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Judge Robert Newsom swears in new fire marshall Andy Endsley as the commissioners look on/ Staff photo by Taylor Nye
8th district court approved for new assistant as jails fill
The Hopkins County commissioners court promoted Station 20 fire chief Andy Endsley to the position of fire marshal and provided for the 8th district to have an assistant court coordinator, among other items of business at their regular Nov. 9 meeting.
REGULAR BUSINESS
After calling the meeting to order at 9:03 a.m., County Judge Robert Newsom noted that Pct. I Commissioner Mickey Barker and Pct. 4 Commissioner Joe Price, as well as court secretary Donna Goins were absent. However, the court did have a quorum and would proceed, Newsom noted.
The court unanimously passed their consent agenda, which contained meeting minutes from the following meetings: Sept. 28 regular meeting, Sept. 28 work session, Oct. 1 regular meeting, Oct. 1 work session, Oct. 5 work session, Oct. 12 regular meeting, Oct. 12 work session and Oct. 19 work session.
The court then opened the floor to citizen comments. No citizens presented themselves for comment.
CREMATION SERVICES
“The county occasionally has instances where someone… has no resources to be buried,” said Newsom. “It doesn’t happen often in our county. Maybe they don’t have family. That’s called an indigent death.”
According to Newsom, for the past several years cremation services have charged the county $500 per individual for indigent deaths. However, due to rising costs, cremation services have requested the county now pay $700 per individual, Newsom stated.
“Of course, the service costs several thousand dollars,” Newsom noted. “But this is the county and this is one of the things we do as a county.”
The measure passed unanimously.
FIRE MARSHAL
The court unanimously approved for Station 20 fire chief and emergency management coordinator Andy Endsley to take over the role of fire marshal and director of homeland security.
“This is a big thing for Hopkins County,” Newsom said.
Prior to Endsley’s swearing in, Hopkins County has spent the last 21 years with a county fire station and a fire administrator and chief at its helm. In the mid-2000s, the county transitioned the role to fire marshal to comply with state law, and Mike Matthews currently serves in the role.
However, the court decided to transfer Endsley to the role of county fire marshal as he already serves as station 20 chief, emergency management coordinator, and county director of homeland security, Newsom said. Matthews will serve as assistant fire marshal.
“Through our research we think this administrative laws can help the county as a whole,” Endsley said. “It will help all the volunteer departments and the county department work together.”
Endsley will take over the position effective immediately, as he was sworn in on Monday morning at the court.
In other firefighting business, the court unanimously approved Dec. 1, 2020 as the deadline for county volunteer fire departments to return their annual contracts. The county had already received the contract for Dike VFD, which they unanimously approved.
8TH DISTRICT COURT ASSISTANT
County auditor Shannah Aulsbrook presented to the court during budget amendments that she had a request from 8th District Judge Eddie Northcutt for the hiring of a part-time court assistant due to court schedule overloading from COVID-19.
“He [Northcutt] is struggling and needs part-time help,” Aulsbrook stated. “He wanted to know what he needed to do to hire someone part time, as soon as possible. It’s due to COVID, really. He’s having to schedule Zoom meetings and do smaller court sessions.”
Sheriff Lewis Tatum informed the court that as many as 50 inmates booked in on violation of probation were awaiting a trial date. Newsom, the former sitting judge of the 8th District, called the number “really surprising.”
“We need to get a move on that, if we could. I am more certain than ever before, we need to get our jail moved out.”
“I look at them every day,” Tatum agreed. “We need to get our numbers down. The probation violations have to go through the court system.”
Aulsbrook speculated that due to the nature of the help needed, the role could be paid for through grants.
The court unanimously authorized the position at the rate of $12 an hour, and authorized 8th District court coordinator Regina Collins to begin her search for an assistant immediately.
Aulsbrook further stated that Pct. 2 received a reimbursement from the city of Como for the work done on McBride Street for $26,973.90.
With no further business, court was adjourned at 9:27 a.m.