Mark Cochran, Teri Tyler, and Bill Hughes of the Wetzel County Solid Waste Authority appeared before the Wetzel County Commission Tuesday to explain recycling issues within the county, most notably the lack of funding available to Solid Waste to take on recycling again.

Hughes explained that driving a truck around sporadic homes that participate in recycling is a waste of money to the Solid Waste Authority, not to mention taxpayers. The approximate cost for the Solid Waste Authority to collect glass is $125 a ton; whereas the cost to take it to the landfill is approximately $30 a ton, he noted.

Cochran explained recycling as being important to people. “Everyone likes to do it,” he noted. Cochran stated that people were sad to see curbside services end, but they could always use the two resources in New Martinsville instead-Goodwill and Northern Mountain State Metals.

Hughes explained that Goodwill is “able to take on so much more than ever” when it comes to recycling. The main issue currently is getting the word out.

In another matter, Director of Office of Emergency Management Ed Sapp explained a new CodeRED system that the county is implementing to notify people of emergency situations. Sapp stated that more information on CodeRED would be forthcoming in a future press release, as well as through a permanent website link, where residents can sign up for the notifications for free.

CodeRED is based out of Florida and has been in business since 1998. Sapp explained that CodeRED bought out other notification systems, Delta Alert and City Watch.

Authorized users of the system may launch notification messages through telephone or the internet, from anywhere at any time. Users can also select a specific area or a specific group of people for the message to reach.

Furthermore, this new county system was described as being similar to the system the Wetzel County Board of Education uses to notify parents or guardians of school cancellations. Sapp stated that the notification is released seconds after the warning is issued. Sapp stated that the system will not notify residents of weather watches; the system has 21,250 minutes to use per year, for both emergencies and non-emergencies.

In another matter, the Wetzel County Commission approved to give VISTA Tom Myslinsky $1,600 for unforeseen expenses in his Grow Local, Go Local program. This $1,600 will cover liability insurance for $250, a $1,000 salary for a part-time market manager, and a hand-washing station. Myslinsky stated that the local food growing initiative has “grown a bit faster than what was anticipated.”

Also, the commission made revisions in their budgets due to a $3,500 grant received for electrical upgrades at Wetzel County’s 4-H camp, as well as a $846 donation from Dominion to law enforcement.