Jennifer Gentile/Daily Times Leader
District 5 County Supervisor Floyd McKee, far left, and District 3 Supervisor R.B. Davis, middle, turn over the keys last week to Deputy Herbert Ingram to a truck and trailer provided by the Mississippi Department of Transportation as part of its Inmate Litter Removal Program Partnership. 

By Jennifer Gentile
Daily Times Leader
The Clay County Board of Supervisors committed financial support Monday to East Mississippi Community College's new nursing school complex.
By unanimous vote, the board members agreed to assess 1 mil in support of the project. The complex is estimated to cost around $22 million, and the college is asking for support from the counties it serves in retiring the bond. 
“What they have is 12 acres donated by a benefactor,” said Chancery Clerk Robbie Robinson. He explained that the site is near the Mayhew Campus.
For about eight years, according to Robinson, the board has been collecting 1 mill toward building the new dormitory on EMCC's Scooba Campus.
That 1 mill will end in two years, Robinson said. The maximum amount of support a county can legally give to the junior college system is 6 mills.
“Right now, our support of EMCC is a total of 3.25 mills,” Robinson said.
Aside from the “educational return” the county receives through its support, he added, it also receives a direct financial benefit of more than $2 million through means such as salaries and benefits for local employees, scholarships and dollars paid to Clay County vendors doing business with the college.
In asking for backing from his fellow supervisors, Board President Shelton Deanes said, “We're investing in our children's education.”
Referring to support for education, District 2 board member Luke Lummus said, “We always have, and as long as I'm here, we always will. It's all about schooling.”
District 1 Supervisor Lynn Horton said “There is a great need for nursing all over.” District 5 Supervisor Floyd McKee and District 3 Supervisor R.B. Davis also
“If there's any way your tax dollars can support Clay County any better than supporting out community college,” Davis said, “I don't know what that might be.”
Robinson said the new facility would allow EMCC to offer an RN, or registered nurse, degree program in addition to the LPN, or licensed practical nurse program it offers now. He added that 597 Clay County students attend EMCC.
In other business, Melissa King and Kay Simmons, representing Community Counseling, presented the organization's annual report to the board. 
King said in fiscal year 2008, CCS served the needs of 5,551 clients. In Clay County, 964 people sought and received mental health, alcohol and drug, and developmental disability services during the fiscal year.
The annual budget this year is $21.16 million, with an annual budget for Clay County of $3.78 million. Through a millage assessment, King said Clay County contributes $44,000 a year, and in fiscal year 2008, CCS has provided $296,445 in donated services to Clay County.
Clearing up a misconception about CCS's funding, King said the funding it receives through grants is minimal. 
“78 percent of our revenues come from Medicaid,” she said, which is billed on a fee-for-service basis. Over the past five years, CCS has had to pay its own match, meaning that it has returned between 20 and 25 percent of every dollar received to the state.
The rest of the revenue, she added, comes from Medicare, insurance, grants, contractual agreements, fees for services and a limited amount from self-pay clients.
The organization employs 51 people and operates nine facilities in Clay County. According to King, “Experts state that the local community is impacted five times the salaries paid to staff in their community,” making the financial impact of CCS in Clay County about $9.28 million.
King mentioned that CCS is now offering a new program, providing 12 hours of training in dealing with people with mental illness. She said the training would be particularly useful for officials and first responders — teaching how to preserve life when someone is a danger to themselves and others, how to prevent a mental health problem from escalating and providing support to someone experiencing mental illness or addiction.
There is no set time for the training, King said, and it can be scheduled at the county's convenience.   
The board also approved a hazard mitigation plan, which was presented by Fire Chief Johnny Littlefield.
“The state says every county must have a plan on file in order to receive federal and state funding,” he said. There has always been a comprehensive emergency plan on file, Littlefield added, but the state wants a mitigation plan as well that includes measures to prevent loss of life and property.
“What it includes,” he said, “are things we already do,” such as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program. Littlefield said grant applications pending for backup generators for the courthouse, for the county's rural water systems and emergency warning sirens for the county.
 “We've probably got a half-million in grants pending right now.” 
The county and city have also participated in  storm shelter program, where the state pays up to 75 percent of the cost of installation. Littlefield said “well over 100” have been installed in the city and county to date.
He added that the mitigation plan was advertised in the newspaper in October, and it has been on file at the courthouse and the Emergency Management Agency office.
In other business, the board:
•approved the transfer of $7,167.36 from sanitation to the general county fund, representing indirect costs incurred for administration. 
•Executed agreements for emergency work on Fire Tower Road and Wilcox Road. Robinson said the work was due to damage caused by flooding and erosion.
He said that the work on Firetower Road would cost $20,200, with a local match of $5,050. The Wilcox Road work will cost $17,000, with a local match of $4,250.
Half of the match for the projects, Robinson said, will be paid by the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District.
•Accepted the gift of a truck and trailer from the Mississippi Department of Transportation. The vehicle is part of MDOT's Inmate Litter Removal Partnership Program.
The equipment will allow for more efficient garbage pickup from state highways, according to McKee. The F-150 truck and trailer went to the county for the reasonable price of $1, he added. Supervisors turned the key over to Sheriff's Deputy Herbert Ingram last week.