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The Grant County Commission recently approved $150,000 in funding towards a community recreation and sports center that has been proposed in Petersburg. 

The funding approval came during the March 12 meeting of the Grant County Commission when the commissioners met with project leaders Jeremy Riggleman and Tyler Kuhn. Riggleman and Kuhn are the community members who initially proposed the project to county and city leadership earlier this year. 

Dozens of fire companies and hundreds of local volunteers banded together last week to fight multiple wildfires that rapidly spread across a reported 4,000 acres of land in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia and across Virginia.  

Prior to the fires being reported, the region was hit by a severe wind storm, with some Grant County residents reporting winds that exceeded 96 mph, scattering trees across roadways and overturning large vehicles. 

The Grant County Board of Education was asked to weigh in on a concern surrounding graduation speakers and their roles at the upcoming Petersburg High School class of 2024 graduation.
The conversation arose when community member Jason Sites attended the March 12 meeting of the board to discuss student speakers for the upcoming graduation.
“This class is remarkable,” Sites said. “They have tried to make a change at this school, not just for their class but for the entire student body. They were happy when this board started recognizing valedictorian and salutation again last year.” Sites, whose daughter is a PHS student, explained that the speakers at the school’s graduations for the past several years have been the student class president and the president of the National Honor Society. However, the 2024 class officers have expressed their desire to see the tradition return to allowing the valedictorian and salutation of the graduating class speak during the ceremony.

A Moorefield man charged with being directly involved in the death of a Grant County man who overdosed in 2022 has pleaded guilty to his involvement.
Luis Angel Flores, 34, of 212 3rd St., Moorefield, entered two Alford pleas of guilty, one for possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver and the second for drug delivery resulting in death. An Alford plea is a type guilty plea in which the person charged with a crime maintains their innocence but also admits that the prosecution’s evidence would likely result in a guilty verdict if the case would be brought to a trial.

Outdoor and sports activities dominated the recent Petersburg City Council meeting, with the council discussing the proposed skate park and signed a letter of support for a proposed sports center.

First, discussions surrounding the addition of a small skate park into the Petersburg City Park, continued last week when project leader Joanna Kuhn appeared before the council during their regularly scheduled March 4 meeting to talk about the status of the project. Kuhn, who works with the with Eastern Regional Family Resource Network, first brought the project to both city and county leadership as a way to expand youth activity in the area. 

Eastern Action

Local families now have a new resource in the community following the official ribbon cutting on the Grant County Family Support Center. 

Community members, business owners, elected officials and local leaders gathered together last week to celebrate the official opening of the Grant County Family Support Center, located in the heart of Petersburg. 

The Center is part of Eastern Action (previously Eastern West Virginia Community Action Agency) and already has similar centers in Hampshire, Hardy and Pendleton counties. 

Allegheny Wood Products (AWP), a domestic and international wood products company started and headquartered in Grant County, is facing back-to-back lawsuits from both a former employee and a large bank who claims the company owes them over $40 million in unpaid loans. AWP announced at the end of February they would be ceasing operations and closing all of their facilities, including the plant in Petersburg. The number of workers estimated to have been impacted has varied, with an approximate 850 people potentially affected. However, that number does include contractors who are not direct employees of the company. 

The first lawsuit filed against the company is a class action suit filed by James Beane, a former employee of AWP and on behalf of all others “similarly situated.” This suit is filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.

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