Published: May 08, 2008 01:09 am            

Nine run for four magistrate positions

Four incumbents, five newcomers are all Democrats

FAIRMONT — Four incumbent magistrates and five newcomers are on the ballot for the Tuesday Democratic primary.

No Republicans have filed for the office, and the deadline for the party to slate someone has passed, so the four winners of Tuesday’s race will face no opposition at the polls in November.

Incumbents Hank Middlemas, Muriel “Peggy” Twyman, Missy Pride Linger and Cathy Reed-Vanata are facing challenges from Sylvia Cerisano Barr, Tricia Dawn Arbogast-Bush, Frank Cosco, Ted Offutt and Todd Rundle.

The Times West Virginian editorial board sent questionnaires to each one of the candidates in the county’s contested races on the May 13 ballot.

A question was selected for each race, giving the candidates the opportunity to answer a question about the position they are seeking as well as provide background information about themselves.

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Name: Sylvia Cerisano Barr

Address: 1015 Riverview Drive, Pleasant Valley

Background information: Lifelong resident of Marion County; married with two grown children, Johnny and Melissa; five grandchildren; attended Farmington High School and studied business management at Fairfax College in Virginia and attended barber college in Wheeling; worked as a barber for more than 20 years, 15 of which were in a management position; held a position with FEMA as a field rep; worked as a caseworker for six years, working with juvenile delinquents and ex-offenders, responsible for recruiting and helping them to prepare for their GEDs so they could become self-sufficient and productive citizens in the community; on the Affirmative Action Committee in the 1990s; will represent West Virginia in the upcoming state convention in Charleston.

Do you believe the cost of court (fines, filings, fees) is too much for the average citizen? I believe court costs, filings and fees in Marion County are high, but these costs are necessary and serve a purpose. If an individual cannot afford to pay, there is an affidavit of indigence they can fill out in certain situations to help them. And I’m sure the county can provide and will provide where it is needed.

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Name: Tricia Arbogast-Bush

Address: Rt. 2, Fairmont

Background information: Husband Franklin Bush; two children, Destini and Franklin; graduated from Fairmont Senior High School, involved in various academic and athletic programs; graduate of Fairmont State University, degree in criminal justice and sociology; worked at WVU football games; participated in governor summer youth program serving at Family Services and the Department of Natural Resources Forestry and Environmental Protection Agency; was supervisor for one of local parks for MCPARC; while attending Fairmont State, was a student worker in the office of Multicultural Affairs, helped to arrange and execute a positive diversity conference; worked at WesBanco; became social worker, maintained professional working relationship with judges, lawyers, probation officers and clients.

Do you believe the cost of court (fines, filings, fees) is too much for the average citizen?

This is a broad question. I don’t know what the “average citizen” is capable of paying and what reason (s)he would be paying fines, filings or fees.

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Name: Frank Cosco

Address: Rt. 8 Box 251-C, Fairmont

Background information: Lifelong resident of Fairmont; married to wife Sue for 28 years; three children and six grandchildren; attended East Fairmont High School, studied criminal justice at Fairmont State; trained and certified graduate of the West Virginia State Police Academy; FBI Academy, certified fingerprint identification and classification; U.S. Department of Justice, certification in domestic violence and street survival; graduate of Homeland Security Training Center; 32 years of experience of enforcing local, state and federal laws; retired senior police officer from the Fairmont Police Department; captain/project manager for Niosh Federal Facility; former employee of Owens-Illinois in Fairmont; employed as a special operations officer with the Protective Service until Sept. 11, 2001, after which employment transferred under Homeland Security to Security Consultants Group; currently stationed at the Federal Building in Morgantown.

Boards and organizations: Knights of Columbus-Marian Council; Marion County Democrat Men’s Club; past mentor for the Challenge Academy; Fraternal Order of Police, Friendly City Lodge No. 69, past president; GBBA Local 109 and Local 79; State of West Virginia Fraternal Order of Police.

Do you believe the cost of court (fines, filings, fees) is too much for the average citizen?

I do not believe the cost of court is too much for the average citizen because while the costs may be more than one can afford, it may also serve as a deterrent for any future crimes committed by the individual.

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Name: Missy Pride Linger

Address: 91 Samantha Drive, Fairmont

Background information: Married to Todd Linger, two children; born, raised and educated in Marion County; earned a B.S. in criminal justice from Fairmont State University; have taken courses in public administration at West Virginia University; upon graduating was hired as the county’s home incarceration and community service officer; later employed with the FBI and then the West Virginia High Technology Consortium Foundation; currently serving third term of office as a magistrate, having been elected in 1996.

