By RONDA GREGORY
News & Journal Staff Writer
Shinnston has a new City Manager, and the Shinnston Volunteer Fire Department has a new chief. City Council made the announcements Monday night.
Amy Haberbosch Wilson of Shinnston will take over as City Manager on Feb.1. She replaces interim City Manager Debra Herndon.
Wilson is currently a federal grant reviewer, but has also worked as Planning Director for the City of Fairmont and for Region VI Planning and Development Council, which consists of six counties, including Harrison and Marion. She also garnered municipal experience as a city planner for Maricopa, Ariz.
Wilson said she’s thrilled to be hired as Shinnston’s new City Manager.
“It was an absolute honor,” she stated. “All of my family is here, so it’s great to be back home. I’ve tried to get back for 15 years. This is where my family is from. This is where my roots are.”
Wilson reports she wants to build on what is already happening in Shinnston’s development and planning. “I’d like to pick up what they’ve already started,” she said. “They’ve started to get the community really involved. I’d like to see the newer generation get involved in what is going on and make sure the older generation’s voices are heard. They bring so much to the table.”
She said she appreciates the town’s rich heritage – so much so that she and her husband purchased a home built in 1925, which they are remodeling. “I love the history here,” Wilson exclaimed.
Dylan Oliveto will take over officially as chief of the Shinnston Volunteer Fire Department on Jan. 18, replacing Doug Gregory, who is retiring. He has been serving as Deputy Chief the past five years.
According to Mayor Sammy DeMarco, the Fire Department recommends to City Council who should become chief.
Oliveto, who has 20 years experience with the Fire Department, was elected “unanimously by his peers and members in good standing,” according to the department’s Facebook page.
“It’s a humongous honor,” said Oliveto. “It’s been something that has been a goal of mine since I started there.”
Oliveto has a special reason to be proud of being chief: “When I came in in 1996 as a junior member, my grandfather, Bob Burnett, had just finished 10 years as chief.”
Oliveto stated the department’s efforts and successes are a team endeavor.
“We have a great group of men and women at the department,” he stated. “The biggest goal is to continue to serve the community as best as we can. We want to build on our tradition of serving the city and serving it very well.”
Another goal, he explained, is to enlist more members: “One big goal right now is to increase our volunteer numbers.”
As does Wilson, Oliveto wants many Shinnston citizens to participate in city issues. “We encourage as much community involvement as possible,” Oliveto emphasized. “Anyone who is interested in fire service, we have plenty of room to grow.”
Oliveto is also employed full time by HealthNet Aeromedical Services.
Both Wilson and Oliveto will be sworn in at a later date.
