Tag: The Exponent Telegram

Disclosure Of Executive Session Info Up To W.Va. Localities

A West Virginia Ethics Commission committee determined that local governments have the discretion to decide if information discussed during executive sessions is publicly disclosed.

The committee adopted an advisory opinion Thursday saying the state Open Governmental Meetings Act doesn’t address whether executive sessions are confidential or if there are legal consequences for public officials discussing the information shared during them outside the closed meetings, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reported.

The three-member committee that focuses on open governmental meetings issued the opinion in response to a question from the Harrison County Commission. County Commissioner David Hinkle said in January that what the commissioners discussed during an executive session wasn’t the item listed on the agenda, according to The Exponent Telegram.

State law allows governing bodies to meet privately during publicly announced meetings to talk about certain employment and personnel matters or legal topics. They can also discuss leasing, building, selling or buying property.

The ethics committee determined the executive sessions can be held in private, but local governments can decide whether officials are allowed to record the meetings or share the information that’s discussed. It also says governing bodies can adopt rules clearly determining the information is confidential or otherwise disclosed.

“It doesn’t mean that we’re necessarily saying that information in an executive session has to be disclosed or should be disclosed,” committee chair Lynn Davis told the Gazette-Mail. “We’re not making any kind of judgment on that. It’s just that the Open Meetings Act does not prohibit it.”

Police: City Councilman Wounded In Apparent Carjacking

A West Virginia city councilman was shot and his wife and mother-in-law were briefly taken hostage in an apparent carjacking, authorities said.

Clarksburg Councilman Jim Malfregeot was on his porch and the women were in a car Sunday night when the suspect appeared, Clarksburg Police Chief Mark Kiddy told The Exponent Telegram.

Malfregeot was hospitalized and the women were released a short time later on U.S. 19 North between Clarksburg and Shinnston, Kiddy said.

“She told me that she was able to talk him into releasing them on 19,” Kiddy said of Malfregeot’s wife.

Kiddy said the suspect, Antonio DeJesus, 32, was arrested without incident at a gas station by Bridgeport Police and the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department. The suspect was on supervised release in a Northern District of West Virginia drug trafficking case and didn’t attend a supervised release revocation hearing this month, Kiddy said.

Malfregeot was in guarded condition after surgery, Kiddy said. He has served on the council for eight years, including a term as vice-mayor.

Hearing Set to Determine if Ballots Will Be Counted

A court hearing has been scheduled in West Virginia to determine if 57 ballots from the 2018 general election that were found two weeks ago will be counted.

The Exponent Telegram reports the hearing is scheduled Wednesday in Marion County Circuit Court after county officials filed a writ of mandamus through the West Virginia Secretary of State’s office. Marion County Administrator Kris Cinalli says the judge has the final decision on whether to count the votes, which would only affect two races, each for seats on the Fairmont City Council. Both races ended in ties, and the winners of each tiebreaker have already been sworn in.

“Obviously, we’re hoping that they let us count them as they should be, but I wouldn’t be shocked if we couldn’t since everything has been certified and people have been sworn in,” Cinalli said. “That’s terrible, but there has to be an end to it, too.”

Marion County Commissioner Randy Elliott said he hopes a judge allows the votes.

“We’re asking to have those votes counted, because we feel like that the 57 votes placed on that machine were accurate and precise and without any question, and they should be counted,” Elliott said.

Cinalli said the lost votes were originally thought to be caused by a voting machine malfunction, but further investigation found it was human error.

“We think one of the poll workers tripped over the cord, unplugged it, panicked and pulled the ballot out. It was just one of those glitchy things with electronics. It ended up recording the ballots as cast (but not counted). Luckily it did that, or we probably would never have found them.”

Cinalli said officials are working to prevent a similar occurrence in the future.

Lawsuit Over Insulation Plant Challenges State Incentive

A lawsuit in West Virginia is challenging a type of state incentive to attract industry.

The Exponent Telegram reports a nonprofit organization called Jefferson County Vision has filed multiple lawsuits to stop the construction of an insulation production plant in the Eastern Panhandle, including one that targets the state’s Payment In Lieu of Taxes program.

The Denmark-based company Rockwool broke ground over the summer on a $150 million stone wool manufacturing plant in Ranson.

Jefferson County Vision member Christopher Kinnan said Rockwool is the only business in the county that is enrolled in the program, which isn’t fair to other businesses.

The company filed a motion late Friday asking for a dismissal. The motion says the complaint “is a collection of political grievances rather than legal claims.”

Business and manufacturing officials say the incentive is necessary for economic development.

Officials Working to Make West Virginia Schools Safer

School officials in north-central West Virginia are working to make school buildings safer before classes begin this fall.

Officials said the moves are meant to keep out intruders and come on the heels of school shootings around the nation.

Harrison County Safety Director Ken Winkie told The Exponent-Telegram that improvements there include installing shatter-resistant glass on the first-floor windows of many buildings and upgrading security cameras. He said entrances to schools also are being converted to make them safer and crews are working on a silent alarm system for emergencies.

Marion County Superintendent Gary Price said officials there invested $1 million over the summer to upgrade security cameras.

Barbour County Superintendent Jeff Woofter said officials there continue to work with a software company that helps schools with security.

West Virginia First Responders Get Free Hepatitis A Vaccine

Uninsured and underinsured first responders in West Virginia will be able to access free hepatitis A vaccines.

The Exponent Telegram reports that the new West Virginia Department of Health and Human Services’ Center for Threat Preparedness will provide the free vaccines amid the state’s recent outbreak.

Kavin Richardson of the Harrison-Clarksburg Health Department says first responders often come into contract with people at a higher risk for contracting the disease, like drug users.

The virus is primarily spread through consumption of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person.

Not all counties have determined the date the vaccines will be available, but qualified individuals in Harrison County can receive the vaccine starting Thursday.

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