The following Putnam County-related news and feature items were among those published in recent editions of The Charleston Gazette, Charleston Daily Mail, Saturday Gazette-Mail and Sunday Gazette-Mail:
Hurricane council member says ordinance amendment proposal unfair
A Hurricane council member says a proposed amendment to a city ordinance is unfair.
City Council member Lana Call said the ordinance is currently being violated. It says anyone appointed to the city's development authority must live within municipal boundaries.
City Manager Ben Newhouse, who serves as the authority's chairman, lives just outside city limits.
"I'm like, wait a minute, how is it that he, who isn't even living within city limits, can be the chairman of that board?" Call said.
"If you make an exception for one person, you might as well make an exception for everyone."
Newhouse could not immediately be reached for comment.
Call said she recently noticed the provision in the city's ordinance book and mentioned the situation to another council member. She said she did not personally bring the matter to Mayor Scott Edwards' attention.
Somehow it ended up on council's agenda this month, she said.
"Then, all of a sudden, here it is on our agenda about making an exception for Ben Newhouse to be the chairman because of the fact he's the city manager," Call said.
Edwards said someone else informed him about the situation.
"I'll admit, she did find where we have some conflicting rules," he said.
He said the bylaws of the development authority state the city manager must serve as the chairman of the authority.
Thus, an amendment to the ordinance is needed, Edwards said.
"It's very simple, really," he said.
"Someone brought it to the attention of someone here at City Hall, so I had asked it be placed on the agenda and that we talk about it and that we propose a new amendment to add the phrase, 'with the exception of the city manager.'"
Edwards said it's important for the city manager to serve on the development authority board.
City managers help prepare budgets, oversee record keeping and supervise other department heads.
"The city manager needs to be on the authority not by their location, but by their position," Edwards said.
The ordinance would still require that other voting members of the authority be city residents, he said.
Edwards said Call is just looking for problems.
"She has been trying her darnedest to find something the city is doing wrong," he said. "She's trying to look for anything. She's a negative, not a positive, person."
But Call said she couldn't believe it's taken this long for city officials to recognize the lapse.
"It burns me alive that they - the mayor and the city manager - knew it was in the ordinance book all this time," she said. "I think they just hoped no one would say anything about it."
Call said she's also upset the issue wasn't tabled at this month's meeting.
She said she asked that it wait until November's meeting because two of the five council members were absent.
Edwards said of the two who were absent, one was sick and another was out of town.
Call, who has served on council for more than two years, said Edwards would not table the issue. A vote on the amendment's first reading was taken anyway, she said.
Another vote on second reading will need to be taken at the next council meeting for the amendment to pass, the mayor said.
"There wasn't too much discussion on it," he said. He added he doesn't think the issue really affects the general public.
The next council meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 2 at the municipal building on Teays Valley Road.
(Charleston Daily Mail)
Man arrested for conduct at sons' football practice granted limited visitation
A Scott Depot man arrested for holding one of his sons upside-down by the ankle and pushing another son to the ground at their Little League football practice was granted limited visitation rights on Oct. 20.
Putnam County Magistrate Kim M. Blair approved a motion by Troy Sexton's lawyer to allow Sexton supervised visits with his 6-year-old boys.
Blair granted the motion to amend Sexton's bond agreement during a pretrial hearing. She also approved another delay in the case.
Sexton's lawyer, Tom Peyton, asked for the delay because the prosecutor's office and Sexton are working on a possible plea agreement. His next preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Dec. 4.
Peyton said West Virginia Child Protective Services found no signs of abuse or neglect in Sexton's home.
Sexton, 36, was arrested Aug. 6 at Winfield Elementary School and charged with two counts of domestic battery.
According to a criminal complaint filed in magistrate court, Sexton held his son upside-down by the ankle and forcefully pushed his other 6-year-old son to the ground.
Sexton was released on $20,000 bond in August.
According to his original bond agreement, he was to have no contact with his sons until the charges are resolved. He has been living with his mother since his arrest.
Sexton has a cult following on YouTube where he has posted more than 70 videos under the name "Troy From West Virginia." Most of them focus on sports, and more than 20 on Sexton's admiration for Joe Beimel, a Major League pitcher with the Colorado Rockies.
Sexton also wrote a 1,289-word "Arrest Manifesto" that appeared about a week after his arrest on the blog bustedcoverage.com, which bills itself as "Booze, Ladies and Football." The manifesto is from a YouTube chat Sexton had with a blogger from the Web site.
Sexton is the father of 6-year-old triplets, two boys and a girl, and an older child. All were present when their father was arrested in August.
(The Charleston Gazette)
Development slows in Putnam, but unemployment rate remains low
While loading groceries into the back of her car at the WalMart in Hurricane, a woman who declined to give her name, couldn't keep the frustration out of her voice when asked about the current job market.
