Bray Delivers State of the County Address at Lexington Rotary Club
Henderson County Mayor Eddie Bray delivered the State of the County address at the March 2, 2021 Lexington Rotary Club meeting.
Photo by: W. Clay Crook / The Lexington Progress
Article by W. Clay Crook-
Henderson County Mayor Eddie Bray delivered the state of the county address at the March 2, 2021 meeting of the Lexington Rotary Club. “It doesn’t seem like a year has passed since the last state of the county but having come through a pandemic and a weather crisis, Henderson County has been very fortunate with its department heads, elected officials, but especially the county employees. While many of us worked from home, many of our employees were still in the work place and in the streets and weather,” he said, mentioning also the public assistance with rides to work from the Henderson County Sheriff’s Department.
2020 was a year of challenge with the coming of the pandemic and the onslaught of high winds and bad weather, and a state of emergency was called for a second time. Offices and businesses were closed, others required temperatures, masks, social distancing, and frequent calls with the Governor’s office. “We learned all about Zoom, and I had no idea what it was before 2020, but we adapted and overcame.”
“Perhaps the end of the pandemic is in sight,” he said, the number of active cases being on a steady decline with only 28 active cases during the last report. A task force was used to guide the county along during the pandemic, reviewing each week what was working and what was not. A COVID-19 testing site was established at the old First Pentecostal Church and then later at the Multiplex. The local Health Department has now vaccinated about 5,000 people in Henderson County, on top of providing their regular services. “Despite the hurdles and changes, our schools are in great shape, in person and with virtual learning,” and the LHS football team advanced to the semi-finals, and a new band building is nearing completion at Scotts Hill. Schools were used as pick-up points for meals. The Finance Department wrapped up the year with a perfect audit, the first in the county’s history. The creation of a fire tax helped remove a twenty-year-old audit finding. There are 656 citizens on the county tax relief rolls, business licenses are on the rise, and now gun permits can be renewed…
For the complete article, see the March 3rd edition of The Lexington Progress.
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