Urban Deer Hunting In Buckhannon

The city has received many complaints from citizens regarding the deer population in and around our city. The complaints range from deer feces, destruction of ornamental bushes, trees and flowers and traffic hazards. I share to some extent the frustrations of my neighbors as the deer have eaten most of our flowers, many of our shrubs and leave deer droppings all over the yard. Deer bed down in our front yard most evenings and last week we watched three bucks and four doe graze just outside our back window.

The research information I have reviewed suggests that urban areas with wooded boundaries are excellent deer habitats. So human population growth and urban sprawl will not stem the growth of local deer populations. Relocation and infertility programs have been investigated and used and were found to be ineffective and very costly. What seems to help in thinning urban and problematic farm deer populations is harvesting by special hunting programs. Several West Virginia cities have enacted urban hunting programs and our neighbors to the north in Bridgeport conducted their firs hunt last year.

City council is considering an urban deer bow hunting program and I'd like to know what my blog readers think. If enacted, the Buckhannon program would not take place until 2011 season and would be regulated. Additionally a public education program would make efforts to inform and educate all citizens often and early.

What do you think?

When The Lights Go Out

I am working in Middlebourne, WV this week but travel to New Martinsville each evening to overnight in a local hotel. Middlebourne has no lodging unless you consider a cardboard box under the overhand of the Dollar Store lodging.


After arriving in New Martinsville for my evening, I began my routine by exercising at a local gym where you can obtain day passes, followed by some reading outdoors at Lewis Wetzel Park. There is a large pond with hundreds of ducks and geese. Once the water fowl realize I don't have food, they leave me alone for some reading time. Then back to the Travelers Inn for dinner, PT exercises, Skyping Renee, some TV time and sleep.


Last evening I had a surprise shortly after returning from Wetzel Park; the lights went out. Not just in the Travelers Inn but the whole region. I know this because I drove around trying to identify the extent of the power outage and it was endless. Even the cell towers which have blinking red lights at their tops were coal black against the night sky. An strange feeling to say the least. Traffic was horrid as every one was driving around and the roads looked like Morgantown on a football Saturday. I safely returned to my darkened hotel room, brushed my teeth with the light from my cell phone and then to an early bed in absolute silence and darkness.

While I enjoyed briefly my time of quiet and solitude, I also found it disconcerting. As a culture we are tuned in to constant access, connectivity, creature comforts, back ground noise, etc. I think we come to identify with all the electrons that govern our lives. I admit I am hooked to some of the creature comforts and electronic connectivity. I wonder if we would be less stressed if we had regular days of no electronics in our lives? Probably not but it is something to think about.

I did find my quiet time meaningful, but was ready for routine electronic life to continue shortly thereafter.

Council - Manager Form Of Government

The council/manager form is the system of local government that combines the strong political leadership of elected officials in the form of a governing body, with strong managerial experience of an appointed local government manager. The council/manager form establishes a representative system where all power is concentrated in the elected council and where the council hires a professionally trained manager to oversee the delivery of public services.

In council/manager government, the mayor and council members are the leaders and policy makers elected to represent the community and to concentrate on policy issues that are responsive to to citizens' needs and wishes. The manager is appointed by the governing body to carry out policy and ensure that the entire community is being served. If the manager is not responsive to the governing body's wishes, the governing body has the authority to terminate the manager at any time. In that sense, a manager's responsiveness is tested daily.

The manager is hired to serve the council and the community and to bring to the local government the benefits of training and experience in administering local government projects and programs on behalf of the governing body. The manager prepares the budget for the council's consideration; recruits, hires and supervises staff; serves as the council's chief advisor; and carries out the council's policies. Council members and citizens count on the manager to provide complete and objective information, the pros and cons of alternatives, and long term consequences.

Local governments have found that overall costs actually have been reduced with competent management. Savings come in the form of reduced operating costs, increased efficiency, improved revenue collection or effective use of technology.

The above comments were taken from FAQ's about council/manager government and provided by the ICMA (International City/County Management Association). I encourage all my blog readers to visit their website http://www.icma.org/ for additional information on council/manager forms of government. I believe we can benefit by adopting this form of government and it will be a continuing topic among council members. Please let us know what you think.

