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Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Business
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Bloom: The food crisis is here
Apr. 18—MORGANTOWN — MORGANTOWN—The need and the funding for food programs are heading in opposite directions according to one local official. "This is really not a political issue, " Tom Bloom said. "This is common sense. Of all the programs to cut, why would you cut the most essential program in the state, the country—feeding kids and feeding families ? Bloom, a Monongalia County Commissioner and co-founder /executive director of the nonprofit Pantry Plus More food program, posed the question during a recent discussion with The Dominion Post. He can foresee a looming disaster. He got a sneak peek last weekend, when the number of people who showed up to the Mountaineer Food Bank's weekly food giveaway was as high as ever—some 306 families—but the food available was a fraction of the typical amount. PPM runs the giveaways and supplements the food on offer using donations, including items provided by local businesses, like Kroger, Walmart and Panera. "Today, we received four pallets of food from MFB ... normally we receive 10 pallets, " he wrote in a social media post following the event. He would later explain the food provided consisted of shelf stable items and didn't include any dairy or fresh produce—both staples in past deliveries. But the issue isn't with the Mountaineer Food Bank problem—it's about funding. Among the recent cuts in federal spending was more than $1 billion for local food programs, including Local Food Purchase Assistance, which allows the purchase of locally-grown food for schools and pantry programs, and the Emergency Food Assistance Program. "We're working with Mountaineer Food Bank. They are pulling their hair out trying to see how they can continue to meet the needs. They are the middle man trying to get food out and I feel horribly for them, " Bloom said. "We're really concerned how we're going to meet the needs of people in West Virginia." Bloom said the funding crisis was a main topic of discussion during a quarterly meeting of area pantries and feeding programs. He believes a significant portion of those pantries and programs won't exist this time next year if things continue on this trajectory. "This is a huge story and it's nationwide. I do not understand why DOGE would be cutting such a needed program. It's not redundant and it's not wasteful. It's helping people make it. Most of the people who come to our programs are working. They have jobs but prices have gone up and they're having to make difficult decisions, " Bloom said. "The first couple times people come through, they're embarrassed, but it becomes a necessity." One of the ideas being discussed is a coordinated effort to work with restaurants, event centers and stores to be able to retrieve prepared food—or food aging off of store shelves—and get it to a central location to be distributed quickly. "Again, that will take time and energy, and probably a little bit of funding to get organized, but it may be something we need to look at. We're going to have to think out of the box because the need continues to be more and more, " Bloom said. "The crisis is here." The Dominion Post reached out to representatives of the Mountaineer Food Bank, but did not hear back in time for this report.
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Senate Holocaust education bill dies in the House -- again
Apr. 11—dbeard @ MORGANTOWN — The Legislature is plowing through bills as it heads to close of session midnight Saturday, but the Senate bill to require Holocaust education in the public schools will once again remain on the shelf—for the third year in a row. House Education looked at SB 54 last week but never advanced it to the floor. Education vice-chair Joe Statler, R-Monongalia, told The Dominion Post on Friday, "We did not take it up because after talking with the Department of Education, it is already being taught in different grade levels in the school systems across the state today." The bill says, "In collaboration with and utilizing guidance from the West Virginia Commission on Holocaust Education ... all public schools located within this state shall give age-appropriate instruction on the Holocaust, the systematic, planned annihilation of European Jews and other groups by Nazi Germany, a watershed event in the history of humanity, to be taught in a manner that leads to an investigation of human behavior, and an