GRANTSVILLE, W.Va. — The Calhoun County Commission passed a resolution unanimously Monday morning to oppose the closure of the State Police detachment barracks in Granstville.
“It’s going to leave us basically uncovered,” County Commissioner Chip V. Westfall III said. “As we understand the plan, it’s to cover the county from the detachment in Glenville, which is 20 miles from Granstville.”
Westfall also said coverage from the Clay detachment, which is even further away, seemed like a recipe for disaster.
“Response times are going to be extreme,” he said. “We think it is truly a public safety issue.”
Calhoun County has been slightly more insulated from the loss of coal severance dollars, according to Westfall. But, he said, the county budget has been shrinking anyway.
“Mainly because what little bit of industry we’ve had has moved away,” Westfall said.
If the State Police barracks in Grantsville does close, the county’s law enforcement make-up would include only the Sheriff and two deputies.
“If you were to check the regional jail bill, our’s is as big or bigger than the counties around us and our population is less,” Westfall said.
Delegate Roger Hanshaw (R – Clay, 33) is attempting to set up a meeting with Governor Tomblin’s office to let the Calhoun County Commission state their case for keeping the barracks.
Westfall said a number of citizens, whom he described as “very concerned,” have come forward with a potential solution.
“There was two citizens at the [Commission] meeting,” he said. “One offered to donate an acre of land in the middle of the county if we could figure out to get an appropriate building put on it like some kind of double-wide, or something to that effect.”
“Another local citizen offered to rent a house that I’m sure would be adequate, which would be in Arnoldsburg–which is right in the middle of the country–for 300 dollars a month.”
Grantsville’s State Police barracks is one of three set to be closed on January 1, 2017.
Elizabeth in Wirt County and Hundred in Wetzel County are also scheduled for closure.