NITRO, W.Va. -- Nitro City Council members announced at Tuesday night's meeting that efforts are ongoing in deciding how they will spend a $20,000 grant from the West Virginia Department of Highways for historic preservation around the site of the Nitro-St. Albans Bridge.
According to Historical Society Director Rich Hively, several ideas already have been approved by the state, including placing signage around the site of the Robert C. Byrd Boat Launch. The signs will detail how the site was first used to launch patrol boats in 1918. Those boats watched the waters around the city's ballistics plant.
Hively said the bridge would be closed to all traffic on Jan. 7, 2013, and that crews would be in the water to begin reinforcing the piers within a couple of weeks of that date.
In other news, council members recognized 7-year-old Nitro Elementary student Evie Hunt for raising $1,050 for St. Jude children's cancer research. Hunt's parents, Brian and Kimberly, were in attendance at Tuesday's meeting.
According to Mayor Rusty Casto, Nitro Elementary School sponsored the program for its students to raise what funds they could, and set the total school target at $1,500.
"Evie did more for these kids than any other student I've ever seen," Casto said, noticeably choked up.
Hunt received a certificate recognizing her achievement and a $25 gift certificate to Dairy Queen.
Also, Nitro police Officer Jason Garbin announced that there would be a 5K race on April 14 to raise money for Officer James Lee, who is recovering from serious injuries suffered when he was struck by an automobile on Nov. 25. Nitro council members pledged support for that effort.
Council members also offered up to $3,600 a year to Bill Fortune, director of the Nitro Food Pantry, to continue free food giveaways for Nitro residents up to four times a year.
According to Fortune, hunger continues to be a huge problem for the city, and these giveaways, which have in the past distributed up to 11,000 pounds of food to needy residents, are becoming too expensive to be wholly supported by the Nitro Food Pantry and the Mountaineer Food Bank, the agency that donates the food.
