[05/22/01] A new position created in the Warren County permit office was filled Monday with a deputy sheriff.

Richard M. Jordan of the Warren County Sheriff’s Department, formerly a Vicksburg police officer, was chosen to fill the full-time $23,000-a-year investigator position. He will be leaving the sheriff’s department and is expected to start working as a permit investigator June 1. Jordan, 59, has been a deputy sheriff for 14 years and drops about $7,000 in county pay for the new job.

Sheriff Martin Pace said Jordan’s new duties are completely independent.

“He’s (Jordan) used to dealing with the public, and he knows the county,” L.W. Callaway, Warren County Emergency Management Director, said. “We needed someone who is able to communicate with the public efficiently and clearly; someone who can work independently and who had an unblemished driving record.”

The job is a general patrol type function, Callaway said. The permit inspector is responsible for making sure the Warren County flood plain management ordinances are being followed and that building and driveway permits required in and out of flood zones are valid. He will also inspect property that Warren County acquired during the flood buyout program.

The buyout program is coordinated by the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and helps cities and counties in the state’s flood plains buy property that has suffered repetitive losses because of flooding.

Warren County permit officer Peggy Crist issues permits and works with the public through the permit office in the Warren County Courthouse. The two positions will work together, Callaway said, but the investigator will be out in the field.

“He will also be out there making sure construction being done in flood areas is in compliance with the flood insurance program,” Callaway said. “That’s very important, because if construction is not in compliance, the county could lose its flood insurance.”

In other business, the county:

Granted Dixie Roofing Inc. a one-week extension to rebuild the roof on the Board of Supervisors building. The extension would give the company 37 days rather than the 30 days originally contracted for. Work will begin on May 28 and should be completed by June 7. The motion passed by a 4-1 vote with board president Richard George dissenting.

Approved a request by Sheriff Martin Pace to replace a police vehicle used for investigations. The cost was not in the budget but Pace said the current vehicle being used is eight years old and has 159,000 miles and presents liability problems as well as the high costs to maintain.

Approved Undersheriff Jeff Riggs’ request to rewrite the jail’s insurance policy through St. Paul Insurance, which would also include additional training for the jail staff. St. Paul agreed to go 50/50 on costs to rewrite policy and to do training. The county would be responsible for $2,600.

Authorized the purchase of two dump trucks for the highway department and approved the request to place two 1994 dump trucks on auction.

Approved the change of pump types for off-site utilities at the new River Region site on U.S. 61 North. The cost for the change will be $34,709.34, but county engineer John McKee said the funds would come from the hospital and not the county’s budget.

Issued a proclamation congratulating the Warren Central baseball team for winning the 2001 5A State Championship. “It’s a testament to Warren Central,” District 3 Supervisor Charles Selmon said. “When we spend money on recreation, we win championships.”

The Board of Supervisors will meet again at 9 a.m. June 4.