Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
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| Henry County Board of Supervisors |
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Wednesday, October 28, 2009
By DEBBIE HALL - Bulletin Staff Writer
With no opposed races for seats on the Henry County Board of Supervisors, candidates have had an opportunity to focus on the issues and plan for the upcoming term.
The three candidates in the Nov. 3 election — incumbent Jim Adams of the Blackberry District, Joe Bryant of the Collinsville District and Milton Kendall of the Iriswood District — said they have prioritized the areas they hope to address in their next four years on the board.
“The main thing we need are jobs,” said Kendall, a newcomer to the board. He added that he is convinced that investing in infrastructure projects such as Interstate 73 will boost economic development and job creation.
Kendall said he thinks the board “should do all we can to support that” interstate project. He also said he will consider different options to pay for paving/maintaining secondary roads.
Public safety, primarily related to fire and rescue service, is another area where Kendall said “we need to do all we can to improve.” He said he hopes to find ways of attracting more volunteers to the county’s all-volunteer fire and rescue squads, he said.
As the economy continues to slump, Kendall is “optimistic about it getting better again” and working toward that goal with other supervisors.
“There will be a learning curve” because he is a new supervisor, “but I think my experience on the school board will help,” said Kendall, who served on the Henry County School Board in 2003-07. He did not seek re-election.
Bryant, who also will be new to the board in January, said he plans to dedicate the first year “primarily to observing.”
While he has priorities, such as job creation, “I’m not quite sure how to go about” creating them, he said.
Education also is on Bryant’s priority list because it is important to economic development and work force training.
“Education is a big thing for me. It is one of the things companies” consider before locating to an area, he said.
To attract economic development, the county needs to offer a a quality education and maintain a quality, educated work force, Bryant said.
Updating schools and other facilities is a good investment of taxpayer money, Bryant said. “We need to upgrade and have modern-looking schools” to help lure companies and for the sake of youngsters attending those schools, he said.
Collinsville, with U.S. 220 running through it, is a main thoroughfare in the area that bears scars of the past.
“There are a lot of old buildings that need to be torn down or improved,” Bryant said. “We are in the 21st century and we have got to adapt the area” to encourage industries to locate here.
“If they look and see a dilapidated area, they will move somewhere else,” he said, adding that renovations also will help improve the lives of residents.
Progress is being made with the purchase of properties for industrial sites, Bryant said. But with an unemployment rate of more than 20 percent in Martinsville and 14 percent in Henry County, “we have got to do something to come out from under this.”
“I will keep my eyes in both directions” to not only look out for Collinsville residents, but also the entire county, Bryant said.
Adams, who is seeking a third term to his post, said economic development and job creation are priorities.
“Economic development does drive everything else,” he said.
Some projects are underway to help the economy when it does improve, he said.
In Adams’ district alone, there are several, including a housing rehabilitation project on Riverside Drive, a sewer project that will run from Virginia 57 to Philpott Lake and a capital improvement project undertaken by the Bassett Historical Center.
All “should be good for the area,” he said.
Infrastructure projects, including I-73 and completing U.S. 58 to Hillsville, also are among Adams’ priorities.
Although those projects are “out of our hands” in that they rely on other funding sources and other agencies, Adams said the board “can still support and push for those projects.”
Bryant and Kendall will be welcome additions to the board, Adams said. “I look forward to working with them both.”
Bryant will succeed Jim McMillian and Kendall will succeed Paula Burnette. Neither McMillian nor Burnette sought re-election. |
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