MORGANTOWN – The Monongalia County Commission is expected to approve its part of a four-way agreement to pave Valley View Avenue when it meets next week.
Valley View connects to Willowdale Road across from Milan Puskar Stadium, at the site of WVU Medicine’s new Willowdale Garage.
According to information provided by Commission President Tom Bloom, the county commission, Zip Shear of Chateau Royale Apartments, WVU Medicine and the Morgantown Utility Board will each contribute a quarter of the $70,750 price tag, or $17,690 each.
Bloom said the West Virginia Division of Highways has already given the group the green light to tackle the project, which will be completed by Stone Paving.
MUB’s involvement is due to recent upgrades to the utility’s stormwater and sewer infrastructure in the area. “As a part of this work, we are working with other organizations to restore the road surface,” MUB Spokesman Chris Dale said.
The DOH has said it will not be able to address the road until next year.
The work is expected to be completed in August.
In other county news, 13 raccoons tested positive for rabies in Monongalia County between February and June, prompting the Monongalia County Canine Adoption Center to team up with Mike Gray of ABC Humane Animal Removal and the Monongalia County Health Department on an educational campaign.
In particular, Gray said, people need to understand that the illegal practice of live trapping and relocating suspect or problem raccoons plays a large role in spreading the rabies virus.
“Starting at the Tyrone area of Cheat Lake, the virus has made a steady progression southwest into Sabraton and just east of downtown [Morgantown],” Dana Johnson of the Monongalia County Canine Adoption Center said, noting there have been encounters near the Cheat Lake school, the rail-trail and Marilla Park.
John Welch, program manager for the health department’s environmental division, said that the state will treat Monongalia County with the air-dropped oral rabies vaccine this year for the first time in a decade.
Anyone with concerns about a suspicious animal should leave it alone and contact the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources at 304-825-6787; USDA Wildlife Service at 304-636-1785 or Monongalia County Health Department at 304-598-5100.
Lastly, it was announced that the West Virginia Ethics Commission will conduct a training session on the Ethics Act and Open Meetings Act at 11 a.m. Friday at the Holiday Inn at 1188 Pineview Drive.
All county and municipal officials and employees as well as members of county and municipal boards and authorities are invited to attend the session, which is expected to last a little over an hour. Registration is not required. Tweet @DominionPostWV.
