The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Breaking News

Local News

January 3, 2013

Greenbrier Commission elects Lobban president

By Tina Alvey Register-Herald Reporter

LEWISBURG —

Elected president of the Greenbrier County Commission during a special meeting Wednesday morning, Karen Lobban offered a message of reconciliation to a county that has often found itself divided in recent years.

“I’m proud of Greenbrier County; I’m proud of its citizens,” Lobban said, as she invited one and all to call her with their concerns, promising, “I’m always available.”

She added, “There’s not anything that can’t be worked out.”

Lobban also extended an olive branch to her fellow county officials, saying, “I want all of us elected officials in the courthouse to get along.”

Signaling her willingness to take the first step toward mending fences in the courthouse, Lobban pledged complete transparency in the budget-making process that will get under way later this month. She said she wants to ensure that all of the county’s elected officials “have complete knowledge” of the details of their departments’ financial situations.

Lobban acknowledged that there may be bumpy roads ahead, particularly as the county is now facing pressure from the state to raise property assessments. Another bone of contention, Lobban said, would probably come in the form of an updated comprehensive plan, mandated by the state to be implemented no later than 2014.

“It’s nothing we can control,” Lobban said of those two issues.

Incoming Commissioner Woody Hanna — who was elected to a fresh six-year term in November following a 12-year absence from the commission — also invited constituents to call him with concerns and suggestions for improvements in the county.

“I look forward to working with the citizens of Greenbrier County,” Hanna said.

n n n

The three commissioners divided up assignments for themselves among 21 committees, including those like the 911 Advisory Committee and the Arts and Recreation Committee on which all commissioners serve.

Lobban’s assignments include the Greenbrier County Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Board of Health and the Day Report Center’s governing board.

Hanna, who plans to soon retire from his longtime position as a high school agriculture teacher, will serve — appropriately enough — on the Farmland Protection Board and the 4-H Extension Board, among other assignments.

Commissioner Michael McClung’s assignments for the year include the Greenbrier County Airport Authority, Homeland Security Committee and Greenbrier Valley Economic Development Corporation.

n n n

Newly-elected Sheriff Jan Cahill sought and received permission from the Commission to hire Bruce Sloan as his new chief deputy.

“I think this will be an appointment that’s really welcomed,” Cahill noted, citing Sloan’s impressive list of qualifications.

A graduate of the FBI Academy, Sloan served alongside Cahill in the West Virginia State Police, rising to the position of deputy superintendent. After his retirement from the State Police, Sloan immediately accepted the job of security director at The Greenbrier resort, a post he will leave to join the Greenbrier County Sheriff’s Department, Cahill revealed Wednesday.

Sloan, who lives in Lewisburg, will begin his new job Jan. 14.

Also on Wednesday:

n Commissioners voted unanimously to continue the current courthouse business hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and to continue holding regular meetings at 7 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month.

n At Hanna’s prompting, the Commission resumed the parliamentary practice of requiring that a motion be seconded before being voted upon. Former commission President Betty Crookshanks had dispensed with seconds several years ago, maintaining that a three-member group is exempt from that requirement.

— E-mail: talvey@register-herald.com

Text Only
Local News
  • Ohio man's condition stable after rafting accident

    The condition of an Ohio man is in stable condition after being pulled from New River following a rafting accident.

    June 18, 2013

  • Coda1 Music camp to include 7 free public concerts

    Upcoming summer evenings in Fayetteville will be sweetened by the strains of professional and student musical offerings in a series of free public concerts from Coda Mountain Academy.

    June 18, 2013 3 Photos

  • Lanark shooting investigated

    June 17, 2013

  • Sisters’ memoir highlights McDowell

    Two sisters who grew up in the mountains of McDowell County have recently co-authored and published a series of stories about their past — “Luke’s Daughters: A Memoir of Northfork, West Virginia.”

    June 17, 2013

  • Lanark shooting victim identified as N.C. man

     The victim of a Sunday shooting in the Lanark area has been identified as a North Carolina resident.

    June 17, 2013

  • Calendar — Monday, June 17, 2013

    TODAY

    June 17, 2013

  • Week of events to mark sesquicentennial in Greenbrier

    A full week of events is planned in Greenbrier County in celebration of West Virginia’s 150th birthday, culminating with a free outdoor concert and fireworks show at the state fairgrounds in Fairlea.
    Sesquicentennial week kicks off today, with memoir readings presented by several Greenbrier County elders. This free event will begin at 2 p.m. today at Greenbrier Valley Theatre (GVT) in downtown Lewisburg.
    GVT will follow that up with a free Reader’s Theatre performance of “Faded Memories” by Ben Crookshanks Monday evening at 7:30.

    June 15, 2013

  • ER nurses receive special training to aid sexual assault, abuse victims

    Nurses from six local counties received specialized training this week to help individuals who have been the victim of sexual assault or abuse.
    Of the counties in southern West Virginia, including Raleigh, Fayette, Nicholas and Summers serviced by the Women’s Resource Center, there is only one certified Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) working in an emergency room.

    June 15, 2013

  • Sheriff’s office probing apparent drowning at Blue Bend

    An investigation is in progress by the Greenbrier County Sheriff’s Department into the apparent drowning of a middle-age man in Blue Bend, a popular swimming spot in the region.
    Sheriff Jan Cahill identified the victim as Thomas Michael Richter, a 53-year-old resident of the White Sulphur Springs area, who was found in the water Friday morning.

    June 15, 2013

  • mayor 1 Beckley Sanitary Board

    Ground was broken Friday to mark construction of the Thomas H. Keyser Memorial Rain Garden in the traffic island at the intersection of Holliday, Painter and Tolley drives in Maxwell Hill.

    June 15, 2013 2 Photos