By: Lydia Crawley
The Parsons Advocate
Davis Thomas Elementary Middle School student Abigail Keen was honored by the Tucker County Commission at the DTEMS 8th Grade Promotion Ceremony May 30th. County Commissioners Fred Davis and Mike Rosenau represented the Commission at the event.
“Its good to be here tonight,” Davis said. “I was trying to figure out how many years ago I was sitting there. This class, this 8th grade class had an essay to write through the County Commission Association of West Virginia.”
Keen had submitted an essay to the 2023 essay contest and took first place in the state. Her essay outlined not only what the Tucker County Commission does, but also outlined its mission to the county. She wrote, “In recent months the commission has been raising money to fund our Emergency Medical Services. The reason that EMS needs funding is in case they need to replace vehicles or gear, personal protective equipment, or charities. In 2022, the Tucker County Commission devoted 400,000 dollars to the Tucker County EMS. Elected official also tried to pass a levy to fund the ambulance service in the same year. This was to make up for the loss of funds, which left only a few ambulance crews to take care of the entirety of Tucker County. However, the proposed levy was quickly denied. But with the commission raising money, this issue may be resolved. “
Keen also wrote about the impact of the opioid epidemic on Tucker County and how the commission has responded to the issue. Keen wrote, “Ever since West Virginia became the epicenter of opioid abuse in 2015, the whole state, including Tucker County, has been dealing with an increase in prescription drug overdose. This issue continues to be considerably significant, and has become a main concern of the Tucker County Commission. Even though there has been a 50% decrease in the production of opioid pills from 2014-2020, this is still a fairly prominent issue. Measures taken to address the opioid crisis have been taken, such as the inclusion of drug abuse prevention in education, treatment, and drug bans. There are also things that the WV State Police Department has done to enforce these measures.”
In Keen’s conclusion, she wrote, “…the Tucker County Commission is an essential asset to the county as a whole, and they uphold many important duties which they have been elected to carry out. Their actions have shown that they exceed the county’s expectations.”
Keen received an award certificate and $50 from the County Commissioners on behalf of the County Commission Association of West Virginia.