Tim Walker
AMR Radio
The Pocahontas Coun-ty Sheriff’s Department has been short staffed for quite a while, however at the September 5 County Commission meeting, Sheriff Jeff Barlow was authorized to hire Kendal Ober as a full-time Deputy Sheriff. Ober’s employment will begin September 17. He currently works for the Town of Marlinton as its police officer.
Also, at the meeting, the commission opened and awarded the only bid received for the purchase of a replacement communications trailer for Emergency Management and 911 Office. The bid for $21,530 was from Renown Cargo Trailers, located in Douglas, Georgia. The 8 1/2 by 20-foot enclosed trailer has a finished interior which includes two communications workstations. Prior to awarding the bid, Emergency Management Director Mike O’Brien looked over the details in the bid and informed the commission it would meet the needs of his office.
Chief Tax Deputy Tabbi Mann asked that the commission require all county employees to enroll in direct deposit to receive their pay.
Mann explained that all but five of the 65 employees have already opted to receive their pay through direct deposit. She said that having to mail-out the five paychecks, and ensure that they are cashed, is very time-consuming for her office. Mann also said there have been incidences where some of the paper checks were not deposited by the recipients for weeks. Mann said that causes confusion and extra work for the payroll office to keep track of the status of those checks. A motion to require all employees to enroll in direct deposit of their paychecks was made, and passed on a two-to one vote, with Commissioner Jamie Walker voting against it. Walker noted that he is one of those five employees who likes to receive a paper check.
Deputy County Clerk Margie Hall asked the commission to make some changes to the County Personnel Policy in order to clear-up ambiguities. She also said there are some archaic policies that no longer apply because of advancements in technology, and those should be stricken from the policy. The commission asked her to present a draft of the changes to them for consideration at a future meeting.
Commissioner John Rebinski, who attended the meeting via Zoom Meeting, asked that the commission consider advertising to have a logging company purchase and remove timber from the site of the future 911 Center, as this will save the cost of clearing the land and might even generate a little money for the construction project. Commission President Walt Hel-mick volunteered to call the State Forestry Department to see if they can cruise the timber on the two-acre site to determine the potential value of the timber there.
In other matters, the commission:
• Voted to open a checking account at Pendleton Community Bank for the Howes Tannery Clean-up Grant money.
• Approved the opening of a checking account and a fund account for the Local Emergency Planning Committee.
• Agreed to schedule a training class on the Incident Command System for senior county officials, to be held following the October 3 regular commission meeting.
• Authorized the hiring of Caleb Arbogast as a part-time ambulance driver for the County Ambulance Service at a pay of $13 per hour.
