The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Today's Front Page

July 7, 2010

Firm to assess energy efficiency of county buildings before commission replaces 240 courthouse windows

RALEIGH COUNTY

By Mannix Porterfield Register-Herald Reporter

BECKLEY — An Ohio firm is paying the Raleigh County Commission a visit next week to see if it can find ways of making the eight county-owned structures more energy efficient.

If that can be done, it could translate into some more borrowing power for the commission, with special regard to installing new courthouse windows.

“We’re going to look at all the buildings the county has and do an energy assessment on those buildings,” commission president John Humphrey said after Tuesday’s meetings.

A recent law enacted by the Legislature opens the door for counties to borrow money, based on how efficient its sources of energy function, he explained.

Humphrey said the county possibly could borrow funds to help finance the installation of 240 new windows at the courthouse, based on what commissioners learn from its meeting with Johnson Controls of Cincinnati.

On its website, the firm bills itself as a global diversified technology and industrial leader, serving customers in 150 countries, with 130,000 employees. The company says its work dates back to its 1885 startup with the invention of the thermostat.

The county has received $256,000 in federal stimulus money toward the purchase of new windows, but one obstacle remains to be cleared — finding common ground with authorities who want the historical flavor of the structure preserved.

Humphrey said the county already has learned it can replace windows for about the half the cost of repairing them so that heat doesn’t escape and air conditioning units aren’t compromised.

“I’m not saying the county is going to borrow any money, but this does allow us to do that,” he said of the energy efficient status that qualifies a county to take out such loans.

In other matters, the commissioners:

-- Approved a $25,000 grant to replace the skylights at the Beckley-Raleigh County YMCA.

-- Signed off on an $82,800 grant for the Pine Haven shelter.

-- Accepted a REAP grant of $760.95, with the understanding that the balance of its original application for $3,000 would be made up in materials.

-- Approved a $170,804 drawdown for Raleigh County Memorial Airport.

-- Approved drawdowns of $36,178 and $7,138.70, respectively, for the Summers County OEM and the Beckley Fire Department.

-- Reappointed Margot Bower to the Planning and Zoning Commission, along with a new appointee, Jim Wood, and named Judy Hackney to the Board of Zoning Appeals.

— E-mail: mannix@register-herald.com

Text Only
Today's Front Page
  • sign Sparks are flying

    Mike Williams, an employee with SKYWAY Signs and Graphics out of Bastian, Va., is showered with sparks as he uses a cutting torch to help dismantle the old Raleigh Mall sign Tuesday afternoon in Beckley.

    February 8, 2012 1 Photo

  • Bill would strengthen copper theft laws

    Copper thieves, led largely by an insatiable hunger for narcotic drugs, are vandalizing telephone lines, even swiping manhole covers, in what one senator terms “an epidemic” spreading across West Virginia.
    A fresh bill put on the Senate floor Tuesday by nine senators seeks to throw up a roadblock when stolen copper is fenced at scrap metal dealers and hopefully open a trail back to the bandits.
    Put simply, it means no junk dealer may buy any metal that is “reasonably” recognized as stolen.
    “It bans the purchase of copper that’s been burned,” explained a co-sponsor, Sen. Richard Browning, D-Wyoming.

    February 8, 2012

  • ‘Paint the town blue’

    Mountain State University hopes members of the business community, public officials and citizens will show their support for the school by painting the town blue as the university prepares for an upcoming accreditation visit, said Andrew Wessels, public relations officer.
    Students, faculty and staff will be handing out “I support MSU” buttons and yard signs to individuals and businesses this week.

    February 8, 2012

  • Miner drug testing policy opposed

    A union leader joined the lead investigator in an independent inquiry into the Upper Big Branch mine disaster Tuesday in exhorting lawmakers to focus on “real” safety issues, and ignore a call to impose a state-led drug testing policy for new miners.
    After showing a joint assembly of House and Senate judiciary panelists a 13-minute, animated recap of the April 5, 2010, explosion that killed 29 miners in Raleigh County, the two speakers disparaged drug testing — a major part of Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s safety package.

    February 8, 2012

  • Shake-up continues for Spa City

    The shake-up at City Hall continued Tuesday evening, as newly-reinstated Mayor Thomas Taylor announced that the man who took his place for four months has decided to resign.
    Taylor told the standing-room-only crowd in council chambers that Lloyd Haynes had decided to resign instead of returning to the council seat he left when appointed to take over as mayor.

    February 8, 2012

  • Senators target 'epidemic' of copper thefts

    Copper thieves, led largely by an insatiable hunger for narcotic drugs, are vandalizing telephone lines, even swiping manhole covers, in what one senator terms “an epidemic” spreading across West Virginia.
    A fresh bill put on the Senate floor Tuesday by nine senators seeks to throw up a roadblock when stolen copper is fenced at scrap metal dealers and hopefully open a trail back to the bandits.

    February 7, 2012

  • National conference on Marcellus, Utica shale scheduled for April at The Greenbrier

    The Greenbrier Resort will be hosting a national conference and expo April 1-3 relating to the Appalachian Basin's billion dollar Marcellus and Utica shale industry.

    February 7, 2012

  • frost Cool surroundings

    Heavy frost covers the ground during a sunny Monday morning at New River Park in Beckley.

    February 7, 2012 1 Photo

  • Corrections official looks at pay raises, overcrowding

    Higher starting pay to attract new officers and a host of increases to keep them on the payroll are chief among priorities of a union representing West Virginia’s correctional officers as this session nears the midway point.
    Prison crowding is another topic of keen interest, and Elaine Harris, international representative of the Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO, says her union strongly endorses efforts to ease the congestion behind bars.

    February 7, 2012

  • Senate agrees to cell texting ban

    Using a cell phone to send or read text messages while driving becomes a primary offense law in West Virginia in a Senate bill passed unanimously Monday with no debate.
    In fact, the only controversy that flared was a brief discussion over right to work.
    Judiciary Chairman Corey Palumbo, D-Kanawha, explained the Senate bill on hand-held phones makes conversation a secondary offense, meaning a police officer must spot some other violation before issuing a ticket.

    February 7, 2012