By Patrick Hurston
The Hardy County Commission met in regular session on Tuesday, Apr. 15, 2025.
The Commission took several actions, and tabled others until its first meeting in May.
The Commission appointed Steve Miller to the Hardy County Emergency Ambulance Authority Board of Directors. Miller replaces Doug Coffman who resigned on April 1, 2025. His appointment ensures that Wardensville continues to have representation on the HCEAA board.
The Commission also approved a funding request from Moorefield High School student, Amelia Gagnon. Gagnon is the president of MHS’s DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) chapter.
According to Gagnon, DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management, among others.
The group recently had 17 members compete at a career development conference held March 9-10 in Charleston. All placed second or third in their respective categories. Thirteen members of the team who placed in first or second became eligible to compete at the 2025 International Career Development Conference in Orlando, Fla.
Gagnon said the team had raised approximately $25,000 of the $29,000 needed to make it to the competition. She requested $5,000 from the Commission to aid expenses. The request was unanimously approved.
The Commission also approved a proclamation declaring May “Community Action Month.”
Becky Yokum and Eastern West Virginia Community Action CEO Matthew Hinkle said that Community Action is a nationwide movement, with approximately 1,000 anciencies serving the county, with 15 of those located in West Virginia.
While the group is primarily known locally for its weatherization program, Hinkle said it also runs a program to rapidly rehouse veterans or help prevent homelessness. He said the service area for the programs includes Pendleton, Grant, Hampshire, Hardy, Mineral and Morgan counties.
Community Action Month is held annually in May. It was established by the Community Action Partnership to strengthen the role of Community Action Agencies in assisting low-income families in achieving economic stability.
Next the Commission moved to more routine business, approving a small in-house budget revision at the request of Prosecuting Attorney Jeff Weatherholt. It also approved a request by Sheriff Steve Dawson for a $3,000 salary adjustment for one of the Task Force Officers.
The Commission also reviewed annual service contracts from Envirco for waste removal and approved a series of requests by the county clerk, including an order barring objection for the estates of Steven Kurtz Paulsen and Gregory Eugene Norris, Sr.; and a hearing, scheduled for May 20 at 4 p.m. to consider removal of a personal representative for the estate of Harold W. Fitzwater.
A T-Mobile lease agreement, consideration of amendments to the ambulance ordinance fee, funding for Music in the Schools, and a request for support of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library were all tabled until the next regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, May 6, 2025.
