(File Photo/Randy Rutherford) People cleanup debris from a microburst storm that occurred in Sistersville and beyond on Sept. 21.

Following is a look back at the top stories of 2024 in Tyler County:

Sistersville Microburst

Sistersville and other parts of Tyler County were hit with a microburst storm on Sept. 21 that caused property damage, downed trees and power outages. Riverside Drive experienced much damage with two homes losing sections of its roof and another damaged from flying debris. Mon Power worked quickly to restore power. The Sistersville Fire Department and mayor secured generators for residents in need and city workers helped cleanup debris.

BOE Holds Public Meeting for New Elementary School

The first of many future public meetings regarding the new elementary school in Tyler County was held on Tuesday, January 9th in the library of Tyler Consolidated High School. On hand for the presentation were Patrick Rymer from McKinley Architecture and Rob Pillar from Inspire Environment Planning. Mr. Pillar led the discussions with many local teachers, service personnel and administrators on hand to hear the initial planning of classrooms and the proposed facility layout. Board members wanted to hear from their employees what they envision as the best options for student safety and health, as well as the optimal environment for successful teaching. This initial meeting was to outline space designs for different teaching specialties. The overall objective of the planning meetings is to create a school design that reflects the core principles of the Tyler County Schools’ Mission Statement. The goal for groundbreaking and beginning construction of the new school is the summer of 2025, and it will take approximately two years for completion. Over the next several months additional public meetings will be held to continue to get input from school personnel and the citizens of Tyler County.

Memorial Health Systems Holds Public Meeting

Memorial Health Systems invited community members and patients to a town hall meeting held at the Sistersville Fire Department on January 18th from 5-6:30 p.m. A large crowd of citizens and hospital staff attended.

Dan Breece, DO, President of Sistersville General Hospital and Chief Medical Officer of Memorial Health Systems, Heidi McGowan, administrator for Sistersville General Hospital, and Bob Gesing, AIA, Principal for Trinity NAC, were on hand to discuss the brand-new, upcoming Sistersville General Hospital. The group was available to answer any questions the community had concerning the new state-of-the-art facility and to lay out their initial plans for the new space. The new 30,000 square foot hospital will be replacing the current hospital, which was announced last June. “I can’t walk anywhere in the hospital without someone asking me about it,” said Administrator Heidi McGowan. “We offer good healthcare now but will offer exceptional healthcare with the new facility.”

The new hospital will feature a state-of-the-art lab and diagnostic testing center, a 4,500 square foot emergency department, eight in-patient rooms, community rooms for classes and meetings, scope and minor procedures, and 24-7 emergency care to mention a few of the additions. “This project is important because it ensures that healthcare will continue to be available to Tyler County for decades to come,” says Dr. Breece.

Bill Rice Elected Mayor of Sistersville

Incumbent Mayor Bill Rice was reelected to lead the City of Sistersville as Mayor for a two-year term on Thursday, March 28, 2024 defeating challenger Jim Early by nine votes. The race was very close with Mayor Rice collecting 123 votes as opposed to Mr. Early receiving 114 votes.

Also running unopposed for council seats were Richard Long and Dana Johnson in the first ward. Long received 43 votes and Johnson received 41 votes. Second ward councilman Greg Gage received 79 votes. Fourth ward councilwoman Rose Hamilton was reelected to a two year term receiving 42 votes. All other council seats are for four-year terms.

Also approved was the Levy with “for the Levy” receiving 151 votes and “against the Levy” 63 votes.

TCMS Gym Gets Face Lift

The big news coming from Tyler Consolidated Middle School is the gym underwent a significant renovation this summer and the project completed just last week. The gym floor was updated by The Ohio Floor Company and Barn Artist is responsible for the wall mural. This renovation marks the first remodel of the gym since the school originally opened. The final result is impressive, and it’s recommended to attend events at the school this fall to see the newly remodeled gym for yourself.