Boards and organizations: Member of the Democrat Women’s Club and St. Peter the Fisherman Catholic Church; past member of the Jr. League of Fairmont, Fairmont Federal Credit Union Supervisory Committee, Fairmont State University Alumni Board and Fairmont Senior High School Foundation.

Do you believe the cost of court (fines, filings, fees) is too much for the average citizen?

Citizens should know that all costs assessed by the court are mandated by the Legislature. Monies collected by the court are remitted to the state treasurer’s office and the county sheriff’s tax office. They are then divided into separate accounts to fund and maintain our regional jail system, law enforcement training, and court security, to name a few.

The court has discretion of assessing certain criminal fines and fees. Civil court costs are subject to waiver should a party be indigent. There are a very few criminal-related costs that the court may waive if a defendant is indigent.

It can become costly for anyone who comes through magistrate court. Fortunately, the monies are well spent toward important and necessary funding.

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Name: Hank Middlemas

Address: 1802 Bunker Avenue, Fairmont

Background information: Married to the former Kimberly Farcin; parents of four children, three who currently attend West Virginia University; educated in Marion County schools; graduated from East Fairmont High School; certificate in computer science; completed all training according to state code and certified by the West Virginia Supreme Court; currently serving as Marion County Chief Magistrate with more than seven years experience in the judicial system.

Boards and organizations: Marion County Democrat Men’s Club; Fairmont Moose Lodge, former member of board of directors; Green Hills Country Club; and former member of the board of directors for the Fairmont Little League.

Do you believe the cost of court (fines, filings, fees) is too much for the average citizen? Yes, I do feel court costs are too high in some incidents. However, I believe the costs of fines and filing fees are just and fair. Most fines assessed by the magistrate have a range set by West Virginia Code. For example, fined not less than or nor more than. This allows the magistrate to use their discretion on an individual case-by-case situation.

Filing fees in civil matters vary and are set according to the amount the filing party is trying to recover. Also, we have a pauper affidavit for those who may not have the ability to file suit due to their financial situation.

On the other hand, I feel court costs in criminal cases are much too high. In Marion County defendants are charged $165.50 on each case. Even people who receive tickets be it for speeding, expired inspection sticker, whatever, costs are $165.50. For example, a person with a speeding ticket is fined up to $100 plus $165.50 court costs. The breakdown of the $165.50 are as follows: $10 court costs, $10 crime victims compensation, $2 law enforcement training fund, $40 regional jail (criminal), $5 court security fund, $48.50 regional jail per diem fee, $10 community corrections assessment, $5 courthouse facility improvement fund, $30 regional jail operations fund and $5 teen court fund.

As you can see of the $165.50 you pay $118.55 in earmarks for the regional jail system. I do feel these court costs are extremely high.

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Name: Theodore “Ted” Offutt

Address: 1153 Grandview Ave., Fairmont.

Background information: Married to Cheryl Offutt, art teacher at East Fairmont High School; father of three children, Staci, Natalie and Matt; attended East Fairmont High School, Fairmont State College, University of Virginia, State Police Academy Basic Police Training, FBI National Academy, FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development, FBI Academy; in-service and specialized training for 28 years; City of Fairmont police officer for 28 years (patrolman, detective sergeant, detective lieutenant, chief detective, chief of police for almost 14 years; retired March 15, 2004; adjunct instructor at Fairmont State University in the criminal justice department for more than 20 years; state teacher’s license; substitute teacher in Marion County Schools from 2004 to present time; small business owner/partner of Cheat Lake Pizza ’n Pasta; head basketball coach at East Fairmont Junior High School for 7th and 8th grades; boys assistant football coach at East Fairmont Junior High School.

Boards and organizations: Member of American Federation of Teachers, Fraternal Order of Police, International Association of Chiefs of Police and many other professional organizations; past president of WV Pop Warner Football; past Little League Baseball Manager for Joe’s Cars, A League; past assistant coach for IUE Rockets Football; past booster at East Fairmont and North Marion High Schools.

Do you believe the cost of court (fines, filings, fees) is too much for the average citizen? Magistrate court costs have increased tremendously in the last 30 years. At the time of transition from the justice of the peace system to the magistrate court system, court costs were approximately $36. A $20 fine added to the court costs brought the total fee to $56. Court costs having risen from $36 to $156.50 – more than quadrupled – the fee for the same offense today would be $176.50. In addition, the individual pays $156.50 in court costs for each offense. So if an officer adds one additional offense, the fee grows much higher. For example, a speeding ticket with a minimum fine of $20 and an expired inspection sticker with a minimum fine of $15 would total $35 in fines. However, with court costs being doubled to $313, the final fee would be $348. This can become extremely expensive for the average citizen.

