REFLECTIONS AND PROJECTIONS

While we are still in the early days of 2026, I want to say that I am honored to begin my fourth calendar year as your County Executive. We are truly blessed to live in Lawrence County, and I pray this year brings continued blessings to our community, to you, and to your family.
Today, I want to reflect on the past three years and look ahead to the seven months remaining in my first term, and beyond, if I am granted the privilege of serving a second term.
Safety
During my first campaign, I repeatedly heard that our first responders needed a better way to communicate their needs to the County Commission. One of my first actions as County Executive was to establish the Emergency Services Committee, bringing first responders and Commissioners together at the same table.
The results have made Lawrence County safer. Open, honest communication led to living-wage raises for our Sheriff’s Department and Emergency Medical Service, additional EMS staff, and a fifth ambulance on the road 24/7. We more than doubled our annual allotment to Lawrence County Fire & Rescue (LCFR), an organization that includes our Volunteer Fire Departments. This allowed LCFR to complete the Jason Dickey Memorial Fire Training Center, and hire staff members to support our volunteer fire departments as volunteer numbers decline.
I especially appreciate the input of LCFR Director Tyler McDow, who has worked as a volunteer fireman since he was a teenager. He continues to work as a volunteer – he donates his $30,000 annual salary to LCFR.
Looking ahead, I will continue working closely with first responders and Sheriff Myers, to ensure his Department has the tools it needs to combat drugs entering our community. Drug dealers spare no effort, and neither should we.
Facilities
Last year, our Maintenance Department renovated space next door to our Budget office on Mahr Avenue to house the Lawrence County Election Commission. With that move complete, work is now underway to convert the former Election Office into a new Veterans Service Office. Both relocations provide improved parking and more functional space to better serve the public.
Maintenance Director Mark Brewer and his crew (Bethe Bolin, Victoria Brown, Bobby Gray, and Cindy Staggs) are a great blessing to Lawrence County. They, along with inmates who volunteer to work with them, completed these renovations and many more, saving taxpayers thousands.
Construction of the new Health Department at the corner of Brannon Street and Liberty Avenue is underway and is expected to be completed in late summer. The new facility will be more accessible, especially for people who walk to appointments, and, best of all, is fully funded through state and federal grants. Future use of the current Health Department building has not been determined.
We also recently learned that Lawrence County won a $500,000 grant to preserve our historic courthouse, which turns 52 this year. Planned improvements include repairing the clock and bell tower so it will once again chime on the hour; cleaning, repointing and resealing the exterior black marble; and applying a protective coating to concrete surfaces to prevent weather-related deterioration. Work is expected to begin this spring.
Looking ahead, the County and the City of Lawrenceburg have partnered to purchase a lot on the east side of the Lawrence County Public Library for future expansion. Additional space will allow the Library to offer more programming for all ages, grow the children’s reading area and provide quiet spaces for individuals or small groups.
A new location or a complete renovation of EMS headquarters is also on the horizon. While the building is structurally sound, its layout no longer meets the needs of current staff.
Animal Control
In 2025, the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department assumed supervision of the Animal Shelter and implemented a countywide animal control program. The City of Lawrenceburg remains a financial partner, and animals picked up within the city are also housed at the Shelter.
The Shelter often operates at or near capacity, and there are times when it cannot accept additional dogs. Adoption is the solution. If you are looking for a new companion, please consider the Animal Shelter first. You can follow them on Facebook to learn about adoption events and available dogs.
In 2025, the Commission increased its annual community spay/neuter contribution by $10,000, bringing the total to $35,000. Friends of Lawrence County Animals (FOLCA) administers the SNIPS (Spay/Neuter Is a Positive Solution) program, which helps low-income residents have their pets spayed or neutered. All dogs adopted from the Shelter are spayed or neutered, or adopters receive certificates for the procedure when puppies are old enough. SNIPS funds are not used for Shelter medical procedures.
