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Lawrence County commissioners approve routine permits, contracts and proclaim May observances
Summary
At their May 5 meeting, the Lawrence County Commissioners approved a series of routine permits and contracts, proclaimed May as Mental Health Awareness Month and Older Americans Month, heard local provider statistics on senior services, and voted to enter an executive session on real estate.
Commissioner Deanna Holliday opened the Lawrence County commissioners’ meeting at 10:02 a.m. on May 5 and the board moved quickly through routine business, approving minutes, permits and several contracts before issuing two proclamations recognizing mental health and older adults.
The board approved a slate of motions that included minutes from the April 28 meeting; flood-plain permits submitted by the Sewan Water Conservation District; appropriations and transfers under $75,000 submitted by County Administrator Dylan Bentley; authorization for the county administrator to advertise and receive bids for a carpet-replacement project; a hosted online index-books and mortgages contract; and an AEP service agreement. Each motion was seconded and carried with the three commissioners voting in the affirmative.
The commissioners also approved a proclamation declaring May 2026 as Mental Health Awareness Month. Reading the proclamation, Commissioner Deanna Holliday highlighted the national theme “More Good Days Together” and designated May 28 as Mental Health Awareness Day. Sue Schultz, executive director of the local behavioral health board, accepted the proclamation and thanked the board, saying, “Mental health is a, very, very important subject in, what we do, but also personally.”
The board then proclaimed May 2026 as Older Americans Month under the theme “Champion Your Health.” Theresa Repow of the Area Agency on Aging, accepting the proclamation on the agency’s behalf, noted local service levels and funding shifts: “Last year, we served 786 seniors in Lawrence County. In the assisted living, we had 71. In the Older Americans Act programs… we served 148,” she said, and added that farmers-market funding across the agency’s 10 counties has dropped from serving about 4,400 people pre-pandemic to 1,800 now, leaving Lawrence County’s local slots filled.
Melissa Jenkins Brammer, representing the Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce and the Small Business Administration partnership, accepted a Small Business Week recognition and urged residents to support local firms, calling small businesses “the backbone of our community.”
Before adjourning the public portion, commissioners noted community events and staff updates, including a special-needs youth fishing event scheduled for the 16th and a classroom project that released 34 trout fingerlings into Pond Number 18 at the Hanging Rock mines. The board then voted to move into an executive session on real estate with County Administrator Dylan Bentley and Patrick Pilate.
Votes at a glance: all recorded motions during the public meeting carried unanimously (three yes votes: Commissioner Deanna Holliday, Commissioner Mike Finley, Commissioner Colton Copley).
