Community, Latest News, Preston County

Preston Commission asked to help with EPA permit

KINGWOOD –- Lewis Friend, facilitator for L&L Auto Truck Repair & Recycling Service, met with Preston County Commission and requested a letter of approval to get an Environmental Protection Agency license.

An EPA license means the Environmental Protection Agency has examined the work the company does and has certified it is meeting the EPA’s standards for protecting the environment.

Commissioner Samantha Stone asked Friend about junk vehicles. She said she sees a lot of old vehicles while driving around the county. Stone asked Friend if the recycling business might run some advertisements to encourage people to sell their junk vehicles.

Friend said the business already does that. He said he recently moved nine Nissans from one man’s yard.

“That’s what we do,” he said. “We haul a lot of them in.”

County Administrator Kathy Mace said she believed commissioners should review the permit and take it to the prosecuting attorney to make sure Friend has all of the information needed to obtain the permit.

“You issue salvage yard permits,” she said. “You work with the prosecutor to get them done”

In other business, Stone said she was continuing to work on the possible closing of Hopemont.

Commissioner Dave Price said he was also working on it.

“I’m still talking to legislators about Hopemont,” he said. “What happens to those patients?  I believe they will have trouble placing them.  We need to watch this real close.  If we have to go to Charleston, we will go to Charleston.”

Rob Kirk, Terra Alta Volunteer Fire Department chief, thanked commissioners for the use of a truck.

The county donated a truck to the VFD, and under the agreement, the truck was to be returned to the county when the VFD no longer needed it.

 “We put a new bumper on it and did body work on it twice,” he said. “We will return it this weekend.”

He said the fire department used the truck when responding to brush fires.

Susan Miller, principal officer of Friends of the Preston Academy Inc., sent a request to the commission asking for $4,000 to do foundation work on the Academy building.

Mace said commissioners had the money in the account.

No further action was taken.

TWEET@DominionPostWV