By Nate Smith
Washington Times-Herald
SHOALS — The Martin County Commissioners started the difficult task of replacing a man that has served the county tremendously over the past few years, Gene Shaw. Shaw, 77, died last Tuesday. The former U.S. Army Sgt. Major had lived just a few steps from the Martin County Courthouse, but commissioners said his shoes will be hard to fill. “We lost a really fine public servant,” Commissioner Dan Gregory said. “Yes we lost him, but we had him. “Gene gave so much to Martin County and the country for a long time. He loved Shoals and Martin County, and he will be missed.” Among Shaw’s official capacities were being a member of the county’s Redevelopment Commission, the Westgate @ Crane Authority, the Alcohol Beverage Commission and the Property Tax Reassessment Board of Appeals. Unofficially, Shaw was one of the county’s main supporters of the Westgate @ Crane Tech Park and helped form the three-county alliance that got the development area going. Before the commissioners met, the Redevelopment Commission discussed replacements for Shaw on the board. Several names were mentioned, but an executive session was set for Aug. 9 to discuss candidates. A regular session and a special session of the commissioners will follow. As for other positions, the commissioners are still looking at candidates to fill positions on the WestGate Authority and the Alcohol Beverage Commission. Commissioner Paul George said that Assessor Carolyn Sue McGuire will use an alternate on the appeals board for the time being. Shaw, who was retired from Naval Surface Warfare Center — Crane, was awarded several honors for his work with the tech park. He was awarded the Distinguished Hoosier Award from Gov. Mitch Daniels, a Kentucky Colonel and the Citizen of the Year from the Martin County Chamber of Commerce in 2010. He was also the Co-Grand Marshal of the Catfish Parade in Shoals this year. Shaw also served on the West Boggs Park Board. He was buried last Saturday in Shoals. In other business JAIL REPAIRS The commissioners selected Midwest Engineers for $12,500 to do preliminary engineering for repairs to the Martin County Security Center. The firm was hired based on the advice of the County Council to hire local contractors and to cap costs. Earlier in the meeting, Melvin Beeker with RQAW Engineering updated the commissioners with its proposal for services. Beeker suggested the county could do its engineering on the jail with less money with an open-ended contract. WELLNESS PLAN Gregory informed the other two commissioners that there were not enough county employees interested in a free wellness plan. Only 29 surveys of the employees were returned. Of those, 23 indicated they would participate in the plan. On advice of the county’s insurance representative, the number was not enough to offset costs. “There aren’t quite the numbers we need yet,” Gregory said. VETERANS SERVICE OFFICER New Veterans Service Officer Eric Wade presented his monthly update to the commissioners. He said there are veterans in the county that need services, but have not contacted him. Wade can be contacted at 639-8045.
