By Mannix Porterfield
The Register-Herald
BECKLEY —
Critics wanted to trim the West Virginia Courtesy Patrol’s budget this year, and a renewed effort could be in the offing, prompting Sen. Mike Green to defend the service that comes to the aid of stranded motorists across the state.
Besides its highly visible work, Green says, the Courtesy Patrol does many things behind the scenes, including no small role in homeland security.
What’s more, it has provided jobs to some 1,600 former welfare recipients earning wages from $7.25 to $17.54 per hour, he said Thursday.
Last winter, an effort was afoot in the Legislature to trim the patrol’s budget and some critics even suggested scrapping the service outright.
“There are some people out there that aren’t advocates of it,” Green, D-Raleigh, said.
“I know in the past year, money allocated to the Courtesy Patrol in excess of its operating budget was put back into tourism. There was an attempt to take more than the excess to cut their budget. A couple of years ago, the hours were cut from 24-7 to 16 hours, and I think there’s a push to reduce that even more.”
Green vowed to defend the patrol if any other efforts surface to either further curtail or totally end its functions.
Since its inception, the patrol has come to the rescue of more than 275,000 motorists and has enabled West Virginia to earn more than $40 million in matching funds from the federal Department of Labor and in federal high performance bonuses for the Department of Health and Human Services.
In the homeland security arena, Green noted, the patrol is trained by the FBI to monitor bridges, overlooks and interchanges, report suspicious movements and react to alert levels.
During Amber Alert activations, the patrol assumes a primary role in recovering abducted children, serving as the “eyes and ears” for police along state highways.
“The Courtesy Patrol provides vital services not only to the citizens of West Virginia but to visitors of the Mountain State,” Green said.
“It truly is a service that West Virginia should be proud to call its own.”
Green knows the patrol’s value from a personal perspective.
Seven years ago, while driving a three-quarter-ton truck down Interstate 79, he exhausted his supply of diesel and called on the patrol to provide a helping hand.
“When you run out of diesel fuel, you don’t just put more fuel in the tank,” he said.
“You’ve got to prime the pump and get the air out of the fuel system. The Courtesy Patrol helped keep me out of traffic and provided tools and light.”
Green said the patrol has received three state and four national awards in transportation.
“This program benefits the traveling public and speaks to the core of West Virginia values of hospitality and putting people first,” he added.
— E-mail:
mannix@register-herald.com
