last five years. But there's more. One of the largest and most important, yet often overlooked, public health studies of our time, the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), concluded: what happens to you when you are a child has a direct impact on your health as an adult. The ACE Study surveyed adults for the number of adverse childhood experiences they had endured (child sexual abuse, domestic violence in the home, etc.) and looked at their current health condition. What the study found is a correlating relationship: for each additional adverse experience the individual had, there was an increased likelihood for most major chronic health problems-heart disease, chronic lung disease, liver disease, cancer, and diabetes. The same data suggests a strong correlating relationship between ACEs and mental health diagnoses, substance abuse, and behavioral problems. In fact, an individual with 4 or more ACEs has a reduced life expectancy of 20 years. Studies analyzing the impact of child abuse on adult economic well-being claim maltreatment may impede earning capacities by about $5,000 per year. Another recent CDC study estimated the lifetime cost of child maltreatment at $201,012 per victim. This includes costs for childhood and adult medical care, productivity loss, child welfare, criminal justice, and special education. West Virginia Child Protective Services identified 22,830 victims of child abuse in the last 5 years. Using the CDC's estimates, this equates to a total cost of 4.5 BILLION dollars just for victims identified in the last five years, a price tag greater than this year's entire general revenue budget. And yet there is hope. In West Virginia there are evidence-based programs that prevent child abuse, such as in-home family education. And we have programs that identify abuse when it occurs and provide evidence-based treatment that helps children heal. But these are the same programs for which the Governor pulled out his red pen-Child Advocacy Centers, Domestic Violence Programs, In-Home Family Education, Family Resource Networks and the Children's Trust Fund. Think about this multiplier effect: children who grow up in homes free from abuse then become adults with less substance abuse issues, fewer major health problems, and less criminal behaviors. Our state saves on Medicaid, the corrections system, and substance abuse treatment. And we have more productive members of our workforce, providing more tax revenue to the state. That's a multiplier effect our State can believe in-true justice reinvestment-there's "nothing negative" about that. Fortunately, our lawmakers are sometimes afforded the opportunity to reconsider their budgetary decisions. In the case of the CAC funding cuts, the legislature met in special session earlier this month and overwhelmingly voted to pass a budget which restored the previously-vetoed funding. This time, when the proposed budget reached the Governor's desk, he signed it. The job of the Governor is a difficult one, particularly when it comes to budget time. No one is happy when their budget is cut, or when their cause is denied a desperately-needed funding increase. Our Governor should be commended for having the courage to reconsider his earlier veto. History has shown that Governor Tomblin does his best to act in the best interest of all of the citizens of West Virginia. Sometimes, doing so requires that he prioritize budgetary requests. Nothing should be a higher priority in West Virginia than protecting our children. In restoring CAC funding to the levels originally proposed, the Legislature and Governor Tomblin have confirmed that fact. I applaud their actions.

Our local Catholic grade schools are fortunate to have such a kind and caring individual to serve as their nurse. The children of our local Catholic grade schools are the true beneficiaries of precious gold. She's known as Nurse Miss Mary Ann and you can find her stationed at St. Vincent's School. She also travels to the area Catholic grade schools, for review and maintenance of student health records and actively engages in educational services for our children. One thing guaranteed, should you run into her, you will be greeted with a smile. I happen to have been blessed to be around her for the last 45 years because she is my aunt. On May 17, 2014, Mary Ann was headed to Charleston, West Virginia, with her brother, Michael, to meet up with other family members as they were about to take a vacation trip to Hilton Head. Then it happened! The sounds of screeching, grumbling, and shattering glass struck. WOWKTV posted an article about the accident, describing that it resulted in one person being sent to the hospital. That person they are talking about that was taken to the hospital was your Nurse Miss Mary Ann and my aunt. Thankfully, we have her with us unscathed, well, compared to at least could have been, from the wreckage. A true miracle right before our eyes. But, this is not the first miracle she has encountered. In 1996, Mary Ann suddenly lost her husband, Ed, to an unexpected heart attack, leaving her in her forties with her two daughters, Tina and Molly to carry on without him. Not long after, she learned that she had ovarian cancer. Mary Ann beat those odds. In December of 2011, she was diagnosed with a meningioma tumor that, ultimately, was successfully removed in Pittsburgh at Allegheny General Hospital. And, now, this obstacle. Not once has Mary Ann complained or asked why me? Not once has she held onto any anger because of her circumstance. She has accepted these trials with complete grace. She is a true hero and an exemplary role model. So, this is a dedication and recognition to our Nurse Miss Mary Ann and how grateful we are to be blessed with her presence and guidance in our lives and to be so fortunate as to have her influence among our children. Thanks for our Ohio Valley blessing, Nurse Miss Mary Ann.