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:
Misplaced street sign delayed ambulance, lawsuit says
The developer of a Hurricane subdivision has sued the Putnam County Commission, the latest turn in a fight over a misplaced street sign that allegedly caused an ambulance driver to get lost while responding to a seriously injured 3-year-old boy.
Dorsel Hodges, owner of Exclusive Home Designs and developer of the Woodridge subdivision, filed the third-party lawsuit against the Putnam County Commission in October. The County Commission oversees the county's emergency services, which Hodges says did not provide correct directions to the home of the boy, Ryan Reger.
Hodges was sued in June 2008 by Chris Reger, the boy's father.
Two weeks ago, Putnam County commissioners filed a motion to dismiss them from the lawsuit on the grounds that Hodges waited until four months before the trial date to name the County Commission as a third-party plaintiff.
The lawsuit stems from a March 2007 accident, where a dresser fell on 3-year-old Ryan Reger in his home in the Woodridge subdivision.
The boy was not able to breathe under the weight of the dresser. When his mother found him, he was unconscious and not breathing, according to Chris Reger's lawsuit.
The ambulance driver took a wrong turn because of an improperly placed street sign in the subdivision, according to Reger's lawsuit. It took the ambulance driver three tries and an additional seven minutes to find the house, the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit alleges that the delay increased the severity of injury to Ryan Reger, who it says is now mentally and physically handicapped.
According to the lawsuit, the street sign at the intersection of Southbridge Way and Crestmont Road was placed on the wrong side of the road, contradictory to development plans approved by the Putnam County Planning Commission.
Following an inspection in 2005, the Planning Commission asked that the sign be moved, and Exclusive Home Designs certified that it had been moved, the lawsuit states.
The day after the March 2007 incident, the Planning Commission again inspected the street corner and found that the sign was still on the wrong side of the road, according to the lawsuit.
Jimmy Calhoun, owner of Calhoun Engineering and Surveying, was included in the original lawsuit with Hodges. He was dropped from the lawsuit in October.
Robert Warner, lawyer for the Reger family, said the sign had been moved to the correct location in 2005, but sometime between then and 2007, it was knocked down and put back on the wrong side of the road.
Warner said the county EMS was not included in the lawsuit because 911 tapes from the night of the accident revealed that the ambulance driver and dispatcher were not at fault, and the misplaced sign caused the driver to turn left instead of right onto Southbridge Way.
The case is scheduled to go to trial in January and will be heard by Putnam Circuit Court Judge Phillip Stowers.
The Reger family is asking for punitive damages and compensation for all past and future medical expenses for Ryan Reger, in addition to pain and suffering and attorney fees.
(The Charleston Gazette)
Commissioners updating personnel manual
Last week, commissioners approved the first revision of Putnam County's personnel manual since 2001, adding drug and clean-air policies adopted since that time but excluding a provision banning certain employee candidacies.
The revised manual adopted Oct. 27 will be distributed to every county employee. It drew no opposition when sent to all departments for comments, attorney Jennifer Scragg said.
At an earlier meeting, Scragg proposed a change to ban employees running for office against their department head, a change rejected by commissioners.
Commissioners heard a report from Bill Howard of Benefit Assistance Corp., provider for 15 years of dental and vision coverage for county employees.
The county design was used as a model eight years ago for the West Virginia Association of Counties plan, Howard said. The latter is used in 33 of the state's 55 counties, he said.
The plan currently costs Putnam County $22 per month per employee and about $5,900 annually to Benefit Assistance, county manager Brian Donat said. Commissioners asked that Donat evaluate a preferred provider plan Howard briefly described that could save employees money on their portion of payment for services.
The director of the county development authority, Gary Walton, at the meeting to provide the authority's annual report, said the agency's Web site is drawing an average of 4,500 hits per month, including many from Japan, Russia and India.
Prompted by a suggestion by rural Buffalo resident Harvey Tribble, Walton said the authority may investigate the possibility of wind turbine development on rural ridges. That may include participation in an upcoming trade show on wind power, he said.
"I know that state is going to be participating. That might be one we go to it," Walton said.
Tribble has suggested the commission and the authority look at the potential in areas like his where there is farm land crossed by a transmission line.
In other business, commissioners:
* Endorsed a resolution honoring retiring Karen "Susie" Clendenin, bookkeeper/account specialist who has been a "rock for Putnam County," clerk Brian Wood said. "We've had great audits in the past, a lot due to Susie. I can't say enough good about her."
* Approved paying 2010 dues of $1,034 to the National Association of Commissioners, the group that sponsored the discount prescription drug plan that has saved participating county residents $237,967 since its introduction four years ago.