The next goal for the Shelter is constructing an intake/quarantine facility that would keep illness from spreading to the entire Shelter population. It will be named in honor of veterinarian Dr. Dan Jennings, whose compassion for animals and people made a lasting impact on this community.
Education
It was exciting to be at the grand opening of Loretto’s gym early in my term, then watch the Summertown football complex and multipurpose building rise from the ground up. Facility improvements have taken place county-wide, and more are needed for our growing student population.
I fully support giving school personnel and students the support they deserve. Already, funding from the Commission helped raise teacher pay ahead of state requirements and expanded student mental health services by making in-house counselor positions permanent.
Solid Waste
We appreciate your patience over the past week with issues related to the winter storm. Northwest Mississippi was hit particularly hard, and the landfill that accepts our household garbage was closed as a result. We were forced to limit the amount of garbage coming into our transfer station, because we don’t have storage space for garbage there. We are now fully reopened to the public and are accepting construction dumpsters and mixed loads.
Our newly-opened convenience center in Loretto is getting rave reviews from folks in the south part of the county, and we are on track to build another in Summertown. The School Board gave us two acres for a new convenience center on North Brace Road, .4 mile directly behind Summertown Elementary. Surveys have been completed, and we are now in the permitting phase.
We are also searching for approximately two acres in the Deerfield area for a west Lawrence County Convenience Center. If you know of available land that’s on or near the new or old Highway 64 west, please contact us.
Roads
In May 2024 the Commission approved the issuance of $6 million in bonds dedicated to the purchase of road-building materials – oil, rock, and asphalt – to launch the largest county road building/improvement project in Lawrence County history. State aid funds brought the total to $9.2 million, with $2.4 million in 2023, and almost $850,000 in 2024.
A huge increase in the cost of these materials meant many roads had not received the attention they needed, but these funds are helping Road Superintendent Ryan Krick and his team catch up with needed repairs. At a Highway Committee meeting in September 2025, Krick reported that $1.67 million of the bond funds had been spent, so more remains to address existing problems.
We expect these local and state investments to get our road program back to a regular schedule of road repair, but costs are not likely to go down. Road conditions are important for so many reasons, and I’m in favor of investing what we need to keep them safe.
Economic Development
The Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce is our designated economic development and tourism agency, and is doing a fantastic job in both areas.
In 2022, Magna International announced plans to build a $200 million facility – our largest industrial investment ever – at Team Lawrence Commerce Park, and create 250 jobs. We welcomed Blickman Industries the same year, with a $2.7 million investment and initial creation of 48 jobs. We invested $100,000 to improve Loretto’s industrial park, and a small percentage of the funds required to buy a 150-acre parcel of new industrial property on the west side of Highway 43 north. This and other available properties are getting a lot of attention from companies looking for new locations.
We’re also seeing growth in retail and restaurant operations. These new businesses offer residents and visitors more reasons to shop and eat in Lawrence County, producing sales tax dollars that help support the work of county and city governments, and our school system.
On the tourism front, Lawrence County is being successfully marketed as a destination on social media and our Amish Country earned a feature in the November 2025 issue of National Geographic Traveller magazine. Plans are underway to market our parks for more ball tournaments, which bring entire families into our community to shop, eat at our restaurants, and buy gas.
Fiscal Matters
Lawrence County is stronger fiscally than it has ever been, with a fund balance that is 40% higher than it was when I took office. This provides not only a safety net for county operations, but the ability to meet emerging needs, and take advantage of grant opportunities that require matching funds.
Two years ago the Commission hired the Barrett Group, a firm that helps counties discover income sources that can take some of the burden off property tax payers. To date, they have found annual re-occurring revenue totaling $218,377.
Thanks to this and other cost-saving measures, and careful budgeting by all our elected officials and department heads, we have accomplished all I’ve described without a property tax increase. I am committed to keeping our taxes low so your families can benefit from your hard work. It’s an honor and a blessing to serve you as Lawrence County Executive.