County Commission accepts Petty’s resignation

Harold Petty is no longer a Madison County Commissioner.

Petty has been a Republican representative on the Commission in District 10, but his health has affected his ability to serve for much of the past couple of years.

And recent news he’s learned in the past month caused him to resign.

“Unfortunately my cancer has returned, and my health is at a point that I can’t continue to serve my constituents fairly,” said a letter from Petty that Commission Chairman Gary Deaton read during their February meeting Tuesday night. “It’s been a pleasure to serve on this Commission, and I trust I can count on your prayers as I continue to fight this cancer.”

Deaton had high praise for Petty after the meeting.

“If we could get 25 Commissioners on this body who are like Harold Petty, this Commission would be very effective,” Deaton said. “He’s a former Marine and a former Sheriff’s deputy who loves his country and loves this county.

“Everyone on the Commission loves and respects Harold Petty, and his absence is going to be one that will be difficult to replace.”

Petty won re-election in August, so the Commission will appoint a new person to fill his position.

Here’s a rundown of other things that happened at the meeting:

Sheriff Julian Wiser announced an open house for the new jail addition to the Criminal Justice Complex on March 9 from 5-8 p.m. Tours will be available for the jail that evening.

Approval of a motion to switch locations between the Election Commission and three departments currently housed in the Finance Complex on Hollywood Drive. Veterans’ Affairs, Property Excess and Resale and IT will all move to the current Election Commission facility on North Parkway across from the Jackson-Madison County Schools Central Office. Early voting will continue to happen on North Parkway in the Ag Center auditorium.

County Attorney Jay Bush met with the Commission in a private meeting to discuss the second wave of settlement money coming in the opioid class action lawsuit between all 50 states and multiple entities who are defendants in the suit. Five pharmaceutical corporations – Allergan, Teva, CVS, Walgreens and Walmart – have all settled to pay between $57 million and $138 million in the settlement. The way the money is divided up among the states and then within each state means each county in Tennessee will get from this wave a little more than $1 million.

Brandon Shields, brandon@jacksonpost.news