This class will teach you how to stay healthy with food
Plus: Golden Horseshoe trivia, community yard sale and more Kanawha Valley news and events
March 26, 2026 | Weather: 🌦️ 77° F / 🌔 49° F
Good Thursday, neighbor!
It’s March 26. Did you earn the Golden Horseshoe in eighth grade? At 13 years old, I wasn’t one to take studying too seriously. Alas, I was never knighted into that prestigious West Virginia order. If you, like me, failed to merit the middle school (or junior high) honor, never fear. Redemption is within our reach. Tonight, the Junior League of Charleston will hold its second annual WV Golden Horseshoe Trivia fundraiser. It starts at 5:30 p.m. at the WVSU Center on Capitol Street. The details are linked in today’s Community Calendar, found below. May the odds be in your favor.
Onward.
COMMUNITY TIDBITS
Health class, community yard sale and more
A two-day class aims to teach local neighbors how to stay healthy with food, and spring bargain season is set to kick off with a community yard sale in one local town. Here’s the 411 from communities around the region, including Charleston, Dunbar and South Charleston.
IN OTHER NEWS
More local news from around the region
Here’s what other regional news organizations are reporting:
Hospital Restructuring: Vandalia Health, the parent company of CAMC hospitals, is restructuring, according to a letter sent to employees. As part of the reshuffle, the current north/south regions have been eliminated, giving way to two new divisions: the CAMC Division and the Regional Hospital Division. Most of Vandalia’s Kanawha Valley hospitals, including Memorial, General, Women and Children’s, and Charleston Surgical Hospital, will remain under the CAMC Division entity. President and CEO David Ramsey told statewide radio broadcaster Metro News that no staff would be eliminated, but some administrative positions — including that of Executive Vice President David Goldberg — would be made redundant. (WV Metro News)
TSA Donations: Yeager Airport continues to collect donations for local TSA employees, who remain unpaid due to a partial federal shutdown. Airport officials said they will accept gift cards worth $20 or less. The gift cards can be used by TSA agents to purchase items such as gas, groceries, non-perishables, and other essential necessities. (WOWK)
Commission Pushback: Kanawha County Commissioners are voicing concern over recently approved rate increases awarded to West Virginia American Water (WVAW). The utility says the increases are needed to support over $239 million in infrastructure investments and improvements. In a statement released Wednesday, Commission President Ben Salango said WVAW’s 380 percent surge in net income over 10 years, which went from $8.5 million in 2014 to more than $40.8 million in 2024, “is more than enough reason to question whether customers are being asked to carry too much of the burden.” (WVPB)
NEWS GAMES
Quick Cross: Thursday, March 26, 2026
Here’s a test of your geographic knowledge: What four-letter creek — a tributary of the Kanawha River — is located near Hernshaw in the upper Kanawha Valley? Wade your way through today’s Quick Cross, a Local New Game from the Kanawha Valley Update.
PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER
A hewing we will go
Yesterday, I asked you to name another word for “cuts,” especially the type that might be done by workers at Charleston’s Black Locus Workshop. If you answered hews, you’re a cut above rest. Here are all the answers to the Quick Cross puzzle for Wednesday, March 25, 2026.
Today
8 a.m.-Noon — West Virginia Construction & Design Expo, Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center, 200 Civic Center Drive, Charleston.
4:30 p.m. — Story Time: Spring Fever, Glasgow Branch Library, Town Hall, 129 Fourth Ave., Glasgow.
4:30-6 p.m. — Full STEM Ahead: For the Birds, Clendenin Branch Library, 107 Koontz Ave., Suite 100, Clendenin.
5 p.m. — Solar Community Event, A More Excellent Way Life Center Church, 504 Virginia St. W., Charleston.
5-7 p.m. — WV Lottery “Back to Our Roots” 80s-Themed Celebration, 550 Third St., St. Albans.
5:30 p.m. — Art Therapy Night at the Cottage, The Cottage at Northgate, 400 Patterson Lane, Charleston.
