The Weakley County Highway Commission discussed the issue of pay based on attendance, an equipment purchase, solid waste disposal legislation, adding a road to the county's road maintenance system, the purchase of a power generator, and other matters, during their regular monthly meeting Thursday, March 12.

 

Board Attendance/Pay

 

    One of the top items for discussion was the issue previously raised by some Weakley County commissioners concerning the attendance of road board members.

    Highway Commission Chairman Garry Mansfield stated members of the Personnel, Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee of the Weakley County Commission expressed concern over low attendance by highway board members in past months during a February 26 meeting. At that time, commissioners stated that, under the current system, road board members get paid whether or not they attend meetings, and it was the consensus of the committee that the highway board should consider changing its method of payment so only members attending meetings should be paid.

    It was also mentioned by commissioners that, because there are now only three road board members representing nine voting districts in Weakley County (when there were 10 voting districts, there were 5 road board members), it is even more important that members of the board attend meetings. The reason is because two board members constitute a quorum, and also because their absence means a large portion of the county is not being represented when issues are decided.

    During discussion concerning the absence of road board members at past meetings, Chairman Mansfield stated he missed some meetings, due to having back surgery, and also when his grandchildren were sick he traveled out of state to be with them.

    Road Board member David Bell, a patrolman for the Martin Police Department, stated the reason he has missed some meetings is due to getting dispatched on police business at the last minute before he is scheduled to go off shift. Bell said if he is working a domestic dispute, "I can't just say, 'you all work it out, I've got to go. You do what you want to.' Or, I just can't leave a domestic or accident with injuries." He stated he didn't miss any board meetings because he didn't want to attend. It was because he had to work.

    Chairman Mansfield also mentioned there has been some talk among certain commissioners that the road board should be eliminated.

    Members of the public works committee, who meet jointly with the highway commission, also offered comments on the issue of attendance and pay of road board members.

Commissioner Bob Bell stated flatly he would never vote to eliminate the road board, because it would eliminate representation of the people. However, he stated that in order to placate objections by some commissioners about the attendance/pay issue, it might be best to consider changing the method of payment so that only those members present are paid.

    Commissioner Larry Taylor suggested shifting meeting times and dates as needed to make it easier for all road board members to attend.

    Road board members were agreeable to change the method of payment so they are only paid if they attend meetings. However, they decided to delay action on how to word any changes they might make in the current policy until they could get a legal opinion concerning the issue of using phone conferencing as a method for road board members to take part and vote on issues in extreme cases, such as illness of a road board commissioner or sickness or death of a family member. Board members raised two legal questions. Would their votes via teleconferencing be counted? And would they be considered 'present' so they could still get paid? Road board members suggested addressing the attendance/pay issue again in April, once more information is available.

    Public Works Committee Chairman David Rook agreed, saying that everyone should wait until a legal opinion is given on the phone conferencing issue before deciding what to do about the attendance/pay policy. 

 

(Read the rest of this story in the March 18th print edition of the Dresden Enterprise.)

    Trooper Andy Forsythe, assigned to Weakley County, is the International Association of Chiefs of Police/Motorola Trooper of the Year for the Southern Region and was a finalist for the national award. Tennessee is a member of the IACP's Southern Region.  Trooper Forsythe was named Trooper of the Year for this region and competed with nominees from the other 11 states in the region.  There are four IACP regions. 

    Trooper Charles "Andy" Forsythe was nominated for the national honor because of his heroic acts after a fiery traffic crash last spring.  The national award was presented to an Arkansas trooper during ceremonies this weekend. Trooper Forsythe attended an awards ceremony on Friday, March 13, 2009, in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, where he was honored.

    Trooper Forsythe joined the Tennessee Highway Patrol in March 1998 and has been assigned to Weakley County during that entire time.

    On May 23, 2008, Trooper Forsythe was on routine patrol in Weakley County and came upon a two-vehicle crash.   People were trapped in a van that was involved in the crash and a fire had ignited underneath the vehicle.  Trooper Forsythe called for assistance and then attempted to rescue the victims.  He used his baton to break the vehicle's window and windshield, and with the help of bystanders, freed several of the victims. 

    The driver was still pinned in the van, and the fire was spreading, with flames coming through the floorboard.  With the help of another officer on the scene, Trooper Forsythe pulled back the driver side door and tried to free the driver.  When that was unsuccessful, Trooper Forsythe climbed into the van, even though it was nearly engulfed in flames, and freed the driver.  After moving those victims to safety, Trooper Forsythe began to try to free the victims trapped in the other vehicle.  First responders from Weakley County arrived on the scene and extricated the driver from his car.  All of the victims in the crash survived.

(Read the rest of this story in the March 18th print edition of the Dresden Enterprise.)

   

    Members of the Weakley County School Board discussed the procedures to be followed in appointing a new director of schools, and approved a budget amendment to purchase HVAC components for Dresden K-8 School, during a called meeting at the school department's conference room Monday, March 16.

    The board is faced with the responsibility of hiring a new person for the job, because the current director of schools, Richard Barber, is retiring June 30, and a replacement is needed by July 1 to give the individual chosen for the job time to prepare for the 2009-2010 school year.

 

Director of Schools Candidates

 

    The five candidates seeking the director of schools position are all current school department employees. They are: State Representative Mark Maddox, technology director for the school system; Jeff Kelley, assistant director of schools; Marvin Flatt, attendance and career education director; Debbie Doster, instructional supervisor for grades six through 12; and Randy Frazier, principal and coach of Gleason School.

    On the recommendation of Martin school board member Barbara Trentham, school board members agreed to review the resumes and interview all five prospective candidates for the job of director of schools during a daylong interview session Monday, March 30. Three interviews will take place before lunch and two afterward. The order of the interviews was determined by drawing the names of the candidates out of a basket and are as follows: 8 a.m. - Randy Frazier, 9:30 a.m. - Marvin Flatt, 11 a.m. - Debbie Doster, 1 p.m. - Jeff Kelley, and 2:30 p.m. - Mark Maddox.

    Members of the board agreed to select a new director of schools at the conclusion of the interview process.

    On the suggestion of School Board Chairman Gordon Morris, board members agreed to utilize a ballot showing all five candidates, rather than eliminating anyone during discussion prior to the first vote, as is sometimes done in other school districts. The person receiving the majority of the votes will be named director of schools. Since there are nine school board members (one for each voting district), a minimum of five votes must be cast for a candidate before a winner is declared. In the event the first ballot does not produce a winner, a runoff election would be held between the two candidates receiving the most votes. Board members commented the only scenario that might prove problematic would be in the event of a three-way tie, with each candidate receiving three votes each. If this were to happen, more discussion about the candidates would be needed to narrow down the choice to two candidates.

 

(Read the rest of this story in the March 18th print edition of the Dresden Enterprise.)