After years of patchwork, the Thompson School roof is getting more attention.

Adams County Supervisors voted unanimously Monday to call for an emergency roof repair at the Thompson School on North Union Street in Natchez.

Fuller Roofing and Sheet Metal in Vidalia has been called in to make repairs.

&uot;It looks as if the roof material was lifted off the auditorium and sat back down again,&uot; said supervisor Darryl Grennell.

Supervisors paid local roofer Leon Howard, $40,000 in 1994 to fix the roof. Although the roof is still under warranty, Howard refused to fix it last summer when damage developed, supervisors said.

In late 1998, supervisors paid $16,250 to Fuller Roofing to repair bad sections of the roof.

This time out, supervisors said they want the roof fixed with a written warranty on the repair.

Thompson School houses the Natchez Head Start program operated by the AJFC Community Action Agency. Head Start uses the building free of charge from Adams County.

Also on Monday, the board voted to sell $3.9 million of state-issued bonds for county expenses.

Major items financed with the bonds will be construction of the Juvenile Justice Facility and repair of the Adams County Courthouse roof.

Adams County Administrator Charlie Brown presented the financing proposal to the board. It includes $2.7 million for construction of the Juvenile Justice Facility, $505,000 for repairs of the Adams County Courthouse roof, $335,850 as a debt service reserve fund, a $100,000 contingency fund, and various legal, architectural and issuance fees.

The first principal payment on the loan from Mississippi Development Bank would be due in October 2000, Brown said.

&uot;If we could defer it for a year, that would help in next fiscal year,&uot; he said.

Supervisors voted to approve the financing, with only Darryl Grennell and Rose Wallace voting against.

Wallace said she didn’t feel comfortable voting for an extension on debt repayment when she would not be on the board when the principle came due.

&uot;I won’t be here then, so I feel I have to vote no,&uot; Wallace said.

Grennell has maintained consistent opposition to the Juvenile Justice Facility plan and construction.

Brown said the state issued bonds would be sold later this month.

Supervisors also voted to rearrange priorities on state aid road projects and move Lewis Drive up to a top priority project to alleviate residents complaints about only having one way in and out of their neighborhood.

Sammy Cauthen made the motion to place a Lewis Drive extension above other pending projects like a Northside Loop.

&uot;Lewis Drive is a state aid road and we’ve had money out there for ages. Let’s use that same money on the Lewis Drive extension,&uot; Cauthen said.

&uot;You’ve got those apartments down on Lewis Drive and the school,&uot; Cauthen said. &uot;We’ve had two occasions where the road has been blocked and those people are trapped,&uot; he said.

Adams County Engineer Jim Marlow said he would begin to look at routes for extending Lewis Drive and allowing it an alternate egress.

&uot;I think the board had a total consensus on the need for the Lewis Drive extension,&uot; said Adams County Board of Supervisors President Virginia Salmon.

&uot;I’m so glad to see Lewis Drive get the attention it deserves.&uot;