By: Lydia Crawley
The Parsons Advocate
The Tucker County Commission approved funding requests from several entities during its latest session March 11th. Among those whose funding was approved were The Tucker Community Foundation’s Run-for-It, the Randolph-Tucker Children’s Advocacy Center, The Tucker County Ambulance Authority, Mountain Top Library and Five Rivers Library.
Angie Pase represented the Tucker Community Foundation. The Foundation was started from the Harman Fund in Parsons following the 1985 Flood and has grown to serve 10 counties in all. The Foundation requested a pledge for the annual Run-for-It fundraiser race. In 2025, the Tucker County Commission pledged $5,000. In turn, Run-for-It raised over $60,0000, Pase said.
Tucker County Commission President Mike Rosenau made a motion to pledge $5,000 as seed money for investments in Tucker County. The motion was unanimously approved.
The 2026 campaign is slated to begin April 1st, Pase said. The 2026 Run-for-It race will be held in Davis September 26th during the Leaf Peepers Festival.
Margot Evick from the Randolph-Tucker Children’s Advocacy Center presented an annual report to the Commission along with a request for $15,000 in funding. The County also provides office space to the Center at no charge.
Among the services that the Center provided in 2025, staff provided education to High School staff, as well as conducted a variety of services to children and families. In Tucker County alone, the Center served 96 new children in 2025 with 60% the victims of sexual abuse. Evick said 19 % of children served by the Center were victims of drug endangerment, a statistic much higher than the 4% National average, with most victims male between the ages of 7 and 12 years of age. Beyond this, the Center provided 84 forensic interviews, 33 mental health referrals, referred 23 victims for medical exams, provided 757 individuals with prevention in classrooms training and 38 adults with prevention services. In total, 30 indictments were filed with 17 convictions and nine charges filed.
“Crimes against children take a long time to move forward,” Evick said.
The largest uptake in endangerment to children comes online, Evick said. According to her, 1 in 12 children will report to be exploited online and 1 in 10 will be sexually exploited by the age of 18. Evick said that the Center has been providing a lot of screening and education to parents on the dangers of online solicitation.
A motion was made by Tucker County Commissioner Tim Knotts to approve the $15,000 funding request and provide office space. The motion was unanimously approved.
The Randolph-Tucker Children’s Advocacy Center will be hosting their annual Champions For Children Fundraiser Lasagna Dinner at the Parsons Fire Hall April 17th.
The Tucker County Ambulance Authority requested a $110,000 draw from the General Fund to assist with ongoing expenses. Director Amanda Simmons appeared before the Commission to present an update on the Service and formally request the funds.
For most of the year, the Service has tried to keep two crews on 24/7 with the assistance of part time employees with a third crew assigned to Timberline during the ski season. The Service has also employed four full time medics on call at all times. Simmons said that while the Service has had a third crew at Timberline for the ski season, they have managed to secure every call that has come in for service. At one point this winter, Simmons said, ambulance crews had five back to back calls and managed to handle every one unassisted.
“Whenever you have two calls back to back, the percentage, I believe that they came out with, was like 75% chance that we are going to have a third call, whenever we have two calls back to back,” Simmons said. “We actually had, several months back, where we had five back to back. We were able to hit all five.”
The cost of Ambulance maintenance was outlined during the meeting. Simmons said that the service was currently down two ambulances of the five in their fleet and that generally there was at least one rig in the shot every month for work of some kind. The minimum cost of upkeep for an ambulance for licensure and other routine maintenance Simmons estimated at $8,000 to $10,000 per year before any unforeseen maintenance expenses or medical necessities required. Current estimates for maintenance of the fleet Simmons estimated at around $70,000 so far in 2026.
“One of the trucks last year had to have a new transmission and rear differential, all within like six months time,” Simmons said.
The cost of medications have doubled this year alone, Simmons said, along with the cost of medical supplies necessary for the crews. Costs have risen 110% since Covid. To try to mitigate the rising costs, Simmons said the Service purchases in bulk and seeks out the most cost effective suppliers.
Tucker County Commissioner Fred Davis made a motion to approve the request for $110,000 from the General Fund. The motion was unanimously approved.
There will be an EMT class for Company 30 in Canaan Valley. It will be open to the General Public. The Tucker County Ambulance Authority also has FEMA Grant funding available for EMT training. Funding is available for those who sign on with the Service for PRN status, training will be provided for free. Simmons said normally classes are normally $650.
Debbie Williams from the Mountain Top Library and Angela Johnson from the Five Rivers Public Library jointly presented their requests for funding for their libraries. Mountain Top Library requested $15,250 and Five Rivers Public Library requested $13,000 in funding, respectfully.
Johnson said that the Five Rivers Library has been hosting many successful programs such as the Candle Wax Painting program scheduled for March 30th. Johnson said the event was already full. She also wanted to remind the public that the library has hot spots available free for three week checkouts for those with active library card memberships.
Five Rivers Public Library hours will change in June. Beginning June 1st, the library will close at 4 p.m.
Mountain Top Library had a Seed Exchange planned, according to Williams. Currently, the library is only open Tuesdays and Thursday until 7 p.m., but Williams said there are plans to open more once the library is complete and open. The new library is slated to have a meeting area and children’s area.
The cost of supplies are increasing, according to the librarians. Book prices are increasing and Williams said that the cost for shelving for the new building alone is estimated at $150,000.
“There’s not many grants for libraries,” Williams said.
The Commission offered letters of support for grant applications.
Both libraries said that their clientele has been expanding and they have seen more visitors from outside the area. Both librarians have reported visitors from out of state just stopping by to see what the area libraries had to offer and what they looked like.
Commissioner Fred Davis made a motion to approve $15,250 for Mountain Top Library and in a separate motion $13,000 for Five Rivers Library. Both motions passed unanimously.