Silver Knights Marching Band Grand Champions

Tyler Consolidated High School Silver Knights Marching Band traveled to Ripley High School on Oct. 5 to compete in the Viking Fest at Memorial Stadium. While having to deal with sweltering temperatures on the field, the Knights were crowned 2024 Ripley Viking Fest Grand Champions. It was the second time in three years that the Knights Marching Band had won the competition.

Sistersville Ferry Captain Retires

The city of Sistersville said goodbye to its longtime ferry boat captain, Bo Hause, with a “happy retirement” cruise on the Ohio River in October. Hause had been captain of the Sistersville Ferry for 12 years. “If the Sistersville Ferry had a heart, it would be Bo Hause. He didn’t just operate the Ferry; he treated it like his child. He was its chief mechanic, and would even lower himself into its dark, grimy bilge to check for leaks. In the off-season he would babysit – always checking to make sure it was tied securely, and the ferry’s diesel engines were running properly. The ferry runs the river six months a year, but Capt. Bo ran the ferry every single day,” Sistersville Ferry Board President Gary Bowden said.

Tyler’s First Female State Wrestling Champion

In March, Tyler Consolidated celebrated having its first ever Female Wrestling State Champion, Eliana Winfrey. Her brother Sean Winfrey also was a state finalist, falling short of a state title and placed as state runner-up. It was the first time in West Virginia high school state history that a brother and sister were in the state finals.

Tyler Archers Surpass 3,000-Point Goal

On Jan. 27 the Archers of Tyler Consolidated High School competed at hosting Cameron High School in their tournament consisting of 28 schools with more than 300 registered archers. The Knight Archers not only reached their 3,000-point goal but surpassed it. The total team score was 3,056 points, making the 2023-24 Archery Team the Highest Scoring Team in School History.

Silver Knights Amos Kimble Wins State Cross Country Championship

Saturday was a big day for the Silver Knights’ Amos Kimble who finished 7th last season but through hard work and dedication lifted his performance to another level this season. It paid off with a fantastic performance against the state top runners as he blitzed the field with a time of 16:09.63 to Donovan Tanouye, a senior from Paw Paw who ran a 16:28.29. Kimble took the early lead and never looked back as he increased his lead on the final hill and down the stretch coming into the stadium to claim the championship. “I’m so happy to see all of my hard work pay off in this year’s state championship. I trusted in my training and went for the win. I have the best support team from my family, to my coaches and my teammates. Without them, this would not have been possible,” said Amos Kimble.

Bill Stewart Memorial Golf Outing

Golfers from as far as Texas and Florida participated in the 12th annual Bill Stewart Memorial Golf Tournament. The proceeds from the tournament support local scholarships in Wetzel and Tyler counties as well as youth activities. Just like in years past, the event was held at Sistersville Country Club but on an earlier date than usual, July 27th. The golfers enjoyed a fun filled day of food, raffle prizes, skill prizes, along with three flight winners receiving cash payouts.

All proceeds from the golf tournament go directly to supporting established scholarships, library summer reading programs, youth sports in Wetzel and Tyler County and the Bill Stewart Memorial Scholarship at Fairmont University that is awarded to a walk-on football player in their senior year.

Because of the earlier date of the tournament, Coach Stewart’s son, Blaine, who is in his second year on Neal Brown’s WVU staff as the tight ends coach, was able to participate in the playing field of golfers. When asked about his feelings on taking part in the memorial tournament honoring his dad, Blaine had this to say, “I was so glad I was able to attend. It was wonderful being around so many people with such fond memories of my dad and family. I’m thankful so many close to my dad are keeping his legacy and memory going year after year.”

The winner of the Eagle flight and best overall was the team of Van Slider, Corey Slider & Don Thomas. Mountaineer Flight winners were Jeremy Shepherd, Mark Moore, Vance Ash and Jordan Ash. Falcon Flight winners were Greg Richmond, Jim Brown, Larry Smith & Tim Hill.

