BEDFORD – The Lawrence County Commissioners gave Jehovah’s Witnesses permission to set up an information stand outside of the Lawrence County Courthouse on Wednesdays from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. on a temporary basis.
Steve Steuer, who represented the Jehovah’s Witnesses said they are deeply concerned about the decline in the living standards and attitudes of people over the last 10 years. They would like to reach out to the community.
“We will not approach anyone but will be there to listen and distribute literature (such as The Watchtower and Awake!),” said Steuer. “We will not be seeking donations. This is just a community service we would like to provide.”
The group also sets up outside the Bloomfield and Paoli courthouses and at the Orleans Farmers Market.
The group will be outside the courthouse Wednesday morning.
In other business:
Lawrence County Highway Superintendent Brandi Webb reported to the commissioners Tuesday morning that crews are finishing up paving in District 3.
Crews are also patching, cutting brush, and mowing.
Emergency Management Director Valerie Luchauer and her staff are working on updating the county’s Hazard Mitigation Plan.
Sheriff Mike Branham said the jail is at 70 percent compacity Tuesday morning. There are currently 126 inmates housed in the jail. Of those 103 are males, 23 females, five Level 6 felons and 12 Department of Correction holds and three patrol holds.
“As fast as they are sentencing them we are sending them out. Last week we shipped 5 DOC holds and six more were sentenced to DOC,” he added. “So our DOC numbers are staying consistent, we are kind of treading water. There are 9 DOC holds scheduled for transport in the next couple of weeks.”
The commissioners thanked the judges, prosecutors, and public defenders for keeping the inmate population manageable.
The commissioners also updated the employee handbook to reflect mileage reimbursement rates that meet state guidelines for employees that use their personnel vehicles to conduct county business.
The commissioners also voted to update their tourism ordinance to reflect they do have a tourism commissioner per the State Board of Accounts.
