Tucker Commission Considering Project Lifesaver Proposal
By ALEC RADER, Staff WriterTucker County commissioners are considering a request to provide funding for Project Lifesaver, an innovative and rapidly growing program that aides those suffering from Alzheimer's Disease and other disorders such as Down's Syndrome and Autism, and their families.
On Sept. 24, Project Lifesaver representative Kim Day asked the commission for $4,000 which would enable the county to purchase the necessary equipment. An additional $6,000 grant, created by West Virginia businessman and former senate candidate John Raese, and his wife, Elizabeth, is also available. The combined amounts - at $10,000 -will be enough to get the project started in Tucker County.
West Virginia currently has 16 counties participating in the program. Both Cabell and Kanawha counties already have the service in place, and Ohio, Putnam, Randolph and Tucker counties are expected to join by the end of this year.
Police officers in Tucker County have received training on the use of equipment.
Commissioners agreed to consider Day's request and may make a decision on the funding request at its next meeting.
Commissioners also heard from Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge Manager Jonathan Schafler at the meeting.
Schafler told commissioners, "All trails lead to Davis, Thomas," is the slogan for a trail connection project he is steering.
"Trail connectivity between existing public lands continues to rise to the top" as an issue importance among Canaan Valley residents and neighbors, Schafler said in a prepared statement. "Within the valley and its surrounding landscapes, six different public and semi-public agencies manage lands, promote various types of use, and interact with the public. What they do not do is interact with each other very well. Trails don't connect and each agency - including ours - does their own thing without consulting the other.
"To that end, a Public Lands Working Group was formed last August to begin discussions about possible trail connectivity between agencies, organizations and existing trails in the greater Canaan Valley landscape," Schafler said. "It wasn't long before the group realized that great potential exists to build a series of connections that would create a new system of trails. For a lack of a better name the 'Heart of the Highlands' trail concept has begun to take form."
Schafler said he is hoping that various state, private and national entities will work together to connect all of the trails. If the trail connection doesn't happen, he said at least the lines of communication will have been opened.
A variety of stakeholders are expected to gather at the CVNWR to discuss the trail system potential at 10 a.m. Oct. 7. Representatives from the U.S. Forest Service, State Park Service, Canaan Valley Institute, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, U.S Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service are also scheduled to attend.
The next Tucker County Commission meeting will be at 9 a.m. Oct. 8 in the Tucker County Courthouse courtroom.
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