5:30-7 p.m. — Kanawha Valley National Organization of Women (NOW) Monthly Meeting, Kanawha County Public Library, 123 Capitol St., Charleston.
5:30-7:15 p.m. — Family STEM: Build & Program a Robot, Kanawha County Public Library, Fourth Floor Children’s Services, 123 Capitol St., Charleston.
5:30-7:30 p.m. — Election Letter Writing with Joe Solomon, Taylor Books, Art Gallery, 226 Capitol St., Charleston.
5:30-8 p.m. — WV Golden Horseshoe Trivia, WVSU Center, 107 Capitol St., Charleston.
6 p.m. — Bingo Night, Southridge Chick-fil-A, 2509 Mountaineer Blvd., South Charleston.
6 p.m. — Bob Thompson, The Wine Down, 114 Washington St. W., Suite 101, Charleston.
6 p.m. — Childcare Business Workshop, The Element Edge, 1611 Fourth Ave., Charleston.
6 p.m. — Cuts & Consequences: Medicaid & ACA Community Forum, Gateway Center, 2 Greyhound Lane, Smithers.
6 p.m. — History Alive! with Col. Ruby Bradley, St. Albans Branch Library, 602 Fourth St., St. Albans.
6 p.m. — Kanawha City Community Association Town Hall Meeting, City National Bank, 3601 MacCorkle Ave. S.E., Charleston.
6 p.m. — March Hoop Mania Basketball Tournament, Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, 314 Donnally St., Charleston.
6-8 p.m. — Unicorn Adventure, Captain Holstein’s Family Entertainment Center, 1418 MacCorkle Ave., Charleston.
6:30 p.m. — “Blooming Magnolia” Arboretum & History Walk, Spring Hill Cemetery, 1555 Farnsworth Drive, Charleston.
7 p.m. — The Kingdom Heirs, Emmanuel Baptist Church, 1401 Washington St. W., Charleston.
7 p.m. — The Taylor Brothers Gospel Music, Charleston Mountain Mission Church, 1600 Seventh Ave., Charleston.
7-10 p.m. — Open Mic, Coal River Coffee Company, 64 Olde Main Plaza, St. Albans.
7:30 p.m. — Academy of Arts at January’s Presents “The Coffee Tin Tales,” Culture Center Theater, West Virginia State Capitol Complex, 1900 Kanawha Blvd. E., Charleston.
7:30 p.m. — Salsa Class & Dance, The ROQ, 1022 Quarrier St., Charleston.
Upcoming
Friday, March 17 — 6 p.m.: Marmet Town Council Special Meeting, Marmet Town Hall, 9403 MacCorkle Ave., Marmet.
Saturday, March 28 — 7 p.m.: UUC Basket Auction, Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 520 Kanawha Blvd. W., Charleston.
Saturday, March 28 — 6-10 p.m.: 2026 Pink Soiree & Auction, Embassy Suites, 300 Court St., Charleston.
Sunday, March 29 — 3-5 p.m.: Mead Making Workshop, Wandering Wind Meadery, 422 Washington St. W., Charleston.
📅 Did you know? We only highlight some of the day’s events in this newsletter. There’s a lot more happening around the Kanawha Valley. Have a look at today’s full calendar by clicking the “More Events” button.
Today, we remember the following neighbors who have recently passed:
Shawn Adam Blankenship, 47, of Sissonville, died March 20, 2026.
Gary Maurice Davis, 72, of Kanawha Valley, died March 21, 2026.
Grover “Sonny” D. Hopkins, 72, of Clendenin, died March 23, 2026.
Barbara Sue Landers, 80, of Given, died March 24, 2026.
Thomas Edward McCown, Jr., 76, of Charleston, died March 22, 2026.
Dale Wayne Milam, 61, of Charleston, died March 21, 2026.
Janet Lucille Moles, 84, of Campbells Creek, died March 24, 2026.
Dora “Sis” Lewvenia Wheeler, 83, of Kanawha Valley, died March 21, 2026.
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