KINGWOOD — The Preston County Commission needs community members to fill open spots on two separate boards.
The Public Service District 4 Board spot must be filled by a customer in its service area, which is around Bruceton Mills, County Administrator Kathy Mace told the commission at Tuesday’s meeting. The vacancy is the result of a board member passing away.
“They run a water system,” Mace told The Dominion Post. “A board member would set policy, participate in any activities that they have. Right now, public service district number four has several things going on. They’re pretty large. They’re in that northern part of our county.”
The county commission does not have an active role in the operations of the PSD but is responsible for appointing board members, Mace said.
Those interested can call the PSD 4 office at 304-379-3130 for more information.
There is also a vacancy on the Community Corrections Board. Mace said that position is at-large and can be filled by anybody the commission appoints.
Preston County Prosecutor James Shay said the board is required by law and must have at least 11 and no more than 15 members. Members include the sheriff, prosecutor, public defenders, representatives for mental health, a representative for crime victims, and more. The commission has three at-large voting members on the board.
The Community Corrections Board needs to fill a director position which manages the day-to-day operations of community corrections, which provides a higher level of supervision to offenders than just probation, Shay said.
“They provide drug therapy, you know, the drug rehabilitation therapies, they provide, basically, any type of mental counseling that a defendant may need. And then the board oversees those policies and makes sure everything runs well,” Shay said. “And then we provide advice to — it’s up to the county commission to manage the fiscal side of the program — but we’re supposed to provide advice to the county as to how to expend funds to see that those goals are met.”
The concept of boards are “integral” to the retention of programs and expansion of communities, Mace said.
“These programs are community-oriented and run by community people, and they bring a lot to the table,” she said. “So it’s a way of serving, actually serving your community in very important roles.”
Shay said the biggest motivator for someone who wants to serve on the Community Corrections Board should be improvement of the community and the people community corrections helps.
“And I think that’s the biggest, should be the biggest, motivating factor for somebody who wants to be on that board,” he said, “is somebody that wants to see offenders improve themselves and do better and make the community overall a better place.”
The Preston County Commission also voted unanimously to appoint Betsy Castle to the Public Defenders Board. Mace said Castle is filling her former seat, which opened up when she was appointed as chairperson.
Castle is a former circuit clerk who is familiar with the court system and will be a “great addition” to the board, Mace said.
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