Commission meeting welcomes Superintendent Jose Reyes

Jul. 30—Calhoun County commissioners on Thursday welcomed the man recently named superintendent of Calhoun County Schools, Dr. Jose Reyes.

"We are excited to have him," said Commissioner J. D. Hess. "He is here to show he wants to communicate and be a part of us, and I appreciate him."

Reyes told those present at the meeting that he is big on supporting anything children are involved in and that he is big on relationships.

"Relationships are important in anything you do," he said. "You don't work with people you don't like."

Reyes began working as the interim superintendent until the board of education decided to hire him earlier this month, but his contract is pending. Reyes is moving to Calhoun County following his retirement as the superintendent of Scottsboro School System, and after working a year as a teacher in Tennessee.

A second person addressed the commissioners during the discussion period. Tom Madden, the former owner of Encore, an animal-training organization that is now closed, said he will soon have a law degree and hopes to become more active in animal advocacy. His plea was for cooperation among those on social media and those who are active in the animal care community in the county.

"We need to stop infighting and work together to resolve problems," Madden said.

Specifically, he was referring to the problem about recent developments that involved the former director of the shelter and two employees who have been arrested and charged with failing to follow the standards of care during the euthanasia process and for illegally handling vaccinations. He said he was in support of the commissioners, who have been targets of the negative comments on social media.

"Once they found out," Madden said, "they referred it (the situation at the shelter), and that was four days total. That's not sweeping under the rug.

"The community needs solutions to animal control. The commissioners are working toward that, and they have other things to worry about. If you ask people if they want good animal control or to fix a pothole, they'd say to fix the pothole."

In a subsequent phone conversation, commission chairman Lee Patterson said Madden was a concerned citizen.

"He deals in truths and not untruths," Patterson said. "He's wanting this constant negative dialogue on social media to go away."

In other business, the commission:

— Awarded a bid to Wiregrass Construction for work on the Vigo Road in Piedmont, and a bid to The Bridge Builders of Alabama for the repair of the Rocky Hollow Road Bridge that is north of Jacksonville. Both improvements fall under the Rebuild Alabama program.

— Approved the proposal for two subdivisions, the Cherokee Knolls Phase II and Peeks Hill Landing.

— Entered into a joint agreement with Anniston to assist in the improvement of sewage and water-flow system projects as part of an economic development project.

— Heard the first reading for beer and wine licenses at Jay's Mart on Morrisville Road in Anniston.

— Approved receiving a 2002 Dodge Ram 2500 truck from the Calhoun County Board of Education.

— Accepted the Hazard Mitigation Grant to build weather-related safe rooms in the community of the Quad City area and in Hobson City. The grant has a 75 percent grant from the federal government with a 25 percent match from the county.

Joined in settlements from Johnson & Johnson, McKesson and other pharmaceutical companies regarding the harm done to the state and county related to the opioid epidemic litigation and future settlement cases.