Food pantry numbers spike at Tolson's in March

By MEGAN COOPER

Mt. Pleasant News

Tolson Community Action Center in Mt. Pleasant saw its food pantry numbers double for the month of March.

?The numbers of families using the food pantry went from 37 to 74 in the month of March,? said Henry County Board of Supervisors Chairman Marc Lindeen during its regular meeting Thursday. ?Also, Tolson?s assistance for services rendered for the month of March was $58,404.42, with a good portion of that for weatherization and heat assistance.?

Lindeen also learned during his meeting with Tolson about the kindergarten transition program it offers.

?They put on this transition program for parents who have children going into kindergarten next year,? explained Lindeen. ?They show the parents what to do and give them a checklist to follow. It?s very beneficial, especially if children need assistance in some area and the teacher needs to know about it. The program tells the parents how to go about it.?

The chairman informed the board that he, along with other members of the committee he sits on, didn?t know the details of the program.

?We knew they (Tolson) had the program, but we didn?t realize all they did,? said Lindeen. ?It?s a really great program and they have a lot of information.?

Tolson Community Action Center will hold its open house on Saturday, May 10, Lindeen added.

Moving to other agenda items, IT/Tech Coordinator for Henry County Derek Wellington asked the board to sign the renewal contract with Physical Therapy Works (PT Works) who provides services for Henry County.

?The contract has the same pricing as it did the previous year,? said Wellington. ?It helps to take care of pre-employment hearing testing, drug testing, physicals, etc. This contract is just an extension to the current one that ends on April 25, 2014.?

According to Wellington, PT Works has done a fantastic job for the county and it was the ?best and smartest purchase we (the county) made for pre-employment screenings.?

Vice-Chairman Greg Moeller agreed with Wellington, stating, ?I think it?s a great deal for the county. I move we accept it. It?s fantastic and a great tool for us to have.?

The board, during the meeting, heard the second reading of the amendment to Title 6 Chapter 2 Section 13 Subsection 2(3) of the Henry County Code of Ordinances; Intensity of use requirements in ?R-2? Residential Districts, if public water supply and public sanitary sewer are used, the intensity requirements are reduced to 6,000 square feet for a single-family dwelling.

During Tuesday?s board meeting, the board approved a contract with Young Construction of Mt. Pleasant. Pending clarification the work is to be done after hours on the weekend, to complete concrete work on the courthouse for the amount of $5,498.

Wesley Barton Construction (Mt. Pleasant) bid $11,381.50 for the project and Robert L. Smith Construction Company Inc. (Mt. Pleasant) bid $7,050 for the project.

The Henry County Board of Supervisors will meet again in regular session on Tuesday, April 15, at 9 a.m. in the board room at the courthouse.