Tyler County Commission met Tuesday Feb. 12 at 9 a.m. and approved Assessor Jackson Hayes to order the installation of a Wi-Fi network, which will allow people visiting the courthouses to access information with their personal browsing devices. He was also approved to order a new scanner for the purpose of uploading records.

The commission reviewed and approved West Virginia Counties Risk Pool’s appraisal of the courthouse as well as other offices and materials. They determined to look into adding other potential properties to the insurance policy.

Charles “Pork” Smith read a letter appointing Shelly West to the Board of Directors for the Northern Panhandle Work Force Investment Board. The commission unanimously approved her appointment.

Representatives from Tyler County libraries attended the meeting to ask the commission for increases to current funds. They spoke of the importance of the libraries to the community, stating that more funding will help them provide increased services, especially to the youth. They stated, however, that if the commission does not increase funding, they would like a continuation of their current funds. They will send official written requests soon.

A citizen living miles off state Route 18 voiced concern over the potential difficulty emergency responders may have in finding his address, describing the numbers as “jumbled.”

“The farther from Route 18 you live, your number will go up,” explained Sheriff Earl Kendle. “It will tell police how far out you live.”

The commission stated that the U.S. Postal Service had been put in charge of assigning numbers for GPS tracking more than a year ago, but there have been holdups. Determining that it was a concern to the county and sheriff’s office, the commission will be inquiring about the delay.

Sheriff Kendle informed the commission that car door openers have arrived, clarifying that the deputies will carry and use them only for emergency situations and not for instances when people lock their keys in the car.

Tom Cooper, director of the Office of Emergency Management (OEM), reported success with the recent Fundamentals of Search and Rescue class. “It was a very good class,” he said. “Probably one of the best ones we’ve ever had.”

The FUNSAR training had the group in snow until midnight one night, an experience Cooper described as realistic, given the conditions in which they sometimes have to operate.

Budget revisions were made with reimbursements to law enforcement, the OEM, and the prosecuting attorney’s office. Exonerations for the assessor’s office and the county clerk’s fiduciary report were both approved. The last meeting’s minutes were approved and the bills were paid.