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- Brooks Wenzel, 5, his mother Sara and friends and relatives will go to New York City on Sept. 9 for the annual Times Square video presentation by the National Down Syndrome Society, then the Brooks Brigade team will walk in the Buddy Walk at Central Park. Brooks, who is entering kindergarten at Shenandoah Elementary School in Noble County, poses in front of Seneca Lake in Senecaville, Ohio. (Photo Provided)
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- Mary Rachel (Wood) Carr
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- Marshall University President Brad Smith, from left, Senate President Craig Blair, and House Speaker Roger Hanshaw watch as Gov. Jim Justice holds up a signed copy of the bill provifing $45 million for Marshall’s new Institute for Cyber Security program and new building. (Photo Provided)
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- Parkersburg City Council President Sharon Kuhl, left, thanks Bible Baptist Church Pastor Dan Stevens after he and Police Chief Matthew Board presented her and fellow National Night Out organizer Debbie Jeffrey with roses as thanks for their work coordinating the Aug. 1 event during Tuesday’s council meeting. National Night Out encourages interaction between police and the community, particularly children. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
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- Parkersburg City Engineer Adam Stout distributes maps of the floodplain near the Economy Inn on Seventh Street prior to Tuesday’s Parkersburg City Council meeting. Council, acting as the Urban Renewal Authority, voted 5-2 to purchase the site for $681,000 late Tuesday evening. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
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- Sponsored by the Sistersville Ferry Board, the History and Science of the Ohio River Cruise will be held 6-9 p.m. Sunday on the ferry. The program will be about the history and value of the river in the Ohio River Valley. (File Photo)
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Waterford’s Kendyl Johnson, left, and Hadley Offenberger, center, celebrate after a point during Tuesday’s high school volleyball match against Fort Frye.
(Photo by Kerry Patrick)
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- Individuals from Blennerhassett Elementary, Lubeck Elementary and Parkersburg South High School were recognized as Wood County Schools Heroes for their work cleaning up water and saving property which prevented further damage and destruction after heavy rains and storms created water issues in some schools Aug. 7. (Douglass Huxley)
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- From left, Kelley Ray, Whitny Gesell, Jennifer Martin, Lisa Hartley, Kathy Conrad, Stacy Hunt and Teresa Abbott were recognized as Wood County Schools Heroes for their help to assess the damage and begin working after spinklers were triggered at the Parkersburg High School auditorium on Aug. 6. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)
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- A large group of individuals were recognized as Wood County Schools Heroes for their help to assess the damage and begin working after spinklers were triggered at the Parkersburg High School auditorium on Aug. 6 and then storms in the area caused more damage at schools on Aug. 7. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)
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- Stephanie Cunningham, certification and teaching licensure administrator, front, and John Merritt, assistant superintendent of human resources, speak to the Wood County Board of Education about staffing updates for the 2023-2024 school year during their regular meeting Tuesday night. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)
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- Justin Bosley, director of finance, spoke to the Wood County Board of Education Tuesday night about the challenges his department is facing and the need for new positions. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)
Individuals from Blennerhassett Elementary, Lubeck Elementary and Parkersburg South High School were recognized as Wood County Schools Heroes for their work cleaning up water and saving property which prevented further damage and destruction after heavy rains and storms created water issues in some schools Aug. 7. (Douglass Huxley)
PARKERSBURG — The Wood County Board of Education is adding to its finance department as they voted to change the title of one position, create another and reinstate a third.
Director of Finance Justin Bosley spoke to the board about the needs the department is facing. He said his staff is facing an overwhelming workload with over 50 projects the department has started since April.
“I care deeply about my staff,” Bosley said. “And them coming to me missing out on family events, or not being able to have time with their children at night, is near and dear to my heart. It’s really important to me that we focus on that, especially heading into the bond, and such.”
Superintendent Christie Willis said during the her update that the district has published its first of two Class II legal advertisements and would continue to keep the public updated as the bond process advances.
Bosley said the ARP ESSER Funds and the upcoming bonds are important aspects of the finance department.
From left, Kelley Ray, Whitny Gesell, Jennifer Martin, Lisa Hartley, Kathy Conrad, Stacy Hunt and Teresa Abbott were recognized as Wood County Schools Heroes for their help to assess the damage and begin working after spinklers were triggered at the Parkersburg High School auditorium on Aug. 6. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)
“I really want to focus on the amount of workload that goes into it,” Bosley said.
During the consent agenda the board approved the creation of a professional accountant, to change the position of Secretary III/Auditor/Buyer to Secretary III/Accountant III and to reinstate the position of the Assistant Director of Finance to help assist the finance department. The board also approved a number of other personnel and financial matter during the consent agenda. A full list can be found in the online version of this story at newsandsentinel.com.
The board also heard presentations about ADA Facilities Compliance Report by Chris Mancuso from Pickering Associates, and a staffing and policy update from John Merritt, assistant superintendent of human resources, and Stephanie Cunningham, certification and teaching licensure administrator.
Cunningham said there are 57 professional positions open, there are 57 new hires and 108 transfers. Merritt said there are about 200 service personnel who are new or have transferred with about 40 open positions. That included nine cooks, 11 custodians, 13 aides, four bus drivers and two secretary positions.
