Eugene Mazzocchi of the Garrett's Fork Crimewatch said the meeting will be an important opportunity for both candidates and the voting public to meet one on one to talk about matters which are important to them.
"It's very important to vote because it is the American way," Mazzocchi added. "We the people can make a difference; you just have to get out and vote to do it."
There have been several items up in the West Virginia legislature which would be important for neighborhood watch group members and law abiding citizens including the Castle Bill, which would protect home owners from being sued by home invaders.
At the Feb. 20 meeting of the Omar Area Crimewatch several candidates for office were present and they talked about topics as far ranging as the Castle Bill to support for area libraries.
Ted Ellis, Ralph Rodighiero, John Bennett, Harry Freeman, Rupert Phillips and current county clerk John Turner were present.
Rodighiero said one bill up in the legislature would allow neighborhood watch volunteers to purchase PEIA insurance.
One patrolling member said such an idea might be a good one considering that some volunteers had been stalked, followed, spat upon or harassed from time to time in different parts of the county.
John Turner said the last election went "fairly smoothly" and that he expected this year’s to go even smoother now that the public is more familiar with the new computerized voting machines.
John Bennett scanned the proposed new Castle Bill and noted that if passed it could protect a law abiding home owner from being sued in a civil suit.
One man said he felt it did no good to protect your home if you lost it in a lawsuit to a burglar or home invader.
Watch group members have worked with lawmakers and worked on the legislation for three years now, noting that over a dozen other states have similar laws which protect the law abiding from criminals trying to hit the jackpot through lawsuit lottery.
Mazzocchi said the new bill "was better than what we had the last time."
"I don't want to harm anyone, but I think it's best for criminals to know that law abiding citizens have rights too," Mazzocchi explained.
Harry Freeman pointed out that area public libraries face a potential funding crisis and asked the community to come to public meetings of the Logan County Commission and the Board of Education to show their support for libraries. Freeman noted that there is more to a modern library than just book and that many people in Logan, Man and Chapmanville utilize the public libraries to host meetings, use computers and do other things.
"If our libraries are not funded, we could see some doors shut," he warned.
In other neighborhood watch news:
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