All schools in Upshur County will close at 1 p.m. today. All B-UHS sporting events today are canceled.

Take care of filing your personal property assessment without setting foot inside the courthouse

You can conduct any Assessor's office business you'd normally do inside the courthouse right out front thanks to Upshur County Assessor Dustin Zickefoose, center, and his team.

BUCKHANNON – File your personal property assessment without stepping a foot into the Upshur County Courthouse, and no, Upshur County Assessor Dustin Zickefoose isn’t talking about online filing, although residents can do that, too.

The Upshur County Assessor’s office has set up a table outside the courthouse where any Assessor’s office business can be done. Zickefoose said his office started setting up the table last week to reduce traffic inside the courthouse.

“We are taking assessment forms, selling dog tags, taking farm applications, commercial returns — basically anything in the office or anything you need to do is all right here,” Zickefoose said. “We’re doing this to minimize exposure and just trying to get people flowing quicker. I think we’re concerned about a possible bottleneck with the security and paying taxes.”

The table will be set up for three days a week, weather permitting, and Zickefoose said they may continue to set up the table through August. Personal property assessments for the prior calendar year may be filed beginning July 1, 2020, and the deadline to file is Oct. 1, 2020. Personal property assessments establish a fair market value for all real and personal property and provide it to the levying body, i.e. the county.

“We may try to do it through August if everything’s working okay because we really get busy toward the end of August; that’s when we get a big influx of people,” Zickefoose said.

The Assessor’s office also sells dog tags that help the dog catcher identify dogs without a phone number or address.

“If you are in the county, it’s $3 for a tag and if you’re in the city it’s $6 per tag,” Zickefoose said. “We take the information, we send the tag home and a number is assigned to it and if the dog catcher or anybody needs to, we can track the dog that way if the dog doesn’t have a name and address on its collar.”

The Assessor’s office is still open if people prefer to conduct business inside the courthouse, but Zickefoose said people have liked the table outside.

“This is just another option if they don’t want to wait outside,” he said. “You can go inside and we’re still operating as normal. This is just an added an added convenience and people seem to like it; they walk up and they’re happy to get right back in their car and go.”

He said people can also still call his office or file assessments online here.

Share this story:

Local Businesses

RECENT Stories

Upshur County Commission Agenda: July 17, 2025

The Upshur County Commission will meet on July 17, 2025, to address items listed on their published agenda.

Post 7 comes up short in tournament opener in 5-2 loss to Morgantown

Buckhannon Post 7 outhit top-seeded Morgantown but committed four costly errors and fell 5-2 in the opening round of the Area 2 American Legion postseason baseball tournament.

Summer basketball league continues week three play

In week three of the Upshur County Summer Basketball League, area teams competed at West Virginia Wesleyan College, with standout performances including Austin Upton’s 37 points for Corder Concrete Specialist and Kaiden Cutlip’s 34 for WV Split Rail.

Nancy Lea Lantz

Nancy Lea Lantz, 74, of Philippi, passed away July 13, 2025, and is remembered as a devoted homemaker, church member, and camper, survived by her children, relatives, friends, and her dog Tiny.

Buckhannon awards $50,000 in opioid settlement funds to Wesleyan for addiction counseling scholarships

City council approved allocating $50,000 in opioid settlement funds to West Virginia Wesleyan College for scholarships to support local addiction counseling education, aiming to combat drug addiction in the Buckhannon area.

Faith Baptist Church to host Vacation Bible School from July 21-25

Faith Baptist Church will host a Vacation Bible School for kindergarten through sixth grade children July 21-25, featuring nightly sessions from 6 to 8 p.m. and a family fun night on the final evening.
Summer basketball

Summer basketball league tips off week three

The Upshur County Summer Basketball League completed its third week at West Virginia Wesleyan College, with standout performances from Evan Parr, Josh Trent, Quentin Cooley, Rayden Triplett, and several games decided by forfeits.

Small Business Development Center names Lyla Grandstaff as new coach serving the Buckhannon area

The West Virginia Small Business Development Center has appointed Lyla Grandstaff, an experienced business consultant and educator, as the new business coach serving Buckhannon and surrounding counties.

Upshur Parish House kicks off annual backpack program to support local students

The Upshur Parish House has launched its annual Back-to-School Backpack Program, seeking donations of new school supplies and hygiene items to help local students return to class prepared and confident.