State’s Groundhog Day tradition will go on this year, Justice says

West Virginia's Groundhog Day celebration with French Creek Freddie in Upshur County will now take place as usual on Friday. (West Virginia Division of Natural Resources)

West Virginia’s annual Groundhog Day festivities will go on this year after all, Gov. Jim Justice announced Thursday.

Justice said Wednesday the state Wildlife Center , home to French Creek Freddie, West Virginia’s answer to Punxsutawney Phil, had been temporarily closed because of a federal licensing issue related to a permit for a secondary containment fence.

The Upshur County facility is the setting of the state’s Groundhog Day festivities. In a news release Thursday, Justice said the state has been given one-day clearance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to open Friday and host the event.

“Despite the challenges posed by the relicensing process, I am thrilled to announce that the West Virginia State Wildlife Center has received clearance to host our Groundhog Day celebration tomorrow,” Justice said in a news release Thursday. “We extend our gratitude to the USDA for their support. So I ask all West Virginians to join us as we mark this tradition tomorrow. We all look forward to reopening the Wildlife Center to the public soon.”

In a statement, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin said he spoke with U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack about the importance of the event and had been assured that the Groundhog Day festivities would go on.

“…While we continue to work to fully re-open the WV Wildlife Center, I am excited to see that the festivities will proceed tomorrow and hope French Creek Freddie will not see his shadow, forecasting an early Spring,” Manchin said. “I join West Virginia State officials in their frustrations about bureaucratic delays from federal agencies, but I will continue to use my time in the Senate to remove these hurdles, improve the permitting process and so much more!”

The event is planned for 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 2, at the Wildlife Center in Upshur County.

The post State’s Groundhog Day tradition will go on this year, Justice says appeared first on West Virginia Watch .