He works and he lives life the way he loves. That’s what Scott Porter does.
Porter is willing to represent, too, just as he does for his family’s little nook called Neffs, Ohio, a community of less than 1,000 people outside of Bellaire in Belmont County. He is a American veteran, and he’s been employed in everything from the exterminating business to municipal government, but Porter is cooking up a surprise for the folks in the Upper Ohio Valley.
But that’s his announcement to make when Porter is good and ready to do so.
This husband and father of two daughters left here like so many others have once finished with high school, but Porter returned like so many have. There’s something about this valley, Porter insists, and that is that it draws back the departed who truly loved growing up here.
What are the best aspects involved with living in Neffs, Ohio?
I left the area when I joined the Air Force back in 1982. I returned 13 years later and traveled to a few other states to work for a few months at a time, but I missed the small-town atmosphere of Neffs.
With approximately 900-or-so residents in the Neffs area (if all the dogs are on the porch) we know and look out for each other. We have a safe community, and we know what the children are up to and what rules most parents have for their kids. An evening stroll through the streets may take a little longer as we stop to converse with folks on their porches.
And it’s not unusual to smell the aroma of a bonfire on the evening walk.
As a trustee of Pultney Township, what are the most prevalent issues you and your colleagues have faced during the last few years?
As an elected trustee for Pultney Township, the past few years have been frustrating. Frank Schaffer, Mark Cervelli, and myself are the elected officials of Pultney Township. We have two Federal Disaster Declarations starting in 2018 and 2019. The federal government, or FEMA to be specific, has dragged its feet on providing funding to repair our embankment failures. Pultney has over $8 million in damages.
The regulations provided under FEMA have created a quagmire of paperwork to complete these projects. The 15 entities are affected in Belmont County, and a quick solution is not in the near future.
In the meantime, we have roads that are closed with no foreseeable timeline as to when we can reopen them to traffic.
In your opinion, how has Ohio Gov. Mike Dewine handled the COVID-19 pandemic?
Governor DeWine’s administration was on top of things when COVID-19 became an issue and acted appropriately. As time went on, I began to see the effects on the small businesses in our area.
I am in agreement that we need to reopen, but we must use caution in what is going to become the new normal. The township has taken a hit on the budget due to COVID-19, and the cuts in Columbus will affect our local government funding. My fellow trustees and I have met with the fiscal officer and had to enact some cuts to our employee health benefits, reevaluate our paving projects for 2020, and reduce maintenance on our grass maintenance as long as it does not interfere with the safety of the residents nor travel lanes on Pultney Township roads.
PTT Global America announced over the weekend a final investment decision will not be made until the first fiscal quarter of 2021. What could such a development mean for Pultney Township?
Pultney Township most likely will see effects from the 2021 PTT Development. While the PTT development is physically located in the neighboring township of Mead, Pultney could see an increase in commercial development as well as revenue from all ancillary businesses that follow after the development.
We are funded by property taxes, so any increase in development could increase collections of county property taxes.
As a father, what do you worry about most when it comes to the economy in the Upper Ohio Valley?
I have been fortunate that my children have selected careers in the health care field.
Cierra 27, our oldest, works for WVU Medicine, and Taylor, 25, is getting ready to graduate from BM Spurr’s School of Nursing. Both, if they choose to stay in the Upper Ohio Valley, should be able to acquire gainful employment. My son-in-law is a coal miner, and I worry about his ability to remain in that field until retirement.
I left the area in 1982 due to economic conditions. Enlisting in the Air Force took me out west to Nevada. After my enlistment ended, I stayed in Las Vegas for another eight years. Missing the small-town atmosphere of the Ohio Valley, I returned and started my family here in Neffs.
Our young residents have opportunities to gain knowledge through higher education that will allow them to remain in this area whether through a secondary education system, apprenticeship in our trade unions, or enlisting into the armed forces. There is training available depending on their choice of career.
I worry that more will leave this area for the bright lights of the larger cities. We need to balance the equation of retirees and low-income with livable wage jobs in these parts of Appalachia. Economic challenges are the most worrisome I see right now for our Upper Ohio Valley.
