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Monongalia County community leader dies

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Former two-term Monongalia County Commissioner and long-time county extention agent Asel Kennedy passed away Friday.

Kennedy served from January 2001 to December 2012 as a Commissioner, and prior to that served as the WVU extension agent for Monongalia County.

Former Monongalia County Commissioner Eldon Callen, now a VP with the Morgantown Area Chamber of Commerce, released the following statement on Kennedy’s passing:

“I knew Asel since I was in high school, knew him when he became the extension agent, and of course had the privilege of serving with him on the County Commission. I had a long life association with Asel. I found him to be an honorable and straightforward person. I enjoyed knowing him, and I’m sorry to hear of his passing.”

County Administrator Renatta McClure worked with Kennedy as well, recalling him fondly.

“He was wonderful to work with,” McClure said. “He loved to get information. He used to carry around a little black blook. He could tell you at any one time what business was paying the most taxes in Monongalia County. You can go to him for a phone number, and he’d have it in his little black book. When he was retiring, we teased him about who he was going to pass his little black book down to, and he said he was going to keep it.”

Kennedy also worked for years as Monongalia County’s extension agent. His responsibilities included a daily five-minute radio show on WAJR where he provided gardening and other useful tips, answered questions from listeners and promoted community events.

The show was so popular that a local group wrote and performed a theme song for the show entitled, “Ask Asel.”

County Commission President Tom Bloom called Kennedy’s passing a loss for Monongalia County.

“This is a tremendous loss to our community. He was an important fixture in our community, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”