A brief liaison committee meeting between the 109 Board and Fiscal Court liaison committees took place at the office of the Meade County Solid Waste & Recycle (MCSW&R) Dec. 6. MCSW&R Coordinator Mark Gossett greeted 109 Board members Shannon Loose, Heber Burchett, and Magistrates Herbie Chism and Harold Davidson with sample bid request packets and a detailed treasury report listing financial obligations and a copy of the organization’s check register. 109 Board members Bill Hoffman and Chair Bim Wardrip observed. Short questions were met with direct answers and all in attendance seemed agreed operations were proceeding as necessary toward privatizing garbage collection. When asked how much it would cost to run the office, recycle operations, and billing, Gossett figured around $400-425 hundred thousand dollars a year. The meeting concluded quickly and it was agreed to meet again within the next 30 days. Because of the holidays, the date and time will be determined later.
County, city differ over application of E-911
During last week’s Brandenburg City Council meeting, the council had a first reading of an ordinance establishing a protocol for the naming and numbering of streets and renaming some streets. They stated plainly their intent “not” to change any addresses within the city. This put the city on a potential collision course with the county government. The county started an initiative almost two years ago to maximize available technology to increase the capabilities of our county’s emergency services. Part of this effort would create a master street address guide, creating a digital map of the county, as well as setting the conditions for Phase II of E-911, further enhancing emergency service response times. In order to do all this, the E-911 committee wants to change practically every address in the county. And this includes Brandenburg.
Ekron City Commission receives update on Derby Tank Car
During the Ekron City Commission’s last meeting of 2006, Mayor Gwynne Ison welcomed newly elected 5th District Magistrate Steve Wardrip to the meeting. She congratulated him on the election and said, “I’m really looking forward to what he’ll do for us in the entire 5th District.”
Prescription discount card available to Meade County residents
Effective Dec. 13, Meade Countians may avail themselves of a drug discount card through the National Association of Counties (NACo). The NACo drug discount card program helps consumers save money on their prescription medications any time their prescriptions are not covered by insurance. The free cards are distributed in the sponsoring county and may be used at any participating retail pharmacy. The discount card is not insurance.
Riverport Authority meets, problems continue
The Meade County Riverport Authority met Dec. 4 in regular session. Chairman Don Bewley and members Joe Wright, Greg Hager, Clark Hardsaw and Edd Pike addressed funding concerns appearing on the agenda. An issue arose over the mixing of private money with public money in the construction of the road leading to the port. Chairman Bewley contends there is money to start, but an agreement with the Meade County/Brandenburg Industrial Authority over the exact location of the road hasn’t been reached. Consultant Flint Group representative Deanna Sanders agreed to check into that and report. The authority discussed updating its business plan, now that the county owns 550 acres including and adjoining to the port.
After a period of unseasonably warm weather, Meade Countians got their first real taste of winter Dec. 7 when temperatures dropped into the 30s and the snow started falling.