examination of what it means to be a responsible and respectful person." Such instruction would not be offered before sixth grade. The issue Statler raised was also raised in Senate Education in March, where Sen. Craig Hart, R-Mingo, questioned the necessity of the bill, given that Holocaust education appears in other content standards. Committee chair Amy Grady, R-Mason, said then that while current standards call for teaching on the Holocaust at some point, the bill would change code to make sure it is required somewhere from grades 6-12. Several people who championed the bill expressed disappointment at its demise. Lisa Hildebrand is a Boone County teacher and advocates for the bill, which was sponsored by Sen. Mike Oliverio, R-Monongalia. She testified to House Education when it held its hearing on the bill. She told the delegates that she grew up in a diverse culture in the Philadelphia suburbs. But in Boone County she sees a lack of diversity, she said. "With that lack of diversity is a lack of understanding, even some lack of tolerance." Those students don't have the opportunity to interact with others or trawl outside their area, she said. She brought Rabbi Victor Urecki, of Charleston, to school several times, and for some this was their first opportunity to meet a Jew. She received a grant to go to Poland, she said, where she met with a survivor, and visited Auschwitz and other areas. "When I came back from there, I made it my mission to have Holocaust education be put in schools. I think it would benefit everybody." Thursday evening, discussing the bill's demise, she told The Dominion Post, "I just cannot fathom why the House chairs have a problem with the bill. Our kids deserve to know how to deal with antisemitism and associated behaviors. The not-in-my-backyard mentality is old. Our state has a serious population problem. Brain-drain. They leave and are unprepared for what is seen on college campuses and city streets." The state education standards are limited in their requirement to teach the Holocaust, she said. "I've been a teacher for about a decade, and nowhere are there sources for educators to teach how to combat antisemitism and related behaviors. This bill offers resources to help educators achieve this goal." The committee held the hearing on SB 54 but never put it back on its agenda for markup and passage. Laurent Levy is an emeritus member of the Holocaust Education Commission. He told The Dominion Post, "Obviously, we are extremely disappointed by the failure of the House Education Committee to even take up this bill, which passed the Senate unanimously. This marks at least the third time that the Senate has passed similar legislation only to have it go nowhere in the House. "What makes this year's failure so bitter, " he said, "is that the committee did not even bother to debate the bill or go on record as to what their opposition could possibly be. What could be so objectionable about joining nearly 30 other states, including Alabama, South Carolina, and Florida to name a few, that have come to realize the crucial importance of Holocaust education ?" Levy said the bill asked for no state funding, no enforcement, and made no encroachment on local school board authority. "It simply sought to recognize the importance of the profound lessons of the Holocaust by utilizing the resources of the Commission on Holocaust Education my mother [the late Edith Levy, of Morgantown ] helped to establish over 25 years ago. That Commission stands ready to provide the vital resources and the pedagogical tools teachers need to effectively present this difficult subject in an age-appropriate manner. It was established precisely in anticipation of fulfilling the requirements of SB 54." But they won't give up, he said. "Rest assured we will be back again next year, again confidently assured of Sen. Oliverio's support and leadership and hopefully with enlightened leadership on the Education Committee." Oliverio could not be reached for comment on Friday. While SB 54 is technically alive until the Legislature adjourns Saturday night, it's practically dead. To have a chance, it would need to be successfully discharged from committee and have the House rules suspended to have three readings in a single day in order to go to a vote. Last year, this bill was SB 448 and died on second reading on the Senate floor. In 2023, a different bill with different sponsors, SB 216, called for education on the Holocaust and other genocides. It passed the Senate and was approved in House Education but died in House Finance.
