By Charles Romans
Carter County Times
The Carter County Fiscal Court met for their regularly scheduled meeting on Monday evening where the main item of discussion was subsidizing the return of a DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program to county schools.
Carter County Schools Police Chief R.D. Porter addressed the fiscal court and requested that the court subsidize the new DARE Program – to be implemented in grades K through 12 – with opioid abatement funds. The program qualifies under that fund because it addresses education and mitigation. County grant writer Renee Parsons helped work up the proposal Porter presented to the fiscal court. Porter said that he had spoken to judge executive Brandon Burton who referred him to Parsons.
“This will be used to pay for the materials we will use in the program for all schools,” Porter said. “The program is a 45-minute lesson plan taught for 10 weeks, and the workbooks will be taken up at the end of each day so the kids don’t lose them and they can continue to work in the same book.”
Students will be allowed to take the workbooks home once they complete the program, Porter told the court. And there are ‘tear off’ sheets that can be sent home for parental involvement.
“That’s all part of the graduation process,” Porter told the court. “And the certificate they get at the end and their picture taken is a reward for participating in the program.”
The reason for the funding request, Porter told the court, was a change in material usage. During previous years schools were allowed to copy materials to distribute to the students, which reduced the cost to the schools. The current regulation is that schools participating in the program were required to sign a contract that they would not duplicate materials. The cost of the materials was quoted at $2,857 for one year. The court voted unanimously to approve the request.
Other items on the court’s agenda included a public comment section, the second reading of Ordinance #859, approving claims and transfers, hearing department reports, and discussion around setting a public hearing for the removal of Vicie Creek from county maintenance. Four of the five magistrates were in attendance, and no executive session was called during the meeting.
During public comments the fiscal court heard from county residents concerning 68 Buck Road. Property owners on Buck Road addressed the court over the existence of a ‘turn around’ on the road, with one resident claiming that the turn around crossed their property line and that neighbors and individuals who did not live on the road were using he property for their own use and entertainment. The counter argument from a property owner of adjacent property was that the ‘turn around’ was county property and had been used as such for over 50 years.
The turn around has not been maintained by the county for quite some time and given that the property owner is currently in the process of having the property surveyed, the court could not proceed with any action until that survey is complete
The fiscal court also voted to accept a bid for Rock Springs Bridge in the amount of $158,490 and voted to accept all bids for Square Lick Bridge. A bid for $42,800 was accepted from Martin’s Peterbilt for the purchase of an equipment trailer, and the court voted to authorize making that payment. A public hearing for the Vicie Creek removal was set for October 14 at 5:30 pm. And the court voted to surplus a 2023 Mack tractor and a lowboy trailer.
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
