KINGWOOD, W.Va. — The Preston County Sheriff’s Department is working to address staffing shortages as deputies leave for higher-paying jobs with other agencies in the region.

Sheriff Scott Spiker said Kingwood is the only municipality in the county with a police force and they typically patrol until around midnight. Municipalities like Reedsville and Terre Alta had one officer each until they recently resigned. The Preston County Sheriff’s Department is down two deputies from their full staffing level of 13, leaving coverage thin for some parts of the day.

“In Preston County we cover 24-hour shifts and we’re trying to adjust the scheduling to accommodate that,” Spiker said. “At times on the midnight shift from midnight to 8 a.m. we’ll only have one deputy out for the county.”

Spiker rec

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