Reuben Darby is one of the most active conservative Republicans in Morgan County.<\/p>\n
He helped lead the fight against zoning in Morgan County, West Virginia which went down to defeat by close to a three to one margin in November 2010.<\/p>\n
But now, Darby has joined hands with — among others — those who he battled over zoning and has formed something called Dog PAC (Preventing Animal Cruelty).<\/p>\n
Dog PAC\u2019s charter members?<\/p>\n
Amy Lane, former Morgan County Commissioner Brenda Hutchinson, George Farnham, Jim Dupont and Patty Dupont.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of the very same people that I was fighting with over zoning are the people I\u2019m now allied with,\u201d Darby says. \u201cI\u2019m issue oriented, not personality oriented.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Thursday at 10 am, Darby will go before the Morgan County Commission in Berkeley Springs to present Dog PAC\u2019s proposal to build a state of the art animal shelter to replace the current one.<\/p>\n
At his side with be Summer Wyatt, West Virginia Humane Society director and a former Miss West Virginia.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m driven to do this because animals can\u2019t help themselves,\u201d Darby says.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe humans can help ourselves. I just figure, it\u2019s up to us to help creatures that absolutely cannot help themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Darby estimates that the new shelter will cost $204,000.<\/p>\n
And he proposes that the shelter be built on land donated by the county.<\/p>\n
Darby says Dog PAC has secured $18,000 in pledges from 63 individuals and organizations.<\/p>\n
He estimates that another $75,000 will come from the sale of the old facility on Route 9.<\/p>\n
And the remaining $111,000 the county will get from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the form of a loan.<\/p>\n
Darby says that he has spoken with County Commissioners Brad Close and Stacy Dugan about the proposal and both have been \u201ccongenial.”<\/p>\n
Darby says he has not approached newly elected Commissioner Bob Ford — with whom Darby and the DuPonts worked closely to defeat zoning in 2010.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Reuben Darby is one of the most active conservative Republicans in Morgan County. He helped lead the fight against zoning in Morgan County, West Virginia which went down to defeat by close to a three to one margin in November … Continue reading