Wood County BOE appoints former member to fill vacancy | News, sports, jobs

Sean Keefe criticized the Wood County Board of Education Thursday evening, claiming they made past decisions that encouraged children to use experimental drugs and forced them to wear face coverings for “a disease that didn’t even affect them.” (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

PARKERSBURG – The Bailey Conference Room had to be evacuated Thursday evening after the Wood County Board of Education selected former board member Deborah Hendershot to fill the vacant seat left by Sarah Townsend from a field of 16 candidates.

Those in attendance, including Chad Conley who was on the ballot to serve the remaining 20 months of Hendershot’s term, which was left vacant after she resigned in February to run for magistrate and applied to fill Towsend’s vacancy, began to throw blasphemy and threats at the board. as they were asked to leave the room so the meeting could continue.

Objects were even thrown at the board as the crowd left the boardroom.

“This isn’t over yet,” one person in the crowd announced.

Townsend said last week she was resigning from her position due to health reasons. She was elected in May 2022 and took office in July. She is also a member of the Welfare Committee and the Strategic Planning Committee.

Karen Kibble encouraged the Wood County Board of Education Thursday evening to select a new member who will work positively and collaboratively with the other members. She praised the board’s progress on the bond referendum and its decision to accept the former Ohio Valley University property, and thanked Rick Olcott for his service on the board. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

During a public delegation, Sean Keefe criticized the administration, claiming that they had made decisions in the past that encouraged children to use experimental drugs and forced them to wear face coverings.

“Then you kept them out of school because of a disease that didn’t even affect them,” Keef said.

He argued that the current hiring process is undemocratic and urged the board to appoint Conley.

‘I might as well live in the Soviet Union’ Keef said. “No other person on your list has run for office, worked for office, deserves office, not one, and for you to even go through this process is ridiculous.”

In addition to Conley, Ryan Henry also applied to fill Towsend’s vacancy and was on the ballot to serve out the remaining 20 months of Hendershot’s term. Hendershot was elected to the board in 2018 for her first four-year term and was re-elected in 2022.

During the public delegation, Karen Kibble encouraged the board to select a new member who will work positively and collaboratively with the rest of the board, praising their progress on the bond referendum and the decision to sell the former Ohio Valley property University offered by West Virginia University. at Parkersburg.

“(That was the) best decision made in years and saved the county millions of dollars,” Kibble said. “That is the latest example of all of you working together and being organized so that every cent of the bond referendum is maximized.”

She also thanked Rick Olcott, who was appointed to fill the seat temporarily until the election, for his service.

“He kept us informed of the plans and progress at the various sports facilities,” Kibble said. “His expertise and personal interest in our schools will be greatly missed, so thank you, Rick.”

Board Chairman Justin Raber said Hendershot and newly elected board member Randy Modesitt will attend mandatory training in Charleston on Monday and will be sworn in at the board’s regular meeting on Tuesday.

The board will meet Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the Jefferson Elementary auditorium. The meeting is public and streamed online.

Douglass Huxley can be reached at [email protected]