Blankenship thanked at last commission meeting

The man who served as chairman of the Dale County Commission for the past eight years presided over his last meeting in that capacity Oct. 27.

Mark Blankenship resigned his commission position after being elected mayor of Ozark. He was sworn into the office of mayor Nov. 2.

Dale County Commissioner Chris Carroll will serve as interim commission chairman until the governor makes a new appointment of commission chairman.

Commissioners and county department heads presented a plaque to Blankenship at the end of his final meeting in appreciation to him for eight years of service.

“You kept everything legal and above board,” longtime Dale County Attorney Henry Steagall told Blankenship. “You’ve done a great job. You’ve done things right by the book and that’s all we ask and expect. Thank you.”

Dale County Revenue Commissioner Eleanor Outlaw and Dale County Probate Judge Sharon Michalic thanked Blankenship for his support of their respective offices and staff. “We look forward to the relationship between county and city improving,” Outlaw said. “Anything that has ever come up we have been able to call you and talk about it and that is what is important,” Michalic added.

Longtime Dale County Engineer Derek Brewer noted that he had been working with the county longer than the others. “I have seen the most positive changes,” he told Blankenship.

Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson thanked Blankenship for his support. “We’ve definitely had our ups and downs but we’ve worked through them for the good of the people and the employees of Dale County,” Olson said. “You were instrumental in helping us get the training facility. That’s something I never thought we’d get but you made it happen.”

During Blankenship’s two terms of office, the county was awarded the Association of County Commissions of Alabama “Excellence in County Government Award” twice.

The first award was for the successful effort to pass a county wide emergency services funding bill to benefit the first responders. Billed as the “tag tax,” the measure passed with 61 percent of the votes.

The second excellence award was for the outdoor amphitheater built in downtown Ozark.

The commission worked with the Ozark-Dale County Economic Development Corporation to locate the Motobilt /Anvil Industrial to Dale County, to locate Sombrero Company to Ozark and with the Ariton revitalization project.

During Blankenship’s tenure the county privatized the Dale County Solid Waste Collection and started a countywide road side trash pickup using Wiregrass Rehabilitation Center.

The Dale County Courthouse was completely renovated during Blankenship’s tenure as chairman. The old post office was renovated and the sheriff’s department was relocated to that building.

Also renovated was the Dale County Government building which now houses the Dale County School’s

central office, the veterans office, and the state drivers license office.

In a collaborative effort to reduce customer lines in the revenue office in the Dale County Courthouse, the commission opened satellite tag offices in Ariton, Daleville and Pinckard.

Blankenship worked with the city of Dothan, Houston County and ODEDC to locate CAE and Commercial Jet to the Dothan Airport, located in Dale County.

Blankenship and the commission also worked with Wayne Farms and ODEC to locate a $53 million feed mill in Dale County, creating an opportunity for an additional 265 poultry houses in the Wiregrass.

The commission secured a $337,000 Community Development Block Grant for the Newton Water and Sewage Authority and secured a $1.1 million Industrial Access grant on County Road 18, both in support of the Wayne Farms Feed Mill.

Under Blankenship’s leadership, the county commission passed a resolution authorizing the display of the “In God we trust” motto, becoming the first county in the state to do so.

In collaboration with the local Vietnam Veterans of America, a Vietnam War Monument has been installed at the Dale County Government building.

The county also received its first A plus Standard and Poor’s Bond rating.

The next meeting of the Dale County Commission is Wednesday, Nov. 11, instead of Tuesday, Nov. 10, at the Dale County Government Building in Ozark. A work session begins at 10 a.m. and is followed immediately by a voting meeting. The meetings are open to the public.