VENDOR SPOTLIGHT...Meet Our West Virginia Businesses!

Valley Air, Inc. of Charleston, West Virginia
Valley Air, Inc. of Charleston, West Virginia, offers construction equipment and supplies, rental equipment, steel, rebarr, handtools and safety supplies.

Jim Pauley of Valley Air best describes his business with state government as most satisfactory, adding that his state contacts are very knowledgeable and professional. His company deals primarily with the Department of Transportation and the Division of Natural Resources.

"I have found that sales calls to state agencies have improved my business with the state," he said. "It is important to speak face-to-face with the staff who has purchasing responsibilities and understands the agency's needs."

For more details on the products offered by Valley Air, contact Jim Pauley at (800) 435-9959 or by email at valley@newwave.net.

When a state of emergency is declared, many state agencies are affected, either directly or indirectly. In addition to the Office of Emergency Services and other responding agencies, the Purchasing Division is often called to action in many cases. With the recent flooding in the southern part of the state, the division assisted in the procurement of goods and services used in the cleanup effort.

In a prepared statement, Governor Bob Wise referred to the recent floods which hit southern West Virginia as the worst he has ever seen in that region. Along with other state officials, Gov. Wise traveled to some of the hardest hit areas to inspect the damage.

"There are close to 3,000 homes that have been damaged or destroyed, 500 people living in shelters and millions of dollars in damage," Gov. Wise said. "By far, this is the most devastation we have seen in our state in a decade or more."

The National Guard stationed hundreds of members on active duty in the eight designated counties. Two National Guard helicopters from West Virginia, with the help of four National Guard helicopters from Virginia, flew reconnaissance flights over rural areas in southern West Virginia to perform damage assessments in areas not accessible via roadways.

Water, sewer and natural gas systems in some areas of the flooded counties were offline. Water tankers had been dispatched to deliver water to several counties.

Hundreds of people were displaced from their homes, and more than 20 Red Cross shelters opened their doors to provide relief and assistance to affected families. The State Operations Center was active with personnel from several state agencies and volunteer organizations coordinating flood relief efforts.

The Purchasing Division worked closely with many of these agencies to assist in the expedient procurement of needed equipment and supplies. "In times of a state of emergency, our staff works to quickly perform the tasks in acquiring the necessary items to clean up the worst hit areas," said Purchasing Director Dave Tincher.

According to the Purchasing Division Policies and Procedures Handbook, emergency purchases are made when unforeseen causes arise, including delays by contractors, delays in transportation and unanticipated volume of work. Emergency purchases are not used for hardship resulting from neglect, poor planning, or lack of organization by the spending unit. The Purchasing Director must approve all emergency purchases, by concluding that some unforeseen or unexpected circumstance has suddenly created a situation requiring that goods or services be immediately purchased by a state spending unit.

What's State Government Buying?

(This information is compiled from the West Virginia Purchasing Bulletin. The purpose is to provide an awareness of the variety of products and services being procured in state government. Only a small sample of solicitations are listed.)

w William R. Sharpe Jr. Hospital
Request to prepare and re-paint its therapeutic pool.

w Division of Culture and History
Request to provide Printing of 5000 copies of "Historic West Virginia."

w Division of Natural Resources
Request to provide apparel uniforms for the front desk/office clerk parks and recreation personnel.

w Department of Education
Request to provide 130 each graphing calculator, view screen packages and one day training.

w Department of Education
Request to rehabilitate the railroad crossing warning near Elkins.

Misdirected and Lost Documents?
       Purchasing Division Ensures Proper Receipt
          by Tracking State Agency Documents

What happened to your purchasing document? Have your transactions received delayed action because they were sent to the wrong person?

Misdirected information results in delays and potential problems. Unfortunately, we have all experienced it in some aspect in business.

In order to better serve our customers, the Purchasing Division is requesting that all transaction documents, such as change orders, requisitions, direct purchase orders and emergencies, be sent directly to the attention of Sue Smith of the Purchasing Division, according to Curt Curtiss, Assistant Purchasing Director for the Acquisition and Contract Admini-stration Section. The document will be time-stamped and logged into our automated purchasing system for accountability and tracking purposes.

The Purchasing Division staff has been instructed to not process any document or proceed with any action until the transaction document has been properly received in this manner. When documents are sent or hand-carried to the incorrect buyer or sent directly to the appropriate buyer, it requires additional handling and delays action.

State agency procurement officers are requested to send all transaction documents directly to Sue Smith of the Purchasing Division at 2019 Washington Street, East, P.O. Box 50130, Charleston, WV 25305.

Agency personnel who have access to the TEAM system may verify if a document has been received by accessing the RH1 screen. At the bottom of this screen, a statement will read "received" and offer a date. This is the date that the document was received and logged at the Purchasing Division. If the document cannot be located on the RH1 screen, the document has not been received or no action is occurring. If no action has occurred within two working days, the buyer should be notified by electronic mail or telephone to determine the reason for the delay.