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Wood County Commissioners interview two 911 Center Director applicants

By Douglass Huxley 4 min read

PARKERSBURG -- Wood County Commissioners interviewed two people for the new 911 Center Director during their regular meeting Thursday.

William Shook, deputy director of Homeland Security and E911, told the commission although he still runs things by Wood County Sheriff Rick Woodyard, who announced his intention to step down as the 911 Director in January to fully concentrate on his role as sheriff, he has basically been handling the day to day operations of 911 services already.

"Now that the director's job is open, it seems to me that's a natural progression for me to step into that role," Shook said. "And I feel I'm ready to do that."

Shook said there is never a slow, or boring day, at the call center and that he has learned a lot working under Woodyard for the last six years. He said he liked the way Woodyard handled things, and how he was always thinking about the future, and said he hoped to continue that.

"Mr. Shook, you've been in the system for awhile," Wood County Commission President Blair Couch said. "You should be able to hit the ground running."

Dale McEwuen said he is a retired Parkersburg Police officer who spent 22 years on the force. He said during that time he was in charge of training and that he took care of the SWAT team. He said he also worked dispatch during that time, as there was no 911 Center then, and that he knows the job 911 dispatchers have.

"So I understand the shoes they're walking in, and I understand sometimes they need a little help with that," McEwuen said. "So, yeah, I think I can handle the pressure they need."

McEwuen said he was also the public relations officer for the police department for several years and that helped him with communication, which he said was important, and how to handle tough situations and questions.

"We do want to thank both of you for coming in to be interviewed," Commissioner Bob Tebay said. "Thank you for applying."

Couch said this matter would be added to the Monday agenda and that the commission would go into executive session to make a final decision then.

"Two quality candidates and we're lucky to have them," Couch said.

In other business, Principal Architect at ZMM Architects Engineers Adam Krason told the commission there is a need to modify the billboard located at the new 911 Center site. He said the billboard was within 150 feet of the new center and they would have to modify the roof to withstand a fall, if the billboard was t ever fall into the building, or they could reduce the height to 47 feet. He said they were waiting on the fire marshals approval to proceed with that course of action.

Mark Lewis, director of the Greater Parkersburg Convention and Visitors Bureau, gave an update on the new welcome center. He said almost all of the renovation have been completed and that visitation to the center has gone up. He said in 2021 they saw 585 visitors at the old location on Seventh and Avery streets and that number jumped up to 5,410 in 2022. He said this year they are 500 people ahead of that pace at the new center next to the floodwall entrance to Point Park.

"We're well on our way to seeing over 6,000 visitors in 2023," he said.

Lewis said this was a wonderful location for the bureau. He said they have plans to install electric chargers for vehicles on the site and that he would like to attract a business to open up that would rent kayaks and bikes to people once the walkway is completed.

"We're happy to see the increase in visitors down at the Welcome Center, and we're really excited about what this year brings, and what the rest of it holds for tourism," Lewis said. "Your support has been fantastic and we could not have done it without the support of the County Commission."

Douglass Huxley can be reached at dhuxley@newsandsentinel.com

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