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WHEELING - Brenda Miller has served more than 27 years as circuit court clerk in Ohio County, but now she finds family needs to be a higher priority.
Miller, 65, recently announced she would step down from her long-time elected office effective Aug. 28. Her six-year term extends through the end of 2028.
"I have a 92-year-old mother, and there is a need for me to be there for her," Miller explained. "I just had to re-evaluate my priorities at this point.
"I would have stayed and run again for another term, but changes in life mean you have to reevaluate your priorities. You only have one mother. I need to be there. When family comes together, you step up and you take care of those who raised you."
The next move will be to fill Miller's seat once she has left office, and that job goes to Chief 1st District Circuit Court Judge Joe Barki in Hancock County.
Those interested in applying for the job must be a registered Democrat in Ohio County.
Letters of interest should be sent to Barki at the Hancock County Courthouse, P.O. Box 428, New Cumberland, WV 26047. The phone number there is 304-564-3311, ext. 237.
Barki will sit down with other judges in the district to evaluate the applications, and the group will determine who will be the best to fill the position.
Miller took over as Ohio County clerk of courts on Jan. 1, 1999. Since that time, she has been involved with many changes in the court document system.
The most recent is the implementation of electronic court filing in West Virginia. Miller worked closely with the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals to set up the network, then helped attorneys across the state learn to maneuver through the system.
Miller also took on the task of preserving Ohio County's law order books - some of which dated back to the late 1800s.
"We had a ton of order books that were crumbling and disintegrating," she said. “They had to be restored before they could be scanned and digitized. Now they have been uploaded onto the public access terminal in the office."
Those records are still used by those doing genealogical research. In addition, oil and gas companies seeking to purchase rights look up information in this information, Miller explained.
Miller also was appointed to serve on the fatality review board, a position she had for about 15 years. The committee reviews fatalities in the state among prison inmates and people having something going on in the court system.
Along the way, Miller also received an award for distinguished service from Matt Harvey, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia.
"I might be retiring, but I'm not going anywhere," she said. "Sometimes priorities shift in life. We recognize this and that changes things.
"I haven't been without employment since delivering papers when I was in middle school. I have no idea how this adjustment will be, or if it will be permanent. My future is open for all different types of possibilities," Miller added.