At its September 22nd meeting, Pickens Sole Commissioner Robert Jones announced that the county opened an Education Incentive Fund at Renasant Bank—the resolution for the fund was passed on June 23rd. The fund is designed to assist students

“who are found in need of basic educational supplies, personal supplies or special educational incentives…monies from the said fund may also be used to aid in meeting the objectives or the attendance protocol committee as they relate to compulsory school attendance.”

The fund is fed by money from parents of truant students, who pay fines for the offence. According to County Attorney Phillip Landrum III, the idea here is that, since one of the leading causes of truancy is poverty (the inability to buy school supplies), the money from truancy fines is used via the Educational Incentive Fund to prevent truancy.
Also, Director of Utilities Larry Coleman gave the monthly report. Coleman said that the water and sewage department is planning a replacement of several water lines in Tate. The project will be funded by a $300,000 federal grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission. Coleman said that the county has already been approved for the grant and will soon open bids for the project. He said that the project will likely begin in December, but did not give a specific start date. He also said all 740 fire hydrants in the county are in working order and, as of August, the 2011 water loss was 11%, down 55% from last year. In addition, the county awarded a bid to J.L. Construction/Jeff Roland DBA for the construction of the 50’x84’ metal building for the Bethany-Salem Fire Department. J.L Construction/Jeff DBA was the lowest bidder.

At the end of the meeting, Kirk Kondos thanked the commissioner and the county for their support for supporting the local Veterans. Kondos works with a Veteran’s Support group for soldiers returning home from Afghanistan and Iraq. The group assists soldiers who have picked-up drug addictions over seas and helps them with rehab and to get their lives back together.