Head to www.journal-news.net this weekend to check out the latest episode of The Journal's chat show, "Unwritten." Hosted by Journal reporters Jess Wilt and Colin McGuire, the weekly series features conversations with some of the most interesting people throughout the Eastern Panhandle.

This week's episode features a conversation with Jefferson County Commission President Steve Stolipher. Having come into to county commission fold only recently, he was voted in as president after former county commission President Josh Compton moved out of the area.

In addition to asking him about the transition from commissioner to president in this, the 10th episode of "Unwritten," Stolipher discusses the commission's recent decisions on impact fees (which includes bringing the school impact fee for the county to $1), the current situation with the county's emergency services personnel, his passion for the Jefferson County area, his time as an auctioneer, the quick way he moves county commission meetings from one agenda item to another and, of course, the last concert he attended.   

Below is an excerpt of the conversation. To view the entire episode, head to www.journal-news.net or visit The Journal's YouTube page.

Wilt: Masks are all we ever talk about these days, and the county commission made a decision recently that there won't be a mask mandate for employees. What are your thoughts on that?

Stolipher: We have a resolution to not have a requirement, nor are we going to require any of our employees to have vaccination cards. A lot of employees reached out to me and said they didn't have plans to be vaccinated. I know there are a lot of nurses out on the streets picketing now, because the hospitals are requiring them to be vaccinated. It's just bad. If somebody wants to be vaccinated, that's their choice, and we just wanted to make that clear. It's the same thing with masks. If somebody wants to wear a mask, certainly, they're more than able to wear one. If any employees feel unsafe, we can set up more plexiglass. If there's anything else we can do to make things more safe for them, we'll do it. I know some people have a hard time breathing with masks on, and some don't. I don't think we should have a rule that everyone needs to wear a masks when some people don't feel comfortable wearing one.

McGuire: Do you anticipate going back to having strictly virtual meetings without having a mandate from the governor?

Stolipher: No, we currently do not have any plans to go back to all virtual. Our plan is to continue to have hybrid meetings. We recently voted to allow the public to come to our meetings. We have about six or eight chairs for people to come in. The chairs are spread apart by six feet. We plan on having hybrid meetings, because it's very convenient. Some of our staff still don't feel comfortable, and they can stay in their office and participate via the webinar. Some of our staff members prefer to see us in person when they present at county commission meetings. One of our staff members this summer had to present something, but he was on vacation, so he jumped on the webinar for 10 minutes on his vacation, and everything was as efficient as it would be with him in the room.