Buckhannon Council Receives Good News on Local Watershed
By Gary Mallonee, Staff WriterArticle Photos
The Buckhannon River Watershed Association (BRWA) informed members of the Buckhannon City Council during Thursday's meeting that the local watershed was named the 2008 Watershed of the Year in West Virginia.
BRWA member Paul Richter addressed council and showed them one of the signs that will be placed along local roads.
Richter thanked both the city and the county for their continued support of the association.
"Without your support, this would not have been possible," Richter said. "We want to thank you for being a part of this."
The association received a $5,000 cash award, donated by the Dominion Foundation. The Division of Highways also provided the signs to be placed along area roads, he said.
The Buckhannon Police Department also received honors with the recent Platinum Award for Highway Safety from AAA, according to a letter from Chief Matt Gregory. Mayor Kenny Davidson shared the news with council by reading Gregory's letter aloud during Thursday's meeting.
The award is the highest that AAA can give concerning not only a police department's efforts toward promoting highway safety, but also its involvement toward actually seeing measured results of safety on roads and highways.
This is the fifth year in a row that the department has received this distinction by AAA.
The department was also recently awarded a donation of $1,000 from Buckhannon Wal-Mart. The money will be used to purchase a camera to take crime scene photographs as well as those of prisoner processing.
In other business, council:
- Approved a request from the Buckhannon Convention and Visitors Bureau for the use of city streets and the parking lot next to Jawbone Park for the annual Christmas Parade Dec. 5. The parade will line up at 6 p.m. and begin at 7 p.m. The streets involved include Spring, South Locust and East Main.
- Approved a recommendation from the Fire Civil Service Commission for the promotion of Jerry Wilfong to captain and James B. Kimble to the rank of lieutenant within the city's fire department.
- Approved Resolution 2008-08 for Davidson to act on the city's behalf to enter into a contractual agreement with the West Virginia Development Office to receive and administer grant funds in the amount of $9,000 for the Stockert Youth Center.
Buckhannon City Council meets at 7 p.m. the first and third Thursdays of each month at City Hall.
