HALE COUNTY – A spark was ignited at the Hale County Commission meeting Tuesday when Judge Leland Avery said a temporary clerk is needed in his office until the current one returns from maternity leave.

Commissioner Joe Lee Hamilton said he didn’t want to bring up an old issue, but there was a problem with a previous open position in Avery’s office.

“The last time you said you’d handle it we got into a little situation because we didn’t publicize the position,” Hamilton said. “We just need to make this position open to the public.

Commissioner Yolanda Watkins said it is “county policy” to publicize job openings.

“Everyone in this room knows it whether or not they want to admit it, but anytime we have an opening for a public position, we need to publicize it to everyone,” Watkins said. “The county needs to be informed.”

After the discussion, Avery said he will not only post the opening in the courthouse, but will run it in a newspaper as well.

Resolutions for an administrator contract and the engineer contract for the CDBG project were approved.

The commission also agreed to allow Timothy Holley to have a liquor license for the Birdsnest Sports Bar and Grill.

Hale County resident, Ruby Washington, expressed concern for the ditches on Washington Road and said it needs to be scraped.

“There are children who go to school who live on that road and the school buses need to get up there to get them,” Washington said. “There is also an handicapped person that lives there.”

The county said they will send someone out to look at the road.

Other citizens expressed concern about flooding and draining problems in the Lock 5 area.

“The ditches where the water used to flow is filled with debris,” resident Catherine Benison said.

The county engineer, Arzo X. Abrams, said new catfish ponds may blocked off the natural drainage when they were built but he will take a look to see what the county can do about it.

Until then, residents can apply for help under the National Flood Insurance Program according to Abrams.