Bradford
Tuesday was the final meeting for Clarke County Commissioner Paul Bradford. The commission will meet one more time, on Oct. 28, before the Nov. 4 General Election but Bradford will be back at work on an oil platform in the Gulf.
Bradford, of Thomasville, has served two terms— eight years— on the commission repre senting District 2. He announced in the spring that he had taken a job working with Shell Oil and would be away from home a lot and would not seek re-election. He previously worked for Boise in Jackson.
At the end of Tuesday’s meeting, Bradford asked for time to comment.
“Sitting here reflecting today, it has been a mighty short eight years. It has been fun overall… enlightening…hard to endure at times,” he observed.
“Some tough decisions have had to be made and will be in the future,” he continued. He said there were some decisions he’d like to take back “but 90 percent of them, I’m comfortable with.”
He concluded, “Every decision I made…or was a part of making… I made what I thought was best for this county overall…I appreciate the people of Clarke County allowing me to serve for eight years.”
Commissioner Rhondel Rhone, who has served the entire eight years with Bradford, said he had enjoyed working with him. He said you always knew where Bradford stood on an issue. He wouldn’t tell you one thing in a meeting and something else later, he observed.
Bradford received a round of applause from those at the meeting as he asked Commission Chairperson Patricia DuBose for permission to make the motion to adjourn the meeting.
Bradford’s wife, Karen, is the Democratic nominee in the Nov. 4 General Election to succeed her husband and faces Republican Ladell Ott.
AT&T wants to get in cable business
Commissioners heard from Gigi Ambrecht of AT&T’s Mobile office about AT&T’s plans to launch a cable TV and high speed Internet service through its phone lines for phone customers.
AT&T is proposing to pay the county 5 percent of its gross revenues in exchange for a 10-year non-exclusive franchise. Ambrecht said AT&T’s system would broadcast FEMA messages and provide the county with a public education and government channel where they could broadcast commission meetings or other news.
She said the system would be competition for local cable services and satellite providers but should help improve services and maybe lower costs for local residents.
County attorney Bruce Wilson told commissioners that AT&T can do this without a contract agreement but Ambrecht said they would not do it if the county didn’t agree to it.
Industrial board appointments
Debra Bolen told commissioners that longtime industrial board member Sam Shields has resigned and that another member, Tyrone Moye, will soon become a county commissioner.
Faye Cotten has been recommended to replace Shields and Joe Hunt to replace Moye. Hunt is the current District 4 commissioner whom Moye beat in the June primary.
Commissioners opted to table the matter until the next meeting and chairperson DuBose was noticeably agitated by their decision but agreed to it.
Commissioners did agree to appointments to a regional industry authority. Jimmy Dumas of Thomasville will represent the north side of the county; Will Massey of Grove Hill the central portion; and Doncie Woods of Jackson the southern portion.
Other business
County Engineer Sam Noble said he was not able to put together a bid for a central fueling station in time for the Oct. 28 meeting as requested by commissioners. It was decided that bids would be open at the Nov. 12 meeting, the first for the new commission after election but that they may not be awarded on that date.
Commissioners agreed to allow the sheriff to fill a booking officer vacancy at the jail.
They purchased an ad in The Clarke County Democrat’s upcoming forestry edition.
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