Michael (Mike) T. Ferro was elected to a two year term as president of the Marshall County Commission at the meeting held on Tuesday.

He has been a commissioner for the past four years, and previously had served 10 years as a state House of Delegates member.

Ferro replaces John D. Gruzinskas who has served as president for the past two years.

As it turns out all three county commissioners will have served as president, as Scott G. Varner served in that position four years ago.

Tuesday also marked the first day for Connie Howard as County Clerk, she was elected to that office in November.

Howard has been employed in a county position for the past 30 years, 12 in the Assessor’s office and 18 in the County Clerk’s office.

She presented to the commissioners a request to employ two individuals as part-time employees, and one full-time position.

The commissioners approved the employment of the two part-time positions. Those hired were, Toni Chieffalo, a long-time county clerk’s employee in Ohio County, and Janice Gordon, who was employed in the Marshall County Assessor’s office a number of years ago, with her duties dealing in fiduciary matters. Gordon began her new position this past week, while Chieffalo will begin work in February.

The request of a full-time employee for the county commission was tabled by the commission.

The commissioners also approved the meeting dates for 2023, paid holidays for county employees, and the rules for conducting its meetings.

As to the meetings dates, they will be held on first and third Tuesday of each month, with two exceptions. On February 7 when there will not be a meeting due to a WVACo Legislative session in Charleston, and on the July 4th holiday.

All of the meetings will begin at 9 a.m.

The dates of meetings will be as follows:

Jan. 17, Feb. 21, March 7 and 21, April 4 and 18, May 2 and 16, June 6 and 20, July 18, Aug. 1 and 15, Sept. 5 and 19, Oct. 3 and 17, Nov. 7 and 21; Dec. 5 and 19.

As to the holiday schedules, there will be 11 paid holidays for county employees.

They are:

Martin Luther King, Jr’s Birthday (third Monday of January); Presidents Day (the third Monday in February); Memorial Day (the last Monday of May); West Virginia Day (the twentieth day of June); Independence Day (the fourth day of July); Labor Day (the first Monday in October);Columbus Day (second Monday in October) Veterans Day (the eleventh day of November); Thanksgiving Day (the fourth Thursday of November); Day After Thanksgiving (the fourth Friday of November); Christmas Day (the twenty-fifth day of December).

When any of these dates fall on a Sunday, the succeeding Monday shall be regarded, treated, and observed as the legal holiday. When the date falls on a Saturday then the preceding Friday shall be regarded, treated and observed as the legal holiday.

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The Marshall County Health Department will be housed at the former Tele-Tech building on Tele-Tech Drive in south Moundsville during the time when the new health department building is being built, it was reviled this past week.

The current health department building, which opened its doors in 1955, will be razed as will be the former Moundsville Journal building which was built in 1910. Although the two buildings are located side-by-side, the health department building has a Sixth Street address while the Journal building has a Court Avenue address.

The date when the two buildings will be razed has yet to be announced.

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The Charles Hughes Memorial Fund, through the Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley (CFOV), recently awarded grants to the Moundsville-Marshall County Library and the Glen Dale Baseball and Softball Association for $750.

The Memorial Fund was established in 2021 by Dr. Chad Hughes of Durham, North Carolina in memory of his late father.

Based in Wheeling, the CFOV was founded in 1972 and is one of the largest local organization providing resources to Upper Ohio Valley nonprofits.

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The Marshall County FRN’s first General Membership meeting of 2023 will be held online at 11 a.m. on Tuesday.

The meeting is described as a great way to share information and to learn about activities and programs going on in the community.

Each member who wants to participate will have an opportunity to briefly discuss their organization and updates during the meeting.

To those planning to participate they should phone either 304-845-3300 or email to marshallcountyfrn@comcast.net

Other quarterly meetings will be held on April 11, July 11 and October 10.

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Randall Reid-Smith, Curator for the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, visited Moundsville Middle School the day before the school’s Christmas holiday to present a check to the Trojan Music Department.

The school being one of nine schools being supported through VH1 Save the Music Foundation for the 2023-24 school year.

This grant provided nearly $40,000 worth of instruments, equipment and supplies for the music programs at the school.

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As officials connected with the Strand Theatre in Moundsville began making plans for 2023, they took time to express how very proud they were with this past year’s success.

They pointed out that each year, particularly after the effects of COVID-19, they continue to grow their network of friends and entertainers who have graced their stage and filled seats.

In 2022 alone, nearly 4,000 individuals from 69 different cities attended an event at the theatre. Adding, “not bad for a theatre that seats 400!”

In 2022, the Strand took to heart the slogan “make new friends and keep the old.”

This past year local talents were called on to delight audiences, with performances by the Ren Retzer Trio and Eli Lambie as well as undiscovered talents that took the stage for Moundsville’s Got Talent in March. The programs showcased the immense amount of talent that lives in the Ohio Valley.

In 2022 they went even farther and included out-of-town acts throughout of their calendar, including Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr., in December and Twitty & Lynn Country in May.

2022 saw the return of many beloved events: Moundsville’s Got Talent, a Halloween showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and the summer holiday cabarets.

In addition to talented individuals, the Strand was very fortunate that 125 individuals and entities gave monetary donations to the Strand, with many more donating their time and talent. Of course, they are hoping that contributors will assist during the current year.