Visitors at the Leflore County Courthouse, regardless of vaccination status, will be required to wear masks inside to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
The Leflore County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted Monday to implement the mask mandate in light of the spread of the delta variant of COVID-19. All employees inside the courthouse also must wear masks.
There was no discussion among the board members as to whether a countywide mask mandate would be implemented again.
The board voted 3-2 last month to lift a mask mandate that was first imposed last year. District 5 Supervisor Robert Collins, who is also the board’s vice president, voted against lifting the mandate, as did District 3’s Anjuan Brown.
Collins said last week that he was in favor of implementing the mandate again.
In other business:
- Fred Randle, the county’s emergency management agency director, updated the board on the status of residents receiving assistance to repair homes damaged by the flooding in June.
On Saturday, a disaster reservist began calling residents whose homes were damaged to determine what type of materials would be needed to fix their homes, Randle said. By next week, volunteers will be in the field to personally survey homes for repairs assessment and determine how many volunteers will be needed to assist with the renovations, Randle said.
The board voted last month to form a temporary partnership with Holmes County’s long-term recovery committee in order for Leflore County to receive up to $250,000 from the state’s disaster trust fund to purchase building materials for home repairs.
The board also voted last month to establish a long-term recovery committee for Leflore County, which will make the county eligible to receive state funds to address home repairs in future disasters.
Randle said after Monday’s board meeting that he is not sure yet when the county will receive funds from the state. He also said that residents who have already spent their own money to buy building materials to fix their homes will not be reimbursed.
- The board met in executive session to discuss personnel matters but took no action, board President Reginald Moore said.
- The board discussed details of the county’s budget for the 2021-2022 fiscal year.
Chancery Clerk Johnny Gary said the board would convene again later this week to see an itemized breakdown of a proposed budget before voting next week to run advertisements about that budget. The county’s new fiscal year will run from Oct. 1, 2021, to Sept. 30, 2022.
- Contact Gerard Edic at 581-7239 or gedic@gwcommonwealth.com.
