of JEFFERSoQN
spiritofjefferson.com
ROBERT$NYDER
Driven snow
About three inches of snow fell in Jefferson County early Wednesday as part of a storm system that brought sleet, freezing rain and high winds to Ohio, western
Pennsylvania, Maryland and throughout West Virginia. The storm closed government offices and some businesses as road conditions made area driving
hazardous. Emergency officials received numerous calls of cars that had drifted off the roads in the slick conditions. Cold weather is expected throughout the
rest of the week with more snow expected Saturday,
CHRISTINE MILLER FORD
Spirit Staff
CHARLES TOWN - For the
seventh straight year, state of-
ficials have found deficiencies
in the way the Jefferson County
assessor's office runs its opera-
tions. None of the state's other 54
counties has been found to have
such problems for so long.
Jefferson and 45 other coun-
ties have been cited by the state
Property Valuation and Training
Procedures Commission for de-
ficiencies in their operations that
affect property values.
Besides Jefferson, the com-
mission found just three other
counties - Barbour, Grant and
Monongalia - have had prob-
lems for five years or more. Jef-
ferson's 'neighboring counties,
Berkeley.~..and Morgan, were
among the nine counties without
deficiendies.
Under a new state law, Jeffer-
son's school system could lose
state funding because of short-
comings in the assessor's office,
according to commission mem-
Angle Banks has worked in the Jef-
ferson County Assessor's Office for
nearly two decades, and has served
as assessor since 2009.
ber Cal Kent, the vice president
of Business and Economic Re-
search at Marshall University.
Now Angie Banks - who has
worked in the Jefferson County
Assessor's Office for nearly two
decades and has served as asses-
sor since 2009, having won re-
election just last month - must
put together a written report ex-
plaining how the cotmty is ad-
dressing the problems outlined
See ASSESSOR Page A5
BRYAN CLARK statements he made to FBI inves-
Spirit Staff tigators.
Shirley isunder indictment
MARTINSBURG - A feder- for allegedly participating in the
al judge has denied a request by beating of Mark Daniel Haines, a
Sheriff Robert "Bobby" Shirley then-suspected bank robber who
that the prosecution spell Out its has since been convicted, and
strategy, as well as a number of then allegedly trying to cover it
requests to see prosecutor's evi- up by falsifying a use of force re-
dence earlier than is customary, port.
Judge John Preston Bailey, Haines has also filed a civil
who is presiding over the case, suit against the sheriff and sev-
did, however, allow Shirley's
lawyers to obtain access to the ~ See SHIRLEY Page A2
A judge has granted Sheriff Bobby Shirley access to statements he made
to FBI investigators about Mark Haines' 2010 arrest.
heriff hirl 's
indictment tops
list of year's news
BRYAN CLARK and
CHRISTINE MILLER FORD
Spirit Staff
he federal in-
dictment and
subsequent
re-election
County
Sheriff Bobby Shirley
has been selected as
(i, the top news story of
by the Spirit of
editors.
1. Lawman gets in trou-
ble with the law
Sheriff Robert "Bob-
by" Shirley entered a
guilty in June
4~ See TOP Page A2
CHRISTINE MILLER FORD
Spirit Staff
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Near-
ly two years after the death of
America's last World War I veter-
an, Charles Town resident Frank
Buckles, plans are moving ahead
to recognize those who served in
the Great War.
But longtime supporters of the
project are expressing outrage
and dismay that Buckles' name
has been stripped from the ef-
fort.
Buckles, a Missouri native
who moved to Jefferson County
to farm in the 1950s, spent the fi-
nal years of his life pushing for a
national monument to recognize
the sacrifices of Americans in the
war that ended Nov. 11, 1918.
But the bill that U.S. Sen. Jay
Rockefeller, D-W.Va., twice in-
troduced to create a World War I
memorial in Washington, D.C.,
no longer bears the name of
Buckles, who died just weeks
after he turned ll0, on Feb. 27,
2011.
See BUCKLES Page A5
Frank Buckles (above, in his later
years and below, as a young sol-
dier) spent the last years of his long
life lobbying for a suitable World
War I monument to replace this
humble bandstand (left) tucked
away in D.C.
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Longerbeam the Spirit of Jefferson i Brian Hotaling writes See the world Get ideas to
of Harpers Ferry will publish i about his hope for through Jocelyn celebrate this New
Thank you for on Jan. 3 the new year, Robinson's lens, Year's Eve,
subscribing A7 B1 B1
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