A pretty good size crowd was on hand for the Feb. 26th County Commission meeting. Agenda wise, there was little in the way of excitement. Basically: bills were paid, budget revisions made, estate settlement reports included: Bruce Porter Evans, Wanda L Hamrick,Effie McLaughlin, Vernon Ray Rollins, Eva Sears, Andrew Campbell Stuart, Irene Taylor and James Holt Vaughan...
  Also CCC voted to pay off a bank loan on an older ambulance and apply for funding for two school Badges, Resource Officers, and equipment. Each year the Commission offers  funding for the Clay County Public Library. Last year that amounted to covering the cost of liability insurance for the place. That same funding will be provided again in the 2020 - 2021 fiscal year.

   Since the last  Commission meeting, word came that the W Va Legislature was quietly passing thru the  halls, a bill that would allow out of state garbage to be hauled into Clayberry and dumped on the old Fola Coal strip site. Called House Bill 4690, the sneaky rascals under the Gold Dome had it up for a second reading before the public (us) even knew what was being slipped thru the House.  Of course, our very own Speaker of the House must have known what was going on and maybe even holding his breath that no Clayonian found out about the dirty deed until it was too late.
 Since that becoming public, there's been conflicting stories on the fate of the backdoor law.
  During the Feb. 26 CCC meeting, from the peanut gallery came : What has happened to that bill?
  Commission Prez Fitzwater replied:  it's been put on a back shelf. To us, that meant, the bill was dead for this year.
  4690 really was a dirty backroom trick since this county would have received ZERO in the way of revenue in return for accepting the corporate wastes.
  Major news outlets have been reporting on the oft deadly Corona Virus. Around the world, deaths have been mounting. That's pretty scary business for most of us. Near the end of the Commission meeting, again from the peanut gallery, questions came up on what's being done locally to protect us.
  The answers came from Health Dept Czar, Angela Brown, who was in attendance.
  Ms Brown advised those present: she is receiving weekly updates; a contingency plan has been in affect; and, there are no West Virginia cases.
  While the rest of the civilized world is experiencing a shortage of test kits, Brown said, in this county, we still use a swab in the mouth and then send it off to some distant lab.   Hmmmmm.. Mail it off, have it tested, and then wait even longer for results. Sure sounds like several days would pass while the victim wonders around the county spreading the virus with each cough, sneeze or fart.
  How about a quarantine facility? Nope, we don't have such in County Clay. Instead, if someone is suspected of the disease, they will be told to self quarantine at home. Well except when you have to go to a grocery store, gas station, pick up the kids, stop at the pharmacy.....
  There! You have it! We're ready for the next 1918 flu just like it was treated back 102 years ago.
  So far, as of Feb. 28th, there's over 80,000 known Corona Virus cases and nearly 3000 known deaths related to the bug.
  FYI: Corona Virus is a broad category of diseases. This China variety is really called Norell  Corona Virus
AW