Before the extended and much appreciated run of rainy days, Pendleton County had ascended into a higher federal drought category. Until the next reassessment, the county is in “D3 – Extreme Drought.” While soaking rains will mitigate that setting, even if they last as long as anticipated, they will not lift the region completely out of drought.
All that lay in the future. Attendees came to the Pendleton County Commission meeting on a bright, sunny, warm Tuesday morning.
Commissioner Roger Dahmer gave the invocation, praying that “all good things come through You.”
This meeting served as a milestone for the commission, its first in the new courthouse annex. Commissioners now meet in a spacious room with high ceilings and large windows, providing ample space for when citizens come with concerns.
“I’d like to welcome you to our new facility,” stated Carl Hevener, commission president.
Karen Pitsenbarger, county administrator, provided an update on courthouse annex work, sharing, “It’s 99 percent done . . . no major problems.” She also related that phase III, work on the original structure had already commenced.
Next, commissioners approved the hiring of Christy Martin for the county assessor’s office.
Annie Humes then gave an update on the America 250 mural project, stating that two separate artists were under consideration for another mural to join the Kelson Thorne work on the Franklin Innovation Hub across from the courthouse.
Commissioners then called on Mike Alt, training officer for Pendleton County Emergency Rescue. He discussed legal issues facing the recently passed EMS support funding from the West Virginia State Legislature.
Alt went on to share that requests for water have intensified as of late and that at least one farmer in Upper Tract had started irrigating his fields from a nearby creek. “It’s starting to really get serious.” Both Hevener and Jimmie Bennett, commissioner, concurred that they had seen the same.
Rick Gillespie, Pendleton County Emergency Services coordinator said, that “while there’s no immediate concerns with area sources of public water, if it goes a couple more months, that will probably be a different story.”
Hevener added that a lot of gardens probably “got zapped” by the recent hot and dry days and said it would depend on “what June and July’s going to look like” in terms of precipitation. “I hope it doesn’t wait until August when it starts.”
The seven-day precipitation forecast as of May 19 showed that Pendleton County north of US 33 and west of US 220 could receive between 1.75 and 2.5 inches of rain in that period. The southeast quadrant south of US 33 and east of US 220 may see between one and 1.5 inches in the same period.
