By Angela Jones
Two exceptional community volunteers were honored at the County Commission meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 17. The meeting had been rescheduled to Tuesday due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Selected as this year’s adult and youth Governor’s Volunteer Stars for Benton County, Bobby “Flash” Melton and Holladay School student Hayden Peek each received a framed proclamation regarding their selection from County Mayor Mark Ward. Ward, along with all county commissioners, thanked Melton and Peek for their selfless volunteer contributions to the community.
Each county’s volunteer stars are selected through a nomination process held in the fall. Those selected to be honored by their county each year are then recognized and celebrated at a Governor’s Volunteer Stars Awards banquet held the next spring. This year’s celebration will be held in Franklin in April. Both Melton and Peek stated that they look forward to being recognized as Volunteer Stars by Governor Bill Lee at this event.
Regarding the resolutions to be considered by the body on Jan. 17, it was a relatively light agenda with few items. Commissioners approved the report on public utilities and approved notaries under consideration as well. All resolutions were approved with a few minor changes, resulting in the following actions:
• Reappointed Amy Cates, Gary Furr, Stacey Hicks, and Ken Miller to the county agricultural extension committee.
• Reappointed Darrel Hicks, Chris Piersol, and Keith Wilson to the county parks and recreation board.
• Budgeted $8,098.21 to the Sheriff’s Office budget.
• Appropriated $5,000 from the unassigned fund balance (UFB) to the county buildings maintenance fund for jail repairs.
• Appropriated $10,000 from the UFB to the county buildings maintenance fund.
• Appropriated $12,000 from the UFB to the county library budget.
• Appropriated $46,000 from the schools’ fund balance to the schools’ food service budget.
• Appropriated $3,580 from the UFB to the county buildings other equipment fund.
• Approved the revised Health and Safety Plan for Benton County Government. Any citizen who could not attend can view the meeting at www.facebook.com/BentonCoTN. For more information, contact the Benton County Mayor’s Office at 731-584-6011.
