Thursday, July 24, 2014
The
Volume 145 Issue 29 50 Cents
Putnam Standard
County talks budgets, expansion
By Michael Circle michael@theputnamstandard.com
bulls give their riders a hard time. It was one-year-old Brooke Blankenship’s first time at the rodeo. She spent most of her time in her mother’s arms as they watched the rodeo together. Another fan in the crowd, Julie Mallary, said it was exciting to watch the bulls whip their counterparts, although, she wasn’t quite as upbeat as the younger crowd when it came to the riders hitting the ground. “I feel bad when they fall off and that one girl riding the bulls is very brave,” Mallary said.
Due to past actions by the county’s health department, directors of Putnam County boards presented their year-end budgets and gave an outline of the upcoming year at the request of commissioners. The Putnam County Commission also began collecting information on boards’ rent payments and square footage of office space to see if it may be more feasible to bring them under one roof. “We did this because “We are just starting the process and looking of what happened with at it,” Commission Presi- the health department. dent Steve Andes said. “I It gets the directors asked Brian (Donat) and Jeremy (Young) to do a involved and it gets the survey and check with boards involved so that all our outside agencies they know what their on rent and office space. budget is and where the “ We h a v e s o m e money is going.” property where the old Steve Andes EMS building used to be. Would it be viable Commissioner to build a building and house the outside agencies there? Would we save money over the course of time?” During Tuesday’s meeting, the commissioners heard from six of its boards – library, health department, convention and visitors bureau, community corrections, parks and recreation and the development authority. “We did this because of what happened with the health department,” Andes said. “It gets the directors involved and it gets the boards involved so that they
See Fair, Page 5
See County, Page 3
4-wheel ATV’s raced around the motocross track at the Putnam County Fair. The event was sponsored by Joe Tolley Contracting. Above left, carnival games drew crowds, as did Charlie Absten and Distant Thunder (above right).
Weather ideal for 2014 Fair By Zach Cumberland zach@theputnamstandard.com
The 2014 Putnam County Fair offered up a good time for families and 4-H and FFA members during a week of ideal weather. Large crowds turned out nightly to watch the demolition derby, the Pirates of the Colombian Caribbean, 4-wheel ATV motorcross, 4-wheel mud run, livestock shows and catch the music entertainment at the amphitheater. The H&H Ranch and Rodeo Bull Riding competition was no different as hundreds of spectators of all ages gath-
ered to watch the irritable bulls try and throw their riders. Wranglers adorned the fence until it was time to get going. The crowd was often loud in anticipation, as the public address announcer would yell and the crowd would respond right back. The show was filled with excitement and thrills. A common theme that ran throughout the crowd; nearly everyone wanted to see the bulls give the riders a rough time. Josh Luikart, a young man who sat with his parents, said he came to the show solely to watch riders fall off. Luikart said he enjoyed the rush of seeing the
Sheriff’s Camp teaches valuable lessons to youth Virginia Sheriff ’s Association By Amanda Smythers amanda@theputnamstandard.com Youth Leadership Academy held at Camp Ona in neighboring Cabell ONA – It’s hard to imagine County. Putnam County teenagers volun“We’ve had a lot of demonstrateering to spend the week of the tions with all the various things county fair learning discipline with [law enforcement officers] use,” law enforcement officers, but for said Evelyn Bush, who will be 15 Putnam teens, that’s exactly a freshman at Hurricane High what they did. School. “We’ve had a lot of chancJoining nearly 125 other teen- es to step up and be leaders. The agers from across the state, they sheriffs do a great job of mixing participated in the week long West education and excitement.”
The week’s schedule included presentations by different departments, such as Cabell County’s SWAT team and Kanawha County’s EOD team, as well as handson activities, such as a week-long mock criminal investigation and trial. Each department is responsible for recruiting its county’s representatives. The Putnam County Sheriff’s See Sheriff’s, Page 15
Sheriff’s Camp drew a crowd of students interested in service.
Inside Putnam County Fair photos, pages 7 - 9 n