The success of the tournament relies on area sponsors that graciously continue to support the legacy of Coach Stewart each year. Hole Sponsors of the tournament were Ace Home Center, New Martinsville; Anderson Orthodontics; Baristas Café & Pub; Bayer Heritage Federal Credit Union; Dobkin Brothers; Fraternal Order of Eagles – AERIE, Paden City; Loyal Order of Moose 931, New Martinsville; Marble King; Men of Holy Name Society, St. Vincent de Paul; Pasco’s Pizza; Quality Aluminum Products; Sistersville Eye Clinic; Wayside Furniture; Josh & Melissa Balcerek; Dave & Theresa Duke; Ed & Kathy (Buffington) Franklin; Jim & Holly Grobe; Stuart “Skip” Hunter; Graeme Miller; Bob & Pam Newman; Jim & Fawn (Potts) Price; Karen Stewart & Blaine Stewart and Ted & Debbie Stewart.

Dennis and Mariann Balcerek of New Martinsville have been the organizers of the fundraising tournament honoring Stewart since its inception 12 years ago. They rely not only on the support of area sponsors, but also the volunteer help of the PEO Chapter U organization in New Martinsville of which Mariann is a long-standing member. Chapter U members donate their time, cooking skills and hosting talents to make the tournament fun for everyone.

Demolition Begins in Sistersville

With a total of 16 houses scheduled, the long-awaited demolition of dilapidated buildings in Sistersville began on September 3, 2024. The house at 333 North Wells Street along Route 2 near the railroad tracks that had collapsed earlier in the summer was the first to be torn down by Brothers & Friends Demolition of Wheeling, WV. The process to begin demolition has been long and stressful for Mayor Bill Rice and the City Council, but their patience paid off as Mayor Rice and several council members were present to see the progress firsthand. “I am very excited, to say the least, to see our efforts get started in cleaning up some of these structures,” stated the Mayor. One of the stumbling blocks encountered by the city was determining ownership of the abandoned structures. Many are owned by out-of-state LLC’s that did not respond when contacted. The city’s attorney had to get involved, but thanks to a grant from the State of WV the demolition costs will be covered. The funding will reimburse communities for expenses related to the demolition. The money for this program comes from the American Rescue Plan Act.

Rock Slides Continue on Rt 2

The on-going and frightening problem concerning rockslides along State Route 2 between Sistersville and Paden City struck again on Sunday, February 25 when one of the largest slides in recent years crossed both lanes of route 2 and forced the closure of the road for two days. Fortunately, no one was injured, but local officials and residents are worried. Many are asking how long luck can hold out avoiding a catastrophic incident.

Sistersville IGA Closes

After 34 years of operation in Sistersville, owner of the IGA, Pat Morris. has made the very difficult decision to close the store. The IGA was built in the late sixties and has served the citizens of Sistersville for all these years. The closing will leave the 15 employees without jobs and disappointed in the decision. Mr. Morris stated that the competition from the larger chain stores has proven to be too much for the smaller stores to compete. “I want to thank everyone that supported us over the years,” said Mr. Morris. The citizens of Sistersville are hopeful another grocery store will replace the IGA in the coming months.

TCHS Archery Team Competes at State Tournament

TCHS Archery Team was represented by Jonathan Throckmorton and Briar Utt at the 19th Annual WVDNR Archery in the Schools State Tournament in Charleston. Both archers put up solid numbers with Jon shooting a 281 placing him 18th out of 88 High School Boys and Briar shot a 280 placing him 21st out of 88 High School Boys. Jon had 12-10’s, 17-9’s and 1-8…so he left the yellow, which is the two center rings, 1 time. Briar shot 13-10’s, 14-9’s and 3-8’s meaning he only left the center rings 3 times. They both were aggravated by these hiccups but that’s some pretty tight shooting in front of a couple hundred people. We are all very proud of them and proud of the efforts of our entire team this season.

Tyler County Courthouse Renovation

The renovation of the Tyler County Courthouse began on March 4, 2024. The process leading up to the start was long and tedious requiring all departments to vacate the courthouse during the construction. All offices will be open at the temporary location on Park street in Middlebourne. The County Commissioners approved the purchase of mobile offices to house the employees and they were placed in the lot beside the senior center. Business will be usual just in the new location. The courthouse is now closed.