GRANTSVILLE, W.Va. — The Calhoun County Commission appointed Graham Knight as the new county sheriff in a Tuesday morning vote.
Knight replaces former Sheriff J. Warren Basnett who resigned under pressure last month.
Knight was not the first choice of the commission. They appointed Nathan Allison to the post last week but had to redo the meeting because the language used in the appointment was incorrect.
Commission President Matt Walker made a motion again Tuesday to appoint Allison but before a vote could be taken Allison stood up and asked that his name be withdrawn. Allison is co-owner of A&A Monuments with county commissioner Craig Arthur. He said he’s learned in the past week from the state Ethics Act that if he became sheriff, Commissioner Arthur would not be able to vote on anything pertaining to the sheriff’s department.
“I don’t want to prohibit any commissioner, as far as that goes, from not being able to vote on issues that could arise in this office now and probably later on,” Allison said.
After Allison withdrew his name, the commission voted for Knight on a 2-1 vote. Commissioner Kevin Helmick was the lone “no” vote.
According to a report from the Ridgeview News, Knight told reporters after the meeting he was thankful for the opportunity.
“I want to thank Commissioners Matt Walker and Craig Arthur for appointing me, and I think it goes without saying there was some integrity and courage this morning from Nathan Allison. I want to acknowledge what it took for him to get up and look everyone in the eye and say what he said. It took guts for him to allow what happened,” Knight said.
He’ll officially take over the sheriff’s department on May 31.
Basnett resigned as sheriff on April 21. The resignation came just days after Calhoun County Prosecutor Nigel Jeffries announced he was going to file a petition to begin the process to have a three-judge panel remove Basnett from office.
“The actions of the sheriff rise to the level of mal-administration, possible misfeasance, neglect of duty and incompetence,” Jeffries told MetroNews at the time.
Criticism of Basnett, a first-term sheriff, escalated after he decided to take weapons and drug paraphernalia to Calhoun County Middle-Senior High School on Career Day that was held on March 31. Jeffries said some postings on social media showed some students handling the guns creating a possible dangerous situation.
Basnett said the firing pins had been taken out of the guns.
Photos and quotes from meeting courtesy Ridgeview News.