Long time ambulance service director Steve Jones tendered his resignation to Macon County commissioners Monday night, saying he had agreed to become director of the local Air Evac helicopter ambulance service beginning December 1, 2006.

“This has nothing to do with politics,” said Jones, who lost the county executive's race to County Mayor Shelvy Linville in August of this year. “Come November 28 I will have been with the ambulance service for 33 years, and it's just time for me to make a change.”

Mayor Linville said he hated to see Jones go, and stated that they been friends before the recent election and friends afterward, and not a negative word had passed between the two men. Linville commended Jones on his service to the community, and this commendation was echoed by many of the county commissioners, who reluctantly accepted Jones' notice of resignation.

Jones asked that the county separate the operations of the ambulance service and the E-911 system, as he would like to continue his association with the latter, and the commissioners and mayor agreed. On a motion by Billy Bransford the commissioners agreed to advertise for a replacement, with the stated preference that candidates have five years supervisory experience in emergency medicine and paramedic certification.

“The ambulance service has a million dollar budget, and we don't want to turn it over to someone who isn't qualified to operate that large a business,” said 12th district commissioner Tony Boles, who seconded Bransford's motion.

In other business Monday night, grant writers and engineers were selected to help in the application  process for community development block grants for which the  county might be eligible in 2007. Extending rural water lines to areas with poor water resources are the primary concern of these grants.

County Mayor Shelvy Linville recommended that Faye Reynolds of Vantage Consulting Services be retained to perform the grant application process, and left it open to the commissioners to choose between three qualified engineering firms to perform engineering services on the proposed projects.

Former county mayor Glen Donoho spoke to voice his disappointment that the county would no longer use the services of the Upper Cumberland Development District in the grant application process, noting that in the recent past the UCDD had helped secure more than $13 million in grants for the county.

“I think it's a shame and you're making a mistake” in using a private consulting firm to do the county's business in the grant application process, stated Donoho, who asserted that monies paid to the UCDD “would come back to the county in the way of other services” instead of going into private pockets.

However, Mayor Linville stated that he “was elected to do what I think is right for the people,” and he asserted that ...

Ms. Reynolds had recently worked to secure grants for the city of Red Boiling Springs and for Jackson County, and was well qualified to perform  the county's grant application duties.

THREE ENGINEERING FIRMS were considered by the commissioners: Professional Engineering Services (Ricky White); Hart, Freeland and Roberts, Inc. (Alan Pedigo); and Barge-Waggoner-Sumner (Larry Cato). Several commissioners noted that they would like to give the county's business to local people, but it was pointed out that the top men representing all three firms have local ties. On a motion by Melburn Cothron the commissioners voted on all three candidates, with the lowest vote getter to “fall off” after the first round of voting. On the second round, the Alan Pedigo firm prevailed with 11 votes to nine for Ricky White's Professional Engineering Services.

A number of other issues

came before the commissioners, with a brief summary as follows:

1) On a motion by Jeff Hughes, seconded by Jerry Ray, the commissioners requested a financial report from the county Fair Board on an annual basis.

2) The County Archives, located on the top floor of the county courthouse, are to be open to the public 20 hours per week, beginning this Wednesday, November 8. Forthwith the Archives will be open on Mondays and Wednesdays from 8-4, and on Friday from 8-12.

3)Road Supervisor Chop Porter requested the county buy the Road Department a track-loader, and the Highway Committee agreed to meet with Porter before the next commission meeting to determine the specifications and potential cost of the machine.

4) Sheriff Mark Gammons told commissioners that he had six patrol vehicles with in excess of 180,000 miles and several were in need of extensive repair work. After discussion the commissioners agreed to treat the purchase of new sheriff's department vehicles in much the same way as new school buses, with the regular addition of new vehicles each year rather than going a number of years before having to replace a larger number of vehicles.

On a motion by Bransford, seconded by Grant Malo, the commissioners authorized the sheriff to purchase four new patrol vehicles with the estimated $84,000 cost to come from the county's general fund balance, which is currently in healthy excess of $1-million.

5) Commissioner Phil Spears asked that his fellow commissioners consider giving county Ambulance Service personnel full time personnel $1,200 toward health insurance, and $600 to part time personnel. The EMS agency was taken over by the county three months into the previous fiscal year, and the employees did not receive the money as other county employees in that year.

“I'm only asking that the ambulance service people be treated fairly,” said Spears.

However, a motion to look into the possibility failed after it was pointed out that the money was not in the current budget and the commissioners would be “opening a can of worms” by allocating the funds to one set of county employees and not others.

6) AN ANIMAL CONTROL PETITION was presented to the mayor and commissioners by Roger Gilford, who told commissioners that there was a serious and persistent problem with dogs being “dropped” in his residential neighborhood.

Sheriff  Mark Gammons responded, agreeing that there is indeed a serious problem in the county and that he is working with the city of Lafayette concerning the possibility of a cooperative agreement with them to allow for the pickup of  dangerous animals out in the county.

The sheriff agreed to meet with commissioners Scott Gammons and Jerry Ray to arrange for a meeting with the Lafayette police chief to discuss a possible solution, and to include some sort of proposal in the next budget year.

Legal liability and insurance problems limit what the part-time Lafayette Animal Control officer can do at the present time