Brooke first responders to receive radios
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WELLSBURG -- Police, firefighters and ambulance crews soon will be receiving new radios as part of efforts to improve communications between the various emergency departments and its 911 center.
County Commissioner Stacey Wise said Bob Fowler, the county's former emergency management director; worked recently with Ohio County EMA Director Lou Vargo and others to program the radios and hundreds of them will soon be distributed to first responders. The hand-held and car radios are part of $1.7 million in emergency communications equipment purchased through an agreement with the Ohio County Commission. The agreement also calls for Brooke County to pay $7,040 to Ohio County for its maintenance.
With the cooperation of Ohio County officials, Brooke County also has access to a West Liberty radio tower with access to the West Virginia Statewide Interoperable Radio Network.
Wise said since a link to SIRN was established at the McKims Ridge tower at Brooke County's north end, there have been very few issues with communication between the emergency departments.
She noted there still are plans to upgrade the county's emergency 911 center, including establishing a radio link with emergency responders in Jefferson and Belmont counties.
Christina White, director of the emergency 911 center, noted the upgrades have been long planned.
"It's exciting for me because it's bee a long time," she said while adding it will take some time for the county's many first responders, including volunteer firefighters on varying work schedules, to be trained on the new equipment.
In other business:
¯ April Eltringham, community wellness coordinator for the county's health department, said the department continues to vaccinate residents against COVID-19, with more than 10 percent of the county's 21,939 residents currently vaccinated, with much fewer cases on a daily basis.
The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources reported there were 85 active cases in the county on Monday.
Eltringham was asked if the single dose vaccine produced by Johnson & Johnson will be used by the local health department.
She noted Gov. Jim Justice has announced it will become available to the state, but it's not clear when it will be distributed to the Brooke health department.
Local health departments are focused on vaccinating senior citizens at this time. But state officials are encouraging everyone 16 and older to register for vaccination by calling (833) 734-0965 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
¯ The commissioners said they haven't been able to find a Brooke County resident with a West Virginia surveying license to serve as the county's surveyor.
It's normally an elected position but no one filed for it in last year's election. Interest isn't high because it has no salary and county commissions rarely utilize their surveyors, though they may be called upon to determine the accuracy of deed descriptions.
County Commissioner Tim Ennis noted the commission explored sharing a surveyor with a neighboring county but was told the position must be held by a local resident.
He suggested approaching state legislators during their current session about making changes to address the problem.
"If it's a problem here, it must be in other counties," Ennis said.
Anyone interested in the position may contact County Clerk Kim Barbetta at (304) 737-3661.
(Scott can be contacted at wscott@heraldstaronline.com.)