County Commission Meets
Sept 2020
Clay
County Commission convenes public meetings on the second and
fourth Wed of each month. Meetings get underway at 10 am
sharp in the Commission room of the Courthouse. The Sept 9th
meeting was a ho hum gathering, one we have not provided
coverage. Now with both gatherings on the record books, how
about a double whiff of public meeting stuff
From Sept 9th, some snippets.
During the run up to the June Primary Election, County Commission candidate David Schoolcraft attended most every public meeting. After winning in June, we haven't seen Schoolcraft. He just Poof, all gone. Ditto for Sheriff candidate Allen King. That lad attended most of the meetings thru June. Since then, not so much.
A couple action item mentions. First, Joseph Johnson was hired as the Asst 911 Director at $12.00 / hour. Felicia Neff and Catherine M Morton were hired as full time employees at $10 / hour.
On the CAEZ organization and from their couple days a week volunteer worker, Gary Stuber: there are no plans to shut the agency down; the doors are locked all the time and you have to have an appointment to gain entry to the operation center, the old Valley Fork School; the daycare center at the building has permanently closed; and, CAEZ Bd meetings are held via internet ZOOM meetings. County Commissioner Connie Kinder made public, one of the building renters (Mid Ohio Valley WorkForce) is fearful that the CAEZ will close down.
Also, and according to Mr Stuber, the CAEZ has regained their IRS non profit status.
From the Business Development Authority (BDA), Chair Mitch DeBoard was there for a few minutes and provided:
The BDA is still seeking a letter of support from the CCC for the W Va DNR to take over the new river access point behind the 911 Center; the BDA needs a letter of support for a $250,000 grant to make the old Queen Shoals Church into an ERTS trail hub; and, aided by a grant, the BDA has put together a basketball court beside their Two Run office. The new court includes picnic table and nearby river access to the Elk.
As for the recently talked about zoning ordinance, Commissioner King made it clear, they have no plans now or in the future to implement zoning in this county. The other two Commissioners kept their pie hole shut. Smart move!
That's it for the Sept 9th meeting.
Now for the more recent, Sept 23rd Clay County Commission meeting. A dozen or so filled the peanut gallery. All three Commissioners were up front ready for action.
More than a month back there was discussion on how to handle employees returning from out of state vacations or meetings. Back then, no decision was made.
For this meeting , great time was spent on what ta do what ta do. Included in the discussion were Sheriff Holcomb and Health Dept Director Angela Brown. With West Virginia having the highest growth rate of Corona in the entire nation, you can see the need for a unified policy.
According to Ms Brown, the Governor has issued no mandate on the subject, just suggestions. Brown's Dept is responsible for doing all the background contact tracing. They offer free tests on Thursdays only.
How long does it take for the swabs into your brain test results to be made, 48 hours. Those rapid tests (results in minutes) have a lot of false positives and negatives. And, from Holcomb, Corona tests are always free, insurance or not, and don't let anybody try to charge you.
So what's the difference between going out of state or going into the hottest spot in the state, Kanawha County? No answer was provided.
During the discussion, Gov Justice's name came front and center. One guy commented that the policy changes often and is based on what football teams want. There was laughter in the crowd.
The Clay Health Dept does not have those just mentioned rapid tests available.
In the end, the County Commission voted to require testing (and not quarantine) after coming back from an out of state vacation. The exception will be if the Governor orders something more stringent.
Of course that decision makes little sense.
You come back from travels and receive a negative on the test. But, that turns out to be a false negative. Yikes. Or you come back home, take the test and it shows a false positive. What then?
Readers, with Corona cases increasing almost daily, that new policy, it just doesn't make sense. The only thang close to working would be a mandatory 14 day quarantine.
Last week we mentioned a local business man not adhering to a quarantine demand from the Health Dept. The guy continued to keep his business open and for the most part, he didn't even wear his mask. As for some kind of law enforcement action to protect the rest of us, it can't happen.
Why all this discussion on a new Courthouse Corona policy?
In Clayberry, that means there is a quiet fight brewing at the Courthouse. Most likely, one or more elected officials have been out gallivanting around and then returning to work without quarantining. Couple that with a different policy for employees forced to quarantine, and you can see the problem. We think that's what happened behind the scenes.
From Sept 9th, some snippets.
During the run up to the June Primary Election, County Commission candidate David Schoolcraft attended most every public meeting. After winning in June, we haven't seen Schoolcraft. He just Poof, all gone. Ditto for Sheriff candidate Allen King. That lad attended most of the meetings thru June. Since then, not so much.
A couple action item mentions. First, Joseph Johnson was hired as the Asst 911 Director at $12.00 / hour. Felicia Neff and Catherine M Morton were hired as full time employees at $10 / hour.
On the CAEZ organization and from their couple days a week volunteer worker, Gary Stuber: there are no plans to shut the agency down; the doors are locked all the time and you have to have an appointment to gain entry to the operation center, the old Valley Fork School; the daycare center at the building has permanently closed; and, CAEZ Bd meetings are held via internet ZOOM meetings. County Commissioner Connie Kinder made public, one of the building renters (Mid Ohio Valley WorkForce) is fearful that the CAEZ will close down.
Also, and according to Mr Stuber, the CAEZ has regained their IRS non profit status.
