Just as I do what is necessary to highlight the wrongdoings of those in our county government and among our employees, when I see that they need to change, which is the ultimate goal, I do what is necessary to build them up.

Today, praise is due to Jeremiah Johnson, lead man of the Marion County Road department. When the information was brought to light about several employees being clocked in by another employee and stealing time, it wasn’t Connie Harris, the County Manager that made the change; it was Jeremiah Johnson.

And just to make sure that I didn’t attribute credit to the wrong person, I performed an Open Records Request asking if any complaints by any employee had been made about the issues and if she had sent out any notification to the road crew to make the necessary changes.

Heather Wright responded and indicated that there have been no complaints and nothing sent about the clocking in and out issue.

It was Jeremiah who saw there was an issue and he was swift to make the change. Jeremiah held a meeting and informed the entire team that there will be no more clocking others in and out and that the hours of operation would be 7AM to 3:30 PM. This shows that Jeremiah took the bull by the horns, without any instruction, saw the need to respond, and responded accordingly, and his team fell in line and have all been hard at work, since.

I have seen the road graders throughout the county, not just sitting in the same place as in times past. My father reported seeing one of our graders on his road last week, which has not been common, and in fact has had a hard time getting any assistance because the county was confused about which side of Bridlepath was private and which side was not. Others have reported the graders working in the county, and a group of these gentleman showed up in the nick of time to assist with fixing the roads after the heavy rainfall and winds that we had this past week.

I hope that all of you as the citizens of Marion County will make sure when you see these gentleman to thank them for their hard work. If you see it’s a hot day, I’m sure a cold bottle of water or a snack would be appreciated. If it’s a cold day, I’m sure they would enjoy a warm cup of coffee or cocoa.

That being said, I wanted to ask a few questions of the road department employees and get their feedback, for any that would be willing to respond.

Have any of you received any formal Caterpillar training or certifications on how to appropriately use the graders to crown the roads for appropriate run-off and/or repair? If not, how would you feel, if it was made available to you to attend South Georgia Technical College to get accredited and certified, which would be paid by the county, upon approval by the commissioners and the people, once we can get the financial wellness of our county current and get our grants coming back into the county? This would include travel, food expenses, and any lodging or entertainment needed.

My intention is not to make war with any of the employees or elect. I would rather them grow, not go. It appears to me that these gentleman saw the error of their ways and were humble to change. That shows that we have great employees but that they just needed a little direction and I am grateful that, though it was a little uncomfortable in how it all came out, the accountability was what they needed and we are the better for it.

I hope that more and more elect, managers, and employees will follow Jeremiah’s lead and do what is necessary to turn things around and do things in a way that increases the whole of the morale of the people, the employees, and the government.

If you have a story, feedback, or questions, please feel free to contact me at Plumblyne Productions by email at plumblyneproductions@gmail.com or call me at 229-329-2179. Don’t forget to subscribe, share, and follow to stay up to date.