Bringing public awareness to the office of County Commissioner
Anyone that works in county government knows that the biggest public fallacy is that a County Commissioner only works part time. This statement is proven erroneous every day by Lewis County
Commissioner, Agnes Queen. She i s a 24/7 Commissioner and one particular example of her dedication, work ethic and vision for advancing Lewis County was seen during the June 29, 2012 derecho that devastated West Virginia and surrounding areas.
Lewis County was 100% without power for four days. This rendered all forms of public service announcements useless. The task to find an alternative way to get life saving messages to her constituent was quickly solved by Commissioner Queen. Beginning at 9 AM on June 30th, she
manned the OEM 20 hrs a day for 2 weeks providing social media access for information dissemination and collection. Although phones were not working, many had cell phones that could be charged via car. They logged onto Agnes’ links and were able to find supply distribution
locations, obtain emergency contact information, and notify the OEM of issues that needed assistance. This was a huge benefit to the OEM and National Guard during the recovery process. Numerous individuals that had not been identified with medical needs, food/water needs and hazardous conditions due to down power lines contacted her.
As the power began to be restored, Commissioner Queen was able to give updates from the power company to the citizens. This was extremely helpful for those who had left their homes or families
who lived outside of the area. It provided a way to disseminate restoration projections thus decreasing the call volume to the OEM, as well as, a venue to stop rumors before they spread.
Comments from all over WV were received praising this cohesive integrated use of technology with the functions of OEM. In fact, when Lewis County received a visit from the Governor and Adjunct General they spent time looking at her project and taking notes to pass along to other agencies.
