photo by: Joselyn King

Ohio County Growth and Retention Director Stephanie Hockenberry addresses Ohio County Development Authority members.

WHEELING — For those affected by last summer’s flooding in Ohio County who haven’t yet sought assistance with recovery, there is still time to do so.

Stephanie Hockenberry, growth and retention director for Ohio County, provided a yearly report to both Ohio County Commissioners and the Ohio County Development Authority recently. Data about flood cases reported in Ohio County was among the items she discussed.

Hockenberry has been working with the Ohio County Long-Term Recovery Committee — formed after the devastating flooding of the Triadelphia and Valley Grove areas on June 14.

“We’ve put out some updates just to let people know how many people we’ve been helping in the last six months,” she said.

There are still 46 cases open or in process, Hockenberry reported. There have been 86 completed, 52 others not yet started and another seven where officials have not been able to contact the property owner.

The Long-Term Recovery Committee thus far has distributed $554,052 to flood victims, she reported.

Those needing help still can contact the United Way of the Upper Ohio Valley to speak with a case manager.

“We still have plenty of resources available,” Hockenberry said. “We have been working to provide furniture, cabinets, clothes, resources and funding. For the people who don’t know that, they can reach out to the United Way.”

She noted that as the Ohio County Growth and Retention Director, her focus is on marketing the county, workforce development and housing.

On the marketing side, the county has just completed filming on a new recruitment video, which is expected to roll out in the first quarter of 2026.

Hockenberry added that there also has been work on the county’s website, social media platforms and on “getting the infrastructure online so that accounts are connected and can be more efficient in sharing information.”

“The county is also working on updating its marketing strategies so that there is a consistent message when we start to recruit in 2026,” Hockenberry said.

For the first time, Santa visited The Highlands on “Small Business Saturday” and Hockenberry reported over 125 people showed up for the visit, which took place in an otherwise vacant storefront in the Town Center section of the development.

“We did free photos with Santa,” she said. “Some of the businesses said they saw new customers they hadn’t met before. There were people who hadn’t come into the stores before, and that was really the objective – to draw people back to the Town Center. Sometimes those businesses get forgotten on ‘Small Business Saturday’ and we wanted to make sure they weren’t.

“Santa said they were all on the good list, and he wants to come back next year.”

As for housing and small business development, the county has developed a partnership with Belomar to facilitate opportunities, she continued.

“They have been instrumental in helping us to create a housing task force that is comprised of different groups that help with repairs, remodels and new development funding,” Hockenberry said. “We are looking at different ways to view housing and the inventory we have.”

Hockenberry added she has been working with local businesses to do community tours for their potential employees who could be moving here, and at least four households were interested in coming after just the first tour. Additional tours are being scheduled during the first quarter of 2026, she added.