T-L Photos/GAGE VOTA Shadyside Village Council name Kelly Kotur as its new Village Solicitor after the former Solicitor Thomas Ryncarz’s contract expired on December 31, 2024.

Attorney Kelly Kotur was hired as the village solicitor while Councilman Robert “Bushwacker” Gorrell was voted council president.

Gorrell was nominated by council member Mike Meintel — a motion seconded by member Melanie Haswell. All members in attendance voted in favor of designating Gorrell the 2025 council president. Former council president Brandon Parr was the only council member unable to attend the meeting.

Kotur, of Powhatan Point, attended her first council meeting as the village’s solicitor. In October, council voted to advertise that the village was looking to fill the solicitor position.

Lawyer Thomas Ryncarz had served two years as the village’s solicitor with his contract expiring on Dec. 31. The decision to advertise for a new solicitor followed a few tense meetings that led to public outrage over council hiring Michael Shaheen as an outside lawyer for a matter that the council has yet to address publicly.

​​Kotur was named solicitor after council approved an ordinance during Monday’s meeting. The ordinance states Kotur will be employed as solicitor for a two-year period that began Jan. 1.

Kotur attended West Virginia University, graduating with a bachelor of arts degree in political science in 2002. She then attended the West Virginia University College of Law, where she was a two-year member of the West Virginia Law Review and clerked for the John Preston Bailey, judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia. In addition to now being Shadyside’s solicitor, she also works as Powhatan Point’s solicitor and practices law with a St. Clairsville firm.

Following passage of the ordinance, Shadyside Police Chief Don Collette made the announcement that the Shadyside Police Department will be starting an initiative that will occur during inclement weather.

“If we have bad inclement weather and people need prescriptions from our pharmacy down here, we’ll deliver it for them,” Collette said of the officers.

He then joked that the department won’t be delivering groceries to residents, but if they aren’t able to get to the local pharmacy the department will ensure residents get the medicine they need.

Collette informed the public that if they are in need of medication delivery during hazardous conditions, they can dial 911 and be transferred to a Shadyside Police Department officer.

“I think people are scared to call 911 because they think that it has to be an absolute emergency like somebody dying or something, but here in Shadyside that’s what we do,” Haswell said.

She added that even if someone needed to get into the village’s Community Center but found it locked, they would have to call 9-1-1.

“Just give them your address and they’ll get it to us,” Collette said.