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hope Gas Morgantown pipeline suits: Landowners share their stories
Mar. 23—dbeard @ MORGANTOWN — Hope Gas continues to pursue 23 condemnation suits for rights of way for its Morgantown Connector Project. The 30-mile pipeline is intended to increase natural gas supply to Morgantown. Hope filed 31 separate condemnation suits in Monongalia County Circuit Court, and eight of those have been settled and closed. Not all of the remaining landowners are happy with their dealings with Hope and four of them approached The Dominion Post to tell their stories. First, though, we again offered Hope a chance to comment on the progress on the project and the suits. Hope does not comment on active litigation but said, "We do understand the concerns of landowners and continue to work toward voluntary agreements." Hope said, "American energy and infrastructure are important parts of West Virginia's future. This project will build connections allowing north-central West Virginia to access more local energy. Hope's Morgantown Connector is creating much needed system resiliency for the hospitals, businesses, and homes in Morgantown. This project is building critical infrastructure needed for the region's future growth and development. "The project also offers immediate benefits to many people throughout the state, " Hope said. "Hope has a commitment to work with local contractors and suppliers on this project. Many of the dollars spent to build the Morgantown Connector will remain in the Mountain State. The project is also creating hundreds of local family-sustaining jobs for West Virginians and economic development opportunities for the Morgantown area." Hope is asking the court to grant entry and easements in order to undertake construction of the project. There are conditions. The landowner retains full right to own, use, enjoy and occupy the land that does not interfere with or is inconsistent with the rights of way and easements sought. But the landowner "shall not construct or permit to be constructed any house, structure or obstruction on, over or through said right of way that will interfere with the construction, maintenance or operation of the natural gas pipeline or appurtenances constructed therein." In a number of cases, the court is holding Hope's petitions in abeyance pending Hope's provision of proposed fair market valuations of the properties in question. In others, the court found that Hope is a West Virginia public service corporation that provides public services in the state and is authorized to exercise the right of eminent domain "to take private property for the public purpose stated ... upon payment of just compensation." In this last group of cases, the court permits Hope to deposit with the court clerk the amount that Hope estimates as just compensation. The Kerns case Ralph and Mary Jane Kerns have a farm along Sugar Grove Road west of Westover. Hope has deposited a bond in this case. Mary Jane told their story. "Their contract's ridiculous, " she said. "Everything's for Hope. They're going to take our land, whether we want them to or not, that we've worked all of our life for. And at no fair price. ... They tie us up forever, and all we do is pay the taxes on the land that we can't possibly use. ... We've been here since 1968, and our grandfather was here before then." Like others who spoke to The Dominion Post, the Kernses are concerned about the proximity of the line to homes. "The ramifications, God forbid, if this pipeline would explode, because it's a high-pressure one, are catastrophic, and it's all around our family." While they don't care for Hope's offer, she said, "It's not really about the money, it's about taking our rights away." The Six case George Six is one of several family members who have neighboring farms along 7 totaling about 500 acres. They raise livestock on the farms. One day, he said, they saw some flags and learned Hope surveyors were on their land. "They claimed that they had given us notice, but they had not given anyone notice — our neighbors or anyone — and decided that that was OK, just to go ahead and survey through. Well, me being a licensed surveyor, that's not the case. You just don't have that right." So Hope representatives came and talked with them, saying they were planning a pipeline route. They let Hope go ahead, having long experience with pipelines under their land. Hope told them, "Well, once we get our routing done, we'll come back and try and work out some details as to where we go and everything else, which was fine with us." But Hope came back with a lowball offer, he said, and told them, "If you don't like it, we're going to use our right of condemnation." The route was right through the middle of one of their properties that included a stream, Six said, cutting off access. Talks failed and the told the land man never to return. Hope filed its condemnation suit. "We have tried to work a deal with Hope. any way that we could, and have been unsuccessful there." He's sold rights of way for