Jackson County saying goodbye to 2 veterans of public service

Two veterans of public service on Monday attended what will likely be their last county commission meeting in their official capacities.
One is retiring from his long-time role as a leader in the local agricultural community, and the other is finishing out his 12th year on the county board.

Pittman finishing out his 12th year on Commission

Meeting a day ahead of their normal first-of-the-month session because this Tuesday fell on Veteran’s Day, Jackson County Commissioners honored District 5 commissioner Milton Pittman with a plaque and words of appreciation for his service to the community.
Pittman, who lost his re-election bid this time around, has served on the board 12 consecutive years. His replacement, Kenny Stephens, will be installed in office during a special organizational meeting at 9 a.m. on Nov. 18. County Commission District 3 incumbent Chuck Lockey will be re-installed that day as well, and a chairman of the board will be selected for the coming year. Lockey currently serves in that role.
Pittman received a standing ovation from those attending `Monday’s meeting. In accepting the gratitude of the board, Pittman said his time on the board and been “a joy ride” for him. He said he felt “humbled and blessed for the opportunity to serve.” He wished Stephens well the new commissioner takes over.
Pittman had also served four years on the Jackson County School Board before winning a seat on the county commission panel.
He said he has no plans to seek office again.
“No, I’m through now,” Pittman said. “I’ll be 70 years old next July, and I’ve put in for my retirement. I’ve served 16 years as a public servant on the county commission and the school board, and I served with the department of agriculture as a meat inspector and in other roles for six years, so I’m going to concentrate now on the things we’ve got going on the farm. When the Department of Agriculture wanted to transfer me to Jacksonville years ago, I said no, I’m going back to Two Egg and I’ll farm. I love that life, and my son, Jeff, and I have some things to do.  I’m happy to put my hands to that, but I’ve enjoyed every minute of my public service. Mr. Stephens is coming in with some new blood, new ideas, and I wish him well. I’m happy, and I appreciate the people. They’ve been mighty good to me, and I’m humbled and grateful for that. Most of all, I want to thank the people for giving the opportunity to serve them.”
Pittman said he was proud of the fact that he was part of getting legislators to recognize the need for paving assistance in rural counties.
“When I came on board, I knew that we needed some money to resurface some of the old existing roads we had. Pat Thomas was a state senator at the time, and a good friend of mine. He came here to visit on a pass through in 1997, and we told him that we needed this help. He said he was going to work on it, and then next thing you know, we got a letter that they were setting up a program for small counties to resurface. I was proud that I had some role in getting this funding. I think we’ve received about 48 million over the last 11 years, and it helped keep us from having to raise taxes. In all the time I’ve been on the board, we’ve only raised taxes once, and that was by a decimal point my first year on the board. Since then, we’ve either left it the same or lowered it. I think that’s something to be proud of, something that we tried real hard to do for the people.”
Pittman said he was also proud to have been a part of the board during a time that saw some 1,000 jobs added to the county, at big operations like the Family Dollar Distribution Center and the Green Circle BioEnergy plant, as well as smaller concerns.
He said he had just one regret – that he wouldn’t be on the board to see the county embark on a plan to start paving dirt roads with some of the one-cent gas sales tax money it collects. Until now, that money has gone toward resurfacing projects. Commissioners are still in the talking stages on that plan, and Pittman said he hopes they’ll follow through.