By Gary Lee Stuber
The Clay County Commission held its second monthly meeting with all three commissioners present—David Schoolcraft, Joyce Johnson, President, and Duane Legg. The meeting began with a guest speaker.
Melissa O’Brien of CityNet Broadband introduced herself and provided an update on the county’s broadband project.
“I have been here to show you this before,” Melissa said, “The red in the first map is some other federal broadband provider. The orange ribbon (that follows Route 36, then Route 4 to Clay and from Clay down Route 16 into Nicholas County) is CityNet. That is a 1,000 foot of any targeted address off that ribbon.”
She explained that residents can find out if they are a targeted address by visiting www.citynet.net or calling 1-800-881-2638.
“When I say targeted that means you are an address that the US government does not consider a ‘spur’ address. But even if you are, there are options for us to come back later and connect to you.”
She then shared the project timeline.
“Construction should begin in August and is required to be finished in December. I have been working on this since 2013 and is now coming into completion.”
She added that this is only phase one. A second phase will begin later, using additional federal grant funding to include addresses currently considered contested or underserved.
“On the second map any of those blue dots are considered serviceable.” Melissa continued, “as no other service wanted them. The black dots are serviceable by Starlink, who took any areas where normal existing service does not exist and areas not likely too.”
The commission also heard from a second guest, Stephen Snyder of the Secretary of State’s office, who introduced himself.
“Secretary Warner is concerned about economic development, and so am I. This won’t be the last time you see me up here. I cover 13 counties and while this is only my third week, I intend to put a lot of miles on my car.”
He emphasized the importance of being present in the counties he serves.
“It is very interesting to see what is going on in various counties, but if I am not here, I don’t know what is really going on and how I can help. There are four of us in West Virginia and we have many resources to help businesses.”
He also shared a personal note.
“I am a Coast Guard man so I spent most of my life outside of this state. My parents moved out of West Virginia when we were young and I am the first of 18 cousins to move back.”
He added that he has a son who is a senior at WVU.
Following the guest speakers, the commission handled routine county business. Members approved minutes from the previous meeting, along with bills, purchase orders, budget revisions, erroneous assessments as presented by the Assessor, and fiduciary appointments as presented by the County Clerk, including administratrix appointments and affidavits and waivers of final settlement for estates.
The commission approved the resignation of Christopher Montville as director of the Clay County Ambulance Service and OES Director. The deputy director will assume those roles until a new director is appointed.
They also approved the appointment of election officials for the May 12 primary election.
Estate hearing dates were set as follows: the Joyce Gibson estate will be heard June 8 at 10 a.m., and the Tyrus H. Stone estate will be heard the same day at 11 a.m.
The sheriff was present when his request for three deputies was discussed. One request was tabled due to a pending background check. He then asked for approval of two part-time court bailiffs, stating they were badly needed. He said background checks could be obtained quickly. The commission paused proceedings and resumed once the checks were provided, which he did promptly.
The commission then approved Thomas Goebel and David Davis to serve as part-time court bailiffs at $10 per hour, provided the sheriff has sufficient funds in his budget.
Residents are encouraged to participate in upcoming cleanup efforts. A volunteer Clay County highway cleanup is scheduled for April 22 and 23, involving several county agencies and Clay County High School. Bags, safety vests, and lunch will be provided.
The annual Clay Cleanup Day, organized by Waste Management and the County Solid Waste Authority, will be held April 18 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the lot across from Pierson’s Lumber. Residents may bring old appliances, large metal items, and tires for disposal.
The next Clay County Commission meeting will be held Monday, April 13, at 9 a.m.
