A NATIONAL HONOR — The Brooke County Commission Tuesday, recognized Kacey Hopson, a Follansbee native, for receiving the National Association for Kinesiology in Higher Education’s Distinguished Teaching Award. -- Warren Scott

WELLSBURG — A.J. Thomas, president of the Brooke County Commission, said he wants to move forward with the creation of a committee to consider spending of opioid settlement funds, but Brooke County Prosecutor Allison Cowden questioned the recruitment of citizens for the proposed volunteer board.

Thomas, who earlier announced he will leave his seat on March 1, told fellow Commissioners Tom Diserio and Stacey Wise, during Tuesday’s meeting, he will recommend the commission select members for the board at the next regular meeting.

He noted no bylaws exist for such a panel, so the commission will need to determine how many of a dozen applicants it will choose for it and the number of years each will serve.

The commissioners said earlier the board will be charged with considering applications for a portion of $1.1 million awarded to the county from a statewide lawsuit by the state Attorney General’s Office against the makers and distributors of opioid-based pharmaceuticals and make a recommendation for the commission’s final approval.

The commission has received several proposals for the funds’ use, including Healthways Inc. to raise awareness of its short-term drug abuse treatment program; West Virginia University Medicine to provide mental health services at its children’s outpatient center in Wheeling; and the Brooke County Health Department and Emergency Management Agency for a prefabricated building for storage of equipment and materials needed for emergency situations.

At the commission’s Nov. 1 meeting, Capt. Kyler Ferguson of the Brooke County Sheriff’s Department proposed the funds be used for any of the following: 15 drug testing kits, to enable officers to determine the type of drug that has been seized, for $522; 10 digital license plate readers that could be placed near entrances to the county to aid officers in identifying suspects’ vehicles, at a cost of $30,000 per year; body cameras and dash cameras to record officers’ actions, for up to $248,000; and a Lenco Bearcat armored vehicle to protect the department’s Special Response Team against gunshots, at a cost of $307,390.

On Tuesday, Cowden suggested body and dash cameras should be made a top priority for the funds because they would help her to prosecute defendants charged with reckless driving and other crimes.

She noted Weirton Council recently approved the purchase of equipment for the city’s police department with more than $120,000 from its own opioid settlement funds.

“Weirton Council was able to make those decisions all on their own,” Cowden told the commissioners.

She said the opioid funds were awarded to the county during the last two years and should have been used by now.

Cowden also questioned the commission recruiting additional applicants for the committee after it had received several letters of interest.

Brooke County Sheriff Rich Beatty agreed, saying, “It seems like an ethical issue to me.”

Thomas acknowledged he recruited others for the committee, saying, “I think it’s important to have people with different viewpoints serve on the committee.”

“The original applicants would have been focused on using every dime of that money on law enforcement,” he said, adding some consideration should be given to other programs addressing the drug problem.

Initially the commission received interest from multiple representatives of law enforcement and emergency medical services, but the list of applicants has expanded to include residents with other backgrounds.

The 12 candidates are: Douglas Mills, Rob McMahon, Maryanne Capp, Tracey Guilliams, John Davis, Russ Burns, Jake J. Polverini, Joseph Mullenbach, Aaron Caviani, Audrey Kocher, Mary Blum and Cowden.

Blum expressed concern that having too many people on the panel would stall decisions.

Thomas said he agreed, adding it would make it difficult to attain a quorum for meetings.

He said his main objection to using the funds for equipment is that it would have to be replaced at some time.

Thomas compared using the opioid funds for equipment to the Hancock County Schools officials’ recent use of one-time federal COVID relief money for personnel, noting they couldn’t replace it when it was spent.

He said he supports funding body and dash cameras for officers from the county budget and has met with the sheriff’s department to discuss it.

Ferguson told the commissioners, “I want to see us progressing in a way that we’re protecting our citizens’ and our officers’ lives.”

McMahon told them he wouldn’t push for all of the funds to go to law enforcement and hopes they will consider his application.

In other business, the commission recognized Kacey Hopson, a Follansbee native and 2001 graduate of Brooke High School, who has received the National Association for Kinesiology in Higher Education’s Distinguished Teaching Award.

Kinesiology is the study of various principles of human movement to enhance health, performance and rehabilitation.

Officials with NAKHE said the award is given to an educator in the field who holds her- or himself and students to high standards, inspires students to greater achievement through teaching and contact outside the classroom, and has received positive evaluations from current or former students.

Hopson is a professor at Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina, where she has taught since 2010.

The daughter of Paul and Donna DiGiacinto, she earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees from West Virginia University.

The commissioners adopted a resolution recognizing Hopson for her achievements and declaring her an excellent example for other Brooke County students to seek greatness in their own fields.

Hopson was recognized by Follansbee Council at its meeting on Monday.

Also on Tuesday, County Clerk Kim Barbetta noted the county courthouse will be closed on Monday for Presidents Day.