ADDRESSING BUSINESS — Hancock County Commissioners, from back, Paul Cowey, Eron Chek and Tommy Ogden, met in regular session Thursday afternoon. -- Craig Howell

NEW CUMBERLAND — The Hancock County Commission is seeking two new members of the county’s Parks and Recreation Board.

As part of their meeting Thursday, commissioners agreed to advertise for two positions on the board, with one position’s appointment to be retroactive to Aug. 6, and the other appointment to be retroactive to Wednesday.

It was noted the appointments are, essentially, creating new board seats and not replacing any current board members.

Commissioner Paul Cowey explained the change follows discussions with officials from other counties during a recent conference, where Hancock County commissioners learned the county’s Park Board is undersized based on state regulations.

“In the code, the board has to be made up of 11 people,” Cowey said.

The Hancock County board, though, was set to have between five and seven members, with terms lasting three years, according to information on the county’s website.

Commission President Eron Chek said there would be no magisterial district residency requirement for the two board seats.

“It doesn’t matter what area of the county you live in,” Chek said.

The county park board oversees the operations of four parks — Clarke Field Playground in Newell, Cove Valley Park along Kings Creek Road north of Weirton, the Gas Valley Sports Complex and Playground in New Cumberland and Lawrenceville Park in Chester.

In other business, Thursday, commissioners:

• Accepted the resignation of Deputy Caleb Minger from the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, effective July 31, and agreed to pay him for his remaining vacation time of 79 hours, equating to $2,037.41;

• Approved the application of Lisa Cox to join the Hancock County Sheriff’s Reserve in an administrative capacity, effective Thursday;

• Agreed to pay Sheriff Scott Gittings $15,000 for the Tax Year 2024;

• Agreed to reopen the estate of Marian S. Macaluso because of interest in a property being found, and scheduled a probate hearing for 11:30 a.m. Oct. 9 for the estate of Connie B. Thrasher;

• Approved the resignation of Sherry Cameron, effective July 18, from the Hancock County Animal Shelter, along with changing Lily Lyons from full-time animal care technician to part-time, Tanner Smith from part-time to full-time and the resignation of Baily Cuteri, who had been a temporary summer employee, effective Aug. 2.

• Approved the hiring of Jessica Yost as a full-time 911 dispatcher, effective Sept. 1, and the hiring of Michael A. Kuhn as a full-time assistant prosecuting attorney, effective Monday.