Several Attend Night Fiscal Court Meeting

Judge Executive Wil Cannon speaks at fiscal court on the July 24, 2017 night meeting.

Darren Doyle, [email protected], story and photos:
Several county and community residents attended last night's fiscal court meeting, which is one of two nightly meetings per year. During the meeting, magistrates discussed the possibility of adding more of the evening events and a motion was made by Magistrate Mark Woosley to double the amount to four meetings per year, one each quarter. 

The motion was seconded by Magistrate Joe Durbin and voting resulted in Mags. Edd Rich, Buck Simmons, and Johnny Brooks with "no" and Woosley, Durbin, and Clark Wood voting "yes." A tie-breaking vote was cast by Judge Executive Wil Cannon as "no," and the motion failed. Another motion was then made by Edd Rich to continue the two nightly meetings per year, and to be held on the first meeting of January and July. Buck Simmons seconded and the motion passed with a unanimous vote.

County officials gave several different reports from their respective offices and a couple of familiar faces visited the court that hadn't attended in a while. Judge J.B. Hines and wife Shaska were present at the meeting and Judge Hines expressed gratitude to the court and to residents in attendance for the opportunity to serve Edmonson County as both County Attorney and now Judge. He noted it was great seeing everyone outside the courtroom.

State Senator Steve Meredith (R), Leitchfield, also attended and spoke briefly to the court. He said he'd been working hard in Frankfort along with the many other legislators on a broken pension system and that tax reform was greatly needed in the Commonwealth, which is in a poor financial state. He also discussed the divisiveness in Frankfort was not really rooted in partisanship, but rather urban versus rural, and that he was making an effort along with others to bridge that gap.

Former County Attorney J.B. Hines, now district Judge speaks to the crowd.

Senator Steve Meredith updates Edmonson's district at fiscal court.

County office reports:
​Road Report: : County Road Foreman Ray Page updated the court on the status of Oak Grove Church Road where workers removed approximately six feet of a blind hill/curve combo recently. He said a portion of the road is graveled and is settling for blacktop application soon. He also said mowing crews are working throughout the county when not needed for larger paving jobs.

Sheriff Report: Sheriff Shane Doyle reported on the recent tax settlement report from the state auditor. According to Doyle, the auditor reported that Edmonson County is a favorite stop for auditing because of the thoroughness and positive results the audits achieve. Doyle credited the sheriff's office staff for keeping everything in order.

He also discussed the recent drug arrests where a man was found snooping around a local business and a trafficking arrest in Wingfield.

The sheriff also reported his office has Matt Skaggs as a new deputy. Skaggs was a part-time Park Ranger for the U.S. Park Service and will begin work soon. Although Skaggs is from Grayson County, he has several family members here and also attends a local county church.

Finally, Doyle credited all local law enforcement along with the Family Resource/Youth Service Centers and Community Education for another successful Cram The Cruiser event, which is part of Stuff The Bus. He expressed gratitude to Tony Rose of WDNS and D93 for his continued working relationship with Edmonson County.

Jailer Hank Vincent reported there were 13 county inmates currently housed in the Hart County Jail. He said that number is a bit lower than normal. He also said there were another 5 inmates on the home incarceration program.

County Attorney Greg Vincent updated the court on a signed copy of the housing agreement from the Hart County Jail. He said his office is in the process of confirming everything is in order. He also recommended to the court to refrain from working with the Humane Society of Edmonson County on a spay/neuter grant due to what he described as an "unworkable insurance policy for the county." He said the organization's liability policy was more of a general business policy and one that would place too much liability on the county for work done by the organization, which is not county government affiliated. A spokesperson for the organization in attendance said they were working to have that policy changed.

Look for more fiscal court news from last night in additional articles on our News Page.