By Peggy Mackenzie
The date for the next the Greenbrier County Commission was moved to Monday, June 8 at 10 a.m. during the brief live video meeting held last Tuesday. Commission meetings are normally set for the second Tuesday of the month, but Tuesday, June 9 is Election Day.
County Clerk Robin Loudermilk stated that early voting, which started on May 26, will continue through to Saturday, June 6, at both the County Courthouse from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. as well as at the Rupert Community Center from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. She made it clear that early voting for everyone in the county, no matter which precinct they normally cast their vote, can go to either location to participate in early voting.
Additionally, as clarified by Commission President Lowell Rose, those who have received an absentee ballot in the mail, but who haven’t mailed that ballot in, can bring it to either early voting location, have it checked, and then cast their vote. Alternatively, they can also wait until Election Day and bring the absentee ballot to their precinct voting site, have it checked for accuracy and then cast their vote.
Rose also announced that a number of County boards and commissions will have seats open as some tenures expire at the end of June 2020 He included the following: Greenbrier Valley Economic Development Commission, Planning Commission, Zoning Board, Arts and Recreation Committee, Airport Authority, Farmland Protection and the County Health Department. All interested parties can contact County Commission Clerk Kelly Banton at the courthouse. Rose said he’d like to have the interested parties’ names in by the next GCC meeting on June 8 for review. The Commission will announce the new members at the following June meeting. Most boards begin their meeting schedules by July 1.
The COVID-19 quarantine has forced the cancellation of numerous county-wide events scheduled for this summer, including the Ronceverte River Festival and the Fourth of July Celebration in Alderson, Rose said. As a result, the Arts and Rec grant allocations were not completed due to several applicants having had to cancel their programs.