Some of the costs attached to each citation include regional jail management $40, jail per diem disbursement $48, crime victims compensation $10, law enforcement training $2, courthouse improvement fund $5, teen court fund $5, court security fund $5. These, along with several other fees, are added to the court costs paid by all citizens charged with an offense when the court imposes a fine and court costs.

In addition, if an individual wants to file a civil action, the filing fees are dependent on the amount of the lawsuit, ranging from $74 for a suit up to $500, to $90 for the maximum magistrate court suit of $5,000.

The area of magistrate court costs is clearly an issue that the supreme court (who administers the magistrate system in West Virginia) or the Legislature should review for fairness. Many of these costs may be too much for citizens of West Virginia and should be reduced.

Although the magistrate must follow the law in setting fees, fines, and costs, state law does allow the magistrate to exercise some discretion, and I certainly believe that the magistrate should consider the individual circumstances when setting a fine.

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Name: Todd Rundle

Address: Rt. 8 Box 158, Fairmont

Background information: Degree from WVU in psychology, emphasis in criminal psychology; Will graduate with a master’s degree from WVU in December 2008; graduated from the College of Advocacy (San Francisco) with an emphasis of court research and legal case preparation; served as one of West Virginia’s Help America Vote Act coordinators; worked for the Federal Mandated Protection and Advocacy System and under the constraints of two United States District Court orders; experience and knowledge regarding court process, dispute resolution, court and appeal processes, and investigation procedures and processes; knowledge of the West Virginia State Code; three children, Anthony, Ali and Chance; married for 15 years to Amy Walter Rundle.

Boards and organizations: Served on the Moose Lodge Board of Directors, held the position of Junior Vice Governor; member of Legion; served on the Marion County Senior Citizens board of directors for the past four years; serve on the WVU CED WVATS Disability Board, chair for the last two years; current president of the West Virginia Pop Warner Board for youth football and cheerleading for the Fairmont, Fairview and Mannington areas; mentor and coach in the county football and baseball programs for 15 years; member of the Knights of Columbus, the Immaculate Conception Church and the Marion County Men’s Democratic Club.

Do you believe the cost of court (fines, filings, fees) is too much for the average citizen?

First, I must state that the courts system needs to be friendly oriented and yet tough on certain crimes. What I mean is that drug crimes and violent offenders need to be dealt with harshly.

On the other hand, in civil disputes, people need to be educated on their rights and not be fearful of using a system that should be focused on rights and justice. With my years of experience in the court systems, I believe in total objectivity. No person ruling any case should do so if any conflict of interest is involved. A magistrate needs to be committed to credibility, fairness and objectivity in any hearing. Both parties in any dispute should be heard and judged upon neutrally.

As far as the fees, they are necessary to withstand the process, but I do feel that the cost of representation and filing should be lowered, specifically, if certain hardships exist so that individuals can have full access to expand their rights and be heard impartially.

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Name: M.L. Peggy Twyman

Address: 815 Walnut Avenue, Fairmont

Background information: Born and educated in Rivesville; graduated from Rivesville High School and Fairmont State College with a BA in education; taught for several years in Marion County and Pittsburgh; this is the 32nd year as a part of the magistrate court system and the 28th as a magistrate; daughter of the late Lawrence “Beck” and Gertrude Ash; wife of the late James W. Twyman; three sons, James, Bruce and Michael; three grandchildren, James “Jess” Twyman, Mallory Twyman and Emily Twyman.

Boards and organizations: The Rivesville Cultural and Education, a group that strives to save the old Rivesville Grade School for the community.

Do you believe the cost of court (fines, filings, fees) is too much for the average citizen? I believe court costs are too much for the average citizen to pay, even with a six-month payment schedule, although that money goes to the school fund, law enforcement training, victims reparation fund, court costs, court security, community corrections, court improvements and teen court. Without these costs, these various agencies would be underfunded.

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Name: Cathy Reed-Vanata

Address: PO Box 751, Fairmont

Background information: Husband, Jay Vanata; stepchildren Shelli and Jason and dog Buddy; born in Marion County and educated in the Marion County school system; attended Fairmont State College; worked in the circuit court and magistrate court system for the past 29 years.

Boards and organizations: 1st District vice president of the Magistrate Association; served as chief magistrate for two years; vice president of Teen Court; member of the Fairmont Community Development Partnership; member of the Marion County Women’s Democrat Club.

Do you believe the cost of court (fines, filings, fees) is too much for the average citizen?

Yes I do, but I am mandated by the code to enforce these costs. I feel that the regional jails have caused the fees to go up. It is so costly for law enforcement to travel back and forth to our regional jail, which is 110 miles from us round trip. This also takes law enforcement out of our county leaving us with less protection.

E-mail Misty Poe at mpoe@timeswv.com.

        

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