Taking Action

If you have followed the city council meetings you may have pieced together the fact that council is moving forward on some long over due issues. Recorder and Zoning Officer, Rich Clemens has taken action to start enforcing with teeth our ordinances regarding property condition etc. City attorney Dave McCauley has been tasked by council to develop an ordinance that deals with abandon cars. It was noted sadly, that there are cars that have not moved in 20 years. These actions are about making our city livable for all.

Also on last Thursday Dave Thomas and Skeeter Queen inquired about councils long standing request for a noise ordinance specifically addressing the truck noise on Kanawha Street that is a result of using engine exhaust brakes. During my campaign for council I committed to support the development of a noise ordinance and on Saturday I sent all my research including sample ordinances to city attorney, Dave McCauley.

Council is currently working on staffing issues and a computer/software policy guideline to compliment the new computer system. Prior to each council meeting each council member approves the invoices that have accumulated since the last council meeting. During that review we frequently question invoice for need, cost and local purchase. We are constantly looking for ways to save money. Our costs will rise significantly in the next few years and saving now will help later.

September 2nd City Council CVB Vote

I wanted to share my thoughts and reasons regarding my affirmative vote to begin the defunding process of the current CVB. Since March of this year I have studied hundreds of pages of documents generated by the legal system involving the CVB, City of Buckhannon and 11 plaintiffs, newspaper articles going back several years and the proposals submitted by both CVB's to council on August 13th. I was unable to attend the special council meeting held on August 30th but did listen to the complete proceedings thanks to Rich Clemens. At the end of the special meeting Mayor Davidson said the topic of CVB funding should not be taken lightly and council members should consider carefully, the entire matter.

I should note that the current CVB has serverd this community for over 20 years and has over that period of time grown in scope. As many in our community, I have been involved in several CVB endeavors including the wedding give-a-way and photography of Upshur County, Holly River State Park, Fiddlers Mill and Pringle Tree, all of which was donated for the benefit of our community.

However the highly publicized legal events of the last two years cannot be overlooked as those events have given cause to examine the current CVB more closely. There are concerns with performance issues as cited by council members and my observations that include the lack of promotional material for Buckhannon in travel stops between Pittsburgh and Buckhannon, ineffective regional networking, singular focus on event promotion, questionable business practices and poor Internet presence to name a few.

While my personal review of the issues has provided a foundation for my vote, my conversations with the citizens of Buckhannon have provided a clear mandate that change is needed. I frequent local restaurants, auctions, neighborhood gatherings, dinner parties, church functions and almost every time I am asked "What are we going to do about this CVB mess?" It is universal, that our community is demanding change. These are the people that elected me to office and I share their concern.

Now the bigger question is have we gone from the frying pan into the fire? Will the new CVB be any better in performance than the old CVB? I believe Buckhannon is ready for a new chapter in our history and I hope it is one of reconciliation, working together, moving forward and most importantly, healing.

Working On The Road

I remember years ago when I worked in the offshore oil industry, travel itineraries would have me away from home for generally less than two weeks duration. Those trips were often overseas and were more adventures than work. I knew that for the most part, I would be home 80% of the time.

As I venture into a new career which requires frequent and regular out of town assignments, I'm finding it both rewarding as I learn new skills and taxing as I adjust to weekly life alone. I have settled into a routine of exercise at a local gym for $5 a day, reading, some what healthy eating and my favorite, Skyping Renee every evening. Without the Internet communication would not be as pleasant. My co-workers have been on the road for years and have adjusted as necessary. Sometimes they leave work early on a particular day to see one of their children play football or soccer. I will be leaving tomorrow to make the drive to Sunny Buck in time for the city council meeting. Sadly I will make the 2.5 hour trip back to Wetzel County on Friday morning.

I have been blogless for a few days and miss the routine of regular writing. I hope to post more often and share my thoughts, views and musings about the towns in which I work and about my favorite town, Buckhannon. I miss the fire department, the Boss sandwich at the Daily Grind, the flowers around town and the friendly greetings when out and about.