Five minutes before the start of Monday’s Lowndes County Board of Supervisors meeting, the board room was packed and the search was on for additional chairs.
The board agenda was light, as was the mood as supervisors passed resolutions honoring the Columbus High School and Victory Christian boys’ basketball teams for their recently-won state championships while Lowndes County Sheriff Mike Arledge presented five officers with plaques recognizing their work as “life savers.”
“Normally, we do this in-house, but we’re having what we call a general assembly (Tuesday) here at the courthouse, so I think I would use this as an opportunity to invite (supervisors) to that, and honor these deputies,” Arledge said.
“Our deputies report to 3,500 calls a year, everything from assaults to property crimes,” Arledge noted.
Sometimes, those call require deputies to not only catch the “bad guys,” but give aid to crime victims.
Arledge honored deputies Lt. Chad Bell and Deputy Jeff Edmondson for an example of that when they responded to a call in March.
Arledge said Bell and Edmondson reported to a 911 call from a crime victim who fled her home after suffering a savage beating from an ex-boyfriend. The woman had fled into the woods with severe injuries and was afraid to leave.
“It was a cold night and hypothermia was an issue, along with her injuries,” Arledge said. “The officers were able to find a general area where she was last seen and searched the woods until they found her. The doctor said that she wouldn’t have survived more than another 30 minutes in those conditions.”
Arledge honored three other deputies — Cpl. Steve Kemp, Deputy Dusty Barrier and Deputy Sherman Mosely — for a similar act.
The three reported to a scene in the south part of the county where a woman had been stabbed.
“Blood was all over the house, so the deputies knew she was seriously injured,” Arledge said. “She had also run away and the deputies searched and found her by following the blood trail. Again, if they hadn’t found her she would probably have bled out.”
Both victims received treatment and recovered, Arledge said.
The officers weren’t the only ones to be recognized at the meeting. Players and coaches of the CHS and Victory Christian basketball teams occupied most of the seats as District 4 Supervisors Jeff Smith read a resolution passed by the board honoring the CHS team while District 3 Supervisor John Holliman read a resolution honoring Victory Christian.
District 5 Supervisors Leroy Brooks used the moment to remind the young players of their status as role models for kids throughout the county.
“One thing I do know is that when I drive through the streets or go to the gym, I see a lot of young boys playing basketball,” Brooks said. “So I’m asking you to take on the burden of being a role model for a lot of young boys who may not have a father at home or maybe some other things missing. So if you’ll take on that role and live the way you play, you’ll make a great dent in the problems we have in our community.”
In other board business, the supervisors filled two open positions.
Brennan Dockery, the only applicant, was appointed to Columbus-Lowndes Public Library Board while Lance Walters was appointed to the East Mississippi Community College Board.
Supervisors chose Walters over Charles Rigdon, who is completing his third five-year term on the board.
“This has nothing to do with the job Mr. Rigdon has done,” Board President Harry Sanders said. “I just feel like we need some new blood in that position.”
The supervisors voted 5-0 to appoint Walters to the EMCC board.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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