At the Oct. 15 Sistersville Council meeting Councilman Bill Rice questioned the Sistersville Public Library’s recent loss of state grant funding because paperwork was not turned in on time.

“I guess you know about it,” he said.

“You know how I found out about it?” said Mayor Ann Doig. “When I went to the store today and somebody dropped off a letter. They never notified us. They didn’t even call and tell me when the meeting was. They sent me a card in the mail.”

When Councilman Rice continued to ask questions, Mayor Doig stated that she would look into it the next day.

“We lost $2,539 off the library,” he said.

“I did everything I could when I could,” said Mayor Doig. “There were times they could not get information from us because the lawyers had it. We did not have access to it.”

“All you had to do, from what this paper says, is give them (information on) what you spent on the library in the past year,” he said. “There’s a letter sent September 9 to Mayor Dave Fox from (Attorney) Howard Klatt.”

“I already sent him a letter telling him the library had everything,” said Mayor Doig.

“The next year, they’re going to be out on their money,” he said, stating some people are concerned the library may close. “I think we need to have a meeting on it.”

“I get no cooperation from them,” said Mayor Doig. “Now I’m the mayor. But before, I was a councilwoman. I was their representative. I went to the meetings. Their lawyer shut me up and told me I couldn’t have anything to say at the meetings.”

When asked who took her place on the library board, Mayor Doig said she had appointed Councilman Bill Schleier to the position. Mayor Doig also stated she would add Councilman Rice to the library committee if he was interested. He agreed to join it.

In other library news, council approved the transfer of $2,000 to the Public Library Book Fund from a $25,000 certificate of deposit, the purpose of which was stated to earn interest for the purchase of books.