Her husband, an employee with a Nitro company, lost his job last November - the day he came back to work from the Thanksgiving holiday. He was out of work for about four months before being rehired, but had to take a pay cut and lost his insurance.
"If I hadn't had my job, I don't know what we would have done," she said.
While both are working now, her husband's cut in pay and the rise in the price of food and gas have stretched the couple's budget.
They've gone through their savings, and have stopped making payments to their IRA.
Since January, Putnam County's unemployment rate has steadily risen, but compared to West Virginia's 55 counties, it has fared better than average.
According to the most recent data from WorkForce West Virginia, Putnam County had an unemployment rate of 6.9 percent in August, the second lowest in the state behind Monongalia County, with 5 percent.
Putnam County officials say the county's location, Interstate 64 and a diverse job market have kept the county's unemployment rate at bay.
"We've been a lot better in terms of job loss and home loss," County Commissioner Joe Haynes said. "We have been hit, but not as severely as other counties."
Statewide, Putnam was one of seven counties that reported better-than-average unemployment rates in August, but its lead was by fractions of a percentage point.
Jefferson County reported an unemployment rate of 7 percent, Marion County, 7 percent; Gilmer, 7.2 percent; Kanawha, 7.2 percent; Mercer, 7.2 percent; and Monroe, 7.2 percent.
The statewide average for August was 8.6 percent. In September, it dropped half a percentage point to 8.1 percent.
"It's different for each county," said Ben Parker, director for research, information and analysis at WorkForce West Virginia. "Some of the rural counties tend to suffer more because their economic base is not as broad."
Putnam County's largest employers are local government and the service industry, including trade, transportation and utilities. Major employers include the board of education, county government, CAMC, the Toyota Motor Co. plant, the John Amos power plant, and the Appalachian Electric Power call center in Hurricane.
None have reported major layoffs.
"We're not just retail, there are a variety of different business and industries in the county, and that has helped," County Commissioner Steve Andes said.
The county development authority, planning commission, chamber of commerce and other organizations have been at the forefront of building Putnam's business base, which has been rapidly expanding for more than a decade, Andes said.
The county's location between Charleston and Huntington, U.S. 35, I-64 in addition to a low tax base and lots of flat land have made it attractive to a variety of businesses and industries, County Commissioner Gary Tillis said.
Development has slowed in the county, but it has not stopped, Tillis said.
But some businesses and families are struggling, said Marty Chapman, president of the Putnam County Chamber of Commerce.
"A lot of the mom-and-pop places are able to manage themselves well enough to get through, but everybody is just trying to hold on," Chapman said.
In August, Putnam reported a workforce of 26,900 people, of which 1,850 were out of work.
Diana, who declined to give her last name, said her husband has been out of work for about six months in the last two years.
"It's been piece by piece," she said.
A construction worker, he has worked on projects at the University of Charleston and at the John Amos plant, but as development slowed so did the jobs, she said.
Her husband is one of hundreds of people seeking employment in his field, she said.
Right now, he hopes to get a job on the upcoming construction project at the John Amos plant to install a scrubber within the plant's power-generating unit to reduce its sulfur dioxide emissions.
The scrubber is the second of three to be installed at the plant. Construction finished on the first scrubber in March. Construction on the second is scheduled to begin within the next few months and will employ up to 2,000 contract workers, said Haynes, the plant's community-relations manager.
"What typically happens is they draw people from the local building constitution trades, then they move down to the Tri State group and beyond," Haynes said. "Local people would be the first ones hired here."
Diana is also hopeful a $57 million school bond, passed in August, will bring jobs to the area. The bond will fund construction of three new schools and a renovation project.
Construction is expected to begin within the next year.
"West Virginia has weathered the recession storm better than other states in the country, and Putnam County is pretty much in that same boat," Haynes said.
Mason and Jackson counties, which border Putnam, were among those with the highest unemployment rates in the state in August. Jackson reported 13.2 percent and Mason reported 13.6 percent.
(The Charleston Gazette)
Nitro leaders meet with Putnam officials over smoking ban
Nitro officials planned to meet this week with members of the Putnam County Health Department in hopes of putting the city under the health department's jurisdiction.
Rusty Casto, Nitro's mayor, said the move is an effort to get around Kanawha County's smoking ban.
"We're considering letting their health department take care of the Nitro area," he said. "I think it's a long shot.
"But Putnam County allows indoor public smoking. If their health department would take over, smoking would be allowed at the dog track."
Tri-State Racetrack and Gaming Center has reported millions in lost revenue as a result of Kanawha's ordinance, which expanded last year to include gambling facilities and bars.
Nitro councilman Craig Matthews said in August because Nitro lies in both Kanawha and Putnam counties, he believes Nitro can put itself under the Putnam health department's jurisdiction.
He has said he's reviewed West Virginia laws and thinks the idea is feasible.
