MORGANTOWN — Monongalia County Commissioner Tom Bloom said he’s normally not one to take a public stance on the various bills being debated in Charleston.
Wednesday was an exception.
He said the expansion of House Bill 5105 to allow parents to opt out of vaccination requirements for children attending public school based on religious beliefs “is so egregious … I must speak on it.”
Bloom spent 34 years as a high school guidance counselor. Part of his duties, he explained, was collecting vaccine requirements.
“This bill threatens all students in the public schools,” he said.
“Why are we going backwards? These kids play sports together. They do everything together. Why would we go backwards? We’re not talking about COVID. We’re talking about the 10 basic shots that were needed.”
Currently, West Virginia students entering school for the first time must show proof of immunization against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella and hepatitis B, unless properly medically exempted.
The West Virginia House of Delegates twice voted to expand the scope of the bill beyond public virtual schools — first to include private and parochial schools, and then public schools. The bill now heads before the Senate.
“With the outbreak of measles and other diseases that were eradicated, why would we put our students at risk?” Bloom asked. “It is now in front of the Senate, and I hope our senators will act accordingly and kill this bill.”
In other county news, Monongalia County Litter Control Officer Alex Hall said he’s been inundated with calls in recent weeks about missed trash pickups in the county.
The county commission and its employees are not involved in trash contracts for non-city residents. That falls to the West Virginia Public Service Commission.
Hall said he suggests reaching out to the trash hauler in question before making a formal complaint to the WVPSC. The PSC hotline is 800-344-5113,
West Virginia Code mandates all individuals have and use trash service or deliver their trash to the transfer station no less than every 30 days.
Lastly, the commission received proposals from two companies looking to provide janitorial support services in county facilities — Bucket Ladies and Patton Building Services.
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