WHEELING – WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital on Tuesday donated $16,000 toward two new Safe Haven Baby Boxes that will be installed at the new Wheeling Fire Department headquarters and the department’s Wheeling Island Fire Station No. 5. A check presentation took place with the drivers behind the effort – local residents Ciarra Beaver and Cassandra […]
Photo by Scott McCloskey
WHEELING After more than a year on the assembly line, the Wheeling Fire Department’s new, custom-built aerial truck rolled into town this week.
Firefighters took part in training sessions over several days this week to familiarize themselves with the newest addition to the fleet. The $1.2-million ladder truck, custom built by the Sutphen Corporation, is nearly 12 feet high and just shy of 47 feet long. It will be temporarily housed at the Wheeling Island Fire Station before moving permanently to WFD headquarters in Center Wheeling.
“We’re very pleased,” Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron said. “I know there’s been a lot of work put into that by the staff at the fire department. It’s going to be an excellent addition to the department.”
From STAFF REPORTS
Ohio County was in orange for the second straight day on the state’s COVID-19 alert map, as there were more counties that weren’t in red than were in red, a rare sight on the map over the last few weeks.
Only 21 of West Virginia’s 55 counties were in red on the Department of Health and Human Resources’ Sunday map. Twenty-six were in orange, seven were gold and one, McDowell, was yellow.
Ohio County had a percent positivity of 7.36 on Sunday’s map, underneath the 8.00 threshold that puts a county in red. It also had an infection rate of 59.34 cases per 100,000 residents.
The Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department said there were 19 new cases of COVID-19 Saturday in the county.
That brings the total cases to 3,195 with 57 deaths in Ohio County.
Meanwhile, for the first time in weeks, Ohio County moved from the red designation on the state Department of Health and Human Resources map to orange. Starting Monday and running until Jan. 22, the Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department will hold free COVID-19 testing clinics at two locations in Ohio County the health department itself and the Wheeling Island Fire Station on North Wabash Street. The free clinics are for those with or without symptoms and no insurance is needed. Participants need to bring a driver’s license, photo ID or other proof of address.
Ohio and Marshall counties each reported two new COVID-related deaths Monday night.
The Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department reported the deaths of one resident of a long-term care facility and one who was hospitalized at the time of their passing. The county now has reported 39 COVID-related deaths since the pandemic began.
The Marshall County Health Department reported the deaths of a 90-year-old man and a 62-year-old man, both of whom were hospitalized at the time of their passing. Marshall County has now reported 48 associated deaths since the pandemic began.
Ohio County also reported 24 new positive COVID cases, bringing its total to 2,577. Marshall County reported 55 new confirmed positive and 33 new probable cases between Dec. 24 and Monday. That county’s totals are now 1,603 confirmed cases, 310 probable cases and eight hospitalizations.