WINFIELD, W.Va. — A couple of well-known figures in Putnam County will face off election day for a seat on the Putnam County Commission.
Republican Steve Deweese is the former Putnam County sheriff and he’s taking on Democrat Jim Withrow who served as a Putnam County commissioner from 1998 to 2004. Withrow has also served on the county’s planning commission. Both are from the Buffalo-Leon area of the county.
When you speak to them, they seem to have similar ideas about what Putnam County needs. Both believe growth in the county is necessary, but should be planned carefully.
“We need to get Route 35 developed and that would resolve most of our zoning issues. Teays Valley is expanding and we need new places for business,” said Withrow.
“The announcement of Nucor (Steel) is only 23 miles from the county itself. That’s going to show growth on the northern end of the county where we need that grown,” said Deweese.
Wthrow said while the county’s budget is solid, the growth has stagnated and population growth has leveled off since he was commissioner in the early 2000s. He believed the arrival of Nucor is also an opportunity for Putnam County.
“Nucor is coming in here and the spin-off businesses will be tremendous. We can either watch it go to Ohio or we can capture part of it here,” Wthrow said.
Both also touted the need to continue to advance infrastructure throughout the county but particularly along the Route 35 corridor.
DeWeese said the addition of broadband to much of Putnam County was begriming to attract new internet providers and in his mind, the more, the better.
“That many providers will streamline for consumers for a base price. Sometimes you go with the cheapest you can afford, but with more providers, it will be more competitively priced for the citizen and the consumer here in Putnam County,” Deweese said.
“The main thing I want to see is on Route 35, we’ve got to get the water and sewer down there before we can get any business to look at it,” said Withrow.
The two are vying for the seat currently held by Commissioner Ron Foster who was defeated by DeWeese in the GOP primary election. Foster has now resigned his seat effective Tuesday.