WELLSBURG - Brooke County Clerk Sylvia Benzo on Tuesday announced key dates for the upcoming special election for West Virginia governor and received the Brooke County Commission's OK to seek a grant for the preservation of county records.
Benzo said early voting for the gubernatorial election will be conducted from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays from Sept. 21 to Oct. 1.
For those unable to vote then or during the Oct. 4 special election, absentee ballots may be requested up to Sept. 28. Tuesday was the last day for new voters to register.
Anyone with questions about voting should call Benzo's office at (304) 737-3661.
Front runners in the gubernatorial race are Republican Bill Maloney of Morgantown and Democrat Earl Ray Tomblin of Charleston.
Also vying for the governor's seat are Bob Henry Baber, a Mountain Party candidate from Glenville; Harry Bertram, an American Third Position party candidate from Maidsville; and Marla Ingles, an independent from New Haven.
As president of the state Senate, Tomblin was appointed governor following the resignation of Joe Manchin, who has served as U.S. Senator since the death of Robert C. Byrd.
He and Maloney each emerged the winners among several candidates from their respective parties in the May 14 primary election.
The winner of the general election will serve the remainder of Manchin's unexpired term, which ends Jan. 3, 2013.
In other business, the commission authorized Benzo to apply for a $14,784 records management and preservation grant from the West Virginia Division of Culture and History.
Benzo said the 10 percent match required for the grant will come from her budget.
She said deed records at the county courthouse and their binders are deteriorating from wear and the pages are very brittle, making it difficult to photocopy them without further harming them.
If approved, the grant would be used to encapsulate the deeds in plastic sheets. Benzo said the process is not the same as laminating, which can destroy print on the deeds.
She said while a digital record also may be created from the deeds, they are among paper public records county officials are required to preserve.
The commission also:
Agreed to send a thank-you to James Horner, a Brooke High School student who distributed information about the Brooke County Animal Shelter and created a photo collage of shelter animals at the Brooke County Fair.
Donna DeJaro, the shelter's director, said Horner also distributed information about the need to spay and neuter pets at the fair to meet the community service requirement for the high school's honors program.
In related business, DeJaro said the shelter will continue to offer discounts on adoption fees for dogs and cats through Saturday in an effort to address the overpopulation of animals at the shelter. For information, call the shelter at (304) 394-0800. Wayne Buxton of Animal Advocates- Brooke County, said the group has been working to find homes for the animals through appearances at Pittsburgh-area PetSmart and PetCo stores and dog rescue groups.
Approved the hiring of Ronald Rodinsky and Anthony Rotellini as part-time temporary workers for citystyle addressing efforts by the Brooke County Sheriff's Department and Elizabeth Preston as a part-time employee of the Brooke County Ambulance Service.
(Scott can be contacted at wscott@heraldstaronline.com.)
