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Wlaf1450By Charlotte Underwood
JACKSBORO, TN (WLAF) – County commissioners met on Monday evening for their workshop to discuss upcoming agenda items including the selling of a sheriff’s department K-9, as well as memorializing a section of road in honor of former commissioner Whit Goins. Reports on the sanitation department, as well as the EMS services were also discussed, as was hiring a Veteran’s Affairs Director.
According to Commission Chairman Johnny Bruce, the approval of budget amendments and resolutions passed committees and will be placed on the commission’s agenda for next week’s meeting, which is Jan. 17 at 6 pm.
Campbell County Sheriff Wayne Barton approached the commission about selling a K-9 to the Clinton Police Department. According to Barton, the K-9 in question was part of “issues of alleged animal abuse at the department from back in the summer.”
Barton said he hired four K-9 handlers to review video and the allegations and provide a report. According to Barton, he was told that “dogs and people change” and that it was recommended that the “handler and the dog be separated.”
According to Barton, Clinton Police have provided training to Campbell County at no charge since 2018.
“The Clinton Police Department had a K-9 pass away and can utilize the K-9. The dog is costing us $4,200 a year in maintenance. We can’t put him with a handler that can’t handle him,” Barton said. He asked that funds from the sale be earmarked for the purchase of an additional K-9 at a later date.
“They are a great tool and assett but at this time we don’t need this particular K-9,” Barton said.
The sheriff’s department has two other K-9s, one assigned to the schools and another for cadaver search/tracking.
Also on next week’s agenda is a resolution for adoption of the state’s 401k plan.
According to Commissioner Zach Marlow, the county has not received the resolution yet, and it still needs to be reviewed by the finance department.
County Mayor Jack Lynch reported on the Home Grant program, which will be taking applications at the career center on Tues., Jan. 10 at 6 pm. The grant is for low to moderate income families to have home repairs done. According to Lynch, the family must own the home and land, be up to date on property taxes and provide proof of income. “Hopefully this will help a lot of people, ” Lynch said. The home repair grant is for $700,000 and will be distributed throughout the county to approved applicants.
Commissioners also discussed memorializing a section of road from “Glade Springs to up by Valley View.” According to Lynch, it won’t rename the road or change anyone’s address, but memorialize the section of road that “Whit drove home on.”
According to Lynch, Road Superintendent Ron Dilbeck said he would pay for the sign out of his budget. The proclamation for Whit Goins and the road memorialization will be made at the beginning of next week’s commission meeting.
During the workshop, Commissioner David Adkins gave an update on the sanitation department progress. Adkins reported “good new across the board,” and that the sanitation department was “standing on its own two feet as far as garbage removal goes.”
He also said bids had been solicited to get garage doors back up at the recycling center and tha LED lights had been ordered as “no lights worked.”
Adkins reported that “all trucks and equipment out there is all back up and running.” “We have five semi-trucks at our disposal; the excavator is up and going and I meet with TDEC tomorrow about burning brush. They said there had been neglect in policies and forms that had been filed previously, so we’re getting everything back right,” Adkins said.
He said the sanitation department was still working on getting several other things in line such as compactors at the high school and the jail and several others, including a compactor going to Stoney Fork.
“It’s going in the right direction. Everyone out there is working to make Campbell County and that place better and they deserve credit,” Adkins said.
Commissioners commended Adkins and others for their efforts.
Commissioner Scott Kitts asked the mayor to elaborate on the EMS situation in the county. Lynch said the goal was still to get additional EMTs and drivers in order to meet needs and cut down on overtime.
“The plan stays the same, if we can get four EMTs from the program we’re helping fund that would be great. If this works out, we will have more drivers. We are also trying to free up transport busses, which should make us money,” Lynch said.
Kitts also asked his fellow commissioners to keep in mind the need for employee raises in several departments, including the sheriff’s. “We don’t want people to put their heart and soul into these jobs and then not get any pay raises. We don’t want to lose our good people. As this body, it’s our responsibility to help these people in the future,” Kitts said.
Commissioner Rusty Orick spoke to his fellow commissioners about the hiring of a new Veterans Affairs Director for the county as Kevin Walden retired.
“We have five great candidates and will start interviewing tomorrow night. We hope to have someone to present to commissioners for approval to hire at the meeting,” Orick said.
He also asked commissioners to think about purchasing a mobile LED sign to be used for public information and safety.
“We need to try to look at purchasing an LED lighted information sign for the county to use. It can be used by multiple departments,” Orick said. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 01/10/2023-6AM)