The Greenbrier County Commission thanked the 911 Center employees, heard environmental concerns about the Sportsplex and more in the Tuesday, November 26, meeting.
A proclamation recognizing 911 call center dispatchers as first responders and thanking them for the work they do to keep the community safe was passed by the commission.
When someone in Greenbrier County makes an emergency call, ranging from large fires and medical emergencies to animal control requests and more, the requests filter through the 911 Center to the one of many first responder organizations. This includes 15 different fire departments, state police, the Greenbrier County Sheriff’s Office, ambulance services, whatever the specific emergency calls for in response. The telecommunicators working in the Greenbrier County 911 Center help to keep the entire county safe through these efforts, often with a toll.
“My office is in the building next to the 911 Center and pretty frequently I look over there,” said Mike Honaker, director of the Greenbrier County 911 Center. “It touches my heart when I look over and see a dispatcher crying. Sometimes I follow up on that, [although] not wanting to pry into everyone’s personal life, but then I’ll find out about a call they just handled. Over the last year we’ve had infants die. We’ve had overdoses. We’ve had car crashes. We’ve had just about anything you can imagine. If it can happen in a community, it happened here and I’ve watched our staff just continue to carry those burdens. … This group, over the last year I’ve been in this position, I’ve just continued to be impressed every single day with the level of commitment and dedication, and how hard they work, and even the sacrifices they make.”
Honaker explained the center handled approximately 30,000 calls in the past few months, not an easy feat for anyone. The experience of the staff was also highlighted by Misty Hitchcock, dispatch supervisor in Greenbrier County.
“Here with me tonight are over 70 years of experience, that also includes hundreds of hours of training. They also retain several certifications that they have to maintain throughout their careers,” explained Hitchcock. “There’s also many, many hours of stress and sacrifice. Above of all, there’s the dedication and love for public safety.”
The commission welcomed many 911 Center employees and thanked them for the work they do. In addition, the Christmas tree located in the Greenbrier County Courthouse was decorated with first responder and 911 Center ornaments by students from Alderson Elementary.
“Whereas 911 public safety telecommunicators must handle the stress of answering over 100,000 calls each year, one call after the other, daily, often being the voice on the other end of the call as citizens experience the worst days of their lives, they hear the cries of devastation and listen to the screams for help, for the support as citizens cope with the loss of a loved one,” reads the resolution. “Public safety telecommunicators handle all of this at the same very time that they keep their fellow emergency responders in the field safe. To honor the men and women who serve in this crucial position, we recognize these individuals by proclaiming to consider them true first responders.”
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Environmental concerns about the Greenbrier County Sportplex were brought to the commission’s attention by area resident and Sportsplex neighbor Jodi Styles. Styles provided photos of a pond located on her property with silt buildup on the water.
“Our entire pond is entirely overtaken [by silt.],” said Styles. “It ran into our pond for some time. We’ve lived at this home for nine years, our pond is pristine. … Never had to do anything to it, wonderful ecosystem, we had fish. … The damage is still being done, they’re still not correcting the problem.”
Styles cited a West Virginia Department of Environment Protection citation against the Sportsplex and claimed that any corrective action taken was not enough to protect her property.
“I can see the mud coming into our pond and walk all the way up the hill … of it coming directly from that Sports complex directly to our pond,” Styles said. “I just don’t feel like, as a landowner, I feel like if this was your property, you would want it fixed properly and I don’t feel like that’s being extended to us. Our tax dollars are helping to pay for this and it’s ruining our property. I just don’t feel like anyone is extending any help to us to get our property damage taken care of.”
Rose thanked Styles for bringing the information and relevant pictures to the commission. According to open meeting laws, the commission could not take action on public comment items during this meeting.
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In other business:
• The commission welcomed new Greenbrier Valley Airport Director Brian Belcher to his position.
• The commission approved a letter of support for the Mountain State Trail Alliance, an organization seeking to connect recreational trails throughout Greenbrier County and several neighboring counties.
• Lewisburg Major Beverly White was appointed to serve as a representative on the Board of Health by the commission.
The Greenbrier County Commission regularly meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.
Read more in the Wednesday, November 27, 2019, edition of The West Virginia Daily News.
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