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Parkersburg City Council discusses Memorial Bridge, Pride comments

By Evan Bevins 4 min read

PARKERSBURG -- Representatives of the company that owns the Memorial Bridge addressed Parkersburg City Council Tuesday, and some people questioned remarks made by a council member about Pride events at the previous meeting.

Parkersburg Bridge Partners Account Manager Jon Wallace said the company will soon open a temporary, walk-up location on Garfield Avenue next to general contractor Kokosing Construction Company's trailer.

There, people can go to pick up transponders for the all-electronic tolling system and turn in unused bridge tickets for credits, he said. That can be done until the end of the year, and the credits will be valid until the end of 2024, Wallace said.

"They'll have a full year to actually use them," he said.

The company is trying to get information out to the community through a variety of venues and events, Wallace said. One is planned for 5-7 p.m. today at American Legion Post 15 in the Traffic Circle. People can also pre-register there or online for transponders.

The final pour of concrete on the bridge deck was slated to begin at 2 a.m. today, said Kevin Bischel, project delivery director.

"That's a big milestone for us," he said.

The last target completion date announced was Aug. 31. At the meeting, Bischel said the bridge is expected to open in "early fall" and a fixed date would be announced soon.

The company is also working to establish a permanent office at 2311 Ohio Ave. in the former West Virginia Division of Natural Resources office, said former police chief Joe Martin, who was introduced as the facility manager for the bridge.

During the public forum, four people spoke against remarks Councilman Ray Eubanks made at the June 13 council meeting, saying the city should not allow LGBTQIA+ Pride events to be held at City Park. Two such events were held there on June 3 and 10.

On June 13, Eubanks discussed statistics indicating increased rates of suicide and suicidal consideration among LGBTQ teens and young adults.

Parkersburg resident Jamie Lee McCormick said "no men or anyone committed indecent acts (at the June 10 event), nor did they encourage anyone to do the same." He also said he was planning to open his business, The Flower Daddy, in downtown Parkersburg but opted to move it to Belpre "because of this type of behavior."

Jennifer Bryant, who recently moved out of Parkersburg, said she drove two-and-a-half hours to correct "harmful" misinformation by Eubanks and being around LGBTQIA+ individuals doesn't make someone a part of that group.

"I didn't become a closed-minded bigot just because I was raised in an area where" that attitude was prevalent, she said.

Bryant said the reason LGBTQIA+ youth consider suicide is because they are not supported by families and their community.

Parkersburg resident Kim Kramer recalled a time when the Ku Klux Klan marched in the city and compared that attitude with intolerance toward the LGBTQIA+ community.

“No child should wake up the next day and think that anyone in their community is filled with such disdain for them,” she said.

Eubanks spoke during the council forum about a recent town hall meeting but did not address the remarks. After a lengthy Urban Renewal Authority meeting, the pastor, who previously cited biblical admonitions against same-sex relationships, said no one who spoke Tuesday offered to “cross the street” and talk with him.

“There’s work to do … regarding the entire situation,” Eubanks said.

“I just thought it very interesting that in my statement (on June 13), there was no name-calling, there was no slurring,” he said, adding that no one on Tuesday mentioned “anything about protecting the innocent,” a concern he cited in his previous remarks.

The council agenda included just two pieces of legislation - the final reading of an ordinance authorizing the finance director to conduct an online auction and the final reading of an ordinance creating a paid intern position in the Engineering Department. They passed 6-0, with Councilmen Bob Mercer, J.R. Carpenter and Chris Rexroad absent

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Staff Reporter Clara Noelle contributed to this story.

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