Dog issues still plague the town of Hambleton, river bank maintenance has the mayor of Hendricks concerned and a parent has asked for funding for the re-formed Tucker County High School band. All of these items and others were brought to the attention of the Tucker County Commission during its regular meeting on Wednesday.

Hambleton Mayor Linda Bates came before the commission seeking information on what to do when a dog bites a resident. According to the mayor, a boy riding a bike through the town was bitten twice by a dog. Bates called the warden but received no response and then called the sheriff's office. Bates' main complaint was that once the sheriff's deputy took a statement from the boy, no further action was taken.

Animal Shelter Advisory Board member Sheila Marsh did make a visit to the dog owner's home. The dog, Blacky, is usually an inside dog, according to Marsh, but will be confined for 10 days as required by law. The commission decided that the deputy should have spoken with the owners to ensure the dog's confinement. Bates was also told to speak with Sheriff Tom Felton about future occurrences.

While the commission still waits for a date for Burgess & Niple to inspect the flood wall in the county, Hendricks Mayor June Carr asked commissioners to help fund a project to reinforce the river bank in his town. Carr said all of the permits were obtained and a letter from U.S. Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-1st District suggested Carr contact other agencies including the Army Corps of Engineers. Commission President Tom Carr said he would feel more comfortable if Burgess & Niple had a look at the river bank, which includes a section of the flood wall, before any commission action is taken.

Paula Stahl asked the commission if it could make a contribution to the Tucker County High School marching band. The band was recently restored and has begun marching during halftime of TCHS home football games. Stahl has one child in the band. She believes the director, Heather Lantz, is giving her all to bring the band back in the county and deserves all the help she can get. Commissioners agreed but were hesitant to provide any funding because of a "gray area" between their authority and that of the Tucker County Board of Education.

"We try not to step on their toes and they try not to step on ours," Tom Carr said.

The commission president told Stahl to contact the board and ask if any funding has been set aside for the band's expenses. Tom Carr said sports such as track, baseball and softball receive money for travel expenses from the BOE and he doesn't see why Lantz couldn't get travel funds in the same way. Commissioner Mike Rosenau agreed with the commission president that funding should be sought from the board first.

"I support them (the band) whole heartedly," he added.

In other business, the commission approved requests from E-911 Director Darla Stemple to promote Emergency Medical Dispatcher Joe Maloy from part-time to full-time and to approve Judy Long as training officer. The commission also gave Stemple full authority to approve the distribution of information gathered from the 911 Mapping and Addressing in the county to any interested companies or individuals without coming to the commission. In the same vein, commissioners approved rates for such information. A CD containing maps will cost customers $20 and a physical printout of the area $10.

Commissioners approved a special meeting to be held on Friday at 8 a.m. to open bids for road sign placement throughout the county. Also, the Nov. 11 meeting will be canceled due to the Veterans Day holiday.