West Virginia State Treasurer's Office donates recovered tools to vocational schools

In a recent announcement, West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore’s office presented a donation of nearly $10,000 in tools to Jackson County school officials and the county’s Vo-Tech schools. The tools were provided by West Virginia’s State Police which were obtained through the state’s Unclaimed Property Program.

Treasurer Moore was quoted by Loot Press about the donation, saying, “I’d like to thank the West Virginia State Police for working with our Office’s Unclaimed Property Division to turn over these tools. This is a good example of how we can use our Unclaimed Property laws to take items that were once used for criminal purposes and instead put them to good use to benefit our communities.”

The tools were presented by treasury staff to Jackson County Schools administrators and students of Ripley High School.The tools will be utilized by Roane-Jackson Technical Center students, as well as in vocational programs offered through Ravenswood High School and Ripley High School.

Loot Press also quoted Will Hosaflook, who serves as the Superintendent for Jackson County Schools, who said, “It’s an honor and a privilege to receive these tools from the State Treasurer’s Office. This donation will allow Jackson County Schools to invest more funds into our vocational programs now that we can save money on purchasing much-needed equipment and tools.”

West Virginia’s unclaimed property laws allow the State Treasurer and local police agencies to acquire stolen or unclaimed property, excluding firearms and ammunition, and donate them to nonprofit organizations. It is through these laws that the materials being donated were obtained.

The specific tools that are being donated in this case were obtained by the West Virginia State Police during an investigation of a stolen property ring. The rightful owners of the tools were originally identified for many of the recovered materials; many others were unable to be tracked down, especially when it came to tools that had been used. 

According to the unclaimed property laws, once the stolen property has been found to have no value toward evidence, and has been held for at least six months by a law enforcement agency, and the rightful owner has not come forward, or the property has been determined to be unable to be returned to a rightful owner, then the treasurer has the power to authorize the property to be donated to a nonprofit organization that can make use of it.

In late 2022, the West Virginia State Treasurer's Office and the Charleston Metro Drug Unit partnered to donate over $10,000 worth of tools to Kanawha County Schools.

Treasurer Moore noted that the donation of these tools and more to local vocational programs had a special meaning to him, saying, “We’re proud to be able to help our local vocational training programs because vocational jobs and trades are an important part to our economic future. These are good-paying careers that are desperately needed to rejuvenate our manufacturing base and improve our blue-collar economy here at home.”

More information about Roane-Jackson Technical Center, where the donated tools will be stored and used, can be found at the school’s website.