By Walter Hojka
The Pendleton County Commission met on April 3 to discuss the aftermath of a lightning
strike to the 911 system. Lightning disabled two of four 911 trunk lines into the county during the
afternoon of May 1. Service continued, however, there was damage to equipment at the 911
center.
Rick Gillespie, emergency services coordinator, said that while he was relieved that
service was uninterrupted, this event underscored the need for a second 911 trunk line route in
the county. Currently, all four 911 lines travel along the same cable from Elkins.
In March, Pendleton County and Frontier West Virginia, which provides 911 service in
West Virginia, reached a settlement in a dispute regarding several issues, including reliable 911
service. Among other provisions of the settlement, Frontier agreed to evaluate and improve
redundancy of its 911 service “where technically feasible and cost effective,” according to a
Public Service Commission summary of the agreement. The term redundancy refers to having
backup plans – such as additional trunk line routes – when emergency services fail.
The firm Global Science and Technology (GST), located in Fairmont repaired the
equipment. “I applaud GST,” Gillespie said. “They have been doing exactly what they said they
would do.”
Gillespie also reported that Frontier Communications is working on clearing the line of
trees from Elkins to Franklin.
The commission approved the installation of additional internet access points. GST, the IT
contractor for the county, will install the access points in the Pendleton Community Building,
where they will provide service for the conference room and the West Virginia Department of
Natural Resources office in the same building.
The 911 Center also received a letter of appreciation from Pendleton County High School
for their participation in the school’s job fair. “We planted a lot of seeds,” said 911 Director
Diana Mitchell.
Work continues on the project to install broadband in the county. Economic Development
Director Laura Brown reported that another round of questions in the grant application process
have been completed.
The next commission meeting will be held Tuesday at 9 a.m. at the Pendleton County
Courthouse.
