During the regular monthly meeting on Friday, February 14, the Lawrence County Commission approved one proclamation and two resolutions.
Before the meeting started, the Commission held a moment of silence in respect for the late Kyle Pankey, who was still the active commissioner from District 3 when he passed away earlier this month after a long battle with cancer.
The proclamation, that was approved, established February 2025, as Career and Technical Education Month in Lawrence County. About a dozen students and faculty from the Lawrence County Career and Technical Center (LCCTC) attended Friday’s meeting to accept the proclamation.
The proclamation states, ‘Whereas profound economic and technological changes in our society are rapidly reflected in the structure and nature of work, thereby placing new and additional responsibilities on our education system; and whereas, career and technical education programs in the Lawrence County School System have become a rigorous, progressive, and vital part of the total education system, which is committed to providing students with rewarding opportunities to learn.’
After the proclamation, the Commissioners approved two resolutions in honor of Mr. Hutson Parker Sr. and Mr. Tom Wiley.
“The Commission wants to give you this in recognition of Hutson’s service to the County,” Commissioner Norman Pool said as he presented the resolution to the family and friends of Mr. Parker, who passed away late last year.
According to the resolution, Parker spent 32 years as a business agent for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. Parker served the county as an elected commissioner for eight years from 1998 to 2006.
In other news from Friday, before the meeting a group of residents who live along County Road 198 presented the Commission with a signed document expressing their displeasure with the state of their dirt road. The group of citizens claimed the road’s condition has deteriorated since the county’s road department added material to help stabilize it last year.
Last week, CR 198 resident James Burnett attended a commission work session and used the public comments period to show the commissioners two large bricks of chert that he said were now covering his road and damaging his vehicle.
On Friday, the commission also voted to approve a quote to install and refurbish the Old Jail’s cast-iron spiral staircase at the Lawrence County Archives.
The dilapidated Old Jail and Courthouse Annex were demolished earlier this year, but in the years since their abandonment the spiral staircase attached to the side of the jail has gained somewhat of a cult following in Moulton as a popular place to take professional photographs, like prom photos.
The staircase will be repainted and reinstalled on the back of the archives building.
