Russell County approves appointments, opioid liaison hire authorization and $4,500 for Pat Of Life; pre-approves library payment

During its May 12 meeting, the Russell County Fiscal Court approved several board appointments, authorized a hire for a funded opioid liaison position and approved a one-time $4,500 allocation to Pat Of Life, a community opioid-recovery program.

Judge Randy Marcum recommended reappointing Billy Grider and appointing Paul Aaron to the ambulance board for terms beginning June 10, 2025. He also recommended reappointing Aaron Poynter and Ryan Vaughn and appointing Michelle Roy and Ginger Smith to the ethics board; the court approved all appointments by unanimous motion.

Judge Marcum reported he had identified a recommended candidate for the opioid liaison position, a role funded by opioid settlement dollars, and asked the court to authorize him to offer the job. Magistrate Mickey Garner moved to allow the hire and the court approved the authorization unanimously.

Treasurer Kim Blanchet identified $4,500 in the current budget previously set aside for a similar program and recommended that money be provided to Rick Robbins' Pat Of Life program; the court approved the payment on motion.

Judge Marcum also requested preapproval to issue the statutory 18% payment to the library when federal flood-control funds arrive; the court preapproved that payment so the library can be paid promptly when the funds are received.

Why it matters: These actions finalize personnel and program decisions tied to county administration and opioid-settlement funding and reallocate a modest amount of local funds to a community recovery program; the library preapproval expedites a required pass-through payment tied to federal funds.

The court approved the appointments, hire authorization and allocations during the meeting; details on the opioid liaison candidate and the timing of the library payment were not specified in the meeting minutes.