"That alone justifies the dues," Haynes says. The national association also provides the criminal background check for prospective employees and other services.
(Charleston Daily Mail)
Nitro, health department officials discuss jurisdiction
A proposed agreement to put the city of Nitro under the jurisdiction of the Putnam County Health Department is still on the table after an Oct. 27 meeting between city and county officials.
Members of the Putnam County Health Board agreed to continue to review the issue and asked Nitro's city council to provide more information about its demographic, septic system and financial records.
"My main concern, of course, is the funding," said Putnam Health Department Director Jackie Fleshman.
Nitro officials want the Putnam Health Department to cover the city in order to bypass the Kanawha County smoking ban, which affects Nitro's Tri-State Racetrack and Gaming Center.
The Kanawha-Putnam county line runs through Nitro, but the racetrack is in Kanawha County.
Nitro City Councilman Craig Matthews said the racetrack has lost about $300,000 a month in revenue because of the smoking ban.
The Nitro City Council has passed an ordinance that allows smoking in all "resort destination" businesses.
"We haven't put it in effect because it will immediately go into a legal fight," Matthews said. "I do not want to start a long and expensive fight."
Under state law, Nitro can form its own health department or merge with another county's.
The first solution would be for Nitro to create its own health department, Matthews said.
"The drawback, as I'm sure you folks understand, is it's expensive to run a health board," Matthews said.
The cost to run its own health department would negate any additional tax revenue from Tri-State once the ban is lifted, he said.
The second solution is for the city to become part of Putnam County, he said.
"This would help Nitro avoid a lengthy and expensive legal battle," he said.
"Putnam County already provides services to about one third of Nitro's population," Matthews said. The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department serves the remaining two-thirds, he said.
Putnam would be adding about 3,750 people in addition to about 40 businesses to its health department if it accepted the merger.
Fleshman said the county would need to hire at least two health inspectors to cover the new territory, in addition to personnel for medical and all other services the health department provides.
That's a cost Nitro is willing pay, Matthews said.
Board members said they would host a public forum before any decision is made.
"[The public] will want to see what's in it for Putnam County," board member and County Commissioner Joe Haynes said. "They're going to want to see what the incentive is."
(The Charleston Gazette)
Former county sheriff
fined for DUI
The former sheriff of Putnam County has been fined $100 for a November 2008 DUI arrest.
Stan Farley, 66, entered a plea agreement of no contest on Sept. 25, and was fined $100 in addition to $234 for court costs by Putnam County Magistrate Linda Hunt.
Farley served as Putnam County's sheriff from 1997 to 2004.
He was arrested Nov. 6, 2008, two days after he lost the election to Mark Smith in his bid to return to his former office.
He was arrested around 9:30 a.m. in 2008 by the Hurricane Police Department after he hit another car at the intersection of U.S. 60 and Main Street in Hurricane.
Police officers could smell alcohol on his breath, and administered a Breathalyzer. His blood alcohol level was 0.118, according to a criminal complaint filed in Putnam Magistrate Court in November 2008. A blood level of 0.08 is the legal limit.
No injuries were reported in the accident.
Farley was arrested at the scene and transported to the Putnam County Courthouse, where he posted a personal recognizance bond and was released that same day.
The arrest was Farley's first DUI offense.
(The Charleston Gazette)
Two charged in Hurricane pizza shop robbery
Two people have been charged in connection with an alleged robbery outside of Gino's Pizza & Spaghetti in Putnam County.
The incident occurred about 12:50 a.m. Oct. 28 at the Gino's located just off Route 19 in Hurricane.
Hurricane Police Chief Mike Mullins identified the two people involved. They are Justin Graham, 27, and Brandi Bird, 25, both of Hurricane. Bird was a Gino's employee at the time of the incident, he said.
Mullins said Graham, wearing a mask, allegedly attacked and pepper sprayed the restaurant's manager in the parking lot.
Before Graham took off in a silver-colored car, allegedly driven by Bird, the manager fought back, Mullins said. Mullins said she hit Graham with a pizza box and a suitcase.
Mullins said the manager was treated and her injuries were not serious.
The couple was later spotted speeding across the Sheetz parking lot, located nearby. A Putnam County Sheriff's Deputy responded to the call and stopped the car for hazardous driving, Mullins said.
That's when the deputy noticed a mask and pepper spray.
"Immediately, he knew the something wasn't right," Mullins said.
The couple was later questioned about the robbery.
Both Graham and Bird have been charged with armed robbery. They were being held at Western Regional Jail last week.
(Charleston Daily Mail)
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