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County commission honors J.M. Sherrer; 40 years of service ‘some kind of record’
Sherrer had been in service to Wilkes County longer than anyone else in the room and Chairman Sam Moore pointed out that “it must be some kind of record because 40 years as a county commissioner is unbelievable.” He then presented Sherrer with a mantel clock as a gift and a plaque commemorative his years of service. “It’s been an honor to serve on the board with him,” Moore said. “He’s done so many things to make this county a better place to live.” County Administrator David Tyler, who has the longest county association with Sherrer of anybody commented, “It’s been a great pleasure to work with someone who is able to make good decisions for this county.” The plaque given to Sherrer reads, “In honor of James “Marshall” Sherrer. In appreciation for forty years of public service to the people of Wilkes County while service as commissioner for District #3 on the Board of Commissioners and also as vice chairman during many of those years. You have faithfully served on various boards, authorities, and committees. You have provided leadership in this local government that has contributed to sound government. Thank you from the citizens of Wilkes County for your dedicated service. January 1, 1967 - December 31, 2006.” Sherrer humbly thanked all those present and then turned to welcome his successor, John Howard, who was in attendance. The board made a number of appointments to various boards including four seats on the Wills Memorial Hospital Authority which it handled as a package deal on the recommendation of hospital CEO Marvin Goldman and Chairman Moore. Moore noted that the daily census at the hospital continues to be higher than in the past, a new specialty center is in place, and the current authority seems to work well together. “After talking with Mr. Goldman,” he said, “we would like to keep the board like it is.” On that recommendation, the commissioners voted to reappoint Joe Griffin, Lawrence Burton, Dr. David Kirk, and Donna Hardy to their seats on the hospital authority. Griffin’s and Burton’s seats are for terms of four years, Kirk’s and Hardy’s are for one year. There was indication that had the appointments not been proposed as a group, there probably would have been some individual opposition to some of the appointments. However, none of that was expressed at the meeting. The board also made appointments to the recreation board – Tony Powell, Melissa Scott, and John Howard; the CSRA Unified Development Authority – Sam Moore and Mike Eskew; the mental health board – Booker Jackson; and the health board – Marshall Sherrer as Moore’s designee. In legal matters before the board, County Attorney Charles LeGette reported that a total of 45 tax release applications had been filed. After review, 13 of the tax bills had been found to be in error and had been corrected and resent. For the remaining 32, LeGette recommended that the commissioners call a special meeting handle nothing but those applications. He pointed out that that would also provide an opportunity to notify the applicants of when the commissioners would be considering their requests. A special meeting was scheduled to be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, January 3, 2007, in the commissioners’ board room, for that purpose. LeGette also pointed out that “there’s no reason we can’t request our chief assessor to be here for that meeting as well.” Representing Faith in Action, Joe Harris expressed concern and presented information on the need for transportation for people needing medical attention out of town. He said that although there is no organized system in place, his organization and others “try to respond to individual cases as best we can.” He said that there are as many as a dozen drivers willing to provide services but it is “not unusual to have a need when none of those drivers is available.” “We feel like we are in compliance with the law with the vans that we have,” Moore explained. “But after talking with the RDC, they said we may be qualified for some more money after the first of the year,” he added. Goldman reported that at least a partial solution may be forthcoming at Wills Memorial. “There is a very good possibility that we will have a chemotherapy program here in the next year,” he said. “MCG is very interested in setting up a satellite program.” In other business: Forester Keith Murphy presented the annual report of the local office of the Georgia Forestry Commission. He said that there are plans for the construction of a new building to house the local operation to replace the old structure which is about 50 years old. Murphy outlined the duties and activities of the foresters in his office which include fighting wildfires. There were 34 reported wildfires in this district for the year, he said, averaging 1.67 acres each which is lower than the state average. Other functions of the forestry office include forest management available to any citizen, reforestation through providing seedlings, and the education of students through in-school programs and a mobile unit. “We are really glad your are here and are upgrading your building,” Moore responded. “We really appreciate all you do.” Tyler reported that the county had received $115,037.65 in Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax for September and $75,745.16 in Local Option Sales Tax for the same month. EMS Director Blake Thompson reported a busy month and continued planning for upcoming motocross events at Aonia Pass. He commended Sherrer for his service to the county especially during the 16 years since Thompson came to the county. Moore announced that the next regular meeting of the commissioners will be held on Thursday, January 11, 2007, at 7 p.m. and that the ACCG Legislative Conference will be held February 5-6, 2007.
Stover pointed out a problem with visibility in a curve on the Lundberg Road and suggested it be evaluated for changes to make it safer.
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