“I feel very confident that the cooks, and the custodians, and the secretary jobs will be filled,” Merritt said. “It’s just a matter of testing.”
A large group of individuals were recognized as Wood County Schools Heroes for their help to assess the damage and begin working after spinklers were triggered at the Parkersburg High School auditorium on Aug. 6 and then storms in the area caused more damage at schools on Aug. 7. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)
Merritt ended by saying no one would walk into an empty class at the beginning of the school year.
The board recognized many individuals as Wood County Schools Heroes for their efforts to clean up water the first week of August after a recent accident at Parkersburg High School saw the sprinklers damage the auditorium and then storms in the area caused more damage at schools in the county. A full list of those recognized can be found in the online version of this story.
The board named Sonya Ashby for the appointment to the Parkersburg and Wood County Public Library Board with a 3-2 vote. Justin Raber and Debbie Hendershot voted no to the appointment.
According to Ashby’s resume she was a teacher at the Stem Academy for the 2022-2023 school year, is the graphic arts instructor at PHS this year, and spent seven years as the librarian at Lubeck Elementary.
The next regular meeting of the Wood County Board of Education will be Sept. 12 at 6 p.m. at the corner of Plum and 13th streets in Parkersburg. The meeting is open to the public and will be streamed online.
Stephanie Cunningham, certification and teaching licensure administrator, front, and John Merritt, assistant superintendent of human resources, speak to the Wood County Board of Education about staffing updates for the 2023-2024 school year during their regular meeting Tuesday night. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)
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On Aug. 6 Parkersburg High School auditorium had sprinklers triggered. On Sunday evening many employees who work at PHS arrived to assess the damage and begin working.
Officer Jeremy Bell, Parkersburg Police Department
Chris Way, Athletic Director
Kelley Ray, Assistant Principal
Justin Bosley, director of finance, spoke to the Wood County Board of Education Tuesday night about the challenges his department is facing and the need for new positions. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)
Whitny Gesell, Assistant Principal
Jennifer Martin, Head Custodian
Lisa Hartley, Custodian
Kathy Conrad, Custodian
Ethan Martin, Custodian
Stacy Hunt, Custodian
Teresa Abbott, Custodian
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On Aug. 7 Steve Reiner, teacher at PHS, and his son, Jake, were working to save the equipment in the robotics room.
Steve Reiner, Teacher
Jake Reiner
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Worked to keep water out of the Jack Stephens gymnasium, the ROTC classrooms, and the Field House on Aug. 7.
Linda Daugherty, Custodian
Daniel Fuenty, Custodian
Robert Jenkins, Custodian
Ed Perine, Custodian
Larry Shepard, Custodian
Ben Badgely, Custodian
Jennifer Martin, Head Custodian
Stacy Hunt, Custodian
Brian Drake, Drake Construction
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Cleaned up the water Annex at PHS
Bradlee Allen
Cyrus Backus
Eli Bauman
Jake Bauman
Tyler Cameron
DJ Chambless
Rudy Colombo
Austin Craven
Craig Deem
Thomas Finnicum
Bryan Gregory
Braxton Kupfner
Caleb Norman
Cole Sisk
Carter Smith
Matthew Stalnaker
Casey Stanley
Carter Watts
Jason Williams
Matt Kimes, Head Football Coach
Zach Nolan, Coach
Dan Lott, Coach
Richard Farley, Coach
D. J. Carozza, Coach
Tom Harvey, Coach
Brandon Gregory, Coach
Tim Bauman
AJ Nolan
Shawn Craven
Amanda Whitt
Jason Kupfner
Adam Goudy – Guard Restoration
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On Aug. 7 heavy rains and storms created water issues in some of the county’s schools. The WCS Heroes worked clean up water and save WCS property which prevented further damage and destruction.
Blennerhassett Elementary
Tara Swiger, Assistant Principal
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Lubeck Elementary
Sheila McPherson, Secretary
Dave Moore, Custodian
Bill Schmidt, Custodian
Bo Cox, Substitute Custodian
Jonathan Farley, Director of Technology
Jillian Farley
Bronson Farley
Reagan Farley
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Parkersburg South High School
Ron McConnell, Custodian
Damon Sampson, Custodian
Kelly Anthony, Custodian
Steve Wells, Custodian
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Items approved during the consent agenda:
* Cooperative Strategies Contract not to exceed $50,000
* CMTA Pay App 32 in the amount of $132,534.13
* Change Order #1 from Phoenix Associates, Inc., to extend the completion date of WCS Refrigeration Warehouse repairs to Dec. 29, 2023, due to material lead times
* AFL-CIO Appalachian Head Start Contract for collaborative Pre-K Services – sharing of costs for classrooms for 2023-2024 school year
* Reinstatement of the position of the Assistant Director of Finance
* To create a new position, Professional Accountant
* To change the position of Secretary III/Auditor/Buyer to Secretary III/Accountant III
* Edison Middle School HVAC Renovations for change order to extend substantial completion date to Oct. 6, 2023. (no charge)
* Murray Sheet Metal, Inc., be awarded the Martin Elementary School HVAC contract in the amount of $2,170,378.00 (includes Base Bids & Alternate 1)
* Inspire Learning Environment Planning, LLC., for Educational Specifications (Ed Specs) for three new elementary schools for programming education specifications at a cost of $39,800
