Commission chooses new appointees

At their December 22 meeting, the Morgan County Commission appointed a new member to the Morgan County Planning Commission.

Brad Close was appointed to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of planning commission member Darryl Cowles. Cowles was elected to serve in former Delegate Charles Trump's seat in the House of Delegates. Close will serve the remainder of Cowles' five-year term, which will expire in June, 2007.

Close is staff accountant and office manager for the Thomas A. Close, CPA Agency. He is a graduate of Berkeley Springs High School. Close has a bachelor of science in business administration specializing in accounting. He also has a master's degree in business administration from Mount St. Mary's College.

In his application for the planning post, Close said that he wanted to serve the county and aid in moving the county toward a manageable type of growth.

The Morgan County Planning Commission has 11 members, which includes Commissioner Tommy Swaim. The planning commission meets on the fourth Tuesday of the month.

Health department board

Margie (McCumbee) Allgyer was appointed to the Morgan County Board of Health representing Magisterial District #2. Allgyer was appointed to fill a vacancy left by the resignation of James Slough in November, 2004.

It has been difficult to find a replacement for the vacancy since the appointee had to be from Magisterial District #2 and also be a Democrat. The health board can't have more than three members of the same political party or more than two members from the same district.

Allgyer's appointment is effective immediately. She will finish out Slough's five-year term, which will expire June 30, 2010. Allgyer is the town clerk, municipal court clerk and special municipal judge for the Town of Bath.

Allgyer was asked to serve in the position back in October. She is looking forward to finding out what the work of the health board is all about.

There are five representatives on the Morgan County Board of Health, which meets monthly. The next Morgan County Health Board meeting is Thursday, January 18.