Photo Provided As Marshall County Schools and WVU Medicine Reynolds Hospital officials work on new community wellness classes, Monarch Stadium continues to be open for free track and field use by the public on Sundays now through October.

MOUNDSVILLE — With the kickoff of the new school year in Marshall County, there are also plans to partner with WVU Medicine Reynolds Memorial Hospital for a community wellness program.

Marshall County Schools Superintendent Shelby Haines said the new school year, which began last week, is going well.

“Everyone has stepped up and is working together to make sure the students are learning,” she said. “It takes the service workers, teachers, administrators and everyone to jump in and make the start of the school happen successfully.”

New this year is a partnership between the district and WVU Medicine Reynolds Memorial Hospital. The district’s new director of wellness and child nutrition, Rob Chavanak, will be working with hospital leaders to develop and plan community and staff wellness classes and activities.

“The topics for the community will be about personal wellness, diabetes, fitness, mindfulness, healthy eating and other topics,” Haines said.

She noted the classes will be free and likely start in the fall or winter.

“We’re working on dates for the future,” she said.

The district has offered adult education classes for years, but wellness classes are somewhat of a new idea. The district has opened up its football stadium and track for the public to use for walking and running. Now through October, people use the track and field from 4-7 p.m. on Sundays. No pets are allowed.

West Virginia’s health statistics are ranked near the bottom in several categories including in obesity and smoking rates. The leading causes of death in West Virginia are heart disease, cancer, accidents, chronic lower respiratory disease, stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, kidney disease, COVID-19 and influenza/pneumonia, according to 2023 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.