911 BOARD EYED — The Brooke County Commission announced plans Tuesday to meet with candidates for an advisory board for the county’s emergency 911 center to discuss the board’s role. -- Warren Scott

WELLSBURG — The Brooke County Commission has announced plans to meet with several candidates for a new board that will oversee operations of the county’s emergency 911 center.

County Commissioner Tom Diserio said candidates for the volunteer board will be invited to the commission’s Dec. 2 meeting for an informational discussion of the board’s purpose.

He said the commission hopes to make appointments to the panel at the following regular meeting on Dec. 9.

The commission meets at 10:30 a.m. each Tuesday at the county courthouse.

The commissioners have received letters of interest from Micah Knisley, a Wellsburg police officer; John Schwertfeger, a Follansbee councilman and former Brooke County ambulance director; Capt. Kyler Ferguson of the Brooke County Sheriff’s Department, Mike Loborec, deputy director of the Brooke County Emergency Management Agency; Jeremiah Lucas, a Brooke County ambulance squad member; Lt. Dawson Kemp of the Franklin Community Volunteer Fire Department and Bethany Fire Chief Edward Stough.

It’s not clear whether any others may be added to the board.

The requirement for such a panel, under state code, was brought to the commission’s attention earlier this year by Franklin Community Fire Chief Gerald McClain.

In other business, County Commissioner Stacey Wise said the commission will advertise again for the construction of a storage building along the Brooke County Pioneer Trail.

Wise said an earlier advertisement drew one bid that was higher than expected, so specifications for the structure have been altered in hopes of netting lower offers.

Diserio said the building will be used to store maintenance equipment for the trail that was kept previously at nearby Aladdin Signs with the cooperation of Danny Holladay, the business’ late owner.

Also on Tuesday:

• The commissioners and others reflected on the death Friday of John Bado Sr., who was 77. A retired employee of Crown Cork & Seal, Bado worked in recent years as a security guard for the county courthouse and bailiff in the county’s courtrooms.

Christina White, the county’s emergency 911 director, read a poem she said reflected his quiet nature, stating heroes often are simple men who offer comfort, advice and encouragement to others in time of trouble.

State Del. Jimmy Willis, R-Brooke, was among attendees who commented on Bado’s friendly nature.

“He was always there (at the courthouse) with a smile and a how-do-you-do when you came in,” said Willis.

• Willis also addressed the commission about local roads, noting sections of state Routes 27 and 2 in Wellsburg and other areas were repaved later in the season.

He said he would have liked more to be done, but it was within the budgetary restraints of the region’s Division of Highways office, and he will continue to push for more road work locally next year.

• Joe Eddy, former chief executive officer of Eagle Manufacturing, now a division of the Justrite Safety Group, said the company has achieved a milestone with the completion of environmental remediation of its property ordered by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.

He said aspects of the cleanup stemmed from the early days of the local manufacturing plant, which opened in 1894.

• Diserio reflected on the efforts of the Brooke County EMA and ambulance service and many fire departments in extinguishing an expansive fire at Aspen Manor, also known as Vancroft Mansion, last week.

“We had (first responders from) three states and every fire department within a 50-mile radius was coming,” he said.

Diserio said while the blaze spread quickly, destroying the original mansion section of the complex, no one was harmed.

Wise added, “Several people reached out to say what a great job the 911 center did.”