Putnam has a more lenient smoking ordinance than Kanawha County. Smoking is banned from all public places that allow patrons under 18 years old. Customers can smoke if people under 18 aren't allowed, thus freeing up bars and gambling facilities like Tri-State.
The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department rescinded its smoking ban exemption for bars and gambling facilities in July 2008.
Matthews has said city lawyers have informed him that county health boards have jurisdiction unless municipalities have their own boards. If the Putnam health department would be willing to make arrangements with the city, Nitro could form its own department and then immediately merge it with that county's, he proposes.
Kanawha Commission President Kent Carper isn't sure the move is feasible.
"I think they're going to have a hard time conning Putnam County into doing that," Carper said.
He added, "In fact, I think it's totally ridiculous."
The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department rescinded its smoking ban exemption for bars and gambling facilities in July 2008.
Matthews has said city lawyers have informed him that county health boards have jurisdiction unless municipalities have their own boards. If the Putnam health department would be willing to make arrangements with the city, Nitro could form its own department and then immediately merge it with that county's, he proposes.
Kanawha Commission President Kent Carper isn't sure the move is feasible.
"I think they're going to have a hard time conning Putnam County into doing that," Carper said.
He added, "In fact, I think it's totally ridiculous."
A spokeswoman with the Putnam County Health Department said the meeting, previously scheduled for Tuesday, was scheduled for Oct. 27.
The Putnam County Commission, the county's health department and the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources have to sign off on the city's plans before a switch can take place.
In August, Jackie Fleshman, an administrator for the Putnam health department, said the agency knew nothing of Nitro's plans.
At that time, she said they would not merge with the city because they didn't have jurisdiction.
Fleshman said the only way Nitro could fall under the Putnam County smoking ordinance is if the city were annexed into Putnam County.
And even if the city formed its own health department, she said it couldn't overrule a county health department ordinance. Local health boards can only make ordinances stricter.
Casto has said the track has lost about $9 million in revenue since the smoking ban was imposed last year, and the city has lost about $100,000.
Some Nitro officials have suggested putting smokers on the first floor of the track's building and the nonsmokers on the second, saying each floor has its own ventilation system.
Environmental health officials have said that's not good enough.
(Charleston Daily Mail)
St. Marys developing family care center in Hurricane
St. Mary's Medical Center is developing a new family care center in Hurricane.
The new facility will be located on Willow Tree Lane, directly above the City National Bank. It is scheduled to open in spring 2010.
A groundbreaking ceremony at the future site was scheduled for Oct. 21.
St. Mary's currently has three family care centers in Cabell and Wayne counties.
(Charleston Daily Mail)
Diamond's Ford deal to add positions; $6 million investment coming to Eleanor plant
Diamond Electric Manufacturing Corp. has won some new business with the Ford Motor Co. that is prompting a $6 million investment at its Eleanor plant and could eventually create up to 55 jobs there.
Earlier this month, the West Virginia Economic Development Authority gave preliminary approval to a $3 million loan for the company. David Warner, the authority's executive director, said the loan will help Diamond purchase some equipment it is currently leasing, upgrade some of that equipment, and purchase new equipment.
The West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council is expected to consider another $3 million loan for Diamond when it meets next month.
Diamond manufactures ignition coils at its plant at Eleanor, which currently has about 120 employees.
"Yes, we got some new business with the Ford Motor Co. that we're pretty proud of," David Bagnall, Diamond's director of community affairs, said after the authority's vote. "Basically the loans are going to allow us to make the tooling investments necessary to accommodate that new business with Ford Motor Co.
"This business starts in September 2010," he said. "It's for their 2.0-liter, 4-cylinder engine and their 3.5-liter, 6-cylinder engine. If you've watched any commercials about the Ford EcoBoost engine, it's part of that whole application.
"These ignition coils are going to be used in a lot of the small passenger vehicles made by Ford in North America," Bagnall said. "They will also be used in Ford vehicles made in Europe."
Bagnall said the new contract with Ford "starts out with a small volume of business but it is going to grow pretty substantially. By 2012 we'll be making about 2 million parts a year for them.
"We really don't know the job numbers exactly, or when," Bagnall said. "As this business grows, it could mean up to 55 new jobs. Right now it's looking like it could be that. All of this will be at our West Virginia plant.
"Having that Ford business is good for us, good for the people in West Virginia and good for our operation in West Virginia," he said.
Diamond began making ignition coils for Chrysler and Toyota in 1997 and for Ford in 2005. Diamond marked its 10th anniversary in West Virginia in 2006. The company's plant in the Eleanor Industrial Park has expanded three times.
Diamond Electric is headquartered in Osaka, Japan. The company is active in community affairs and a supporter of education. Diamond distributes dictionaries to all third-graders in Putnam County each year.
(Charleston Daily Mail)
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