eight times the amount Hope offered, he said. One of his concerns is that the pipeline doesn't serve anybody along its route ; it's just a transmission line. "It's not going to benefit us as landowners." The Sixes are in the timber business, he said. "We'll never have timber on our property. We will never be able to use that section of our property." But they'll keep paying property taxes on it. "Some of the best building sites on the property they're going through, they're going right through the center of it. And we've asked them to just adjust the line and to work with us and all that. [But Hope says ] 'That's where it goes or else.' That's not right. That isn't right." The Tennant case Marion Tennant lives in a hollow just outside Wadestown. We joined Tennant and his neighbor, Danny Thomas, for a tour of his property: the meadow where contractors were placing warning signs and unloading lumber that day for a bridge to cross his creek, and up onto the ridge behind his house where downed timber he'd like to sell, but won't be able too, lay thick along the route. "They just dropped all the trees, " he said. "I'm 71 years old. I've lived here all my life. I grew up here. I wasn't interested in selling. And we didn't sell. They're putting their pipe in. They're going to maintain a 50-foot swath of our property that we have to pay tax on." As with Six, Hope offered him the same low figure, and when he didn't accept, took it off the table for a far lower figure. "Now that's kicking the teeth brother. ... The property's been in my family for almost a hundred years. I wasn't interested in selling when people came to me." Hope's timber cutting, he said, cut off all his access to harvesting it, including his timber on the other side of his ridge. Hope won't even move it to a spot where he can get to it. They just plan to burn it where it lies. "They offered me less than $3, 000 for my timber. I've been informed that I've got one log up there that's worth $3, 000. I can't get to it. I don't have the equipment to get to it." They want him to sign a waiver, he said, so they can come onto his other property and stack it. They will only move it 500 feet. "They've never once came and sat down to negotiate a price. They just come in and said, 'We're going to put a high-pressure gas line through here. It's going to be a transmission line. It's going to feed Morgantown. Morgantown's low on gas." The relationship with Hope got so bad he won't let their representative step off the easement. "You can go on this 75-foot easement here. I can't stop you because you've got that. But the rest of it, I own. Don't step on it. You're trespassing. From there, I'll call the law." As with Six, he was never told Hope was surveying. "We found out through the grapevine why they were surveying. The surveyor showed up and all of a sudden you're seeing ribbons hanging." A coal mine longwall is going under his land and he thought that's what the ribbons were for. We asked Tennant what kind of timber he's losing. He said walnut, oak, cherry, maple, poplar, locust. Trunks 16 inches to 24 inches across. "I've got a list of it." He said, "It's time for me to just buckle down and fight. There's nothing I can do to stop it. And I can be a thorn in their side while it's going on." Case background The Morgantown Connector Project will run a total 30 miles from Wadestown in western Monongalia County eastward to the edge of Morgantown and then northwest to site near Osage. Hope wants to build the pipeline because it is experiencing a decline in supply capacity above its peak-day requirements. Also, Morgantown Energy Associates and other Morgantown-area customers want to increase their supply levels. In order to meet the demand, Hope proposed to enter into a 15-year contract with Columbia Gas for gas to be supplied to a new Hope-Columbia interconnection near Wadestown. The pipeline is estimated to cost $177, 437, 169. Hope estimates that the project will generate about 600 jobs, which will make up about half the project cost. Other major costs are the 30 miles of pipeline and five measurement and regulation stations. The new line would begin at Hope's interconnect with a Columbia Gas line near Wadestown. Using new and existing Hope right of way, it would run 25 miles to the Western edge of Morgantown to connect with other proposed Hope facilities (called Black Night) west of I-79 and Harmony Grove. Hope says about 5.5 miles of that right of way is in northern Marion County. From Black Night, the line would use existing and new third-party rights of way to go five miles northwest of Granville to a station called Mineral northwest of Osage. Hope is not proposing any rate hikes at this time for the pipeline but says it intends to recover costs in future base rate and purchased gas adjustment cases.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Business
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Dunbar School Foundation owes state $460K for unallowable DSF Stop vaccine program spending
