STAR CITY – The victim of a recent shooting in Star City is alive, but still hospitalized, and the town police department has been joined by the U.S. Marshal Service to track down the juvenile suspect, who is thought to be out of the area.
Star City Police Chief Glen Staley updated town council at its regular meeting Tuesday evening and took a few minutes to praise his officers.
“We got the call at 2 a.m. and my guys responded quickly,” Staley said. “The suspect is being hunted and we will bring him to justice as fast as we can.”
Staley said because the suspect is a juvenile, Monongalia County Prosecutor Gabrielle Mucciola asked him not to share specifics of the shooting. He did say the suspect is known to law enforcement, but is not from Monongalia County and is believed to have already left the area.
Swearing in
Prior to the start of Tuesday’s meeting, Monongalia County Clerk Carye Blaney presided over the swearing in of the elected officials, beginning with the council members: Gregory Epps, Jennifer Hunt, Andy Laskody, Jim Morris and Jeff Quinn.
Monongalia County Clerk Carye Blaney swears in the five Star City Town council members: from left, Jim Morris, Jeff Quinn, Jennifer Hunt, Andy Laskody and Gregory Epps.
She then swore in Recorder Steve Blinco, followed by Mayor Sharon Doyle.
They will all serve until June 30, 2028.
Because the town’s charter mandates the annual appointment of the police chief and town attorney, council re-appointed Chief Staley and Tim Stranko.
Monongalia County Clerk Carye Blaney swears in Star City town recorder Steve Blinco on Tuesday.
Other meeting news
Doyle updated council on a sidewalk project while Public Works Director Phillip Davis spoke briefly about a fall paving project.
Doyle said sidewalk designs are expected by the next meeting – 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 21 – and Davis said he anticipated paving packets to be ready by then as well. Both projects should go out for bid soon after that meeting.
Doyle also asked council members to be thinking about what could go into a time capsule to represent Star City. She explained Monongalia County has plans for one as the country celebrates 250 years. County Commissioner Tom Bloom was in touch with Doyle, saying the commission wants every area municipality to contribute to the time capsule.
Finally, Doyle said the town would be working on the wording of its building permits. She said it doesn’t seem right to call all permits building permits because they are used for other projects, such as razing a structure. Because the phrase “building permits” is written into state code, Star City can’t change that, but Doyle said they could fine-tune the documents to include more specific wording for certain projects.
