Board of Supervisors’ July 24 meeting takes a new position

The most notable thing about the Union County Board of Supervisors’ July 24 meeting was that the meeting table was placed differently.

The board meets in a large room on the east side of the Chancery Court (old library) building on Main Street behind the county courthouse. Its meeting table is at the north end of the room. Previously the axis of the table had been east to west. At this week’s meet it had been turned 90 degrees so the axis is now north to south. No reason was given for the re-orientation of the meeting table. Perhaps “change” was the motivation.

The supervisors conducted routine business including accepting the donation of a tracking dog for Emergency Management and the purchasing of right-of-way for a project on County Road 59.

The board approved the payment of $6,082, the county’s share of a new $300,000 hanger to be built at the county airport. Most of the money is coming from a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). The ARC is the principal conduit for federal money given by the U. S. Government for local government projects in Mississippi.

The board approved the deletion from the county inventory of two non-working radio receivers that had been used in Project LifeSaver. The board had approved an appropriation to buy two new receivers at its July 17 meeting.

The board also approved personnel changes including:

• William Blake Smith transferred from dispatcher to deputy in the Sheriff’s Department.
• Adam Fitts promoted from corporal to sergeant in the Sheriff’s Department.
• Kathryn Robbins moved to full-time status instead of part-time as a dispatcher.
• Ed McAlexander and Kathy Burch approved for part-time employment as jailers.

Union County Sheriff Jimmy Edwards told the board that the employment of Wayne Mills, who patrols the Tanglefoot Trail ends on Dec. 3rd and that Mills would like to continue in that work. The board referred the matter to the Three Rivers Planning and Development District, which overseas operations of the Trail.

The board adjourned after its brief meeting and will meet again at 10 a.m. on Monday, August 7.