Pendarvis To Remain As Upshur Road Administrator

In their regular meeting Monday, Upshur Commissioners voted 3-2 to leave A.L. "Bubba" Pendarvis in place as Road Administrator, pending an opinion by Billy Byrd, the District Attorney.

The vote revolved around an issue of hiring a certified engineer, or an uncertified administrator, which is the position Pendarvis currently holds

Commissioners Glenn Campbell and James Crittenden are in favor of hiring and engineer, and want to post the job for applications.

A certified engineer would draw a larger salary, approximately $20,000 more per year than Pendarvis makes.

Commissioners Lloyd Crabtree and Joe Ferguson, along with County Judge Dean Fowler, wish to leave Pendarvis in his current role. Fowler cast the tie-breaking vote to retain Pendarvis.

Campbell then asked to have District Attorney Billy Byrd issue an opinion on whether the county had to take applications for a certified engineer. In the voting on that motion, Fowler sided with Campbell and Crittenden.

Byrd confirmed this morning that Fowler had been in contact with the D.A.'s office, and work on the opinion was in progress.