North Preston Area Watch Npaw

NORTH PRESTON AREA WATCH NPAW

Bruceton Mills, WV 26525 Meeting Description NPAW Monthly Community Meeting Results Desired Discuss issues affecting our Crime Watch Areas Date _July 23, 2009______Time 7:00 PM Location North Preston Senior Center Scheduled Time Actual Time Start Start Stop 7:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. 8:20 p.m.

Officers Present: Guests of Note: President Ken Chidester Preston County Sheriff Dallas Wolfe Vice President Bob Walsh Chief Deputy Jeff Roberson, Guest Speaker Treasurer Jeanie Walsh Assistant Prosecutor Bill Means Parliamentarian Denny Hannold County Commissioner Vicki Cole Secretary Susan Fearer

MEETING NOTES The North Preston Area Watch meeting was held July 23, 2009 at the North Preston Senior Center. The meeting was opened by President Chidester who led all present in the Lords Prayer followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. He again thanked the VFW for the wonderful dinner provided at our last meeting.

Old Business: The meeting minutes from our June meeting were read and accepted with no changes or additions.

Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer Jeanie Walsh reported that our account had a balance of $232.81 after an expenditure of $18.00 for checks.

New Business: Sheriff Dallas Wolfe spoke for a few minutes prior to the guest speaker for the evening. He said this is tax time in the county And his office is really busy. He and Chief Deputy Jeff Roberson plan to visit several towns in the county to help in collecting Taxes from those people who find it difficult to travel to Kingwood.

The satellite office that was offered for use in the Bruceton area is being surveyed for suitability. Final decision will be delayed Until 2 new deputies are on board as the office will need staffed.

He announced that 2 current new deputies, Palmer and Rodeheaver, recently graduated from the State Police Academy #1 and #4 In the class and are now ready to begin.

He discussed the recent All Good Festival held in the county and thanked the State Police and DNR officers for their assistance. This was in addition to approximately 100 officers that had been hired by the festival promoters. He said the Sheriff’s Office held Town Hall meetings in the areas in the immediate vicinity of All Good to both ask for residents cooperation and to also tell them Some of the things to be aware of with a crowd of this size and temperament. A follow-up meeting is planned with the promoter

1 Tim Walther to see what when right and what went wrong in order to make next year’s festival better for all concerned. Sheriff Wolfe also said that gas drive offs and shoplifting offenses are more numerous both before and during the festival. The crowd Was estimated at 17,000 plus event staff and law enforcement. A question was asked about how much an event of this size costs The county and if the festival promoters gave any money to offset the additional costs. He said no money was received to help Out. He and the Prosecuting Attorneys officer are looking at ways rules can be implemented to address crowds of this size. The Sheriff also said another tractor was stolen from the Kubota dealer in Bruceton. The theft occurred on July 22, 2009, and the People involved first stole a trailer from the Hot Spot in Brandonville and then used that trailer to steal the tractor. This is the fourth Tractor to be stolen from this dealer. He asked for our help in notifying his office of any strange trucks in our area at any time. He went on to say that Lt. Joe Stiles and the 2 new investigators can’t keep up with all the investigating and paperwork in the County and that the sheriff is looking into having a staff member be the liaison with the crime watch groups in the county to notify Us of any illegal activity in our areas. The possibility of a computer link is also being discussed.

President Chidester then introduced our guest speaker for the evening, Chief Deputy Jeff Roberson. Deputy Roberson spoke On the issue of concealed handguns and the procedure for obtaining one of these permits. This job used to be handled by the Circuit Court, but it now falls to the Sheriff’s Office to process the applications. He said each application is reviewed by his staff And a background check is performed for each applicant before a permit is issued. A person applying for a permit cannot be a Convicted felon, can’t have had 3 DUIs in the last 5 years, can’t have been convicted of any domestic violence act even if it was Only a misdemeanor, nor can they be judged mentally incompetent. The permit is good for 5 years, and can be renewed. With the New E-911 addresses now being used in the county, he said his office will provide a duplicate permit with your correct address For a $5.00 fee. You first have to have your state driver’s license reflect your new address before your concealed weapon permit Can be updated. He also said the number of applications for a concealed weapon permit have gone from about 10 per month to 30-50 per month now. He concluded by discussing reciprocity laws for our surrounding states that essentially recognize our permit.

Vice President Bob Walsh suggested someone from the county DNR office as a possible speaker. The DNR works out of the Sheriff’s office and our current DNR officer is Gary Johnson. The speaker for the August meeting is yet to be determined.

The meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m.

Reminders:  The VFW holds their monthly fish fry on the fist Friday of each month. It is from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. All are welcome.  The VFW holds Bingo on the 2nd and 4th Friday of each month which begins at 6:30 p.m.  The next meeting will be held August 27, 2009, at the North Preston Senior Center beginning at 7:00 p.m.