Supervisors hold first meeting of the new year; implement mask mandate

Published 10:38 am Tuesday, January 4, 2022

The Jefferson Davis County Board of Supervisors met for the first meeting of the year Monday morning in the board room in Prentiss.

Rev. Jessie Holloway opened the meeting with prayer before the board went into executive session involving a personnel matter with the sheriff’s department.

Bid openings followed for the bank depository and prisoner meals. The county deposit will remain at Hancock Whitney for the next two years. This was the only bid for the depository the board received. Prisoner meals will continue to be provided by Williams Good Ole Days Buffet, as that was also the only bid the board received.

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Jefferson Davis County Emergency Management Director Jocelyn Ragsdale gave a COVID report to the board. There were 17,525 new cases of COVID reported in the State over the four-day New Year holiday from Dec. 30-Jan. 2. Jefferson Davis County saw an increase of 83 during that time period.

“Please be diligent with your safety,” said Ragsdale. “This is very serious. Once again, the numbers are increasing significantly. Please wear masks, use hand sanitizer and avoid large crowds.”

The board has implemented the previous mask mandate for all county buildings. County buildings will also be sprayed and sanitized once a month until further notice.

In other business, the board approved the following without opposition:

  • Approved minutes.
  • Approved accumulated sick leave and vacation days from Sheriff’s Department.
  • Approve school bus turnarounds in District 3 on Carol Griffith Lane, Gum Swamp Road and W. V. Hathorn Road.
  • Approved Rose Tate Barnes as appointment of JDC Red Cross representative for calendar year 2022.
  • Approved rate for litter pickup by contract labor.
  • Approved advertising in MAS Magazine.
  • Approved paying PERS matching for four retirees.
  • Approved payment to Rails to Trails.
  • Approved payment of annual membership dues of Southern MS Planning and Development District.
  • Approved second quarter budget appropriations for Tax Assessor and Sheriff.
  • Approved Claims.
  • The county deposit will remain at Hancock Whitney for the next two years. This was the only bid for depository the board received. Prisoner meals will continue to be provided by Williams Good Ole Days Buffet, is that was also the only bid the board received.