WEEKLY MEETING — Commissioner Tom Diserio, left, and Commission President A.J. Thomas discuss business during Tuesday’s regular meeting of the Brooke County Commission. -- Craig Howell

WELLSBURG — Brooke County commissioners designated a new county humane officer, Tuesday, although with some debate from other county officials.

At the request of Sheriff Rich Beatty, commissioners agreed to designate Sheriff’s Deputy Jaetin Popish as the county’s humane officer, for a period of one year.

Popish previously served as a county dog warden prior to joining the sheriff’s department.

Beatty noted there should be training available for Popish in the coming months, and opportunities for him to shadow others to learn more about the various legal procedures.

However, County Prosecuting Attorney Allison Cowden raised concerns about oversight, especially when it comes to differences in investigating civil or criminal issues and Popish carrying out his duties as both humane officer and deputy.

Cowden presented a hypothetical scenario where Popish is called on a possible animal neglect case.

“As a deputy sheriff, he can’t. He needs to get a search warrant,” she said, adding, though, as the humane officer, he would have some ability to go onto a property to investigate.

Commission President A.J. Thomas, though, said there must be a model for how to handle one individual acting in both capacities, saying he knows of other counties in West Virginia who have taken such an approach.

“We can’t be reinventing the wheel,” Thomas said, recommending the county reach out to those counties for advice on the matter.

It also was recommended the remaining dog wardens in the county receive additional training when it comes to filling out their reports, especially because of the potential of the information being used in pursuit of legal cases.

In other business, commissioners agreed to hire Nichole Busick Felouzis as an entry level legal assistant, at a rate of $19 an hour to begin Sept. 1; decided to advertise for a part-time, temporary scanner for the county clerk’s office with funds coming from the Preservation Fund; and approved a maintenance and repair agreement for the Brooke County Animal Shelter with Casto Technical Services at $7,584. The contract would have a 2 percent discount — $151.68 — if paid within 30 days of the invoice.

Commissioners also recognized the resignation of M. John Bado, effective Friday, from his position as a security guard at the courthouse because of health reasons.

“We wish the best for him,” said Beatty, noting Bado has worked diligently for the county for many years.

The commission opted to table three proposed employee pay raises, with Thomas requesting a fiscal note on the requests to show the effect of their potential effects on the county’s budget.