NATCHEZ — District 5 Supervisor S.E. “Spanky” Felter put his money where his mouth was at Tuesday’s board meeting in regards to county-paid cell phones.

Felter handed over a check to Adams County for $550.16, the sum of his cell phone bills for 12 months. He also announced he will no longer use a county-paid cell phone.

An article in Tuesday’s Democrat pointed out a business sign and nearby billboard displaying Felter’s taxpayer-funded cell phone number.

The sign, on a S & L Spanky’s Storage building, which Felter owns, is on U.S. 61 North.

Felter said even though he will now pay his own cell phone bill, he removed the number from a billboard and business sign displaying the number because it did not need to be there.

“Using a cell phone to try to separate county business versus my personal phone — it’s hard to do,” Felter said.

Felter said he still welcomed phone calls from taxpayers on his personal phone.

Also at Tuesday’s meeting, the board voted to continue partnering with Copiah-Lincoln Community College to allow county employees to attend free customer service training courses.

Co-Lin Workforce Coordinator Angela Berch appeared at the meeting to discuss the course, which started January of this year.

Berch said 81 city employees and 26 county employees have attended the 10 course offerings since it started.

The free courses are open to the public. Berch said Co-Lin intends target small businesses, in addition to public employees.

In other business

The board approved travel dates for Supervisors Henry Watts and Darryl Grennell and County Attorney Bobby Cox to travel to Jackson Sept. 27 through Oct. 1 for a public hearing.

The hearing is a response to Natchez Community Hospital’s appeal to the state’s decision to grant a certificate of need to Natchez Regional Medical Center to open a catheterization lab.

Mississippi State Department of Health filed a request for the hearing in June in which Grennell and Watts may be asked to testify.

Attorney for Natchez Regional Medial Center board, Walter Brown, said Natchez Community Hospital issued subpoenas for Watts and Grennell.

He said Cox is likely traveling to Jackson to protect the supervisors’ legal interest.

Adams County Health Department Office Manager Connie Wilson appeared in front of the board with a list of 11 repairs to the county-owned health department building on U.S. 61 North, which the health department asked the county to help maintain.

One request was for the maintenance department to install an air-conditioning unit located in the building’s lobby.

The health department purchased the unit in November 2008 due to an agreement that the county maintenance department would install it.

The unit is one of approximately five units that heat and cool certain sections of the building, Mississippi State Department of Health District 7 Administrator Tracy Byas said.

The board agreed to encourage Maintenance Department Head Allen Jones to install the unit soon.

The board voted to approve allowing employees to deduct the cost of specialized insurance plans from their payroll.

Beverly Greene from Allstate Insurance appeared was also given permission to discuss insurance options with county employees.

The board ordered County Engineer Jim Marlow to assess problems with the bluff and bridge near Buckhurst Plantation Road, which resident Bobby Braswell appeared in front of the board to discuss.

The board ordered Marlow and Road Manager Curley Jones to assess drainage problems on Lower Woodville Road and on Artman Road. Residents Cleotha Marsaw and Walter Green spoke to the board about damage drainage problems has caused to their homes on Artman and Lower Woodville roads, respectively.

Felter asked the board if county residents outside city limits are responsible for the school board’s tax increase.

Chancery Clerk Tommy O’Beirne said the school board raised taxes for everyone, both inside and outside city limits.

The board of supervisors reduced the amount of property taxes it asked or residents, which absorbed the school board’s increase for residents inside the city limits.

However, O’Beirne said extra costs paid only by county property taxes, such as fire control, were unable to offset the increase from the school board.