The Choctaw Plaindealer

Choctaw County Circuit Clerk Wanda Vowell provided the Choctaw County Board of Supervisors with information on new requirements for voting locations mandated by the Help America Vote Act.

To make these buildings compliant with the Americans with Disablilties Act, Vowell said, entrancesand parking lots will need improvements to become fully accessible to handicapped individuals. After necessary changes are made, so-called "curbside voting" will no longer exist. Also, a new machine has become available to provide citizens with "second-chance voting." If an individual were to miss an election, this machine would notify the voter to find out if the absence was intentional or if the voter still wishes to participate in the election. Members of the Board discussed ways to cut back on the cost of the new equipment and improvements. One suggestion made was to improve one building at a time over a certain period of time until each location was completed. Another possibility is to combine some of the precincts to eliminate unnecessary costs to the county. These new HAVA standards will go into effect January 1, 2006. No decision has been made at this time.

A new firetruck was purchased for the Panhandle community. On Friday May 6, the Board of Supervisors inspected the firetruck, and approved it for purchase by the county.

Sheriff Doug McHan brought up the cost of housing Chris Fair in the Lowndes County Jail. At $35.00 per day, the total cost at the time of the meeting was $1085. The Board decided to add that item to the claims docket for the next meeting. Fair is being held in Lowndes County due to the risks that might exist in Choctaw County.