Mar. 16—dbeard @ MORGANTOWN — The Dunbar School Foundation must refund $460, 362.96 to the state Department of Health for unallowable expenses associated with the DSF Stop COVID-19 vaccine program. The refund represents 42 % of the Stop program's $1, 100, 649.60 taxpayer-funded grant provided through the state Office of Epidemiology and Prevention Services for the period of April 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022, according to the report provided to The Dominion Post. The 107-page "Findings and Technical Assistance Report " spells out the unallowable expenses in detail. They include $262, 048.05 for personnel questioned costs ; $32, 171.86 for personnel miscalculated expenditures ; $12, 222.27 for unallowable cell phone costs ; $25, 240.78 for unallowable vaccine outreach costs ; $12, 484.22 for unallowable event supplies ; $17, 353.32 for unallowable building rent ; $44, 051.65 for unallowable marketing costs ; $17, 043.51 for contractual costs with "very weak supporting documentation "; and $11, 974.94 for unallowable technical device and software costs." The Dominion Post ran a series of stories on allegations of misspending by DSF Stop program leaders starting in May 2023, following months of research that began in fall 2022. We learned at the time that DSF Stop was already under review by what was the Department of Health and Human Resources. DSF Stop ceased operations in June 2023 and abandoned its headquarters building near downtown Fairmont, across the street from the former Dunbar High School. We reported last October that DSF Stop was under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice for potential misuse of public funds. The foundation and former DSF Stop CEO Romelia Hodges were ordered to provide an array of documents to the DOJ by U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Aloi. DOJ investigators cited reporting by The Dominion Post in their case, saying its investigation "indicates that Dunbar Stop may have misused the grant funds for nepotism, excessive executive salaries and bonuses, ATM withdrawals, luxury vehicle rentals, travel, and food." DSF Stop was created to serve the African-American population in Marion and surrounding counties and funded through federal COVID funds channeled through the former DHHR. Stop received two grants to conduct its operations. Its initial grant budget for the period April 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022 was $1, 197, 421 (different from the number in the report). A second grant, for July 1, 2022 through May 31, 2023, was for $990, 000. The report is dated Jan. 17, 2024 but was only released to The Dominion Post earlier this months after two Freedom of Information Act requests and regular contacts throughout 2023 and 2024. Hodges could not be reached by phone for comment on the report, and did not respond to three requests sent by email which included questions about how the money would be repaid. The Dominion Post also reached out to the Department of Health with questions about repayment of the funds. Other than asking for our deadline following the first email, DH did not respond to three subsequent reminders. Former Dunbar School Foundation President Houston Richardson was one who alerted The Dominion Post of concersn in late 2022 ; he raised questions about potential misspending of public funds, nepotism and lack of accountability. Regarding the report, he said on Wednesday, "If the information reported is factual, I find it to be very sad for the public and especially the black community. This program was started to help inoculate our citizens against the COVID virus and we (Dunbar School Foundation) all felt that the program as presented would save lives." A look at the numbers The report sifts through unallowable spending line by line. We can look at a few highlights here. On the $262, 048.05 for personnel questioned costs, it notes missing certifications or timesheets for various personnel across five reporting quarters. Questioned costs for Hodges totaled $162, 000. Questioned costs for Chief Operating Office Tiffany Samuels totaled $42, 500. And questioned costs for Stop's medical supervisor totaled $22, 600.14. The report consistently critiques the program's financial management and internal controls. Often noting relatively small amounts. For instance, on four occasions, Stop bought snacks totaling $377.87 for vaccination events. The report notres that Bureau for Public Health staff twice told Stop that food is not an allowable purchase: Stop never requested food in its budget and it was never approved. And 13 unallowable fuel purchases totaling $577.37, including at gas stations in Maryland, Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania were charged. DH said the purchases were made outside Stop's program area. Another $204.30 for fuel was charged after the grant period. For the $12, 222.77 in unallowable cell phone costs, Stop could not provide invoices with the customer, employee and usage information. In two instances, the only documentation was debt settlement letters. The report records