By Stephen Smoot
“We’ll get some things done.” So said Bruce Minor, Town of Franklin recorder and the emergency management official who headed up last week’s Local Emergency Planning Committee meeting.
Under the law, LEPCs meet quarterly to bring together stakeholders in the county emergency management community to discuss problems, challenges, and opportunities. According to the West Virginia Emergency Management website, they also on a regular basis “must develop an emergency response plan, review the plan at least annually, and provide information about chemicals in the community to citizens.”
The Pendleton County LEPC heard first from Thomas Butcher, a representative of First Energy and Mon Power. He discussed their capacity and process for emergency response and answered questions from local officials.
Another article features this discussion.
Frank Wehrle from the Town of Franklin provided an update on progress with water and sewer repairs and upgrades. The water project remains stalled until crews can repair a 100 gallon per day leak in the system.
A report on wells indicated that despite the drought, community wells continued to flow. Brooke Hott from the Pendleton County Health Department shared, however, that they had received six or seven reports of wells failing.
Minor said, “Hopefully there’s rain on the horizon.” Officially, the recent rains and mild August temperatures helped to bring the region’s drought condition down from D3 to D2 with more improvement expected by the end of the month. Meanwhile, unfortunately, Jackson County and surrounding areas worsened into D3.
The Pendleton County Sheriff’s Department reported on its activities next, sharing that “we’re in good shape now” but had served four search warrants related to repeated incidents associated with methamphetamines. Some will likely result in federal charges.
A report from the fire association expressed concerns with dry conditions and the lack of official preparedness for possible autumn fires. After examining the condition of the timber, the representative remarked, “I don’t think anyone is prepared for fire season.”
Mike Alt, training officer for Pendleton County Emergency Rescue, stated that “July was one of the busiest months for us” with about 20 extra calls. Rick Gillespie, Pendleton County Emergency Services coordinator, mentioned the state stipend and salary enhancement program’s beneficial effect on first responders in the county.
“It’s obvious to everyone that response times are much improved,” he noted.
Improved response times also benefit Pendleton 911, which now can assemble response teams more efficiently.
“Hopefully we keep this coming from the state level,” Gillespie stated.
The LEPC also recently held the mandatory public meeting to review committee bylaws. Minor said, “The only people there were me and Rick.” The emergency response plan, which is part of the emergency operations plan, was available for review.
Additionally, Minor reported that “Rick and I attended an LEPC meeting in Mineral County” and concluded that Pendleton “needs to do more public outreach.” An idea to have a booth at the Treasure Mountain Festival was floated, but it’s too late to organize one for this year.
Gillespie stated that progress continues at the new Seneca Rocks tower. With concrete laid, it must pass stress testing to ensure that it’s ready for the next step. AT&T, as well as T-Mobile, “take their small steps” toward placing their service on the tower.
Although neither service at this point is guaranteed, Gillespie said, “They’re asking the right questions.” Also, T-Mobile assigned a site ID for the new tower, which means that service from them remains a strong possibility.
