By Patrick Hurston
The Hardy County Commission met in regular session on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025, at 5
p.m. in the Commission chambers at the courthouse. All three Commissioners were
present.
The meeting opened with a presentation by the award-winning Moorefield High School
robotics club, the Jackbots.
Adam Sherman, William Wojtowicz, and Ralph Wojtowicz shared with the Commission
that they are well-positioned to move on to yet another competition, possibly the World
Competition in Houston, TX. The team will find out in March.
The commission received a demonstration of one of the robots being used for
competition. The team members reported that from feedback at competitions as well as
their own observations, they have one of the fastest, most efficient, and most reliable
robots in competition.
Next the Commission heard from Alexandria Smith and Elizabeth Metheny, both with
the West Virginia University Extension.
Together Smith and Metheny made a budget request for fiscal year 2026. The request
for $5,000 will revise the salaries of two staffers whose years of service and experience
level warranted the adjustment. The request was approved.
All other financial requests were tabled until the next meeting. Those requests came
from South Branch Valley Day Report Center, Valley View Golf Course, and
Wardensville’s Big Blue.
In her presentation prior to making the funding request, Smith reviewed 2024 highlights
for the Commission which included for youth agriculture, among other things, multiple
award-winning teams. She said Hardy County teams won state contests in both junior
and senior division horse judging, poultry judging, and victories in the turkey and
chicken barbecue contest, winning fourth and sixth places overall nationally.
She emphasized that the real value and growth opportunities come from getting the kids
out there, engaging in public speaking, reasoning, and confidence-building.
Critical services provided in 2024 included multiple educational sessions with area
producers to help them address last year’s severe drought by accessing relief funds
available through the Farm Service Agency and the Conservation District.
Smith said that Extension’s efforts led to FSA seeing an increase in local producers
signing up for services and programs. She also reported that to date, the FSA has
provided over $1 million in relief funds to Hardy County farmers.
Metheny then reported on the success and growth of the 4-H program.
“One thing I’m very, very excited about is that we have a higher membership than ever
before,” she said. Membership last year was 317, up from 211 in the 2021/22 service
year.
She said that “there’s a growing trend of kids eager to have face to face” activities
again. She said she believes that many youths who missed out on a lot of social activity
during the pandemic appear eager to volunteer and give more and more of their time.
“We’re seeing kids wanting to be more active, and it’s incredibly encouraging,” she said.
One big research project that Metheny is completing is a survey of more than 3,600
middle school youth over 14 counties. The survey was structured to help identify what
the students really want to learn and what excites them. She said she is looking to
identify other Extension programs across the county that already exist and may help
meet those needs.
Metheny said another key program she is developing centers around financial literacy.
Though she has developed some materials and distributed them across the state, she
has had difficulty finding anyone local to teach the program. West Virginia now has a
half-credit financial literacy requirement in high schools, she said.
Darren Taylor of South Branch Valley Day Report Center requested that the
Commission continue its annual support for the center by honoring a $20,000 matching
grant as identified in the Community Connections Grant Memorandum of
Understanding. The Commission agreed to honor that commitment, but tabled Taylor’s
request of an additional $30,000 from opioid settlement funds until the next meeting.
In his presentation, Taylor shared with the Commission how the Center has grown and
changed the way it operates to have an even greater impact on Hardy County.
Taylor said the Center expanded from just doing drug testing to offering a multitude of
classes to people who are in recovery.
“We’re trying to help them live better lives, stay out of jail, and you know, learn how to
live in a life of recovery,” he said.
Taylor said the greatest change is around those cases involving Child Protective
Services. He said the Center has many cases that include an evaluation period where a
client retains custody of a child or loses it.
Taylor said, “We can do more than just test them and give them some recovery
material.” Working with the Department of Human Services, Taylor developed classes
on parenting, life skills; anger management, codependency; and domestic violence,
among others.
“I’ve heard from the judges and the courts and the prosecutors that they’ve seen an
unprecedented level of families staying together through CPS cases, and the common
denominator is them being in our classes,” Taylor told the Commission.
He also shared that with an expanding telehealth program they are now able to provide
support services 24-hours a day.
Affirming the success of the Center and his own dedication and expertise, Taylor
reported that he was recently appointed to the West Virginia First Foundation’s regional
panel of experts. In that capacity he will represent Hardy County, ensuring its needs are
heard by the Foundation which is responsible for distributing opioid settlement funds
throughout the state.
Taylor requested an additional $30,000 to fund one full-time staff position for a period of
12 months. That request was tabled.
Steve Wratchford of Valley View Golf Course also had his funding request tabled. On
behalf of Valley View he did not request a specific dollar amount, instead choosing to
highlight the many needs of the golf course.
Wratchford pointed to the aging water system, indicating that that minimum estimate
they’ve received to upgrade the system is $250,000. He also pointed to a new farm
tractor at a cost of $35,000 and a new mower system estimated at $40,000.
He stressed the contributions the course makes by supporting members of the
community including youth programs, Veterans programs, first responder programs, as
well as all the area high school teams.
Wratchford said, “We’re about one catastrophe from closing down.”
While the Commission was supportive and agreed the course is an excellent addition to
the community, the funding was tabled until the next meeting.
Big Blue, the faith-based teen center in Wardensville, also had its funding request
tabled.
Last year, the Commission provided Big Blue with $18,000 as part of a three-year plan.
Commissioner Dave Workman recalled that as part of its three-year plan, Big Blue
attached a three-year funding request: $18,000 the first year, followed by an additional
$12,000 over two successive years. The Commissioners could not recall whether the
funding was approved in its entirety, or only the first $18,000 installment. It was agreed
that last year’s minutes would be reviewed and the Commission would take the matter
upon again at its next meeting.
The Commission then voted to provide West Hardy EMS $15,000 a month directly,
rather than passing the funds through Hardy County Emergency Ambulance Authority
(HCEAA) as it has been doing.
The Commission also approved Custodian Melvin Shook’s request for a part-time
employee.
The Commission agreed to provide letters and resolutions of support to McCoy’s
Theater and the Hardy County Convention and Visitors Bureau, respectively, for various
state grants they are pursuing.
The next meeting will be held on Wed., March 5, 2025, at 9 a.m. Members of the public
are encouraged to attend.
