By Gary Lee Stuber
The Clay County Commission met for its first regular February meeting on Monday Feb. 9. This was only the third meeting of the Clay County Commission since December first. There was a state mandated meeting on Jan. 2 to establish a schedule for the year, but this was the third meeting for regular county business. The second meeting in December was closed due to brutal snow fall and single digit temperatures, and the second meeting for January was closed for the same reason. So, this regular meeting was heavy on regular business that needed resolved.
All three commissioners were present, technically. But only Commissioner David Schoolcraft was present physically. President Joyce Johnson and Commissioner Duane Legg were present by phone. The outside temperature that morning as the meeting began was eight degrees. Clay County Schools were operating on a two-hour delay. Ice was still treacherous on many secondary county roads.
The first order of business was that the commission had to vote to make Commissioner David Schoolcraft President of the Commission, Pro Tem, just for the day, so he could chair the event. They did so by vote, two of them by phone.
The regular meeting always begins with the handling of regular county business: Minutes from the previous meeting; bills; purchase orders; budget revisions; erroneous assessments by the Assessor; fiduciary appoints as presented by the county clerk; appointment of administrators for estates, last wills and testaments, appointments of executors and affidavits and waivers of final settlements.
The commission then approved a slew of new hires. For the 911 Ambulance Service they accepted the employment of Joshua Hand as paramedic and Chris Nienhaus. For the Sheriff’s Department they approved Kaitlyn Preast as part-time tax deputy for $10 an hour and Sara Blankenship as a full-time tax deputy at $12 an hour. They accepted the resignation of Laura Scott effective Feb. 15 and allowed the promotion of Jeana Rounsville to Chief Tax Deputy at $17 per hour effective Feb. 1, provided the Sheriff’s Department had the internal funds to sponsor the promotion.
The county commission approved the new fees and services schedule for the Clay County Health Department, being that they are the final step in the approval process.
Even though Terry Martin was not present at the meeting, he had submitted invoices for the commission to approve. The commission approved the Big Otter Nebo Waterline Extension resolution; the Grassy Fork Waterline Extension resolution; tabled for a later date the Clay County Judicial Annex Resolution because all of the final invoices had not been submitted.
While the mid-term primary seems a long time yet away, the commission resolved to appoint Emergency Absentee Ballot Commissioners for the May 12, 2026 Primary Election and resolved to approve the number of Election Officials designated for the Primary Election. All eleven Clay County precincts will have three Democratic election officials (one clerk and two commissioners); and two Republican election officials (one clerk and one commissioner).
Commissioner Schoolcraft asked if anybody else wanted to bring anything before the commission. One lady sitting with her husband in the gallery wanted to make a statement, and Commissioner Schoolcraft asked her to come up to the front to address the commission with a public statement since two of them were on the phone.
She identified herself as Martha Nottingham and said she was a Clay County probation secretary. As she came up before the commission her right arm and wrist were bandaged. “I was going to my office and fell outside this courthouse and broke my wrist. And I just want it on record that I am issuing a complaint because you have been very negligent in not keeping this parking lot free of snow and ice. Snow and ice has not been removed for weeks,” she said. “You have not kept it clean nor safe.” She expressed that she had visited the ER and was filing a worker’s compensation claim. “I know a couple of weeks ago there was another fall by another staff member.”
The next Clay County Commission will be held on Feb. 23 at 9 a.m. providing the worst of the winter weather is over.