five instances of unallowable vehicle rentals for personal use, totaling $2, 000.32 ; turnpike tolls for personal use totaling $40.30 ; and $1, 922.23 in state sales taxes on vehicle rentals. For the June 2022 Juneteenth vaccination event, Stop billed $948.71 ofr travel expenses: $476.09 for Hodges to pick up a speaker in New Jersey, and $472.62 for hotel stays for three people. The $25, 240.78 for unallowable vaccine outreach costs included $21, 988.98 for unallowable entertainment costs, such as a bounce house, yard signs and banners, a 45-foot paratrooper drop, a rapid slide, "Tubs of Fun " and a rock wall ; plus $948.75 for food. The report says of this portion, "The disallowed costs represent 90.6 % of the total vaccine outrach costs that were charged to the grant." And the $12, 484.22 for unallowable event supplies represented 48.6 % of the event supplies costs charged to the grant. Among them was a $3, 350 cash withdrawal paid to Hodges for "unallowed ... unnecessary and unreasonable expenses for the federal award." We reported on the building rent issue in June 2023, noting at the time that Stop was $11, 000 in arrears for rental of the former Dunbar school cafeteria that Stop remodeled for its headquarters. The last rent check was received in November 2022. Hodges at the time acknowledged the delinquency and said that as part of the DHHR review, the state said DSF and Stop did not have an arm's length lease agreement ; the state views them as one organization and wouldn't allow it to pay itself rent. So they had to modify that line item in their budget and were waiting to hear back from the state. The lease set rental payments at $6, 250 per month. In the report, DH said four lease payments of $4, 338.33, totaling $17, 353.32, were unallowable because "less-than-arm's-length " agreements are only allowed up to a set figure for depreciation, maintenance, taxes and insurance. The foundation was responsible to cover those four items. The remainder — the $4, 338.33 per month — was not a qualified expense. The unallowable marketing costs totaled $44, 051.65. That included $23, 333.36 to the owner of Jamgood Juicery, a Cincinnati, Ohio, mobile juice bar. Hodges contract with the owner, Jennifer Troutman, for $40, 000 per year for marketing, branding, event promotion and other duties. IN May 2023, Jamgood was filed as a business with the Ohio secretary of state, its Instagram page had been taken down. Troutman had attempted a failed Kickstarter campaign in 2018, raising only $1 of its $6, 800 goal to buy a juice truck. The plan was a "mobile Juice and Smoothie Bar catering to youth athletics and sports programs, focused on true wellness and nutritional awareness." She wrote at the time, "I'm a newbie to the mobile juice industry but have extensive experience in marketing /public relations that will serve me well when building an audience that matters !" In 2023, she was assistant director of Student Engagement & Diversity in the Farmer School of Business at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Other unallowable marketing expenses included $7, 500 for a Ferris wheel and $6, 000 for Zoogang Touring, termed by Stop as an "influential marketer." The report details extensively what advertising and public relations costs are allowed and which are not. The section concludes with, "Grantee should improve internal controls to ensure that expenditures are utilized for programmatic purposes." Conflict of interest We conclude with an item in the final section of the report, devoted to technical assistance. Under the heading "Conflict of Interest, " the report says Hodges and Samuels awarded themselves bonuses of $12, 000 and $7, 500 respectively. (In May 2023 we reported that in December 2021, 10 Stop employees each received $200 bonuses. Hodges and Samuels at that time awarded themselves $5, 000 bonuses.) In 2022, DHHR asked about this issue, and if DSF Stop had a board of directors that approved these payouts. We reported at the time, using Aug. 23, 2021, foundation minutes, that "Romelia and Tiffany requested the board to approve Executive Privileges within the grant. This will allow them the authority to make decisions on employees, compensation, bonuses, and other items that are allowable within the confines of the grant." That was moved, seconded and approved. Former foundation President Houston Richardson told The Dominion Post at the time that the board lacked the expertise to establish and oversee a COVID program. He regretted that he realized too late they should should have set up an independent oversight committee to oversee all aspects of Stop's operations. The report notes that policy requirements on conflict of interest say, "The Grantee will establish procedures to prohibit employees from using their positions for a purpose that constitutes or presents the appearance of personal gain." The report cites the minutes indicating that the foundation board approved the bonus pay structure.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Dunbar School Foundation owes state $460K for unallowable DSF Stop vaccine program spending
