BUCKHANNON – The Upshur County Commission welcomed new Upshur County Sheriff’s Deputy Austin Nestor to their regular meeting Thursday.

Nestor, who started Aug. 10, said he was originally from Tucker County and attended Davis and Elkins as a criminology major.

“I wanted to help people, and the way I thought I could help and protect people was to go into law enforcement,” Nestor said.

So far, Nestor said he has enjoyed his time in Upshur County and looks forward to working in the area.

“I want to learn all kinds of different stuff,” Nestor said. “I want to do a little bit of everything so I can grasp different parts of the field. It’s great experience, and I like the guys I work with.”

Also during Thursday’s meeting, the commission encouraged residents to complete the census.

West Virginia’s census completion rate is 55 percent, and Upshur County is at 60.8 percent. County administrator Carrie Wallace said the national completion rate is 63.4 percent.

“There’s still time to fill out the census,” Wallace said. “You have until Sept. 30, and you can do that via mail, online or telephone. In 2010, the total completion rate was 61.2 percent, so we’re just below that currently in Upshur County and we’re 6 percent below it in West Virginia right now.

Commissioner Kristie Tenney said residents who fill out the census will benefit the whole community for years to come.

“There are just so many reasons [to complete the census],” Tenney said. “It helps our state and it helps the community with funding, and we definitely don’t want to lose a seat a congressional seat, so filling out the census is beneficial for all those reasons.”

Tenney said the process was simple and she finished it quickly.

“It was easy, online, very simple,” she said. “They will just ask for your name, your address and how many people are in the home. I’m hoping that Upshur County can get up to 70 percent before the end of September.”