As we close out the year of 2009. We have many things to be thankful for during this year. We also have many families in Pickens County who are currently “hurting” during this depressed economy. Our county is well known for its generous support of families and children in need, and I encourage you to be thankful for what you have been provided, and do all you can for others who may not be as fortunate. This can be the year that the true “Christmas Spirit” fills the air above Pickens County like never before.

            One of the many duties I have as your Commissioner is to recruit and select citizens to serve on many of our boards and commissions who meet and make recommendations to me during the course of the year. This is a duty I take very seriously, and I want to thank every single individual who has agreed to serve on one of these boards or commissions. Your time and effort given to the numerous meetings required during the year are very much appreciated, and results in making Pickens County a better place to live, work and play. As we move into 2010, I would highly encourage anyone who has an interest in serving your local community and your local government by providing your experience and your knowledge to these positions to contact me or my staff to make us aware of your interest. The more broad based and knowledgeable input that we have in making decisions should result in decisions being made that will benefit the majority of Pickens County citizens.

            At my most recent Commissioner’s Meeting, Larry Coleman, Director of Utilities, provided a report outlining the work of our Water Department over the year 2009 and our ongoing attempts to provide public water throughout the unincorporated areas of the county. The county water system currently has 2,750 service connections and provides water to 6,560 citizens. As we continue to expand the availability of the county water system to provide water for citizens use as well as fire suppression use, I would encourage you to consider hooking on to the system when it becomes available in your area. The pre-construction meeting on a elevated 500,000 gallon water tank to be constructed in the Highway 5 – Worley Crossroads area has been held, and construction should begin in early March. This tank will enable us to replace an undersized and outdated tank located in Tate and provide more equal pressure to our existing customers located in the Southern area of the county.

            As 2009 comes to an end, I want to express my appreciation to all the employees and volunteers of Pickens County for the services they provide to our citizens. It has been a year in which we have been unable to fund some of the department requests for essential equipment and we have not been able to provide any payroll increases for employees, but I am pleased with the attitudes and morale of our people. They are still out there working hard and trying to make things better for all of us. I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to all.

            It is my sincere hope that 2010 will be a better year for everyone. I look forward to the many challenges we have here in Pickens County to make this an even better place to live, work and play.

Until the next time, stay safe and be healthy.