The Gilchrist County Rotary has had Several County Department Heads Come Speak at the Club Over the Past Few Weeks to Help with Informing the Community of Their Services.

By Colleen Caudill
On March 11th and 18th, members enjoyed more incredible lunches provided by Chef Jason including Stuffing Waffles with Turkey and Gravy, and mouth watering baked Ziti. After stuffing our faces, the club went back to business with introducing the guest speakers.
On the 11th, there were two speakers. The first was Bobby Rush, a department head at Gilchrist County Solid Waste & Recycling. In our county, there are three full time recycling centers and three part time. He gave a presentation that showed in detail how solid waste has been improving in the county since 2013. Even though there has been a 100% increase from 2010 to 2020 of trash per person, obtaining three new compactors has helped decrease unnecessary trips to dispose the waste which has increased efficiency and productivity! They have also worked hard on their budget, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars throughout the past few years! Events left for this year by the department include; Amnesty Tires, Sat. Aug. 3rd , and Yard Clean-Up, Sat. Oct. 5th-12th.
The second guest speaker was Rodney Tomlinson from Gilchrist County Road Department. He spoke proudly of his hard-working team and their available services. Together they manage 334.77 miles of unpaved roads and 154.61 miles of paved roads. They provide on call personal 24/7, a full-time mobile mechanic on duty, as well as six graders for roads, a fuel depot which supplies all county departments for all fueling needs, maintain signage on roads, mining operation, hauling, tree limbing, driveway inspections, repairs and maintenance, limp and debris burning, and are looking forward to having a new asphalt zipper soon that will recycle asphalt and help clear limestone roads.
On the 18th, one of our own Rotarians, Ryan Clemons, spoke on behalf of the Gilchrist County Code Enforcement, located next to the Trenton courthouse in the Building Department. It is a county office driven by complaint. Anyone can call to file a complaint, file online, or stop by the office. Some of the things that can lead to violations are animal density, trash buildups, and site inspections. They stick to a process and work on a case-by-case basis. They also help with grants and identify needs for projects to have processed for potential funding. Some projects include the Ag extension building, vulnerability assessment, system communications, road work, park and river projects, public safety projects, and fire and EMS projects.
As always, the Rotary Club of Gilchrist County meets at noon on Mondays (excluding Federal holidays) at the Woman’s Club in Trenton. We’re always looking to have new members!