Morrisey signs House Bill 3297 into law

CHESTER -- "Education not indoctrination" read the sign hanging on the podium for a press conference at the city's Veterans of Foreign Wars' post.

West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey ceremonially signed House Bill 3297 into law Thursday, establishing the Washington Center for Civics, Culture and Statesmanship at West Virginia University.

House of Delegates Majority Leader Pat McGeehan, R-Chester, had introduced the legislation in March, creating the center that will "place and increased focus on American constitutional studies, mold students into responsible leaders and informed citizens," providing fact-based instruction on America's founding and the achievements of Western civilization.

"Here in West Virginia, we are going to educate not indoctrinate," explained Morrisey. "Students should be taught how to think and not what to think."

The decision to hold the press conference Thursday afternoon at the Chester VFW was a strategic one.

As Gov. Morrisey explained, both his parents had involvement with the military -- his father as a soldier in the Battle of the Bulge and his mother as a nurse who worked with military casualties.

McGeehan repeatedly reminded Morrisey of his desire to add a military academy, joking that Hancock County would be a great location.

The Washington Center no longer is an unfunded mandate, as Gov. Morrisey announced $1.5 million out of the state budget's surplus funding.

Before signing the bill into law, Gov. Morrisey stressed that the Northern Pan handle has an ally in him.

Also appearing with Morrisey and McGeehan at the press conference were Delegate Jimmy Willis,who represents Ohio and part of Brooke counties, and Senator Laura Wakin-Chapman.

Wakin-Chapman represents Hancock, Brooke and Ohio counties as well as part of Marshall County.

Morrisey said that he had been in Wheeling, which also falls within Wakin-Chapman's senate district, several times over the last week, where the flood death numbers continue to rise.

Wakin-Chapman also stressed her support for the civics program. A constitutional attorney by trade, she added, "The further that we get from the Constitution, the more of a mess we get into."