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Erica Techo
Shelby County Commission
(Pictured L-R) Ward Williams, Ron Griggs and Gene Rowley are running for District 4 Commissioner.
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Erica Techo
Shelby county Commission
Laura Hardin discusses Blanket Fort Hope with the Shelby County Commission.
The Shelby County Commission approved two alcohol licenses to local businesses at its meeting on Monday, Oct. 26.
One alcohol license was for Blowfish Sushi Bar, a new sushi restaurant set to open on U.S. 280. The restaurant will be located in the former City Vineyard location.
The other license was for Spring Creek Package Store off of Highway 71.
Commissioner Robbie Hayes said both businesses had all of their paperwork in order, and both licenses were approved.
Three candidates running for District 4 Commissioner also spoke at the meeting. The District 4 Commissioner spot will open up next year, as commissioner Dan Acker decided not to seek reelection, citing health concerns. He has served on the commission for 23 years.
The candidates include Alabaster residents Gene Rowley, Ward Williams and Ron Griggs. Each candidate gave a short introductory speech at the meeting, detailing his connection to Shelby County. The qualifying deadline for candidates in the March primaries is Nov. 6.
“To all three of you, I want to say, obviously this is not a political forum, but I’m really glad you came out tonight and joined us,” said Commission Chairman Rick Shepherd. “It just gives us an idea of who we’re working with. We govern as one body; we work very closely together. We’re a very cohesive body, so it’s important to us to keep that cohesiveness.”
Laura Hartin, CEO of Blanket Fort Hope, also spoke at the commission meeting. Blanket Fort Hope is an organization geared toward helping child victims of human trafficking by providing housing, education and support services. After researching several areas, Hartin said they have decided to build an intake facility in Shelby County.
The intake facility would help with the immediate needs of children, Hartin said, and they hope to eventually have a long-term facility as well. Hartin said she hoped to work with the commission in order to build their facility and be able to work with the community during the process.
“We really want to be intentional about considering the needs of the community,” Hartin said. “This is a difficult issue – these kids have been through a lot of trauma, but we want to respect the community, and we’re going to need a lot of help with that, if we want to transition our intake facility here into Shelby County.”
Commissioner Corley Ellis had invited Hardin to speak at the commission meeting and said he looks forward to seeing the work Blanket Fort Hope does in the county.
“I view them as the Safe House of human trafficking. They do on the human trafficking side what Safe House does for abused children,” Ellis said.
Also at the commission meeting:
- The commission approved two road-resurfacing projects in Columbiana. One project is on County Road 30 between State Road 52 and State Road 145. The other is on County Road 99 between State Road 145 North and County Road 47 South.
- County Manager Alex Dudchock gave his report. Dudchock will also be speaking at the Greater Shelby Chamber of Commerce meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 28.
- The commission awarded bids for asphalt and improvements to the Talladega Shelby County water treatment plant. These improvements will alter 73-year-old infrastructure.
The next Shelby County Commission meeting is Monday, Nov. 9 at 8:30 a.m.