Mar. 16—dbeard @ MORGANTOWN — The Dunbar School Foundation must refund $460, 362.96 to the state Department of Health for unallowable expenses associated with the DSF Stop COVID-19 vaccine program. The refund represents 42 % of the Stop program's $1, 100, 649.60 taxpayer-funded grant provided through the state Office of Epidemiology and Prevention Services for the period of April 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022, according to the report provided to The Dominion Post. The 107-page "Findings and Technical Assistance Report " spells out the unallowable expenses in detail. They include $262, 048.05 for personnel questioned costs ; $32, 171.86 for personnel miscalculated expenditures ; $12, 222.27 for unallowable cell phone costs ; $25, 240.78 for unallowable vaccine outreach costs ; $12, 484.22 for unallowable event supplies ; $17, 353.32 for unallowable building rent ; $44, 051.65 for unallowable marketing costs ; $17, 043.51 for contractual costs with "very weak supporting documentation "; and $11, 974.94 for unallowable technical device and software costs." The Dominion Post ran a series of stories on allegations of misspending by DSF Stop program leaders starting in May 2023, following months of research that began in fall 2022. We learned at the time that DSF Stop was already under review by what was the Department of Health and Human Resources. DSF Stop ceased operations in June 2023 and abandoned its headquarters building near downtown Fairmont, across the street from the former Dunbar High School. We reported last October that DSF Stop was under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice for potential misuse of public funds. The foundation and former DSF Stop CEO Romelia Hodges were ordered to provide an array of documents to the DOJ by U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Aloi. DOJ investigators cited reporting by The Dominion Post in their case, saying its investigation "indicates that Dunbar Stop may have misused the grant funds for nepotism, excessive executive salaries and bonuses, ATM withdrawals, luxury vehicle rentals, travel, and food." DSF Stop was created to serve the African-American population in Marion and surrounding counties and funded through federal COVID funds channeled through the former DHHR. Stop received two grants to conduct its operations. Its initial grant budget for the period April 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022 was $1, 197, 421 (different from the number in the report). A second grant, for July 1, 2022 through May 31, 2023, was for $990, 000. The report is dated Jan. 17, 2024 but was only released to The Dominion Post earlier this months after two Freedom of Information Act requests and regular contacts throughout 2023 and 2024. Hodges could not be reached by phone for comment on the report, and did not respond to three requests sent by email which included questions about how the money would be repaid. The Dominion Post also reached out to the Department of Health with questions about repayment of the funds. Other than asking for our deadline following the first email, DH did not respond to three subsequent reminders. Former Dunbar School Foundation President Houston Richardson was one who alerted The Dominion Post of concersn in late 2022 ; he raised questions about potential misspending of public funds, nepotism and lack of accountability. Regarding the report, he said on Wednesday, "If the information reported is factual, I find it to be very sad for the public and especially the black community. This program was started to help inoculate our citizens against the COVID virus and we (Dunbar School Foundation) all felt that the program as presented would save lives." A look at the numbers The report sifts through unallowable spending line by line. We can look at a few highlights here. On the $262, 048.05 for personnel questioned costs, it notes missing certifications or timesheets for various personnel across five reporting quarters. Questioned costs for Hodges totaled $162, 000. Questioned costs for Chief Operating Office Tiffany Samuels totaled $42, 500. And questioned costs for Stop's medical supervisor totaled $22, 600.14. The report consistently critiques the program's financial management and internal controls. Often noting relatively small amounts. For instance, on four occasions, Stop bought snacks totaling $377.87 for vaccination events. The report notres that Bureau for Public Health staff twice told Stop that food is not an allowable purchase: Stop never requested food in its budget and it was never approved. And 13 unallowable fuel purchases totaling $577.37, including at gas stations in Maryland, Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania were charged. DH said the purchases were made outside Stop's program area. Another $204.30 for fuel was charged after the grant period. For the $12, 222.77 in unallowable cell phone costs, Stop could not provide invoices with the customer, employee and usage information. In