County considers moving two voting precincts

LINDEN — In a short meeting Tuesday morning, the Marengo County Commission approved a contract with the Department of Juvenile Services to pay for detention of county youth in a Selma facility.

Darren Glass, Juvenile Probation Officer, said this would be a continuation of the county’s agreement with the Dallas County facility.

“They’ve been very accommodating and very easy to work with,” said Glass.

Probate Judge Laurie Hall got the go-ahead from commissioners to pursue moving two voting precincts to new facilities.

She is working with Nicholsville Baptist Church to use that building instead of a Hoboken facility that is not suitable. In Linden, Hall is in the process of moving the Cornerstone Baptist Church voting site to the old armory, now known as the Marengo County Business Development Center.

If efforts are successful the new sites will be ready for the June election.

John Bell, Solid Waste Officer, said a slight increase on weekly rates for trash pickup went into effect Oct. 1. The increase amounts to about eight cents per week.

County engineer Ken Atkins reminded commissioners of the statewide Status Report, mandated by the governor’s office, to update citizens with details on the Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program (ATRIP).

The reports will be given in every county Wednesday, Oct. 9. Atkins will report on the progress of local work at 9 a.m. in the Marengo County Commission chambers.

Atkins said ATRIP funding has been used on County Roads 7 and 20, 53 and 44; bridges on County Roads 44 and 38, and the eastern bridge on Jackson Street in Demopolis.

State Representative for District 65 Elaine Beech visited the commission meeting to introduce herself. Thanks to redistricting, Beech will represent the southwest portion of Marengo County if reelected in June.

A resident of Chatom, Beech has been a representative for four years and serves on both the education and health policy committees in the House of Representatives. She is a pharmacist by trade but has given up her vocation to be a full-time representative, she said.