From the Business Development Authority (BDA), Chair Mitch DeBoard was there for a few minutes and provided:
The BDA is still seeking a letter of support from the CCC for the W Va DNR to take over the new river access point behind the 911 Center; the BDA needs a letter of support for a $250,000 grant to make the old Queen Shoals Church into an ERTS trail hub; and, aided by a grant, the BDA has put together a basketball court beside their Two Run office. The new court includes picnic table and nearby river access to the Elk.
As for the recently talked about zoning ordinance, Commissioner King made it clear, they have no plans now or in the future to implement zoning in this county. The other two Commissioners kept their pie hole shut. Smart move!
That's it for the Sept 9th meeting.
Now for the more recent, Sept 23rd Clay County Commission meeting. A dozen or so filled the peanut gallery. All three Commissioners were up front ready for action.
More than a month back there was discussion on how to handle employees returning from out of state vacations or meetings. Back then, no decision was made.
For this meeting , great time was spent on what ta do what ta do. Included in the discussion were Sheriff Holcomb and Health Dept Director Angela Brown. With West Virginia having the highest growth rate of Corona in the entire nation, you can see the need for a unified policy.
According to Ms Brown, the Governor has issued no mandate on the subject, just suggestions. Brown's Dept is responsible for doing all the background contact tracing. They offer free tests on Thursdays only.
How long does it take for the swabs into your brain test results to be made, 48 hours. Those rapid tests (results in minutes) have a lot of false positives and negatives. And, from Holcomb, Corona tests are always free, insurance or not, and don't let anybody try to charge you.
So what's the difference between going out of state or going into the hottest spot in the state, Kanawha County? No answer was provided.
During the discussion, Gov Justice's name came front and center. One guy commented that the policy changes often and is based on what football teams want. There was laughter in the crowd.
The Clay Health Dept does not have those just mentioned rapid tests available.
In the end, the County Commission voted to require testing (and not quarantine) after coming back from an out of state vacation. The exception will be if the Governor orders something more stringent.
Of course that decision makes little sense.
You come back from travels and receive a negative on the test. But, that turns out to be a false negative. Yikes. Or you come back home, take the test and it shows a false positive. What then?
Readers, with Corona cases increasing almost daily, that new policy, it just doesn't make sense. The only thang close to working would be a mandatory 14 day quarantine.
Last week we mentioned a local business man not adhering to a quarantine demand from the Health Dept. The guy continued to keep his business open and for the most part, he didn't even wear his mask. As for some kind of law enforcement action to protect the rest of us, it can't happen.
Why all this discussion on a new Courthouse Corona policy?
In Clayberry, that means there is a quiet fight brewing at the Courthouse. Most likely, one or more elected officials have been out gallivanting around and then returning to work without quarantining. Couple that with a different policy for employees forced to quarantine, and you can see the problem. We think that's what happened behind the scenes.
For many months
there has been talk on improving internet service in
Clayberry. A committee has been meeting and mapping out the
plan of attack to bring County Clay and surrounding counties
into the 20th century, albeit very late.
For the County Commission meeting, we heard nothing new in the way of progress. Info included: the middle mile project will take 18 months; 70 to 75% of the county will be served when completed; parts of the system will be wireless; and, this will be broadband not DSL.
Commissioner King asked that they start their operation someplace other than downtown Clay but rather, start in some outback area. Her reasoning, if they put the service in Clay, they will never get around to serving the rest of the county.
If you are interested in donating $$$ to the new Veteran's War Memorial, contact Joe Lanham, Trinity Vance or Pat Black.
Sheriff Holcomb raised concerns over the Health Dept NOT providing Corona testing after Courthouse worker Lisa Slack came down with the virus. Instead of the Health Dept stepping up to the plate, the testing was performed by Primary Care in Two Run. Responding, Angela Brown: the Judges order was not directed to us; we're not mandated to do the testing; the Health Dept does NOT have the authority to quarantine but can only report the case to the Prosecutor's office; and, the definition of coming in contact means: touching the victim and or in contact for 10 minutes of more.
Finally , with all eyes on her, Angela Brown: It's all changing and it's all political.
Truer words have never been spoken.
Heck, instead of all this crapola, we should just go to the football coaches and let them decide our fate.
AW
For the County Commission meeting, we heard nothing new in the way of progress. Info included: the middle mile project will take 18 months; 70 to 75% of the county will be served when completed; parts of the system will be wireless; and, this will be broadband not DSL.
Commissioner King asked that they start their operation someplace other than downtown Clay but rather, start in some outback area. Her reasoning, if they put the service in Clay, they will never get around to serving the rest of the county.
If you are interested in donating $$$ to the new Veteran's War Memorial, contact Joe Lanham, Trinity Vance or Pat Black.
Sheriff Holcomb raised concerns over the Health Dept NOT providing Corona testing after Courthouse worker Lisa Slack came down with the virus. Instead of the Health Dept stepping up to the plate, the testing was performed by Primary Care in Two Run. Responding, Angela Brown: the Judges order was not directed to us; we're not mandated to do the testing; the Health Dept does NOT have the authority to quarantine but can only report the case to the Prosecutor's office; and, the definition of coming in contact means: touching the victim and or in contact for 10 minutes of more.
Finally , with all eyes on her, Angela Brown: It's all changing and it's all political.
Truer words have never been spoken.
Heck, instead of all this crapola, we should just go to the football coaches and let them decide our fate.
AW
