Photo: Henry County Mayor John Penn Ridgeway displays photos of the Marshall County Health Department which will resemble what the new Henry County Health Department will look like. (Shannon McFarlin photo).
By Shannon McFarlin News Director
Paris, Tenn.–At a lengthy session of the Henry County Commission, commissioners heard good news and bad news.
First the good news:
The county will receive $1M more from the American Rescue Plan to construct the new Health Department, bringing the available total to $4.380M.
That was the announcement from Project Manager Donald Dunning at Monday night’s meeting. As we’ve previously reported, the new Health Department will replace the building on Joy Street that was built in the 1980s.
The new health department will be located on Hwy. 79S, across from the extension office/driver’s license bureau.
TLM Engineer Jerry Hartfield and County Mayor John Penn Ridgeway displayed photographs of how the new health department will look and photos of the Marshall County Health Deaprtment, which is similar in appearance.
Hartsfield said the new facility will be some 10,000 square feet. He projected the project will be put out for bids in September and hopefully construction can start by the end of the year. June 2026 is the deadline to complete the project.
More good news:
Darren Duke of WK&T provided an update on the Broadband grant which will provide some 100 miles of broadband through Henry County. Duke said there will be 377 locations and said the portion for Henry County will be over $7M.
Now for the bad news:
Negotiations with West Tennessee Healthcare are not going well. A joint meeting between the county commission and the HCMC board already had been called for Thursday, May 30 and will involve a Zoom call with Angela Humphreys, co-chair of Healthcare Private Equity, Bass, Berry and Sims.
On the agenda is consideration of a resolution to approve the sale of Henry County Healthcare nursing home to West Tennessee Healthcare.
A point of contention in the ongoing negotiations is the request by Henry County that the OB/GYN department be reinstated at the hospital, according to Ridgeway. A letter of intent that was expected before now still has not arrived “and that speaks for itself”, County Attorney Rob Whitfield said. Hospital Board Chair Bruce Reed said it is hoped the letter would arrive Wednesday.
Commissioner Patrick Burns objected to telephone meetings that have been held between the negotiators but have not included the full commission. Ridgeway said, “I will be willing to step down (from the negotiations) and somebody else can take my place. I’ve had enough.”
Thursday’s meeting is set for 5 p.m. at the 911 building on Brewer St.
–In other business:
Commissioner Ricky Wade tendered his letter of resignation. The following is Wade’s letter of resignation:
“It has been my privilege to serve as a commissioner for the 1st District of Henry County.
I have served for the last twenty (20) months. Throughout this year, I have worked diligently to
fully comprehend county issues, such as the hospital, deputy clerk raises, building repairs, grants
and numerous other issues to help the citizens. I have never let politics and friendship influence
my decision on what was best for the 1st District and all the other citizens of Henry County. I
have stood strong in my beliefs and have fought to help all the citizens of Henry County. I ran
for this position believing I could make a difference and I’m always out voted. I hope and pray
that the citizens of Henry County will hold the commissioners accountable for keeping our
county strong. I appreciate Mayor John Penn Ridgeway for his hard work on the problems that
he has had to deal with even though he had nothing to do with them. He is a great mayor and
takes the blame much of the time for what the commissioners vote on, and he doesn’t even get to
vote. The County has been fortunate to have him. I have contemplated my decision to resign for
several months and, therefore, I am resigning my position as commissioner of the 1st District of
Henry County effective May 31, 2024 at 11:59pm. I thank the voters who voted for me, and I
hope and pray that the citizens of Henry County will hold this commission accountable for every
vote they cast.”
–Ridgeway announced that Ginger Cox has been named Deputy Property Assessor to assume the responsibilities of the office, since Charles VanDyke resigned effective April 30. Two candidates are on the August ballot for the position: Robert Abbott and Scott Morrison.
–The June commission meeting will be held June 11 to distribute a copy of the budget.