New notification system approved to alert Stanley residents, customers
By Randy Arrington
STANLEY, Dec. 11 — Page County Clerk of the Court Grayson Markowitz traveled to Stanley last week to administer the oath of office for incumbent mayor, Michael Knight, and incumbent council members, Jeremiah Knight and Robyn Good.
Although their new four-year terms don’t begin until Jan. 1, Markowitz has traditionally traveled to Stanley in December to make the swearing-in process easier and more efficient, getting all within a single municipality done at one time. However, Councilman Joseph Mauck was absent from last Wednesday’s meeting and still needs to take the oath of office. Technically, the mayor and council members’ current terms run through Dec. 31.
While all three council members were unopposed for their seats in the November election, Mayor Knight was challenged by a late write-in campaign launched by supporters of Councilman Doug Purdham. The incumbent mayor was re-elected to a third, four-year term by only 84 votes, among the 739 ballots cast in the race (58.3 percent)
Good ran unopposed in a special election to fill the remainder of the late Duane Layman’s term, which runs through Dec. 31, 2026. She was appointed by the Council to fill the seat on May 8, following the April 7 death of Layman.
In other business at its Dec. 11 meeting, the Stanley Council took the following actions:
• Unanimously approved utilizing a customer notification system available through Text.Gov to keep Town residents aware of various events, closures or schedule changes for Town services, or even water alerts like the one issued in August. The opt-in system will cost the Town $1,300 split over two budget cycles. The new system came as a suggestion from state officials after the safe drinking water alert in late summer. Town Manager Terry Pettit spoke with officials in Rural Retreat, Va. — a comparable town of about 1,500 residents — who use the system, and he reported that they were well pleased with the service.
• Requested that staff solicit a quote to place a streetlight at 1191 West Main Street, following a request that a streetlight be installed there.
• Heard a police report stating that there were 347 calls for service in November, with 256 being self-initiated and seven citations written. About 40 kids participated in Shop With A Cop — Chief Ryan Dean noted that some children bought food for their family, rather than toys.
• Unanimously set the 2025 Halloween Block Party for Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025.
• Unanimously approved the renewal of a one-year advertising contract with PageValleyNews.com for $2,080.
• Heard a recreation report stating that art classes from Stanley Elementary will be crafting and painting ornaments to place on the Stanley Christmas Tree; 60 entries were featured in the annual Christmas parade; Storytime with Santa was held at Hawksbill Park on Dec. 17.
• A long and tedious Lead and Copper survey is nearing completion. The survey required contacting 1,749 water customers within the Town of Stanley, up and down more than 100 streets. The survey gathers information on the types of pipes in Stanley homes and was required by state regulators.
• Town Manager Terry Pettit said he took the lead in setting up another quarterly meeting between the county and the three towns. While an exact date is not set, the next joint meeting is expected to take place in January, after a long hiatus.
For more information on the Town of Stanley,
visit https://www.townofstanley.com/
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