(Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

PARKERSBURG — The Wood County Commission unanimously approved a list of poll workers for the upcoming primary submitted Monday by County Clerk Joe Gonzales.

The list included 253 people, 155 Republicans and 98 Democrats. The county needs 307 total to cover 71 precincts over 69 voting locations with five to nine people manning each location.

“We are still in need of some poll workers,” he said. “We still need 54 more, which we normally get.”

They will be contacting people with no party affiliation and independents.

“Usually, they will fill in that gap,” Gonzales said. “We are in pretty good shape in getting ready for the primary.

“It is pretty busy right now.”

For a training session, poll workers are paid $25 and then receive $175 to work on Election Day.

“They definitely earn that,” Commissioner Robert Tebay said.

Gonzales agreed, saying it is a long day as poll workers have to be at the polls an hour before voting starts at 6:30 a.m. and work until past 7:30 p.m. when the polls close. Workers then deliver all of their materials to the Wood County Courthouse for the votes to be tabulated.

“We are fortunate to have the poll workers that we do,” Gonzales said. “They come back every couple of years and do a great job.

“We couldn’t have the election without them. They are a big part of our election process.”

They have had some people who have already called and told them they wanted to do it again.

“That shows that you treat them right,” Tebay said.

Some poll workers see people at election time they don’t often get to otherwise.

“They enjoy the day,” Gonzales said. “It is a long day.”

Gonzales said their polling places are lined up and they have gotten a lot of cooperation from Wood County Schools. They had previously moved a couple of polling places when Fairplains Elementary and Van Devender Middle School closed, shifting them to Martin Elementary and Parkersburg High School, respectively.

“The school system is always very cooperative with us during elections and very helpful,” Gonzales said. “We are in good shape.”

In other business:

* The commission unanimously awarded two bids to Tim Graham Excavation for the demolition and cleanup of dilapidated properties at 96 Cedar Lane, Mineral Wells, and 6372 Volcano Road, Walker.

For the Cedar Lane property, Tim Graham Excavation bid $2,500, while Bosley Construction bid $6,100. For the Volcano Road property, Tim Graham Excavation’s bid was $8,000 compared to Bosley’s $11,700.

* Commissioners Jimmy Colombo and Blair Couch have seven names they are considering to fill Tebay’s commission seat. Tebay is retiring, and his last day as a commissioner will be Thursday.

Couch said they are hoping to do something next week as they didn’t want to hamper Tebay’s last days on the commission.

There was talk they could bring one or two people in for consideration to talk to about the position.

“My hope is Jimmy and I can talk Thursday about the people we talked to,” Couch said.

If they have consensus on who they want, they might bring one person for a formal interview. The commissioners declined to release the names of the applicants.

The person chosen will complete Tebay’s unexpired term, which runs through the end of the year. The seat is on the primary and general election ballot, with the winner to take office Jan. 1 for a full six-year term.

The candidates running in the May primary election include Republican Wood County Sheriff Rick Woodyard, Republican Jerrod Gard and Republican Greg Brannon. No Democrats have filed to run yet.

Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com