County employees recognized with service awards
BY KADIE TAYLOR
THE LAFAYETTE SUN
CHAMBERS COUNTY —
Several service awards were presented during Monday night’s Chambers County Commission Meeting.
Chambers County Sheriff Jeff Nelson awarded Justin Burns with a service award to recognize his 10 years with the department.
“Justin Burns handles a lot of the ins and outs of what makes the jail function down here,” Nelson said. “He is an outstanding young man. He does a wonderful job, keeps me informed and runs a tight, tight ship down there. It took a lot of finagling to get him to give me a key to the back door so I could get in. So that tells you kind of how he is, but I know I could not do my job the way I needed to do if I didn’t have good people. A sheriff is only as good as the people, and this is one of the good men who work for me.”
Chambers County Engineer Josh Harvill presented Corey McDonald an award to recognize five years of hard work.
“Corey is one of those that was absolutely a really good decision,” Harvill said. “He came in and learned how to drive some trucks, to work on some equipment. He runs his own business. He worked in leadership. He worked with management, but as far as being out on the highway parking crew, he had never done that before. So he went in with both feet.”
Commissioner Debra Riley presented an Efficiency and Innovation in County Government Rural County Category Award to Leadership Chambers County, represented by Ashley Emfinger and Andie Chambley, by the Association of County Commissioners of Alabama.
“We reached out to our CCDA [Chambers County Development Authority] and come on up here, girls, because we would not have won this if these two young ladies had not stepped up, took charge, done all of this research and brought back to our committees, ‘this is what other counties are doing,’” Riley said. “They have just really stepped up. And we just will say, this will hang in the Commission Office, but it’s an honor of you and all the hard work that you have done.”
Dr. Hollie Cost and Rachel Snoddy presented an Impact Report from the Chambers County Community Health and Wellness Center.
“I will say that you are a leader amongst the state, with all of the online care stations that are now five in the state, and not just a leader in the state, but a leader in the nation,” Cost said. “We have the most heavily utilized on-med care station in the entire country. And again, it’s a testament to your leadership, to the support that we have and the people out here are using it.”
In Other Business
• The commission voted to approve the fiscal year 2025 Long Term Detention Subsidy Contract, designating Lee County Youth Development Center as the detention center chosen by the county to receive the funds.
• The commission voted to authorize Chambers County to participate in the Severe Weather Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday beginning at 12:01 a.m. on the last Friday in February and ending at midnight on the last Sunday in February, commencing February 2026 and continuing on the last full weekend of February each year thereafter until and unless annual participation is rescinded by further action of the county commission.
• The commission approved a resolution expressing the Chambers County Commission’s willingness to allow the city of Valley to use voting machines on Sept. 23 for a run-off election, pending approval by ES&S.
• The commission approved a resolution to authorize the chairman to execute the FY26 grant agreement with East Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission for senior transportation services.
• The commission approved the Alabama Department of Youth Services Agreement Grant Agreement.
