Monday’s council session concluded with seven agenda items resolved, one tabled, and four attendees that Harlan’s Creek cannot fully account for. The stop sign proposal did not survive the vote.

HARLAN’S CREEK, WV — Monday evening’s regular session of the Harlan’s Creek Town Council concluded at approximately 9:47 p.m. with seven agenda items resolved, one carried forward to the November session, and a discrepancy in the attendance record that Town Clerk Vivian Oakes has characterised as, in her words, ‘difficult to reconcile with standard procedure.’

According to Clerk Oakes, the council chamber contained an estimated four additional presences during the session that were not reflected on the official sign-in sheet. The presences occupied the rear section of the public gallery. They did not speak during the public comment period. They did not approach the refreshments table, which Clerk Oakes notes was particularly well-stocked this week owing to the Friends of Harlan’s Creek Library bake sale running concurrently in the adjoining room. They did not, at any point, sign in.

Community Notice

They were present. They were attentive. The sheet does not reflect them, and yet the sheet has their signatures. I’ve been doing this job for fourteen years and I am not sure how to file that.

— Vivian Oakes, Harlan’s Creek Town Clerk

The discrepancy became apparent during Clerk Oakes’ post-session reconciliation of the sign-in sheet against the vote tally for Item Six on the agenda: the proposed installation of a stop sign at the Turner Street and Birch Road intersection, submitted by resident Barry Hutchins following what Mr. Hutchins described in his formal petition as ‘consistent and deliberate interference with traffic flow by an entity or entities of indeterminate origin.’ The proposal was defeated. The final vote was seven against, three in favour. Clerk Oakes notes the room contained eleven registered attendees at the time of the vote, which does not produce a result of ten.

The Signatures Are Present. The Signatories Are Not.

Upon reviewing the sign-in sheet, Clerk Oakes identified four signatures at the bottom of the document that she does not recall witnessing being made and that do not correspond to any registered resident, council observer, or press credential holder present at the session. The signatures are rendered in what she describes as ‘a standard cursive’ that is ‘legible but not quite like handwriting from someone who learned it here.’ The names provided are not names Clerk Oakes recognises from the Harlan’s Creek voter roll. The Department of Cryptid Affairs regional office has been notified. A representative confirmed receipt of the notification and stated that the matter had been assigned a case number. The representative did not provide the case number.

Mayor Robert Pruitt, reached for comment following the session, described the evening as ‘a productive meeting with strong community engagement.’ When asked specifically about the attendance discrepancy, Mayor Pruitt said he was ‘grateful to everyone who took the time to participate in the democratic process’ and that Harlan’s Creek remained ‘a town where every voice matters.’ He then wished this reporter a good evening. The call lasted four minutes and twenty seconds and contained no information beyond what has been reported here.

Procedural Questions Remain Open

The vote is the vote. I don’t make the rules about who can participate. I just record what happened. What happened is that ten people voted and the sheet has fourteen names on it and I’ve been staring at it since Tuesday morning.

— Vivian Oakes, Harlan’s Creek Town Clerk

Whether the votes cast by the four unregistered presences are valid under West Virginia municipal procedure is, according to the office of the County Clerk, ‘not a question we have encountered in this specific form before.’ A legal opinion has been requested. A timeline for that opinion has not been provided. The stop sign, in the meantime, will not be installed. The Turner Street intersection remains as it was. Barry Hutchins has lodged a formal objection. The DCA has noted the objection. Clerk Oakes has filed the objection correctly. The intersection continues to function in the manner Barry Hutchins has been describing in formal petitions since March.

The next regular session of the Harlan’s Creek Town Council is scheduled for the third Monday of November. Agenda items may be submitted to Clerk Oakes via the standard form. Clerk Oakes has confirmed she will be adding a line to the sign-in sheet. She has not confirmed what the line will say. Authorities continue to urge caution. This is Hal Ridgeway. Reporting continues.