two instances, the only documentation was debt settlement letters. The report records five instances of unallowable vehicle rentals for personal use, totaling $2, 000.32 ; turnpike tolls for personal use totaling $40.30 ; and $1, 922.23 in state sales taxes on vehicle rentals. For the June 2022 Juneteenth vaccination event, Stop billed $948.71 ofr travel expenses: $476.09 for Hodges to pick up a speaker in New Jersey, and $472.62 for hotel stays for three people. The $25, 240.78 for unallowable vaccine outreach costs included $21, 988.98 for unallowable entertainment costs, such as a bounce house, yard signs and banners, a 45-foot paratrooper drop, a rapid slide, "Tubs of Fun " and a rock wall ; plus $948.75 for food. The report says of this portion, "The disallowed costs represent 90.6 % of the total vaccine outrach costs that were charged to the grant." And the $12, 484.22 for unallowable event supplies represented 48.6 % of the event supplies costs charged to the grant. Among them was a $3, 350 cash withdrawal paid to Hodges for "unallowed ... unnecessary and unreasonable expenses for the federal award." We reported on the building rent issue in June 2023, noting at the time that Stop was $11, 000 in arrears for rental of the former Dunbar school cafeteria that Stop remodeled for its headquarters. The last rent check was received in November 2022. Hodges at the time acknowledged the delinquency and said that as part of the DHHR review, the state said DSF and Stop did not have an arm's length lease agreement ; the state views them as one organization and wouldn't allow it to pay itself rent. So they had to modify that line item in their budget and were waiting to hear back from the state. The lease set rental payments at $6, 250 per month. In the report, DH said four lease payments of $4, 338.33, totaling $17, 353.32, were unallowable because "less-than-arm's-length " agreements are only allowed up to a set figure for depreciation, maintenance, taxes and insurance. The foundation was responsible to cover those four items. The remainder — the $4, 338.33 per month — was not a qualified expense. The unallowable marketing costs totaled $44, 051.65. That included $23, 333.36 to the owner of Jamgood Juicery, a Cincinnati, Ohio, mobile juice bar. Hodges contract with the owner, Jennifer Troutman, for $40, 000 per year for marketing, branding, event promotion and other duties. IN May 2023, Jamgood was filed as a business with the Ohio secretary of state, its Instagram page had been taken down. Troutman had attempted a failed Kickstarter campaign in 2018, raising only $1 of its $6, 800 goal to buy a juice truck. The plan was a "mobile Juice and Smoothie Bar catering to youth athletics and sports programs, focused on true wellness and nutritional awareness." She wrote at the time, "I'm a newbie to the mobile juice industry but have extensive experience in marketing /public relations that will serve me well when building an audience that matters !" In 2023, she was assistant director of Student Engagement & Diversity in the Farmer School of Business at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Other unallowable marketing expenses included $7, 500 for a Ferris wheel and $6, 000 for Zoogang Touring, termed by Stop as an "influential marketer." The report details extensively what advertising and public relations costs are allowed and which are not. The section concludes with, "Grantee should improve internal controls to ensure that expenditures are utilized for programmatic purposes." Conflict of interest We conclude with an item in the final section of the report, devoted to technical assistance. Under the heading "Conflict of Interest, " the report says Hodges and Samuels awarded themselves bonuses of $12, 000 and $7, 500 respectively. (In May 2023 we reported that in December 2021, 10 Stop employees each received $200 bonuses. Hodges and Samuels at that time awarded themselves $5, 000 bonuses.) In 2022, DHHR asked about this issue, and if DSF Stop had a board of directors that approved these payouts. We reported at the time, using Aug. 23, 2021, foundation minutes, that "Romelia and Tiffany requested the board to approve Executive Privileges within the grant. This will allow them the authority to make decisions on employees, compensation, bonuses, and other items that are allowable within the confines of the grant." That was moved, seconded and approved. Former foundation President Houston Richardson told The Dominion Post at the time that the board lacked the expertise to establish and oversee a COVID program. He regretted that he realized too late they should should have set up an independent oversight committee to oversee all aspects of Stop's operations. The report notes that policy requirements on conflict of interest say, "The Grantee will establish procedures to prohibit employees from using their positions for a purpose that constitutes or presents the appearance of personal gain." The report cites the minutes indicating that the foundation board approved the bonus pay structure.
