The Hale County Commission Monday approved Adam Jones as solid waste director for Hale County over the objection of commissioner Yolanda Watkins. Commissioner Lois Fields abstained. His salary will be increased to $25,000 a year, and accounts payable and billing will be moved from the commission office to his department.

Commissioner Joe Lee Hamilton Jr. voted in favor but expressed concern over security with Jones keeping money on hand at the landfill site. “We’ve got a better chance of putting him out there in a better place than putting him in this courthouse,” said commissioner Walter Allen.

“The examiners wrote us up for not making deposits in a timely manner,” said commission chairman Leland Avery. If deposits are made promptly there will not be any money lying around to worry about.

Commissioner Lois Fields who abstained from the vote said there should be a job description for the position.

In other action, the commission approved the annual application for a grant where the county and individual deputies are paid to patrol Corps of Engineers properties. The period for the work runs from the end of March through September, said Hale County Sheriff Larry Johnson.

A $90 bill for termite control from Selma Pest Control was approved to be paid Tuesday. The county health department had been in need to termite control, Avery said, but the bill had been caught up in the recent controversy over paying past due bills. “It’s an educational class for the youth to see what termites look like,” Avery said.

Commissioner Fields abstained from the vote. Checks are normally done on Friday; she felt there was no need to do a manual check to pay the bill.