Wood County Schools Assistant Superintendent of Operations Kaleb Lawrence shows Board member Judy Johnson and Superintendent Christie Willis where the new two-lane access road for Martin Elementary will be placed to help alleviate longstanding traffic congestion. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

PARKERSBURG — The Wood County Board of Education is moving forward with its bond projects this summer that include a new two-lane access road for Martin Elementary that they hope will help alleviate longstanding traffic congestion.

“We’re not adding more traffic, we’re just making it flow a lot better,” Assistant Superintendent of Operations Kaleb Lawrence said.

Lawrence said the district has been looking at ways to bring congestion down in that area and the first few ideas were met with some issues arising with the department of highways and cost efficiency.

“We got our heads together and the architects came up with a better design,” Lawrence said. “Our hope is to get the traffic off the street. So it’s not that jam at 2:30 in the afternoon. The City of Parkersburg is very excited about this.”

Lawrence said the existing one-way road leading out of Martin will be demolished and replaced with a two-lane road with one road leading into the school and the other leading out.

Coordinator of Health Services Julie Bertram gave the Wood County Board of Education an update on the bloodborne pathogens program Tuesday. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

“(Parents) will have two options to come up to the school,” Lawrence said. “Because, like I said, 2:30 at that intersection, they’re bumper to bumper. You’re sitting there. So that’s why we’re really excited. The City of Parkersburg is also really excited to get that traffic off the street and let it flow.”

Lawrence said this will also save the district money as the bond had the budget for this project at $500,000 and the bid came back at $103,000.

“With fees and things like that it would be a little bit more, but we’re very excited,” Lawrence said. “This is a very good solution. We had Mr. Wheeler (Thomas Wheeler, Martin Elementary principal) involved in this. And, you know, ideas of how he’d like to see this flow, the City of Parkersburg is going to do a little sidewalk work there, but they’re excited that it will help out the traffic.”

Coordinator of Health Services Julie Bertram talked to the board about the newly formalized Blood Borne Pathogen Program. She said it was developed in response to a request from the allied health tech program and is an initiative aimed to protect students, staff, and contractors from exposure to infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis B and C.

She said the program, which aligns with Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards and state education policies, outlines clear responsibilities for administration, program coordinators, supervisors and all school personnel.

She said key safety measures include mandatory annual training, use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and strict protocols for handling and disposing of potentially contaminated materials. All staff and students are required to submit incident reports within 24 hours of any exposure, and hepatitis B vaccinations are offered at no cost within 10 days of assignment or exposure. The program also mandates an annual review to ensure ongoing effectiveness.

Bertram emphasized that the program is designed to foster a safe learning and working environment, with comprehensive procedures in place for prevention, response, and compliance. She said the initiative reflects Wood County Schools’ commitment to health promotion and disease prevention for the entire school community.

Superintendent Christie Willis said the district will begin taking over the Caperton Center located on the West Virginia University at Parkersburg campus.

“West Virginia University at Parkersburg is moving from the Caperton campus to the ITC campus, which was the former Ohio Valley University campus,” Willis said. “Wood County Schools will be responsible for the custodian services at the Caperton campus per our new agreement, with the exception of the grounds. So West Virginia University at Parkersburg will continue to maintain the grounds outside of the building.”

She said the district plans to post a custodian position from 2 to 10 p.m., with a substitute filling the role until the regular hiring process is completed. She said there is a need for a 215-day custodian while students are in the building and plans to approve that position will take place at the July 29 board meeting, which will be held at Caperton to allow the board to tour the facility.

She said the district will also start furnishing the building with their own supplies.

“West Virginia University at Parkersburg has graciously left furniture in the building for Wood County schools to use, and they have also provided keys to Mr. Lawrence for his staff members,” Willis said. “And in the next few days, we’ll be shifting from WVUP providing the supplies in the building to Wood County Schools using our supplies, which come from Liberty.”

Douglass Huxley can be reached at dhuxley@newsandsentinel.com.