By KAREN JONES CODY
The outrage expressed when dozens of employees faced layoff by county government seems to have grown quiet now, but the silence does not mean the county’s financial problems are solved. Instead, it appears that the progress made in several areas is now at a standstill — and some fear the county is going backward.
Ecology Officer Roger Hicks expressed his frustration with the current state of the solid waste department.
“We were offering the service of picking up bulk items for residents; we’ve had to suspend that, because there’s nobody to do it. We were monitoring sites where people tend to throw out trash — now there’s nobody to do it. When you can’t monitor things as you go, it makes it more difficult to keep the county clean. “We’re trying to keep things looking good, but we’ve lost all personnel! We had people certified to get workers from the jail to pick up trash; now that’s gone, too.”
Hicks said the department’s litter abatement program will begin when the weather gets warm. It is funded by the state — but even this has $3,000 less available.
“If we don’t get something in line, I don’t know what to do…we’re going farther and farther back, and I’m afraid we’ll end up right back where we started,” he said.
The county’s Senior Citizen Program was the subject of much concern when cutbacks began, and for a while it seemed the entire program would shut down due to lack of funds. County Attorney Tim Bates advised the court not to terminate the contract with KRADD that supplements the program; Judge Thompson found some extra funds from sale of surplus equipment and refinancing of bonds, and the court approved the use of these funds to keep the Senior Citizens Program afloat. Eva Huff, Director of the program, describes their current situation, saying, “We’re still maintaining.
“We have the same number of home delivered meals as before the layoff, but we’ re doing it with the assistance of county workers from other departments. We’re doing the best we can.
“We can’t add anyone else to the list for…
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